Normalology
(Koch Jazz KOC-CD-7884)
The CD "Normalolgy" was originally released in 1997 on a small
Chicago label named Eighth Day Records. At the time I didn't think that
The Microscopic
Septete would ever perform or record again, and I thought it a shame
that these pieces would never be heard by any but the notorious "cult
following" of the Micros.
So I gathered a group composed of the people I was then working with in
my group, Big Trouble, and ex-Micros, and recorded some of them for
this record. Unfortunately,
the record company went out of business almost as soon as the record
came out, so, while we got some good reviews, the record virtually
never saw the inside of a record store.
It has mostly remained a rumor until now, when Koch Jazz has generously
consented to release it, to my great happiness. My only regret is that
there are still gazillions of amazing Joel Forrester pieces from the
Micros days that remain unrecorded. My hope is that someday that will
be rectified.
"Saxophonist/composer Phillip Johnston's music
embodies all that's good
about jazz. It's honest, original, and inspired, above and beyond the
typical. It's also some of the smartest and best-humored music to have
found a home under the jazz banner."
- Chris Kelsey, Jazziz, Jan '98
"Fans of the long-gone Microscopic Septet will
certainly be familiar with the jaunty tone and delightful ensemble
playing of the latest solo outing by former Micro leader, Phillip
JohnstonThe product of a charmingly peculiar mind, Normalology fits
unsquarely in a playful jazz tradition that includes Monk,Raymond Scott
and even a trace of the Crusaders."
- Derk Richardson, San Francisco Bay Guardian, Feb '98
"Readers familiar with soprano sax player Phillip
Johnston's memorable music
with the Microscopic Sextet and subsequent Big Trouble project can
expect
comparable charm and scope on "Normalology.""
- David Lewis, Cadence Magazine, November, 1997