Jimmy Lyons

2016 release. A reissue of Jimmy Lyons's Push Pull, originally released on Hat Hut Records in 1979. Long known as Cecil Taylor's most reliable and loyal colleague, alto saxophonist Jimmy Lyons has a select discography as a leader, and among its best entries is Push Pull, originally issued by Hat Hut Records as a massive three LP set. Recorded during a single marathon performance at the Collective for Living Cinema in New York in 1978, Push Pull features five extended pieces, all by Lyons, with his working quintet that included his wife Karen Borca on bassoon, Hayes Burnett on bass, Munner Bernard Fennell on cello, and Roger Blank on drums. Jolting, quicksilver free jazz with terse themes and brilliant interplay, the music is quintessential Lyons -- searching, pliant, and sincere. Remastered from the original tapes, this first reissue of Push Pull compiles the original tracks -- two of which were split to accommodate the 20-minute limit of LP -- into their original full-length, fitting the whole program onto two CDs, lovingly repackaged featuring the original Klaus Baumgärtner cover. Recorded by Karen Borca on May 6, 1978 at the Collective for Living Cinema in New York. Photos by Ken Brunton and H.L. Lindenmaier; Cover by Klaus Baumgärtner. Remastered at Experimental Sound Studio, Chicago, 2015; Tapes transferred at Chicago Mastering Service, 2015; Reissue produced by John Corbett.