Chicago had the Art Ensemble of Chicago at the end of the 60s – and St Louis had the fantastic Human Arts Ensemble at the start of the 70s – a wonderfully creative jazz group who shared a lot of the same ideas of improvisation and artistic freedom as the AACM up in the Windy City! This album's maybe that group's lasting legacy – a fantastic record that's sometimes as funky as it is spiritual, as outside as it is tied to older jazz traditions – performed by a core lineup that includes Oliver Lake on alto and tenor, Lester Bowie on trumpet, Marty Erlich on alto and flute, James Marshall and JD Parran on additional reeds, Charles Bobo Shaw on drums, and Carol Marshall on vocals and small instruments! The group have a very special vibe – one that comes through especially strong on the side-long "Lover's Desire" – a nice slightly-funky number that has a groove that's sort of modal. Side two of the album features "Hazrat The Sufi", a long creative avant piece, with insane ensemble playing that's very much in the AACM mode – but with some touches that also point the way towards the later loft jazz scene in New York – especially the world in which Lake would become such a key participant. LP, Vinyl record album

Seminal work from trumpeter Ted Curson – a set that's issued under his own name, but which continues a string of key early 60s performances with tenorist Bill Barron – who's work together here with Ted is fantastic! The group has no piano – just Herb Bushler on bass and Dick Berk on drums – both players with a fluid, open sense of rhythm – one that allows for plenty of horn interplay, at a level that almost has Curson borrowing some of the lessons he learned from Mingus, then taking them into small group formation and really opening things up! Curson also blows a bit of pocket trumpet, and Barron handles some clarinet – on a set of all original material that includes a great version of Curson's "Quicksand", plus the tracks "Kassim", "East 6th Street", "Tears For Dolphy", "7/4 Funny Time", and "Desolation". LP, Vinyl record album

A seminal early moment from the legendary Albert Ayler – an important session recorded overseas in Copenhagen – where enthusiasm for Ayler's music caught fire more strongly than in the US! The group's got an edge that's maybe even sharper than some of Ayler's ESP material, but no less powerful – with Don Cherry on cornet, Gary Peacock on bass, and Sunny Murray on drums – working through tremendous readings of six Ayler classics that include "Ghosts", "Children", "Holy Spirit", "Vibrations" and "Mothers". A wonderful precursor to the ESP years – and equally great! CD

Live trio date with Henry Franklin on bass and Michael Carvin on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

Excellent Artista/Freedom reissue that brings together the full set from Cecil's 1962 performance at Cafe Monmartre. He's playing here in a trio that has Jimmy Lyons on alto and Sonny Murray on drums, and the music's a key link between his later seventies stuff, and his earlier work that you can find on OJC reissues. The set has 2 takes of "Lena", plus "Trance", "What's New?", "Nefertiti, The Beautiful One Has Come", and "D Trad, That's What". With great liner notres, too! LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful solo work from Mal Waldron – a tribute to Billie Holiday, the singer with whom Waldron worked during the vinyl years of her life! LP, Vinyl record album

An unusual record for Randy Weston – a freewheeling live set recorded at Montreux in 1974, with Billy Harper joining Weston's group on tenor and flute, playing long spiritual solos that work wonderfully next to Weston's spiralling piano lines! Harper's searching quality really opens up the set, and Weston's rhythmic pulse keeps him from overly blowing, as on some of his own albums from the time – and the rough edges of the group give the session a nice degree of bite! The rest of the group features William Allen on bass, Don Moye on drums, and Steve Berrios on percussion and tracks include "Mystery Of Love", "Tribute To Duke Ellington", and "Carnival". LP, Vinyl record album

Live solo work by Roland Hanna – a set that starts out kind of slow, as Hanna performs 2 Ellington crowd-pleasers – but which then really takes off as he moves into his own beautiful compositions! These really have Hanna unfolding on the keys, and playing with a rich lyrical quality that always marked his best work – and which makes him a compelling player that can really hold sway even in a solo set. Titles include "Wistful Moment", "Perugia", "Time Dust Gathered", and "A Child Is Born" – as well as versions of "Take The A Train" and "I Got It Bad & That Ain't Good". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the last great albums that Rudd played on before going into retirement! The group features Rudd on trombone, Enrico Rava on trumpet, Dve Burrell on piano, Stafford James on bass, and Harold White on drums – and the overall feel is similar to some of the best ESP work of the 60s. The band is very nicely matched, and changed moods and modes together as one unit. Tracks include "Inside Job", "Mysterioso", and "Sacred Song". LP, Vinyl record album

