Comments on: Great experimental music?

Question: Great experimental music?

papakwanz — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 20:06:59 -0800

Avant Jazz filter: Hey all. I'm looking to expand my collection of avant-garde jazz (or just experimental music in general). Suggestions?

I've got a pretty good selection right now. What must haves am I missing? In the jazz category:
Albert Ayler: Live in Greenwich Village
Basically the John Coltrane discography
Art Ensemble of Chicago: jackson in your house, message to our folks, aacm, great black music, reese and the smooth ones, fanfare for the warriors, nice guys
Anthony Braxton: Six Monks Compositions (would love some good Braxton recommendations)
Brotzman Chicago Tentet: Stone/Water
A pretty big Ornette Coleman collection
Charles Gayle: Touchin on Trane, Ancient of Days
Sun Ra: Sun Song, Somewhere Else, Destination Unknown
Cecil Taylor: Love for Sale, Unit Structures, Conquistador
Lots of Roland Kirk & Mingus
Vandermark 5: Target or Flag, Single Piece Flow
John Zorn: a couple Masada discs, Spy vs. Spy, Naked City, Radio
Pharoah Sanders: Karma
Matthew Shipp duo w/ Roscoe Mitchell (would love some more suggestions for Shipp)

On the non-jazz front my selection is far more limited:
John Cage: Daughters of the lonesome isle, the seasons
Steve Reich: Desert Music, Music for 18 musicians
Conlon Nancarrow: Music for player piano vol. 1-2, 5
Varese: complete works.

OK music lovers... help me out!

By: crinklebat

crinklebat — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 20:13:56 -0800

It seems like you and Captain Beefheart would get along, but his conspicuous absence makes me worry he's already come up lacking.

By: miss lynnster

miss lynnster — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 20:16:38 -0800

Thelonius Monk. Bud Powell. Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers. Art Pepper. Bill Evans. Nina Simone. Stan Kenton. Miles Davis. Anita O'Day. Kurt Elling.

I could go on & on...

By: sweet mister

sweet mister — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 20:18:47 -0800

Ligeti - Musica Ricercata
Eric Satie - anything

seconding Beefheart

By: jtajta

jtajta — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 20:22:25 -0800

Matthew Shipp is right up your jazz alley. Anthony Braxton Live - released in 1975 is a great one.

Brian Eno and Phillip Glass as composers.

What about Zappa and Captain Beefheart? Too rocky?

By: papakwanz

papakwanz — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 20:26:49 -0800

Sorry... I left out Zappa and Beefheart, wasn't thinking.
I have the Zappa discography, and almost all Beefheart stuff. I left out a lot of the other experimental/progressive rock in my collection (Idiot Flesh, King Crimson, The Residents, Fantomas, Bungle, Henry Cow, Melt Banana, and some others).

lynnster: as far as the canonical jazz greats, I have most of them; a decent Monk collection, a huge Miles Davis collection, some Blakey, Evans, 1 or 2 Peppers. I'm looking for stuff more on the margins (although, of course, lots of Monk and Davis is pretty far out stuff).

jtajta: I love the Phillip Glass pieces on the Koyaanisqatsi films... what else by him should I look for?

By: Roach

Roach — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 20:28:30 -0800

(Jazz/Non-Jazz mixed)

- Return to Forever
- Yes
- Frank Zappa (start with Hot Rats)
- Al DiMeola
- Suprised not to see Miles Davis on your jazz list, but he runs the gamut. Hard to even suggest a starting point, but I've always liked to throw Live/Evil at people who's minds are already open to more out-there stuff.
- Umphrey's McGee
- Medeski, Martin, and Wood
- John Scofield
- Chick Corea
- Cannonball Adderly
- Pat Metheny
- King Crimson

By: papakwanz

papakwanz — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 20:31:35 -0800

Roach et al.

I probably should have clarified in my post... I have a pretty big jazz collection (500+ cds); I was only listing the most "out there" stuff. As far as the more mainstream, I've got a lot of bop and post-bop, and a good selection of fusion in the Live/Evil mode. I guess I'm mainly looking for the more obscure stuff, gems I might have missed, experimental composers I may not have heard of.

By: papakwanz

papakwanz — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 20:32:50 -0800

Whoops, I keep forgetting:
I also have some Eric Dolphy: Out There & Out To Lunch.

