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Possibly the best document you could ever hope to find of the inventive guitar skills of Derek Bailey – a CD that brings together his seminal In Whose Tradition album with rare bonus tracks and unreleased numbers too! The core of the record features Bailey playing solo – both acoustic and electric – using the guitar less like an instrument than as a tool for exploring sound – both those coming from his own hands, and those which echo forth in the space around him! Two more tracks feature Anthony Braxton on flute and sopranino sax, and two others have Bailey in a trio with Kent Carter on bass and John Stevens on drums – and the long CD features tracks that include "Tunnel Hearing", "Rehearsal Extract (area 7)", "Six Fairly Early Pieces", "In Whose Tradition", "Postscript", "A Bit Of The Crust", and "The Last Post (morning)".

A well-titled album from the legendary Derek Bailey – definitely a set that lives up to his tremendous reputation over the years! Bailey plays solo guitar here – working through a set of short improvised pieces, and coming up with sounds that are simply incredible – especially for an era when highly experimental records like this weren't often issued. Bailey's work on the strings of the guitar is far different than just about anyone before – and most players since – more sounds than notes, and often very abstract – but with a quality that all somehow makes sense – which is a great contrast to so many of the folks who tried to imitate this music in later years. The album's one of the best illustrations both of Bailey's mighty talents, and of the influence he had in following years – and it features 14 tracks, titled simply "M1", "M2", etc – all of them great!

Derek Bailey in all of his unfettered glory – working here solo, on some very extended passages – on a great recording that offers up the entirety of a full concert from the end of the 80s! Bailey's guitar work here seems to be even more inventive than his famous experiments of the 70s – amazing work on the strings that still seem to have a sense of musicality, even when reaching for strange sounds and timings – that sense of soul that always comes through in his music, and which makes all the other folks who try to copy his mode just fall flat in their attempts! The performance features two long passages – "Let's Hope We're All In The Right Place" and "We Could Be Here For A Few Hours" – and the shorter "Which Bit Would You Like Again" – titles that all show the wit that Bailey brings to his playing too.

A brilliant collection of work from this seminal Brit avant trio of the 70s – a really striking collaboration between trombonist Paul Rutherford, guitarist Derek Bailey, and bassist Barry Guy! Both Bailey and Guy play their instruments with some amplification, which expands out their unusual phrasing, and keen ears for offbeat sounds – more textures of sound than notes themselves, which Rutherford is only happy to match with his amazing work on trombone – a style of playing that, honestly will have you wondering if there's a trombone on the record at all! A few cuts features a bit of piano from Paul, but most of the record just features these three core instruments – all with sounds that are beyond imagination. 3CD set features material that made up the albums Incus 3 and 4, with a huge amount of previously unissued bonus cuts too!

An amazing second chapter from this extremely inventive trio – a marvelous matching of the talents of Paul Rutherford on trombone, Barry Guy on bass, and Phil Wachsmann on violin! All three players use a fair bit of electronics, too – very much in the best FMP mode of mixing live acoustic improvisation with additional improvised electronics – creating this electro-acoustic mode that goes way past any staid academic form of the genre! Most tracks here are long live improvisations – brought together in a massive three CD set that really documents the uniqueness of the group – with tracks that include "Dieptaur", "Veprol", "Eiverl", "Stoleri", "Vendia", "Epis", "Panshanton", and "Phelgstar".

A perfect illustration of the genius of guitarist Robbie Basho – a set recorded early in his career, but with music that's light years ahead of most of his contemporaries! Although a set of solo acoustic guitar tracks, the music isn't really folk – nor is it the sort of acoustic underground music that would emerge more strongly in the 70s – and instead, it's got a real edge throughout – lots of odd tones and weird phrasings that almost preface a whole generation of guitar experimentalists like Derek Bailey or Eugene Chadbourne – yet still within a setting that's relatively tuneful overall! Basho's music has this subtle mysticism that we really love – and the solo sounds here are as evocative as the titles – which include "Mountain Man's Farewell", "Seal Of The Blue Lotus", "Sansara In Sweetness After Sandstorm", "Dravidian Sunday", and "Bardo Blues".

One of the first great moments from this legendary 60s ensemble – a brilliant pairing of American and European players – heard here in one of their pre-MPS sessions! Group founder Gigi Campi is well-placed at the helm – as both producer and supervisor – giving the ensemble the vital energy that made them different from so many other groups of previous years – a quality that almost has them hitting like a small combo, especially on the breakout solo moments on the set. Players include Benny Bailey and Idrees Sulieman on trumpets, Sahib Shihab and Derek Humble on reeds, and Fats Sadi on vibes – not to mention core rhythms from Francy Boland on piano, Jimmy Woode on bass, and Kenny Clarke on drums. The group's inventive style of writing and arranging is already in place – and titles include "Long Note Blues", "Speedy Reeds", "Sonor", and "Om Mani Padme Hum".

