29 September 2014

UN-RELEASED RECORDINGS 1960 - 1985 (no music...)

Three weeks ago I bought the book "Free Jazz And Improvisation On Vinyl 1965 - 1985".
I was a bit disappointed but as an 'addict' I enjoyed it notwithstanding its shortcomings and mistakes.
And the 'mistakes' prompted the idea to collect all known information about never released LPs (or cassettes et.al.).
In the book there's a section about Po Torch Records - Paul Lovens' label.
An insert which was included in some of the releases (e.g. Rutherford-Lovens JWD/PTR 3) had an announcement for six (two in the book) LPs which never made it onto the turntable...

I would like to suggest that we confine ourselves to the period from 1960 to 1985.
Maybe we should - at least for a start - list only items which are related to Free Jazz.
Items which are circulating as bootlegs of these elusive sound carriers are welcome as well - we are looking for NIP (never in print) issues which would/could/should have been official releases.
As much information as available would be nice: line-up, title, recording-date, track-titles, label etc. - maybe we can collect some data for a discography solely made of recordings which were never edited.


Here are the first few un-released recordings..........

I/J

ISLAND RECORDS

ILPS61 (test-pressing) - "DOUBLE TRIO"
SPONTANEOUS MUSIC ENSEMBLE (?)
Evan Parker, soprano saxophone
Trevor Watts, alto saxophone
Dave Holland, bass
Peter Kowald, bass
Rashied Ali, drums, percussion
John Stevens, drums, percussion

1. Double Trio – Part 1              30’55                        
2. Double Trio – Part 2              25’13

Recorded by Eddie Kramer at Olympic Sound Studios, London, March 10th, 1968.
("In Part 1 Ali plays small side–drum, hi–hat & cymbal while Stevens plays rest of kit including bass drum. Their roles are reversed in Part 2")

P/Q

PO TORCH RECORDS

PTR/JWD 8 - >END OF THE TEMPEST, BEGINNING THE STORM<
PAUL LYTTON / ERHARD HIRT
miscellaneous live percussion & live electronics, guitars
recorded 1981



PTR/JWD 19 - >URMOND/STEIN<
WERNER LÜDI'S SUNNYMOON
Werner Lüdi, sax
Stephan Witwer, guitar
Martin Schütz, cello
Paul Lovens, percussion
Recorded 1988/1989
("...two almost complete concerts,...the legendary group which disbanded in 1990")


PTR/JWD 20 - >SOLOS<
HANS REICHEL + EVAN PARKER
((a recording, the mastertape of which has hitherto not been traced ... !))
Hans Reichel, guitar
Evan Parker, sax (soprano?)
Recorded 1989
("...each playing solo live in concert")



PTR/JWD 21 - >NICHT ROT NICHT GRÜN<
SJÖSTRÖM-FUCHS-LOVENS-KOIVUKOSKI
Harri Sjöström, soprano saxophone
Wolfgang Fuchs, reeds
Paul Lovens, percussion
Karri Koivukoski, viola
("...two live sets , one in quartet with Karri Koivukoski)
recorded 1988/1989



PTR/JWD ?? - >QUINTET MODERNE<
(some more by quintet moderne, probably
recorded 1991

PTR/JWD ?? - >URS VOERKEL, PAUL RUTHERFORD, PAUL LOVENS<
live recording of a trio, probably
recorded 1992


X/Y/Z



28 September 2014

JEAN-LOUIS CHAUTEMPS - JEAN-PIERRE DROUET - DANIEL HUMAIR - FRANÇOIS JEANNEAU - JEAN-FRANÇOIS JENNY-CLARK - HENRI TEXIER ‎– SOLI SOLO... PLUS (ARC - LES AMIS DU MUSÉE D'ART MODERNE DE LA VILLE DE PARIS, 1985)




A1. Scherzoid
A2. Espace Sonore N°1
A3. Pierre Molinier
A4. La Tex Au Logis

B1. Crac
B2. Solo Plus
B3. Zarbale
B4. Heliodanse
B5. Improvisation Pour Tom Et Gongs


Jean-Louis Chautemps, saxophone
Jean-Pierre Drouet, drums
Daniel Humair, drums
François Jeanneau, saxophone
Jean-François Jenny-Clark, double bass
Henri Texier, double bass


Recorded at the auditorium of the Musée D'Art Modern de la Ville de Paris.

Arc - Les Amis Du Musée D'Art Moderne De La Ville De Paris - 581

LP Rip





27 September 2014

TUBBY HAYES - 200% PROOF






















1. The Inner Splurge   5:57

GREG BOWEN, IAN HAMER, KENNY WHEELER, LES CONDON - trumpets
CHRIS PYNE, DAVID HORLER, BILL GELDARD - trombones
PETER KING, ALAN BRANSCOMBE - alto sax
TUBBY HAYES, RONNIE SCOTT - tenor sax
HARRY KLEIN - baritone sax
MIKE PYNE - piano
LOUIS STEWART - guitar
RON MATTHEWSON - bass
SPIKE WELLS - drums

25 July 1969

2. Octuple Blast   9:09

LES CONDON - trumpet
IAN HAMER, KENNY WHEELER - flugelhorn
DAVE HORLER - trombone
PETER KING - alto sax
ALAN BRANSCOMBE - piano
LOUIS STEWART - guitar
JEFF CLYNE - bass
SPIKE WELLS - drums

3. Conversations at Dawn   6:54

KENNY WHEELER - flugelhorn
TUBBY HAYES - tenor sax
CHRIS PYNE - trombone
RON MATTHEWSON - bass
TONY LEVIN - drums

4. Members Only   4:51

TUBBY HAYES - tenor sax
MIKE PYNE - piano
RON MATTHEWSON - bass
TONY LEVIN - drums

5. 200 Percent Proof   16:45

GREG BOWEN, IAN HAMER, KENNY WHEELER, LES CONDON - trumpets
CHRIS PYNE, DAVID HORLER, BILL GELDARD - trombones
PETER KING, ALAN BRANSCOMBE - alto sax
TUBBY HAYES, RONNIE SCOTT - tenor sax
HARRY KLEIN - baritone sax
MIKE PYNE - piano
LOUIS STEWART - guitar
RON MATTHEWSON, JEFF CLYNE - bass
SPIKE WELLS, TONY LEVIN - drums

BBC 'Jazz Workshop' 1969     Master Mix  CHECD 00105 (1992)

24 September 2014

FRANK WRIGHT - ALAN SILVA - MUHAMMAD ALI "HAMBURG, 1976"


A Wonderful Wright trio show from Hamburg in 76... received in a trade, 5 or 6 years ago..
FM


Frank Wright, tenor sax
Alan Silva, double bass
Muhammed Ali, drums


01. radio intro 0:18
02. Jerry {1} 12:51
03. Jerry {2} 7:00
04. Church Number 9 {1} 9:23
05. Church Number 9 {2} 6:20
06. Church Number 9 {3} 5:47
07. radio intro > Guanna Dance {1} 6:15
08. Guanna Dance {2} 9:53
09. Guanna Dance {3} {fade out} 5:45


Recorded at the 'Fabrik', Hamburg, June 1976.
Joyous!!!!

KAZUNORI TAKEDA, RYOJIRO FURUSAWA ‎– INFINITY (AKETA'S DISK, 1989)




1. Ruby My Dear
2. Good Bait
3. Soul Train
4. Now's The Time
5. Lonely Woman
6. Yesterdays


Hiroshi Yoshino, bass
Ryojiro Furusawa, drums
Kazunori Takeda, tenor saxophone

Recorded on January 26, 1989 at Aketa no Mise, Tokyo.

