Anthony Braxton - 3 Compositions of New Jazz (1968)

While it is not as powerful or as revelatory as For Alto, Anthony Braxton's second album for Delmark, 3 Compositions of New Jazz is his debut as a leader and showcases just how visionary -- or out to lunch depending on your point of view -- he was from the very beginning. Recorded nine months after his debut with Muhal Richard Abrams on Levels and Degrees of Light, Braxton's compositional methodology and his sense of creating a band are in full flower. For one thing, there is no use of a traditional rhythm section, though drums and a piano are used. The band is comprised of Leroy Jenkins on violin and percussion, Braxton on everything from alto to accordion to mixer, Leo Smith on trumpet and bottles, and Abrams on piano (and alto clarinet on one track). All but one track -- "The Bell" -- are graphically titled, so there's no use mentioning titles because computers don't draw in the same way. There is a sonorous unity on all of these compositions, which Braxton would draw away from later. His use of Stockhausen is evident here, and he borrows heavily from the melodic precepts of Ornette Coleman. The use of Jenkins' violin as a melodic and lyric device frees the brass from following any kind of preset notion about what should be done. Abrams plays the piano like a percussion -- not a rhythm -- instrument, and colors the textural figures in, while Smith plays all around the open space trying hard not to fill it. This is a long and tough listen, but it's a light one in comparison to For Alto. And make no mistake: It is outrageously forward-thinking, if not -- arguably -- downright visionary. Braxton's 3 Compositions of New Jazz is an essential document of the beginning of the end.

By Thom Jurek in All Music Guide

Styles:
Avant-Garde
Post-Bop
Free Jazz

Tracks:
1 - (840m)-Realize-44M-44M (19:59)
2 - N-M488-44M-Z (12:54)
3 - The Bell (10:26)

Line-up:
Anthony Braxton – alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, clarinet, flute, oboe musette, accordion, bells, snare drum
Leroy Jenkins – violin, viola, harmonica, bass drum, recorder, cymbals, slide whistle
Wadada Leo Smith – trumpet, mellophone, xylophone, kazoo
Muhal Richard Abrams – piano (track 2 & 3), cello, alto clarinet (track 3)

Rahsaan Roland Kirk - The Inflated Tear (Live in Prague, 1967)

Line-up:
Roland Kirk - multiple reeds
Ron Burton -piano
Steve Novosel - bass
Jimmy Hopps - drums

George Adams - Sound Suggestions (1979)

Tenor saxophonist George Adams' third recording as a leader (following two obscure releases for the Italian Horo label) is a little unusual in that the extroverted soloist is heard on the usually introverted ECM label. Adams is teamed with fellow tenor Heinz Sauer (who has a cooler sound), trumpeter Kenny Wheeler, pianist Richard Beirach, bassist Dave Holland and drummer Jack DeJohnette for five group originals. The playing is advanced but not as fiery as most of Adams' later sets.

By Scott Yanow in All Music Guide

Styles:
Post-Bop

Tracks:
01 - Baba (13:00)
02 - Imani's Dance (11:00)
03 - Stay Informed (08:01)
04 - Got Somethin' Good for You (05:42)
05 - A Spire (08:07)

Line-up:
George Adams – tenor saxophone, vocals
Kenny Wheeler - trumpet
Heinz Sauer - tenor saxophone
Richard Beirach – piano
Dave Holland – bass
Jack DeJohnette – drums

Albert Ayler - Live in Greenwich Village (1965)

Live in Greenwich Village was Albert Ayler's first recording for Impulse, and is arguably his finest moment, not only for the label, but ever. This double-CD reissue combines both of the Village concerts -- documented only partially on previously released LPs -- recorded in 1965 and 1966 with two very different groups. The Village gigs reveal the mature Ayler whose music embodied bold contradictions: There are the sweet, childlike, singalong melodies contrasted with violent screaming peals of emotion, contrasted with the gospel and R&B shouts of jubilation, all moving into and through one another. On the 1965 date, which featured Ayler, his brother Donald on trumpet, Joel Freedman on cello, bassist Lewis Worrell, and the great Sunny Murray on drums, the sound is one of great urgency. Opening with "Holy Ghost," the Aylers come out stomping and Murray double times them to bring the bass and cello to ground level in order to anchor musical proceedings to their respective generated sounds. "Truth Is Marching In" casts a bleating, gospelized swirl against a backdrop of three- and four-note "sung" phrases that are constantly repeated, à la a carny band before kicking down all the doors and letting it rip for almost 13 minutes. On the 1967 date of the second disc, the Aylers are augmented with drummer Beaver Harris, violinist Michel Sampson, Bill Folwell and Alan Silva on basses, and trombonist George Steele on the closer, "Universal Thoughts." "For John Coltrane" opens the set with a sweltering abstraction of tonalities in the strings and horns. On "Change Has Come," the abstraction remains but the field of language is deeper, denser, more urgent. Only with "Spiritual Rebirth," which opens with a four-note theme, does one get the feeling that the band has been pacing itself for this moment, and that the concert has become an actual treatise on the emotion of "singing" as an ensemble in uncharted territories. Throughout the rest of the set, Ayler's band buoys him perfectly, following him up through every new cloud of unknowing into a sublime musical and emotional beyond which, at least on recordings, would never be realized again. This recording is what all the fuss is about when it comes to Ayler.