A large group in a small club – the legendary Clarke Boland Big Band, playing at the home turf of one of their key members – tenorist Ronnie Scott! The set features a very legendary performance by the ensemble – a crack lineup that's easily one of the best ever sported by the CBBB – perfectly mixing American rhythms, and a trans-Atlantic lineup of soloists – all tied together with just the sort of rich arrangements that make the group so great! Things groove right from the get-go – thanks to a rhythm lineup that features Kenny Clarke on drums, and Francy Boland on piano – plus bassist Ron Matthewson, sitting in for the usual Jimmy Woode. The horn players really send things off, though – tight trumpets from Benny Bailey, Idrees Sulieman, and Dusko Goykovich; bold trombones from Ake Persson and Nat Peck; and some searing reed lines from Johnny Griffin and Ronnie Scott on tenor, Derek Humble on alto, Sahib Shihab on baritone, and Tony Coe on both tenor and clarinet. This CD features both the first and second sets at Scotts by the group – albums titled Volcano and Rue Chaptal – with titles that include "Volcano", "Griff's Groove", "Now Hear My Meanin", "Box 703 Washington DC", "Thence We Issued Out Again to See the Stars", "Rue Chaptal", "I Don't Want Nothin From Nobody & I Ain't Giving Nothin Away", "Sax No End", "Minor Blues", and "The Girl & The Turk".

Great work by this legendary hard swinging band – an early 60s American album issued on Atlantic Records, in the years before the Clark Boland Band's legendary run on MPS! Despite the early date, the album's got all the core elements of the band's sound in place – soaring rhythms, sharp-edged frontlines, and some great solo work by players who include Benny Bailey, Derek Humble, Jimmy Woode, Shahib Shihab, Idrees Sulieman, and Fats Sadi – coming together in a brilliant trans-Atlantic meeting of jazz talents! Tracks include "Long Note Blues", "Speedy Reeds", "Sonor", and "Om Mani Padme Hum".

Great early genius from the Clarke Boland Big Band – proof that Kenny and Francy were onto something great, right from the start! The album really has the group hitting the heights of their MPS years – stretching out way past earlier big band modes, into the hip mix of rhythms and soulful solos that made the ensemble unlike any other group in the 60s – a really groundbreaking approach to their music, delivered by a range of top-shelf players! Arrangements are by Boland, who also plays piano – and other group members include Benny Bailey and Jimmy Deuchar on trumpets, Derek Humble on alto sax, Carl Drewo and Zoot Sims on tenor, Sahib Shihab on baritone sax and flute, and Ake Persson on trombone – plus rhythm from the rock-solid duo of Jimmy Woode on bass and Kenny Clarke on drums. Titles include the Latin-tinged "Los Bravos", and more great originals by Boland – including "Volutes", "The Styx", "Charon's Ferry", and "Box 703 Washington DC" – plus versions of "Gloria" and "Last Train From Overbrook".

Great early genius from the Clarke Boland Big Band – proof that Kenny and Francy were onto something great, right from the start! The album really has the group hitting the heights of their MPS years – stretching out way past earlier big band modes, into the hip mix of rhythms and soulful solos that made the ensemble unlike any other group in the 60s – a really groundbreaking approach to their music, delivered by a range of top-shelf players! Arrangements are by Boland, who also plays piano – and other group members include Benny Bailey and Jimmy Deuchar on trumpets, Derek Humble on alto sax, Carl Drewo and Zoot Sims on tenor, Sahib Shihab on baritone sax and flute, and Ake Persson on trombone – plus rhythm from the rock-solid duo of Jimmy Woode on bass and Kenny Clarke on drums. Titles include the Latin-tinged "Los Bravos", and more great originals by Boland – including "Volutes", "The Styx", "Charon's Ferry", and "Box 703 Washington DC" – plus versions of "Gloria" and "Last Train From Overbrook".

Solo acoustic guitar from Uwe Kropinsky – played with incredible dexterity at times, and a great ear for a wide range of sounds that don't always come from the strings! At some level, Kropinsky has this quality that echoes earlier work by Paco DeLucia, or other players on the Spanish scene – but his overall style is also a lot more experimental and offbeat, too – with plenty of echoes of some of the more inventive improvising guitarists of the 70s and 80s – although without ever going as outside as any of them. So in a way, Kropinski's almost a guy who knows about all the possibilities that a player like Derek Bailey or Fred Frith might have unlocked – yet he's also got a great way of still holding onto a tune, and making things swing! Titles include "April April", "Percussion + Tunes", "Speedy Gonzalez", "Flageolett Dance", and "Meine Kleine Spanische".

