Very free improvisations from the duo of Moses Boyd on drums and Binker Golding on tenor – material recorded live at London's Total Refreshment Centre, and with a vibe that's a bit different than their studio material! The set's definitely got some lean, rhythmic numbers – but some tracks also really step outside a bit too – with some especially searing work from Golding, who really takes advantage of the very long length of most of the tracks to deliver some solos we never would have expected! Titles include "Fete By The River", "Trees On Fire", "The Shaman's Chant", "The Departure", and "Intoxication From The Jahvmonishi Leaves". LP, Vinyl record album

Binker and Moses sound nicely different here – as the drums of Moses Boyd and saxes of Binker Golding are joined by the work of Max Luthert – who adds in all these live tape loops and electronic effects! The result is maybe the most adventurous album to date from the British duo – more improvised and open than before, with some especially great tones from Golding's tenor and soprano saxes, which seem to be encouraged by the electronic efforts of Luthert! Tracks are nice and long, with a great sense of textural variety – and titles include "Feed Infinite", "After The Machine Settles", "Active Multiple Fetish Overlord", "Asynchronous Intervals", and "Accelerometer Overdose". LP, Vinyl record album

A set of unreleased improvisations between these two fantastic free jazz musicians – intended as a session in which, according to Paal Nilssen-Love, "we agreed to bring all the metal we could bring"! That means that Peter Brotzmann is blowing a wide variety of reed instruments, and Paal is handling lots of percussion and gongs next to his drums – yet all elements are used in these very spare styles, almost more loft jazz than you'd guess from the legacy of intensity from both of the musicians – which makes for yet another great late life surprise in the final years of Brotzmann – proof that he never stopped reinventing and opening doors to new avenues of creation! Titles include "Dancing Octopus", "Move On Over", "South Of No Return", "Butterfly Mushroom", "Found The Cabin But No People", and "Five Of Them Survived The Dream". LP, Vinyl record album

A key record in the evolution of the free jazz spirit on the German scene – one that not only has the Machine Gun generation allowing for a bit of extra space and moments of contemplation in their music, but which also opens itself up to work from a slightly older member of the scene as well! The group is great – with Peter Brotzmann on clarinet, alto, tenor, and baritone – plus Fred Van Hove on piano, and Han Bennink on drums, self-made clarinet, and "homemade junk" – joined by trombonist Albert Mangelsdorff, who almost feels as if he's been waiting for the chance to really open up and experiment with the other improvisers – showing sounds that are maybe even more mindblowing than on his own records of the time! Titles include "Serienze Serie", "Boogie Fur Fred", and "Der Spaziegang". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic live set that offers up the first-ever recorded meeting of these three giants of improvised music – a trio who return to each others' company after many years, and here for the first time with a recording device in action! Given the legacy here, there's almost as much of a loft jazz influence as there is one from the world of European free jazz – and at many points, the reeds of Peter Brotzmann seem to take a lot more directl from the drums and percussion of Milford Graves and bass of William Parker – especially at moments when both players seem tied to each other at both an emotional and performative level! Parker also plays a bit of doussn'gouni, and Graves vocalizes a bit – and the set features a searing live set recorded at the gallery space of CBGBs in 2002. LP, Vinyl record album

Dave Digs Disney – and hence, so do we! The album's one of the first to ever pay tribute to the great compositions heard in Disney films – and it features the magical sound of the Brubeck Quartet, turned upon a host of familiar numbers, and transforming them into longer vehicles for jazz improvisation. Given Dave's great sense of play with rhythm and timings, the tunes really get changed up in these versions – in a way that takes best advantage of the modal rhythms and jazz waltz styles that many of them share. Paul Desmond's alto work is as impeccably-handled as ever, and Joe Morello's sprightly drums seem perfectly at home with the tunes – as does Dave's warmly lyrical work on piano. Titles include "Alice In Wonderland", "Give A Little Whistle", "One Song", and "Someday My Prince Will Come". LP, Vinyl record album

Mindblowing minimalism from the legendary Sandy Bull – an artist who might have had acoustic roots in folk music, but who was instantly turning his music into something else – drawing on modal styles of Eastern music, European generations of expression on guitar, jazz-based improvisation – and maybe even prefiguring work to come from composers like Terry Riley and La Monte Young! This album's one of Bull's first, and it's pure genius right from the start – with a side-long performance on the incredible "Blend", which features slight drums from jazz musician Billy Higgins – which Sandy extrapolates these long passages on acoustic guitar. Side two features the fantastic "Carmina Burana Fantasy" on banjo – a kind of trans-historical performance that's right up there with John Fahey's best of the decade – alongside equally mindblowing "Non Nobis Domine" and "Little Maggie" – and the closing electric guitar genius of "Gospel Tune". LP, Vinyl record album

Easily our favorite album by Baikida Carroll – a wonderfully spiritual session cut in Paris, and done with this open-ended, spacious sound that seems to bring AACM improvisation into play with some of the global currents that were happening overseas at the time! As on an AACM date, most players handle a fair bit of instruments – Carroll on trumpet, flugelhorn, seal horn, and percussion; Oliver Lake on soprano, alto, tenor, flute, and percussion too; and the great Nana Vasconcelos on lots more percussion – including cuica, tablas, timbales, bells, and more as well! Manuel Villardel plays both acoustic and electric piano – and the tunes build through these great improvisations between the horns and percussion, often with long, cyclical styles that are completely hypnotic! Titles include the modal groover "Forest Scorpion" – plus "Orange Fish Tears", "Rue Roger", and "Porte D'Orleans". LP, Vinyl record album

There's a wonderful layering of sounds going on here – tremendous work from a team of improvisers who really know how to fill in the spaces alongside each other, and build up a performance that only increases in intensity as things move on! William Parker's bass, as always, is a key factor in the sound here – and on the album, he also plays gralla and shakuhachi as well – next to the drums of Francisco Mela and piano of Leo Genovese, topped and driven forward by incredible work from Daniel Carter on saxes! The music here is based on a poem by carter about non-stop motion in New York – and there's definitely that sense of action here – on titles that include "Intertext Salute", "Shine Hear", and "Glisten Up". LP, Vinyl record album

