“Azimuth” really is a high spot for contemporary creative music, even within the realms of ECM itself.
A haunting, penetrating blend of slow-paced urgency. An intimate yet boundless album, “Azimuth” could well become a landmark…
Album Tracking, 1977
Hervorragend. Wörter wie endlos, schwebend, schweifend kommen eine beim Hören dieser eigenartig schönen, besänftigenden Musik in den Sinn.
Manfred Sack, Die Zeit, 1977
This trio has obviously worked long and hard to create for its members a new viewpoint. The result is provocative and entirely successful, whether one judges it by the excellence of Taylor’s soloing or by the overall sense… The elements of Azimuth are perfectly attuned. They would count for little, however, without the careful structures provided by Taylor. This album may be the first sign of his evolution into a genuinely important composer: behind its graceful flowing beauty lies a spirit of inquiry which will surely lead further.
Richard Wright, Melody Maker, 1977
John Taylor, der bisher fast ausschließlich auf dem elektrischen Piano zu hören war, hat zum Flügel zurückgefunden. Das ist ein Gewinn: Sein gepflegter Anschlag kommt nun richtig zur Geltung und verleiht, frei von Effekthascherei, seinen Kompositionen einen kammermusikalischen Touch, der den Liedern mit und ohne Worte gut ansteht. Die bald ätherisch-helle, bald neblig-trübe, bald rauchig-dunkle Stimme Norma Winstones mischt sich, konsequent instrumental eingesetzt, so gut mit Kenny Wheelers verhalten geblasenem Flügelhorn, dass man gelegentlich Mühe hat, beide zu unterscheiden.
Peter Steder, Audio, 1977
This is yet another album perfectly representative of ECM’s recording policy and, I suppose, of Manfred Eicher’s personal convictions and tastes. Eicher, it seems, strictly follows his artistic credo, rather than the latest fashionable trends and market surveys. “Azimuth” is an album which is as well thought out and composed, as it is performed. An extremely homogeneous music, based above all on harmonic coloring and the use of a specific mood. All three featured musicians have done a splendid job in regard to both their performance and creative inspiration. This album is very interesting and deserves to be commended.
Andrzej Trzaskowski, Record Reviews, 1977
Mühelos lässt Norma Winstone ihre Stimme über den ganzen Bereich der Tonskala schwirren, gibt den einzelnen Tönen emotionale Tiefe und sinnlichen Gehalt. „Azimuth“ verbindet kunstvoll grandiose Technik mit musikalischer Wärme, nicht Greifbares mit Emotion, Ästhetik mit musikalischem Tiefgang.
Stereo, 1977
This programme of John Taylor compositions is all of a piece, beautifully realized and typified by Norma Winstone’s lyric on “Jacob”: “gently swaying flowers, cool hypnotic beauty”. There’s a great sense of space in which amplitude and focus are regulated to a nicety. A considerable achievement…
Jazz Journal International, 1977
