Mike Nock - Almanac (1967)

1.Specific Gravity One

2.Symbiosis

3.Emotivations

4.Almanac

5.Hallucinogen

6.Double Split

7.J.C. Dudley.

Eddie Marshall - Drums

Bennie Maupin - Flute, Composer, Sax (Tenor)

Cecil McBee - Bass

Mike Nock - Piano, Composer.

This quartet set was an unusual release for Paul Bley's Improvising Artists label in that the music was not comprised of free improvisations and the session was actually recorded independently and then bought by the company. The 1967 session was an early effort by pianist Mike Nock, Bennie Maupin (who doubles on tenor and flute and often sounds here a bit like Joe Henderson), bassist Cecil McBee and drummer Eddie Marshall. Together they perform seven of Nock's post bop originals and there is enough adventure in the music to hold on to one's interest. This set has been reissued on CD through Black Saint/Soul Note.(by Scott Yanow)

Mike Nock Quartet - Dark and Curious (1990)

Dance of the Global Village (6:09)
Nata Lagal (10:20)
Embracing You (3:48)
Resurrection (5:23)
Tango for Gretchen Rodriguez (4:05)
Oz Blu (5:18)
Dark and Curious (2:11)
Nature Boy (6:44)
Upline (4:35).

Andrew Dickeson - Tim Hopkins - Mike Nock - Cameron Undy.

Mike Nock - Ozboppin' (1998)

1.Ozboppin'
2.The Philosophers
3.Five'll Getcha!
4.Exile
5.Snafu
6.Dreamtime Visitor
7.Come Sunday
8.The Emperor's Clothes
9.The End of a Love Affair.

Cameron Undy - Bass
Phil Slater - Trumpet, Flugelhorn
Tim Hopkins - Sax (Tenor)
Mike Nock - Piano.

Review by Scott Yanow
Mike Nock has long been one of the most famous jazz musicians based in Australia, helped by the fact that he has visited the U.S. many times through the years. This CD begins with the most interesting selection, "Ozboppin'," which quickly goes from bop to Ornette Coleman, freer areas, and back to bop. Most of the other numbers alternate between melancholy ballads worthy of the mid-'60s Miles Davis Quintet to more heated numbers. Tim Hopkins on tenor recalls Wayne Shorter in spots, but has a fairly original tone, as does the talented young trumpeter Phil Slater; bassist Cameron Undy and drummer David Goodman are fine in support. With the exception of "Come Sunday" and "End of a Love Affair" (a ballad feature for Hopkins), all of the selections are Nock originals. A stimulating set of advanced hard bop.

Mike Nock - Ondas (1981)

1.Forgotten Love
2.Ondas
3.Visionary
4.Land Of The Long White Cloud
5.Doors.


Mike Nock piano
Eddie Gomez bass
Jon Christensen drums.

By Johan Adams

The sound of waves breaking on the shore, that's what Mike Nock produces on this great album, recorded in Oslo, Norway. Rarely was an album title a more fitting description of the content. Five tracks, of which the longest runs for almost 16 minutes, conjure up the sounds of the shoreline and the sea under various weather conditions. This description is highly subjective, of course, but that's what I hear in it. Drummer Jon Christensen is a reliable partner, adding some nice touches. It's a pity that bassist Eddie Gomez doesn't really fit in. Some of his solos are just plain inferior. Maybe he was just having a bad day, but a second take might have been a good idea. But don't let that scare you away from this great CD. The sound on this album is crystal clear, true to the great ECM-tradition. As far as I can see, there's only two ways to appreciate this album : you either love it, or it leaves you totally indifferent. I just happen to love it !.

Nock, Mike (Michael Anthony)
Nock, Mike (Michael Anthony), pianist, composer; b. Christchurch, New Zealand, 27 September 1940. His parents were Randolph Audrey Nock (1900-1952) and Marjorie Millicent (nee Keenan, b. 1910). His sisters are Anne (Bewley, 1942-1989) and Jennifer-Mary (Stills, b. 1943). His current wife is Yuri Takahashi. They have no children.

Nock has spent almost forty years recording and touring professionally. After his first recording in 1960/61 in Australia with his trio The Three Out he then went to the US where he spent the next 25 years working with such musicians as Coleman Hawkins, Michael Brecker, John Scofield and Yusef Lateef among many others. A jazz veteran who has been featured on over 80 recordings worldwide, Nock's latest efforts are for the Naxos Jazz label - Not We But One (Mike Nock Trio), Ozboppin' (Mike Nock Quintet), I Don't Know This World Without Don Cherry (The New York Jazz Collective) and his latest release The Waiting Game (Mike Nock - Marty Ehrlich Duo). Due to his vast recording accomplishments, touring, and mentoring of a new generation of musicians, Nock has become thoroughly recognized in both the United States and abroad for his abilities. His accolades range from three U.S. National Endowment for the Arts fellowships to top piano/keyboard honors at the Australian Critic's Awards in 1991,'92,and '93, and multiple composer international commissions and an Australia Council Fellowship 1999 - 2001. The subject of a TVNZ documentary made on his life and music in 1993, Nock now lives in Sydney where he lectures at the Sydney Conservatorium's Jazz Studies Program which he combines with a busy international schedule as composer / performer and artistic director for the Naxos/Jazz label.

Recordings:
Touch; Ondas; In Out and Around; Almanac; Dark and Curious; Climbin; Beautiful Friendship.