The term "M-Base" is used in several ways. In the 1980s, a loose collective of young African-American musicians including Steve Coleman, Graham Haynes, Cassandra Wilson, Geri Allen, Robin Eubanks, and Greg Osby emerged in Brooklyn with a new sound and specific ideas about creative expression. Using a term coined by Steve Coleman, they called these ideas "M-Base-concept" and critics have used this term to categorize this scene's music as a jazz style. But Coleman stressed "M-Base" doesn't denote a musical style but a way of thinking about creating music. As famous musicians did in the past, he also refuses the word "jazz" as a label for his music and the music tradition represented by musicians like John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Louis Armstrong, etc. However, the musicians of the M-Base movement, which also included dancers and poets, strived for common creative musical languages, so their early recordings show many similarities reflecting their common ideas, the experiences of working together, and their similar cultural background. To label this kind of music, jazz critics have established the word "M-Base" as a jazz style for lack of a better term, distorting its original meaning.
Album Album is a 1984 jazz album by Jack DeJohnette’s Special Edition featuring five compositions by DeJohnette and a cover of Thelonious Monk's "Monk's Mood". A JazzTimes reviewer selected it in 2012 as one of DeJohnette's key albums.
Mark Shim is a jazz tenor saxophonist.
Liberty Ellman is a jazz guitarist born in London and raised in the United States, beginning in New York City. In the early 1980s, Ellman's family moved to California. Before leaving New York, he attended City and Country School in Greenwich Village.
Psalm is the fifth album by Paul Motian to be released on the ECM label. It was released in 1982 and features the first recordings by Motian with Bill Frisell and Joe Lovano, along with Ed Schuller and Billy Drewes.
Special Edition is an album by Jack DeJohnette featuring David Murray, Arthur Blythe and Peter Warren recorded in 1979 released on the ECM label in 1980. The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow states, "The first of Jack DeJohnette's Special Edition ensembles offered a sound that in many ways was revolutionary in modern contemporary and creative improvised music circa 1980... This CD deserves a definitive five-star rating for the lofty place it commands in the evolution of jazz headed toward new heights and horizons". A JazzTimes reviewer selected it in 2012 as one of DeJohnette's key albums.
Audio-Visualscapes is an album by Jack DeJohnette's Special Edition, featuring Greg Osby, Gary Thomas, Mick Goodrick, and Lonnie Plaxico, recorded in 1988 and released on the MCA/Impulse! label. The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow states, "This single-CD from Jack DeJohnette's Special Edition contains music that mixes together advanced hard bop, fusion, M-Base funk and avant-garde jazz... The results are sometimes unsettling but rarely dull, well worth several listens".
Eric Harland is an American jazz drummer.
Five Compositions (Quartet) 1986 is an album by American saxophonist and composer Anthony Braxton recorded in 1986 for the Italian Black Saint label.
Friendly Fire is an album by the American jazz saxophonists Joe Lovano and Greg Osby recorded in 1998 and released on the Blue Note label.
Damion Reid is an American drummer. Critics have praised his "controlled fury" and "microscopically complex beats."
Big Boss Band is the 1990 studio album of George Benson on Warner Bros. featuring the Count Basie Orchestra. This is Benson's second consecutive album which returns to his jazz roots after his successful pop career in the 1980s, and also his debut as sole producer of an album. The genre is mainly big band swing with some Michel Legrand and R&B thrown in.
Banned in New York is a live album by saxophonist Greg Osby recorded at Sweet Basil in New York City in 1997 for the Blue Note label. The album was recorded by Osby on a MiniDisc recorder placed on a table in front of the band.
Karma is the third album by trombonist Robin Eubanks. It was recorded in 1991 and released on the JMT label.
Pariah's Pariah is the tenth album by saxophonist Gary Thomas recorded in 1997 and released on the Winter & Winter label.
In for a Penny, In for a Pound is an album composed by Henry Threadgill for his jazz quintet Zooid, featuring Jose Davila, Liberty Ellman, Christopher Hoffman, and Elliot Humberto Kavee. It was released by Pi Recordings and was awarded the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Music.
Reimagining is an album by American jazz pianist Vijay Iyer, which was recorded in 2004, originally released on the Savoy label and reissued in Europe by Pi Recordings. The follow-up to Blood Sutra, the record features nine Iyer's compositions for his quartet with Rudresh Mahanthappa on alto sax, Stephan Crump on bass and Marcus Gilmore on drums, and a solo piano interpretation of John Lennon's "Imagine".
Ophiuchus Butterfly is an album by jazz guitarist Liberty Ellman, which was recorded in 2005 and released on Pi Recordings. He leads a sextet with Steve Lehman on alto sax, Mark Shim on tenor sax, Jose Davila on tuba, Stephan Crump on bass and Gerald Cleaver on drums.
This Brings Us to Volume 2 is an album by American jazz saxophonist Henry Threadgill with his band Zooid, featuring Jose Davila on trombone and tuba, Liberty Ellman on guitar, Stomu Takeishi on bass guitar, and Elliot Humberto Kavee on drums. It was recorded in 2008 and released on Pi Recordings.
In What Language? is a collaborative studio album by American jazz pianist Vijay Iyer and American hip hop musician Mike Ladd. It was released on Pi Recordings in 2003.