Miroslav Vitous strips things down a bit on this late 70s recording of modal fusion, accompanying himself on overdubbed keyboards, with only Don Alias adding to the grooves with some excellent percolating rhythms, replaced by Armen Halburian on one number. The electric keys have the wonderful quality that many 70s recordings have, where the technology was still new, and artists and producers were revelling in the expanded tones offered by them, while the tracks overall have a nice dynamic quality and lots of spare moments. With "Watching The Sunset Run", "Bassamba", "Tiger In The Rain", "Concerto In E Minor", "Pictures From Moravia" and "Sonata For A Dream". LP, Vinyl record album

Genius early work from reedman Marion Brown – an album that was originally only issued overseas, where it was recorded – as part of that legacy that's always had Brown getting a lot more attention in Europe than back at home! Yet the record's a monster that stands equally with Marion's seminal sides for Impulse and ESP – and is maybe even bolder than both of them, as Brown blows alto in a loose trio – with Maarten Van Altena on bass and Han Bennink on drums – in a mode that definitely puts the "free" in free jazz – recorded before the start of both FMP and BYG! Yet there's also that sensitive, soulful quality that makes Brown so great – that element in the music that's always had recordings like these as key pointers forwards to the loft jazz years on the NYC scene – a brilliant blend of freedom and inner spirit – on titles that include "Sound Structure", "QBIC", "Porto Novo", and "Similar Limits". LP, Vinyl record album

Excellent Revenant reissue that brings together the full set from Cecil's 1962 performance at Cafe Monmartre. He's playing here in a trio that has Jimmy Lyons on alto and Sonny Murray on drums, and the music's a key link between his later seventies stuff, and his earlier work that you can find on OJC reissues. The set has 2 takes of "Lena", plus "Trance", "What's New?", "Nefertiti, The Beautiful One Has Come", and "D Trad, That's What". CD

A seminal session from the St Louis scene of the early 70s – one that was humming nearly as much as Chicago was with the AACM at the time! As with the larger organization in the Windy City, St Louis had the Black Artists Group – of which Julius Hemphill was a key member, forming fresh new ideas in improvisatory jazz with players who went onto have an undeniable impact on the global scene as well. This album's one of the standout recordings of the Black Artists era at its best – a record produced by Hemphill, but equally balanced between his own alto and flute, the trumpet of Baikida Carroll, cello of Abdul Wadud, and drums of Phillip Wilson – plus a bit of added baritone from Haimet Bluiett. The rhythms are quite open, but there's also a nice sense of structure to the record too – a bridge between spiritual and free jazz that prefaces the impact that both Hemphill and Bluiett would have on the New York loft jazz generation. Titles include "Dogon AD", "Rites", and "The Painter". LP, Vinyl record album

New York Mary is a fusion combo with Bruce Johnstone on saxophones, Rick Petrone on bass, Joe Corsello on drums and percussion, Allan Zavod on keyboards, Donald Hahn on trumpet, and Tim Breen on guitar. LP, Vinyl record album

One of a rare few albums cut as a leader by reedman Dudu Pukwana – maybe best known for his role in the South African jazz group The Blue Notes, and an undeniable force on the London scene in the late 60s and early 70s! This special set is a great merging of both worlds – as Pukwana works here with older partners Mongezi Feza on trumpet and Louis Moholo on drums – but also gets help at times from other players of the London underground – Elton Dean on saxello, Nick Evans on trombone, and Keith Tippett on piano! But perhaps the two key players here are Lucky Ranko on guitar and Ernest Mothole on electric bass – both of whom provide a pulsing rhythm that brings more of a South African sense of groove to the music than some of Dudu's other more freely-improvised material with his famous group. Frank Roberts warms things up with some great work on keyboards too – and there's a definite South Africa via London vibe going on here – on titles that include "Madodana", "Diamond Express", "Tete & Barbs In My Mind", and "Ubaqile". LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful free-flowing work by Cecil Taylor – and a key album to document his solo piano genius in the 70s! The album's an extended live performance, recorded at Montreux in 1974 – in an open, unbridled style that really shows the open spirit in Taylor's work at the time. The set includes one long piece, divided into 5 movements that include "Abyss", "Petals & Filaments", and "Crossing" – plus 2 shorter tracks "Jitney No 2" and "After All No 2". LP, Vinyl record album

