Ayler at his most intense, with Sonny Murray and Gary Peacock in Copenhagen.
This is the 1964 recording entitled Ghosts for its original release on Debut.

‘This improvised, telepathic collaboration between underground legend Rob Mazurek and modular-synth maestro Alberto Novello is a dizzying, psychedelic space ritual. A delicate weft of harmony and melody on trumpet — plus atmospheric bells and samples — rides a loose rhythmic, timbral magic carpet, way out into uncharted dimensions of sound.’

‘Renowned for his work on iconic Spaghetti Western scores with Ennio Morricone, and his groundbreaking contributions to library music, Alessandroni lavishes his other-worldly genius on this wonderful cocktail of an album, blending jazz, bossa and lounge, garnished with his signature wordless vocal arrangements and lush instrumentation. Featuring his remarkable talent on guitar, piano, and mandolincello, this album paints a vibrant portrait of 1970s cosmopolitan cool.’

‘As playful as it is intense — firmly rooted in tradition, yet endlessly searching and adventurous. Each of the thirteen short pieces explores one or more expressive possibilities of the piano and are, in the words of Adam Shatz in the liner notes, ‘marvels of compressed exploration. To listen to them in succession, as they’re meant to be heard, is to enter a vast, sophisticated, and deeply considered sound-world. Song Unconditional is also gorgeous, sometimes startlingly. It belongs, I think, in the company of the most impressive solo piano albums of recent years.’‘

‘Bottling the vehemence bursting forth nightly in the downtown NYC loft scene, these 1973 recordings at Marzette Watts’s studio are furious, brutal, and poignant.
‘Mixed and mastered from the original tapes, this expanded 2020 LP edition restores sections of the original record inexplicably excised from the CD release in the nineties, adding more than double the playing time of the original LP, in fascinating variations.
‘Heavyweight vinyl; quality pressing.’

‘Rashied Ali stood as a magnetic force for the musical environment around him. In his last decades he sponsored rehearsal opportunities for young musicians, tightened up neighborhood street-corner drum circles he happened to pass, and for years would pull promising young talents into his orbit. One unique group that Ali led at the 2002 Vision Festival in NYC, along with Frank Lowe, he also took into the studio. Sidewalks in Motion features Ali and Lowe along with young musicians Jumaane Smith (trumpet), Andrew Bemkey on piano, and bassist Joris Teepe. In the years after Lowe’s death Ali selected the best takes, and mixed and mastered them for release, but the material remained on the shelf… till now.’
Presented in an old-school tip-on jacket featuring photos and Joris Teepe’s recollections.

‘Texts and numerous interviews pay tribute to a truly extraordinary figure in 20th-century American jazz. This volume unpacks the cultural legacy of musician, spiritual leader, wife and mother Alice Coltrane. Accompanying the eponymous exhibition at Los Angeles’ Hammer Museum (running till May 4), the book takes its title from Coltrane’s 1977 autobiography and devotional text, Monument Eternal, in which she reflected on her newfound spiritual beliefs and the path to healing and self-discovery. Coltrane was ‘ahead of her time,’ as her son, saxophonist Ravi Coltrane, says: she was ‘one of the first people to move outside the mainstream, and certainly one of the first female, Black, American jazz musicians to record her own music in her own studio, and to release music on her own terms.’ Alice Coltrane, Monument Eternal explores themes including spiritual transcendence, sonic innovation and architectural intimacy. The project juxtaposes works from nineteen contemporary American artists with pieces of ephemera from Coltrane’s archive — including handwritten sheet music, unreleased audio recordings and rarely seen footage — to honor her cultural output and practice.’
Cloth hardcover with debossing. 12.6” x 9.8”. 192 pages.

Paradigmatic yet forward-looking township jazz from 1975.
Braiding Wes Montgomery into marabi, the legendary guitarist leads a stellar line-up of musicians including Kippie Moeketsi, Barney Rachabane, Gilbert Matthews, Dennis Mpale, and Sipho Gumede.
The opener glances sideways at the commercial success of Abdullah Ibrahim’s recent Mannenberg — but the real magic follows on, when the players cut loose in their own, new directions.
This is the first vinyl reissue. Sleevenotes by Kwanele Sosibo feature interviews with key musicians, and previously unpublished photos.

The two Arkestra stalwarts in 2016 with rising star Jamie Saft on keys, bassist Trevor Dunn and drummer Balazs Pandi; also the great trombonist Roswell Rudd, in one of his very last recordings. Nicely presented.

Cornerstone experimental music, from 1966.
‘Nostalgic testament to the interaction between the experimental avant-garde and the countercultural underground, the album was originally released on Elektra, recorded by Jac Holzman (the label’s founder, responsible for signing The Doors, Love, and The Stooges) and produced by DNA, a group that included Pink Floyd’s first manager, Peter Jenner (PF’s track Flaming is a tribute to the first side here)... Long tones sit next to abrasive thuds, the howl of uncontrolled feedback accompanies Cardew’s purposeful piano chords, radios beam in snatches of orchestral music… AMM sought to develop a collective sonic identity in which individual contributions could barely be discerned. Numerous auxiliary instruments and devices, including radios played by three members of the group, contribute to the sensation that the music is composed as a single monolithic object with multiple facets, rather than as an interaction between five distinct voices.’

Electric guitar, pipe organ, and drums; a mix of new compositions and interpretations of traditional folk songs.

‘A spellbinding affair that roars with innovation’ (All About Jazz).
‘A startling, contemplative, and utterly brave recording’ (All Music).
‘Simple, sublime melodies… ****1/2’ (Downbeat).