A classic set of 80s work from drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson – issued on Ornette Coleman's label! The group here is a lineup of the Decoding Society that features twin guitars from Cary Denigris and Masujaa Hugh Riley, plus soprano and tenor from a young Zane Massey, bass from John Moody, and soprano, alto, and flute from Eric Person – all produced by Bill Laswell too! LP, Vinyl record album

A very unusual moment from the mighty Bernie Worrell – the keyboardist that most folks know for his work as part of the P-Funk universe of George Clinton – stepping out here on an early 90s album done in collaboration with producer Bill Laswell! Like most of Laswell's other projects around the time, there's a spirit here that's not only genre-busting, but also aimed towards some of the more unusual possibilities of collaboration – at a level that has Bernie working with talents from soul, funk, jazz, and some other styles too – a lineup that includes Amina Claudine Myers, Fred Wesley, Marty Erlich, Umar Bin Hassan, Buckethead, and Vincent Chancey – all coming together in musical modes that are very different than Bernie's best-known solo album from the early 80s. There's a very dark spirit here at times – that layered sound that Laswell did so well – but mixed with these other moments that have a surprising sense of jazz majesty – almost with the spiritual core of a Bill Lee soundtrack. Titles include "The Mask", "Moon Over Brixton", "Witness For The Defense", "Set The Tone/Victory", "Gladiator Skull", and "Fields Of Play". CD

Features Joey Baron, Mark Feldman, Cyro Baptista, Bill Laswell, Marc Ribot, Jamie Saft, and others. CD

A set that's even more searing and sonically intense than the debut of this genre-hopping group – served up in this bracing blend of electric and acoustic instrumentation that almost takes us back to the 90s experiments on Axiom Records from the Bill Laswell generation! there's plenty of guitar and bass here – the former from Javi Perez, the latter from Jamie Benzies – driven strongly by the fierce drum work of Tim Toyle, and topped with trumpet from Axel Kaner Lidstrom, tenor from James Mollison, keyboards and electronics from Tile Gichigi Lipere, and a mix of tenor, bass, clarinet, and flute from Rob Milne – all coming together with a very dark, textured, almost layered sort of sound – even though the performance here seems to be mostly live. Titles include "3301", "Fallacy", "The Cracks In The Bricks", "Ashen Faun", "Last Throes Of The Temporal Monolith", and "Crystalline Peaks". LP, Vinyl record album

Features Bill Laswell. CD

One of the earthiest recordings made by Bill Laswell during his run of classic productions on Axiom Records – a set that's very faithful to the unique sound of the Gnawa musicians of Morocco, and which features no performance at all from Laswell! Sometimes, Bill would like to insert himself in the proceedings, or inflect the music with his own identity – but he stays nicely aside here, and allows the large ensemble to really do their thing – making incredible music through interplay between vocals and percussion, touched with a few local instruments as well – including oud, sintir, and darbouka! Often, the percussion is augmented by handclaps, which really brings a sense of urgency to the record as the songs build up – and titles include "Tramin", "Chabako", "Toura Toura Tour Kelilah", "Hamouda", "Said Fafy Drum Solo", "Jillala", and "Mimoun Mamrba". LP, Vinyl record album

A classic group from the New York downtown scene – with Anton Fier on drums, Arto Lindsay on guitar and vocals, Bill Laswell on bass, Fred Frith on guitar, David Moss on sounds, and John Zorn on alto and game calls! CD

A smoking-hot batch of 80s soul from Nona Hendryx – and a record that really helped reinvent her sound for a whole new generation! Nona's wisely teamed here with Bill Laswell and Material – with whom she'd worked on previous projects under their name – and Laswell's street-sensitive presence really helps give the record an edge that underscores Nona's credibility in just the right way! A few years later, and most of these touches might sound cloying – yet here, they're handled perfectly – a great way of creating lean grooves with plenty of New York influences – with more than enough energy to catapult Hendryx out to a global mainstream. Material bring in a surprising amount of great help for the set – a range of artists from Kashif to Laurie Anderson to Bernie Worrell, Valerie Simpson, Nile Rodgers, Sly Dunbar, and Tina Weymouth! Titles include "B Boys", "Design For Living", "Transformation", "Keep It Confidential", "Living On The Border", "Run For Cover", "Dummy UP", and "Steady Action". LP, Vinyl record album

Really great later work from Japanese music legend Haruomi Hosono – a set that's got a leaner, more contemporary take on some of his modes from before – definitely using some of the best advances in 90s technology, yet always with that great ear for space and timing that makes his music so great! The set's got plenty of beats, samples, and sly sonic touches – almost as if Hosono were trying to show the emerging downtempo generation that he got there long before – while also working with contributions from a lineup that includes Bill Laswell, Francois Kevorkian, and Yasuaki Shimizu. Titles include "Higher Flyer", "Edge Of The End", "Aero", "Strange Attractor", "Teaching Of Sphinx", and "Navigations". LP, Vinyl record album