By: dobbs

dobbs — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 20:35:34 -0800

Jazz:

Jumala Quintet's Turtle Crossing
Fred Wright Trio's The Earth or Wright's Your Prayer

Non Jazz:

Scott Walker's The Drift
Hochenkeit's albums
Jackie-O-Motherfucker's albums (sometimes called JOMF)
Pschic Paramount (leans to rock)
Jorge Reyes (leans to world)
I like Reiche's SO Percussion stuff
Moondog's stuff
Keiji Haino's Tenshi no gijinka
Dirty Projectors' Getty Address
Keith Fullerton Whitman's Multiples
Kletka Red's Hijacking (leans towards international)

By: paulsc

paulsc — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 20:36:50 -0800

If you must have "free jazz" or "avant garde jazz" or stuff that proves, merely by listening, that you're the kind of person that is above mere music that sounds good, you must have Pat Metheny's Zero Tolerance For Silence. It's a pretty ground breaking peice, that I've listened to exactly once since I bought it. It's clearly leading edge stuff. It's also unlistenable. But there is a lot of Pat Metheny's stuff that is still experimental, and far more listenable, so don't write him off if you can't listen to Zero Tolerance for Silence.

There's a lot of that kind of ground breaking, ear shattering stuff out there, and far be it from me to dissuade you from collecting every bit of it, because without your support, musicians will be afraid of not selling stuff that doesn't sound good. And they shouldn't be constrained, constantly, to providing pretty stuff to the rest of us. So, if you'll buy the important stuff I don't want to listen to, both of us will feel better, and I'll be in your debt.

But if you get tired of that stuff, treat yourself to some Art Tatum, and Fats Waller, and some Louie Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins, Benny Carter, and Duke Ellington.

Or, cut a middle ground, and buy the Keith Jarrett catalogue, and as much of Chick Corea's output as you can. Don't forget McCoy Tyner's later stuff, which rarely fails to be musical, even when he's being experimental. The World Saxophone Quartet is worth collecting.

By: waxbanks

waxbanks — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 20:38:45 -0800

You're the ideal customer for Destination: Out! Fantastic avant-jazz MPFree site. Go enjoy!

By: dobbs

dobbs — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 20:39:14 -0800

People seem to have a different take on what I consider "experimental music". I love much of the stuff listed but it doesn't fit the bill for me.

Also, if you're in NYC this weekend, catch Masada at Lincoln Centre on the 9th and 10th. It's their last shows as they're packing it in.

By: pfafflin

pfafflin — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 20:43:22 -0800

You should check out Rune Grammofon's catalog -- I particularly like Jazzkammer, Spunk and Maja Ratkje (Maja also has another great project called Fe-mail).

Atavistic and Okka Disk are good for avant-jazz, while Matthew Shipp's Blue Series on Thirsty Ear has some interesting collaborations; ReR/Recommended Records (started by Chris Cutler of the Art Bears and Henry Cow) is another great experimental label. I'm a huge Fred Frith fan, and highly recommend his solo releases ... and you should listen to lots and lots of Pere Ubu :)

By: dobbs

dobbs — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 20:56:47 -0800

Some more:

Wim Mertens' Shot and Echo (leans towards classical, but I see you mention you like Glass)
Electrelane's Axis (rockish)
Text's self-titled
Stars of the Lid's Per Aspera Ad Astra (or any of their albums, really)- ambient/atmospheric/quiet
Sweep The Leg Johnny's Tomorrow We Will Run Faster (hardcore w/ saxophone)
Roy Montgomery's Silver Wheel of Prayer
Derek Bailey's stuff
Pauline Oliveros' Deep Listening
Polmo Polpo's The Science of Breath

By: box

box — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 20:58:58 -0800

I don't see nearly enough Peter Brotzmann--Machine Gun and Nipples, off the top of my head, are excellent. My favorite AEC albums are Chi-Congo and Les Stances a Sophie. For Matthew Shipp, I like DNA and Zo a great deal. I'm a huge Archie Shepp fan (favorites: Attica Blues and The Cry of My People).

I've said this before in other musical contexts, but I think it's very much worthwhile to chase down collaborators, especially with jazz and especially with this kind of jazz. John Zorn was in Last Exit with Peter Brotzmann, Sonny Sharrock and Shannon Jackson. Matthew Shipp regularly plays with, among others, William Parker, Hamid Drake and David Ware. Et cetera, et cetera, ad infinitum.

