Entourage Music & Theatre Ensemble - The Neptune Collection LP

Label: Smithsonian Folkways

An epigraph to the liner notes of The Neptune Collection, the second album by The Entourage Music & Theater Ensemble, reads, "We are a group flexible in size and temperament. Our purpose is to create original works in a collective manner. We utilize music, dance, poetry, and theatre skills." Plainly stated, this dictum represents the core of the dynamic, multi-medium approach the group employed in the mid-70s when the album was recorded. The music on The Neptune Collection traces through-lines between jazz, folk music, and various forms of traditional music from around the world, and is a precursor to the expansive sounds of Six Organs of Admittance, Bill Orcutt, and Sun City Girls. This is curious music, lithe and free, but endlessly listenable.