Jazz & Improvisation / All styles

The title's a good one – given the complex layers of sound and interaction going on here – as this avant quintet find a way to come together in these varied and compelling ways over the course of the long improvisations in the set! Pianist Alexander Von Schlippenbach may well be the biggest name in the group – but all players contribute equally, and the lineup also includes Frank Paul Schubert on alto and soprano sax, Paul Hubweber on trombone, Clayton Thomas on bass, and Willi Kellers o…

After performing at a night dedicated to Ed Blackwell and Don Cherry, vibraphone legend Karl Berger invited trumpeter Knuffke to Woodstock to teach and perform with him, from which this lovely album of duets was born, 2 CDs of original compositions of free and lyrical playing. "Karl and I met when we shared the bill for an "Arts for Art" night of music dedicated to Ed Blackwell. Karl was a longtime associate of Ed's. There were two duets featured that night. Karl played duo with the gre…

Bomb! 500 copies. After twenty one recordings there may not be too much more to say about the superlative English threesome of saxophonist Evan Parker, bassist Barry Guy and drummer Paul Lytton. Some 30 years on since their debut Tracks (Incus, 1983), they converse in a language entirely of their own making, which relies on a staggering density of ideas, chops to burn and a preternatural responsiveness. Live At Maya Recordings Festival, captured at Winterthur, Switzerland in 2011 forms another t…

A never earlier released duo recording that was played back in 1987 at Kassiopeia, Wuppertal brings these two great musicians and composers together for this unique and unforgettable session. There are times when one fantasises about the possible collaborations that might have been: Hendrix with Miles Davis, Jeffrey Lee Pierce with R.L Burnside, Capt. Beefheart with Sun Ra ― imagination is a wonderful thing. But when a vault somewhere pops open and a collaboration of two of improvised music's ti…

"I was already familiar with Pascal Niggenkemper's work as a result of the release, Klippe by Thomas Heberer, early this summer and a superb trio with Robin Verheyen and Tyshawn Sorey, PN Trio. So this was always going to be an exciting adventure to see what his new trio would put forth. And the new album, Upcoming Hurricane, pretty much says it all. This is a heavy storm of sound that comes on quietly but resonates brightly over 60+ minutes. Clean, open and improvised, Niggenkemper is a brillia…

"It's almost a given that any new release on the Lithuanian No Business label is going to be a bit out of the ordinary. As the catalogue grows, so does its depth and breadth. Turbina Anthem vouchsafes that proposition, comprising an unusual guitar and trumpet duet by two Portuguese improvisers who deserve a wider audience. Trumpeter Sei Miguel boasts a discography stretching back to 1998 in the company of compatriots, but in recent years has made a number of appearances with American free guitar…

This is the first recording of Szilard Mezei released on LP. Synthesis of free jazz with some elements of folk music makes it an intrigue and challenging recording."Februári Fadöntés documents a fairly rare appearance on wax of Serbian-Hungarian violist / composer Szilárd Mezei, who's worked in formats ranging from string trio to orchestra, mostly in situations that allow a commingling of Hungarian folk forms (he also plays traditional music) and free improvisation. He's joined here on three sui…

Joe Morris is primarily known as a guitar player, but he's equally good on bass, with a somewhat different approach. He started playing double bass in the year 2000 only, and this album celebrates his 10th anniversary on the instrument.  Other Joe Morris albums on which he plays bass as the leader are "Wildlife", "High Definition",  or as co-leader with "The Flow" or "The Story Of Mankind", and playing bass with other artists such as Jim Hobbs, Steve Lantner, Petr Cancura, Rob Brown and Whit Dic…

There are albums that you can‘t stop listening to. That is “Boom Boom” by Atomic. Earlier released on CD only, this reissue on LP will provide a great joy for vinyl addicts. Now already a classical Atomic album includes a unique design with a special numbered insert."Great work from one of the most groundbreaking combos in the current Norwegian scene – Atomic, a group who really bring strong promise to a long tradition of modern Scandinavian jazz! The set, which has an endorsement by Ken Vanderm…

Free work from a real power trio – one driven by the drums of Steve Noble, who also plays a lot of percussion, and the bass of Dominic Lash – while Stefan Keune lays out some very bold work on tenor and sopranino sax over the top! The trio have a great way of mixing intense passages with much more subtle, spacious ones – so much so that the sonic range of the record is really wonderful – as the dynamic energy of the group continues to keep things interesting. Titles include "Two Far", "Cuts", "A…

