Alongside
their comtemporaries Spectrum, Tamam Shud, Blackfeather and The Aztecs, Kahvas
Jute spearheaded a new direction and indentity for Australian music. Their
album, and the single from it ("Free") are still regarded as among
the best Australian 'prog' releases of the period. The LP has long been a
prized collectors item both here and overseas, and happily it has been reissued
twice on CD, once by Festival in the late 1990s, and more recently in
expanded and remastered form by Aztec Music. It's a must-have for any serious
fan of Australian music.
Kahvas
Jute formed in June 1970, bringing together members of two leading Sydney
bands. Singer-guitarist Dennis Wilson was a seasoned player; he worked as a
session guitarist for Festival in the mid-60s, and had been a member of
beat-pop groups The Riddles, Kevin Bible & The Book (1966), The 9th Circle
(1968) and Barrington Davis & Powerpact (1966-68), where he teamed up with
bassist Bob Daisley, drummer Brain Boness and singer Barrington Davis. The
Powerpact track "Raining Teardrops" is included on Raven's seminal
Aussie garage/punk collection Ugly Things. Powerpact gradually
developed a harder style, and with the departure of Davis in late 1968, it
evolved into the well-regarded hard-rock group Mecca (1968-70),
which initially comprised Wilson, Daisley and drummer Robin Lewis. In early
1970 they added vocalist Clive Coulson, who had previously worked as road
manager for The Yardbirds, The Pretty Things and Led Zeppelin.
Mecca
released a single, "Black Sally" / "Side Street Man" on the
Festival label in March 1970; the A-side was included on Festival's So
You Wanna Be a Rock'n'roll Star? 3CD compilation, and was one of many
classic cuts recorded at Festival's legendary Studio A in Pyrmont. Mecca toured
New Zealand during the year, but Coulson left soon after the tour ended, having
been invited back to work for Led Zeppelin on a European tour.
After
Mecca dissolved in June, Wilson and Daisley formed a new band. By this time
Wilson was one of Australia's rising new guitar heroes and it's a measure of
his stature that he was able to poach both guitarist Tim Gaze and drummer
Dannie Davidson from top Sydney band Tamam Shud. Tim, who had
started off with the Sydney band Stonehenge, was something of a child prodigy,
having joined Shud at the end of 1969 (aged only 16!), where he replaced
original guitarist Alex 'Zac' Zytnic. Tim had been with Shud for about six
months, and was fresh from the recording of Shud's classic second LP Goolutionites
and the Real People when he quit to join Kahvas Jute. Dannie Davidson
had been with Shud from the beginning, having also been a member of Shud's
predecessors The Sunsets and The Four Strangers.
The
lineup was chock-a-block with talent -- the deft psychedelic/blues guitar
interplay and soaring vocals of Wilson and Gaze, Daisley and Davidson's
singularly powerful and skilful rhythm section (Daisley's bass playing is
superb and has been frequently and favourably compared to that of Jack Bruce).
To top it off they were armed with a full quiver of strong original songs,
written or co-written by the band members. Not suprisingly, this embarrassment
of musical riches immediately established Kahvas Jute as one of the top live
acts of the day, and they were snapped up for Festival's new progressive rock
subsidiary Infinity.
They
recorded the Wide Open LP at Festival Studios in Sydney with
renowned house producer Pat Aulton. According to
Dennis Wilson, the entire album was recorded and mixed in just three days,
which is rather ironic, because Dennis also revealed that one of the
'sweeteners' offered to the band when they signed was unlimited studio time!
The album was one of Infinity's inaugural releases when the label was launched
in January 1971.
Kahvas
Jute continued as a three-piece and after after a successful farewell
performance in June 1971 at the Arts Factory in Sydney, Wilson and Davidson
left to try their luck in the UK, hoping to capitalise on the very positive UK
reviews of the album. Bob Daisley didn't follow until July, so his place was temporarily
filled by Scott Maxey (ex-Nutwood Rug Band). They
played dates in London, but (typically) were unable to make any impression and
broke up within a short time. According to Who's Who of Australian Rock,
David O'List, former guitarist in The Nice, was a member, presumably at this
time, although no details are given.
Bob
Daisley stayed on in the UK and went on to work with many notable British acts
including Chicken Shack (1972-73), Mungo Jerry (1973), Rainbow (1977-78), Uriah
Heep (1982), Black Sabbath (1987-88) and Gary Moore (1985, 1989-90).