Two different sets of "saxophone special" recordings from Steve Lacy – each representing a key shift in his style on the European scene of the early 70s, and capturing him before he'd stratified things into the more standard Lacy modes that would come! The first half of the set has Lacy working with a great lineup that features lots of offbeat guitar from Derek Bailey – really sounding wonderfully here next to Steve's soprano sax – plus Steve Potts on alto and soprano, Kent Carter on amplified bass, and John Stevens on percussion. Sounds are sharp and short, often with the energy of some of Lacy's solo performances – but sonically expanded in a quintet setting – and titles include "38", "Flakes", and "Revolutionary Suicide". The second half features a performance from the following year – again with great guitar from Bailey and saxes from Potts – plus additional saxes from Trevor Watts and Evan Parker, and some electronics from Michel Waisvisz, which is a very nice touch. Titles include "Staples", "Dreams", "Swishes", "Sops", and "Snaps". CD features two album's worth of material – and also features the bonus alternate version of "Snaps".

Previously unreleased work from the important British Iskra ensemble of the 70s – and quite possibly some of the most striking we've ever heard from the group! Trombonist Paul Rutherford is at the helm – conducting a large ensemble on two of the long tracks here – and playing solo trombone on a third – in a way that's really wonderful, filled with creative sonic elements which really do a great job of balancing out the larger sonic explorations of the larger group! The full Iskra 1912 ensemble features additional trombone from Malcolm Griffiths, Paul Nieman, and Geoff Perkins – plus trumpet from Kenny Wheeler, reeds from Dave White and Evan Parker, piano from Howard Riley, guitar from Derek Bailey, bass from Barry Guy, and electronics from Tony Oxley. Both Maggie Nicols and Norma Winstone sing – and the two long ensemble tracks are titled "Sequence 72" and "Sequence 73".

One of the earliest albums on the Free Jazz Productions label – a large group session led by trumpeter Manfred Schoof, and featuring a wealth of great talents from the European avant garde of the 60s – including Peter Brotzmann on tenor, Enrico Rava on trumpet, Irene Schweizer and Alexander Von Schlippenbach on piano, Derek Bailey on guitar, Evan Parker on soprano sax, Paul Rutherford on trombone, and both Han Bennink and Pierre Favre on drums! The album features one long track – Schoof's "European Echoes" – the kind of extended, freewheeling, large group improvisation that was exemplary of the united front being expressed across nations by the free jazz movement of the late 60s. Still as powerful today as it was back then!

Unreleased recordings from that amazing moment when British jazz was really coming into its own – exploring the farther reaches of the avant garde, but in ways that were quite different than American sounds at the time! The lineup here features some of the most inventive London players of the generation– Kenny Wheeler on trumpet and flugelhorn, Paul Rutherford on trombone, Trevor Watts on alto and flute, Evan Parker on soprano and tenor, Barry Guy on bass and piano, and John Stevens on drums and percussion – plus some especially mesmerizing guitar from Derek Bailey on two thirds of the album's tracks. Given the 1966 and 1967 dates, the music is years ahead of its time – and titles include unused tracks for a film soundtrack – "Withdrawal" – plus other Withdrawal tracks, and the longer "Seeing Sounds & Hearing Colours".

One of the coolest projects ever to come from the Clarke Boland Big Band scene of the 60s – an album done under the leadership of Austrian tenor player Carl Drewo, but one that features all of his bandmates from the better-known big band! The set's wonderfully swinging throughout – done in a jazz waltz style with plenty of modal inflections – hardly the overdone Strauss modes you might expect from Drewo's roots, and more of the groovy 60s European rhythm modes that would show up often in sessions on Saba & MPS! Most tracks dance along beautifully – using instrumentation that includes Benny Bailey and Dusko Goykovich on trumpets, Sal Nistico on tenor, Sahib Shihab on baritone and flute, and Derek Humble on alto – all supported by the CBBB rhythm team of Francy Boland on piano, Jimmy Woode on bass, and Kenny Clarke on drums – plus the amazing Fats Sadi on percussion, really grooving along nicely at the bottom. Drewo's the lead soloist in most numbers, but he allows plenty of space for his bandmates too – and the session's got a sound we'd rank right up there with some of the best Clarke Boland projects of the 60s. Titles include "Wives & Lovers", "Fruhlingsstimmen", "My Favorite Things", "Claudia", "Schon Ist Die Welt", "Just Give Me Time", and "Keep On Keeping On".