JULIE TIPPETTS
Sunset Glow (reissue, 1975) CHERRY RED
9/10
Avant-garde masterpiece from the artist formerly known as Julie Driscoll
BY her early twenties, Julie Tippetts, or Julie Driscoll as she was known then, was something of a pop star. She had emerged from London’s rhythm and blues community in the mid-’60s, finding fame as the singer with Brian Auger’s Trinity. Chart success came when their 1968 take on Rick Danko and Bob Dylan’s Basement Tapes number “This Wheel’s On Fire”, arguably the song’s best-known version, reached No 5 in the UK. Her sparkling, controlled voice, meanwhile, was showcased particularly well on their 1969 version of “Let The Sunshine In”.
Tippetts continued to record with Auger throughout the ’70s and became an in-demand session singer, working with Robert Wyatt and Carla Bley. As the decade progressed, however, she turned her back on the glamour of the mainstream and set her sights on the outer reaches, immersing herself in the world of free music, jazz and improvisation. Embarking on a series of collaborations primarily with her husband, the wonderfully gifted pianist and composer Keith Tippett, she established a musical palette that would lead to her masterpiece, 1975’s Sunset Glow.
Accompanied by a group of musicians who orbited her and Keith’s previous work, ’s defining characteristics are the beautifully restrained compositions and her expertly crafted vocal arrangements. Combined with her matured technique, her experimentations