In 1973
Dennis Wilson was invited to front the classic Blow By Blow era
rhythm section from the Jeff Beck Group (Max Middleton, Bobby Tench and
Clive Chapman) but the project never eventuated, so he came back to
Australia and reformed Kahvas Jute in May that year with with Davidson and
Maxey. The group continued about a year, during which time they supported Bo Diddley
on his second Australian tour. Peter Roberts (ex-La De Das, Band Of Light, Band
Of Tabalene) replaced Maxey in March 1974, but in May '74 Kahvas Jute split for
good, and Wilson and Roberts (who switched to guitar) formed a new outfit
called Chariot.
Dannie
Davidson joined Band Of Light (1974)
and featured on their second LP The Archer, followed by stints in
Sky Pilot (1975), Huntress (1976), Steve Russell Blues Band and Peter Walls
Showband (1990).
Dennis
Wilson spent three years with Chariot, and worked and/or recorded with many
prominent Australian acts including Swanee, The Deltoids, Electric Pandas, Jump
Back Jack, Screaming Tribesmen and Olivia Newton-John.
Tim
Gaze rejoined Tamam Shud, where he stayed until they broke up in 1972. Tim and
Nigel Macara (his former bandmate from Stonehenge and the later lineups of
Tamam Shud) formed the shortlived Miss Universe, and then shifted to Melbourne,
where they worked briefly with Ross Wilson and Ross Hannaford on their
post-Daddy Cool project (which eventually became Mighty Kong. Next
came another short-term project, a power trio with bassist Steve Hogg,
from Bakery) before Gaze and
Macara joined the first lineup of Ariel. Tim remains one
of Australia's most respected and sought-after guitarists, and has worked in a
succession of fine bands, including the Tim Gaze Band and Rose Tattoo. Tim continues to write, record and produce from his
Sydney studio. He took part in the warmly-recieved Tamam Shud reunion in 1993-4
and contributed two excellent originals to their reunion album Permanent
Culture. He contributed to the solo album by singer Greg Page (The
Wiggles). in the late 1990s watchful Sydney-siders could catch Tim playing the
occasional gig live with his great band Tim Gaze and The Blues Doctors, which
included bassist Chris Bailey (The Angels, GangGajang) and Australia's patron
saint of harmonica Jim Conway (Captain Matchbox, Backsliders).
On 17 July 2005, Kahvas Jute -- with drummer
Mark Marriott, an experienced session player -- reformed for a
special performance gig at Sydney's The Basement. The concert was recorded
and filmed for a DVD release. The set list that night featured six tracks
from Wide Open, seven new songs, a cover of Cream’s
"Politician" plus an impromptu jam on the old Yardbirds number
"The Nazz are Blue" featuring guest vocalist Jimmy Barnes. In 2006
Aztec Music reissued Wide
Open in a special 6 panel digi-pak, with rare photos and
liner notes by Ian McFarlane, and five of the songs from the 2005 Basement
concert included as bonus tracks.
From Aztec Records:
As far as Australian progressive blue-rock touchstones
go, they don't come any better, and – well – more stoned than Kahvas Jute's
only album, 'Wide Open' (Infinity Records 1971) available previously only in
original form (to rich collectors), as iffy bootlegs on various European labels
(Little Wing of Refugees and the opportunistic Akarma among the offenders) or
on a badly mastered official reissue on the Festival label in 1993. Now for the
first time since release this great record can be enjoyed in a version
supervised by band front man Dennis Wilson. In fact, the sonics here are
probably an improvement on the original record, having more oomph and a warmer
sound than the LP. 1971
in Australia was a cusp year for Australian musicians, with flower-power giving
way to harder progressive rock, in many cases bands taking the progressive
blues coming out of the UK and USA as a reference point. Guitarist and vocalist
Dennis Wilson and bassist Bob Daisley (one of God's bass players, who went on
to international career with Rainbow, Ozzy Osbourne, Gary Moore, Uriah Heep,
Chicken Shack and many others) had cut their teeth in the Cream and Hendrix
influenced Mecca. They teamed up with ex-Tamam Shud members Dannie Davidson
(drums) and 16 year old guitar wunderkind Tim Gaze to form Kahvas Jute (Kahvas
a variant of kavvas – apparently Turkish police, and Jute fairly obviously from
the hemp-related plant).
At
its heart, 'Wide Open' is about social and artistic freedom. This is evident
from the gloriously structured melody and twin guitar gestalt of 'Free'.
