★Corbett Vs. Dempsey

2016 release. A reissue of Eugene Chadbourne's There'll Be No Tears Tonight, originally released by Parachute in 1980. One of the absolute essentials of Eugene Chadbourne's oeuvre, what he described as "free improvised country and western bebop", featuring his frantic, skewed interpretations of classic songs such as Merle Haggard's "Swingin' Doors", Roger Miller's "The Last Word In Lonesome Is Me", and Willie Nelson's "Mr. Record Man", There'll Be No Tears Tonight was recorded in Spring of 1980.…

2016 release. The first reissue of Picnic, originally released on Data Records in 1985. A little-known gem of Dutch free music, Picnic is the brainchild of cellist Tristan Honsinger, who composed all but one of its 12 compositions. Brilliant and whimsical, the tracks bring to mind Honsinger's work with ICP Orchestra, for whom he has also composed extensively. Here he's working in an incredible ensemble, with trumpeter Toshinori Kondo, saxophonist Sean Bergen, Jean Jacques Avenel on bass, Michael…

2015 release. A reissue of Staffan Harde's self-titled album, originally released on Svenska Jazzriksförbunded Records (SJR) in 1972. Based on the tiny Swedish fishing island of Smogen, guitarist Staffan Harde created a wholly unique and wondrous approach to his instrument, documented assiduously on hand-made reel-to-reel tapes and this lone LP from 1972, which features Harde solo and with small groups. His accomplices included pianist Lars Sjösten, bassist Lars-Urban Helje, and the acclaimed pe…

2015 release. A reissue of arguably the rarest LP of European free jazz, Axiom, recorded in 1963 for the Swedish label Sonet. Test pressings were released to the musicians, but they were not approved and the label never printed more than the two first copies. Tom Prehn's music, which is exclusively known from a 1967 release that was reissued on the Unheard Music Series, is not only impossibly uncommon, it is also exceptionally wonderful, featuring an extended tenor saxophone solo by Frits Krogh …

2015 release. Recorded at the height of their powers as the leading free jazz trio in Europe, 1971 includes some of the hottest and heaviest music ever made by Peter Brötzmann, starting with an inflammatory, incandescent 26-minute live track recorded at the New Jazz Meeting auf Burg Altena. Only available on a nearly-impossible-to-find LP sampler issued at the time by the festival, this marks the first appearance of "Just for Altena" on CD. Two more tracks come from pristine studio recordings ma…

2015 release. A reissue of arguably the rarest LP of European free jazz, Axiom, recorded in 1963 for the Swedish label Sonet. Test pressings were released to the musicians, but they were not approved and the label never printed more than the two first copies. Tom Prehn's music, which is exclusively known from a 1967 release that was reissued on the Unheard Music Series, is not only impossibly uncommon, it is also exceptionally wonderful, featuring an extended tenor saxophone solo by Frits Krogh …

2015 release. A reissue of Steve Lacy and Steve Potts's Tips, originally released on Hat Hut Records in 1981. Soprano saxophonist Lacy wrote the suite of tunes for Tips to feature the aphorisms of painter Georges Braque, as sung by Irene Aebi. Together with his right-hand-man, alto saxophonist Potts, he and Aebi recorded these 14 anthemic tracks in Paris in 1979, and the young hat Hut Records label issued them on a now-rare LP. The music allowed Lacy to extend and deepen his longstanding interes…

Joe McPhee on seven inches of pure loving vinyl. Features two versions of the 1970 classic "Cosmic Love". McPhee rocking the cosmic wavelength on space organ and tenor sax. Recorded in Poughkeepsie, NY, 1970; Produced by John Corbett; Vinyl project coordinated by Marc Bonadies. Cover artwork by Dick Higgins. 33 1/3 rpm.

