★Tompkins Square
Searching in Grenoble : The 1978 Solo Piano Concert
Searching In Grenoble: The 1978 Solo Piano Concert is a previously unissued recording of jazz icon Mal Waldron's mesmerizing performance at the "Five Days of Jazz" series in Grenoble, France on March 23, 1978. Waldron was Billie Holiday’s final accompanist, played on classic sessions with John Coltrane, Charles Mingus and Jackie McLean among others, and recorded dozens of solo albums as a leader before his passing in 2002. Originally produced by the legendary André Francís and transferred from t…
A Stone's Throw (LP)
A then obsessed teenaged devotee of John Fahey, Robbie Basho, and Leo Kottke at a time when Punk and New Wave were ascendant, Russell Potter harnessed a similar DIY ethos to his own ends by starting his own label & self-publishing his first record, 'A Stone’s Throw’, while a freshman enrolled at Goddard College in Vermont in 1979. Assembled at the legendary Boddie Records in Potter’s hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, and sprinkled liberally with references to his heroes, from the initial record label…
Spine River : The Guitar Music of Wall Matthews, 1967-1981
Guitarist Wall Matthews is surviving member of experimental 70's collective, Entourage. Sampled by Four Tet, their name whispered in reverence through the decades, Entourage forged bold musical ideas on their two rare ’70s Folkways LPs. Tompkins Square released Ceremony of Dreams : Studio Sessions and Outtakes, 1972-1977, in 2018 to wide acclaim. Spine River : The Guitar Music of Wall Matthews, 1967-1981 is a collection of unreleased or obscure music by the master guitarist. This volume will be …
The Complete Paramount & Brunswick Recordings, 1929
From 1926 to 1930 one of the most popular rural string bands on record was Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers. Through their 78 RPM discs and their various performances, Charlie Poole was second only to Gid Tanner and His Skillet Lickers. Poole's uniquely syncopated three finger banjo picking style coupled with his Piedmont vocal inflections eventually colored and defined much of what we consider "old-time" music. The classic configuration of banjo, fiddle and guitar with vocals was enc…
Ceremony of Dreams: Studio Sessions & Outtakes, 1972-1977
The Entourage Music & Theatre Ensemble (aka Entourage) were a genuine cult band -- with dancers -- formed by saxophonist/keyboardist Joe Clark in Baltimore, Maryland in 1970. Their compositions crisscross jazz, minimalism, classical music, global folk traditions, and improvisations in a hybrid fusion of their own creation. Entourage left Baltimore first for Millbrook, New York and finally New London, Connecticut. They recorded two albums for Moses Asch's Folkways label, a self-titled trio offeri…
Passing Dream
Tompkins Square reissues two albums by Texas singer/songwriter Will Beeley - the self-released mega-rare (only 200 copies) private press LP 'Gallivantin' from 1971, and 'Passing Dream', originally released by Malaco Records in 1979.
Recorded in San Antonio, 'Gallivantin' shows Beeley's heartfelt, folky side - a wistful set of original tunes, plus a cover of Bob Dylan's "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" and a spaced-out, 10 minute+ Eastern-influenced psych take on Buffy Sainte-Marie's "Little Wheel…
Jackdaw
Larry Conklin bought his first guitar, a Gibson J-45, in 1970, after he got out of the army. "I taught myself to play. I wrote songs and instrumentals (at that time Bert Jansch was my guiding light). I listened to a lot of people - Leo Kottke, John Renbourn, Django Reinhardt, Lonnie Johnson, Robert Johnson - and especially Rev. Gary Davis, who played only with his thumb and index finger as I did." Larry's first record, Jackdaw was self-released in 1980 and includes beautiful solo 12 stri…
The Music of The Music of Harry Taussig & Max Ochs
Fifty years ago, Harry Taussig and Max Ochs were featured on a sampler LP, 'Contemporary Guitar - Spring '67', alongside John Fahey, Robbie Basho, and Bukka White. Both guitarists were "re-discovered" by Tompkins Square in 2005, and have since released new recordings for the label. 'The Music of Harry Taussig & Max Ochs' features newly recorded material, commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Takoma sampler they first appeared on.
Opus III
Guitarist and singer-songwriter Ryley Walker discovered the 1972 private press LP in a Chicago record store, loved what he heard, and teamed with Tompkins Square to produce the reissue. John Hulburt (1947-2012) was a member of legendary mid-60's Chicago garage rock band The Knaves, whose records were recently reissued by Sundazed. Opus III showcases his exceptional talent on the acoustic guitar, proving somewhat of an anomaly in a city not known for its solo guitar recordings during this era. W…