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KAHIL EL'ZABAR·BILLY BANG - Spirits Entering (2001)
As a ritual experience, music can be amazingly moving. That's a deep concept that American jazz players long ago absorbed from the traditions of West Africa. (Haiti and Cuba lie at the epicenter of...
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MARILYN CRISPELL - Live Berlin (1984)
Live in Berlin is an album by American jazz pianist Marilyn Crispell, which was recorded in 1982 during the Total Music Meeting and released on the Italian Black Saint label. The piece "ABC" is...
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TOMASZ STANKO QUINTET - Purple (1973)
My Stańko disease worsens and though pile of new recordings rises I am stuck to Polish Mag. Today it will be very short here because music is so good that it is not time to waste on spilling out words....
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JACKIE McLEAN QUINTET feat. RENÉ McLEAN - Dynasty (1988)
This is one of the great Jackie McLean albums. After nearly a decade away from recording, the veteran altoist teamed up with his son, René McLean (who triples on tenor, soprano, and flute), pianist...
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String Trio Ensemble - Common Goal (1981)
The String Trio of New York has long been one of the finest avant-garde chamber jazz groups around. Formed in 1977 by bassist John Lindberg, guitarist James Emery, and violinist Billy Bang, the group...
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OREGON - Beyond Words (1995)
With its combination of simple beauty and elegant intricacy, Oregon's Beyond Words truly is. This time out, the three surviving original members of Oregon perform as a drummerless trio, handling a...
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ANDREW CYRILLE- X Man (1994)
Considering the musicians who are involved, it is often surprising how gentle and melodic this music is. Guitarist Alix Pascal is a new voice with a quiet sound, while flutist James Newton, bassist...
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McCOY TYNER & JACKIE McLEAN - It's About Time (1986)
Tracks01. Spur of the Moment02. You Taught My Heart to Sing03. It's About Time04. Hip Toe05. No Flowers Please (Ron Carter)06. Travelin'McCOY TYNER pianoJACKIE McLEAN alto saxophoneRON CARTER...
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MARC COPLAND - Poetic Motion (2001)
There is a simple beauty to Marc Copland's solo piano playing. Sensitive and quiet, the pianist prefers slower, relaxed tempos in which the wood from the piano resonates gorgeously. Some might confuse...
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BOBBY HUTCHERSON - Dialogue (1965)
Coming fresh on the heels of his groundbreaking work with Eric Dolphy, Bobby Hutcherson's debut album is a masterpiece of "new thing" avant-garde jazz, not really free but way beyond standard hard bop....
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BOBBY HUTCHERSON - Medina (1969)
A most welcome CD reissue, Medina/Spiral pairs two accomplished sessions by the Bobby Hutcherson-Harold Land quintet from 1968 and 1969 (neither was officially released until 1979-80), which marked the...
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PAUL BLEY - Paul Bley Quartet (1987)
This 1987 date teams the iconoclastic pianist with guitarist Bill Frisell, drummer Paul Motian, and British saxophonist John Surman. While it's easy to argue that, with Manfred Eicher's icy,...
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PAUL BLEY - If We May (1994)
Paul Bley has long enjoyed engaging in fairly free improvising, making this set of standards (along with the title cut, an original blues) a bit of a surprise. With bassist Jay Anderson and drummer...
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WILLIAM PARKER & THE LITTLE HUEY CREATIVE MUSIC ORCHESTRA - For Percy Heath...
Bassist William Parker operates within a tradition that nourishes and sustains him as fully and consistently as he gives back to it in his own non-linear manner. Parker's creative philosophy and...
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WILLIAM PARKER - O'Neal's Porch (2003)
WILLIAM PARKER:His Own 'New Thing'William Parker talks like he plays, with an improvisatory grace, free wheeling through long series of interconnected ideas, following tangents but never getting lost....
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WILLIAM PARKER - Raining On The Moon (2002)
William Parker continues to go beyond the status quo on Raining on the Moon, his second offering in labelmate Matthew Shipp's Blue Series. Known mostly to a coterie of specialists in a niche field of...
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PETER KOWALD·WILLIAM PARKER·PETER JACQUEMYN - Deep Music (2004)
A leading avant-garde musician, German bassist and occasional tuba player Peter Kowald was a longtime member of the Globe Unity Orchestra, and performed and recorded with many other major improvisers,...
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FRANK WRIGHT - Uhuru Na Umoja (1970)
Uhuru Na Umoja is a fiery 1970 date with Frank Wright leading a bassless quartet with Noah Howard on alto, Bobby Few on piano, and Art Taylor on drums. The tunes (or at least the heads) were composed...
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FRED HERSCH - Forward Motion (1991)
This subtle set sneaks up on the listener, gradually building in tension and excitement. Pianist Fred Hersch varies the instrumentation on many of the tracks (only six of his originals use the full...
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ARUAN ORTIZ QUARTET - Orbiting (2012)
The gifted pianist-composer-arranger Aruán Ortiz, a native of Santiago de Cuba, showcases different aspects of his abundant musicality on these two disparate releases. The folkloric Santiarican Blues...
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