Turning Point ‎– Creatures Of The Night (1977, LP, England)

Tracklist:
1. My Lady C (5:24)
2. The Journey (5:43)
3. Vanishing Dream (4:16)
4. Creatures Of The Night (5:59)
5. Princess Aura (8:28)
6. Rain Dance (7:29)
7. Better Days (7:23)

Musicians:
Pepi Lemer / voice
Brian Miller / acoustic & electric pianos, synth
Dave Tidball / tenor & soprano saxes
Jeff Clyne / bass
Paul Robinson / drums, percussion



Turning Point Creatures of the Night / Silent Promise

What sweet music they make!

Jaco Pastorius’ arrival on the international stage had a profound impact on the UK jazz rock scene. Suddenly, it wasn’t enough for bassists to dutifully lay down the foundations of a piece. They had to be in the spotlight, peppering runs with spicy harmonics or beefing up their instrument to sound like a trombone sliding through molasses.

Having spent years on the bandstand backing others since the late ‘50s, Jeff Clyne, picked up the gauntlet thrown down by Jaco’s ascendency, not by running his fingers up the fretboard as fast as he could but by forming a group to promote his own writing.

Capitalising on the brief but welcome wave of interest in jazz-rock created in the wake of Weather Report’s Heavy Weather, Turning Point signed to Pye’s Gull label, delivering two albums: Creatures of the Night(1977) and Silent Promise (1978).

The music they produced was engaging and inventive with compositions that were as elegant as they were muscular with Clyne’s bass well to the fore, as was de rigueur for the times, underpinned by Paul Robinson’s firm, unfussy drumming.

Whilst these albums showcase the playing and writing talents of both Clyne and his ex-Isotope colleague, Brian Miller (whose surging, rhapsodic acoustic piano runs on The Journey remind us what a passionate player he could be), the biggest surprise comes from sax player, Dave Tidball. His playing is clean and strong throughout, creating fiery sparks across both records. He wasn’t a bad composer either, as Vanishing Dream from Creatures... proves.

After the frenetic synthi-mayhem and screwy Zappa-like orchestrations of the intro, Tidball’s tenor sax really shines during its slow-building postscript; contemplative, moving carefully into soaring unison parts with Pepi Lemer’s keening vocals.

Unlike Pacific Eardrum, where vocalist Joy Yates scatted and sang in equal measure, Lemer’s role in Turning Point was essentially timbral. There are no Flora Purim-style solo spots and whilst her place in the mix is subtle, there’s also a sense she’s under-used in certain parts.

Although the debt to Weather Report is undeniable and occasionally gets in the way,(Better Days from Creatures... is essentially a re-run of Zawinul’s Black Market tune, Gibraltar), both records bubble with a sparring talent.

Whilst Clyne (who died in 2009) will always be best remembered for his solid work within Nucleus, Isotope or the deftness of his acoustic playing on Stan Tracey’s Under Milk Wood, the warmth and gutsy spirit in Turning Point’s music shouldn’t be neglected either. (Sid Smith)