By: pfafflin

pfafflin — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 21:08:32 -0800

There's a lot of Brotzmann to be discovered on jazz journalist John Corbett's Unheard Music Series (distributed by the aforementioned Atavistic).

Box is right -- "Machine Gun" is especially exciting to listen to; especially in the final minutes of the piece, which takes on a funky, swinging personality.

By: mediareport

mediareport — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 21:12:46 -0800

Frank Lowe. Start with The Flam from 1975; it's a fantastic, relatively open but still sharply avant record. I also just got turned on to Billy Bang; Vietnam: The Aftermath is great; it's been in my cd player nonstop lately. Lowe is on that one, too. Both records have a wonderful mix of sweet sound, groovy swing and out-there aggression.

By: nanojath

nanojath — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 21:35:24 -0800

In terms of experimental music, (not jazz), F.S. Blumm.

By: sleepy pete

sleepy pete — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 21:42:38 -0800

Lots of great stuff here, so I'll add a few and hopefully they're new to you, both jazz and rock. I really am not sure how hard some of this will be to find, but it shouldn't be too hard:

* Archie Shepp Four for Trane
* Sunny Murray Sunshine
* Grachan Moncur III I've never heard anything I didn't like.
* Terry Riley A Rainbow in Curved Air
or just about anything from him
* Robert Wyatt anything, but Cuckooland might be good for you
* Soft Machine Volume Two and Third
Wyatt's early psych band from the late 60s.
* Lightning Bolt Wonderful Rainbow
This is way rock, but has always reminded me of a Brotzmann/Mahavishnu Orchestra thing done by hyped-up kids. If you like it, one of them has a side project called Black Pus that is ultranoisy.
*Alice Coltrane Journey in Satchidananda
* Polvo Today's Active Lifestyles
if you like Beefheart
* Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 anything by them, but the most accessible is Strangers From the Universe
also if you like Beefheart
* Faust IV
a good place to start with them
*Os Mutantes Os Mutantes and Mutantes
* Basil Kirchin
*This is My Condition
full disclosure--I know him, but he'd be up your alley. One man band on bass and drums and looping pedals that does noisy sort of stuff, but also plays songs by bach, fats waller, and steve reich.

I could go on, but I'm going to grab another beer.

By: juv3nal

juv3nal — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 21:46:04 -0800

Thomas Stronen, Pohlitz

By: dobbs

dobbs — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 21:48:36 -0800

I'll second Wonderful Rainbow and add Ride the Skies by the same band.

I also love Hella's Your Horse Is, but, like Lightning Bolt, may be more rock-y than you're searching for. But, if you like them, you might also did Half Chimp.

By: sleepy pete

sleepy pete — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 22:00:37 -0800

Forgot to add (although it may be obvious) Charles Ives. Also the Antipop Consortium and Matthew Shipp stuff is great (linked above by pfafflin).

By: p3t3

p3t3 — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 22:03:50 -0800

I'm no expert in the area of free jazz or avant garde, but am slowly working my way into the stuff by way of krautrock and "no-wave" experimental 80s punk with the help of many excellent music blogs dedicated to these types of rarities and obscurities.

Even if you are not interested in digital mp3 copies or downloading without compensating the artist, these blogs are at least a great way to discover otherwise lost music, and from there you can add them to your wantlist for the next time you go record shopping.

So I would recommend these to start with: Direct Waves, Mutant Sounds, 19414243, Atlantis Audio Archive, Border Music, Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll, Church No. 9, Pharaohs Dance, Orgy in Rhythm, etc..

By: timelord

timelord — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 22:05:26 -0800

There's some interesting stuff going on in Europe w/ electronic music and jazz. I'm not sure all of it meets your description for experimental/avant-garde, but it's worth checking out.

Nils Petter Molvaer is a Norwegian trumpet player who's probably the best known (from this scene). He recorded his first few discs, for ECM, and last year relased an album on Thirsty Ear.

Erik Truffaz is a French trumpet player (this time French) working in an experimental jazz/electronic vain. Some of his earlier work was clearly in a similar style to Miles Davis, but he's moved on into developing more of his own unique sound. He eclectic influences into his music (notably vocals from Northern Africa). Walk of the Giant Turtle is my favorite of his albums, and probably his most accomplished and accessible.

