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A wonderful pairing of talents – the moody, enigmatic piano of Ran Blake – and the sharp-toned alto of Anthony Braxton! The set's a sublime piano/sax duet to match similar experiments by Mal Waldron and Marion Brown, or Archie Shepp and Dollar Brand – and it's an added plus for folks like us who dig the straighter side of Braxton's playing – as the set's mostly built around jazz standards, which are put forth in these core, blocky, modernist modes by Blake – then given a soulful finish on the top by Braxton! Titles include "Four", "Soul Eyes", "Just Friends", "Round Midnight", and "Yardbird Suite".

A brilliant reinvention of the Bobby Bradford/John Carter partnership – a key force on the LA avant scene of the late 60s and early 70s – still filled with fire in this later recording! Bradford's cornet has lost none of its force – and the real shift here is Carter, who works only on clarinet – yet uses the instrument with incredible energy, with bold, stretching lines that move far past some of the more fragile aspects of the instrument – and which seem to get pushed even farther here by Bradford than on some of Carter's own albums as a leader during the 80s. The rest of the group features Don Preston on piano and keyboards, Richard Davis on bass, and the mighty Andrew Cyrille on drums – whose playing here really propels the whole set strongly – on titles that include "Comin On", "Sunday Afternoon Jazz Society Blues", "Room 408", and "Encounter".

One of Anthony Braxton's first great recordings with a larger group – a really impressive array of sounds and tones that takes his compositional experiments to the next level! Tunes here are all those complicated Braxton formulas from the 70s – carried out by a host of equally-imaginative players who include Dwight Andrews, Vinny Golia, JD Parran, Marty Erlich, and Ned Rothenberg on saxes and reeds; Kenny Wheeler, Leo Smith, and Michael Mossman on trumpets; Ray Anderson, George Lewis, and James King Roosa on trombones; Marilyn Crispell on piano, Bobby Naughton on vibes, James Emery on guitar, Bob Ostertag on synthesizer, Thurman Barker on percussion and marimba, and Braxton himself at the head of the ensemble! The electronics come across with some great tones that really link the freer reed moments – and the sound of the whole album is plenty powerful throughout.

A very angular trio recording from Anthony Braxton – one that features drums from Tony Oxley and bass from Adelhard Roidinger – and a range of great reeds from Braxton! Oxley's presence is especially important here – as the set was recorded in that great late 80s stretch when he was really on fire – able to bring a really fresh range of sounds to work with a variety of players – amazing percussive elements from the drum kit, with angular energy that really matches Braxton's creative work on alto, soprano, sopranino, c-melody sax, flute, and clarinet! Roidinger's basslines often hold back, and kind of ground the set with a sonic depth – allowing Oxley to almost act more like another melody player. Titles include "Composition 40J", "Composition 40D", "All The Things You Are", "The Angular Apron", and "Composition 6".

Braxton and Ellington appear here as composers of the work, not as performers – but the spirit of both is alive and well in this performance, breaking out in complicated waves of sound that recall the earliest moments of the former, but which are also informed by the concepts of freedoms put forth by the latter! The performance features passages from Braxton's "Composition No 257" and Ellington's "Freedoms No 1, 4, & 6 From The Sacred Concert No 2" – performed by a sonically-conscious quartet that includes Roland Dahinden on trombone, Hildegard Kleeb on piano, Dimitris Polisoidis on violin, and Robert Holdrich on electronics – used here in a heavy, textural way that reminds us a bit of Braxton's own recordings in the format during the 70s! There's moments when the deeper electronic tones bubble forth with the trombone that are simply wonderful – creating soundshapes and tones that are worth the price of the record alone, slightly augmented by bits of piano and violin.