Aketa's Disk ‎– AD-25CD

CD Rip


SHOJI AKETAGAWA, KAZUNORI TAKEDA ‎– I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT YOU (AKETA'S DISK, 1989)





1. Electric Aketa
2. I Didn't Know About You
3. Airegin Baybridge Road
4. Reflections



Shoji Aketagawa, piano
Kazunori Takeda, tenor saxophone
Kohichi Yamazaki, bass
Yasushi Yoneki, bass (2)
Kenichi Kameyama, drums
Akihiro Ishiwatari, drums (2)


Recorded live in 1987-88 at Aketa no Mise, Tokyo.

Aketa's Disk ‎– AD-26CD

CD Rip

23 September 2014

Peter Apfelbaum - Pillars (Jewish Matador 1979)

PERSONNEL
on Signature:
the Berkeley Arts Company

Steven Bernstein - trumpet , flughelhorn
John Pickus - alto saxophone, bells
Tony Jones - tenor saxophone
Peter Apfelbaum - bass saxophone, drums, gong, poem recitation

on Blood Chhimes:
Peck Allmond - trumpet
Rachel Durling - violin
Tony Jones - tenor saxophone
Kevin Lock - tenor saxophone
Norbert Stachel - tenor saxophone
Steven Bernstein - tuba
Peter Apfelbaum - drums

on Blood Intellect:
Peck Allmond - trumpet
Josh Pickus - alto saxophone
Tony Jones - tenor saxophone
Norbert Stachel - tenor saxophone
Peter Apfelbaum - drums, percussion

on Zeus:
Wendy Apfelbaum - vocal
Peter Apfelbaum - soprano saxophone

on Pillars, Lift Every Voice, African Hymn and Salvation:
the Hieroglyphics Ensemble

Herbert Sneed - trumpet
Steven Bernstein - trumpet
Peck Allmond - trumpet (solo on Pillars)
Sarah Cline - trombone
Josh Pickus - alto saxophone (solo on Salvation)
Paul Hanson - alto saxophone (solo on Pillars)
Tony Jones - tenor saxophone
Norbert Stachel - tenor saxophone (solo on Lift Every Voice)
Kevin Lock - baritone saxophone
Steve Mitchell - bass saxophone
Jed Kreinberg - electric guitar
Benny Green - piano (except Lift Every Voice)
Bruce Somers - bass (solo on Pillars)
Josh Jones - timbales (drums on Lift Every Voices)
Robert Huffman - congas
Peter Apfelbaum - drums, piano on Lift Every Voices, soprano saxophone on African Hymn

TITLES:
A1 - Signature
A2 - Pillars
A3 - Lift every voice
B1 - Blood chimes
B2 - Zeus
B3 - Blood intellect
B4 - African hymn/Salvation

all selections by Peter Apfelbaum, except "Lift Every Voice" by James Weldon Johnson, and "African Hymn", a traditional choral piece from Ghana

A1 recorded live at the Berkeley Community Theatre on november 15, 1978
other tracks recorded at Bear West Studios, San Francisco, march 3 and 10, 1979

Jewish Matador Records 1979
vinyl rip

BADEN BADEN NEW JAZZ MEETING 1978





Kenny Wheeler, trumpet, fluegelhorn
Enrico Rava, trumpet
Ack Van Rooyen, trumpet, fluegelhorn
Tomasz Stanko, trumpet
Manfred Schoof, trumpet, fluegelhorn
Michel Pilz, bass clarinet
Tom Van der Geld, vibes
Rainer Brüninghaus, piano, electric piano, synthesizer
Günter Lenz, bass
Bo Stief, bass, electric bass
Fredy Studer, drums
Ralf R. Hübner, drums
Joachim-Ernst Berendt, announcement
Werner Wunderlich, announcement

Disc 1
01. Introduction (Joachim-Ernst Berendt)     1:57
02. Time is Up (B. Stief)     8:32
    Wheeler, Van der Geld, Brüninghaus, Stief, Studer

03. Introduction (Joachim-Ernst Berendt)     1:03
04. Back to the Sun (E. Rava)     7:25
    Rava (L), Van Rooyen (R), Brüninghaus, Stief, Studer

05. Introduction (Joachim-Ernst Berendt)     1:03
06. Castle of the Haze (T. Stanko)     8:24
    Stanko, Pilz, Van der Geld, Brüninghaus

07. Introduction (Joachim-Ernst Berendt)     0:26
08. Some for Two (M. Schoof)     2:29
    Schoof, Stief

09. Introduction (Joachim-Ernst Berendt)     0:37
10. Snow Trip (M. Schoof)     9:04
    Baden-Baden New Jazz Orchestra. Solos: Schoof, Van Rooyen, Pilz, Van der Geld, Brüninghaus, Lenz (L), Stief (R)

11. Introduction (Joachim-Ernst Berendt)     1:13
12. Do Not Tear the Posters Down (G. Lenz) (live version)     5:35
    (L-R): Van Rooyen, Schoof, Stanko; Brüninghaus, Lenz, Studer, Hübner

13. Introduction (Joachim-Ernst Berendt)     0:35
14. Do Not Tear the Posters Down (G. Lenz) (studio version)     5:45
    (L-R): Van Rooyen, Schoof, Stanko; Brüninghaus, Lenz, Studer, Hübner

15. Closing announcement (Joachim-Ernst Berendt)     0:26

Disc 2
01. Introduction (Joachim-Ernst Berendt)     2:16
02. Resonance (M. Schoof)     13:31
    Baden-Baden New Jazz Orchestra. Solos: Brüninghaus, Van Rooyen, Wheeler, Van der Geld; Lenz/Hübner (L), Stief/Studer (R)

03. Introduction (Joachim-Ernst Berendt)     0:41
04. Ba-Ba (K. Wheeler)     15:27
    Baden-Baden New Jazz Orchestra. Solos: Rava, Van der Geld, Stanko/Rava/Wheeler (tpt), Schoof/Van Rooyen (flh)

05. Introduction (Joachim-Ernst Berendt)     1:47
06. Here Today (A. van Rooyen)     4:17
    Baden-Baden New Jazz Orchestra. Solos: Stanko, Lenz, Brüninghaus

07. Introduction (Joachim-Ernst Berendt)     1:13
08. Brigitte in Her Garden (R. Brüninghaus)     13:47
    Baden-Baden New Jazz Orchestra. Solos: Wheeler, Schoof, Brüninghaus

09. Closing announcement (Joachim-Ernst Berendt)     0:52

Disc 3
01. Introduction (Joachim-Ernst Berendt)     1:52
02. Individual Ego Control (R. Hübner)     7:26
    Rava, Schoof, Stanko, Pilz, Brüninghaus, Lenz/Hübner (L), Stief/Studer (R)

03. Introduction (Joachim-Ernst Berendt)     0:53
04. E.V. in Sarajevo (T. van der Geld-R. Brüninghaus)     9:19
    Van der Geld, Brüninghaus

05. Introduction (Joachim-Ernst Berendt)     1:03
06. Fanfare for King Nitwit (T. van der Geld)     9:08
    (L-R): Van Rooyen, Wheeler, Rava, Schoof, Stanko; Pilz

07. Introduction (Joachim-Ernst Berendt)     1:19
08. One (E. Rava)     11:55
    Rava (R), Wheeler (L), Brüninghaus, Stief, Studer

