[TR24][OF] Jasper van’t Hof’s Pork Pie - The Door Is Open (Remastered) - 1976/2017 (Fusion)

This 1975 album continues Pork Pie’s cutting-edge exploration on the outer boundaries of fusion, jazz, and ethno. Keyboardist Van’t Hof, saxophonist Charlie Mariano, and guitarist Philip Catherine are joined by renowned Danish musician Bo Stief on electric bass and English drummer John Marshall of Soft Machine fame. Catherine’s Devil Toes heats up in a tempestuous modal flare, with Mariano’s soprano supplying the fire. Mariano pursues the haunting melody on his Zana, followed by Catherine’s majestic solo over Van’t Hof’s flowing chordal backdrop. Written by one of the greatest South Indian classical music composers, Tyagaraga (1767-1847), Mariano’s arrangement of Telisi Rama illustrates the music’s influence on such jazz greats as John Coltrane, and Van’t Hof’s stellar piano solo intimates his debt to McCoy Tyner. The balladic He’s Gone features Mariano poignant flute, while on Van’t Hof’s Simul Sincrone Mariano sings out on alto saxophone in a wide-open impassioned performance. Avoid the Year of the Monkey runs the gamut from aleatory electronics to sophisticated fusion, as the drums propel stunning soprano sax and organ solos, while Van’t Hof’s The Door is Open reveals an intensely beautiful surreal landscape. As a sequel to Pork Pie’s Transitory, the album’s music is every bit as ‘exploratory, electrifying, and exciting’ as its predecessor.