An amazing debut from the John Carter/Bobby Bradford New Art Jazz Ensemble – one of the most powerful voices in jazz on the west coast at the end of the 60s! In a way, the quartet's sound is a culmination of the underground changes that had been bubbling under during most of the 60s on the LA scene – new ways of conceiving jazz after Ornette and Dolphy had first set the scene on fire at the start of the decade, but styles that weren't receiving nearly the exposure as some of the better-known avant work on the Chicago, New York, or European scenes. The style here definitely owes something of a legacy to Ornette in the way it reconceives rhythm and melody – and a bit to Dolphy in its freewheeling, free-thinking work on clarinet, flute, and alto by John Carter. Bobby Bradford's bracing trumpet lines really give the album a tremendous punch – and the rest of the group features Tom Williamson on bass and Bruz Freeman (brother of George and Von!) on drums. Titles include "Seeking", "The Village Dancers", "Sticks & Stones", "In The Vineyard", "Karen On Monday", and "Song For The Unsung".

The title might give you some hint of the feel of the set – as it's got a relatively complex quality, one that definitely fits its naming with a difficult formula – although the music itself is anything by formulaic! The group's headed by tenorist Ellery Eskelin, and features a round of New York stalwarts that includes Andrea Parkins on piano and accordion, Jim Black on drums and percussion, Marc Ribot on guitar, Melvin Gibbs on bass, and Jessica Constable on voice – all working together in the mix of free jazz and more offbeat, art-based sounds they can create. Through it all, Eskelin's tenor brings a nice degree of soul to the set – and titles include "If Not Now", "Tell Me When", "Anyone's Guess", "Say It Again", and "More Than That".

A wonderful blend of free jazz & atmospheric electronic experimentation led by soprano mainstay Steve Lacy – a truly inviting blend of open-ended sounds that manages to all come together in a very natural way! Sadly, this set captured here at the NEWJazz meeting of 2002 at Baden-Baden, Germany turned out to be one of Lacy's final projects – and it's a nice tribute to his legacy of openness and a free spirit. The project started by using a piece by ambitious composer Bernard Lang, "DW 1.2 For Piano, Flute And Saxophone" as a starting point for the improvisations of an interesting group of players – including Lacy, Peter Herbert on double bass, Wolfgang Reisinger on drums, Philip Jeck on turntables, plus Christof Kurzmann and Lang on electronics. It essentially develops a dialogue among the genres themselves – jazz, electronica and freeform sound art – as much as between the individual players! 6 extended numbers with the titles "DW 1.2 Remix 6.8" (quartet of Lacy, Lang, Herbert & Reisinger), "DW 1.3 Remix 7.4" (trio of Lacy, Lang & Jeck) "DW 1.2 Remix 10.2" (quartet of Kurzman, Lacy Herbert & Reisinger), "DW 1.2 Remix 7.7" (duo Jeck & Lacy), "DW 1.2 Remix Karlsruhe 3.3" (solo Lacy) and "DW 1.2 Remix 6.1" (quartet Lang, Lacy Herbert & Reisinger).

A masterpiece by Warne Marsh – and proof that there was always a committed modernist lurking behind some of his more straightforward playing! The session has sort of a post-Tristano underground west coast feel (if we can make up such a heavy handed term!), and it features a piano-less quartet with Marsh on tenor, Gary Foster on alto, Dave Parlato on bass, and Terry Tirabasso on drums. Foster's playing at this point in his career is wonderful, with lots of crisy icy tones that remind us of the best Konitz recordings of the mid 50s. Tracks are long and introspective, and titles include Tristano's "Lennies Pennies" and "317 E 32nd", Konitz's "Subconscious-Lee", and the original improvisation "Touch & Go".

Searing early work from Joe McPhee – quite possibly his hardest-hitting recording of the 70s, even if the material wasn't properly issued until 25 years later! The performance was done for radio station WBAI in New York – and it features McPhee, Clifford Thornton, and Byron Morris coming together in an experimental setting that also includes some earlier taped performances by McPhee alongside the live work by the group! There's an energy here that rivals the most aggressive avant work on Impulse Records at its best – a soaring, righteous sound that's got an undercurrent of social change and politics, as you'd find in classics by Archie Shepp or Marion Brown. The remaining members of the group include Mike Kull on piano and Harold E Smith on percussion, and McPhee plays trumpet as well as tenor – on titles that include "Black Magic Man", "Nation Time", "Song For Lauren", "Message From Denmark", "Harriet", and "The Looking Glass 1".