09. Introduction (Joachim-Ernst Berendt)     0:29
10. King in Yellow (E. Rava-M. Schoof)     9:23
    Rava (R), Schoof (L), Brüninghaus, Lenz, Hübner

11. Closing announcement (Joachim-Ernst Berendt)     0:53

Disc 4
01. Introduction (Joachim-Ernst Berendt)     4:48
02. Ba-Ba (K. Wheeler)     14:50
    Baden-Baden New Jazz Orchestra. Solos: Rava, Van der Geld, Stanko, Rava, Wheeler, Schoof, Van Rooyen

03. Introduction (Werner Wunderlich)     1:02
04. One (E. Rava)     7:39
    Rava, Wheeler, Brüninghaus, Stief, Studer

05. Some for Two (M. Schoof)     4:25
    Schoof, Stief

06. Castle of the Haze (T. Stanko)     8:33
    Stanko, Pilz, Van der Geld, Brüninghaus

07. Introduction (Werner Wunderlich, Joachim-Ernst Berendt)     0:46
08. Brigitte in Her Garden (R. Brüninghaus)     13:26
    Baden-Baden New Jazz Orchestra. Solos: Wheeler, Schoof, Brüninghaus

09. Announcement (Werner Wunderlich)     0:59
10. Introduction (Joachim-Ernst Berendt)     0:37
11. Snow Trip (M. Schoof)     8:50
    Baden-Baden New Jazz Orchestra. Solos: Schoof, Van Rooyen, Pilz, Van der Geld, Brüninghaus, Stief (L), Lenz (R)

12. Introduction (Joachim-Ernst Berendt)     0:56
13. Fanfare for King Nitwit (T. van der Geld)     10:23
    (L-R): Van Rooyen, Wheeler, Rava, Schoof, Stanko; Pilz

Disc 5
01. Back to the Sun (E. Rava)     8:30
    Rava, Van Rooyen, Brüninghaus, Stief, Studer

02. Introduction (Joachim-Ernst Berendt)     0:49
03. Time is Up (B. Stief)     8:32
    Wheeler, Van der Geld, Brüninghaus, Stief, Studer

04. Resonance (M. Schoof)     13:51
    Baden-Baden New Jazz Orchestra. Solos: Brüninghaus, Van Rooyen, Pilz

05. Introduction (Joachim-Ernst Berendt)     0:29
06. Individual Ego Control (R. Hübner)     4:56
    Rava, Schoof, Stanko, Pilz, Brüninghaus, Stief, Hübner

07. Introduction (Joachim-Ernst Berendt)     0:33
08. For Fredy and Ralf (R. Hübner)     6:48
    Baden-Baden New Jazz Orchestra. Solos: Hübner (L), Studer (R)

09. Here Today (A. van Rooyen)     3:38
    Baden-Baden New Jazz Orchestra. Solos: Stanko, Wheeler

10. Componauta (E. Rava)     10:12
    Baden-Baden New Jazz Orchestra. Solos: Stanko, Wheeler, Rava

11. Announcement (Joachim-Ernst Berendt)     0:27
12. Closing announcement (Werner Wunderlich)     0:09

60 items - TT = 298:13

Recorded at Südwestfunk Studios (SWF), Baden Baden, Germany in December 1978.

Discs 1-3 includes music recorded during the Baden-Baden New Jazz Meeting in Südwestfunk Studios in Baden-Baden.
Discs 4-5 were recorded at a public performance in early December at Kurfürstliches Schloss in Mainz.

21 September 2014

HERBIE WHITE COMBO - THE DUTCH JAZZ SCENE REVISITED (RADIO NEDERLAND, 1977)





1. Lester
2. Vogelen = Birds
3. Bow Tap Egi Kraktie = Build Your Own Strength = Construye Sobre To Propria Fuerza
4. Herbie's Lament


Bert Koppelar, trombone
Peter Bennink, sopranino, alto and tenor saxophone, bagpipes
Gilius van Bergeyk, alto saxophone
Herman de Wit, tenor saxophone
Guus Janssen, piano
Marten van Regteren Altena, bass
Han Bennink, drums, steel drum, alto clarinet, megaphone, etc
Mike de Ruyter, DJ

Recorded on 17 October 1975 in Haarlem

Radio Nederland - 6808.654

Vinyl Rip



20 September 2014

MAL WALDRON ‎– IN RETROSPECT (BAYBRIDGE RECORDS, 1982)



1. All Alone
2. Oleo
3. Blue Monk
4. I Can't Get Started
5. Straight No Chaser


Isao Suzuki, bass
Hironobu Fuzisawa, drums
Mal Waldron, piano
Akira Miyazawa, tenor saxophone, flute


Recorded at the Teichiku Kaikan Studio, April 23rd 1982.

Baybridge Records ‎– TECW-20694, 1998 (originally on LP KUX-172)

CD Rip

17 September 2014

KENNY WHEELER R.I.P.

















Thanks to those of you who have contributed to Kenny's welfare at this difficult time.  Here's an update from the Ottawa Citizen.

Sadly this bulletin has been superceded by this one.

As Sergio rightly says below, Kenny Wheeler was a true GIANT.

There are not many jazz musicians who have a foot in the freely improvised side of things and also compose and play some of the most beautiful and ravishing music in jazz, in anywhere.

Condolences to his family, friends and all his fellow musicians.

Thanks Kenny.  You gave a lot and left a lot.  Beautiful.


NEW HERD ‎– SO LONG CHARLES - NEW HERD PLAYS FOR CHARLES MINGUS (DENON, 1979)






A1. Pithecantopus Erectus
A2. Beneath The Underdog
A3. The Fables Of Faubus

B1. So Long Eric
B2. Farewell To C.M.
B3. Orange Was The Color Of Her Dress



Toshiyuki Miyama, leader
Kazumi Oguro, alto saxophone
Shinji Nakayama, alto saxophone
Haruomi Ichimatsu, baritone saxophone
Yasuhiko Tachibana, bass
Hideo Kamimura, cornet
Yoshio Nakamura, drums
Kozaburo Yamaki, guitar
Kiyoshi Takano, piano
Norio Moriguchi, tenor saxophone
Junichi Kameoka, tenor saxophone
Kazumi Odagiri, tenor saxophone
Teruhiko Kataoka, trombone
Kenichi Tsunoda, trombone
Takeo Arai, trombone
Ryouhei Imay, trombone
Kohichi Ono, trumpet
Natsuki Tamura, trumpet
Masanobu Takei, trumpet
Shigeru Kamimori, trumpet


Recorded at Nippon Columbia's 1st studio, Tokyo, April 16-18 & 24, 1979.

Denon ‎– YX-7594-ND

LP Rip

14 September 2014

KAZUE SAWAI - TA-WA-GO (GOD MOUNTAIN, 1995)



1. Crack Pot
2. Scared Straight
3. Anata no Tsuyu ni Naritai / Flamingo
4. Titicut Follies
5. Red Dye
6. (YxDan) HELGA
7. BOZO
8. Transcendental Masturbation
9. Cn + Co = In + Io


Kazue Sawai, 13-string and 17-string kotos
Junji Hirose, saxophone, hand-made noise machine
Hoppy Kamiyama, prepared piano, samples, gram-pot

God Mountain - GMCD 017

CD Rip

13 September 2014

Buy 'Arthur Blythe - Live at Yoshi's' download and support Arthur in his fight against Parkinson's disease.

















