Reflections On Gil

1983, the unlikely venue is Kensington's Commonwealth Institute, that uneasy monument to Britain's colonial past playing host to a Black American whose father played football for Celtic. The Midnight Band are late on stage, and a sweet herbal scent wafts from the stage entrance. Eventually they amble on relaxed and smiling, and then bam! In their pomp they were as elastic and fluid across jazz, funk and latin ryhthms as any to have graced a stage. That beautiful tension between lyrical groove and visceral power was a reflection of their leader's personality, as amenable, charming, and good humoured as he could be, Gil Scott Heron never failed to pack a punch. That night we were treated, blessed, exalted by an artist at the very top of his game backed by musicians who were similarly on top of theirs, it's a performance that lingers in my mind, a benchmark of all the things great music can be.

It's not just immense sadness I feel at the passing of Gil Scott Heron but an awareness of the huge chasm that's left from his departure, a void that can never be filled. His honeyed baritone and acerbic lyrics took us on a journey into the dark heart of America with insight, humour and compassion, his music will live on, but for the moment it can only serve as a reminder of our great loss. Somehow a world without Gil feels like an empty place.

When Gil returned to recording with " I'm New Here" last year I was hoping that one of our most important voices would be with us for years to come to grace us with his wit and wisdom through his dotage, his demons laid to rest. However after years of drug abuse and apparently HIV positive, Gil was doomed to make an early exit. It always seemed like a particularly painful irony that the man who wrote "The Bottle" and "Home Is Where The Hatred Is" was battling with such darkness. Yet no matter what, it was alright, Gil was out there somewhere, even during his twilight years, even through imprisonment, I could never give up on him. That he became a victim of the very kind of blight he railed against in those songs didn't make him a hypocrite, it somehow made his humanity seem even greater, especially when you listen to how humbly and honestly he documents his inner struggles on those last recordings. The truth is that Scott Heron's music was always an invocation of empowerment and engagement, and the bold optimism of "It's Your World " was as much the essence of his message as his angrier political pieces. That drugs stifled his political insight and commentary, and repressed his joyous spirit represents further testimony to the fact that America usually finds a way of killing it's detractors, somehow!

Perhaps one anecdote I remember hearing a sums up the tragedy of Gil Scott Heron. The band had been booked for a gig but had turned up on the date minus their leader who had obviously gone AWOL on a another binge, without Gil the gig was obviously cancelled. However the man himself showed up a couple of days later, somewhat batttered, but still keen to perform. With just a trusty Fender Rhodes to accompany himself, Scott Heron played for six hours that night, reaching a truly transcendent moment as he sang his beautiful " Beginnings (First Minute Of A New Day)" as the first rays peeped through the blinds. Despite everything his abilities as a performer remained undiminished, his spirit, the music and the message always coming through. Even from the depths of his own darkness Gil could shine a light with words and music, delivered by that voice which even after being ravished by the crack pipe could still weave it's magic.

Even though his career was curtailed by his problems, Gil Scott Heron's recorded legacy is just so immense, hopefully in years to come his contribution will be truly recognised. It's so glib to cite him as " the godfather of rap" and focus on " The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" as the epitomy of his oeuvre. Yes, along with the Last Poets, Gil created the blueprint. However it's the way in which Scott Heron's work effortlessly weaves together different strands of black music with political nous and savage insight that makes him such a unique and important artist. At the time when Gil was "discovered" by the legendary Bob Thiele at the dawn of the seventies, the black music scene was in transition, Miles was going electric and the funk of James Brown and Sly Stone was beginning to dominate, the political mood was still reeling from the riots and assassinations that had sounded the death knell of sixties optimism. The young Scott Heron , a literature major with natural musicality and an unusual background was well equipped to make his mark.

