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Archie Shepp

Archie Shepp, byname of Archie Vernon Shepp, is an American tenor saxophonist, composer, dramatist, teacher, and pioneer of the free jazz movement, known not only for his creative improvisation and colourful sound but also for his Afrocentric approach to music.

Archie Shepp, byname of Archie Vernon Shepp, is an American tenor saxophonist, composer, dramatist, teacher, and pioneer of the free jazz movement, known not only for his creative improvisation and colourful sound but also for his Afrocentric approach to music.

The Archie Shepp-Bill Dixon Quartet
For approximately 18 months (from the fall of 1961 to June 1963), Archie Shepp and Bill Dixon co-led a group that varied in size between a quartet, quintet and sextet, depending on the gig. They mostly played coffee houses and small theatres in Greenwich Village, and travelled to Scandinavia in July 1962 for a series of concerts at the first International Youth Festival in Helsinki. Already in his late 30s, Bill Dixon seems to have suddenly appeared in 1962, stretching jazz modernism in distinct…
Live At The Panafrican Festival
Tip! Archie Shepp has many made many Afrocentric statements in his long distinguished career but this meeting with Algerian and Touareg musicians in 1969 ranks among his greatest artistic achievements. The backdrop was the inaugural Pan African Festival Of Culture that took place in Algiers in July 1969 in order to promote solidarity among African nations at a time when many were emerging from the yoke of colonialism and some were still fighting for freedom. Their struggle chimed with the Black …
The House I Live In
2024 Stock. Modern Silence present the first ever reissue of Archie Shepp/Lars Gullin Quintet's The House I Live In, originally released in 1980. An incredible live album featuring saxophonists Archie Shepp and Lars Gullin, recorded at the Jazzhus Montmartre in Copenhagen, Denmark on November 21, 1963. 180 gram, virgin vinyl; Edition of 500."This is a fascinating release. Tenor-saxophonist Archie Shepp would not burst upon the U.S. avant-garde scene until 1964-65 but here he is featured at a Dan…
Poem For Malcom
Historic 1969 Paris session by the american saxophonist-vocalist-intellectual who conveys his deep anguish at the loss of a civil rights icon.
Four For Trane
** Official reissue by Elemental music in collaboration with Impulse Records! Special Gatefold Edition. ** Recorded for the Impulse label by Archie Shepp in 1965, four of the five tracks on Four for Trane are reworkings of pieces originally recorded in 1959 & 1960 by John Coltrane, and released on his Giant Steps (1960) and Coltrane Plays the Blues (1962) albums. They are rearranged here by Shepp and trombonist Roswell Rudd. The album also features trumpeter Alan Shorter (Wayne Shorter’s brother…
Splashes (Tribute To Wilbur Little)
Bluesy, aggressive, typically expressive. Splashes (subtitled Tribute to Wilbur Little) is an album by saxophonist Archie Shepp's Quartet which was recorded in Holland in 1987 and released on the L+R label. With Horace Parlan (p), Harry Emmery (b), and Clifford Jarvis (d).  It's one of those deep European records that gets missed because Shepp was recording so much and in so many ways overseas in his later years. The style here is a great distillation of the modes he was exploring in the years a…
The Fifth Of May
Archie Shepp, a saxophone tenor icon, collaborates with keyboardist Jasper Van't Hof - of  Toto Blanke's Electric Circus (it was while with Blanke that van't Hof co-founded a group called Association P.C.)in a creatively innovative record. Jasper incorporates elements from his 70s electronic work into the song, blending them with acoustic piano in a way that resonates well with Archie's spirit, a departure from his previous style.
In Memory Of
Trumpet superstar Chet Baker recorded a session with Archie Shepp in 1988, an unexpected collaboration given their different styles. At the time of the event, Shepp had adopted a more traditional approach, yet still retained an appreciation for the contemporary elements that characterized his earlier creations. Meanwhile, Chet had embraced a more modern style in his music, which differed significantly from Archie's direction, partly due to the physical transformations Baker had experienced. The …
Reunion
This lovely session from the 1980s features saxophonist Archie Shepp and pianist Horace Parlan, who both initially recorded in the United States but eventually discovered a more accommodating environment in Europe (they crossed paths many times while recording in Europe) Shepp began his career as a dedicated avant-garde player, but he eventually discovered the joy of applying his modern approach to more conventional material, such as these well-known ballads that Parlan paints with delicate, sou…