P.O.N. - P.O.N. (DOUBLETRAP/CREATIVEMAN DISC, 1995)




1.  Yumin #3
2.  George Ni Sei #8
3.  Petenshi #2
4.  Yumin #5
5.  Petenshi #4
6.  93.8.12 #1
7.  Petenshi #5
8.  George Ni Sei #6
9.  Usotsuki #2
10. George #10



Masahiro Uemura, drums, percussion
Juniji Hirose, saxophone, noise machine
Natsuki Kido, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, percussion
Masaki Shimizu, fretless bass, fretted bass
Kumiko Takara, vibraphone, percussion

Guest

Asuka Kaneko, electric violin (2), acoustic violin (9)

Doubletrap/Creativeman Disc - CMDD-00001

CD Rip

PARKER/GUY/LYTTON + KENNY WHEELER 1994



















For health reasons, Kenny has been unable to work for most of the year.

He needs our help financially. Please consider donating what you can through PayPal to:

friendsofkennywheeler@gmail.com

Thank you
____________________________________________

EVAN PARKER - tenor and soprano saxophone
BARRY GUY - bass
PAUL LYTTON - drums

Special guest: KENNY WHEELER - trumpet

1. 19:50
2. 21:34
3. 17:19

Vortex, London. 9th January 1994

Photo by Caroline Forbes.
This is posted with the kind permission of Evan Parker.

Hear also Foxes Fox live at the vortex psi.12.01


12 September 2014

KENNY WHEELER'S 75th BIRTHDAY CONCERT QEH 2005



















KENNY WHEELER BIG BAND

Kenny Wheeler - trumpet
Hugh Fraser - conductor
Norma Winstone - voice
Gwilym Simcock - piano
John Parricelli - guitar
Dave Holland - double bass
Martin France - drums
Lee Konitz - alto saxophone
Evan Parker - tenor saxophone
Julian Arguelles - saxophones
Duncan Lamont - saxophone
Stan Sulzmann - saxophone
Ray Warleigh - saxophone
John Barclay - trumpet
Ian Hamer - trumpet
Henry Lowther - trumpet
Derek Watkins - trumpet
Gordon Campbell - trombone
Barnaby Dickinson - trombone
Richard Henry - trombone
Mark Nightingale - trombone

1. Marked Time  17:25
2. How Deep Is The Ocean (+ ann.)  14:07
3. Long Suite 2005 (+ outro) 42:16

Recorded at Queen Elizabeth Hall, 14th January 2005
BBC Jazz on 3 broadcast
________________________________

Again...Please donate to help the great Kenny Wheeler at his time of need.

Through PayPal to friendsofkennywheeler@gmail.com 

This from the Ottawa Citizen.


TAKASHI KAZAMAKI & DANNY DAVIS "ATMOSPHERE" 1985 (FLAC)


A short recording by Takashi Kazamaki and Danny Davis from Sun Ra's Arkestra.
Raw and refined at the same time.



Danny Davis, altosaxophone, flute

Takashi Kazamaki, percussion

1. (Untitled)  19:11
2. (Untitled)  14:43

Recorded live at the Strange Fruit in Hadano, Japan on May 18, 1985

FOOL-003  (lp rip)

11 September 2014

YUJI TAKAHASHI, HARUNA MIYAKE, MASAHIKO TOGASHI, JOSÉ MACEDA ‎– REAL TIME 2 (FONTEC, 1992)





1. For Your Eyes Only
2. The Time Of Melancholy I
3. The Time Of Melancholy II
4. The Time Of Melancholy III
5. The Time Of Melancholy IV
6. Dissemination



Yuji Takahashi, conductor
Haruna Miyake, piano, synthesizer (2-5)
Masahiko Togashi, drums, percussion (2-5)
José Maceda, conductor (6)
Tokyo Symphony Orchestra


Recorded live on 6 February 1991 at Hitomi Memorial Hall, Showa Women's University.

Fontec ‎– FOCD3151

CD Rip

9 September 2014

HIDETO KANAI & KING'S ROAR ‎– ODE TO BIRDS (THREE BLIND MICE, 1975)




A. Ode To Birds (Hideto Kanai)

B. One For Charlie (Masahiko Sato)

part I.   Ode To Birds
part II.  A Certain Devil Birds
part III. Phoenix


Akikazu Takamatsu, alto saxophone
Hiroyuki Imafu, alto saxophone
Hiroshi Yamada, baritone saxophone
Kenji Mori, bass clarinet, alto saxophone, flute
Shoji Nakayama, drums
Yoshihiro Kurosawa, guitar
Hideto Kanai, bass, leader
Noboyasu Urushiyama, percussion (A)
Yasukazu Amemiya, percussion (A)
Mitsuo Kadota, piano
Shin-Ichi Katoh-Oka, synthesizer (A), bass trombone (B)
Kenji Kuga, tenor saxophone (B)
Takeo Motohashi, tenor saxophone
Hideo Miyata, tenor & soprano saxophone, flute (A)
Kazuo Sahaguchi, trombone
Masanori Shozaki, trombone
Tomohiro Ichinose, trombone
Kogi Matsumora, trumpet
Masakatsu Arai, trumpet
Masamichi Asami, trumpet
Mototsugu Akimaru, trumpet
Noboru Ohashi, trumpet
Teruyuki Fukushima trumpet (B)
Yosuke Tanaka, trumpet

Recorded May 2 & 16, 1975 at AOI Studio, Tokyo

Three Blind Mice ‎– TBM-45

Vinyl Rip


7 September 2014

GOD "POSSESSION" (CAROLINE, 1992)



Kevin Martin, vocals, tenor saxophone, samples
Tim Hodgkinson, alto saxophone & bass clarinet
Steve Blake, alto, tenor & baritone saxophone, didgeridoo
John Zorn, alto saxophone (3,5,6)
Justin Broadrick, guitar
Gary Smith, guitar (8)
Peter Kraut, piano (4,5,7,8)
Dave Cochrane, electric bass
Gary Jeff, electric bass
John Edwards, double bass
Scott Kiehl, drums & percussion
Lou Ciccotelli, drums

1. Pretty  4:01
2. Fucked  10:01
3. Return To Hell  5:27
4. Soul Fire  9:54
5. Hate Meditation 4:51
6. Lord, I'm On My Way     10:26
7. Love  16:51
8. Black Jesus     6:41


Recorded Gateway Studio, Kingston, UK (in 1992?).

Originally on Caroline Records – CAROL 1874-2
This version Venture – CDVE 910

CCMC ‎– VOLUME 2 (MUSIC GALLERY EDITIONS, 1976)




A1. 23APR76
A2. 16JUL76A

B1. 16JUL76B
B1. 22JUN76
B3. 4JUN76


Allan Mattes, bass
Larry Dubin, drums
Peter Anson, guitar
Bill Smith, soprano saxophone
Nobuo Kubota, soprano & baritone saxophone
Graham Coughtry, trombone
Michael Snow, piano, trumpet
Casey Sokol, piano, electric piano

The Canadian Creative Music Collective, recorded live at the Music Gallery, Toronto

Music Gallery Editions ‎– CCMC-1004

Vinyl Rip




6 September 2014

COWWS "ULRICHSBERG, 1988"


An audience recording from a wonderful group who made only very few recordings - especially the first track here is excellent.
At the moment there's only one recording readily available as a download - but it's worth every penny.
Check it out at destination-out bandcamp store > Two Compostitions by Rüdiger Carl with COWWS



Rüdiger Carl, tenor saxophone & clarinet
Jay Oliver, bass
Phil Wachsmann, violin
Stephan Wittwer, guitar
Irène Schweizer, piano

1. in einem fort  47:59
2. in einem fort setzung  4:23
3. kühl gleitend  12:51
4. wellenförmig  3:39
5. iterativ  7:21
6. walzer  3:38

Recorded at the Jazzatelier in Ulrichsberg, Austria on June 4, 1988.