Smooth soulful jazz from Harvey Mason – one of his strong 70s winners for the Arista album, and a record that really brings a new level of class to his sound! There's less of the grit in the grooves than you might expect from the down-home reference of the title – and in a way, the record's a similar shift to well-produced R&B as Michael Henderson or Norman Connor's work from the same time – a soaring, fluid groove that's still supported by solid jazz instrumentation, but which also has a nice dose of soul in the mix! Players here are a real all-star lineup – with talents that include Dorothy Ashby, George Benson, Ronnie Foster, Bob James, and Phil Upchurch – and most cuts have vocals, by The Waters and others. But possibly best of all is the production – which is by Harvey, and really wonderful – sophisticated and smooth, but never slick – a really careful balance that really puts him right up there with Norman Connors or Roy Ayers! Titles include "Pack Up Your Bags", "Till You Take My Love", "Funk In A Mason Jar", "What's Going On", "Set It Free", "Space Cadets" and "Freedom Either Way". This expanded edition from Soulmusic.com includes 2 bonus tracks: "Pack Up Your Bags (US Single)" and "Till You Take My Love (Original 12" Mix – UK Single)". CD

Smooth soulful jazz from Harvey Mason – one of his strong 70s winners for the Arista album, and a record that really brings a new level of class to his sound! There's less of the grit in the grooves than you might expect from the down-home reference of the title – and in a way, the record's a similar shift to well-produced R&B as Michael Henderson or Norman Connor's work from the same time – a soaring, fluid groove that's still supported by solid jazz instrumentation, but which also has a nice dose of soul in the mix! Players here are a real all-star lineup – with talents that include Dorothy Ashby, George Benson, Ronnie Foster, Bob James, and Phil Upchurch – and most cuts have vocals, by The Waters and others. But possibly best of all is the production – which is by Harvey, and really wonderful – sophisticated and smooth, but never slick – a really careful balance that really puts him right up there with Norman Connors or Roy Ayers! Titles include "Pack Up Your Bags", "Till You Take My Love", "Funk In A Mason Jar", "What's Going On", "Set It Free", "Space Cadets" and "Freedom Either Way". LP, Vinyl record album

Reedman Oliver Lake at his most creative – stepping out here on a sublime set of 70s improvisations – all put together with a really spiritual feel! There's a very open, collaborative feel to the music – and the set was recorded in St Louis, at a time when Lake was a key part of that city's scene – and who here also seems able to attract some other musicians from the AACM in Chicago as well! As a result, the album's a wonderful document of the new ideas bursting forth at the start of the 70s – that richly creative moment when local scenes were coming together in various cities to find new ways of jazz beyond Coltrane and Dolphy – giving a player like Lake some of the most imaginative outlets of his career. Oliver plays alto, soprano, flute, and other small instruments – and other players include Baikida Carroll and Floyd Leflore on trumpets, Joseph Bowie on trombone, John Hicks on piano, Clovis Bordeaux on electric piano, Don Officer on bass, Charles Bobo Shaw on drums, and Don Moye on congas too. Titles include "Africa", "Tse Lane", "Eriee", "Zip", and "Electric Freedom". LP, Vinyl record album

Reedman Oliver Lake at his most creative – stepping out here on a sublime set of 70s improvisations – all put together with a really spiritual feel! There's a very open, collaborative feel to the music – and the set was recorded in St Louis, at a time when Lake was a key part of that city's scene – and who here also seems able to attract some other musicians from the AACM in Chicago as well! As a result, the album's a wonderful document of the new ideas bursting forth at the start of the 70s – that richly creative moment when local scenes were coming together in various cities to find new ways of jazz beyond Coltrane and Dolphy – giving a player like Lake some of the most imaginative outlets of his career. Oliver plays alto, soprano, flute, and other small instruments – and other players include Baikida Carroll and Floyd Leflore on trumpets, Joseph Bowie on trombone, John Hicks on piano, Clovis Bordeaux on electric piano, Don Officer on bass, Charles Bobo Shaw on drums, and Don Moye on congas too. Titles include "Africa", "Tse Lane", "Eriee", "Zip", and "Electric Freedom". CD