Suite for Johnny Dyani

“It’s an extraordinary 51 minutes of seamless music—powerful, multi-hued stuff, with the gravitas of a requiem.” Read review by James Beaudreau at One Final Note at http://www.onefinalnote.com/reviews/s/stevens-john/fast-colour.asp August 2005
Also read Ken Waxman’s review at: http://www.jazzweekly.com/reviews/nstephens_live@plough.htm

The 6 pieces here form a suite dedicated to South African bassist Johnny Mbizo Dyani, on this occasion played segue to form a set. John always had Dudu in mind when writing this material and here, I think, he plays better than I ever heard him. I occasionally played in Dudu’s group Zila and a few months before his untimely death Dudu and I formed a duo in which he also played piano. We had a fairly regular gig in a bar/restaurant in Soho and people would often get up in the middle of their meal to dance around the tables.
Fast Colour played most gigs as a quintet, this was one of the first opportunities to add South African vocalist Pinise Saul and Evan Parker.
Unfortunately Fast Colour was one of the few groups that John Stevens put together that never got into the recording studio so this is the first opportunity for all but those who managed to get to a gig to hear this group.
Recorded from the desk to cassette tape.
Digitised and mastered by Nick Stephens.