Instead of the more clichéd route of trading licks, Wilson and Gaze were
technically skilled to the extent that genuine twin guitar parts could be
composed and played, both live and in the studio. Daisley's fat Jack Bruce
influenced basslines can now be heard at the correct Richter scale reading, and
they are perfectly complemented by Davidson's expansive drumming, forming a
rhythm section that rolls like thunder. With Wilson's Clapton-esque vocal,
'Odyssey' scratches their Cream itch nicely, but with the added dimension of
complex solos played in perfect unison. 'Up There' is one of two Gaze
compositions, and he makes the most of it with complex and jazzy structures
that hark back to Tamam Shud.
'She's So Hard to Shake' is full-tilt hard rock,
but with oblique chord changes taking it out of the ordinary, as well as some
totally gone bass from Daisley giving it enough propulsion to easily reach
escape velocity. 'Vikings' dials things back to a ballad which traverses the
road from delicate acoustic work to fine electric soloing, but it seems a
little dated now. Probably a case of it being too close to its influences.
Davidson contributes the surprisingly great 'Steps of Time' - it's a fine slice
of Australian progressive folk-rock and not just a token drummer's
contribution. The more you play the album, the more this track becomes a
favourite. Gaze's 'Twenty Three' is typically classy, and Daisley's elegant
'Ascend' forms a fine on-ramp to the album's blazing apotheosis, the 10 minute
'Parade of Fools' on which all the guitar stops are pulled out for a full band
workout that is clearly born of the live Jute experience but is nonetheless a
fine document even in this constrained studio version.
There
are five bonus tracks from a blazing reunion gig live at Sydney's Basement club
in 2005 that is now available in full as a DVD/CD set. Suffice to say that the
band has lost none of its potency, and you are back in the day if you close you
eyes. A cover of Cream's 'Politician' joins key tracks from the album 'She's So
Hard to Shake', 'Ascend/Ascension' and 'Parade of Fools'. New compositions are
saved for the subsequent DVD release (and they're every bit as good as the
tracks on 'Wide Open'). As always from
Aztec, nothing is spared on the packaging and liner notes. (Tony Dale)
Members:
◉ Bob Daisley (bass) 1970-71
◉ Dannie Davidson (drums) 1970-71, 1973-74
◉ Tim Gaze (guitar/vocals) 1970-71
◉ Scott Maxey (bass) 1971, 1973-74
◉ David O'List (guitar) 1971 *UK only
◉ Peter Roberts (bass) 1974
◉ Dennis Wilson (guitar/vocals) 1970-71, 1973-74
Wide Open (Infinity SINL-934030) 1971
01. "Free" (Wilson)
02. "Odyssey"
03. "Up There" (Gaze-Davidson)
04. "She's So Hard to Shake" (Wilson)
05. "Vikings" (Wilson)
06. "Steps of Time" (Davidson)
07. "Twenty Three" (Gaze)
08. "Ascend" (Daisley)
09. "Parade of Fools" (Wilson)
Bonus 2005 live tracks on Aztec reissue:
10. "Politician" (Bruce-Brown)
11. "She’s So Hard To Shake"
12. "Ascend"
13. "Ascension"
14. "Parade Of Fools"
Kahvas Jute - Live at The Basement (Live & Studio) 2005
The Quickening - Live & Studio 2005
01. Somebody Do Something - 5.20
02. Could Be Anyone - 3.08
03. The Quickening - 4.44
04. What Have I Done To Deserve This - 3.41
05. The Blues Just Got Sadder - 4.09
06. Ain´t No Pleasing You - 3.55
07. Somebody Do Something (Live) - 5.58
08. Could Be Anyone (Live) - 3.29
09. The Quickening (Live) - 5.10
10. What Have I Done To Deserve This (Live) - 3.48
11. The Blues Just Got Sadder (Live) - 4.51
12. Ain´t No Pleasing You (Live) - 4.01
Then Again - Live at The Basement 2005
01. Intro
02. Free
03. Ain´t No Pleasing You
04. Somebody Do Something
05. She´s So Hard to Shake
06. What Have I Done to Deserve This
07. Ascend
08. Ascension
09. The Quickening
10. Vikings
11. Could Be Anyone
12. The Blues Just Got Sadder
13. Parade of Fools
14. Politician
15. End Credits
16. The Nazz Are Blue (Bonus)
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