2014 release. In July 2013, a few months after the passing of his mother, cornetist Rob Mazurekperformed solo at the Corbett Vs. Dempsey gallery in Chicago. Mazurek is one of the highest profile figures in contemporary creative music, leading bands like the Exploding Star Orchestra, Skull Sessions Octet, and Starlicker. On this occasion, he brought a box filled with various implements -- his cornet, naturally, but flutes, bells, books, maracas, apples, and little electronics. This box became an …

Peter Brötzmann's catalog for an exhibition held at Corbett vs. Dempsey July 27 – August 17, 2013  Includes an essay by Jim Dempsey

**2021 Stock** Catalog for Left / Right, an exhibition held at Corbett vs. Dempsey. July 27 – August 17, 2013. Includes an essay by Jim Dempsey. Design by Sonnenzimmer.

* In process of stocking * Brochure for an exhibition held at Rice University Art Gallery, Houston. October 8–November 14, 2013. Includes an essay by curator John Corbett. Design by Sonnenzimmer. Artist and musician Peter Brötzmann is best known as one of the preeminent figures in contemporary improvised music. He was trained as a visual artist in his hometown of Wuppertal, Germany, in the late 1950s, and his early musical career as a saxophonist and clarinetist was paralleled by his first art e…

* In process of stocking * This once-lost trove of photographs date from 1972, a pivotal year for Sun Ra. Half of the photos in this book are of interior murals made by Ra-colleague and musician Ayé Aton — spectacularly beautiful in their 1970s supersaturated color. From the same period, a cache of never-published photographs taken on location in Oakland for the film Space is the Place, features Ra in full regalia, wearing beautiful Egyptian costumes. Published by PictureBox, Inc. and Corbett vs…

2013 release. An expanded reissue of Sun Ra's Continuation, originally released in 1970. A special two CD reissue of the hyper-rare El Saturn Records album, recorded in 1963, early in the Arkestra's New York period, paired with a full disc of extra material. Loaded with John Gilmore, one of the greatest and rarest slabs of Sun Ra vinyl, on CD for the first time. Recorded on March 10, 1963 at the Choreographer's Workshop in New York City. Remastered from the original tapes by Michael D. Anderson;…

Catalog for an exhibition held at Corbett vs. Dempsey, October 26 - November 30, 2007. Includes an essay by John Corbett. Design by Kathi Beste. Artist and musician Peter Brötzmann is best known as one of the preeminent figures in contemporary improvised music. He was trained as a visual artist in his hometown of Wuppertal, Germany, in the late 1950s, and his early musical career as a saxophonist and clarinetist was paralleled by his first art exhibitions in Holland and Germany. Brötzmann assist…

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 an…

2012 release. In 1981, Joe McPhee culled together one of his greatest bands to record Topology (1981), his classic outing for Hat Hut Records. Featuring an expanded version of Po Music, his ensemble with saxophonist André Jaume, guitarist Raymond Boni, and bassist François Mechali, the group included pianist Irene Schweizer, percussionist Pierre Favre, baritone saxophonist Daniel Bourquin, cellist Michael Overhage, and trombonist Radu Malfatti. One of the tracks left on the cutting room floor wa…

2012 release. A reissue of Joe McPhee's Variations On A Blue Line / 'Round Midnight, originally released on Hat Hut Records in 1979. Variations On A Blue Line / 'Round Midnight was recorded in October, 1977, during a highly significant period in Poughkeespie, New York, multi-instrumentalist Joe McPhee's work, as he was pioneering the transatlantic, collaborative spirit that has helped to define the last three decades of his career. Blue Line comes from a concert in Rouen, France, when McPhee pla…

2012 release. A reissue of Joe McPhee's Glasses, originally released on Hat Hut Records in 1979. Glasses was recorded in October, 1977, during a highly significant period in McPhee's work, as he was pioneering the transatlantic, collaborative spirit that has helped to define the last three decades of his career. Documented in Tavannes, Switzerland, the set contains sensational tenor work, including the title piece, which finds McPhee ringing out a rhythm on a half-full wine glass, from which he …

2010 release. Poughkeepsie, New York multi-instrumentalist Joe McPhee organized a great double-bill at Vassar College in 1970, featuring himself and his local underground jazz peers. One disc in the two CD set of previously unreleased music consists of a complete set of music by McPhee's quintet -- wild and deeply soulful free jazz quite close in spirit to McPhee's legendary 1971 debut, Nation Time (CVSD 011CD), with clear connections to Pharoah Sanders. On the other disc, a simmering Hammond B-…