There's a few others in that vein worth checking out, Bugge Wesseltoft is another Norwegian working w/ electronic music, but to be honest, I don't think any of his albums have really lived up to his potential (so far).

Alex Gunia is another artist worth looking into. He's a german artist who's does a lot with textures, but I think all his releases have been restricted to Germany. He's also done some interesting collaborations with the two Norwegians I've already listed.

Finally, ECM is always a good place to look for interesting music (but it looks like you're already aware of them).

By: timelord

timelord — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 22:09:01 -0800

*Erik Truffaz is a French trumpet player working in an experimental jazz/electronic vein.

This sentence was so troubled, I think it deserves a correction.

By: Joseph Gurl

Joseph Gurl — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 22:16:25 -0800

Milford Graves's solo discs on Tzadik

Giuseppe Logan's disc with Graves (on tablas!)

Marion Brown's "Afternoon of a Georgia Fawn"

Otomo's New Jazz quartet/quintet/ensemble/orchestra

ICP

Willem Breuker Kollectief

Schlippenbach

Non-jazz:

AMM
Derek Bailey
Otomo Yoshihide (especially Ground Zero, ISO, Filament)
Jeph Jerman
Kang Tae Hwan
Evan Parker
Toshimaru Nakamura (his duos with Keith Rowe, especially)
Cosmos (Sachiko M. and Ami Yoshida)
Morton Feldman
Iannis Xenakis (percussion stuff, chamber music, and La Legende d'Eer, especially)

By: aladfar

aladfar — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 22:16:57 -0800

Box mentioned William Parker in passing, but I think he bears further discussion.

Shipp receives more attention for his Nu-Bop stuff (which I can't stand) but Parker is the more engaging musician. He borrows heavily from Don Cherry and Ornette Coleman, but does so without being derivative. His solo renditions of 'There is a Balm in Gilead' are profoundly moving.

I'm fond of his most recent albums Long Hidden and Sound Unity. Given your taste, I think you'll enjoy them too.

An aside: Several of his records are available, sans-DRM, via eMusic. They have an amazing Jazz collection available for download - a great way to check out new music without making too much of an investment.

By: atom128

atom128 — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 22:26:38 -0800

Check out Pierre Bastien. He's a personal favorite.

He creates little mechanical machines that play instruments and then plays along with them. It often unfolds into beuatifully haunting, introdspective jazz, I love it.

By: Roach

Roach — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 22:57:13 -0800

You guys are amazing. Seriously.

By: Goofyy

Goofyy — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 22:58:32 -0800

My favorite jazz is Jean-Luc Ponty. Cosmic Messenger and Mystical Adventure are my 2 favorite albums. I've seen him in concert twice (impossibly long ago, in the 80's). At The Beacon, in NYC, the show was truly awesome. Somehow, 4 years latter, his show at the Irvine Bowl was 'meh'. His music truly cooks.

By: Goofyy

Goofyy — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 22:59:25 -0800

Should have added: his main instrument is electric violin.

By: hydrophonic

hydrophonic — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 23:02:23 -0800

I'll second (third?) Brotzman's Nipples and Machine Gun, and AEC's Les Stances a Sophie.

Albert Ayler's Bells is a must-have. Marc Ribot's "Truth Is Marching In" is a tribute to Ayler. Here's a free download.

If I could remember the titles, I'd tell you what Anthony Braxton I like--but I can't, and that's what he gets for his idiosyncratic notation style. I do remember that I like his album of standards called In the Tradition, but that's hardly representative of his other, further out-there music.

I don't have a certain album or track to recommend, but I've seen Mats Gustafsson perform a couple of times, and he's right up your alley. (Skip his collaboration with Sonic Youth.)

You'd probably like Steve Reid's Nova and Rhythmatism.
And check out the New York Composers Orchestra. They did pieces by Wayne Horowitz, Anthony Braxton, Robin Holcomb, Elliott Sharp, and others.

Yo La Tengo did an EP with Other Dimensions in Music that is really fun--I haven't heard other stuff by Other Dimensions but I've been meaning to find some.

For 20th century/minimalism: Phillip Glass's Music in Fifths/Two Pages and Terry Riley's In C, both recorded by Bang on a Can. Of Tony Conrad, I've only heard Early Minimalism--it's a bit harsher. I don't know if I need four hour-long pieces, but I like Four Violins.

