Talk about being ahead of your time. Keith Tippett provided us with one timeless record over 35 years ago and today it still sounds so modern. I wasn’t really familiar with free-jazz before this but what a great introduction. For those who were like me when I first approached this sub-genre, free-jazz tries to break limitations that the previous styles of jazz created for the genre. “Dedicated To You, But You Weren’t Listening ” definitely break those limitations; It was released nearly 40 years ago and it still sounds ahead of it’s time, and even sometimes ahead of our time. Going somewhere in a Jazz-Rock style by mixing guitar solos in some of the wilder Jazz mixtures to truly break the mold of the Jazz of this era. Keith’s creativity seems to have no limit and each song expands on the other without sounding even remotely alike.

What we have here is an amazing display of musical creativity that only Jazz can give us. Keith breaks the established boundaries of musical structure to dive into a world of full-on experimentation with one of the most versatile music genres of all-time. I would also recommend listening to this album a few times, maybe like 4 or 5 times, since you might not get the true beauty of this amazing record that sadly doesn’t get the true recognition it deserves in modern music. Keith never stops to amaze during this album whether it’s for his whole creative vision or the use of certain uncommon things in the more conservative types of Jazz. The album’s highlight is probably the final song, “Black Horse” which displays a perfect mixture of Jazz and Rock giving the guitarist, Gary Boyle, a moment that definitely stands as one of the strongest on the whole album. The whole song is the peak of experimentation on the tracklist; blending powerful rockish drums, the great Santana-like guitar and brass instrumentation in a brilliant and creative way. Although songs like “This Is What Happens” and the Mingus-inspired “Green And Orange Night Park” are also really strong songs, it’s really “Black Horse” that holds the torch as the album’s focal point.

It’s a sad thing that this album doesn’t get the recognition it deserves in modern society, for some reasons that are totally unknown to me, since it’s such a great record that is sure to entertain you for this whole ride through the experimentation of a genius’ mind.

by Jean-Guy