Skip to main content

The Mermaid's Purse: Live at Chatham College 1976

Entourage Music and Theatre Ensemble
The Mermaid's Purse: Live at Chatham College 1976

In 1976 the Entourage Music and Theatre Ensemble reached a creative zenith. The nomadic troupe had just released The Neptune Collection, its iconic second album for Moses Asch’s Folkways Records, and decided to present the music to audiences across the rust belt in its most miasmic, elemental form. Extended stretches of full-group improvisation mingled with folk-tune like melodies during these performances, which featured multiple dancers spontaneously interpreting the music, at times in elaborate costume. Like contemporaries Popol Vuh, Sandy Bull, and Don Cherry, Entourage fused jazz and strains of traditional music from around the world to form a singular, kaleidoscopic vision of musical liberation. The Mermaid’s Purse: Live at Chatham College 1976 is the most complete, best-preserved audio recording of these performances, featuring music from across the Entourage catalog. It is being released for the first time 45 years after its recording, and features liner notes by lone surviving member Wall Matthews.

Track Listing

icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
101
Entourage Music and Theatre Ensemble
08:13
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
102
Entourage Music and Theatre Ensemble
04:28
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
103
Entourage Music and Theatre Ensemble
07:09
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
104
Entourage Music and Theatre Ensemble
02:07
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
105
Entourage Music and Theatre Ensemble
05:57
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
106
Entourage Music and Theatre Ensemble
05:54
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
107
Entourage Music and Theatre Ensemble
02:17
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
108
Entourage Music and Theatre Ensemble
05:25
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
109
Entourage Music and Theatre Ensemble
03:55
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
110
Entourage Music and Theatre Ensemble
03:03
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
111
Entourage Music and Theatre Ensemble
04:01
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
112
Entourage Music and Theatre Ensemble
03:34
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
113
Entourage Music and Theatre Ensemble
12:09
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
114
Entourage Music and Theatre Ensemble
06:02