You might know Jim O'Rourke from his stint with Sonic Youth and his poppy-yet-still-out-there album Eureka. I'm Happy, and I'm Singing, and a 1,2,3,4 and Bad Timing are examples of his more experimental stuff. For more avant-rock, check out his old band Gastr del Sol.

Glenn Branca's Lesson No. 1 is gorgeous electric guitar minimalism. Rhys Chatham does similar stuff, although I've only heard a little of it.

In a different vein, have you heard Congotronics?

And finally...what? Only three Sun Ra albums? I've got to go to bed.

By: rudster

rudster — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 23:47:41 -0800

Some jazz recommendations:

Henry Threadgill. Especially "Makin' a Move" and "Carry the Day."

Joe and Mat Maneri. Check out in particular "Tales of Rohnlief."

The ICP Orchestra. Try their absolutely smashing "Two programs: Herbie Nichols/Thelonious Monk" or "Japon Japon."

Both Misha Mengelberg and Han Bennink (from the ICP Orchestra) have numerous interesting side projects. Check out the playful, jubilant "Clusone 3" album by Bennink, for one.

I love it when Sun Ra's on the organ. You simply must get the canonical "Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy and Art Forms of Dimensions Tomorrow." The more recently released "The Solar Myth Approach vol. 1 & 2" is also excellent.

By: fac21

fac21 — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 01:34:49 -0800

i would recommend a band called tokyo 77. their cd is on amazon.

By: patricio

patricio — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 02:23:32 -0800

Acid Mother's Temple - substantial japanese experimentalism. The pictures of the band pretty much sum it up.

Otherwise, the punk-jazz of Acoustic Ladyland, though not particularly 'out there', is worth a listen.

By: flabdablet

flabdablet — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 04:12:01 -0800

Try The Necks for some really interesting free improvisation.

By: mattholomew

mattholomew — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 04:43:14 -0800

Great to see some avant jazz stuff on MeFi! There are 2 discs I'm begging you to get because they got me started in the Avant direction and I still listen to them constantly:

* Holland/Altschul/Braxton/Rivers: "Conference of the Birds"
* Sonny Sharrock: "Ask the Ages" (guitar shredding plus Pharoah Sanders!)

....Also check out Marilyn Crispell, great free pianist.

Masada "Live in Sevilla 2000"

Oh, and how could I forget Metheny + Ornette "Song X: 20th Anniversary Edition"??

Check out emusic.com for a great selection of indie label jazz.

By: The Michael The

The Michael The — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 05:22:05 -0800

Some more recent experimentalism, not at all rooted in jazz:

Tim Hecker - Harmonies in Ultraviolet

Black Dice - Broken Ear Record and Creature Comforts

Boris with Merzbow - Sun Baked Snow Cave

Orthrelm discography

Venetian Snares discography

By: caddis

caddis — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 07:04:27 -0800

Check out Aum Fidelity. They are one of the big labels in the NYC free jazz scene. Just about everything they release is worth trying. Another good resource is just about anyone playing at The Stone. If you are in or near NYC I suggest you take in some of the performances there. I saw Matthew Shipp there last weekend. He was smokin' hot, as was Joe Morris on bass. I think I may go back this weekend to see Morris on guitar.

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 07:04:52 -0800

Hey, I ain't afraid to recommend records that I play on, as long as they might fit the bill, and I think these would, so here's a couple:

R.U.B. (Rothenberg/Uchihashi/Bennett)

John Zorn's New Traditions in East Asian Bar Bands

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 07:06:37 -0800

psst! Hey, caddis, if you see Joe Morris, as you've mentioned, tell him his ol' pal Samm sez hello!

By: caddis

caddis — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 07:28:34 -0800

Will do. We will probably try to talk to him after the show as my kids, both budding musicians, were enthralled by his playing. They are the big drivers for going back, although I am not sure we have time in the schedule. We'll have to see.

By: cowbellemoo

cowbellemoo — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 07:35:48 -0800

Nuspirit Helsinki (electronic/jazz/soul fusion)

For avant-garde electronica, you can't beat the Ninja Tune artists.

By: papakwanz

papakwanz — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 07:49:48 -0800

yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!

