Category Archives: Avant Garde
BRUTON, BRUTOFF: THE AMBIENT AND PASTORAL SIDE OF THE BRUTON LIBRARY CATALOGUE.
Bruton, Brutoff: The Ambient and Pastoral Side Of The Bruton Library. Label: Trunk. Format: LP. Compared to KPM, DeWolfe, Amphonic, Conroy and Sonoton, Bruton Music Library was a relative latecomer to the world of library music. The company was formed in 1977 by Robin Phillips who previously, had run KPM Music and transformed the company …
MOTORPSYCHO-THE ALL IS ONE.
Motorpsycho-The All Is One. Label: Rune Grammofon. Format: 2CD. Motorpsycho was formed in Trondheim, in October 1989 and released their debut album Lobotomizer in 1991. Since then, they’ve been one of hardest working and prolific bands in Norway. Last year, the Norwegian rockers released two albums and toured Norway and Europe twice. That would’ve been …
LOST CLASSIC FOUND: THELONIOUS MONK-MONK.
Lost Classic Found: Thelonious Monk-Monk. Over the last few years, the fashion has been for a minimalism within the hipper home, and it has been fashionable to declutter and adopt a less is more look. Some people have been so keen to declutter that they don’t seem to care about what they thrown away. However, …
DAWAN MUHAMMAD-DEEP STREAM.
Dawan Muhammad-Deep Stream. Label: High Jazz. Format: LP. By 1979, jazz wasn’t as popular as it was during the fifties and early sixties. That was the golden age for jazz, and saw countless classic albums released on labels like Blue Note, Verve and Impulse! These albums sold in large quantities and were profitable for the …
LUIZ CARLOS VINHAS-O SOM PSICODELICO DE L.C.V
Luiz Carlos Vinhas-O Som Psicodélico De L.C.V. Label: Mad About Records. Format: LP. Within his native Brazil, Luiz Carlos Vinhas is remembered and regarded as one of the greatest pianists of the Bossa Nova movement. He was one of the genre’s founding fathers and was a founder member of Bossa Três in 1961. They became one …
KLAUS SCHULZE-THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOOG YEARS.
Klaus Schulze-The Dark Side Of The Moog Years. By 1994, Berlin School pioneer Klaus Schulze was a veteran of German music and had been making music for twenty-five years. His recording career began back in October 1969, when Klaus Schulze played on Tangerine Dream’s debut album Electronic Meditation. Eight months later, Electronic Meditation was released by Ohr Records, …
CULT CLASSIC: COZMIC CORRIDORS-COZMIC CORRIDORS.
Cult Classic: Cozmic Corridors-Cozmic Corridors. Pyramid Records was founded by Canadian artist Robin Page in Cologne and his nascent label released its first album in 1972. Over the next four years, the label established a reputation for releasing ambitious and innovative albums. However, only 50-100 copies of these albums were pressed and were either given …
THELONIOUS MONK-PALAIS DES BEAUX ARTS 1963.
Thelonious Monk-Palais Des Beaux Arts 1963. Label: Tidal Waves Music. Format: LP. Nowadays, Thelonious Monk is regarded and recognised as one of the greatest ever jazz pianists. However, in the past, he wasn’t without his critics. English poet and jazz critic Phillip Larkin cruelly dismissed him as: “the elephant on the keyboard.” He didn’t appreciate …
SUN RA-CELESTIAL LOVE.
Sun Ra-Celestial Love. Label: Modern Harmonic. Format: LP. Nowadays, maybe music journalists are guilty of using the words innovator and musical pioneer all too freely, but that is the perfect description of the inimitable Sun Ra. He’s quite rightly regarded as one of the true pioneers of free jazz and a truly innovative and influential musician who …
CATAPILLA-CATAPILLA AND CHANGES.
Catapilla-Catapilla and Changes. Label: Trading Places. Format: LP. The story of Catapilla is another case of what might have been. They were formed in West London around Christmas 1970, and signed to Vertigo Records and released two ambitious and innovative albums where they combined progressive rock with experimental fusion. Sadly, neither their 1971 debut album …
LARAAJI-SUN PIANO.
Laraaji-Sun Piano. Label: All Saints Records. Format: LP. On the album cover to his new album Sun Piano, which was released by All Saints Records, Laraaji describes playing the piano as: “my music therapy.” This is something the seventy-seven year has been doing since 1953, when he was just ten and living in New Jersey. …
CULT CLASSIC: DIES IRAE-FIRST.
Cult Classic: Dies Irae-First. For many new bands, their main objective is to release an “album” and they want to do this as quickly as possible. This will be a sign that they’ve “arrived” and have one foot on the musical ladder. Sadly, for some bands, that’s as far as it goes. The album fails to …
ANDREW HILL-SMOKE STACK.
Andrew Hill-Smoke Stack. Label: Blue Note Records. Format: Vinyl. By the time Chicago-born pianist Andrew Hill released his sophomore album Black Fire on Blue Note Records in 1964, he was already thirty-two, and was making up for lost time. He had only started to play the piano when he was thirteen but made rapid progress. …
PYRAMID PIECES 1:MODAL AND ECO JAZZ FROM AUSTRALIA 1969-1979.
Pyramid Pieces 1: Modal and Eco Jazz From Australia 1969-1979. Label: Roundtable. Over the last few years, independent and major record labels have released compilations of American, British, European and Japanese jazz. They’ve focused on everything from bebop and hard bop to modal and modern right through to avant-garde, free and spiritual jazz. It’s been …
AKSAK MABOUL-FIGURES.
Aksak Maboul-Figures. Label: Crammed Discs. Nowadays, there aren’t many bands that are still together and releasing new albums after five decades. The same can be said of record labels founded in the seventies. Sadly, bands and record labels aren’t enjoying the same longevity in the modern music business. All too often, bands release a couple …
SEAHAWKS-ISLAND VISIONS.
Seahawks-Island Visions. Label: Be With Records. Ten years ago in 2010, Jon Tye and Pete Fowler embarked upon a new chapter in their career when they released Ocean Trippin’, which was their debut album as Seahawks. Since then, the intrepid musical explorers have released at least one, sometimes two or even three albums a year. …
CULT CLASSIC: LARAAJI: VISION SONGS VOLUME 1.
Cult Classic: Laraaji: Vision Songs Volume 1. During a career that has spanned five decades, American multi-instrumentalist Laraaji has released around thirty albums and countless collaborations. Many of these albums were self released by Laraaji on cassettes, and feature his unique and inimitable genre-melting sound. This best described as a fusion of ambient, avant-garde, experimental …
ANDREAS ROYSUM ENSEMBLE-ANDREAS ROYSUM ENSEMBLE.
Andreas Røysum Ensemble-Andreas Røysum Ensemble. Label: Motvind Records. Over the last decade, the Norwegian jazz scene has been thriving, and today is one of the most vibrant in Europe as a new generation of up-and-coming musicians follow their dreams to make a living playing jazz. They hope to follow in the footsteps of Jan Garbarek, …
JACKIE MCLEAN-A FICKLE SONANCE.
Jackie McLean-A Fickle Sonance. Label: Blue Note Records. On October the ’26th’ 1961, thirty year old alto-saxophonist Jackie McLean made the now familiar journey to the Van Gelder Studio, at 445 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, to record a new album with his quintet. The album became A Fickle Sonance, which was released in …
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