CD-Charts Position 1
Average Rating:

Epitaph

CD-Charts > Music > Avant Garde and Free Jazz
by: Charles Mingus

Release Date March 20, 1990
Was at the 1962 Town Hall concert when he first let us hear some of this...in between walk outs where he just stormed out and an hour or so later came back...and no one in the audience left for all those hours. If we're smart, we give genius whatever room it needs since there's so little of it around in anyone's lifetime. Much of this great man of music is caught by another great musician/musicologist Gunter Schiller and a few good men like Wynton Marsalis and many other 'notables' who woulda given their year's pay just to be there...playing at this tribute...and here he is again...not 'back from the dead'..but proving he never died. Charles Mingus will always live. This 'Epitaph' title is about as serious a title as his 'Eat That Chicken' ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 2
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Journey in Satchidananda

CD-Charts > Music > Avant Garde and Free Jazz
by: Alice Coltrane

Release Date March 25, 1997
"Journey in Satchidananda" was my introduction to Alice Coltrane. Her music never ceases to amaze even after repeated listenings. The listener may have a sense of being right there in the studio with Alice and her group of fantastic musicians.

All I can say about this cd is pack your bags and expect the unexpected on this musical tour of the spiritual realms. This cd goes well with a big cup of tea and your favorite companion or pet nearby.

CD-Charts Position 3
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At the "Golden Circle" in Stockholm, Vol. 1

CD-Charts > Music > Avant Garde and Free Jazz
by: Ornette Coleman

Release Date January 08, 2002
For those of you who are unfamiliar with altoist/multi-instrumentalist composer Ornette Coleman, he is that rare musical breed, a "maverick" of rare originality as composer Virgil Thomson stated in an interview. Together with another revolutionary musician, Cecil Taylor, Coleman turned the musical world upside down with his Harmelodic theory. If you are hesitant about Ornette Coleman, then this classic recording might be the best place to start. Recorded in two nights at the Golden Circle in Stockholm, Swedan; Coleman and his trio which included 2 now long departed musicians, David Izenson on bass and Charles Moffet on drums, mesmerized audiences every night with their music. I was long turned off to Ornette even with his early Atlantic recordings since I thought ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 4
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Mingus at Antibes

CD-Charts > Music > Avant Garde and Free Jazz
by: Charles Mingus

Release Date October 25, 1990
Charles Mingus takes a quintet (plus Bud Powell on one song) through a top-notch set on this CD. The band is on fire pretty much throughout. The only exception is "What Love?" which I don't like as much as the others. Ted Curson plays his heart out on trumpet, Eric Dolphy is his usual off-center self, and Booker Ervin is good form. Bud Powell doesn't just sit in on "I'll Remember April", his long solo is the centerpiece of the song. "Folk Forms" ends with yells and saxes sounding like Indian war calls. I'm sure the "Better Git Hit", the closer, had the audience rolling down the aisle speaking in tongues (or at least in French).

Any Mingus fan should buy this CD. Maybe the only two better are "Mingus Ah Um" and "Blues & Roots". They were recorded in 1959, ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 5
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Live

CD-Charts > Music > Avant Garde and Free Jazz
by: Pharoah Sanders

Release Date February 18, 2003
Not only is the CD great if you get the DVD you can see two the compositions perfomed to see the intensity of the performers including Pharoah blowing so hard saliva comes out the horn.

CD-Charts Position 6
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Live In Greenwich Village: The Complete Impulse Recordings

CD-Charts > Music > Avant Garde and Free Jazz
by: Albert Ayler

Release Date October 06, 1998
This two-CD collection of live recordings from the late 60s should be essential music in anyone's jazz collection. Not just for historical reasons but because it is such exceptional, moving music. I believe it was Nat Hentoff who described them as 'speaking in tongues." The description is accurate. In the solo sections, the Ayler brothers --especially Albert on tenor and alto saxophones-- sound like voices shrieking in ecstasy. And the background is phenomenal --cello and (one or two) bass together, most of the time violin as well, with either Sunny Murray or Beaver Harris thrashing away in irregular cadence on drums. Names aren't terribly important in Ayler compositions, nor for that matter are the heads. It's when they break into preaching --solo voices, occasional intertwining duets-- that Albert ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 7
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Town Hall Concert

CD-Charts > Music > Avant Garde and Free Jazz
by: Charles Mingus

Release Date July 01, 1991
just the other day i kicked out a humble little review of the mingus album "the black saint and the sinner lady," which i stated might very well be his best recording. well, today i listened to this album (town hall concert) and i'm ready to declare it his best. that's the kind of impressionable knucklehead i am! anyway, the problem (and what a great problem) with mingus recordings is that so many are great; thus a change in the wind might tip you from one favorite to another. but "town hall concert" is truly a classic jazz recording. consisting of only 2 tracks, "so long eric" and "praying with eric" (aka "meditations"), the whole thing runs about 45 glorious minutes. "so long eric," is 17 plus minutes of swinging creativeness. an upbeat piece of music that's loose and powerful and full of energy and joy. ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 8
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Mingus at the Bohemia

CD-Charts > Music > Avant Garde and Free Jazz
by: Charles Mingus

Release Date July 01, 1991
Struggling with the rigors of owning and operating a record company, Charles Mingus was hard pressed to squeeze a substantial profit from his works. His little record label Debut was a dream come true, allowing Mingus creative control.

Up until about the time of this album, Mingus was yet to fully blossom as a bandleader. His method of direction changed from having his band members read music off of the paper, to a freer, improv approach. This opened his music immensely.

It is apparent on this album that Mingus was in full hard bop swing. "Jump Monk" is a furiously swinging tune with a catchy theme. "Work Song" is another hard driver, with a nimble, cerebral rhythm.

This is among the best early period Mingus available. Also included in the extensive ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 9
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The Illinois Concert

CD-Charts > Music > Avant Garde and Free Jazz
by: Eric Dolphy

Release Date October 05, 1999
Given the brevity of Eric Dolphy's career, and the small number of albums released under his own name during his lifetime, it's not surprising that posthumously-issued live recordings form a considerable chunk of the reedsman's titanic legacy. Many such offerings are of bootleg quality, poorly recorded and/or edited, while others feature somewhat lacklustre performances as Dolphy tries to find common ground with one of the many pick-up rhythm sections with which he played.
This makes THE ILLINOIS CONCERT an even more welcome and important find than it would be otherwise. Superbly recorded for the most part, and featuring primarily Dolphy's own works, this 1963 performance also finds the leader in the invigorating and sympathetic company of his true musical peers.
With bassist Eddie Khan and drummer ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 10
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Eric Dolphy at the Five Spot, Vol. 1

CD-Charts > Music > Avant Garde and Free Jazz
by: Eric Dolphy Quintet with Booker Little

Release Date March 15, 1994
Eric Dolphy and Booker Little are the main attractions of this live CD. Mal Waldron, Richard Davis, and Ed Blackwell form a very good rhythm section, though their careers don't have the same mystique. With just three songs (and an alternate version) over 47 minutes (not counting the alternate), each song is very long. The pattern is simply head, solos, then head. This would be deadly if the soloists didn't play at a very high level, and the long solos by Dolphy and Little are the reasons to get this CD. "Fire Waltz", by Mal Waldron, has the best melody. "Bee Vamp" has a less sturdy melody, but has great sections of group improvisation. "The Prophet" has the most unusual head of the three, you won't need the liner notes to recognize Eric Dolphy's stamp on it. This is a good look at Booker Little, who made too few albums, ... Read More: