A really raw recording of the guitar genius of Derek Bailey – still as revolutionary here in late life as it was back in the 70s – and paired with some stunning improvisational work on bass from Simon H Fell! Fell's got the same way of turning his instrument inside out as Bailey, but also sometimes goes for these more human, textural approaches – almost as if he's hugging the bass, and urging it to life with his arms and fingers – while Bailey's approach is more pointed. The set was performed live, and has a great sense of room in the recording, with the elements echoing out nicely – on the titles "Pre-Tea 1", "Pre-Tea 2", "Post-Tea 1", and "Post-Tea 2". LP, Vinyl record album

A landmark album in the British avant garde – the first set ever issued on Incus Records, and a monumental set of improvisations between Evan Parker on saxes, Hank Bennink on percussion, and Derek Bailey on guitar! The album followed from some great energy on the British scene of the previous few years – but went onto set the tone for countless other improvisations in years to come – especially in the way that Bailey's guitar is integrated into the sharper sounds of the saxes and drums. That blend may well be the record's strongest contribution to improvisation – but even without that historic status, it's still a hell of a set from some genius players at their height. Titles include "Dogmeat", "For Peter B & Peter K", "Fixed Elsewhere", and "Titan Moon". LP, Vinyl record album

Features Derek Bailey on guitar, Jamaaladeen Tacuma on bass, and Calvin Weston on drums! CD

Percussionist Andrea Centazzo really rises to the occasion here – as one might when meeting with the legendary Derek Bailey at a time when he was really at the height of his powers! Bailey works on both acoustic and electric guitars here – and has a way of creating all these amazing sounds and moments on his instruments – that famous style of improvisation he first unleased on the world at the end of the 60s, honed during the early part of the 70s, and which is in full bloom here! Centazzo is nicely respectful, and really finds a way to match the best of Bailey's impulses – playing a range of percussion instruments big and small. Titles include "Drop Three", "Tutti Cantabile", "Recapitulation Reiteration & Rabbits", "How Long Has This Been Going On", "Jim Never Seems To Send Me Pretty Flowers", and "Drop Two". LP, Vinyl record album

A rare meeting of two musical modernists – legendary improvising guitarist Derek Bailey and percussionist Paul Motian – the latter of whom is in some of his freest territory ever next to Bailey! The set features one long improvisation, plus a shorter encore – both really tremendous and in this space that's a definite meeting of the minds – with Derek maybe working at a level that's slightly more earthy next to some of Motian's percussion, while Paul finds this way to spontaneously move between more subtle sonic expressions and bolder moments of rhythm! The balance is great – an especially unique chapter in Bailey's long legacy of albums of this nature, and a key addition to Motian's catalog as well. LP, Vinyl record album

A seminal meeting between two of the most important modern jazz talents of the 70s – reedman Anthony Braxton, whose roots in the Chicago AACM scene were already expanding to a huge influence on the European world of free jazz – and guitarist Derek Bailey, the British player who seemingly stepped out of his own unique space to completely revolutionize the electric guitar! Both musicians are at their best here – working together at a level that's as much sonic exploration in terms of tones, textures, and timings – as it is new frontiers of music. And that's not to say that there's not some great musical moments, too – as the combination of darkness and light is what really makes the album special – as both players move effortlessly through an extended improvisation. Bailey plays electric guitar – and Braxton blows soprano, alto, b flat clarinet, and contrabass clarinet. Great 2LP reissue – with a full two sides of unreleased material recorded at the same performance as the main album! LP, Vinyl record album

Lol Coxhill on soprano saxophone, Anthony Braxton on soprano and alto saxophone, flute, and clarinet, Evan Parker on soprano and tenor saxophone, Leo Smith on trumpet and flute, Derek Bailey on guitar, Tristan Honsinger on cello, Maarten van Regteren Altena on bass, and Han Bennink on drums, viola and banjo. CD

A legendary meeting of free jazz talents – and one of those records that completely changed the game during the 70s! Both guitarist Derek Bailey and drummer Han Bennink work here at a level that seems completely divorced from American roots in jazz – about as strongly in the post-68 freedoms of the European scene as possible – with both musicians opening up an incredible range of sonic elements on their instruments! And while the sometimes-bold drum work of Bennink might be seen as a challenge to the more intricate guitar sounds of Bailey, both players really find a way to work together perfectly – which also makes the record a key illustration of that spontaneous understanding that can arise between the best of the free jazz scene. Titles include "Call That A Balance", "Misty", "The Girl With The Concrete Tongue", and "Who Is That". 2LP version features unreleased bonus tracks on the full second album! LP, Vinyl record album

