This ain't your granddaddy's jazz we're talking about 'round these parts. I'm talking about Derek Bailey, Sonny Sharrock, Albert Ayler, Peter Broetzmann, late-'60s Sun Ra...stuff like that. The kind of stuff that makes King Crimson's skronk-heavy THRaKaTTaK sound like Brahms, essentially. Anybody else into this stuff? Anybody have any recommendations for albums to get?
Check out Anthony Braxton and Art Ensemble of Chicago. Also Cecil Taylor. That's some weird stuff that was coming out at around the same time as Ayler, Sun Ra etc. Modern artists...John Zorn, some Tribal Tech, and anyone featured in the English music rag "The Wire".
...all good stuff(IMO!) I have but one disc with guitarist Derek Bailey...it's the Arcana project with Tony Williams & Bill Laswell. Totally out & out sonic noiz...not for the faint of heart! Of course, a couple of 'classics'- Coltrane's Ascension & Coleman's Free Jazz. Also, 'Trane's Meditations, Stellar Regions, & even Interstellar Space. "Similiar" is Brotzmann's Nipples...the Dried Rat Dog 4-tet is also happenin'(Hamid Drake on cans). Last Exit(Sharrock, Laswell, Brotzmann, & Ronnald Shannon Jackson)... The Music Revelation Ensemble w/ "Blood" Ulmer. Some others in my lode- Ayler's Spiritual Unity Roscoe Mitchell's Sounds(mid-'60s AACM stuff) Other Dimensions In Music...this 4-tet has William Parker, Hamid Drake, Roy Campbell, & Daniel Carter. Cecil Taylor's Spiritual Unity & Nailed Assorted Matthew Shipp discs... ...more William Parker/Drake stuff(Two Days On April & Painter's Spring). Lester Bowie's American Gumbo Muhal Richard Abrahms. David S. Ware's 4-tet: Balls-to-the wall blowin'. Braxton, Threadgill, Hemphill, David Murray... Songlines I really like- ...it's a trio of Brotzmann, Rashied Ali, & Fred Hopkins. Don Pullen, Sam Rivers, etc. ...& then there's Captain Beefheart. I'll think of some more a little later. (& I could use some Sun Ra recs).
There's a great free improvisation scene in France - you've got to check out Marc Ducret if you've not heard him before, he's a fascinating fretless guitarist. Also worth checking out are Bruno Chevillion, Louis Sclavis, Henri Texier, Vincent Courtois, and others - there are so many great improv musicians in France right now. I've got a new free improv trio with a french Fretless guitarist called Franck Vigroux and a percussionist called Jerome Cury (album out end of the year, MP3s available in the next month hopefully)... Other faves include anything with David Torn on (often not as out as Derek Bailey et al, but still a serious improvisor) and a solo guitarist from LA called Andre LaFosse who has opened for me in concert a couple of times - check out his solo guitar downloads from http://www.altruistmusic.com - he's great! cheers Steve www.steve-lawson.co.uk (new real audio previews from forthcoming improv duo CD)
JimK: most of that stuff is on my "to buy ASAP" list. Steve: do you know if any of these guys have websites with free downloads available? I'm a try-before-I-buy kinda guy with music (but not with basses ) Christopher: I haven't even a microscopic fraction of an idea where to begin on the Braxton discography. I like how the Cook/Morton Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD mentioned that there is more Braxton currently availabe than Coltrane and Ornette Coleman put together. Any ideas?
The other day, I was checking out some of Charles Ives' non-symphonic works..."The Gong On THe Hook & Ladder or Fireman's Parade On Main Street"(how's that for a title?!) & "Hallowe'en". Both pieces are approx 2 minutes long... Both sound very much like the sorta thing all the Free Jazzers do...(though Ive's pieces are using 'symphonic' instruments) Here's the kicker- Ives' stuff is composed & written out. Pretty darn cool(& I can understand why each piece is a mere 2 minutes...I can't imagine writing out such madness).
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