Before he was a member of King Crimson Mel Collins was part of an outfit called Circus. Their one and only 1969 release, Circus, has just been reissued by Esoteric Recordings and contains an interview conducted in May 2009 with Mel about his time with the band.
You can get the album direct from Esoteric’s website.
Well known for extensive improvisations around rock-based cover material that borrowed heavily from jazz phrasing and vocabulary, it was not uncommon for Circus’ version of The Beatles’ Norwegian Wood to last 20 minutes or more.
This mix of jazz and pop attracted plaudits from some heavyweight makers and shakers in the arts world, notably The Sunday Times respected critic, Derek Jewell.
In a review of the band in concert which was subsequently lifted to become the original sleeve notes, Jewell opined "Circus were revealed as musicians of poise and imagination, especially their flautist, Mel Collins, whose range - from cool neo-classicism to a wild Herbie Mann sound -bore the imprint of his years of professional study."
The band folded when Mel quit to become a member of King Crimson in 1970.
You can read an extract of some of the unused interview material with Mel Collins where he talks about the early part of his pre-Crim career over on the blog.
You can get the album direct from Esoteric’s website.
Well known for extensive improvisations around rock-based cover material that borrowed heavily from jazz phrasing and vocabulary, it was not uncommon for Circus’ version of The Beatles’ Norwegian Wood to last 20 minutes or more.
This mix of jazz and pop attracted plaudits from some heavyweight makers and shakers in the arts world, notably The Sunday Times respected critic, Derek Jewell.
In a review of the band in concert which was subsequently lifted to become the original sleeve notes, Jewell opined "Circus were revealed as musicians of poise and imagination, especially their flautist, Mel Collins, whose range - from cool neo-classicism to a wild Herbie Mann sound -bore the imprint of his years of professional study."
The band folded when Mel quit to become a member of King Crimson in 1970.
You can read an extract of some of the unused interview material with Mel Collins where he talks about the early part of his pre-Crim career over on the blog.