7x7
Tricatel is proud to present, in a limited edition of 777 hand-numbered copies, the superb double vinyl/book dedicated to 7×7, inspired by Bertrand Burgalat.
Derailleur
Archie Shepp's world has always been filled with fire music, and eventually Fire Music. Before that landmark LP, Shepp made Four for Trane -- his August 1964 beachhead with Impulse. And even before that, as it turns out, came this one blip -- the earliest Shepp leader project yet on record. Under supervision of the artist, this previously unissued demo recording is now available from Triple Point Records. As the cover of Derailleur suggests, Shepp tries out some surprising combinations for the s…
There's A Trumpet In My Soul
There’s A Trumpet In My Soul is the 1975 album from avant-garde tenor saxophonist Archie Shepp, recorded in April of the same year at Sound Ideas Studio in New York City. The record is comprised of two three-part suites and the 10 minute “Down In Brazil,” among which are two vocal parts and a poem recitation. The outing finds Shepp, then in his musical prime, backed by a stellar group of players which grows to 13 pieces at times. This crew includes Ray Draper (tuba), Charles Greenlee (trombone) …
Fire Music
2023 restock; originally released in 1965. 2019 reissue. Some of the most exciting jazz albums to listen to are those that try to strike a middle ground between the mainstream and the Avant-garde. One such example is Archie Shepp’s Fire Music: an often-fascinating album, rich in compositional and improvisational prowess. Employing a sextet including drummer Joe Chambers and alto saxophonist Marion Brown, Shepp puts together a record that is both challenging and accessible to most listeners. Fire…
Live In Europe
Temporary super offer! This is Archie Shepp caught live at two important European festivals in 1973. At the head of some sort of one-off line up featuring Dave Burrell on piano, Donald Garret on bass along with her partner Zusaan Fasteau on percussion, flute and vocals, and last but not least Muhammad Ali (Rashid's brother) on drums, Shepp, heard on tenor and soprano saxes and piano, delivers a full program of hot renditions of mostly standards by the likes of Ellington, Monk and Davis, plus a c…
Attica Blues
This Impulse! classic is one of the saxophonist’s most lasting and enduring works. With its powerful avant-garde tracks and strong political messages, the album is one of Shepp's most successful large-group projects. Rolling Stone wrote that it is "not just a masterpiece of protest: it is more a political/religious experience, an appeal to higher human consciousness to, for God's sake, help us out of this torment."
With Archie Shepp, 7-Tette & Orchestra - Revisited
While his recordings with Archie Shepp and 7-Tette established Bill Dixon as a distinctive jazz modernist, ahead of the curve, creating a niche within a crowded field of emerging artists, it is Intents and Purposes (Orchestra) that established his singularity. Together, they constitute the first chapter of a recorded legacy that continues to grow in status and influence.  – Bill Shoemaker
Kwanza
These 1969 recordings (released 5 years later) combine Archie Shepp’s free jazz bonafides and a blend of blues and funk through an African lens, all in a big band setting. The all-star brass section, featuring James Spaulding and Charles Davis on sax along with trombonist Graham Moncur III lead the way on stand outs including “New Africa” and “Spoo Pee Doo.” This Verve By Request LP features transfers from analog tapes and remastered on 180-gram vinyl, pressed at Third Man in Detroit.
Four For Trane To Live Newport 1965
Temporary Super Offer! Four For Trane became one of the classic, iconic albums of the post-bop era. The explanation is three-fold. First, the material. Rather than follow Coltrane’s lead into the most extreme of his free-blowing anthems, Shepp selected three songs from the Giant Steps album, and one from Coltrane Plays The Blues (although “Cousin Mary,” from the former release, is also a twelve-bar blues). This is significant because it illuminates the two sides of Archie Shepp’s conceptual persp…
Hyperituals: Vol. 1 - Soul Note / Vol. 2 - Black Saint
This discounted bundle includes both double LPs released so far in the "Hyperituals: Black Saint / Soul Note" series:Various Artists "Hyperituals Vol. 1 - Soul Note" (2LP)Various Artists "Hyperituals Vol. 2 - Black Saint" (2LP)"Hyperituals Vol. 1 - Soul Note" (2LP)After enjoying roughly half a century at the center of popular culture - despite its continued, towering cultural importance - by the 1970s jazz had fallen onto hard times. Its audiences drifted away, heeding the call of less demanding…
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