A bit rawer than other work by the group, but still very much in the vein of this classic mid 80s alliance between Peter Brotzmann, Sonny Sharrock, Bill Laswell, and Ronald Shannon Jackson. Titles include "Line Of Fire", "Big Boss Man", "Sore Titties", and "My Balls/Your Chin". Ugh! CD

Searing live work from the Last Exit quartet – easily one of the most dynamic forces in experimental jazz in the 80s! The group features a famous combination of Sonny Sharrock's guitar and Peter Brotzmann's reeds – a pairing that shouldn't work this well, but does wonderfully – thanks to a great love of loudly expressive sounds by both players! The combo's completed by Bill Laswell on bass and Ronald Shannon Jackson on drums – both of whom bring a pulsating downtown sound to the record, even in this European live setting. Titles include "Lizard Eyes", "Don't Be A Cry Baby Whatever You Do", "Hanged Man Are Always Naked", "A Knight Of Ghosts & Shadows", and "I Must Confess I'm A Criminal". CD

With Bill Laswell on bass, Peter Brotzmann on sax, Sonny sharrock on guitar, and Ronald Shannon Jackson on drums. CD

Another vicious set of hammering, lovable skronk from Last Exit – the mighty mid 80s free group that featured Sonny Sharrock, Peter Brotzman, Bill Laswell and Shannon Jackson! This should certainly not come as a surprise, but the sound is as muscular as can be without exploding all over the place. Each player brings their most hammering torrents. Brotzmann and Sharrock get to bring the noise, and a great sense of playfulness while Laswell and Jackson keep rhythmically sound. And boy, does Jackson hit those drums! Ouch! Tracks include the 18 minute "Hard School", "Brain Damage", "Taking A Beating", "Last Call" and "Dark Heart". CD

Why was it that the left end of jazz in the 80s often produced some of the most unexpected alliances? Perhaps it was because it was so tough to gig and earn on one own's creative vision that it made more sense to play together with other leaders. Or perhaps the dearth of really creative music in the mainstream made more avant players try to fill the void. Whatever the case, this album's a very typical batch of 80s avant – featuring the unlikely alliance of Peter Brotzmann, Bill Laswell, Ronald Shannon Jackson, and Sonny Sharrock, all playing with noisy whimsy on tracks like "Panzer Be Bop", "Blind Willie", "Straw Dog", and "Pig Cheese". CD

Featuring Bill Laswell, Wayne Shorter, William S Burroughs, Bootsy Collins, Sly Dunbar, Zakir Hussain, Bernie Worrell, and others. CD

Bill Laswell on bass, Fred Frith on guitar, and Michael Beinhorn on electronics – plus a trio of percussionists. CD

One of the bigger efforts from Material – featuring the core trio of Bill Laswell, Martin Bisi, and Michael Beinhorn – plus guest work by Nona Hendryx, Nile Rodgers, Whitney Houston, Archie Shepp, Oliver Lake, and Fred Frith. The mix of jazz and soul talents comes together more nicely than you might think, thanks to Laswell's talents for crossing cultures – and although a few numbers here sound quite dated, overall the album's worth digging out at least for a document of a unique moment. Titles include "Take A Chance", "Memories", "Don't Lose Control", "Let Me Have It All", "Time Out", "Come Down", and "I'm The One'. LP, Vinyl record album

With Bill Laswell, Sly Dunbar, and spoken passages by William S Burroughs. CD

A stripped-down rootsy session – similar to some of the sparer Afro-Cuban traditionalist sides that were coming out of New York in the early 80s. Ponce put the set together, and other players include Paquito D'Rivera, Jose Trapaga, Joe De Jesus, Nelson Rodriguez, and Bill Laswell. Most tracks feature spare conga and percussion jams – and titles include "Basta De Cuentos", "Invacion De 80", "Cojelo Suave", "Africa Contemporanea", and "Solo Para Ti". LP, Vinyl record album

A set recorded during that tremendous late 80s/early 90s point when guitarist Sonny Sharrock was really hitting on all creative burners – and one that also features the legendary Pharoah Sanders on tenor, who gives the record a slightly different vibe than some of Sharrock's other records from the time! Make no mistake, Sonny is very strongly in the lead – and he also produced the record with Bill Laswell, whose efforts are definitely felt here – but there's also more of a jazz core to the whole thing, with long tracks that have a very live, spontaneous vibe – as Sharrock fuzzes out his guitar, but is matched with soulful energy from Sanders on tenor – and given some great pulsating rhythms from Charnett Moffett on acoustic bass and Elvin Jones on drums. These three players really offset some of Sonny's more self-indulgent tendencies – and titles include "Little Rock", "Promises Kept", "Who Does She Hope To Be", "As We Used To Sing", and "Many Mansions". LP, Vinyl record album