A landmark recording – one of a handful of early documents of the avant garde LA scene, featuring a nimble quartet headed up by the inventive frontline of John Carter on reeds and Bobby Bradford on trumpet, over the fluid rhythm team of Tom Williamson on bass and Chicago expatriate Bruz Freeman on drums! Carter and Bradford's energetic approach followed its own line of development, much in the way that other small cells of improvisers were developing their own take on the "new thing" in the post-Coltrane/Coleman environment of the late 60s and early 70s throughout the country. The compositions unfold in a way that implies both multi-linear improvisation and composed events, but blurs the line between the two, all the while played with a great deal of fire and few of the intellectual abstractions of other free players! Titles include "The Sunday Afternoon Jazz Blues Society", "The Eye Of The Storm", "Loneliness", and "Encounter". LP, Vinyl record album

A really inventive album from the key years of the British psych scene – and a set that goes way beyond even the important experiments of the bigger names of the time! Clark Hutchinson is just a duo – Mick Hutchinson on guitars, piano, and lots of percussion – and Andy Clark on keyboards, saxes, and flute – both members of the group Sam Gopal's Dream, stepping out here on a series of long tracks that draw from jazz, Indian music, and other global styles! The titles hint at a lot of improvisation – but in a style that's more proggish than free jazz and it's clear that budding studio modes were used to nicely layer the performances by both musicians, for an even fuller sound. Titles include "Improvisation On A Modal Scale", "Textures In 3/4", "Improvisation On An Indian Scale", and "Acapulco Gold". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best albums that Al Cohn and Zoot Sims ever cut together – and that's saying a lot, given the strength of their collaborations during the 50s and 60s! The set's got a nice small group feeling, and is a bit more open and relaxed than some of their RCA material – still in the sharp, thoughtful mode that marked both Cohn and Sims' sessions – but also a bit more earthy, too – possibly because they've got Mose Allison in the combo on piano. The album includes the incredible spare sax-only track "Improvisation For Unaccompanied Saxophones", which is an extremely haunting track that sounds unlike anything the pair had ever done together – and other titles have the full quintet playing, tunes that include "The Opener", "The Note" and "You N Me". LP, Vinyl record album

A really bold step forward for Chicago tenor genius Isaiah Collier – and maybe the first record to showcase his emergence as a multi-instrumentalist instead of just a spiritual jazz musician! There's clearly a lot of improvisation going on here – not just from the larger ensemble, which includes Corey Wilkes on trumpet, Julian Reid on keyboards, and Michael Damani on guitar – but also from Collier, who effortlessly shifts between saxes, flute, vocals, and keyboards without any overdubs or additional production at all! A few moments are tight and funky, others are much more experimental – a blend that that's really great, and which continues the unique spirit into which Collier has evolved in recent years. The record also features some key vocal contributions from the great Jimetta Rose – and titles include "Never Back Down", "Eggun", "Village Song", "Retreat", "Parallel Universe", and "The Last Song". LP, Vinyl record album

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

Guitarist Larry Coryell really changes it up from before – shedding both some of his electric modes and his vocal inclinations – and also working with a completely different group, who give the record a very unusual sound! Coryell plays a lot of acoustic guitar here, in addition to some electric – and the group also features additional guitar from Ralph Towner – whose open, airy approach really shapes the sound in a different way – but, alongside Larry, also has more force than on his own ECM recordings. The group also features Glen Moore on acoustic bass – but the real highlight may well be Collin Wolcott, who plays tablas and congas – bringing in earthy, global elements that really make some of the best moments shine. Titles include "Julie La Belle", "Song For Jim Webb", "Pavane For A Dead Princess", "Ann Arbor", and some improvisations on music by Robert De Visee. LP, Vinyl record album

Very different work than most other recordings from this great Italian pianist – a set of open-ended improvisation, somewhere between Keith Jarrett and Cecil Taylor – on titles that include "Via Libera", "Ortwein 15", "Nadir", and "Sorapis". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic session from the 70s UK jazz scene, and one that's maybe as important to fans of the Canterbury scene as well – given the unusual legacies of the three players involved! The music is definitely jazz, though – fairly improvised, and recorded live with work from Elton Dean on saxes, Steve Miller on piano, and Pip Pyle on drums – at many points much more unbridled and outside than some of their work on more famous studio albums, no matter how wild that work might be! The performance is issued here for the first time, and is quite revelatory – especially in the way the players can swing between spiritual and more avant currents, on titles that include "Molly's Mild", "Pilgrim's Hope", "Crack Le Whip", and "Tea Kettle Stout". LP, Vinyl record album

D12's sophmore full length is a pretty fair improvement over the largely forgettable debut – particularly the single "My Band", one of the rare cuts in which Eminem seems to have a pretty good time lampooning is own image. Other tracks include "Git Up", "Loyalty" featuring Obie Trice, "Just Like U", "In The Morning", "How Come", "D12 World", "American Psycho II" featuring B-Real and more. LP, Vinyl record album

The Electric Prunes get back to basics – as you might guess from the title here – shaking off some of the larger, more ambitious modes of their albums with David Axelrod, yet still retaining a nicely trippy sound overall! The lineup of the group has shifted a bit – hence their billing as "the new improved" Electric Prunes – but although things are stripped-down and simple, there's still some amazing music on the record – a blend of guitar, flute, organ, and vocals that flows along wonderfully with some unusual sounds that we wouldn't expect! And while there's certainly a bit of "good old rock and roll" going on here on a few more straightforward songs, it's not like the album's Let It Be or anything like that – because the group are really more just getting back to the garagey psych of their roots, but doing it a bit better than before! Titles include "Sell", "14 Year Old Funk", "Love Grows", "Giant Sunhorse", "Silver Passion Mine", "Sing To Me", "Tracks", and "Finders Keepers Losers Weepers". LP, Vinyl record album