"A really great group, and one who may well have chosen their name because of the way all their individual sounds come together so well! There's a sense of structure here that each musician seems to participate in equally – Taylor Ho Bynum on cornet, Harris Eisenstadt on drums, Alexander Hawkins on piano, and Dominic Lash on drums – all players who use their instruments in ways that are unconventional, yet very purposeful too – never with a sense of freedom for freedom's sake, but instead really…

300 copies. All compositions by Howard Riley (PRS / MCPS), except “Lush Life” by Billy Strayhorn. Recorded live at VDU Jazz Festival Kaunas on the 10th November, 2012 by Areas Zujus. "Brilliant work from pianist Howard Riley – the British modernist who's been making amazing music for decades, but often through very obscure records like this! Riley's got this sense of balance, tone, and timing that sits justly in a legacy that starts with Herbie Nichols and runs up through Alexander Von Schlippen…

Resistance recorded live in 2013 is an expected performance of unforeseen music. That said, it boosts Vandermark's stock (not that he needs it) as a soloist. He has, of late, stepped out of his role as composer, arranger, and organizer of ensembles to perform solo and in improvising duos with Nate Wooley, Agustí Fernandez, Mats Gustafsson, and Tim Daisy. Freed from all the duties associated with large ensembles, he can focus on improvising. Here his saxophone and various clarinets weave, bounce,…

2012 release. Born in Buffalo in 1939, Charles Gayle had hit New York City by the early '70s. He almost made his mark with an album on ESP-Disk' in 1974, but the label shut down before it came out. When he next recorded in 1988, he had been homeless for a while, sheltering in an empty Brooklyn storefront. The Knitting Factory gigs and concurrent CDs from Swedish imprint Silkheart, the Knit's own house label, the Italian label Black Saint, and a particularly well-received-in-Europe album on FMP, …

2012 release. ESP-Disk is now releasing Frank Wright's tribute concert to tenor saxophonist Albert Ayler titled Blues For Albert Ayler in a 6 part suite. This high energy performance was recorded live at Rashied Ali's club 'Ali's Alley' on July 17th, 1974. This is the Right Reverend Frank Wright, live and raw, in his element, with a most impressive band. Frank Wright plays tenor sax and bass clarinet, with an electrifying performance from guitarist James 'Blood' Ulmer, bassistBenny Wilson and dr…

This track is the unreleased beginning portion of this 1973 Frank Lowe concert that was released as Black Beings. This incredible performance is filled with the fire and drive Frank Lowe was projecting on his tenor sax in 1973. This extended track titled "The Lowesky" is set in a five part suite form. Each performer is allowed ample time to express his individual contributions to this phenomenal group. The Band: Frank Lowe-tenor sax, Joseph Jarman-soprano, Raymond Lee Cheng (The Wizard)-violin, …

In 1966 Bernard Stollman sent Sun Ra and his Arkestra, along with audio engineer David B. Jones on a tour of five New York Colleges. When they returned, just 39 minutes of music was chosen to be released as the original ESP 1045 "Nothing Is...". 44 years later, after extensive research, producer and Sun Ra archivist Michael D. Anderson has pieced together the missing parts of the infamous New York College Tour. Recorded on May 18th 1966 at St. Lawrence University in Potsdam, NY, this illuminatin…

In 1964, Sun Ra asked the young tenor saxophonist Pharoah Sanders to join him, while Arkestra mainstay John Gilmore was busy working with Paul Bley, Andrew Hill and Art Blakey. Before the recording's original release in 1976, Sun Ra stated: 'It should be very interesting to the world to show what the pre-Coltrane Pharoah Sanders was like.' Also appearing on Featuring Pharoah Sanders & Black Harold is the little-heard flautist, Black Harold(Harold Murray), who takes the lead on the track “The Voi…

"Don Cherry, more than any other artist in the jazz of his era, pioneered the music's internationalist nature that has now come to be commonly accepted as an integral part of its character. The individuality of Cherry's contribution to the history of jazz has often been unfairly obscured by his admittedly important association with the music ofOrnette Coleman. While the (pocket) trumpeter's position as Coleman's front line partner in the altoist's first revolutionary quartet was indeed a major o…

Lindha Kallerdahl studied jazz at renowned Swedish schools Skurup and Birka from 1993-1996. Situated in Stockholm, she was exposed to free music at a young age, and has participated in collaborations with Mats Gustavsson, David Stackenäs, Raymond Strid, Mattias Windemo, andFredrik Ljungkvist. In Summer 2000, Kallerdahl made a spectacular project with Jim O'Rourke, Mats Gustavsson, and dancer Lotta Melin. In 2001, she was awarded the prestigious Jazz in Sweden Prize, which resulted in the critica…