Some amazing recommendations here -- some things I have (but forgot to mention), some things I've heard of but don't have, and a ton of stuff I've never heard of. Big ups to waxbanks for recommending destination-out... that site is the shiznaggle.

By: greasepig

greasepig — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 08:33:53 -0800

I love experimental music, and most of my favorites haven't been mentioned:
Deutsch Nepal
Illusion of Safety
Rubber O Cement
Sleeping With The Earth
Turk Knifes Pope
Tuxedomoon
John Bischoff
Bruce Anderson
The Hafler Trio
Planet Size: Clit
Lockweld
Zipper Spy
Radiosonde
Thomas Dimuzio
Throbbing Gristle
Zoviet France
The Bran (another plight of medic's...) Pos

Certainly some of that stuff you should like. (And some you may not be able to find).

By: treepour

treepour — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 08:46:45 -0800

Not jazz, but you might check out Francisco Lopez, especially if you're ever fortunate enough to hear him live.

By: dobbs

dobbs — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 08:56:48 -0800

oops, in my first post, that should be Psychic Paramount and Reich's SO Percussion.

I'll also nth the recommendation for emusic.

By: pfafflin

pfafflin — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 09:07:33 -0800

RE: Illusion of Safety

Oooh, yeah, and I'd also recommend Cheer-Accident, a band that shares mutual members with IOS. They're more avant-rock (if yr into King Crimson, etc), but criminally under-championed in these parts. The rest of the Skin Graft catalog also leans towards No Wave / experimental rock, as well.

By: juv3nal

juv3nal — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 10:48:06 -0800

He's not my cup of tea, but if you're into drone-y, slowly mutating sound loops, maybe William Basinski.

By: MetaMonkey

MetaMonkey — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 16:07:34 -0800

This thread has become quite random, so I'll continue with some random rocky suggestions

I'm assuming you know Can, but if not, you should
Black Monk Time by The Monks
OOIOO are very varying, usually interesting and often awesome
Syd Barret

By: caddis

caddis — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 18:41:44 -0800

Thank you papakwanz this was one great AskMe thread. I hope you found some great stuff, I know I did. Finding good new jazz is not easy. Jazz is the ultimate indie music if judged by the indie standard of how few fans appreciate really talented musicians. In NYC it's all about the live performances and man, there are many great live shows every week. I can't really get to most of these. I am no longer a club rat. I have to rely on shiny discs, bootlegs and mp3s for the most part, but what is good? Threads like this help. Music blogs help. Friends who play jazz for a living in NYC help. Tracking good clubs and good labels helps. Nevertheless, new jazz remains much harder to keep up with than other forms of music and that is sad.

Now that I am home and have some of those shiny discs in front of me I think I will talk up a few of my faves:

Matthhew Shipp - One (solo Shipp, kind of quiet, deep)
David Ware - Freedom Suite (a great take on a Rollins classic, this is really, really good stuff, not to be missed)
William Parker - Scrapbook (great jazz violin stuff)
William Parker & Hamid Drake - First Communion (new, but recorded a decade ago and they are touring together now and will come out with a part two soon, great african rhythms)
... there are so many more, as before watch Aum and the Stone.

I have no idea how available, other than "First Communion" these are as they tend to have short runs.

By: papakwanz

papakwanz — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 21:18:45 -0800

caddis: yeah, I dream of living in a city where there is good live jazz readily available. I almost moved to Chicago about 2 years ago, but it wasn't to be. Maybe one day.

By: jtajta

jtajta — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 13:04:38 -0800

As if you haven't gotten enough recommendations, but what about The Books? I don't want to open the collage/electronic can of worms, but it seems like it's worth checking out.

By: caddis

caddis — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 19:25:01 -0800

pssst, Samm (Flapjax), I saw him again and remembered your real name this time. Joe says hello. Man, this guy is really cool. He is so talented yet so down to earth. His musical knowledge is so deep, and when he applies it to his compositions and improvisations, it sounds so simple, yet resonates so deeply. So anyway, anyone who is looking for something creative out there you look up Joe Morris. He's the real deal. I recommend "Age of Everything." I am not sure whether he thinks it is his most important work, but this is a very spare, simple yet special piece of music, and given its simple beauty it will appeal to just about anyone. I am still a fervent believer in hitting the whole AUM catalog. I haven't seen a stinker yet.