The Free Jazz Thread

[user_60]

Wherein people tell me their favourite free jazz albums.

Realistically, I don't think I could list my all-time favourite or anything, but off the top of my head, here are some favourites, sticking to albums that may be somewhat lesser known (in general, maybe not around this board):

Marion Brown - Why Not?
Matthew Shipp/William Parker - DNA
Roscoe Mitchell - Sounds
Wadada Leo Smith - Reflectativity
Tom Cora - Gumption in Limbo
Susie Ibarra Trio - Songbird Suite

[user_3]

Matthew Shipp/William Parker - DNA

I don't know much free jazz, but I love this record.
Also, anything Flaherty/Corsano and most Brotzmann that I've heard.

[franz bieberkopf]

John Coltrane's Olatunji concert has got to be one of the coolest live sets i've ever heard... it is the sound of a supernova going off on stage, right before your ears...

[user_140]

Peter Brotzmann - Machine Gun, Stone Water, numerous others
Albert Ayler - Spirits Rejoice
Brotherhood of Breath - Live at Willisau
Chris McGregor - Blue Notes For Mongezi
William Parker, In Order to Survive - The Peach Orchard
John Coltrane - Live In Japan
Die Like a Dog Quartet - Little Birds Have Fast Hearts
Sun Ra - Other Planes of There, Strange Strings, numerous others
Arthur Doyle Quartet - Live at the Cooler
Rudiger Carl - COWWS (not sure how 'free' this is...)
Joe McPhee - Nation Time
Looking (Berlin Version) - Corona
Derek Bailey, et. al. - Aida's Call
David S. Ware - Tao
Haaz & Co. - Unlawful Noise
Frank Lowe - Black Beings
Frank Wright Trio - s/t

THere are more, but that's a good start.

[jon abbey]

Noah Howard-The Black Ark is a good one.

[dolzenko]

Albert Ayler - Live in Greenwich Village
Sun Ra - "Sun Ra & His Cosmo Discipline Arkestra" (i have this in mp3, it's Germany live, about 1985)

It seems that your favorite are more from modern free jazz, God's are not listed, why?

[user_60]

Albert Ayler - Live in Greenwich Village
Sun Ra - "Sun Ra & His Cosmo Discipline Arkestra" (i have this in mp3, it's Germany live, about 1985)

It seems that your favorite are more from modern free jazz, God's are not listed, why?

I was just trying to list somewhat lesser known albums. Most of my exposure to the giants consists primarily of albums that most peopel around here would know already, I think. But certainly Coltrane, Ayler, Shepp, et al. are some of my most cherished musicians.

[user_17]

anything Flaherty/Corsano

i'll second that. i especially like the trio thing they did with greg kelley.

[user_234]

Art Ensemble of Chicago - Baptizm
Haaz & Co - unlawful noise
Don Cherry - Mu
Albert Ayler - @ Slug's Saloon 5.1.66
Pharoah Sanders - Black Unity
Brotzmann - Machine Gun
Arthur Doyle Plus 4 - Alabama Feeling
Flaherty / Corsano - the hated music
Mt Everest Trio - Waves from Albert Ayler

[user_140]

Oh yeah! I 2nd the Noah Howard and Alabama Feeling

Also:

Milford Graves - Babi
Sunny Murray - Sunny's Time Now
FJF - Blow Horn
CHarles Gayle - More Live at the KNitting Factory
Matthew Shipp Quartet - Critical Mass
Charles Tyler Ensemble - s/t
GUnter Hampel Group - Music From Europe
New York Eye & Ear Control - s/t

Also, not just anything Flaherty/Corsano. Pretty much anything Flaherty/anybody is pretty formidable. His duos with Randall Colbourne are awe-inspiring, and the various trios, 4tets, etc. they did with other performers are amazing too. I'm particularly fond of their sessions with Richard Downs on bass and tuba (or sousaphone).

