The Touchstone (album) - Misplaced Pages

The Touchstone is the second album by British jazz trio Azimuth, recorded in June 1978 and released on ECM the following year. The trio features trumpeter Kenny Wheeler, vocalist Norma Winstone, and pianist John Taylor.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
The Penguin Guide to Jazz

The AllMusic review by Michael G. Nastos describes The Touchstone as an "atmospheric recording".

The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings calls the album "perhaps the group's masterpiece, combining jazz, classical and contemporary composition, and sheer sound in a mix that is as invigorating as it is thought-provoking", singling out "See" as "glorious."

Tyran Grillo, writing for ECM blog Between Sound and Space, called the album "the group’s most enigmatic", commenting: "This is an elusive set... filled with quiet, seething power, but also one that builds its nests comfortably over our heads. It can only fly, because it knows no other way to travel."

Track listing

All tracks are written by John Taylor

Side I
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Eulogy"	10:26
2.	"Silver"	6:30
3.	"Mayday"	5:31

Side II
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Jero"	6:21
2.	"Prelude"	5:37
3.	"See"	10:46

Personnel

Azimuth

John Taylor – piano, organ
Kenny Wheeler – trumpet, flugelhorn
Norma Winstone – vocals

References

ECM discography accessed September 13, 2011
^ Nastos, M. G. AllMusic Review accessed September 13, 2011
Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (1992). The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, LP and Cassette. Penguin Books. p. 48.
Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (1998). The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD. Penguin Books. p. 69.
Grillo, Tyran (November 30, 2010). "Azimuth". Between Sound and Space. Retrieved April 23, 2022.

v t e Azimuth
Years given are for the recording(s), not first release, unless stated otherwise. Norma Winstone John Taylor Kenny Wheeler
Albums	Azimuth (1977) The Touchstone (1978) Départ (1979) Azimuth '85 (1985) How It Was Then... Never Again (1994)

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