A fantastic slice of sound from the legendary Dudu Pukwana – not his work with the famous Blue Notes combo, nor his globally-styled projects – but instead this searing free jazz date cut for the ICP label with Misha Mengelberg on piano and Hank Bennink on drums, clarinet, viola, and trombone! Pukwana is always great, but here he comes on with an improvising force that's even more amazing than you might expect – really stretching out over long tracks on alto sax, with moments that echo his more familiar tones, but with a lot more intensity – really driven on by the fantastic piano impulses from Mengelberg, and all pushed to the brink by Bennink's boundless energy on all instruments. Titles include "The King Of Weasle Is Called Easle", "Yi Yole", and "Silopobock". CD

Rare music from this legendary Dutch free jazz collective – all pulled from the earliest years of the project, when the ICP group were every bit as important to improvised music as combos in the German and French scenes! The core players here are Misha Mengelberg on piano, Han Bennink on drums, and Willem Breuker on reeds – but with all ICP recordings, the "pool" is the most important part – as the lineup shifts fantastically, always in pursuit of new improvising possibilities – spontaneous creation amidst musicians who also include Manfred Schoof on cornet and flugelhorn, Theo Loevendie on soprano sax, Piet Noordijk on alto, Frederic Rzewski on electronics, and Willem Van Manen on trombone. Some moments have even more unusual instrumentation – steel drums, electrified viola, accordion, toy instruments, and amplified recorder – and throughout it all, the sense of unified group action and individual improvisation is tremendous. Most of the work on the CD has been unissued before – save for one track from the 53CD box ICP, and three more from a rare Dutch Jazz Scene LP box set from Radio Netherlands. 2CD set features 17 tracks in all – and titles include "Piano Distance", "Adebar Der Geheimnisvolle", "Jump Italiano", "Viet Cong", "Session No 1", "New Alto", "ICP 4 14 Write Your Own Part", "Stch Shuffle", "Siep", "Angels", and "Trammermusik". CD

A beautiful chapter in the evolution of these three key artists on the European scene – and a record that has some warmth and wit that nobody might have expected in their music a few years before! All three are still very much in exploration of the kinds of tones and sounds they could reach when playing their heads off – but they also allow for some warmer interplay that almost hints at a slight influence from Misha Mengelberg, whose spirit almost seems to be lurking around the corners of the recording! Peter Brotzman blows Brotzophon, alto, tenor, and clarinet – with Fred Van Hove on piano, and Han Bennink on drums, clarinet, homemade junk, "everything", and "anything" – on titles that include "Das Ist Doch Einfach Genung", "Schoner Geht's Nimmer", and "Ende Mit Brotzophon". LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing slice of rare work from pianist Misha Mengelberg – caught her early in his career, but already an important modern jazz force on the European scene! The set's a live one – featuring a very sharp-edged combo with Misha on piano, Piet Noordjik on alto, Rob Lengereis on bass, and Han Bennink on drums – plus guest trumpet from Ted Curson on two long tracks! As you can imagine, we love the Curson material – and Ted always seems to sparkle in a fresh setting like this, drawing new energy from less familiar players – and stretching things out to the height of his free-thinking talents of the time. But Noordjik is wonderful, too – really hanging nicely in a balance between soulful and modern with his horn, and easily matched by Mengelberg's piano – really great to hear in a more structured setting than his later, freer records. Titles include "Driekusman Total Loss", "The Leopard", "Sugar N Spice", "Journey", and "Peer's Counting Song". CD

A landmark record from the Dutch jazz scene – one that takes all the strong 70s years of free improvisation in that world, and helps it find a new sort of focus! As fans of the scene know, ICP stands for Instant Composers Pool – writing while improvising on the spot – a notion that's applied here to a completely amazing tentet, with a lineup that moves even beyond the core scene – to include Misha Mengelberg on piano, John Tchicai on alto and soprano, Gilius Bergeyk on alto, Peter Bennink on alto and sopranino, Peter Brotzmann on alto and tenor, Bert Koppelaar on trombone, Tristan Honsinger on cello, Alan Silva on bass, Han Bennink on drums and bass clarinet, and Michel Waisisz on the very cool "crackle box". The force of the individual players is already amazing – but the way they come together here is breathtaking – sometimes with a full blast that should be chaos, but which finds an amazing sense of song, thanks in part to the strength of Mengelberg on piano. Titles include "Valse Trovee", "Ludvig's Blue Note", "Dank", "Alexander's Marschbefehl", "Rumboon", and five "Tetterettet" selections. CD

