Category Archives: Avant Garde
DUKE ELLINGTON, CHARLIE MINGUS, MAX ROACH-MONEY JUNGLE.
Duke Ellington, Charlie Mingus, Max Roach-Money Jungle. Label: Blue Note Records. On Monday, September the ‘17th’ 1962, bassist Charles Mingus and drummer Max Roach made their way to Sound Makers Studio, in New York. The two friends were en route to a session where they would record an album with one of the giants of …
SUN RA-CELESTIAL LOVE.
Sun Ra-Celestial Love. Label: Modern Harmonic. 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 pushed musical …
CULT CLASSIC: PYRAMID-PYRAMID.
Cult Classic: Pyramid-Pyramid. Although Winston Churchill’s said: “it is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma” in the context of Russia, what’s become one of his most famous quotations can just as easily be applied to Robin Page’s Pyramid Records which has been the source of heated debate for over twenty years. This …
HERBIE HANCOCK-THE PRISONER.
Herbie Hancock-The Prisoner. Label: Blue Note Records. In the summer of 1968 Herbie Hancock left Miles Davis Quintet to form his own group. This was a risky move, but one he felt he had to make to develop as a composer, bandleader and pianist. During the summer of 1968 Herbie Hancock also released his …
ELVIND AAARSET I JAN BANG-SNOW CATCHES ON HER EYELASHES.
Eivind Aarset I Jan Bang-Snow Catches On Her Eyelashes. Label: Jazzland Recordings. Although Eivind Aarset and Jan Bang have been collaborating since the early nineties, the pair have never recorded an album as a duo. That was until they recorded Snow Catches On Her Eyelashes, which was recently released by Jazzland Recordings. It features ten …
SPIRITUAL JAZZ VOLUME 11: STEEPLECHASE.
Spiritual Jazz Volume 11: SteepleChase. Label: Jazzman. In 1959, Anders Dyrup founded Jazzhus Montmartre, which was situated in Dahlerupsgade, in the Danish capital Copenhagen. On the opening night, American clarinetist George Lewis had been booked to play and performed there for a fortnight. He was the first of many great jazz musicians who played at …
GARD NILSSEN’S SUPERSONIC ORCHESTRA-IF YOU LISTEN CAREFULLY THE MUSIC IS YOURS.
Gard Nilssen’s Supersonic Orchestra-If You Listen Carefully The Music Is Yours. Label: Odin Records. To say that bandleader, composer, drummer and percussionist Gard Nilssen is a prolific musician is something of an understatement. Since 2007, he has played on over seventy albums by all types of groups. Mostly, it’s been with small groups including the …
MIKE WESTBROOK-LOVE AND UNDERSTANDING: CITADEL/ROOM 315 SWEDEN 74.
Mike Westbrook-Love and Understanding: Citadel/Room 315 Sweden 74. Label: My Only Desire Records. By 1974, composer and pianist Mike Westbrook was thirty-eight and one of the leading lights of the British jazz scene. He had come a long way since he formed his first band in 1958 when he was an art student studying painting. …
TEA AND SYMPHONY-AN ASYLUM FOR THE MUSICALLY INSANE.
Tea and Symphony-An Asylum For The Musically Insane. Label: Magic Box. When the original lineup of Tea and Symphony was founded in Birmingham, England, in the late-sixties, they were an acoustic group who have since been compared to Marc Bolan’s Tyrannosaurus Rex. The group was founded by Jeff Daw, James Langston and Nigel Phillips, but …
MILES DAVIS-BITCHES BREW AT 50.
Miles Davis-Bitches Brew At 50. Although Miles Davis’ recording career began in 1951, when he released his debut album The New Sounds, he soon had established a reputation as a prolific, and innovative musician. He released further forty-three albums between 1951 and 1969. This included classics like 1957s Round About Midnight and 1959s Kind Of Blue. …
CULT CLASSIC: HOLGER CZUKAY-MOVIES.
Cult Classic: Holger Czukay-Movies. By 1979, Holger Czukay’s career was at a crossroads, after Can the group he cofounded in 1968, had split-up. After releasing eleven albums in eleven years, one of music’s most innovative groups were no more. This came as no surprise to Holger Czukay, who was about to resume his solo career. …
CULT CLASSIC: VOIGT/465-SLIGHTS UNSPOKEN.
Cult Classic: Voigt/465-Slights Unspoken. The story of Voigt/465 is a case of what might have been. They were formed in Sydney, Australia in 1976, and spent the next three years trying to make a breakthrough. By May 1979, things were looking up for Voigt/465 and they looked on the verge of a breakthrough. Their single …
CULT CLASSIC: RUPTURE-ISRAEL SUITE/DOMINANTE EN BLEU.
Cult Classic: Rupture-Israel Suite/Dominante En Bleu. Over the last fifty years, bands and artists have penned ambitious concept albums about all manner of subjects. No subject matter it seems is off-limits when it comes to the concept album. There’s been concept albums about bureaucracy and censorship, death and dreams, evolution and revolution, heaven and hell, …
PHAROAH SANDERS-WELCOME TO LOVE-VINYL.
Pharoah Sanders-Welcome To Love-Vinyl. Label: Tidal Waves Music. By the time Pharoah Sanders began recording Welcome To Love on the ‘17th’ of July 1990, at Studio Gimmick, Yerres, France, the American saxophonist and pioneer of free jazz was fifty, and was signed to the Dutch independent label, Timeless Records. Pharoah Sanders debut for his new …
ERLEND APNESETH-FRAGMENTARIUM.
Erlend Apneseth-Fragmentarium. Label: Hubro Music. When the Erlend Apneseth Trio recorded their third album Salika, Molika they were joined by top Norwegian accordionist Frode Haltli as they fused folk and experimental improv and electronic music. The result was an ambitious and groundbreaking album that was hailed as a gamechanger when it was released to critical …
CULT CLASSIC: PAUL MARCANO AND LIGHTDREAMS-10,001 DREAMS.
Cult Classic: Paul Marcano and LightDreams-10,001 Dreams. In 1981, British Columbian band LightDreams released debut album Islands In Space. It was a captivating psychedelic sci-fi odyssey where LightDreams explored cosmic ideology. Normally, an album like Islands In Space would’ve found favour with fans of psychedelia and progressive rockers who embraced cerebral, innovative and epic albums. …
CULT CLASSIC: TEMPLE-TEMPLE.
Cult ClassicL Temple-Temple. Ever since the birth of rock ’n’ roll, there’s been many short-lived record labels, including small, obscure local labels founded to release privately pressed albums, to regional labels that released just a handful of singles before closing their doors for the last time. Other labels lasted slightly longer, but were hardly prolific, …
CHRISTIAN WALLUMROD ENSEMBLE-MANY.
Christian Wallumrød Ensemble-Many. Label: Hubro Music. Although Christian Wallumrød has been a familiar face on the Norwegian music scene since the early nineties, it wasn’t until 1996 that the Christian Wallumrød Trio released their debut album Birch on ECM. It was released to widespread critical acclaim, Birch launched the career of Christian Wallumrød. Over the …
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