Heliocentric Worlds Volume 3 is the continuation of the Heliocentric Worlds Volume 2 session, recorded the same day and with the same personnel, that has been lost for nearly 40 years. Recently, the tapes were discovered, digitally remastered, and are now available for the first time. Totally-unreleased studio material -- continuation of the session hailed as a "...masterpiece of free jazz."Sun Ra (piano, tuned bongos, clavioline); Marshall Allen (alto sax, pic, flute); Pat Patrick (bar sax);Wal…

Recorded on December 22, 1973 in New York City at the famous Town Hall, this eclectic ESPDisk-sponsored celebration of the Comet Kohoutek featured a fire eater, talking drums, and dancers in platform shoes, in addition to Sun Ra's Arkestra. After taking the stage ninety minutes late, the band expertly navigates its way through cosmic free playing, big-band romps, and didactic vocal numbers. Compared to the original pressing, this re-issue is digitally remastered by Joe Phillips and includes brie…

This version of Black Beings contains of 15 minutes of additional material thought to have been lost. When he started out on ESP-Disk', Frank Lowe was one of those hard-blowing tenor saxophonists we think of when we heard the phrase "free jazz." Born in Memphis, he moved to San Francisco and, while visiting New York, began playing with Alice Coltrane (on whose album World Galaxy he made his recording debut in 1971), Sun Ra, Rashied Ali, and Noah Howard, and eventually moved to the Big Apple. On …

50th Anniversary Edition on "Esperanto-Green" colored vinyl. In the Spring of 1966, ESP was given a grant by the New York State Council on the Arts, to tour the five colleges in the state with music departments. Artists for this tour included the Sun Ra Arkestra, Burton Greene, Patty Waters, Giuseppi Logan and Ran Blake. Accompanied by an all star backup group from among the participants, Patty's performances resulted in the album, College Tour, her second recording for ESP-Disk'. The album expa…

The noted west coast composer makes his ESP debut accompanied by his then wife, Barbara Donald, on trumpet, Teddy Smith on bass, John Hicks on piano and Marvin Pattillo on percussion. Recorded August 1966, Staying on the Watch is an important infusion of straight-ahead and avant jazz. Barbara Donald is a superb trumpeter who has made a stern contribution to the legacy of women performers and has been widely written about. Also, pianist John Hicks, who makes his New York debut on the record, went…

Charles Tyler, from Albert Ayler's band, makes a startling statement on his debut solo record. His group, featuring an unusual instrumentation of cello, bass, drums, orchestra vibes, and saxophone, plays through his original compositions and showcases some heated solos. Although primarily known as a baritone sax player, Charles Tyler is featured on alto sax yet his sound and concept are fully evident on this record. Performers: Charles Tyler: alto sax; Charles Moffett: orchestra vibes;Joel Freed…

When Oscar Peterson moved from Montreal to New York in 1949, the 17-year-old Paul Bley took over his residency at the Alberta Lounge on Oscar's recommendation; in his twenties, he played withCharlie Parker. Bley started incorporating maverick pianist Lennie Tristano's approach to improvisation and collaborating with Charles Mingus, and in 1958 in Los Angeles Bley famously put together a band with Ornette Coleman, Don Cherry, Charlie Haden, and Billy Higgins. His move into free improvisation in t…

(excerpted from Peter's liner notes): "There was a time Han Bennink and I, sometimes with Fred Van Hove, would drive through the Black Forest to get to places like the jazz club in Villingen and Loerrach, to play. At the same time during the end of sixties, beginning of seventies Joachim-Ernst Berendt, chief of the SWF Radio was setting up a yearly meeting and driving through the forest Bennink and I had the idea of just going and playing in nature. We talked to Berendt about the idea an…

Live recording of Albert Ayler's large septet configuration, featuring brother Donald, Charles Tyler, Sunny Murray and both Henry Grimesand Gary Peacock on bass. Compared to the bare trio of Spiritual Unity, this nearly big band of two bass players and a strong horn section allows Ayler's expressive vision depth from the joyous to the aggressive in Ayler's five original compositions. The digitally remastered recording was originally made at 30 ips instead of the usual 15 giving it excellent fide…

Originally released in 1966. Featured artists: Albert Ayler (tenor sax), Ed Blackwell(trumpet), Don Cherry (trumpet, cornet), Sunny Murray (drums), Gary Peacock (bass), Roswell Rudd (trombone), John Tchicai (saxophone, alto sax). Michael Snow is a Canadian national treasure, a true Renaissance man. He assembled a stellar group to improvise a sound track for his art film, titled Walking Woman, featuring a silhouette that is rumored to have been inspired by Carla Bley. Digitally remastered. Manufa…