The cover's got a classic FMP look, and the album follows suit nicely – a set of solo acoustic guitar improvisations from Duck Baker, played in a spirit that recalls the 70s generation of improvisers, such as Derek Bailey or Henry Kaiser – yet played with a nice undercurrent of warmth! Baker really uses the full range of the instrument – still sticking mostly to the strings, but plucking, strumming, and knocking them in some very cool and creative ways. Titles include "Peace", "Juxta Pose", "Pole Ska", "The Idea Of San Francisco", "Instant Opus", "Allah Perhaps", and "Adolescent Ballad". CD

An assortment of collaborative improvisations – Duck Baker on guitar, and a range of top-flight musicians on the variety of different selections – work recorded over the past few decades, in spaces that includes clubs, homes, and studios around the world! Baker has always been a very versatile player – his albums always have such a different feel, it's often hard to say that there's one sort of style that defines his playing. And that versatility really shows up here – as you'll hear Duck in a series of duets with Michael Moore on alto, Mark Dresser on bass, Derek Bailey on guitar, Steve Beresford on piano, John Butcher on tenor, and Roswell Rudd on trombone – plus a trio with Alex Ward on clarinet and Joe Williamson on bass – and a quartet with Ward on clarinet, John Edwards on bass, and Steve Noble on drums. Titles include "Indie Pen Dance", "Duo For 225 Strings", "Pope Slark", "Signing Off", "The Missing Chandler", and "East River Delta Blues". CD

Great live material from the best years of this amazing ensemble that included some of the finest American and European players of the 60s! The band's at its best here – wailing away in a firey live setting, recorded with high quality by Europe 1 Radio in 1969. Players include Tony Coe, Johnny Griffin, Benny Bailey, Art Farmer, Sahib Shihab, and Derek Humble – plus the great rhythm team of Jimmy Woode, Francy Boland, and Kenny Clarke! Most of the tunes are classics of the band – and titles include "All Through The Night", "Now Hear My Meaning", "New Box", "Volcano", "Box 702", "Sax No End", "Sonor", "The Jamfs Are Coming", "Doing Time", and "Evanescence". CD

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". CD

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 album features the full "first set" at Scotts by the group – with titles that include "Volcano", "Griff's Groove", "Now Hear My Meanin", "Box 703 Washington DC", and "Thence We Issued Out Again to See the Stars". LP, Vinyl record album

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 album features the full "second set" at Scotts by the group – with titles that include "Rue Chaptal", "I Don't Want Nothin", "Sax No End", and "The Girl & The Turk". LP, Vinyl record album

Pure acoustic genius from Hans Reichel – an improvising musician who rose up in the same generation as Derek Bailey and Fred Frith, but who's got a sound that's maybe much more in the experimental style of American artists like John Fahey or Robbie Basho! We're not saying that Reichel sounds exactly like either of them, but there is a similar love of overall sonic possibilities, and finding tunefulness far from the norm – continually coming up with breathless beauty at a level that's really unexpected, and definitely different than the usual session of free jazz on the FMP label. Titles include "Could Be Nice", "Two Small Pieces Announced By Cigar Box", "Bonobo Beach 1", "Southern Monologue", and "Bonobo Beach 2". CD

Two side-long improvised tracks – recorded in a spacious concert hall in Tokyo, and featuring the drums and percussion of Masahiko Togashi alongside some very inventive work on guitar from Masayuki Takayanagi! Togashi is very different than the usual jazz drummer – and even when working the kit, has this way of moving forward, then stopping, moving forward, then turning – almost as if he's trying to be as a-rhythmic as possible! Takayanagi's guitar is a great accompaniment in this mood – as he plays with these unusual sonic elements – almost in the school of Derek Bailey or Fred Frith, but even more tentative than both of them – really matching the quality of the drums, at a level that makes for extremely sensitive improvisation throughout. Titles include "Inner Pulsation" and "Outer Pulsation". LP, Vinyl record album

An early moment of genius from composer Gavin Bryars – and a set that was issued on Brian Eno's Obscure Records label in the mid 70s, which ensured that Bryars' music found a larger audience outside the realm of avant classical! That turns out to be a good thing here, as the music here is almost of its own genre – warmer and more personal than some of the arch modes of the CRI generation – as Bryars mixes a small string group with his own piano, a bit of spoken word, and tapes of additional strings – which add in this eerie sort of ghost vibe to the piece – a slight current of sentiment, but not in a romantic way. The second piece is equally important to Bryars' career – the wonderful "Jesus Blood Never Failed Me Yet" – which uses a found recording of the older song by an elderly singer, then echoed and augmented by work from Michael Nyman on organ and Derek Bailey on guitar, plus a bit of strings. LP, Vinyl record album

