Trumpeter Ahmed Abdullah has made some great music of his own, but over the years he was also a key player in the legendary Arkestra of Sun Ra – and this unique volume is maybe one of the first books ever to really get at what life was like as a member of that legendary ensemble! The book is incredible – very open and honest about many issues, not just music – and it's also huge, too – over 500 pages, originally written by Abdullah in the 90s, with help from poet Louis Reyes Rivera, and finally published after all these many years! The book is very narrative, and gets at some of the lifestyles and theories behind the Arkestra – which have never been recounted in such great detail, and with such a focus on the way their fame and music intersected with everyday life. The book also features a huge section of photos and images – over 50 pages in all – and the whole thing is a long-overdue, much-needed look at Sun Ra, his legacy, and the career of Ahmed Abdullah too! Book

A really beautiful book, and one that's quite different than most other jazz books we can think of – in that it approaches its main subject matter from many different directions, in a way that actually proves to be more illuminating overall! As the title implies, the book looks at the huge run of recordings that avant pianist Matthew Shipp has done for the Rogue Art label – and author Clifford Allen begins with a look at Shipp himself, then his New York setting, then interviews with collaborators who include Whit Dickey, William Parker, Joe Morris, and Rob Brown – before then moving on to look at the Rogue Art label, through an interview with its founder – then ending with page after page of liner notes for Shipp albums on the label – including a few that haven't been released yet! The presentation is very smart, and really opens up Shipp's creative process in a great way – and this softcover edition is 207 pages, with some black and white images. Book

A really cool project, and one that's even cooler than you might guess from the title – as the graphic novel is a very well-done exploration of key strands of electronic music – starting with the early years, moving through disco, Chicago House, Detroit Techno, and beyond – all with individual chapters that really do a great job of telling the story! At some level, the book is a bit like the hip hop history of Ed Piskor, but there's a different approach to storytelling too – as the scenes are interwoven with more personal, reflective elements – almost a Harvey Pekar quality at times, which really makes the narrative come alive. The artwork is great – mostly black and white, but with some color as things move to the 21st Century – and we're really pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable the book is, and especially proud of the way it handles Chicago. Harcover edition is 239 pages, with images throughout – and a smaller text section at the end. Book

An amazing document of one of Peter Brotzmann's greatest albums from the time – a set that includes the album on CD, plus a book of photos taken during its creation! The record features spare duets between him and percussionist Han Bennink – recorded in the Black Forest, in a very nature-oriented setting that often has Bennink playing on rocks, sticks, and whatever else he could find – even some water, which sounds especially amazing! Han turns in some of his most inventive percussion ever – and proof that he's easily one of the most creative musicians on the European scene! There's a real focus on sound and feeling on the album – an organic sensibility that's quite different from other Brotzmann sessions, and which often comes across with a surprisingly gentle feel – and the album's a perfect example of the FMP formula at its best, when applied with the right sense of freedom. The whole thing comes in a softcover book with a fantastic presentation – loads of photos that were taken on the way to the forest where the set was recorded, then during the recording of the material too – really beautiful images that live up to the aesthetic of the cover art. The book also features an introductory essay – and the whole thing is 120 pages, with the CD inside the cover – black and white images throughout. (Jazz, Books) CD

The story of a legendary New York nite spot – served up in a really wonderful way! The Pyramid was a gritty bar in the East Village in the 80s – a small spot, but one that served as a real crossroads for music, performance, and gender identity – a place that was experienced by few, but shared as a legend by many – with an influence that's recounted here by those who experienced the Pyramid during its glory days! The book is a mix of oral histories, but structured well by the authors – who were all involved in the club itself at the time – interspersed with all sorts of great visual documents, including photographs of key performances – one of which even includes a young Steve Buscemi! The club mixed theater, music, performance art, and other modes – and the book really gets at the unique spirit that fanned the flames during its important mid-80s run. The book also includes a very cool set of materials from vintage press releases, and lots more surprises too – and the softcover edition has a great sense of presentation, on many different-colored pages. Book