A key recording from the early years of David Murray – a sharp-edged trio recording that instantly placed him in a strong lineage of tenor improvisers that includes Sonny Rollins and Albert Ayler! The record's a live date – recorded at the Wilisau Jazz Festival in 1978 with a trio that features Johnny Dyani on bass and Andrew Cyrille on drums – both well-chosen players to assist Murray on his long, exploratory tracks for the record – tunes that somewhat break open his loft jazz styles of the period, and push things slightly more into a European improvisatory mode. Titles include "3D Family", "Patricia", "In Memory Of Yomo Kenyatta", and "Shout Song".

Pure genius from Horace Tapscott – a record that really lights a new fire under his talents – and takes us back to some of the most expressive, most righteous jazz from the LA scene of the 70s! The quartet here features key LA player John Carter on clarinet – an instrument that he'd embraced heavily during the decade in which this set was recorded, but managed to use with a sense of boldness and fire brought to earlier work on saxes – a sound that's quite different than just about any other player on the instrument! Carter's a perfect match for Tapscott's long-woven lines on piano – heard to great effect on the album's reworking of his classic "Dark Tree" – but cast out perfectly on all the other tunes too – thanks in part to tremendous rhythm work from Cecil McBee on bass and Andrew Cyrille on drums! The set's brilliant all the way through – one of the greatest things Hat Art ever recorded – and a record to rival any of the great indie underground sets of the 70s. Titles include "One For Lately", "The Dark Tree", "Sketches Of Drunken Mary", "Lino's Pad", "Sandy & Niles", "A Dress For Renee", and "Nyja's Theme".

A very moody performance from Cecil Taylor – one long reading of the piece "Calling It The 8th", originally presented as 2LP set, but finally getting its due here as a single CD that presents the whole thing from start to finish with no interruption! Although as free as some of Taylor's other material from the time, the work also has a sound that's somehow more introspective than some of the others – possibly because of the rumbling bass work of William Parker, which seems to ground the record in an earthy territory that has the players circling back to home after taking freer flights on their solos. The group is a quartet, with Taylor on piano, Jimmy Lyons on alto, Parker on bass, and Rashid Bakr on drums.

A pair of burning 21st Century recordings by Per Henrik Wallin – easily one of the greatest free jazz pianists working the European scene for the past few decades – as you'll certainly hear on this set! CD 1 features duets between Wallin and drummer Sven Akie Johansson – recorded in an intimate setting in Wallin's apartment, but played with a full sense of explosive energy that would easily rival the best live work by either player. The performance runs for nearly an hour, and features 10 segments, all numbered versions of "Proklamation". CD 2 is a live date from Amsterdam – one that features a trio with Peter Janson on bass and Leif Wennerstrom on drums – working with Wallin in a mode that's certainly a bit more inside than the first one, but no less creative overall. Echoes of piano modernism from the 50s onward characterize many of the numbers – and Wallin brings together a legacy of key players into dialectic with his own approach – shifting back and forth beautifully, and showing a command of the keyboard that's simply breathtaking. Titles include "Farewell To Sweden", "Winter Rap", "Work", "PH's Delight", "Time Waits", "Voodoo", and "The Question Of Evoking".

One of John Zorn's best-known "game" pieces – served up here in both a studio and live performance! Zorn doesn't play anything on the recordings, but acts as the "prompter" – a conductor of sorts, encouraging improvisations from a variety of players that include Jim Staley on trombone, Bill Frisell on electric guitar, Elliott Sharp on doubleneck guitar, Arto Lindsay on guitar, Wayne Horvitz on piano, Anthony Coleman on organ and harpsichord, Christian Marclay on turntables, Zeena Parkins on harp, and Bobby Previte on percussion. The lineup is amazing – really a "who's who" of the New York art music scene in the mid 80s – and there's a nice use of turntables and tapes on both performances – making for sonic interplay that goes way beyond the usual Zorn recording!

A great follow-up to the initial News For Lulu project – a late 80s reinvention of the sound of Blue Note, handled by this trio of key modernists from the time! As proven by recordings like this over the years, John Zorn's a player who – despite his own very modern and avant tendencies – has a great respect for older jazz traditions, and a strong ability to bring them into his music – even if the connections aren't always that obvious! Here, the link is explicit – in the album's choice of tunes by Hank Mobley, Sonny Clark, Kenny Dorham, John Patton, and Freddie Redd – all Blue Note legends from the hardbop generation, providing core elements that are completely reworked into modern showcases for the alto of Zorn, guitar of Bill Frisell, and trombone of George Lewis. Lewis' presence is especially great – a rhythmic pulse and sense of depth that really grounds the session nicely. The CD features material from two live performances – and titles include "Melody For C", "News For Lulu", "Funk In Deep Freeze", "Gare Guillemins", "Hank's Other Tune", "Minor Swing", and "Peckin Time".

One of our favorite records from Archie Shepp's "new traditionalism" years – a set of understated brilliance and beauty, and proof that Shepp's tenor could sound every bit as great on the inside of jazz as it did on the out! The group here is a quartet – with Ken Werner on piano, Santie Debriano on bass, and John Betsch on drums – but the real star of the scene is Archie, blowing with a rough-edged tone that's dripping with soul and humanity – definitely "knowing about the life" in the title, and coming through with a timeless quality that makes him stand beautifully alongside older players like Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, or Sonny Stitt! Titles include "Well You Needn't", "I Know About The Life", "Giant Steps", and "Round Midnight".

Stunning live recordings from Albert Ayler's European tour of late 1966 – during a peak creative period for Ayler – while working with an incredible group! This excellent CD captures them in Stockholm for Swedish radio on November 10, 1966 – followed by an equally well documented set in Berlin from one week prior. The performances themselves are energetic throughout, and in turns elegiac, playful and all-out intense! It's awe-inspiring material with emotional depth – that facet enhanced a bit by the presence of a violin – by Dutch player Michel Samson, who is great here. Donald Ayler's trumpet communicates brilliantly with the violin and William Folwell's double bass. Beaver Harris holds it down on drums, while Ayler blazes away in the leader, taking the group into unpredictable movements. Greatness! Includes "Truth Is Marching In", "Omega (Is The Alpha)", "Our Prayer – Bells" and "Infinite Spirit – Japan" from Stockholm, juxtaposed with differing performances of those titles in Berlin, plus the riveting closer "Ghosts – Bells", also from Berlin.

A beautiful illustration of the deep talents of Anthony Ortega – a player who still sounds as creative and inventive this late in his career as he did way back in the 50s and 60s! The bulk of the CD features Ortega in two settings – one, a batch of studio duets with bassist Kash Killion; the other a series of live solo performances, recorded in Paris by a video camera! The Killion duets have a wonderfully warm, round sound – acoustic bass set up next to Ortega's alto and flute, with a carefully structured approach that's extremely thoughtful, and almost poetic. The live solos have a much rougher sound – partly from the starkness of the video recording, but also because they represent Oretga taking it much more off the cuff – just spinning things out on alto sax with a sound that's a fair bit like the old days. And to cap things off – speaking of the old days – the CD closes with one more duet from the 60s – a track that has Ortega and bassist Chuck Domanico playing together from an older Revelation session, appearing here for the first time ever! That track is a long version of "Ornithology", and other titles include "Ask Me Now", "Jupiter", "Blue Monk", "I'll Remember April", "Now's The Time", and "Open Spaces".

The title's "sonic fiction", not "science fiction" – but the sound here draws a great deal from that confusion of terms – as the blend of elements in the set often has a stark, almost academic nature – a sound that's as cerebral as it is experimental – and quite different from a more organic set of free improvisations! The trio here features Georg Graewe on piano, Ernst Reijseger on cello, and Gerry Hemmingway on drums – and the work was all recorded live at a museum in Germany at the end of the 80s – a setting that may have had something of an influence on the sound. Titles include "Alien Corn" in three parts – plus "Aspects Of Somnambulism/Demure Scuttle", "Fangled Talk", "Masting", and "Fibulation".

