| |
|
Well, seeing that this is my passion when it comes to music....
What ever you do pick up some Eric Dolphy. He's little known compared to his contemporaries like Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Albert Ayler, and Jimmy Lyons, but just as good. Personally he's my favorite musician ever. His Out to Lunch Lp is a jazz great, and essential to any cool jazz collection. It's a mix of Mingus, free playing, and avant garde influences, and undeniably tremendous. The first track destroys me. His live recordings with another underrated player, Booker Little, are all worth obtaining, as well. His Last Date recording is, also, amazing.
Albert Ayler is another sax player worth looking into. He fell into a ferocious free style that incorporated interesting bits of folk melodies, and new orleans big band. One critic likened his
Spiritual Unity LP to someone screaming "fuck" in a cathedral. The amazing free player Sunny Murray plays drums on this recording, as well. Watch out for his later stuff though, because I hear it sinks deeply into R and B fluff.
John Coltrane is, of course, crucial to any jazz collection, especially a '60s new thing collection. His later stuff is my favorite being that it's the most intense and uncompromising. People still haven't generated an album that can compare to Coltrane's duo with Rashied Ali on Interstellar Space. Anything is worth while to pick up by this master.
Rashied Ali went on to form some of his own groups which deserve some attention, as well. Knitting Factory Records out of New York has rereleased some of them, so they should be pretty easy to find. I would recommend Moon Flight as a starting point. His drumming is truly phenomenal, and unlike anything else out there.
Some other great Americans worth while are: Charles Gayle (sax), David S. Ware (Sax), William Parker (bass), Ken Vandermark(reeds), Glenn Spearman (sax), Raphe Malik (trumpet), Cecil Taylor(piano), Charles Mingus(bass/composer), and many many more.
Moving on to Europe: I would recommend Peter Brotzmann's Machine Gun, and Fuck De Boere Cd's. Machine Gun is still the most noisy, and powerful cd I own, and has become and infamous listening experience among my friends. I would also recommend Peter Kowald, the bassist on Machine Gun. His technique is flawless, and his sound is completely off the wall. Check out Was Das Ist or Duo's Cds. Some other Europeans worthing checking out are: Fred Van Hove (free piano), AMM (three piece improv that redefines the boundries of jazz), Evan Parker(woodwinds), Derek Baily(Guitar), Marylin Crispell(piano), Gerry Hemingway(drums), Keith Rowe (guitarist for AMM and collaborater with noise outfits worldwide)and Alexander Von Schlippenbach (composer for Globe Unity Orchestra, and all around amazing pianist).
Most of these recommendations are geared to the more adventerous listener and this is only the tip of the iceburg. I would like to write more but I've got to go. Check out Thurston Moore's top ten free jazz Lp's at: http://www.evol.org/free.jazz.html
[ 24-12-2001: Message edited by: Locustcrashsthorax ] |
|
|
