ROCKEY, LEE - Music

"destijl is pleased to present the first archival digs into the wondrous world of lee rockey. \r\nlee was a hardswinging jazzbo who had mastered the modern style by 46, and became known as one of the vancouver whiz kids. he went to the city in 53, jammed with neil hefti, and appeared on the first few herbie mann recs ( plays bethlehem BCP-58, east coast jazz / 4 bethlehem BCP-1018). upon his left coast return, he began developing his own sound / style, with an intent of transcending traditional musical forms / expectations. \r\nju suk reet meate caught one of his performances in early 76, and lee became a figure of big inspiration. hed eventually invite lee to play on a few early smegma recs. aside from a few record booth lathes cut in the 40s / 50s, this is his first solo release. \r\non first spin there are a few brief moments when the sounds of toshi ichiyanagi come to mind, but these sounds inhabit a universe that is entirely that of lee rockey. tho the pieces contained on this rec were recorded from the yrs 59 to 73, they own a keen third eye prescience that portends the likes of c spencer yeh and axolotl. \r\nthis is far / away the most modern sounding rec to ever brandish the destijl logo, and youll scratch yr head until the kingdom comes.. - Destijl. \r\n"Portland oregon, art museum, early 1976. in the auditorium, drums /\r\nelectic violin / and cello played thru an echoplex, a 4 channel tape\r\ndeck was playing pre -recorded electronic skronks, flutes, and off\r\nspeed voices, dancers were holding video cameras, connected to a paik\r\nvideo synth that was creating a live video projection. The music was\r\ncrazed, scary and funny and beautiful. of all the live shows Ive\r\nseen, this one stands out.\r\nThe man behind all this was Lee Rockey. 1926 -2002. this was the\r\nsecond (and last) of his full blown personal music / art world\r\nperformances. A few months later I saw lee on drums with Kenneith\r\nRexroth poetry and jazz. after that lee mostly played at home and a\r\nfew low key gigs in town.\r\nLee rockey was a hardswinging jazz drummer who mastered the modern\r\nstyle by 1946 and became known as one of the Vancouver whiz kids. Went\r\nto NYC in 1953, worked and recorded with neil hefty and herbie mann\r\nlater moving back to Portland and playing with the top modern jazz\r\nartists. He was also developing his own music and painting style and\r\nappeared on a few smegma records. this record (his first solo release)\r\nis from 7 inch reel tapes recorded mostly early 1960s, early 1970s\r\nwith lee on home made electronics loops, horns, violin, cello, drums,\r\nbells, and poss dick Knudsen on cello." -Ju Suk Reet Meate / Smegma,\r\nPortland OR 2006.