A group that's not really folk, but who definitely have a special magic of their own – a collective ensemble who played on the Italian scene of the 70s, and who bring together free improvisation with a range of other earthy and organic elements! There's definitely some global currents going on here – and at points, the record's not far from some of the Don Cherry experiments of this nature – especially on passages that are heavy on percussion elements. But the size of the ensemble really gives them a strong force once they get going – and the saxes and flutes are sometimes merged with use of voice – only conventionally singing on one more straight ahead track on the record. Most musicians are ones that we don't recognize from other jazz efforts of the time – but the group does include flute from Nicola Stilo, who later played with Chet Baker – plus soprano and alto from Giancarlo Maurino, tenor from Mario Fulci, and altos from Sandro Satta and Luciano De Bonis. Titles include "Inno Per L'Imperatore", "Grass Leaf Rag", "Alice Alice Che Piange E Che Ride", "Free Bop New Bop", and "Monkey". LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible album from guitarist Fred Frith – his solo debut, and a record that really set the tone for so many other musicians for years to come! Frith wasn't the first person to improvise on the guitar – but he might have been the first to use an electric in ways that tied together new ideas in jazz, prog, and other experimental musics – all at a level that made his playing a hero to many different scenes at once, and really helped open ears to all the different changes that were taking places in the 70s! The whole thing is a monstrous musical message from the pre-punk years – one that has really strong resonance all these many years later – thanks to titles that include "Hollow Music", "No Birds", "Out Of Their Heads", "Glass c/w Steel", "Hello Music", and "Not Forgotton". This great "Fifty" version features a full bonus album of new recordings in the spirit of the original – titles that include "Quicksilver", "Phalaropes", "Jack's Neap Tide", "Move Indigo", "To Do", and "The Map Of Dreams". LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe the most haunting project to date from Ruth Goller – an important collaborator on the contemporary London scene, but one who's got a style that's much more than jazz – one that's definitely pushed to the limits here! The set features Goller on electric and acoustic bass, with overdubbed vocals that are often layered in very cool ways – and augmented track to track by guest work on drums, electronics, vibes, and sanza – instruments that are often used in ways that bring a slight touch of organic acoustic energy to the more layered proceedings. The textures of the vocals are very evocative – almost a blend of an older 4AD aesthetic with improvised music – and titles include "Next Time I Keep My Hands Down", "Below My Skin", "How To Be Free From It", "Don't Follow Me", "She Was My Own She Was Myself", and "All The Light I Have I Hand To You". LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe the most haunting project to date from Ruth Goller – an important collaborator on the contemporary London scene, but one who's got a style that's much more than jazz – one that's definitely pushed to the limits here! The set features Goller on electric and acoustic bass, with overdubbed vocals that are often layered in very cool ways – and augmented track to track by guest work on drums, electronics, vibes, and sanza – instruments that are often used in ways that bring a slight touch of organic acoustic energy to the more layered proceedings. The textures of the vocals are very evocative – almost a blend of an older 4AD aesthetic with improvised music – and titles include "Next Time I Keep My Hands Down", "Below My Skin", "How To Be Free From It", "Don't Follow Me", "She Was My Own She Was Myself", and "All The Light I Have I Hand To You". LP, Vinyl record album

Doin Allright? Dexter's doing great on this one – working with that fully mature Blue Note sound of his – a rich approach to soloing that keeps the tracks cooking with excitement! The group on the set's an all-star lineup that includes Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Horace Parlan on piano, George Tucker on bass, and Al Harewood on drums – and the tunes are a great blend of soulful rhythms and bop improvisation – heard especially well on the album's landmark tune "Society Red"! All tracks are great, though – and other titles include "You've Changed", "For Regulars Only", and "I Was Doing All Right". LP, Vinyl record album

Doin Allright? Dexter's doing great on this one – working with that fully mature Blue Note sound of his – a rich approach to soloing that keeps the tracks cooking with excitement! The group on the set's an all-star lineup that includes Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Horace Parlan on piano, George Tucker on bass, and Al Harewood on drums – and the tunes are a great blend of soulful rhythms and bop improvisation – heard especially well on the album's landmark tune "Society Red"! All tracks are great, though – and other titles include "You've Changed", "For Regulars Only", and "I Was Doing All Right". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the rarest albums ever from percussionist Milford Graves, and one of the most intense as well – a completely unbridled live performance that features saxes from Hugh Glover and Arthur Doyle! Glover and Doyle are amazing together – and with that trademark raspy tone, Doyle's set apart nicely, even amidst the frenzy – and Graves is a complete monster on the drum kit, moving with a speed that must have been breathtaking to see in person – at a level that always has us checking the record to make sure that we don't have it set to 45rpm! If you've ever overlooked the contributions that Graves has made to improvised music, this is the record to convince you – with titles that include "Ba", "Bi", and "Babi". LP, Vinyl record album

Groundbreaking early work from drummer Milford Graves and pianist Don Pullen – a set of long, free improvisations that were originally issued on Graves' Self-Reliance Productions label! The music is even more striking than sounds from the time on the ESP label – and also really predates some of the freer work of this type from the European scene – as Graves is a monster on the drum kit and a range of percussion, reaching out with this scope of sound and deft command of his hands that's simply breathtaking – matched by energy from Pullen that really surpasses some of his later work too – almost Cecil Taylor-like vibes at points, mixed with other elements that are in a more familiar mode for the pianist. The set features two long tracks – "PG 1" and "PG 2". LP, Vinyl record album

Groundbreaking early work from drummer Milford Graves and pianist Don Pullen – a set of long, free improvisations that were originally issued on Graves' Self-Reliance Productions label! The music is even more striking than sounds from the time on the ESP label – and also really predates some of the freer work of this type from the European scene – as Graves is a monster on the drum kit and a range of percussion, reaching out with this scope of sound and deft command of his hands that's simply breathtaking – matched by energy from Pullen that really surpasses some of his later work too – almost Cecil Taylor-like vibes at points, mixed with other elements that are in a more familiar mode for the pianist. LP, Vinyl record album

