A Record a Week: Hubert Laws - Then There Was Light

SIDE 1.
IN THE BEGINNING
RESTORATION

SIDE 2.
GYMNOPEDIE #1
COME YE DISCONSOLATE
AIREGIN

What are the chances I come upon to flute specialist records in the span of a couple weeks? I can't imagine there are even more than three in my whole collection, but I guess this proves that I don't know much about that.

This record had fairly run-of-the-mill Jazz sounds at first, but then the flute solo kicked in. Flute in jazz is so much different than the flute I remember from high school music class. I always thought of it as a pretty boring instrument until its inclusion in jazz. I should know better, because years ago I saw an oboist who used a looping pedal and played some pretty neat stuff, including Smells Like Teen Spirit and that blew my conventional knowledge of instruments right out of the water.

Besides the flute solos, there are two very surprising drum solos that occur. One on each side of the album. The first one was on Restoration and the second (I think) on Come Ye Disconsolate. The one is reminiscent of speed metal drumming and really caught me off guard, as it seemed like a real departure in terms of genre. Definitely found this one a very interesting listen a a few different ways.