2013 reissue; originally released in 1966. More,Giuseppi Logan's second album, has two tracks from the same legendary May 1st, 1965, Town Hall concert, produced by ESP-Disk' owner Bernard Stollman, that gave us Albert Ayler's Bells. This ESP-Disk' 50th Anniversary Remaster edition of Moreincludes previously unissued music from Logan's set that reissue producer Michael D. Andersondiscovered at the end of the Albert Ayler Bellsmaster tape. The astonishing thing about this ten-minute segment of aud…

Lowell Davidson recorded this singular session on July 27th, 1965 with Gary Peacock and the ever amazing Milford Graves. Sadly, the only recording ever released by Davidson, it remains fresh and exciting 40 plus years later. On Ornette Coleman’s recommendation, ESP-Disk’ owner Bernard Stollman signed up pianist Lowell Davidson (then majoring in biochemistry at Harvard) for this album without having heard him play. Davidson came to New York and got to work with the elite rhythm section of drummer…

On November 11th, 1964, Giuseppi Logan went to Bell Sound Studios to record his first album for the newly-formed ESP-Disk label. Bernard Stollmandiscovered Giuseppi and others who would form the nucleus of his label at the October Revolution Concert of 1964. For the recording, Giuseppi chose friends and fellow music companions Don Pullenand Milford Graves, and added bassist extraordinaire Eddie Gomez. The session is rich with imagination, and added to the dimension of musicians who would become …

Originally released in 1965. The Byron Allen Trio was among the first batch of ESP-Disk' jazz LPs. Recorded on the afternoon of September 25, 1964, at Mirasound Studio in midtown Manhattan, it was Allen's debut. He had been recommended to ESP-Disk' by Ornette Coleman, and one of the tracks, "Decision for the Cole-Man," reflects this connection. Allen and his trio also play in a style somewhat similar to that of Coleman's trio of that era with bassist David Izenzon and drummer Charles Moffett, th…

“Roswell Rudd assembled the newly formed New York Quartet for an afternoon recording session at Bell Sound Studios in midtown Manhattan. They were joined by a small, youthful appearing individual, the poet Amiri Baraka. Their engineer was the late Art Crist, an accomplished pianist. I was introduced to Lewis Worrell, Amiri Baraka andJohn Tchicai. The group was short lived. I heard them again 40 years later, when they reassembled for a concert at the South Street Seaport in New York City, opening…

2014 expanded reissue. Mono. Spiritual Unity, recorded on July 10, 1964, is the album that made Albert Ayler and ESP-Disk' famous (or, in some people's eyes/ears, infamous). Mr. Ayler had already recorded in Europe and, in February '64, in New York, but this was the first album on which neither he nor his collaborators held back. It was also ESP's first jazz recording. Spiritual Unity presented a new improvisation paradigm: looser structure, less regard for standard pitch, and no obligation to p…

Double LP. Brotzmann  has worked quite often with Swedish drummer Peeter Uuskyla (e.g. on Dead  and Useless) since 1997 and in general the reeds/drums line-up is something he feels very comfortable with. His duos with Han Bennink, Hamid Drake, Paal Nilssen-Love and Steve Noble belong to best releases in free jazz.  Uusklya cannot quite keep up with these drummers because they are able to challenge him. Uuskyla is more the supporting kind of a drummer on this album.My favorite passage is on side …

A new chapter of the ongoing series of live recordings of the Turkish quartet Konstrukt, this time teaming up with saxophonist Akira Sakata, already a key character of the Japanese free jazz movement since the 1970s. Recorded at Kargart in Istanbul on January 17th 2015, this seventy-minute long jam is one of the most psychedelic act of the band so far, with Sakata's growling shomyo-alike chant finding the perfect setting - like a snake charmer - in a jungle of constantly reinvented sound. Killer…

CD edition. This album features Peter Brotzmann on tenor saxophone and Peeter Uuskyla on drums, they are longtime collaborators and this album was recorded back in 2006 in Uuskyla’s home base of Sweden. Parts of the music on this album was previously released as part of the Born Broke 2CD set, and is remixed here for LP and MP3 and some of Brotzmann’s provocative artwork graces the cover. The title track is a continuous 36 minute improvisation broke in two sections for the vinyl. They open …

BRÖ presents Mollie's in the Mood by Peter Brötzmann & Jason Adasiewicz, the label's third LP since its revival in 2003 and the sequel to the Brötzmann/Adasiewicz 2012 tour-only CD. Recorded in "you-are-there" fidelity, the LP captures a performance at Chicago's Hideout on the duo's 2012 U.S.A. tour. Brötzmann played alto and tenor saxophones, b-flat clarinet, and tárogató; Adasiewicz played vibraphone. This is what happens when the most original vibraphonist of his generation slams into …