Cecil Payne - Music from the Off-Broadway Play 'The Connection' (2011)

No piece of theater has ever offered so much to so many musicians as did THE CONNECTION, Jack Gelbers celebrated play about narcotics addiction, in which the accompanying musicians played an integral role, occasionally speaking lines, though most often playing other lines on their instruments. By its nature, the presentation required the personal touch, and each change of musicians brought a fresh score into being.

So far there are four jazz scores for the play. The original, written by Freddie Redd, was first heard on July 15, 1959, in the off-Broadway Living Theater production, and was recorded by the Blue Note and Felsted labels, and later for the film version. A new score was written by Cecil Payne and Kenny Drew during the plays European tour in the summer of 1961, and was later played by the New York cast and recorded for Charlie Parker Records.

The two remaining scores were written by Cecil Taylor and Dexter Gordon respectively, but neither was recorded. Here, for the first time, are both recorded scores of THE CONNECTION on a single CD.