(the picture of the Jazzatelier's entrance area is from Francois Lagarde)

4 September 2014

Billy Bang/John Lindberg-duo 1979(anima lp 1bl-36)+B.Bang-Distinction without Difference-1980



Update 4-9-2014
A repost of the great 1979 Anima duo LP + Distinction without Difference, Billy Bang's 1980 Hat Hut (IRO4)LP
No Syrup, no EQ,no tracking... just light manual De Click 


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(POST-12-8-2008)Another timeless relic from the halcyon
years when the New York loft scene was burgeoning with fresh talent. Lindberg and Bang are both particular favourites of mine ,discovered years ago whilst stumbling across those early new york string trio records on black saint. Lindberg was a teenage prodigy who was playing with the likes of Jimmy Lyons, Roscoe Mitchell, Anthony Braxton and Sunny Murray while barely 18. Those more familiar with either of the two's later work may struggle at first to find a way into this session which is about as thorny as anything from the period. the pieces are largely improvised and make full use of extended techniques like col legno , and scrapping, and even what sounds like tapping the soundpegs inside the resonators of the instruments. This is the only ANIMA lp i've ever come across ,it appears to have been an artist run label that was very short lived.. ive included scans of the contemporaneous catalog in the files. this is truly superb and still sounds very fresh. i recommend the flac's ,but will also upload the mp3's. BTW/ im hoping someone has the collaboration by David Murray and Charles Tyler mentioned in the catalog as the next forthcomming release. enjoy!!

3 September 2014

ULRICH GUMPERT WORKSHOP BAND "BERLIN, 1979"



Heinz Becker, trumpet
Conrad Bauer, trombone
Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky, alto saxophone, clarinet, flute
Manfred Hering, alto & tenor saxophone
Helmut Forsthoff, tenor saxophone
Ulrich Gumpert,piano
Klaus Koch, bass
Günter Sommer, drums

1. announcement WDR  00:25
2. unknown title 21:42
3. unknown title 11:51
4. unknown title 10:38
5. unknown title 04:51
6. unknown title 06:50

Recorded at the Berliner Jazztage, Berlin on November 1, 1979.


some covers you'll find at htakat's website here - scroll down, it's the picture(s) at the bottom...

2 September 2014

New Age Jazz Chorale - Light (Button-Nose 1976)


New Age Jazz Chorale - Light (Button-Nose 1976)

music Burton Greene, poetry Vincent Gaeta

A - Manifesto For Angels     30:33    
B - Tarot             30:44    

Daoud Amin - Percussion
Ernst Reijseger - Electric Cello
Wally Shortz - Flute, Bass Flute
Gerrit Jan Herring - Flute, Recorder (Tarot)
Charles Green - Trumpet (Manifesto)
Frank Grasso - Trumpet (Tarot)
Sean Bergin - Saxophone (Manifesto)
Harvey Wainapel - Saxophone (Tarot)
Martin Koeman - Violin (Tarot)
Maurice Horsthuis - Viola (Tarot)
Christian Landry - Electric Bass (Tarot)
Burton Greene - Piano, Conductor

Vocals:
Phil and Marga Arosa
Hans Van Winsen (bass)
Andrea Goodzeit (alto) on Tarot
Wilma Bos (alto) on Manifesto
Cornelia Van Der Horst (soprano) on Tarot
Linda Haslach (soprano) on Manifesto

 
"Manifesto For Angels" recorded June 1976
"Tarot" recorded June 1975

Button-Nose Records  03
Vinyl rip

on vinyl the tracks are actualy split, and has been digitalised so

28 August 2014

KENNY WHEELER QUARTET - Clusone Jazz 2oo4



KENNY WHEELER - trumpet, flugelhorn
STAN SULZMANN - alto sax, flute
JOHN TAYLOR - piano
CHRiS LAURENCE - bass


1 (01:05) Radio announcement
2 (11:30) Kind Folk
3 (12:27) Jigsaw
4 (11:15) One Two Three
5 (12:02) unknown


"Clusone Jazz", Italy, July 25, 2004. RAI 3 broadcast

Thanks to original uploader on DIME.

RADU MALFATTI ORCHESTRA "INNSBRUCK 1989"



Carin Levine, flute, bass flute
Peter van Bergen, bass clarinet, tenor saxophone
Wolfgang Fuchs, alto clarinet, sopranino saxophone
Evan Parker, tenor saxophone
Michiel Scheen, piano, prepared piano
Maarten Altena, bass
Witwulf Malik, cello
Karri Koivukoski, viola
Phil Wachsmann, violin
Melvin Poore, tuba
Marc Charig, trumpet, fluegelhorn
Martin Mayes, french horn
Radu Malfatti, trombone

and a cricket...

1. introduction      00:54
2. unknown title     49:16
3. unknown title     07:48
4. unknown title     19:38


Recorded at Utopia, Innsbruck, Austria on December 11, 1989.

ROSWELL RUDD’S BROAD STROKES BAND invitée SHEILA JORDAN

 
ROSWELL RUDD’S BROAD STROKES BAND invitée SHEILA JORDAN ~~ “Banlieues Bleues” 2oo1


DiSC1:
Change Of Season (Herbie Nichols) 8.49 ~ Symbeeoobop (Rudd) 4.52  ~ Almost Blue (Elvis Costello) 8.59 ~ Stokey (Rudd) 6.31 ~ God Had A Girlfriend (Rudd) 9.15 ~ Open House (Rudd) 3.44 ~ Slide Mr.Trombone (Ernie Andrews) 9.22

DiSC2:
The Light (Rudd) 12.01 ~ Su blah blah buh sibi (Rudd) 15.38 ~ Bamako (Roswell Rudd/Verna Gillis) 9.16 ~ Bis:Ornithology (Charlie Parker) 8.12


Sheila JORDAN, Steve RIDDICK, voix
Harvey KAISER, saxophone tenor, clarinette, flute
Josh ROSEMAN, Steve SWELL, trombones
Greg GLASSMAN, trompettes
David WINOGRAD, tuba
Matthew FINCK, guitare
Ken FILLIANO, basse
Lou GRASSI, batterie
Roswell RUDD, trombone, piano, voix, direction


Enregistré a St Ouen a l’espace 1789, dans le cadre du festival “Banlieues Bleues” le samedi 03 mars 2001 par Radio France.

27 August 2014

Paul Bley- Mr Joy 1968

An Alternative to the rip kindly shared here by Chris , my rip from a scratchy 70's reissue on semi bootleg label..Trip..
A great record and one that's been surprisingly unissued on CD... something which we deplore!
Perhaps someday , the boffins who curate Mosaic records might consider issuing a deluxe Box-Set , of Bley's important  60's Trio recordings.
.
Enjoy , and please support Bley by buying his current cd's and fascinating book of interviews with Norman Meehan, "Time will Tell' from Bley's own site if possible.

25 August 2014

Andrew Hill Trio featuring Sunny Murray-Paris 4-Nov 1999, FM

For the Hill and Murray fans.....
A wonderful one off(?)... in excellent Sound...
 Amazing!

Andrew Hill Trio-Unknown venue-Paris, France,November 4, 1999

Andrew Hill p
James Lewis b
Sunny Murray d

seeder/tapers Notes
Source: Radio broadcast > cassette > CD > EAC v. 1.0 beta 2 (extraction and FLAC encoding) > FLAC compression level 8


Thanks to Dimer jackmw, for this one!