Following the release of his first poetry and percussion album "Small Talk At 125th And Lenox" on Thiele's Flying Dutchman label Gil and his creative partner, pianist Brian Jackson, were due to record for the Coltrane producer again. The story goes that they were totally freaked out when their request for Bernard Purdie and Ron Carter as their rhythm section was met by Thiele for the sessions that would become their first proper album, 1971's "Pieces Of A Man". With Thiele producing, and arranger/conductor Johnny Pate (Shaft In Africa) only credited as conductor but presumably having some hand in the arrangements and production, it's not surprising that this set came together so brilliantly. I get the impression that the canny Thiele did everything to ensure that the material would be given every chance to shine, so with Purdie's impeccable back-beats and shuffles underpinning proceedings, Carter's sinuous bass lines weaving and prodding and Hubert Laws adding beautiful embellishment around Gil's voice it's a delight from start to finish. Considering how young Gil was, the writing is incredibly mature, ( he always sounded older and wiser!), with some stone cold classics in the shape of "Lady Day And John Coltrane", "Home Is Where The Hatred Is", " Pieces Of A Man" "I Think I'll Call It Morning" and my personal favourite " The Needles Eye", not forgetting the quintessential version of "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised". What a mission statement! It seems slightly weird to say that this album represents a watershed in the evolution of black music, Gil was not the only artist seeking to create a homogeneous blend of jazz and soul underpinned by the new funk, however nobody else was doing it as naturally or had as much to say. He was the right man at the right time, with "Pieces Of A Man" Scott Heron had created a record which would remain deeply significant. As his career developed through the seventies he was able to further broaden his canvas both musically and lyrically with Brian Jackson and the first incarnation of his Midnight Band. However their self produced albums tend to sound a little flat compared to the crisp simplicity of "Pieces". Though the catchy funk of "Johannesburg" helped to keep his career buoyant in 75, this period is best captured on the great live set "It's Your World" from the following year, with it's inspirational title track and extended work-outs on "The Bottle" and "Home Is Where The Hatred Is" with afro-latin percussion now an impressive feature.However Scott Heron's recording career was to receive another boost, by hooking up with Malcom Cecil, the English producer and engineer who (with Robert Magaloueff) had nurtured and sonically sculpted Stevie's greatest work. First turning up as engineer and programmer on 77's "Bridges",with Cecil, Gil would have another collaborator on board capable of helping him deliver the recordings at the highest level. From 78's "Secrets" through to Gil's last album for Arista 82's Moving Target, Cecil ensured a sonic excellence and classy production. On "Secrets" Cecil uses the same blend of synth bass and live drums that had worked so well with Stevie, reminiscent of Innervisions' "Jesus Children Of America", " Angola Louisiana" features Harvey Mason on drums and the kind of wonderful squelchy rolling synth bass that Cecil is the unparalleled master of. Genius. On the later albums Cecil concentrates on capturing the group sound, the later incarnation of The Midnight Band now prominently featuring Robert Gordon's popping slapped Alembic bass, and anchored by the lilting groove of Kenny Powell's drums. A great rhythm section that Cecil records beautifully! The greatest example of this, and in my opinion the last great album Gil made is 81's "Reflections", a record I fell in love with and played incessantly on it's release.

Opening with Gil's reggae tribute "Storm Music", with it's gorgeous harmonica and horn parts, the mood is set perfectly with Gil sounding simultaneously strident and joyous, it's a perfect Scott Heron song which signals from the offset that somehow he's gathered his powers in a more concentrated way, there's an intense focus in the writing and delivery that builds through the album. Next up he takes on Bill Wither's Grandma's Hands and totally makes it his own, Gil's own grandmother had largely brought him up, and the sentiment is truly heartfelt. " Is That Jazz?" follows in the vein of " Lady Day And John Coltrane", another homage to his inspiration and the redemptive power of the music, this time he name checks all the greats!! Side one closes with "Morning Thoughts", opening with the line " the sweet smell of my lady's love", only Gil could make it sound so right! It's another of his morning songs, the tender seam that permeates his work contrasting the stark reality of the more political material. Side two has no such levity, focussing hard on his chosen subject, America, Gil delivers twenty minutes of seering analysis and commentary. Kicking off with the a reappraisal of Marvin's "Inner City Blues", Gil seems to be saying it's ten years on and this shit ain't changed a bit! Delivering his poem "The Siege Of New Orleans", Gil initially extrapolates (brutally and beautifully) on Marvin's theme before dipping into the saga of Mark Essex, a honky hating, cop shooting gunman. Aptly following on comes "Gun", gangsterism, America's paranoid mindset, and the gun culture neatly packed into three minutes of lightly skipping funk! The epic, no pun intended, "B-Movie" closes the album, it's an awesome piece of poetry delivered over Gordon's stuttering angry bass that never relents in it's scathing satire, Reagan dismissed absolutely, America utterly condemned, Gil walking a tightrope between humour and despair.

It sums up Gil Scott Heron the man and his music, it's like a dark chuckle.