Tompkins Square has gifted the jazz world with a true gem: a smokin’ previously unreleased Mal Waldron solo piano concert from the height of his powers. Waldron, a New York City-born pianist and composer, was known for playing with the likes of John Coltrane, Eric Dolphy and Charles Mingus, as well as being the lastContinue reading “Mal Waldron – Searching In Grenoble: The 1978 Solo Piano Concert”
Tag Archives: free jazz
Aaron Dooley – Trapped in Purgatory
All kosmische and jazz fusion fans need to check out Aaron Dooley’s first official album on Island House Recordings, Trapped in Purgatory. Dooley, of whom RCU regulars may also know from being a member of Osmium House, gathered together a crack team of ace improvisers, armed with a disparate collection of instruments. Then he allowedContinue reading “Aaron Dooley – Trapped in Purgatory”
Seventh Shadow of the Sun – s/t
Every free jazz head out there should get to know the stellar new self-titled album by Seventh Shadow of the Sun. Seventh Shadow of the Sun is a western Maryland-based astral jazz project that defies categorization at every turn. On this record, they combine the mystical presence of spiritual jazz with the cosmic freedom ofContinue reading “Seventh Shadow of the Sun – s/t”
W.BI – III
For a jazz record that is as shadowy as it is mystical, you must seek out III by W.BI. Available now through the wondrous Ramble Records, III is Riccardo Canta (tenor saxophone), Daniele Veronese (drums and percussion) and Alessandro Denti (12 string guitar) blending the ethereal qualities of spiritual jazz with the murky and moreContinue reading “W.BI – III”
Heikki Ruokangas and Simo Laihonen – Joulupuu on rakennettu: Finnish Christmas Songs
For those who want to feel festive, but are tired of hearing the same old Christmas songs that jam the air waves every December, may I suggest the ethereal folk-jazz stylings of Heikki Ruokangas and Sio Laihonen’s Joulupuu on rakennettu: Finnish Christmas Songs. While there are no vocals on this EP, guitarist Ruokangasand percussionist LaihonenContinue reading “Heikki Ruokangas and Simo Laihonen – Joulupuu on rakennettu: Finnish Christmas Songs”
TRAVIS DUO: Jarvis Earnshaw & Trevor Dunn – HYPNAGOGIA
Jarvis Earnshaw and Mr. Bungle’s Trevor Dunn mutate jazz into a wholly new and abstract beast on the wonderfully warped Hypnagogia. On this wild record, Trevor Dunn, who has also played with the likes of Fantômas and John Zorn, utilizes a contrabass to create a solid backdrop of springy notes and groaning drones for JarvisContinue reading “TRAVIS DUO: Jarvis Earnshaw & Trevor Dunn – HYPNAGOGIA”
Luke Stewart & Jarvis Earnshaw Quartet – s/t
If you like your jazz to be mystical, highly atmospheric and transportive, then Luke Stewart and Jarvis Earnshaw Quartet’s self-titled record on No Quarter is the album for you. Recorded in the winter of this year, this record features dense landscapes of unpredictable sounds. The quartet plays as vibrantly and free as possible, utilizing everyContinue reading “Luke Stewart & Jarvis Earnshaw Quartet – s/t”
Tashi Dorji / Ian McColm / Frank Meadows – The Power of Water
Uncompromising, raw and beyond otherworldly, The Power of Water is without a doubt one of the most essential free improv records of 2021. Tashi Dorji (of Kuzu), Ian McColm (of Heart of The Ghost) and Frank Meadows (of The Library of Babel), are each veterans of the DIY avant-garde and free jazz worlds, but thisContinue reading “Tashi Dorji / Ian McColm / Frank Meadows – The Power of Water”
Barry Walker Jr – Shoulda Zenith
2020 has seen quite a few records that could be described as “cosmic country,” but Barry Walker Jr’s Shoulda Zenith might just be the spaciest and wildest of the bunch. A Tennessee native that is currently based out of Portland, Walker takes free jazz, ambient and interstellar rock, and then translates them through pedal steelContinue reading “Barry Walker Jr – Shoulda Zenith”
Elijah McLaughlin Ensemble – s/t
What Alice Coltrane is to the jazz world, Elijah McLaughlin Ensemble is to folk music. The Chicagoan group, which features McLaughlin on 12 and 6 string guitars, harmonium and electronics, Joel Styzens on hammered dulcimer, and Jason Toth on upright bass, blend elements of American primitivism with free jazz and modern classical music together into somethingContinue reading “Elijah McLaughlin Ensemble – s/t”
Record Crates United 