One of the freest, most exploratory albums ever recorded by John Coltrane – and a unique session done with an expanded group of some of the most important avant jazz players of his generation! The format here is similar to Ornette Coleman's Free Jazz album – in that the music is freely improvised, and spans the entire LP as a non-stop performance – one that has Coltrane in the lead, but which also features alto from Marion Brown and John Tchicai, tenor from Archie Shepp and Pharaoh Sanders, trumpet from Freddie Hubbard and Dewey Johnson – and core rhythms from McCoy Tyner on piano, drums from Elvin Jones, and double basses from Art Davis and Jimmy Garrison. The record set the format for larger improvisatory groups in years to come – but is still one of the best examples of the form! LP, Vinyl record album

Incredible work from one of the greatest groups of the New York avant scene of the 60s – the legendary New York Contemporary Five, a combo that features Archie Shepp on tenor, John Tchicai on alto, Don Cherry on cornet, Don Moore on bass, and JC Moses on drums! This 1963 recording, originally done in Copenhagen, is one of the group's most lasting statements – a bold, bracing bit of jazz that seems to pick up energy from Ornette Coleman's dimming flame, prefacing Albert Ayler inferno to come, wrapped up with some of the sensitivity of Eric Dolphy in his final years – a record that rivals the best that any of those three players had to offer. Shepp's got an intensity that almost blows away his Impulse sides, and Tchicai has hardly ever sounded better – and even Cherry seems to be unlocking a whole new side of his spirit in the process of the recording! Titles include "Mick", "The Funeral", "When Will The Blues Leave", "Crepuscule With Nellie", "OC", and "Cisum". LP, Vinyl record album

Incredible work from one of the greatest groups of the New York avant scene of the 60s! This French set (probably from the late 60s or early 70s) brings live tracks recorded in Copenhagen in 1963 – and which rarely every show up in any form, even on reissue. The group features Shepp, Don Cherry, John Tchicai, Don Moore, and JC Moses – and the work ranks with some of Shepp's best-ever, and has that dark well-managed "new thing" sound of his best early work on Impulse. In fact, we'd rank these two LPs right up there with some of the best avant garde jazz of the 60s – which is a shame when you consider how rare it is to find. Titles include "Mik", "The Funeral", "Cisum", and "When Will The Blues Leave". US issue of the original recording by Polydor. LP, Vinyl record album