** Rare original copies. Early 80s LP reissue. Unplayed copies from a dead-stock, minor wear due to ageing on covers ** A seismic moment in the history of free jazz, Sonny’s Time Now stands as a raw, uncompromising manifesto of musical liberation. Recorded in New York City in November 1965 and released on the visionary Jihad label founded by LeRoi Jones (Amiri Baraka), this is the first album led by the revolutionary drummer Sonny Murray-and it’s nothing short of essential.

With a lineup that reads like a who’s who of the avant-garde-Albert Ayler on tenor saxophone, Don Cherry on trumpet, Henry Grimes and Lewis Worrell on bass, and Jones himself delivering his incendiary poem “Black Art”-Sonny’s Time Now captures the very heartbeat of the 1960s New York free jazz underground. The music is elemental and cathartic: fractured, tempestuous, and utterly free, with Murray’s drumming shattering the last vestiges of conventional jazz time and opening up vast, swirling fields of sound. From the opening thunder of “Virtue” to the ferocious collective improvisation of “Justice” and the iconic “Black Art,” this record is a testament to the energy, strength, and spiritual urgency that defined the era. Jones’s liner notes say it best: “This is deep music... It goes all through you, makes the circle of excitement and adventure, from earth to heaven, man in between going both ways, elliptical and perfect as anything. Get to this music, if you can. Get to it, and it will, in turn, get to you.”

Praised by critics and musicians alike-Thurston Moore called it “super-lo-fi and awesome... very Ayler but more fractured and odd”-Sonny’s Time Now remains a touchstone for anyone seeking the outer limits of jazz expression. It is, quite simply, a must for fans of Coltrane, Ayler, and the revolutionary Black Arts Movement -a record that doesn’t just document a moment, but creates a new one every time the needle drops. 

Sonny’s Time Now: freedom, energy, and strength, captured for eternity. Experience the pulse of jazz history-raw, unfiltered, and alive. Sonny’s Time Now is universally praised for its intensity, innovation, and spiritual depth. Critics highlight its fractured, tempestuous sound, the interplay between legendary musicians, and its uncompromising commitment to musical freedom. The album is not only a milestone of free jazz but also a document of the cultural and political ferment of its time-a must-listen for anyone interested in the outer limits of jazz and the avant-garde