Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser", "Ruby, My Dear", "In Walked Bud", and "Well, You Needn't". Monk is the second-most-recorded jazz composer after Duke Ellington.
Louis Tebogo Moholo, is a South African jazz drummer. He has been a member of several notable bands, including The Blue Notes, the Brotherhood of Breath and Assagai.
John Martin Tchicai was a Danish free jazz saxophonist and composer.
Roswell Hopkins Rudd Jr. was an American jazz trombonist and composer.
Michael Mantler is an Austrian avant-garde jazz trumpeter and composer of contemporary music.
The New York Art Quartet was a free jazz ensemble, originally made up of saxophonist John Tchicai, trombonist Roswell Rudd, drummer Milford Graves and bassist Lewis Worrell, that came into existence in 1964 in New York City. Worrell was later replaced by various other bassists, including Reggie Workman, Finn Von Eyben, Harold Dodson, Eddie Gómez, Steve Swallow, and Buell Neidlinger. All About Jazz reviewer Clifford Allen wrote that the group "cut some of the most powerful music in the free jazz underground".
Niels Lan Doky is a Danish jazz pianist, composer and producer. He is the older brother of jazz bassist Chris Minh Doky.
Jazzhus Montmartre is a jazz club in Copenhagen, Denmark. Many jazz musicians, including Dexter Gordon, Stan Getz, and Chet Baker, have performed there. It is sometimes called Cafe Montmartre. The Montmartre was located first in Dahlerupsgade, then from 1961 on Store Regnegade, and since 1976 at Nørregade 41 before closing down in 1995. In May 2010, it reopened at Store Regnegade 19A by media executive and entrepreneur Rune Bech and jazz pianist Niels Lan Doky, who was later replaced as music director by saxophonist Benjamin Koppel and then jazz publisher Christian Brorsen. In 2016, Swedish jazz pianist Jan Lundgren was appointed artistic director.
J.C. Moses was an American jazz drummer.
The New York Contemporary Five was an avant-garde jazz ensemble active from the summer of 1963 to the spring of 1964. It has been described as "a particularly noteworthy group during its year of existence -- a pioneering avant-garde combo" and "a group which, despite its... short lease on life, has considerable historical significance." Author Bill Shoemaker wrote that the NYCF was "one of the more consequential ensembles of the early 1960s." John Garratt described them as "a meteor that streaked by too fast."
Archie Shepp & the New York Contemporary Five is a live album by the New York Contemporary Five recorded at the Jazzhus Montmartre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on November 15, 1963, and featuring saxophonists Archie Shepp and John Tchicai, trumpeter Don Cherry, bassist Don Moore and drummer J. C. Moses. The album was originally released on the Sonet label in 1964 as New York Contemporary 5 in two separate volumes on LP and later as an edited concert on a single CD, removing the track "Cisum."
Danish jazz dates back to 1923 when Valdemar Eiberg formed a jazz orchestra and recorded what are thought to be the first Danish jazz records in August 1924. However, jazz in Denmark is typically first dated to 1925, when bandleader Sam Wooding toured in Copenhagen with an orchestra. This was the first time most Danes had heard jazz music. Some prominent early Danish jazz musicians include Erik Tuxen who formed a jazz band and was later named conductor of the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra; Bernhard Christensen, an art music composer who incorporated jazz elements into his pieces, and Sven Møller Kristensen, who was the lyricist for many of Bernhard Christensen's pieces and who wrote a book on jazz theory in Danish.
Art Pepper with Duke Jordan in Copenhagen 1981 is a live album by saxophonist Art Pepper and pianist Duke Jordan recorded in 1981 at the Jazzhus Montmartre by Danmarks Radio and released on the Galaxy label as a double CD in 1996.
Lewis Worrell is a jazz double bassist best known for his work during the 1960s with Albert Ayler, the New York Art Quartet, Roswell Rudd, and Archie Shepp.
New York Art Quartet is the debut album by the group of the same name. It was recorded on November 26, 1964, at Bell Sound Studios in New York City, and was released in 1965 by ESP-Disk as the fourth item in their catalog, following Albert Ayler's Spiritual Unity and Pharoah Sanders's Pharoah's First. It features John Tchicai on alto saxophone, Roswell Rudd on trombone, Lewis Worrell on bass, and Milford Graves on percussion. In addition, LeRoi Jones recites his controversial poem "Black Dada Nihilismus" on one track.
Mohawk is the second album by the New York Art Quartet. It was recorded by Rudy Van Gelder on July 16, 1965, in New York City, and was released later that year by Fontana Records. It features John Tchicai on alto saxophone, Roswell Rudd on trombone, Reggie Workman on bass, and Milford Graves on percussion.
35th Reunion is the third album by the New York Art Quartet. It was recorded at Avatar Studios in New York City on June 14, 1999, and was released in 2000 by DIW Records. It features John Tchicai on alto saxophone, Roswell Rudd on trombone, Reggie Workman on bass, and Milford Graves on percussion. Amiri Baraka, whose poem "Black Dada Nihilismus" was included on the group's debut album, also appears.
Roswell Rudd is a live album by the trombonist Roswell Rudd, the first recording under his name. It was recorded in November 1965 in Hilversum, Netherlands, and was released by America Records in 1971. On the album, Rudd is joined by saxophonist John Tchicai, bassist Finn Von Eyben, and drummer Louis Moholo.
Call It Art is an album by the New York Art Quartet. It contains previously unissued live and studio tracks recorded in 1964 and 1965, and was released in limited quantities as a five-LP box set by Triple Point Records in 2013. The album includes a 156-page clothbound book containing liner notes by Ben Young, photos, reproductions of manuscripts, and a complete history and itinerary of the group, housed in a custom wooden box. Musicians featured on the album are saxophonist John Tchicai, trombonist Roswell Rudd, bassists Bob Cunningham, Don Moore, Eddie Gómez, Lewis Worrell, and Reggie Workman, and drummers J. C. Moses and Milford Graves. Trumpeter Alan Shorter appears on several tracks, and Amiri Baraka also makes a guest appearance.
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.