By Thom Jurek in All Music Guide

Styles:
Free-Jazz
Avant-Garde

Tracks:
CD1
01 - Holy Ghost (07:41)
02 - Truth Is Marching In (12:42)
03 - Our Prayer (04:45)
04 - Spirits Rejoice (16:22)
05 - Divine Peacemaker (12:37)
06 - Angels (09:53)

CD2
01 - For John Coltrane (13:40)
02 - Change Has Come (06:24)
03 - Light In Darkness (10:59)
04 - Heavenly Home (08:51)
05 - Spiritual Rebirth (04:26)
06 - Infinite Spirit (06:37)
07 - Omega Is The Alpha (10:46)
08 - Univeral Thoughts (08:22)

Line-up:
Albert Ayler - tenor saxophone
Don Ayler - trumpet
Michel Sampson - violin
Bill Folwell - bass
Henry Grimes - bass
Beaver Harris - drums

Waiting for the Axe to Fall

Gil Scott-Heron and the Midnight Band

Masahiko Satoh - All-in All-out (1979)

This unkown gem - that will amaze casual listeners and still conquer regular ones - stars both Masahiko Sato's talent in displaying a wide varriety of tones and fusion scales and Dave Liebman's fierce and intense saxophone playing. Sometimes "All-in, All-Out" recalls Weather Report's edgy style of abstract fusion, and Sato's work here serves that purpose very well,which means, painting soundscapes simultaneously dreamy and cerebral. "Sapajou Walk" begins like an orchestrated blues lament, but by the time we reach "Fallout", the last track, we realize that this is not just a pop-oriented jazz thing, but a trip to something much deeper. This is truly great stuff, so check it out.
By Miguel Patrício in Improvised Solo

Styles:
Fusion
Progressive Jazz

Tracks:
01 - Sapajou Walk (06:17)
02 - Grama Grass (07:35)
03 - Salamander (06:26)
04 - Moth Ball (04:25)
05 - Thus The Song Passed Out Of Their Mind (07:11)
06 - Fallout (08:18)

Line-up:
Masahiko Satoh - acoustic piano, Rhodes piano, Korg synthesizer, percussion
Dave Liebman - soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, alto flute
Ryo Kawasaki - electric bass guitar
Francisco Centeno - electric bass
Harvey Mason - drums
Rubens Bassini - percussion
Randy Brecker - trumpet
Tom Malone - trombone
Dave Taylor - bass trombone

Psi - Horizonte (1977)

With their sole output 'Horizonte', Psi managed to fit everything I love about jazz fusion into one concise package. Virtuosity, creativity, delicious improv, great songwriting, energy, progressive leanings, they all shine here. They have an interesting and unique sound that is distinctively theirs, but dynamic enough to create different atmospheres throughout the album.
Don't be fooled by the deceptively simple 2 minute opener. Don't get me wrong, its a solid fusion track, but only a sampler of sounds and songs to come. In Bettgerausche, the quiet reverberated guitar licks and melancholy accompanying saxophone lay the groundwork for a gorgeous progressive fusion track that sets the bar high for the rest of the album. And it never loses that high. The self titled track is certainly a highlight, opening with complex keyboard melodies that sonically dart around almost too quickly to keep up with. The rest of the track seamlessly entwines these melodies with jaw-dropping improv from the keys, guitar, and sax player.
Also worth mentioning is the virtuosity of the musicians here, especially the keyboard playing of Mathias Fray. Maybe I'm a bit biased being a keys player myself and fully realizing how far his talents reach, but nonetheless he surprised me time and time again throughout each track. Certainly not to understate the efforts of the other musicians, the guitar playing is as fast as it is inspired, and the saxophone adds a lot of great sound to the band. Needless to say the rhythm section does its job, and very well at that. Their chops match the often quirky music exceptionally well.
Tough to recommend anything quite like this, as it is very unique music. Lotus' two albums come close, though this has more of an easy-listening vibe to it. Perhaps a better known comparison would be Brand X. It reminds me of a quirkier 'Unorthodox Behavior' at times, and the jazzy vibe is similar.

Styles:
Fusion
Progressive Rock

Tracks:
01 - Unter Der Schurze Liegt Die Wurze (02:28)
02 - Bettgerausche (05:29)
03 - Horizonte (07:28)
04 - Elektrisch Kall-Heinje (05:02)
05 - Urschrei (02:04)
06 - Breikopf (08:36)
07 - Drall / Arkadash (09:14)

Line-up:
Bodo Feldmann - electric bass, vocal
Mathias Frey - keyboards
Volkmar Zimmermann - guitars
Robert Jahn - drums
Wilfried Kunkler - tenor saxophone