2013 release. In 1971, multi-instrumentalist Joe McPhee waxed one of the landmark free-funk records: Nation Time. Recorded in concert at Vassar College and originally released on McPhee's own CjRecord Productions label, Nation Time culled elements of post-Coltrane spiritual jazz, greasy organ funk, and expressive R&B into a previously unknown brand of Poughkeepsie stew. When the LP was finally reissued on CD a dozen years ago, it became an instant hit, drawing fans from the British soul scene and denizens of free jazz alike. Corbett Vs. Dempsey present Nation Time: The Complete Recordings (1969-70), a four disc box set, featuring all the music leading up to and around the seminal album. With 17 tracks previously unreleased on CD, most of which have never been issued at all, the set provides an expansive picture of the vibrant up-state New York free jazz/new thing scene, centered as it was on Joe McPhee. Nation Time: The Complete Recordings helps contextualize the original album, exploring the special milieu in which tracks like "Shaky Jake" and "Scorpio's Dance" took shape. Along with the album, complete and remastered, Nation Time: The Complete Recordings presents additional tracks recorded during the original two day performances in December 1970, including a version of James Brown's "Cold Sweat", as well as the full LP Black Magic Man (1975), which was released on vinyl as the very first issue of the fledgling Hat Hut Records record label in 1975, but has never been reissued on CD. Two fascinating concert recordings from 1969 are released here for the first time, one featuring McPhee on trumpet playing jazz standards, and the other recorded at a local bar called the Paddock, including the first incarnation of what would become the track "Nation Time". The four CD box set includes: One CD of Nation Time, the complete original album, remastered; One CD of Black Magic Man, the complete original album, complete with two alternate takes of "Song for Lauren"; One CD of The Vassar Sessions, 1970, comprising six unreleased tracks from the Nation Time recording sessions; One CD of Nation Time Preview, 1969, two concert recordings in the run-up to Nation Time; 60-page liner booklet, full-color, with never-published vintage photos; A definitive Nation Time interview with Joe McPhee by John Corbett; Comes in hardshell case, with separate cardboard sleeves for all four discs.