Rabble Without A Cause, April 24: Invisible Roots at 50; the Eric Stach story, part 1
50 years ago this week, the London Experimental Jazz Quartet recorded Invisible Roots
On April 23, 1974, four musicians recorded an avant garde classic in a studio in London, Ontario. For many years, the album Invisible Roots, was what vinyl collectors term “a white whale” - and selling for upwards of 100 dollars. Fortunately for the rest of us, the album was reissued in 2021 and is now also available as a digital download.
The London Experimental Jazz Quartet (LEJQ) was a little known band from London, Ontario. The driving force behind the band was Eric Stach.
Eric Stach came to London in 1966. He reports that he fell under the influence of the Nihilist Spasm Band shortly after arriving and hearing them play at the York Hotel, “soon to fall hopelessly into the depths of free improvisation music”. Here’s a live recording of the Nihilist Spasm Band at the York Hotel, in 1969:
After Stach formed the LEJQ in 1971, they toured Norway, Denmark and Sweden in the fall of 1973. On April 23, 1974, they recorded Invisible Roots. Reportedly, it was a largely improvised affair. The quartet was:
Eric Stach: soprano and alto sax, wood flute
Gerry Van de Kamp: electric bass
Gregg Dechert: piano, vocals
Randy Coryell: drums
The other musicians on the album were:
Erna Van Daele: cello, flute
Ron Martin: alto sax (on Ron Martin Special)
Peter Denny: vibes, bass sax
Invisible Roots … is an overlooked jewel from the Canadian underground jazz scene. Inspired by the exciting possibilities of completely free music, it is an album of potent spontaneous composition exhibiting both fiery unharnessed blowing alongside lyrical streams of consciousness music. …
James Pianta (from the liner notes to the reissued vinyl)
On the show, we will hear the following tracks: “Time Is Of The Essence”; “My Dog’s Tail is Longer Than Yours”; “Spain Is For Old Ladies”; “Eric’s Madness” and “Destroy the Nihilist Picnic”.
The following year, the quartet recorded another album — Fruit From Another Garden, under Eric Stach’s name. This is a difficult-to-find Radio Canada International album, and one hopes that CBC might license it for an overdue reissue. You can listen online to the whole album. Eric Stach kindly provided me with a CD of the release, and I will feature “Love Sonnet to a Magenta Maiden” on the show. Stach wrote in the liner notes about the music on this album:
The music in this album is a completely spontaneous "stream of consciousness" music. I intentionally refrained from providing any musical guidelines for the other musicians - nor did I wish to impress my personal feelings or mood(s) upon the others. In fact I avoided any discussion whatsoever about the kind of music which might ensue. I wanted each musician to approach the session in his own terms completely - an open creative process, nurtured in and flowing from within the self.
The music resulted from one long continuous session with no editing whatsoever. Nature follows its own course, free and uninterrupted, and this is how I wanted the music to be.
The streaming version of Invisible Roots also contains a previously unreleased track from that 1975 session, “The Potential of Something Exquisite”.
Erich Stach self-released a CD of the unreleased recordings from the 1975 session in 2011 (“Fruit From Another Garden, vol. 2”). Eric Stach kindly provided me with the CD and I will be playing “Somewhere Purple and Silent”.
After his stint with the LEJQ, Gregg Dechert (piano) played briefly with Uriah Heep, Bad Company, and guests on The Dream Academy’s debut album (from 1985). He has also recorded and performed with David Gilmour.
Erna Van Daele (cello, flute and vibes on Invisible Roots) went on to be the founding conductor of the Kitchener-Waterloo Orchestra in 1979. She was a music professor at the University of Waterloo and was involved with a number of community orchestras in southern Ontario.
Peter Denny (vibes and bass sax on Invisible Roots) recently passed away at the age of 90 (on January 14, 2024). He had spent his career as a psychology professor at Western University, but maintained an interest in music. He was one of the musicians in the Greg Curnoe picture, Camouflauged Piano or French Roundels (1965-66).
The LEJQ was short-lived, and broke up in 1976. But Eric Stach continued to perform and record. He has kindly provided me with a range of his recordings - and I will feature some of that music on an upcoming Part 2 of the Eric Stach story.
I would like to acknowledge the assistance of Catherine Morrisey and The Embassy Cultural House in London, Ontario, in facilitating access to the music and the story of the LEJQ for this show.
You can listen to the show on April 24 at 11 p.m. (EST) on 93.1 FM or online. Shortly after broadcast, it will be available for on demand streaming.