A really amazing set of recordings, and a fantastic lost chapter in the career of legendary percussionist Milford Graves – material recorded in his home basement studio in the months before his classic album Babi – and done in a style that's often more freewheeling and unbridled than that famous record! Graves is fantastic throughout – but maybe even more mindblowing is saxophonist Arthur Doyle, who appears throughout on the first half of the album – blowing tenor with that incredible tone of his, unlike anyone else – then spelling a bit for flute – as he and Graves work in a trio with Hugh Glover on additional percussion and a klaxon as well! The set then features duo material for most of the second half – with Glover switching to tenor, and sounding amazing – as Graves continues his mindblowing improvisations on drums and percussion – all capped off by a single solo performance that ends the double-length album of unreleased sessions. LP, Vinyl record album

Way more than a snapshot – as the double-length set acts more like a full portrait of the European free jazz scene at the time – with special contributions from a wide array of avant German musicians! The feel here is very FMP – especially in the mode of that label's live recordings, which often feature unique combinations of musicians, really driving each other on. As part of that promise, the album features work from the Berliner Improvisations Quartett, with Hermann Keller on piano, Andread Altenfelder on trumpet, and Manfred Schulze on reeds; the trio of reedman Friedhelm Scholfeld; the Ulrich Gumpert Workshop Band, with Gumpert on piano, Ernst Ludwid Petrowsky on reeds, Heinz Becker on trumpet, and Johannes Bauer on trombone; the duo of Gumpert on piano and Gunter Sommer on drums; the Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky Quartet with Sommer on drums and Heinz Becker on trumpet; the Studio IV group, with Petrowsky on reeds, Hubert Katzenbeier on trombone, Eberhard Weise on piano,a nd Joachim Graswurm on trumpet; a trio with Gumpert on piano, Sommer on drums, and Manfred Hering on alto and tenor; and the Hans Rempel Orchester, with Rempel on piano, plus Becker, Graswurm, Petrowsky, Bauer, and Forsthoff. LP, Vinyl record album

The sonic intensity of saxophonist Mats Gustafsson gets a perfect foil here in the electronics of Joachim Norwall – a musician who really helps Gustafsson to reach some of the most powerful sounds we've heard from his horns in years! Mats can have a way of blowing his instruments as if they're almost modular electronics – not in a cold sort of approach, but one that works the reeds and pads with a pulsating sort of energy – waves of sonic activity shifting in pace, as he creates this incredible magic on baritone sax, slide saxophone, bass saxophone, alto fluteophone, and flute – while Norwall delivers work on analogue electronics in a range of different styles. Sometimes the electronics are more in the background of the saxophone improvisations, sometimes more actively upfront – and titles on the set include "There Are Some Worlds Where All Dreams Die", "Their New Life Was Their Final Life", "Birdbrain", "His Fingers Moving In The Air Produced A Soft Organ Like Music", "Here Eyes Were Like Cold Fires", and "The Day Of Days Was There". LP, Vinyl record album

Bassist Charlie Haden in a really wonderful mode – stepping out here in a set of spare duets, each with a different hip player on each of the album's four long tracks – a masterful setting not just for his own work as an improviser, but also for the collaborative spirit that's always made Charlie such a great musical player! The vibe is similar to his Closeness album, but maybe a bit more relaxed and open – and the set has many wonderful moments – as Don Cherry plays trumpet and flutes on "Out Of Focus", Archie Shepp plays tenor on "Shepp's Way", Hampton Hawes plays piano on "Turnaround", and Ornette Coleman plays trumpet on the beautiful title track "Golden Number". LP, Vinyl record album

Solo material from pianist Al Haig – a set that shows him in really great form for the 70s! Al's playing mostly familiar numbers here – and his approach is warmly sensitive throughout – still as fluid on the keys as the Haig heard during famous 50s bop years, but with a richer sort of feeling too – a contemplative depth that really makes these tunes sparkle – taking them far past the simple evergreens that might have become in a more standard trio setting. Al really manages to pack a lot into just a short space – proof that his improvising talents haven't dimmed at all over the years – and titles include "Lament", "Joanne", "Summertime", "Here's That Rainy Day", and "Bess You Is My Woman". LP, Vinyl record album

A 60s repackaging of classic early stuff by Chico Hamilton, featuring a set of the kind of west coast chamber jazz arrangements that made him a huge hit with the crowds in LA. The group features Buddy Collette, Jim Hall, and Fred Katz – and titles include "The Sage", "A Nice Day", "Buddy Boo", and "Spectacular". Also includes "Free Form", which is totally improvised – although in a way that's very different from any 60's track that would have the same sort of name! LP, Vinyl record album

A jazz version of a Broadway show, but an especially great one too – and a set that's really quite fresh, given the less familiar nature of the Harold Rome compositions! Hanna's presentation of the material really gets past the roots of the tunes – and he uses the songs as great vehicles for melodic improvisation – working not only in a trio that features George Duvivier on bass and Roy Barnes on drums, but also sometimes with added guitar from Kenny Burrell, who really helps break this one past standard piano trio format! Hanna's bold but lyrical approach is a perfect fit for the tunes – and titles include "Hoop De Dingle", "I Say Hello", "Once Knew A Fella", "That Ring On The Finger", "I Know Your Kind", and "Fair Warning". LP, Vinyl record album

Landmark improvisations from two of the most important bassists in avant garde jazz – Dave Holland and Barre Phillips – two players each coming from two different scenes and styles, but working together here perfectly in a groundbreaking session of all-bass work! Holland plays a bit of cello on the album, and the interplay of the instruments is wonderful – open and flowing in the space of a young ECM, but with a lot more bite than other work for the label too. Side one features two longer improvised works – while side two features shorter tracks that include "Song For Clare", "Beans", "Maybe I Can Sing It For You", and "Just A Whisper". LP, Vinyl record album

