Matthew Shipp is an American avant-garde jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader.
Gordon Mumma is an American composer. He is known most for his work with electronics, many devices of which he builds himself, and for his performances on horn.
Herman Davis "Dave" Burrell is an American jazz pianist. He has played with many jazz musicians including Archie Shepp, Pharoah Sanders, Marion Brown and David Murray.
Robert McElhiney James is an American jazz keyboardist, arranger, and record producer. He founded the band Fourplay and wrote "Angela", the theme song for the TV show Taxi. According to VICE (magazine), music from his first seven albums has often been sampled and believed to have contributed to the formation of hip hop. Among his most well known recordings are "Nautilus", "Westchester Lady", "Tappan Zee", and his version of "Take Me to The Mardi Gras".
Lovely Music is an American record label devoted to new American music. Based in New York City, the label was founded in 1978 by Mimi Johnson, an outgrowth of her nonprofit production company Performing Artservices Inc. It is one of the most important and longest running labels focusing exclusively on new music and has released over 100 recordings on LP, CD, and videocassette.
Town Hall, 1962 is an album by Ornette Coleman, recorded on December 21, 1962 at New York City's Town Hall and released in 1965 by the ESP-Disk label. It was the first recording to feature Coleman's new trio, which included bassist David Izenzon and drummer Charles Moffett.
Spiritual Unity is a studio album by American free jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler. It was recorded on July 10, 1964 in New York City, and features bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Sunny Murray. It was the first album recorded for Bernard Stollman's ESP-Disk label, and it brought Ayler to international attention as it was so "shockingly different". At the same time, it transformed ESP-DISK into "a major source for avant-garde jazz". A 5-star review in AllMusic called it a "landmark recording that's essential to any basic understanding of free jazz", "the album that pushed Albert Ayler to the forefront of jazz's avant-garde... really the first available document of Ayler's music that matched him with a group of truly sympathetic musicians", and stated that "the results are a magnificently pure distillation of his aesthetic."
Frank Wright was an American free jazz musician, known for his frantic style of playing the tenor saxophone. Critics often compare his music to that of Albert Ayler, although Wright "offers his honks and squawks with a phraseology derived from the slower, earthier funk of R&B and gospel music." According to AllMusic biographer Chris Kelsey, Wright "never recorded even a single record under his own name for a major label; he was 'underground' his entire career." In addition to tenor saxophone, Wright also played the soprano saxophone and bass clarinet.
Other Aspects is a collection of previously unreleased jazz recordings by Eric Dolphy made in 1960 and 1964, and released first in 1987 by Blue Note Records. The recordings originated with tapes that Dolphy left with composer Hale Smith and his wife Juanita before leaving for Europe in 1964 to tour with Charles Mingus. Years after Dolphy's death, Smith contacted James Newton, who, after reviewing the material, suggested that Smith get in touch with Blue Note. Newton ended up producing the album.
Sankt Gerold is an album by pianist Paul Bley, bassist Barre Phillips, and saxophonist Evan Parker recorded in 1996 and released on the ECM label in 2000.
Prophecy is a live album by American free jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler recorded in New York City on June 14, 1964 and first released in 1975 on the ESP-Disk label.
Vietnam, also referred to as Vietnam 1 & 2 is a live album by the Revolutionary Ensemble, violinist Leroy Jenkins, bassist Sirone and drummer Jerome Cooper, which was recorded in 1972 and released on the ESP-Disk label.
Lowell Davidson Trio is the debut album by American jazz pianist Lowell Davidson, and the only commercially-available recording issued during his lifetime. It was recorded in 1965, and was released on the ESP-Disk label. The album, which contains five original compositions, features Davidson on piano, along with Gary Peacock on bass and Milford Graves on drums.
The Call is an album by bassist Henry Grimes. It was recorded in December 1965 in New York City, and was released by the ESP-Disk label in 1966. On the album, Grimes is joined by clarinetist Perry Robinson and drummer Tom Price.
Music from the Spheres is an album by saxophonist Sonny Simmons. It was recorded in December 1966, and was released by ESP-Disk in 1968. On the album, Simmons is joined by saxophonist Bert Wilson, trumpeter Barbara Donald, pianist Mike Cohen, bassist Juney Booth, and drummer Jim Zitro.
Skillfulness is an album by multi-instrumentalist Alan Silva. It was recorded in November 1968 in New York City, and was released in 1969 by ESP-Disk. On the album, Silva is joined by flutist Becky Friend, pianist Dave Burrell, pianist and organist Mike Ephron, vibraphonist Karl Berger, and percussionists Lawrence Cooke, Barry Altschul, and Mario Pavone. The recording was made shortly before Silva moved to Europe.
The Complete ESP-Disk Recordings is a two-CD compilation album by saxophonist Frank Wright. Issued by ESP-Disk in 2005, it contains two studio albums released by the label during the 1960s: Frank Wright Trio, recorded in 1965 and issued in 1966, featuring bassist Henry Grimes and drummer Tom Price, and Your Prayer, recorded and released in 1967, featuring saxophone Arthur Jones, trumpeter Jacques Coursil, bassist Steve Tintweiss, and drummer Muhammad Ali. The compilation also features a twelve-part interview with Wright, conducted by ESP-Disk founder Bernard Stollman.
At Judson Hall is a live album by alto saxophonist Noah Howard. It was recorded at Judson Hall in New York City on October 19, 1966, and was released in 1968 by ESP-Disk. On the album, Howard is joined by trumpeter Ric Colbeck, cellist Catherine Norris, pianist Dave Burrell, bassist Norris Jones, and percussionist Robert Kapp.
Norman Howard is a free jazz trumpeter best known for his association with saxophonist Albert Ayler.
Burn Baby Burn is an album by trumpeter Norman Howard and saxophonist Joe Phillips, who are accompanied by bassist Walter Cliff and drummer Corney Millsap. It was recorded in Cleveland, Ohio, in November 1968 as part of a session that was originally intended for release by ESP-Disk as catalogue number 1073. However, the material was shelved until 1989, when some of the tracks were released by Homeboy Music, a label run by British musicologist Roy Morris, on a limited-edition cassette titled Signals. In 1993, Homeboy reissued the contents of Signals, along with additional tracks from the session, on a second cassette called Burn, Baby, Burn. In 2007, ESP-Disk issued eight of the tracks in remastered form on CD as Burn Baby Burn.
