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4 Compositions for Sextet is an album by English free-jazz drummer Tony Oxley, which was recorded in 1970 and released on CBS. The album, the second of a trilogy that Oxley recorded for major labels, features the same band with whom he recorded the previous, The Baptised Traveller, expanded to a sextet with the addition of trombonist Paul Rutherford.

4 Compositions for Sextet
Studio album by Tony Oxley
Released	1970
Recorded	7 February 1970
Genre	Avant-garde jazz, Free jazz
Length	38:14
Label	Columbia
Tony Oxley chronology
The Baptised Traveller (1969) 4 Compositions for Sextet (1970) Ichnos (1971)

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz	[2]

In his review for AllMusic, Thom Jurek states "The four tunes are all outer-limits numbers; all methadrine takes on what were happening improvisations. It's true that there are loose structures imposed on all four tracks, but they quickly dissolve under the barrage of sonic whackery."[1]

The Penguin Guide to Jazz notes that "Four Compositions was a title guaranteed to offend players and fans who wanted to set aside any implications of predetermined structures."[2]

In his book Honesty Is Explosive!: Selected Music Journalism, music writer Ben Watson claims about the album "It is a stone-cold, drop-dead, ice pick-in-the-forehead masterpiece. It was too much for the marketing department at Columbia, and Oxley was dropped."[3]

Track listing

All compositions by Tony Oxley

1. "Saturnalia" – 10:09
2. "Scintilla" – 8:56
3. "Amass" – 13:00
4. "Megaera" – 6:09

Personnel

• Evan Parker – tenor sax
• Kenny Wheeler – trumpet, flugelhorn
• Paul Rutherford – trombone
• Derek Bailey – guitar
• Jeff Clyne – bass
• Tony Oxley – drums

References

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