A really different setting for the saxophone of Afro Funk legend Femi Kuti – as instead of working with a large group, he just blows here alongside the keyboard creations of Robert Hood – in a mode that makes for a really wonderful album all the way through! The tracks are each just titled "Variations" – and Femi's performance definitely seems improvised throughout, and set to these keyboard heavy grooves created by Hood – who also delivers lots of great keyboard solos too! There's a lot more jazz here than you'd expect on a Femi Kuti album – yet the set also nods to some Afro-styled grooves at points too – a real delight over the course of the eight tracks on the set. LP, Vinyl record album

Legendary jazz drummer William Hooker is in some pretty heady territory here – improvising alongside two different guitarists, both of whom really push the sound in ways that are different than some of Hooker's other records! Thurston Moore provides plenty of freaky sonic fuzz in the first half – and Elliott Sharp is pictured playing a twin-necked guitar in the second – both players who are no strangers to longform improvisation, and whose energy is easily met, if not beaten, but Hooker's incredible command of the drum Kit! The track with Moore is titled "Sirius" – and the one with Sharp is "The Hat & Its Train". LP, Vinyl record album

A rare early session from vibist Khan Jamal – recorded with his Philly-based Creative Arts Ensemble collective! The group follows strongly in the spirit of similar combos from Chicago and St Louis – particularly the latter – and Jamal's group is working here in a mode that's initiated by the original sonic experiments of the AACM, but taken to deeper, more organic levels. Given Khan's later work, the thing that's most surprising here is the sound texture of the record – because although seemingly improvised, there's also a greater feel towards a whole here – a spacey, ethereal quality that reminds us of some of Sun Ra's most creative moments. Jamal plays vibes, marimba, and clarinet – and the rest of the group includes Monette Sudler on guitar and percussion, Alex Ellison on drums, Dwight James on drums and clarinet, and Billy Mills on both electric and acoustic bass. Although not overly electric, there's a shimmering quality to the music here – as if the production abstracted the original acoustic sound with weird echo and other techniques! Titles include "Inner Peace", "Drum Dance", "Cosmic Echoes", and "Breath Of Life". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the excellent non-Art Ensemble sessions cut by the team of saxophonist Joseph Jarman and percussionist Don Moye – work that draws on their experience in the groundbreaking Chicago group, but also takes them into rich new territory on their own! The group's a quartet – with trombone and flute by Craig Harris, and bass and reeds by Rafael Garrett – and the tracks long, and slow-building – as concerned with sound overall as they are with improvisation, in a style that reminds us of some of the best mellower early 70s moments of the Art Ensemble, but with loft jazz touches too. Jarman plays a very large range of reed instruments, and Moye matches with lots of varied percussion – and titles include "Sunspots", "Jawara", "Happiness Is", and "Zulu Village". LP, Vinyl record album

Sublime solo piano – from that early 70s moment when Keith Jarrett was not only finding a whole new voice for himself, but also creating a whole new format in music! The tracks here are all long, live, solo improvisations – played by Jarrett at a level that's unbridled, but never totally free jazz – full of spirit and imagination, and always with this sense of tunefulness that's maybe even more impressive than if he was playing in a noisier way! LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderfully ambitious project from these two legendary improvising musicians – a larger project for stage that was created by both pianist Alexander Von Schlippenbach and drummer Sven Ake Johansson – the latter of whom here is very much into his later life role as a composer! The set features a mix of voice, vocals, and music – some spoken parts by Johansson, sung passages by the great Shelly Hirsch – and work from a very hip group that includes Wolfgang Fuchs and Dietmar Diesner on saxes, Paul Lovens on drums, Tristan Honsinger on cello, Anne Le Baron on harp, and Schlippenbach on piano. There's a mixture of free jazz, structure, and voice that almost feels as if Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill had the chance to record an album for FMP – and this beautiful set presents the first-ever release of the important 1994 performance of the material. LP, Vinyl record album

Nicely sharp sounds from the great JJ Johnson – a set that has the trombonist really honing his edge on a host of tight, short tracks – with a vibe that almost recalls his initial bop recordings on Blue Note and Prestige! The style here is a bit more sophisticated – definitely with an ear towards the modern directions that JJ was exploring in the 50s – but the sound is also nicely spontaneous, with more focus on improvisation between group members than larger arrangements – quite nice, given that the group features excellent tenor from Bobby Jaspar on tenor – and either Tommy Flanagan or Hank Jones on piano, Percy Heath or Wilbur Little on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums. Tracks are short, and titles include "Overdrive", "Cube Steak", "Chasin The Bird", and "Solar". LP, Vinyl record album

One of our favorite-ever keyboard albums – a rare lost session from pianist Pete Jolly – one of his only electric dates, and a completely improvised set of grooves! Pete plays electric piano, organ, and even a bit of musette – jamming in the studio with help from Chuck Berghofer on bass, Paul Humphrey on drums , John Pisano on guitar, and Milt Holland and Emil Richards on percussion – all of whom bring in some sly, subtle touches to the grooves that are totally great! The album's much more open than other keyboard dates from the time – almost in the territory of some of Herbie Hancock's most experimental work, but a fair bit more groove-based too – given that the album's filled with short, funky tracks all the way through. There's some echoes of Bob James work to come – and given the 1970 date of the record, it could almost be said that Jolly predates a whole host of 70s keyboard talents – setting his mark with this uniquely laidback set of tracks. Titles include the classic "Plummer Park", plus "Rainbow", "Seasons", "Indian's Summer", "Pete Jolly", "Leaves", "Springs", "Bees", and "Sand Storm". LP, Vinyl record album

One of our favorite-ever keyboard albums – a rare lost session from pianist Pete Jolly – one of his only electric dates, and a completely improvised set of grooves! Pete plays electric piano, organ, and even a bit of musette – jamming in the studio with help from Chuck Berghofer on bass, Paul Humphrey on drums , John Pisano on guitar, and Milt Holland and Emil Richards on percussion – all of whom bring in some sly, subtle touches to the grooves that are totally great! The album's much more open than other keyboard dates from the time – almost in the territory of some of Herbie Hancock's most experimental work, but a fair bit more groove-based too – given that the album's filled with short, funky tracks all the way through. There's some echoes of Bob James work to come – and given the 1970 date of the record, it could almost be said that Jolly predates a whole host of 70s keyboard talents – setting his mark with this uniquely laidback set of tracks. Titles include the classic "Plummer Park", plus "Rainbow", "Seasons", "Indian's Summer", "Pete Jolly", "Leaves", "Springs", "Bees", and "Sand Storm". LP, Vinyl record album