A fitting title for a great album – Eric Dolphy's last live recording, performed on June 2, 1964, with a trio of youngsters that included two of the greatest names in European avant garde jazz – Misha Mengelberg and Han Bennink! The sound is jagged and a bit free – showing the way towards even greater innovations that might have marked Dolphy's 60s years, had he not been taken from us so quickly! The album's filled with beautiful Dolphy playing in his late mode – on alto, flute, and bass clarinet – and tracks include "The Madrig Speaks, The Panther Walks", "Miss Ann", and "Hypochristmutreefuz". CD

A fitting title for a great album – Eric Dolphy's last live recording, performed on June 2, 1964, with a trio of youngsters that included two of the greatest names in European avant garde jazz – Misha Mengelberg and Han Bennink! The sound is jagged and a bit free – showing the way towards even greater innovations that might have marked Dolphy's 60s years, had he not been taken from us so quickly! The album's filled with beautiful Dolphy playing in his late mode – on alto, flute, and bass clarinet – and tracks include "The Madrig Speaks, The Panther Walks", "Miss Ann", and "Hypochristmutreefuz". CD

A fitting title for a great album – Eric Dolphy's last live recording, performed on June 2, 1964, with a trio of youngsters that included two of the greatest names in European avant garde jazz – Misha Mengelberg and Han Bennink! The sound is jagged and a bit free – showing the way towards even greater innovations that might have marked Dolphy's 60s years, had he not been taken from us so quickly! The album's filled with beautiful Dolphy playing in his late mode – on alto, flute, and bass clarinet – and tracks include "The Madrig Speaks, The Panther Walks", "Miss Ann", and "Hypochristmutreefuz". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful run of music from the great Steve Lacy – all of the larger group recordings done for the Black Saint/Soul Note label – nearly 20 years of really inventive albums! Lacy's solo and smaller group material were already collected in another excellent box in this series – but this collection shows Steve stepping out in a mode that's not nearly as well-represented on other labels – some of his more intense, complicated efforts – done with both familiar associates, and some surprising choices from the European scene! Players include Roswell Rudd on trombone, Steve Potts on alto, Misha Mengelberg on piano, George Lewis on trombone, Bobby Few on piano, Ricky Ford on tenor, and Han Bennink on drums – and the package, like others in this great series, features all records with original artwork, in cool little sleeves like mini albums. Records include Trickles, Revenue, Troubles, Regeneration, Change Of Season, Dutch Masters, The Condor, The Cry, and Vespers. CD

A fitting title for a great album – Eric Dolphy's last live recording, performed on June 2, 1964, with a trio of youngsters that included two of the greatest names in European avant garde jazz – Misha Mengelberg and Han Bennink! The sound is jagged and a bit free – showing the way towards even greater innovations that might have marked Dolphy's 60s years, had he not been taken from us so quickly! The album's filled with beautiful Dolphy playing in his late mode – on alto, flute, and bass clarinet – and tracks include "The Madrig Speaks, The Panther Walks", "Miss Ann", and "Hypochristmutreefuz". LP, Vinyl record album

A fitting title for a great album – Eric Dolphy's last live recording, performed on June 2, 1964, with a trio of youngsters that included two of the greatest names in European avant garde jazz – Misha Mengelberg and Han Bennink! The sound is jagged and a bit free – showing the way towards even greater innovations that might have marked Dolphy's 60s years, had he not been taken from us so quickly! The album's filled with beautiful Dolphy playing in his late mode – on alto, flute, and bass clarinet – and tracks include "The Madrig Speaks, The Panther Walks", "Miss Ann", and "Hypochristmutreefuz". CD