Music from United States

Although his main instruments were the tenor saxophone and the flute, Yusef Lateef was known for his innovative blending of jazz with Asian music. In addition to the oboe and bassoon (which are both unusual in jazz), he played various instruments. Lateef began recording as a leader in 1957 for Savoy Records, a non-exclusive association that continued until 1959. The earliest ofhis albums for the Prestige subsidiary New Jazz overlap his Savoy Recordings. Cry!-Tender was one of these early albums …

Holiday For Soul Dance finds Sun Ra Arkestra at its most approachable, trading cosmic chaos for spirited reinvention of jazz standards recorded in Chicago, 1960. Even as familiar melodies pulse through the session, Ra and his ensemble infuse each note with irrepressible eccentricity, blurring nostalgia and space-age wit.​

In Mingus Plays Piano, Charles Mingus swaps the thunder of his double bass for distilled lyricism at the keyboard. Recorded in 1964, this rare solo album uncovers a private Mingus, weaving spontaneous meditations and bittersweet standards into a living, breathing portrait of creative solitude.​

Fate In A Pleasant Mood showcases Sun Ra and his Myth Science Arkestra at a turning point, merging big band swing with celestial avant-garde impulses. Recorded in 1960 Chicago and released in 1965, this concise, mystical set captures Ra’s fascination with outer space and metaphysical abstraction through poetic miniatures and crystalline ensemble interplay.​

Looking Ahead is the debut album by American jazz musician Ken McIntyre, recorded with fellow alto saxophonist Eric Dolphy in 1960 and released on the New Jazz label in January 1961. From the beginning Mr. McIntyre considered himself part of the avant-garde or ''new thing'' movement in jazz, as spearheaded by musicians like Ornette Coleman, Bill Dixon and Cecil Taylor, although his own music was considerably more traditionally melodic than theirs. He played a whole fleet of reed instruments, inc…

**Abstract (200 characters):** Released by Atlantic in 1962 from earlier sessions, "Coltrane Plays the Blues" showcases the quartet’s innovative blend of blues, jazz, and avant-garde, earning cult status and critical acclaim.

Charlie Mingus’s 1956 Jazz Composers Workshop showcases his visionary blend of hard bop, classical, gospel, and avant-garde. The album captures Mingus’s restless innovation—by turns explosive, tender, and genre-defying.

Ornette Coleman’s "Ornette On Tenor" marks a pivotal moment in jazz, featuring his switch to tenor sax and the addition of Jimmy Garrison on bass. The album’s earthy, darker soundscape, collective improvisation, and absence of fixed themes highlight Coleman’s ongoing musical revolution.

1991 release ** "Recorded at the Listen to Lacy festival in Vienna, 1990, this large ensemble recording is really the Steve Lacy Sextet plus ten. One of the dectet members is Franz Koglmann. Although some of Lacy's other large group experiments met with mixed results, it is not so here. Itinerary, with its seven selections, is an orchestral work on par with at of Gil Evans' (to whom this record is dedicated) Out of the Cool sessions for Impulse, and of course the Gil Evans and Ten recordings tha…

1990 release **

1995 release ** Contemporary music for organ by Arvo Pärt, John Cage and Giacinto Scelsi.

2000 release (no OBI) ** "It may be unfair to compare this recording to the seminal album recorded on ESP almost 35 years earlier, but such comparisons are hard to resist. In truth, the group -- now with Amiri Baraka (formerly LeRoi Jones) assuming an expanded role and bassist Reggie Workman substituting for the late Lewis Worell -- sounds as fresh and, yes, revolutionary as it did back in the heyday of 1960s radicalism. To be sure, each member has changed, but the sounds here are surprisingly r…

1998 release ** "This recording is an important part of bassist William Parker's early discography and comprises four ensemble pieces. The sound quality is slightly subpar, but the raw, 1960s feel of this album should appeal to those who appreciate the unassuming brilliance of this giant of the string bass. Each of the four tracks features different groups, with Parker composing all the pieces and appearing on all four. The two larger ensembles presage some of the large bands Parker was to lead …

1989 release ** "On November 23, 1986, at the Galerie Maximilien Guiol, a small art space in Paris, Alan Silva, Roger Turner, Misha Lobko, Didier Petit, and Bruno Girard shared the stage for the first time. They knew each other well, since they had all performed alongside one another in various groupings, but as a quintet, as this quintet, it was their first concert. From the moment Turner starts hitting his metal scraps, they all dive in and begin to Take Some Risks. A satisfying session, focus…

*200 coipes limited edition* Among the many kind remarks and deeply personal stories that have been shared with zakè and 36 about their beloved series, Stasis Sounds For Long-Distance Space Travel, perhaps the most succinct and poignant is one from a fan, regarding the first installment: “I was terrified of space travel, until I heard this album.” In those few words, the complex themes and contrasts that the artists explore through their comforting hymns of cosmic scale are summed up beautifully…

*249 copies limited edition* The "static noise" project of Richard Ramirez, Werewolf Jerusalem was introduced to the world fully formed and consumed with darkness. Ramirez is no stranger to confrontation, which makes this album's mysterious approach all the more sinister. No track titles, murky and dystopian samples, and overwhelming sound that pulses and stutters but retains all of its lurching power, plowing endlessly forward until it all just stops. 24 years after its release, Werewolf Jerusa…

*249 copies limited edition* Reissue of the long out of print 1996 album. In the 22 years since "God Has Shot Himself" was released as a CDr by Legion Sudan, it has gained a somewhat mythic status as a notably disquieting release. Some might say disturbing — and they'd be right. But it's also more than that. "God Has Shot Himself" is the sound of abandonment, of spiritual collapse. It is just over a half hour of total blackening annihilation that still must be heard to be understood. Now on viny…

The Complete Pharoah Sanders Theresa Recordings reveals the revolutionary saxophonist's misunderstood 1980s period. Seven discs capture Sanders integrating avant-garde fire with melodic tradition, featuring collaborators like John Hicks, Elvin Jones, and Bobby Hutcherson. Essential rediscovery of an artistic evolution long dismissed by critics but blazing with spiritual intensity and technical innovation.

1995 release ** "This work had its origin in the '60s. That's when I met Irene Aebi and Frederic Rzewski in Rome. The three of us have been working together ever since. The Living Theatre (founded by Julian Beck and Judith Malina in New York) was at that time very active in Italy and, as the most powerful and innovative theatre group anywhere, was becoming part of all our lives. I knew them from New York from the late '50s (The Connection, The Brig), and so did Frederic, who had composed and pla…

A fascinating blend of jazz and contemporary classical influences, How Time Passes is the debut album from the envelope pushing trumpeter and composer Don Ellis. Known for his extensive musical experimentation, particularly in the area of time signatures, Ellis began his long career in the New York Citys post bop and avant-garde jazz scenes of late 1950s. Most notably he appeared on Charles Mingus Mingus Dynasty, and albums by George Russell and Maynard Feguson. But he also worked with, among ot…