Listen & tracks

2 of 31 tracks have a preview · 22 works · 99:42

1 Propter’s Nicodemus Pills John Sangster 3:20
2 The Owl and the Pussy-cat John Sangster 5:05
3 The Akond of Swat John Sangster 3:00
4 The Pobble Who Has No Toes John Sangster 5:37
5 The Yonghy Bonghy Bo John Sangster 5:30
6 The Heraldic Blazon of Foss the Cat John Sangster 3:49
7 The Runcible Hat John Sangster 5:35
8 The Jumblies John Sangster 5:24
9 The Beautiful Pea Green Boat John Sangster 3:29
10 Gosky Patties John Sangster 5:43
11 Mr and Mrs Discobbolos John Sangster 3:53
201 Incidents in the Life of My Uncle Arly John Sangster 4:41
202 Phits of Coffin John Sangster 2:21
203 The Cummerbund John Sangster 7:33
204 The Omblomphious Dolomphious Ptilinorhynchus John Sangster 2:44
205 The Diaphanous Doorscraper John Sangster 4:46
206 Mary Squeen of Cots John Sangster 3:37
207 The Otion Blue John Sangster 6:25
208 The Dong with a Luminous Nose John Sangster 6:46
209 Learizing John Sangster 3:25
210 The Quangle Wangle’s Hat John Sangster 2:42
211 The Co-Operative Cauliflower John Sangster 4:17

The eight word-pieces sit inside a wider programme of instrumental excursions whose titles and ideas come from Lear’s Nonsense Books (the first published in 1846). Sangster’s settings trade in quotes, mis-quotes, puns and musical spoonerisms, scored for a large band of Australian jazz players around his own vibraphone, marimba and percussion.

The original double LP appeared in 1980 on Rainforest Records Australia (RF LP001), after sessions at EMI’s Sydney studios in 1978. Move’s reissue restores that only double album Sangster made outside his Lord of the Rings cycle, with the spoken Lear texts still carried by Ivan Smith’s measured delivery.

In the artist’s words

From the enjoyment of and love for his works comes this Uttered Nonsense. Nonsense-Music. Goodness knows there’s not much of it about. Things being what they are nowadays. Nonsense-Music I guess should be at the same time provocative, silly, amusing, curious, thought-provoking, complex and direct, full of quotes and mis-quotes, puns, malapropisms, musical spoonerisms, tightropes negotiated and bear-traps set up and then avoided, satisfying, adroit, nimble, fanciful, and above all entertaining and jolly.

I think we made it.

— John Sangster

Reviews

Sangster’s only double album outside of his ‘Lord of the Rings’ series, and a rather more ambitious effort. In the words of the album’s cover: Eight works of Mr. Edward Lear, spoken with the utmost gravity by Mr. Ivan Smith, and set to music of the most nonsensical nature by John Sangster. That’s what I mean when I say ambitious! The music has Sangster’s signature sparseness, reminiscent of his ‘Lord of the Rings’ albums, even ‘Ahead of Hair’, but with a much more Modern sound. Doug Gallagher’s on drums and Tony Gould plays piano, and there’s a long list of more notable jazz musicians on the inside cover. I really dig the funky vibes and sitar interplay on ‘The Akond of Swat’. There’s also a great breezy funk vibe on ‘Incidents in the Life of Uncle Arly’, before the poetry interrupts the mood. That’s not always the case though. A great listen throughout.

— DJ Kinetic

As the master jester Nabokov wrote, everything good in life – love, nature, the arts – is play. John Sangster was an innocent in that best sense, and this music is play in the best sense. Sangster’s instrument of choice is the vibraphone, an instrument based on the xylophone of which the toy version is often the first instrument of childhood. But on these documents, Sangster’s composition, arrangement and conducting skills assume prominence. I’m a nostalgic fan of Lear as my best man read his The Owl and The Pussycat at my wedding. There is a considerable range of sounds in the programme of 22 compositions, including trios, quartets, overdubbing, and natural sounds. The music called “jazz” had been seriously marginalised and it is testament to Sangster’s musical vision that he never succumbed to the zeitgeist and focussed on his own highly individual and playful and entertaining art.

— Ian Muldoon, Music Trust Loudmouth

On these CDs both he and John Sangster and his players seem to have made connections for everybody. Uttered Nonsense is a collector’s item.

— Margaret McNamara, 4MBS website

Anyone lucky enough to have made music with John Sangster will likely refer to him as a creative genius. He certainly was that in my view and much more. His compositions, his humour and general attitude towards life were inspirational. This collection demonstrates all these qualities to be sure. It is a collector’s item and one which will give great listening pleasure for a very long time.

— Tony Gould

Artists

John Sangster

vibraphone, marimba, glockenspiel, swannee-whistle, piano, celeste, percussion

John Sangster (1928–1995) was an Australian jazz composer, arranger and multi-instrumentalist whose work stretched from traditional jazz and film scores to large-scale suites of uncommon range, humour and colour.

Edward Lear

songwriter

Ivan Smith

vocals

Digital booklet

Digital booklet Notes, texts and credits — read online or download the PDF Download the PDF

Buy now

$25.00 AUD

Compact disc

Buywell Music Australian Music Centre

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Apple Music

Also available to download from the iTunes Store.

Performers

John Sangster · vibraphone, marimba, glockenspiel, swannee-whistle, piano, celeste, percussion
Tony Gould · piano
Ivan Smith · vocals · disc 1 tracks 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10; disc 2 tracks 1, 3, 8 and 10
Bob McIvor · trombone
John McCarthy · clarinet
Tom Sparkes · clarinet, cor anglais
Mal Cunningham · recorders, bass flute, piccolo
Paul Furniss · alto saxophone, clarinet
Graeme Lyall · tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, clarinet
Roy Ainsworth · baritone saxophone, bass clarinet
Greg Lyon · electric bass
Chris Qua · tree-bass
Doug Gallagher · drums
Ian Bloxsom · percussion
Jim Kelly · electric guitar
Terry Walker · sitar
Martin Benge · bass clarinet
Bob Barnard · cornet