Wonderful work from the twin-reed combo of Bernd Konrad and Hans Koller – a record that really takes off from some of Koller's free music experiments of the 70s! The group is a very cohesive one – with Konrad on soprano and baritone, and Koller on tenor and sopranino – alongside violin by Didier Lockwood, piano by Christoph Spendel, bass by Thomas Stabenow, and drums by Martin Bues – and the overall feel here is strongly fascinated with textures of sound amidst the more angular reed interplay, in a way that's still relatively structured, but often flows into darker corners of more abstract expression. Core titles include "Jeannerette", "Nordlicht", "Phonolith 1", "Traumtanzer", and "Aufwartsregen" – and the CD also features 3 additional tracks recorded by Konrad and Koller in 1994!

We're not often the biggest fans of poetry in the work of Steve Lacy – but somehow, this set seems to come off especially right – thanks, no doubt, to the fact that beat legend Brion Gysin composed all of the words! Gysin himself only speaks on 2 titles – but his presence there is especially strong – grounding the other vocals by Irene Aebi with a gruff and gritty sensibility that she seems to carry back to her own interpretations of his words on the other titles. Members of the group here are usual Lacy conspirators – Aebi on voice and violin, Bobby Few on piano, Steve Potts on alto and soprano saxes, Jean-Jacques Avenel on bass, and Oliver Johnson on drums. Titles include "Luvzya", "Permutations", "Gay Paree Bop", "Nowhere Street", "Somebody Special", and "Keep The Change" – all of which feature music by Lacy, set to words by Gysin!

One of Steve Lacy's great late 70s recordings for Hat Hut – a searing live performance that was one of his boldest efforts from the time! The group here are a quintet of familiar players – Steve Potts on alto and soprano sax, Irene Aebi on cello and voice, Kent Carter on bass, and Oliver Johnson on drums – all working together as a tremendously cohesive unit, with a dexterously angular feel on most of the numbers. Titles are all quite long, and with lots of choppy saxophone interplay – and Aebi performs a piece by Brion Gysin on the track "Dreams" 2CD set seems greatly expanded from the original album – and titles include "Raps", "The Way", "The Breath", "Stamps", "Bone", "Life On Its Way", and "Name".

A key European appearance for saxophonist Oliver Lake – captured here at the tail end of a strong rise on the US scene in the 70s! The music here is almost a fair bit freer than some of Lake's other sides from the time – long tracks played by a trio that includes Michael Gregory Jackson on guitar and Pheeroan AkLaff on drums – alongside Lake's own tenor, alto, and soprano sax. Jackson's guitar lines have a mind of their own – often running out in frenetic ways that diverge strongly from Lake's own solo inspirations – but in a way that further adds to the energy of the set. Titles include "5/1", "Zaki", "Clicker", and "Shine".

The title's almost a bit of a mystery here – as the music is so right on the money, so sense-making, that we can hardly hear a non-sequitur in the set – just these well-hewn, thoughtfully-played lines of sound coming from the twin tenors of David Liebman and Ellery Eskelin! The record's a mix of modern swingers and more abstract numbers – but throughout, the reedmen prove that they're very well matched – players who clearly think alike when it comes to spinning a line – very able to find the right sort of sonic space in which to work together. The group's completed by Tony Marino on bass and Jim Black on drums – and the centerpiece of the set is Eskelin's "Non Sequiturs" suite – plus the tracks "New Breed", "In The Mean Time", and a version of Albert Ayler's "Ghosts".

A genius collaboration between Max Roach and Anthony Braxton – a single performance that spans the entire record, and which showcases some of the best work by both players at the time! Roach is a real revelation here – coming off of an already experimental side of 70s sessions, but moving into even more of a deeply complicated mode here through a range of different percussion instruments, gongs, and cymbals – all of which help him unlock a more melodic side of his playing, which is then offset by even more dramatic rhythmic moments. Braxton is wonderful too – moving beyond some of his colder 70s moments and often unleashing searing solo intensity that rivals the best of the European free scene. There's a mix of modes, styles, sounds, and textures here that keeps things exciting throughout – and the album's a real treasure in the catalog of both artists!

