Archie Shepp is an American jazz saxophonist, educator and playwright who since the 1960s has played a central part in the development of avant-garde jazz.
William Robert Dixon was an American composer and educator. Dixon was one of the seminal figures in free jazz and late twentieth-century contemporary music. His was also a prominent activist for artist's rights and African American music tradition. He played the trumpet, flugelhorn, and piano, often using electronic delay and reverb.
Celebrating Fred Anderson is an album by American jazz saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell, which was recorded live in 2015 at Chicago's Constellation and released on Nessa. For this tribute to saxophonist Fred Anderson, Mitchell assembled a quartet with cellist Tomeka Reid, bassist Junius Paul and drummer Vincent Davis and prepared four original pieces and adaptations of two Fred Anderson compositions, "Bernice" and "Ladies in Love".
Bernard "Beb" Guérin was a French jazz double-bassist.
Sunny Murray, also known as Sunny Murray Quintet, is an album by American free jazz drummer Sunny Murray, his second as a leader. It was recorded in New York City in January, 1966, and released on the ESP-Disk label. The album features Murray on drums along with alto saxophonists Byard Lancaster and Jack Graham, trumpeter Jacques Coursil, and bassist Alan Silva. A remastered version, which includes an interview between Murray and ESP founder Bernard Stollman, was issued by ESP-Disk in 2007.
Big Chief is an album by American free jazz drummer Sunny Murray. It was recorded in Paris in January, 1969, and was originally released on the Pathé label later that year. In 2008, it was reissued on LP by Eremite Records. On the album, Murray is joined by flutist Becky Friend, saxophonists Ronnie Beer and Kenneth Terroade, trumpeter Bernard Vitet, violinist Alan Silva, pianist François Tusques, and bassist Beb Guérin. In addition, poet H. Le Roy Bibbs joins the group on one track.
Homage to Africa is an album by American free jazz drummer Sunny Murray. It was recorded in Paris in August 1969, and released on the BYG Actuel label in 1970. On the album, Murray is joined by saxophonists Roscoe Mitchell, Archie Shepp and Kenneth Terroade, trumpeter Lester Bowie, cornetist Clifford Thornton, trombonist Grachan Moncur III, vocalist Jeanne Lee, pianist Dave Burrell, bassist Alan Silva, and percussionists Malachi Favors, Earl Freeman, and Arthur Jones.
Your Prayer is the second album by saxophonist Frank Wright. It was recorded in May 1967 in New York City and was released by ESP-Disk later that year. On the album, Wright is joined by saxophonist Arthur Jones, trumpeter Jacques Coursil, bassist Steve Tintweiss, and drummer Muhammad Ali. The tracks were reissued in 2005 on the Frank Wright compilation The Complete ESP-Disk Recordings.
Jacques Coursil was a composer, jazz trumpeter, scholar, and professor of literature, linguistics, and philosophy.
Way Ahead is an album by trumpeter and composer Jacques Coursil. It was recorded at Studio Saravah in Paris in July 1969, and was released later that year by BYG Records as part of their Actuel series. On the album, Coursil is joined by saxophonist Arthur Jones, bassist Beb Guérin, and drummer Claude Delcloo.
Black Suite is an album by trumpeter and composer Jacques Coursil. It was recorded in Paris in June 1969, and was released in 1971 by BYG Records as part of their Actuel series. On the album, Coursil is joined by saxophonist Arthur Jones, contrabass clarinetist Anthony Braxton, pianist Burton Greene, bassist Beb Guérin, and drummer Claude Delcloo.
Minimal Brass is an album by trumpeter and composer Jacques Coursil. It was recorded at Fingerlakes Recording in Ithaca, New York in November 2004, and was released in 2005 by Tzadik Records. On the album, Coursil performs fanfares composed of multiple overdubbed parts that employ circular breathing.
Clameurs (Clamors) is an album by trumpeter and composer Jacques Coursil. It was recorded at Fort-de-France in Martinique in the spring and summer of 2006, with additional percussion tracks recorded in Paris and New York City, and was released in 2007 by Universal Music France.
Hostipitality Suite is an album by trumpeter and composer Jacques Coursil. The album, Coursil's last, was recorded at Baillard Studio in 2020, and was pressed on June 26 of that year, the day of his death. It was released on LP later in 2020 by Savvy Records. On the recording, Coursil's trumpet is heard over a synthesized backdrop prepared and arranged by Jeff Baillard. Coursil also recites texts by Jacques Derrida, Emmanuel Levinas, and Édouard Glissant.
Trails of Tears is an album by trumpeter and composer Jacques Coursil. It was recorded during 2007–2009 in Martinique, France, and the United States, and was released in 2010 by Sunnyside Records and Universal Jazz.
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.
Live is a live album by the cooperative jazz ensemble known as The Group, featuring saxophonist Marion Brown, trumpeter Ahmed Abdullah, violinist Billy Bang, bassists Sirone and Fred Hopkins, and drummer Andrew Cyrille. The band's sole release, it was recorded on September 13, 1986, at the Jazz Center of New York in New York City, and was issued on LP and CD by NoBusiness Records in 2012, over 25 years after the concert.
Alarm is a live album by saxophonist Peter Brötzmann. It was recorded on November 12, 1981, at NDR Studio 10 in Hamburg, Germany, during the 164th NDR-Jazzworkshop, and was released in 1983 by FMP/Free Music Production. On the album, Brötzmann is joined by saxophonists Willem Breuker and Frank Wright, trumpeter Toshinori Kondo, trombonists Hannes Bauer and Alan Tomlinson, pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach, bassist Harry Miller, and drummer Louis Moholo. In 2006, the album was reissued on CD by Atavistic Records as part of their Unheard Music Series.
Opium is a compilation album by trumpeter Bill Dixon, trumpeter Franz Koglmann, and saxophonist Steve Lacy. It brings together recordings that were initially issued on the small, obscure Pipe label, founded by Koglmann in 1973, and having a total of three releases in its catalog. Four of the album's tracks were recorded in Vienna in 1973, and originally appeared on the 1973 LP Flaps, credited to Koglmann and Lacy. The remaining tracks, recorded in Paris and Vienna during 1975 and 1976, are from the 1977 LP Opium for Franz, credited to Koglmann and Dixon. Opium was released in 2001 by the German label Between the Lines, and was remastered from copies of the two LPs, as the original tapes had been lost.
Four Days in December was a four-day festival of new jazz music that took place at Judson Hall in New York City. Sponsored by the Jazz Composers Guild, it occurred from December 28–31, 1964, and was the group's most visible event. Along with the October Revolution in Jazz, held two months prior and organized by Bill Dixon, it led to a sense of optimism regarding the possibility of producing concerts via non-traditional means.