Nice 80s digital dub era grooves from Sly & Robbie! For years, We'd back and forth on how we feel about Bill Laswell's slick modern production – but we've really come around on it more recent years, especially considering how influential the 80s style turned out to be in post-millennium music, be reggae or just about any other popular genre. That said, we've never doubt Sly & Robbie, so in the grand scheme of things, this album always boiled down to a winner. Like a lot of mid 80s Material productions, this one pulls in an all star cast to lend a hand to the Rhythm Twins, including Bernie Worrell, Herbie Hancock, Wally Badaru, Manu Dibango, Afrika Bambaata, Bernard Fowler, Mike Hampton, Doug E Fresh and even Bob Dylan. The overall groove is very electro, with 6 long-ish numbers: "Make 'Em Move", "No Name On The Bullet", "Mile (Black Satin)", "Bass & Trouble", "Language Barrier" and "Get To This, Get To That". LP, Vinyl record album

Features James Blood Ulmer on guitars, Bernie Worrell on Hammond and clavinet, Amina Claudine Myers on Hammond and piano, Bill Laswell on bass, and Joseph Zigaboo Modeliste on drums and percussion. CD

Henry Threadgill on alto and flutes – with Brandon Ross and Masujaa on guitars, Gene Lake on drums, and guest percussion from Miguel Urbina and Johnny Rudas. Produced by Bill Laswell. CD

Ulmer on Blue Note – who'd a thunk it? And oddly, although the album's on one of the most jazz-based labels at the time, it's also one of Ulmer's most rock-oriented – with strong lead vocals on nearly every track, and an overall style that's as bluesy as it is experimentally jazzy. Ulmer's clearly emerged as a star in his own right (or own mind) by the time of the album – and there's less of the shared group dynamic of the harmelodic years, and more of a style that's set up to support his lead presence. Players include Bill Laswell, Ronald Shannon Jackson, and Nicky Skopelitis – and titles include "I Belong In The USA", "Lady Blue", "After Dark", "Black Sheep", and "Show Me Your Love America". CD

With Beth Anne Hatton, Bill Laswell, Cyro Baptista, Greg Cohen, Jamie Saft, Jennifer Charles, Jim Pugliese, Mike Patton and Rebecca Moore. CD

Produced by Bill Laswell. LP, Vinyl record album

A mindblowing tribute to the work of Egyptian composer Mohamad Abdel Wahab – served up here on a record that was maybe one of the first chances a larger global audience got to hear his music! Simon Shaheen plays oud, viola, and violin amidst a set of larger arrangements that add in other stringed instruments, plenty of percussion, reeds, and some occasional vocals – and although the set was produced by Bill Laswell, it's got a very respectful vibe – an acoustic presentation that feels much more midcentury than any other release on the Axiom label, in a way that feels very true to the inspiration of the original compositions. Titles include "Hanil Widd", "Ibnil Balad", "Bortuqal", "Mudnaka", "Theme & Variations", and "Al Hinna". LP, Vinyl record album

We love Sly & Robbie – really we do. And while they were responsible for many of the toughest rhythms ever laid to wax, they did cut their share of material that hits nice and hard, but may not be as sublime as their finest and fattest. While on paper this Bill Laswell produced session that finds the Rhythm Twins meeting up with an all star cast including Rammellzee, Bernie Worrell, Henry Threadgill and D. St. among others, it somehow manages to result in a sum that's that's less than the combination of all the dope parts. But you could do a lot worse, and we're guessing if you heard any of these 6 tracks in a different context, you might well consider it the heat: "Fire", "Boops (Here to Go)", "Let's Rock", "Yes We Can Can", "Rhythm Killer" and "Bank Job". CD

We love Sly & Robbie – really we do. And while they were responsible for many of the toughest rhythms ever laid to wax, they did cut their share of material that hits nice and hard, but may not be as sublime as their finest and fattest. While on paper this Bill Laswell produced session that finds the Rhythm Twins meeting up with an all star cast including Rammellzee, Bernie Worrell, Henry Threadgill and D. St. among others, it somehow manages to result in a sum that's that's less than the combination of all the dope parts. But you could do a lot worse, and we're guessing if you heard any of these 6 tracks in a different context, you might well consider it the heat: "Fire", "Boops (Here to Go)", "Let's Rock", "Yes We Can Can", "Rhythm Killer" and "Bank Job". LP, Vinyl record album

An odd collaboration between Afrika Bambaataa and John Lydon that was sort of club hit at the time, but we're not sure what to make of it these days. Dense production by Bill Laswell with his standard heavy beats, guitar and synth lines. The vocal version has Bambaataa and Lydon predicting the end of the world and the dub version in mostly instrumental with lots of cut-up vocal samples. 12-inch, Vinyl record