The first album by Joyce – one of our favorite Brazilian singers ever! The album's a wonderfully lyrical batch of tracks – many written by Joyce herself, plus a few by Brazilian songwriters Jards Macale, Toninho Horta, and Marcos Valle – and the orchestrations are by Gaya, and played on a number of tracks by Dori Caymmi and his group. The style shows many elements of Joyce's later unique style, filtered through a more standard late bossa sound – light and breezy, but with a bit of a dark edge that's in a classic Jobim mode. Includes the track "Superego", which feels a lot like Joyce from the 70s – plus the lovely "Litoral", and the tracks "Me Disseram", "Nao Muda, Nao", "Cantiga De Procura", "Choro Chorado", "Bloco Do Eu Sozinho", and "Improvisado". LP, Vinyl record album

The record that really put Jurassic 5 on the map – a set that came out after some key indie fame, but with a platform that helped the group become one of the more important mainstream hip hop forces of the century! All the creative lyrical interplay of the underground is firmly in place here – as the record's a major label effort, but one that's not sacrificing quality for success – thanks in part to the wonderful production from Nu-Mark and Cut Chemist – well-schooled in the more sophisticated styles of the 90s, yet also able to keep things lean and sharp – without some of the headier bedroom hip hop modes. Rhymes are by Zaakir, Chali 2na, Akil, and Marc 7 – every bit as sharp as the production – and tracks include "How We Get Along", "Contact", "Quality Control", "World Of Entertainment", "The Influence", "Monkey Bars", "Quality Control", "Twelve", "Contribution", "The Game", "Improvise", "Swing Set", and "Jurass Finish First". LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful modernist work from Kenton – one of the first albums to cull his genius together as a whole, filled with the kind of tracks that perfectly sum up his unique approach at the time! If you've ever wondered what makes Kenton so great, this is the album to begin with – as it's filled with fantastic original tunes that provide a shimmering solo showcase for work of players like Lee Konitz, Frank Rosolino, and Bill Holman. Titles include "23 N - 82 W", "Young Blood", "Improvisation", and the haunting "Invention For Guitar And Trumpet", which features Sal Salvador and a young Maynard Ferguson. LP, Vinyl record album

Spare and moody work from the modern trio listed above – Konitz icy on alto, Bley surprisingly warm at times on piano, especially numbers which feature him on electric keys, and Connors playing both acoustic and electric guitar in long and introspective lines. Titles include "Out There", "Pyramid", "Tavia", and "Play Blue". LP, Vinyl record album

A tasty early 50s session for Verve – one that has Gene reprising some tunes and a style he used in the Benny Goodman years, but in a way that's more open and laidback – in keeping with Verve's swing-based small group sessions of the time! Even more important, though, is the fact that the set's a unique trio outing – billed as an "orchestra" set, but only featuring Gene on drums, Teddy Napoleon on piano, and Eddie Shu on clarinet and tenor! Shu's the real star of the set, and the spare and open style of the tunes really lets him take off in ways we'd never heard before – making him a real improvisatory genius, in the best mode of Verve stars like Flip Philips or Ben Webster at the time. Titles include "Booted", "Sing Sing Sing", "Love For Sale", and "September Song". LP, Vinyl record album

Never-heard music from the great Steve Lacy – material recorded during the time of his Ictus Records album Clangs, but not issued on vinyl until this set! Volume one has Lacy doing all sorts of incredible improvisations on soprano sax, often in the company of percussionist Andre Centazzo – a musician who always seems to be at his best when in the company of Lacy, really spurred on to some creative approaches to the drums that match Steve's boundless imagination on his horn! The performances are often quite tuneful, even if their structure is loose – and titles include "Figment", "Coastline", "Swab", "Hooky", and "The Duck" LP, Vinyl record album

A second great set of work from improvising genius Steve Lacy – working here in both solo formation, and in a trio with Andrea Centazzo on drums and Kent Carter on bass – all on material recorded by the Ictus label in the 70s, but unissued at the time! The solo pieces are beautiful – very much on a par with some of Lacy's better-known recordings in that mode at the time, but maybe also more lyrical too – and the trio improvisation gets nicely unbounded, with all three players really pushing themselves in pursuit of new sonic ideas! Titles include "Name", "The Way", and "Bone". LP, Vinyl record album

Pianist Robert Lakatos is in great form here – able to improvise freely like a contemporary musician at some points, swing with bop at other moments, while also coming across with gentler, more introspective modes at different – all with really well-balanced accompaniment from Christian Lakatos on bass and Gregory Hutchinson on drums! The album has the well-recorded sense of sound that we love in many of the Sawano piano trio projects – a great extension of older Japanese and French piano modes – and titles include the two improvised tracks "Shining" and "B In B" – plus "The Good Life", "It's All Right With Me", "The Past", "Sepia", and "Scrapple From The Apple". LP, Vinyl record album

The Lambert, Hendricks, & Ross tradition lives on – in a smoking live set that features Indian singer Yolanda Bavan joining the group in place of recently-departed Ross! Bavan's ability to groove and improvise is every bit as great as that of Annie Ross – and she fits in nicely next to the warm lyrics of John Hendricks, and the sweetly crackling bop vocals of Dave Lambert. Plus, the live setting seems to open the whole group up even more – as they're working with a great combo that features Coleman Hawkins and Clark Terry sitting in with the Gildo Mahones trio that includes George Tucker on bass and Jimmie Smith on drums. The tunes are all very soulful and swinging – and the album easily sits with the best Columbia work by the older version of the group! Titles include "Watermelon Man", "Sack o Woe", "Deedle-Lee Deedle-Lum", and "Walkin", taken in a nice long stretch1 LP, Vinyl record album