23 August 2014

KENNY WHEELER QUINTET - BATH FESTIVAL 2002



















KENNY WHEELER - trumpet, flugelhorn
MARK FELDMAN - violin
JOHN TAYLOR - piano
CHRIS LAURENCE - bass
ADAM NUSSBAUM - drums

1. Kind folk  11:48
2. 3000  11:57
3. Ambleside  16:33
4. Where do we go from here?  9:09
5. Sly eyes  12:24
6. Mark time  14:33
7. A flower is a lovesome thing  9:46

TT 86:11

Bath Pavilion, Bath, 26th May 2002

BBC Radio 3 broadcast

Lennie Tristano-Descent into the Maelstrom-1976


Here's a compilation of Tristano oddities , largely consisting of home recordings, originally simultaneously released by East Wind and  Inner City labels in the mid 70's .

Tristano was an eccentric pioneer, a contemporary and friend of Bebop legends like Gillespie and Parker , he developed an alternative transition out of the swing era.
Like one of his greatest formative influences Art Tatum, he was blind, and equally prodigious.

One hear's advanced harmonies,angular block chords extensive use of dissonance, and hints of  atonality in even his earliest work..

His 1949 Capitol recordings (Digression,Intuition) with a group featuring Lee Konitz and Warne Marsh have been described as the first Free improvised jazz without predetermined thematic material, fixed Chord structures, predetermined Rhythms etc..

 whats interesting about this is that, quite apart from the more conventional group pieces, the 1953 title piece Descent into the Maelstrom (Inspired by Edgar A.Poe) is a collage of his most passionately dense free playing on record, which to my ears recalls some of Cecil Taylor's Solos of 20 years later , , circa Indent and Silent Tongues.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A raw rip,(taken from my Inner City vers) no syrup , no tracking ... click on the back cover scans for personnel (session dates range from 1952-66)
Enjoy
PS
There are some great Tristano records currently available including the perennial Atlantic classics, "Lennie Tristano", 1955, "the new Tristano"1960, a proper box set of early recordings , loads of live material on Carol Tristano's Jazz records Label.


20 August 2014

THE MUSIC IMPROVISATION COMPANY (ECM, 1970)


Derek Bailey, electric guitar
Evan Parker, soprano saxophone
Hugh Davies, live electronics
Jamie Muir, percussion
Christine Jeffrey, voice (tr.1+5)


1. Third Stream Boogaloo (2:40)
2. Dragon Path (10:25)
3. Packaged Eel (8:43)
4. Untitled no.1 (7:06)
5. Untitled no.2 (7:33)
6. Tuck (3:09)
7. Wolfgang Van Gangbang (6:54)

Recorded on August 25th, 26th, 27th, 1970 at the Merstham Studios, London.

ECM 1005

(this rip from UCCU-9019, CD Japan)

16 August 2014

ITARU OKI TRIO ‎– TRUMPET IN MODERN JAZZ (TOSHIBA RECORDS, 1970)





A1. パラビアソ (Par Avion)
A2. テンダリー (Tenderly)
A3. 永遠の詩 (The Song Remains The Same)

B1. ムード (Mood)
B2. ステップ・ワン (Step One)
B3. Manha De Carnaval


Itaru Oki, trumpet
Keiki Midorikawa, double bass
Hozumi Tanaka, drums
Kosuke Mine, alto saxophone (B2-3)
Takeshi Kamachi, piano (A2, B2-3)

All compositions by Itaru Oki, except A2 (Walter Gross) and B3 (Luiz Bonfá)

This is an all time favourite from Itaru Oki, from the early days of Japanese free jazz. There were a rush of tracks that they released around this time :-

Satsujin Kyoshitsu - LP on the Jazz Creaters label, recorded in Tokyo in February 1970, currently available on CD - Bridge (049) from Japan Improv

Mood, recorded live Shibuya Public Hall, on April 30, 1970 and included on "Sensational Jazz '70", which was recently re-released on CD by Columbia and available at Japan Improv (with other tracks by Mototeru Takagi, Masahiko Sato, Terumasa Hino, New Herd, etc).

Four Tracks on Trio By Trio + 1, recorded  live at Yamaha Hall, Ginza, Tokyo, May 20, 1970, also re-released on CD on Think! Records: 1 side Yosuke Yamashita Trio, 1 side Itaru Oki Trio, 1 side Yuji Ono Trio and 1 side Itaru Oki + Yuji Ono + Kimiko Kasai.

This all preceded a live recording of October Revolution, on Inspiration & Power 14 Free Jazz Festival 1, from 1973.

This LP was in a box set of 10 LPs by Japanese jazz artists. I think it was mainly sold to people buying Toshiba audio equipment.



Great, historic music and 40 years out of print.


Toshiba Records ‎– TW-6045

Vinyl Rip






14 August 2014

EUROPE JAZZ ALL STARS "ROOM 1220" (TRIO, 1970)



Already posted in 2011 - here's the  re-up....

A forgotten masterpiece of European Jazz.
'Room 1220' is a tender yet burning duo of Mangelsdorff and Surman. And the mood of 'My Kind Of Beauty' still needs a public location (club or however you want to call it) to be build for ... in general I'm not a big fan of the Hammond organ, but what Eddy Louis is able to deliver ... and please listen to John Surman and Albert Mangelsdorff - they use the clichés - yet they reach a level far above such truisms.

Sadly OOP!




John Surman, baritone saxophone
Albert Mangelsdorff, trombone
Eddy Louis, piano, hammond organ
Nils-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, bass
Daniel Humair, drums


1. Room 1220 (22:05)
2. Triplet Circle (08:33)
3. My Kind Of Beauty (12:50)

Recorded at Iino Hall, Tokyo, August 30, 1970 by Okihiko Sugano.
Produced by Joachim-Ernst Berendt and Shoichi Yui.

TRIO RECORDS RSP-9014 (LP)
RE-ISSUED: ABSORD MUSIC JAPAN, ABCJ-282(CD) & KONNEX KCD 5037 (CD)


.

13 August 2014

DAUNIK LAZRO - SONORIS CAUSA "MUSIQUE ACTION 2003"



Daunik Lazro, baritone saxophone
Jouk Minor, sarrusaphone
Thierry Madiot, trombone, homemade instruments
David Chiesa, double bass
Louis-Michel Marion, double bass

1. part I    10:44
2. part II   11:37
3. part III  06:19
4. part IV   16:16
5. part V    09:42
6. part VI   03:28
7. part VII  07:43


Recorded on May 31, 2003 at Centre Culturel André Malraux in Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy, France during Musique Action 2003.

TOSHINORI KONDO ‎– 大変 - TAIHEN (POLYDOR, 1984)




A1. Taihen
A2. The Day After
A3. Takao Blue

B1. A Song For Buddha
B2. Oiwake
B3. Shosuke-San


Toshinori Kondo, trumpet, vocals
Cecil Monroe, drums
Rodney Drummer, electric bass, guiro
Reck, electric guitar
Taizo Sakai, electric guitar
Yoshinori Teramae, electric guitar
Kiyohiko Semba, percussion
Bill Laswell, tape
Fusako Fujimoto, Backing vocals
Rika Tanaka, backing vocals


Recorded & mixed at Sedic Studio, Tokyo 1984.