A brilliant little record – and a key step in the explosion of growth that Max Roach experienced in the 70s! Shepp and Roach are no strangers to the modern frontiers of jazz – but in a series of duets like this in the 70s, Roach really pushes his own work on drums past any boundaries of previous, structured recordings – and manages to light a new fire under Archie Shepp as well – unlocking some of the energies that had been dormant during his return to straighter playing in the late 70s. Shepp's tone is wonderful – rich and soulful, and nicely structured at points – but the real stunner here is Roach, showing a huge range of expressive styles on the drums – encompassing a wealth of 70s mode of playing, almost in a way that says "hey you younger guys, I invented all of this – and look what I can do here!" The tracks are long and exploratory – and titles include "U Jaa Ma", "The Long March", "It's Time", "South Africa Goddam", and "J.C. Moses".

A really unique little trio – and one that helps Ellery Eskelin create some of his most memorable music on record! The group has a unique approach – in that Eskelin's tenor is mixed with accordion and samples from Andrea Parkins – a really wonderful combination, as Parkins is sometimes straightish, almost playing like an organ – sometimes extremely textural, coming up with really offbeat sounds that really push the envelop! Percussionist Jim Black completes the group, and has a great sensitivity to the players twists and turns – and titles include "One Great Day", "Vertical Hold", "T64KL37B", "Too Much Orange", "Fallen Angel", "The Inflated Tear", and "Side Effects".

A sublime meeting of three incredibly well-matched players – all artists who worked together in various formations back in the 60s, but waited another 30 years to record here as a trio! There's an airiness that really uniques all the artists in the trio – a sense of space and grace that's always heard in the piano of Don Friedman and guitar of Atilla Zoller, and which re-emerges wonderfully here in the alto of Konitz – recorded with a crispness and focus that is sometimes missing in other later sessions. The notes hang in space here beautifully – never too academic, but always with the sense of tone and timing that was probably first inspired by Lee's work of the 50s, in recordings that featured guitarist Billy Bauer, who always was clearly an inspiration to the sound of Attilla Zoller. But the actual formation here is more in the mode of the Hans Koller school, as he interpreted some of Konitz ideas in the German scene of the 50s and 60s – and the recording echoes with a sense of perfection that takes us back to some of the Koller/Zoller collaborations for MPS. Titles include "Images", "Thingin", "Joy For Joy", "Opus D'Amour", "Cloisterbells", and "Suite For 3".

The Steve Lacy Five at the height of their 80s powers – really burning here in an extended live set that's arguably a lot more forceful than some of their studio recordings! Steve heads the group on soprano sax – alongside Steve Potts on alto and soprano, Jean Jacques Avenel on bass, and Oliver Johnson on percussion – plus Irene Aebi on cello, violin, and some of her trademark vocalizations! Avenel and Johnson really help shape the sound of the record in some of the best moments – giving the set a rhythmic push that's really tremendous, and which seems to really set fire to the reeds. Titles include "Blinks", "Prospectus", "Wickets", "Cliches", and "Stamps".

A very moody performance from Cecil Taylor – one long reading of the piece "Calling It The 8th"! Although as free as some of Taylor's other material from the time, the work also has a sound that's somehow more introspective than some of the others – possibly because of the rumbling bass work of William Parker, which seems to ground the record in an earthy territory that has the players circling back to home after taking freer flights on their solos. The group is a quartet, with Taylor on piano, Jimmy Lyons on alto, Parker on bass, and Rashid Bakr on drums.

A beautiful little record – and one of the most compelling Hat Art sets we've heard from a younger artist in a long time! The approach here is quite fresh – initially an interplay of tones and textures, which quickly moves into some rhythmically expressive tunes that push the band forward nicely. There's then a return to more subtle sound shifts – making great use of piano from Michel Wintsch and bass clarinet from Lukas Roos – then opening up with more lively lines from Marco Von Orelli on trumpet and Lukas Briggen on trombone! Wintsch also plays a bit of keyboards, and the set also features Kaspar Von Grunigen on bass and Samuel Duhsler on drums. Titles include "Marsala's Strandgut", "Urban Ways", "Poetry", "Narragonia", and "Maris".