A really amazing bit of free jazz – hardly the set of solos you might guess from the title, and instead a performance of live improvisation by a larger group – done at the famous Leo Castelli Gallery, an important locale for avant activity on the downtown scene in New York in the 70s! There's more of a European free jazz vibe going on here than some of the loft work of the city at the time – with searing work from leader Richard Landry on tenor, soprano sax, and electric piano – alongside Richard Peck on tenor, Robert Prado on trumpet, Jon Smith on tenor, Allan Brafman on alto, and David Lee on drums – all captured on tape by Kurt Munkacsi, the sonic force known for some more important avant classical sides of the time. The set features seven selections in all – some pushing well past the 15 minute mark! LP, Vinyl record album

Some of the most soulful sounds we've ever heard from tenorist James Brandon Lewis a reworking of themes from the music of Mahalia Jackson into jazz – all at a level that keeps all the spirit of the originals, while unlocking the songs as vehicles for freer improvisation! Given the mix of freedom and spirit here, there's almost a vibe that takes us back to the brilliance of Albert Ayler at the start – served up through the intertwining magic of Lewis' tenor, the cornet of Kirk Knuffke, cello of Chris Hoffman, bass of William Parker, and drums of Chad Taylor – all tremendous players, but resonating even more strongly in the presence of this project! James has been getting plenty of attention in recent years, but this could be the album that catapults him into the canon of contemporary jazz – thanks to amazing takes of "Elijah Rock", "Were You There", "Go Down Moses", "Precious Lord", "Deep River", "Wade In The Water", "Swing Low", and "Sparrow". LP, Vinyl record album

A key early entry in the "jazz meets Broadway" genre – and a record that was so successful, it went onto inspire countless imitations! Shelly Manne's working here in a lightly playful trio setting – alongside Andre Previn on piano and Leroy Vinnegar on bass, in a reading of tunes originally composed for the musical My Fair Lady. Given Manne's talent for unusual rhythms and melodic percussion, the session's got a bit of a whimsical edge that takes it way past the core compositions that most listeners already knew – into a realm that allows for much great improvisation and play with the melodies. Previn's nicely restrained on the keys, and Vinnegar adds in a good sense of bottom to the set – and titles include "Get Me To The Church On Time", "I Could Have Dance All Night", "Ascot Gavotte", "Show Me", and "With A Little Bit Of Luck". LP, Vinyl record album

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 crispy 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". LP, Vinyl record album

The first-ever solo album from Doug McCombs – the well-known bassist with a huge legacy that includes work in Eleventh Dream Day and Tortoise – finally getting a chance to shine in the spotlight on his own! The vibe here is more like Doug's work in Brokeback, but even more open and improvised – as McCombs plays guitar and bass on the record, on long tracks that feature some guest instrumentation at points – electronics from Sam Prekop and drums from John Convertino on "Two To Coolness" – and drums and keyboards from James Elkington on "To Whose Falls Shallows". The album's remaining long song, "Green Crown's Step", is solo McCombs. LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful set of live improvisations from reedman Joe McPhee – recorded early in his time with the Hat Hut label – at a concert in Willisau, Switzerland – already showing Joe's strong relationship with the European scene! The tracks here are all long, and every bit as creative as McPhee's solo or duo material of the time – but feature a trio with Makaya Ntschoko on drums and John Snyder on electronics and a bit of voice – the latter elements used in very different, unusual ways – very much in keeping with the new sonic spirit that Joe had unlocked in his own music! McPhee is wonderful throughout – blowing both tenor and soprano sax – and with this really revolutionary approach that's neither 70s loft jazz nor European free jazz – but a mode that must have been a huge inspiration to both scenes. Titles include "Voices", "Touchstone", "Bahamian Folk Song", and "Harriet". LP, Vinyl record album

The first-ever album of solo bass work from Kham Meslien – a player whose contributions have graced a number of different groups in recent years, but who maybe sounds even more powerful here on his own! There's a warmth to the music that makes the solo bass performance very different than the sort of set you'd hear on ECM – a lot more like French material of the 70s, especially some of the music of bassist Henri Texier in his youth – with colors and feelings that come from beyond the boundaries of jazz, but worked together with a warmth on the instrument that balances improvisation with a subtle sense of structure. Titles include "Ta Confiance", "Mauza", "The Alarm", "Kar Kar Kar", "Gnawen", "F Comme", and "La Saule Pleureur" – and Anthony Joseph makes a guest vocal appearance on "La Coleur". LP, Vinyl record album

Wonderfully experimental music from Ennio Morricone – even darker at times than some of his famous horror soundtracks – and a record that was only pressed up in an initial small sound library run! The music has an offbeat blend of string elements, percussion, and other darker tones – recorded with some processing and unusual production touches – at a level that's very similar to Morricone's music with Gruppo Di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza, who also make an appearance on the set! Most tracks have this sort of progression of elements – a quality that's not directly rhythmic, but which creates a core energy that holds the more obtuse elements together – and titles include "Controfase", "Tempo", "Con Ferma Ostinazione", "Follia", and "Degenerazione". LP, Vinyl record album

A searing standout from Mountain – a studio album, but one that also really captures some of the freewheeling energy that made the group such a great live act at the time – especially given that the studio sessions here are mixed with a bit of improvisation from a live concert too! The double-headed team of Leslie West and Felix Pappalardi are very firmly in charge – the latter with loads of heavy bass, the former with that fuzzy guitar that mixes so well with the heavy drums of the group and titles include "Flowers Of Evil", "King's Chorale", "One Last Cold Kiss", "Crossroader", and "Pride & Passion" – plus a long improvisation that blends together "Dream Sequence Guitar Solo/Roll Over Beethoven/Dreams Of Milk & Honey/Variations/Swan Theme" – and a live take on their classic "Mississippi Queen". LP, Vinyl record album