Polydor ‎– 28MX 2503

Vinyl Rip

12 August 2014

HARUNA MIYAKE - YUJI TAKAHASHI - ICHIMEN NANOHANA (ALM RECORDS, 1983)




A1. A Cheer Song . . . for Mr. Napoleon
A2. Das Lied von der Unzulänglichkeit Menschlichen Strebens
A3. Grasshoppers
A4. Variations on "Fröhlicher Landmann"
A5. Letters of Palestinian Children to God

B1. Nanohana Flowers All Over
B2. I Won't Come Back Tonight--Polish Partisan Song
B3. The Pain of the Wandering Wind
B4. 43° North-- A Tango


Haruna Miyake and Yuji Takahashi, two pianos, toy piano, harmonium, rabana, chafkas, temple block


Music by Haruna Miyake (A1, A4, B1, B4), Bertolt Brecht (A2), Ryuichi Sakamoto (A3), and Yuji Takahashi (A5, B3)

Recorded by Yukio Kojima at Nova Hall, Tsukuba, August 16 and 17, 1983

Alm Records, AL-7007

Vinyl Rip






10 August 2014

SABU TOYOZUMI / PAUL RUTHERFORD - FRAGRANCE (SABU-01)






















SABU TOYOZUMI - drums, percussion
PAUL RUTHERFORD - trombone

1. Fragrance  19:43
2. Brilliant Gawd Forbids  21:25
3. Moabit  7:22
4. Greeting Child Of New Year 7th  0:21

May/June 1998.  Sabu-01

FRANÇOIS TUSQUES - LE NOUVEAU JAZZ (MOULOUDJI, 1967)











































an update of an early post

hello all,
this time, once again courtesy of 'boromir' another incredibly super rare album.
on the legendary french mouloujdi label.
francois tusques was one of he european pioneers of the genre, who made the transition from a more conventional jazz language sometime in the early 60's.
here is an article from the incredibly useful all about jazz site.
Francois Tusques et le Nouveau Jazz Francais
Published: January 10, 2006

By Clifford Allen
It is somewhat ironic that, as much as European jazz and free improvisation are nestled squarely within the canon of contemporary music—one has to look only at the worldwide recognition of figures like Germany’s Peter Brötzmann, England’s Evan Parker, or Holland’s Misha Mengelberg and their respective integral scenes—the country with the closest ties to vanguard American jazz in the ‘60s has been almost wholly left out of the picture. France has produced several world-renowned improvisers (for example, clarinetists Michel Portal and Louis Sclavis are among the instrument’s greatest proponents), but the architects of France’s ‘new thing’ have been summarily left by the wayside over the course of the music’s history. Pianist and composer François Tusques, while almost unknown outside his native France, is certainly among the rare few in European jazz, not only as a crucial figure in the development of the music in his sector of the continent, but so crucial that he was able to record the first true French free jazz record (Free Jazz, reissued by In Situ)—a claim which, Stateside, is not even Ornette Coleman’s.
Born in 1938 in Paris, Tusques migrated with his family to rural Brittany shortly thereafter, though as his father was a crucial figure in the French Resistance, François and his family moved around quite a bit during and after the War, eventually spending two years in Afghanistan and another two in Dakar before returning to France. As the potential for danger at being ‘outed’ as a member the Resistance was so high, Tusques did not attend any French schools at the time, for fear that he would accidentally divulge his father’s secret to his peers.

This secretiveness, on top of the fact that his family was so mobile, contributed to a difficult childhood, and despite the fact that his mother was an opera singer, poverty and circumstance kept Tusques from beginning musical training until he was eighteen, when he began to study the piano. “I had only one week of lessons; after that, I was on my own—you could say an ‘autodidact.’ I learned to play mostly by ear, especially from the drummers.”

Tusques quickly took to jazz—his worldliness certainly offering exposure to sounds that he would not have heard otherwise during the War—and counts among his early favorites Bud Powell and Rene Urtreger, not to mention subsequent affinities for Cecil Taylor (“but I am not a technical pianist…” says Tusques), Mal Waldron, Monk and Jaki Byard. At the start of the 60s, there was a significant scene of American expatriate improvisers in Paris—Bud, Dexter Gordon, Kenny Clarke, and traditionalists like Bechet—and a handful of young French players ready and willing to sit in, like saxophonist Barney Wilen and bassist Pierre Michelot. Certainly, as in England and elsewhere in Europe, French jazz of this nascent period was almost entirely beholden to the American post-bop model, and quite a few players who could stand alongside their American peers and run the changes.

Nevertheless, there was also a coterie of French improvisers for whom American-derived bebop was not the end, if even the means. Composer, arranger and sometime pianist Jef Gilson (who eventually began the famed Palm Records) was one of the ringleaders of the Parisian new jazz scene, mentoring young players like trumpeter Bernard Vitet, tenorman Jean-Louis Chautemps, drummer Charles Saudrais, bassist Beb Guerin and other soon-to-be leading lights. Tusques, though, was the only pianist at the time in Paris willing to extend those steps into the demanding compositional sound-world of ‘free jazz,’ and those who saw a continuous upward- and outward-mobility with this music looked to Tusques as a fulcrum.
By 1965, Vitet, Chautemps, Saudrais, and Portal (then primarily a classical clarinetist) had asked Tusques to compose a number of loose springboard-pieces to work on as a group, which led to the recording of Free Jazz for poet Marcel Moloudji’s tiny Moloudji label. In company with German vibraphonist-reedman Gunter Hampel’s Heartplants (Saba, 1965) and trumpeter Manfred Schoof’s Voices (CBS, 1966), Free Jazz is among the very earliest documents of a wholly European improvised music, one which springs more greatly from regional influences than those from across the Atlantic.

Free Jazz was followed in 1967 by Le Nouveau Jazz (Moloudji), which joined Tusques with Wilen in the saxophonist’s first recorded entrée into free playing (he would continue somewhat in this vein over the next several years), backed by Guerin and itinerant Italian drummer Aldo Romano, a fixture in Steve Lacy and Don Cherry’s ensembles of the period. Both Moloudji recordings are among the rarest documents of European jazz and were limited to a pressing of only 200 copies apiece—nevertheless, it was Tusques’ wherewithal that led to the first recorded examples of avant-garde French jazz.

By the mid- to late-60s in France, improvisation took on a political edge not dissimilar to that which it had in the States. France’s involvement in Vietnam at the start of the decade, not to mention governmental maltreatment across class lines of both workers and liberalist academics at the university level, led to the revolts of May 1968 and subsequent unrest, and the New Left found sympathetic ears among the jazz vanguard. Expatriate African-American and African artists, their struggle against racial oppression viewed by the Left with a similar lens to the proletarian struggle, led to a period of broader acceptance of free jazz in the liberal French public.

Tusques, though now looking at this period as “a reflection of the attitudes and ideas of the time,” was nevertheless one of the most notoriously political of the new French jazzmen—titles for his compositions like “L’Imperialisme est un Tigre un Papier,” “Les Forces Progressistes,” “Les Forces Reactionnaires,” and Black Panther-themed works like “Portrait of Erika Huggins,” “Right On!” and “Power to the People” belie a decidedly anti-establishment sensibility. The second volume of his Piano Dazibao series on Futura featured a cover with drawings of Mao, Lenin, and Arthur Ashe in addition to Tusques; the back of the third volume of the Intercommunal Free Dance Music Orchestra consists of drawings of the musicians interspersed with Chinese field workers.

Even if these concerns were “of the time” and not something Tusques feels a reflection of his current work, his affinity for a resurging interest in the Vienna School (Webern, Berg, Schoenberg) of composers belies a continuing political sensibility—“they were fighting fascism with their music, much as [improvisers] and artists do today.”