[user_83]

Eric Dolphy - Out to Lunch
Peter Brotzmann - Machine Gun
Cecil Taylor - Unit Structures
John Coltrane - A Love Supreme
Ornette Coleman - Shape Of Jazz to Come

Those are my top 5, I still have a lot to hear in this amazing genre though...

[user_109]

Albert Ayler - Music is the Healing Force of the Universe
Ayler - Live in Greenwich Village
Art Ensemble of Chicago - Bap-tizum
Peter Brotzmann - Machine Gun
Pharoah Sanders - Thembi
Ground Zero - Plays Standards (this counts in my book)
Anthony Braxton - 3 Compositions of New Jazz
Sonny Sharrock - Ask the Ages

[user_109]

Oh, and Ascension. Duh.

There's a lot of Sun Ra that would make my list, but most of his records have too much traditional structure to qualify as free jazz.

[user_3]

Also, not just anything Flaherty/Corsano. Pretty much anything Flaherty/anybody is pretty formidable. His duos with Randall Colbourne are awe-inspiring, and the various trios, 4tets, etc. they did with other performers are amazing too. I'm particularly fond of their sessions with Richard Downs on bass and tuba (or sousaphone).

They always have the Flaherty/Colbourne stuff at Twisted Village, but there's a bunch so I wasn't sure what to get. Also, the covers for most of them are pretty ugly. (Including Sannyassi and Live at Tonic). Any good one to start with?

edit: Oh! and just plain Flaherty, too. Voices is a lot more listenable than I ever thought an hour + of solo free sax honking could be.

[user_17]

edit: Oh! and just plain Flaherty, too. Voices is a lot more listenable than I ever thought an hour + of solo free sax honking could be.

i've wanted to hear that for a while, but i'm poor and no one has it out on slsk.

[user_3]

edit: Oh! and just plain Flaherty, too. Voices is a lot more listenable than I ever thought an hour + of solo free sax honking could be.

i've wanted to hear that for a while, but i'm poor and no one has it out on slsk.

Whats yr SLSK name again? I can hop on now.

[user_17]

edit: Oh! and just plain Flaherty, too. Voices is a lot more listenable than I ever thought an hour + of solo free sax honking could be.

i've wanted to hear that for a while, but i'm poor and no one has it out on slsk.

Whats yr SLSK name again? I can hop on now.

Matty G

[faster]

Marion Brown - Afternoon of a Georgia Fawn
Art Ensemble of Chicago - Baptizm
Braxton - 5 Pieces 1975
Milford Graves - Stories

Haven't heard any of these in a while, and the Brown is above the rest for "sentimental" reasons.

[grisha]

trying to keep it more or less 'jazz' and one per musician (stuff not mentioned):

dave holland - conference of the birds
ornette coleman - at the golden circle I & II
lacy/rudd/carter/harris - trickles
jazz group arkhangesk - portrait
ama jazz - in one breath
the ganelin trio - ancora da capo
sergey kuryokhin - ways of freedom
anatoly vapirov - forgotten ritual
john coltrane - interstellar space
jemeel moondoc - revolt of the negro lawn jockeys
bill dixon - vade mecum ii
francois tusques - 1965, free jazz
floridis/kowald/sommer - aphorisms
icp orchestra - oh, my dog
sam rivers - trio live
kaoru abe/motoharu yoshizawa - nord - duo '75
sonny sharrock - ask the ages
tony bevan/jeb bishop/john edwards/michael zerang - 'nham
zentralquartett - s/t
joe manery quartet - in full cry
don cherry - eternal rhythm
gianluca petrella - x-ray
michel portal - alors!!!

sharrock obviously has records that are 'freer' than "ask the ages", but i just can't pick any of them over this one. "conference of the birds" is a masterpiece. and how exactly did "interstellar space" escape this thread?
probably forgot something. i'm not very knowledgeable, really.

[faster]

oh, I still listen to Bill Dixon (tm)'s "Dixon in Italy" a couple times a year (usually while getting lucky or reading), and I like "Conquistador" best of Cecil Taylor's cds, partly because of the Dixon solo.