A set with a warm cover image and a fair bit of electric instrumentation – yet a record that's also got much more of an edge than you might expect! Drummer Tatsuya Nakamura leads a group through territory that's partly fusion, but which also borrows some looser, darker modes from the farther side of the spectrum – not totally in Miles Davis 70s electric modes, but certainly shaped by the knowledge of the territory he opened up on his long double-length albums, which is then brought back into more compact song formation that changes nicely throughout the set! Other players on the record include Jun Fukamichi on keyboards, Kazumasa Akiyama on guitar, and Shinobu Fujimoto on trumpet – and there's also some nice use of percussion next to Tatsuya's work on drums. Titles include the improvised "Ballad", plus "Locus", "Wow", and "1/4 Samba". LP, Vinyl record album

A real classic from one of our favorite artists of the 60s! Fred Neil is best known to the world as the man who wrote "Everybody's Talkin", which was used excessively in the film Midnight Cowboy (although his version in the film was sung by Nilsson) – but he's a hell of a great artist on his own, a real revolutionary that we'd rank right up there with someone like Tim Hardin or Nick Drake. This Capitol album has Fred playing in a very relaxed studio vibe – with some spare backing, and edgey playing that opens up a side of him that we've rarely heard elsewhere – all in a session that was largely improvised, and designed to recreate the feel of his legendary live shows. The tracks are fairly long, and include titles like "Felicity", "Send Me Somebody To Love", "Looks Like Rain", and "Fools Are A Long Time Coming". LP, Vinyl record album

Incredibly lovely piano and vocals from Thandi Ntuli – served up here with lots of special touches from spiritual master Carlos Nino – who helped create the proceedings as a very organic meeting of minds and hearts on the shores of sunny California! Thandi's got a soulful way of both playing and singing – the latter often in a non-lyrical way, so that the vocals are more these chants that flow out with a very spiritual vibe – often cyclical, and elliptical, and mixed with these warm piano lines and a bit of keyboards. Carlos adds in percussion and cymbals (plus "plants" – we're not sure how he did that) – and also recorded the album and shaped the sound in a very lovely way. The music is mostly improvised, but very melodic, and extremely personal – one of the most soulful projects we've heard from Nino in years. Titles include "The One", "Voice & Tongo Experiment", "Sunset In California", "Rainbow Revisited", "Breath & Synth Experiment", "Sunrise In California", and "Piano Edit (orig mix)". LP, Vinyl record album

Incredibly lovely piano and vocals from Thandi Ntuli – served up here with lots of special touches from spiritual master Carlos Nino – who helped create the proceedings as a very organic meeting of minds and hearts on the shores of sunny California! Thandi's got a soulful way of both playing and singing – the latter often in a non-lyrical way, so that the vocals are more these chants that flow out with a very spiritual vibe – often cyclical, and elliptical, and mixed with these warm piano lines and a bit of keyboards. Carlos adds in percussion and cymbals (plus "plants" – we're not sure how he did that) – and also recorded the album and shaped the sound in a very lovely way. The music is mostly improvised, but very melodic, and extremely personal – one of the most soulful projects we've heard from Nino in years. Titles include "The One", "Voice & Tongo Experiment", "Sunset In California", "Rainbow Revisited", "Breath & Synth Experiment", "Sunrise In California", and "Piano Edit (orig mix)". LP, Vinyl record album

Heavy hitting jazz rock from the UK underground of the early 70s! We'll Talk About It Later is a great early album from Ian Carr's legendary Nucleus group – playing here in a version that includes Karl Jenkins and Brian Smith on reeds, and Chris Spedding on guitar. The band had a landmark sound that mixed progressive jazz and tight full-on rock fusion into a style that was sometimes funky, sometimes avant, and often pretty darn exciting! This album has lots of nice electric piano lines, and plenty of choppy sax parts that hit a nice groove in the manner that would later be taken up by a lot of European reed players, with nice long songs with plenty of room for improvisation – and grooves that are still nice and jazzy. Titles include "Song for The Bearded Lady", "Oasis", "Ballad of Joe Pimp", "Easter 1916", and "Lullaby For A Lonely Child". LP, Vinyl record album

Really haunting solo work from pianist Roberto Olzer – a player who's already got this incredibly sensitive command of the keyboard on his trio records, which only comes through even more strongly here! Olzer seems trained in the best modes of the romantic composers, especially Chopin – yet he's also a jazz musician too – and blends a sense of improvisation with an impeccable understanding of the piano, with a balance of notes, sounds, and silence that's completely sublime! The set does reference another world in its use of a few compositions by Puccini, mixed with others by Pat Metheny, Antonio Carlos Jobim, and Bill Evans – in a set list that includes "We Will Meet Again", "Pezzo In La", "Luiza", "In Her Family", "Straight To Dream", "Torre Del Lago", "Remembering Pramila", and "Coro A Bocca Chiusa". LP, Vinyl record album

Instrumental Latin from Charlie Palmieri – an indie set from the 80s, but one that almost has the classic feel of some of his first few albums at the end of the 50s! The approach here is similar to those – especially Charlie's work for United Artists – a jazz-inflected approach that has plenty of piano in the lead, supported by bass, timbales, bongos, and congas! Larry's groove is traditional, but also shows some of the freedoms that crept into Latin piano work during the 60s and 70s – and as an added plus, most of these tracks are much longer than in the old days – offering plenty of space for improvisation on the solos! Titles include "Rhumba Rhapsody", "Start The World I Want To Get On", "Mis Amigos EGC", "Adios", "Bajo Los Sombras De Un Pino", and "Muneca". LP, Vinyl record album

A genius pairing of these two legendary improvisers – two artists who really had an amazing sense of tone and timing on their instruments! By the time of the recording, Evan Parker had lept far ahead most of his improvising contemporaries on tenor and soprano sax – using the horns in ways that were very far from their roots, as he opens up all sorts of sonic possibilities – at a level that is also echoed by George Lewis, who'd already given the world some amazing moments on his solo trombone record, yet pushes even farther here! The set features five different improvisations, each numbered variations on the title – all great. LP, Vinyl record album