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". CD

Recorded live at the Montreal Jazz Festival, and a special set featuring the acoustic talents of trumpeter Tim Hagan and soprano saxist Bob Belden, mixed with electronics by Scott Kinsey, and turtablism by DJ Kingsize. Most of the material is fairly out – with off-kilter solos draped over loud junglist rhythms – and the album reminds us more of Derek Bailey's drum n bass album of a few years back, than it does some of the more recent new funky work on Blue Note. Titles include "Big Moment", "Dans La Ville Sombre", "Love's Lullaby", "Are You Threatening Me?", and "Trumpet Sandwich". CD

A fantastically free session from the Japanese scene of the late 60s – a set that really points the way towards some of the more dramatic, dynamic guitar-based expression to come in later decades! The group's a trio, with guitarist Masayuki Takayanagi very firmly in the lead – playing his instrument in a range of compelling ways – bowing the strings one minute, plucking with Derek Bailey-like complexity the next – sometimes with heavy drums and bass, other times standing out in very free solo space. The whole album's got a very freely improvised feel, and stands as an early link between free jazz and experimental rock modes - with tracks that include "Piranha", "Herdsman's Pipe Of Spain", "The Galactic System", "Sick Sick Sickness My Aunt", and "Study No 3 Up & Down". LP, Vinyl record album

With Howard Riley on piano and Derek Bailey on guitar. CD

Overlooked work by one of the true guitar geniuses of the 70s – an artist who should be right up there with Derek Bailey and Fred Frith – especially with groundbreaking work of this nature! Hans Reichel has a very unique approach to the electric – one that's both very deft on the strings, but also has a sonic sensibility that almost seems to use the instrument to trigger sounds as much as to create notes – moments that are often quite melodic, even when free – shifting between the infinite tonal possibilities of the guitar and some of its textural elements too. Some of Reichel's later work wasn't as great as his 70s output – but this album's a tremendous and well-lauded classic! Titles include "Lupi", "Shaved Guitar", "Krampfhandlugen", and "Alfons Al Piepenbrink & His Lonely Wah Wah Pedal". CD

Long overdue reissue of this classic FMP recording by Brotzmann – dedicated to Johnny Dyani, and featuring a group that includes Evan Parker, Derek Bailey, Han Bennink, Fred Van Hove, Paul Rutherford, Willem Breuker, and Brotzmann himself. The track's politics are stated very clearly in the title – and it's got the same sort of 1968 blast of raw power that Brotzmann first made heard around the world in "Machine Gun". Not surprisingly, a rare unreleased live version of that track – recorded in 1968 – is added to the CD as a bonus cut! CD

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". CD

A large version of the Company concept – and one that continues all the experiments of their recorded legacy in a really great way! As with the others, guitarist Derek Bailey is at the core here – working sonic magic on both acoustic and electric guitar – in a lineup that also features Fred Frith on guitar and electronics, George Lewis on trombone, Anne Le Baron on harp, Keith Tippett on piano, Phil Wachsmann on violin and electronics, Julie Tippetts on guitar and voice, Ursula Oppens on piano, Moto Yoshizawa on bass, and Akio Suziki on glass harmonica and gongs! There's a great sense of opportunity and discovery here – as improvising heavyweights mix with less familiar names – and acoustic elements find a way to come into play with more electric sources. The first album features "Epiphany" – a large group improvisation with the entire ensemble – with beautiful interplay at a very sensitive level – hardly the sonic onslaught you might expect – followed by the second album, "Epiphanies", which has the group breaking out into smaller ensembles – with even more sonic and musical variety. CD

Performances from a shifting lineup that includes Lee Konitz on alto, Richard Tietelbaum on keyboards, Barre Phillips on bass, Derek Bailey on guitar, Steve Noble on percussion, and Tristan Honsinger on cello. CD

A landmark album from this groundbreaking free jazz ensemble – a record that's as important to improvised music as Peter Brotzmann's Machine Gun or Derek Bailey's solo albums! And no surprise, the group features Brotzmann on tenor and Bailey on guitar – alongside Misha Mengelberg on piano, Evan Parker on soprano and tenor, Peter Bennink on alto and bagpipes, Paul Rutherford on trombone, and Han Bennink on drums and percussion! Nearly every one of these musicians were emerging giants at the time – and together, they really live up to the promise of the title – moving fast and fiercely, with uncanny understanding of each other – as they maybe even blow away the famous American album-length improvisations with one of their own. CD

Amazing! With a lineup of players that includes Evan Parker, Kenny Wheeler, Derek Bailey, and Oxley himself – this set is like an avant jazz supergroup recording! Despite the obvious pitfalls that you might expect such a recording to fall into, all players are incredibly sensitive to each others' presence, and work together with far more subtlety than you'd expect. The record's a treasure, and it's been gone for years – but now, someone at Columbia UK has inexplicably decided to reissue it to the world, and at a budget price! Titles include "Crossing", "Arrival", "Stone Garden", and "Preparation". CD