A book that's as lively as the image on the cover – one that traces the role of drums and percussion in the music of New Orleans – following a legacy that runs from the 19th century all the way up to contemporary sounds as well! If you know the sounds of Nola, you know that the drum is the key – and that because of the city's placement as a crossroads of culture, New Orleans helped create all sorts of new grooves, from the early years of jazz up through more contemporary soul and hip hop as well. The book is square, almost like a record cover – and is filled with images of both instruments and players – as it traces a long legacy that begins in Congo Square, then runs through improvised percussion experiments, early jazz, then blues, funk, soul, and later styles as well. Book is hardcover, 227 pages, with images throughout. Book

A much-needed book for the open-minded listener – a well-written volume from jazz critic John Corbett – and one that's bound to widen your ears to a whole new realm of listening! The book's pocket-sized – maybe so that you can sneak it into a club when visiting a free jazz concert – and it's written in a style that's both personal, but very directive – with a full understanding of the complexities that come into play when listening to improvised music, and a guide towards facing some of the more difficult challenges involved! Corbett clearly loves this music, but without any sort of high ideals – none of the too-cool-for-school modes that are usually standard with the avant garde, and instead this very down to earth approach that shows the listener that they've got all the tools needed to enjoy the music themselves. The goal here (one we can totally endorse) is to bring the listener face to face with new and challenging sounds – but in a way that allows them to instantly contextualize them too – yet without having to carry years of jazz or musical experience into the process. The book is divided up into easy-to-digest sections – and penned with a surprisingly warm style too. Book

Part one of a massive two volume set that looks at the growth and change in African American sacred music from the Civil War onwards – shifts that occurred for years before the music became to be known as gospel, but with an ear towards all those elements that would really come to the forefront in the postwar years! Writer Robert Darden has roots both in the field of gospel journalism, and academia – and he blends both together in ways that follow a well-researched body of evidence, but also presents things in a very down to earth way at points. The book his hugely annotated, with some black and white images throughout – and is a fascinating look at this often-undocumented years of music. Hardcover edition is 210 pages. Book

One of the best books we've ever read on any sort of creative scene and cultural moment – a superbly-penned account of the rise of underground comix in the 60s, and the growth and changes of the movement in the decades that followed! Author Brian Doherty makes the scene come alive in ways that are even more powerful than most music books that try to do the same – tracing the disparate roots of key figures like Robert Crumb, Gilbert Shelton, Trina Robbins, and others – as they end up converging in San Francisco in the late 60s, finding a way to express themselves through new styles and new means of production and distribution – then spread out as the 70s move in, and underground comix provide the building blocks for the graphic novel generation to come. The book is insanely well-researched, but also written with a lively style that really gets at both the creative talents and individual personalities of each of the folks involved – all at a level that makes for a hell of a read that goes way past the usual book on comics, music, or any other sort of cultural creative scene! Hardcover edition is 439 pages. Book

A hugely detailed look at one of the hippest rock labels of the 80s – New Zeland's Flying Nun Records, an imprint that also had a huge impact on the rest of the world at the time! Flying Nun were key in helping guitar-based sounds get past the modes of the punk and post-punk years – not shaking off those influences, but refining them, pushing them forward, and really evolving the sound through key groups like The Clean, Chills, Verlains, Bailter Space, and Straightjacket Fits – all of whom really helped pave the way for big indie moments over here in the decade that followed. The book offers up an insane amount of information on Flying Nun – in year-by-year chapters that detail every single release, always with photos and cover art, plus more images too – in a hefty softcover volume that's almost 400 pages, and full color throughout. Book

An insanely fantastic book on one of our favorite record labels of all time – the All Platinum family of labels from the New Jersey scene of the late 60s/early 70s – a precursor to the later Sugar Hill hip hop empire, and home to The Moments, Whatnauts, and countless other great groups! The book is way more than just the story of the label – as it's super-heavy, weighs as much as a stack of records – and features hundreds of pages with full color images, both of rare records and artists who recorded for All-Platinum too – all in support of chapters that approach the label and its related imprints in a range of different ways. The book not only looks at the big stars, but tackles the lesser-known acts too – and traces all the many sub-labels like Stang, Vibration, A1, Turbo, and Astroscope – then looks at the company's relationship to Chess Records too. The book features an illustrated discography of all the related labels after the main content – with color images of labels and covers – and the whole thing is 532 heavy, glossy pages – well worth the price! Book