The first ripples of American free players began to show up on the Parisian scene in 1968, primarily due to an extreme paucity of gigs in New York and unwillingness on the part of major record companies to seriously document the music. Drummer Sunny Murray, late of the groups of Albert Ayler and Cecil Taylor, was one of the first to make his home in Paris (though saxophonists Marion Brown and Steve Lacy were making a stand as well), and that year formed his Acoustical Swing Unit with both French and visiting free players. Prophetically, its first European incarnation included Tusques, Guerin, Vitet, Portal, Jamaican tenorman Ken Terroade (previously based in London), itinerant West Indian trumpeter Ambrose Jackson, and later added expatriate Americans Alan Silva (cello), Frank Wright, Byard Lancaster, and Arthur Jones (saxophones) and Earl Freeman (bass). Tusques, with his balance of insistent left hand and pointillistic right, helped to reign in the first two official Swing Unit recording dates, two of his three with Murray. These include the eponymous 1968 ORTF concert recording released by Shandar (Sunny Murray) and its companion Big Chief (Pathé, 1969).

By 1969, as a result of offers from French labels like BYG, Musidisc-America and Pathé, a significant number of American free jazzmen had arrived in Paris for gigs and recording contracts; Tusques and his compatriots therefore had the opportunity to work with figures like Anthony Braxton, the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Don Cherry and trumpeter/trombonist Clifford Thornton. These latter two were of particular importance in Tusques’ development, for as a particularly good ear-learner he fit in perfectly with Cherry’s process-based, ongoing and ear-taught approach to learning the seemingly unending and all-encompassing “Togetherness” suite. Tusques was a frequent collaborator, even assisting Cherry with some of the piano parts on the famed Mu recordings (BYG, 1969)—a series of duets with drummer Ed Blackwell. He also joined up with Thornton, resulting in what might be the valve trombonist’s strongest recording, The Panther and the Lash (America, 1970), with Guerin and drummer Noel McGhie.

It didn’t take long, however, for a significant number of gigs to dry up as the French musicians’ unions began to frown on the large number of perpetually-visiting Americans in Paris. Some, like Murray and Silva, were able to stay on, however, and it was with those two in mind that Tusques assembled his third date as a leader, Intercommunal Music, for Shandar in 1971.

Originally planned as a quartet date for piano, cello, drums and the bass of Beb Guerin, on which a number of Tusques originals would be investigated, kismet and ‘snafu’ turned it into something quite different. “I booked several hours of studio time in advance, Beb and I waited and waited for hours and we were getting very nervous because Sunny didn’t arrive. Finally, there was less than an hour of studio time left, and here come Sunny and Alan with four friends saying ‘OK, here we are, let’s go!’ We only had 37 minutes left, and I couldn’t even teach them the tunes, so what you hear on the record is exactly what happened in the studio with that time.”

What looks like one of the heaviest line-ups of free jazzmen one could conceive of—Murray, Silva, Tusques, Guerin, trumpeter Al Shorter, alto saxophonist Steve Potts (who would later join the Steve Lacy quintet), bassist Bob Reid (of multinational improvising quintet Emergency) and percussionist Louis Armfield—was, in fact, completely unexpected. An insistent, driving and minimal theme is voiced by the ensemble, leading into one of the most memorable ‘free’ alto solos these ears have heard, Tusques alternating between rhythmic repetition, roiling bass soundmasses and anthemic Maoist folk melodies, the unrehearsed group surprisingly empathetic to Tusques’ drive and whims.

Yet Tusques increasingly began to find free improvisation a musical “dead end” and found it necessary to search for other, more integrated approaches to improvisation. In addition to playing and recording a number of solo piano expositions (released to great acclaim on the Futura and Le Chant du Monde labels), Tusques formed the Intercommunal Free Dance Music Orchestra in the early ‘70s, a meeting of French and African musicians that would yield to a “popular appeal,” something that could get both social and artistic concerns out to a number of music listeners of all stripes.

“The name comes from these things: Intercommunal, like French and Africa together; Dance, so people can feel the music; and Free, because it was a free approach to traditional music of the world.” The group included a number of African percussionists, like Sam Ateba, Cheikh Fall and Guem, as well as the great alto saxophonist from Guinea, Jo Maka; French jazzmen like trumpeter Michel Marre; German trombonist Adolf Winkler (“he could play everything—one minute J.J. Johnson, the next minute Tricky Sam Nanton!”) and Spanish orator Carlos Andreu (“he was a revolutionary poet; he would get up and pick random passages from Leftist texts, improvising upon them in concert”).

African and Latin American folk themes yield to lengthy improvisational passages filled with more ebullience than severity in this context—there are even pieces that successfully hedge dub as much as they do Breton music or kwela. The orchestra lasted throughout the rest of the decade in various guises and on into the 1980s, recording nearly ten albums for vanguard French labels including Le Temps de Cerises and Vendemiare (a subsidiary of Palm), before eventually disbanding.

Since the mid-80s, Tusques has co-led a trio with Noel McGhie and Paris bass clarinet wizard Denis Colin, in some ways an heir apparent to the altars of Portal and Sclavis, albeit with an entirely bop-based sensibility that dips into the same spring as Dolphy. This trio recorded Tusques’ Blues Suite for Transes Europeenes in 1998, and it remains his most regular working group (Tusques picks his gigs with the utmost care, so this group might not work as much as followers of his music would like).

Tusques, in collaboration with his partner, actress/vocalist Isabel Juanpera, and members of the Parisian improvisers’ community like Colin and Vitet, has previously expanded upon the “Blues Suite” in works like Blue Phédre (Axolotl, 1996) and Le Jardin des Délices (In Situ, 1992), adding an operatic (and quite possibly cinematic) scale to his already colorful small-group music.

In what might seem a departure, one of Tusques' major projects is in collaboration with architect and visual artist Jean-Max Albert, in which Monk’s compositions are investigated visually. Numbers are applied to thematic fragments, and each number has a corresponding shape—these become surreal diagrams that retain perfectly the gravity and whimsy, the yin and yang of Monk’s music, at times like a painting of Mondrian, at times like a Miró. It his hoped that a concert version of this work can be performed, with Tusques performing the pieces surrounded onstage by the visual images. Such a multifaceted view of Monk is, in many ways, a perfect analogue for the music of François Tusques: an assemblage of insular phrases yields a colorful and multi-directional oeuvre, a never-ending film of freedom, culture, and social engagement. Intercommunal, indeed.

Thanks to François, Jean Rochard and Sarah Remke of the Minnesota sur Seine Festival, and Guy Kopelowicz for making this article possible.
Related Article Minnesota Sur Seine 2005: Intercommunal Music on the Mississippi
Recommended Listening
François Tusques, Blues Suite (Transes Europeens, 1998)François Tusques, Blue Phedre (Axolotl, 1996)
François Tusques, Intercommunal Free Dance Music Orchestra (Vendemiaire, 1976-1978)François Tusques, Intercommunal Music (Shandar, 1971)Clifford Thornton, The Panther and the Lash (America, 1970)Sunny Murray, Sunny Murray (Shandar, 1968)François Tusques, Free Jazz 1965 (Moloudji/In Situ, 1965)

PLEASE BUY MORE FRANCOIS TUSQUES
more info and some records can be bought from futura/marge(another legendary lable)

or Improvising Beings
here http://www.improvising-beings.com/





Nouveau Jazz (Columbia, Mouloudji, 1970) FLAC