The Bruford Tapes demonstrated a more raucous energy than Bruford’s first two releases, but the follow-up studio album, Gradually Going Tornado, proved that the group was capable of generating the same kind of power in the studio. And while Berlin’s singing on half of the album’s eight tracks may have seemed a concerted bid for greater acceptance, it’s important to note that Bruford had already featured vocals on Feels Good to Me—although the relaxed phrasing of sultry singer Annette Peacock was considerably more artful than Berlin’s tighter tenor. The inclusion of vocal tracks might have appeared, on the surface, to be a calculated commercial move rather than an artistic one. Still, the fact is that Bruford and Stewart’s writing— which despite the verse-chorus approach of the vocal tracks—retained its harmonic and rhythmic complexities. In that respect Gradually Going Tornado was every bit as progressive as the group’s previous albums.

Writing around vocals inherently implies a different kind of structure. Episodic writing becomes a challenge when one has to continually return to predefined verse-chorus song form with its inherent hooks. Still, by this point Stewart and Bruford had proved themselves highly creative at working around such restrictions. And while Berlin may not have had the most memorable voice—adequate, but lacking the kind of quality that gives it weight—the fact is he was called upon to execute melodies that would have challenged singers possessing more appealing tone. As was the case in Hatfield and the North, Stewart was absolutely unprepared to concede any harmonic ground for the inclusion of vocals and neither, it would appear was Bruford. The result is melodies that feel a little awkward on first hearing, but feel more natural on repeated exposure. And while tunes like “Plans for J.D.” and “The Sliding Floor” veer closer to the rock side of the group’s breadth than anything that’s come before, there are plenty of twists and turns to keep things interesting.

The addition of vocal tracks may have turned off some of the progressive intellectuals, but Gradually Going Tornado also had its share of distinctive instrumentals. Berlin’s “Joe Frazier,” like Bruford and Stewart’s “Sample and Hold” from Feels Good to Me, revolves around a lengthy theme that would test the skills of bassists around the world. Bruford and Stewart’s episodic “Q.E.D.” would have sounded completely at home in the repertoire of either Hatfield and the North or National Health, featuring Stewart’s bell-like electric piano work. Bruford’s “Palewell Park” is an uncharacteristic duet, with Stewart’s acoustic piano trading off with Berlin’s bass throughout its tender changes. Stewart’s “Land’s End,” the ten-minute closer, features wordless vocals by singers Barbara Gaskin and Amanda Parsons—last heard with Hatfield and the North and National Health—and lifts a theme directly from “The Bryden Two-Step,” off the latter’s Of Queues and Cures. “Lands End,” in fact,” is demonstrative of just how key Bruford’s drumming style was to defining the overall group sound, as it takes on a completely different complexion to Pip Pyle’s kit work on the National Health version.

The reissue of Gradually Going Tornado contains a live version of the Berlin/Stewart/Bruford tune “5G” from One of a Kind. While the recording quality isn’t the best, it’s great to hear a full version, as the take on The Bruford Tapes fades out just when they seem to be getting going.

Gradually Going Tornado would be the last recording by the group. It was around this time that Bruford rejoined guitarist Robert Fripp for a new incarnation of King Crimson that would include guitarist Adrian Belew and bassist Tony Levin, so it’s uncertain whether it was the commitment to Crimson that signed the deal-knell or lack of commercial interest. Either way the four discs that Bruford recorded in the mid-to-late 1970s served as notice that he had a greater role to play as bandleader, writer and performer—a role that continues to evolve to this day and shows no sign of slowing down.

John Kelman  www.allaboutjazz.com