Special discounted Bundle. Two of the greatest free jazz records ever laid to tape, back where they belong. Superior Viaduct reissues Noah Howard's The Black Ark and Julius Hemphill's Dogon A.D. — both from 1972, both inexplicably scarce for decades, both essential.

The Black Ark finds Howard backed by a towering ensemble — Norris Jones (Sirone), Arthur Doyle, Leslie Waldron, Earl Cross, Juma Sultan, Mohammed Ali — in four tracks that move from hard-blown spiritual fire to lyrical catharsis. Described as "the missing link between Albert Ayler and Archie Shepp", it stands fully on its own terms: one of the great sessions of its era.

Dogon A.D., Hemphill's debut as leader, is a defining document of St. Louis' Black Artists' Group, featuring Baikida Carroll, Hamiet Bluiett, Abdul Wadud on cello, and Phillip Wilson. Minimal, slow-burning, and utterly visionary — Wadud's bowed cello in place of bass, three pieces that move from dirge to fury to fifteen minutes of transcendent complexity.

Both editions perfectly reproduce the original cover designs, with newly commissioned liner notes by John Corbett. 2026 may be the year of free jazz. Start here.