Record Reviews

BILL DIXON ~ THE COMPLETE REMASTERED RECORDINGS ON BLACK SAINT & SOUL NOTE CAM JAZZ 1009 (Barcode: 8024709115621) ~ USA ~ Jazz Recorded: 1980 - 1998 Released: 2010 This superb Box Set collects all the albums recorded by the legendary American trumpeter / composer Bill DixonFind albums by this artist on the twin Italian independent labels: Black SaintFind albums on this label and Soul NoteFind albums on this label. Dixon needs no introduction to any serious Jazz connoisseur; suffice to say that his output until his death in 2010 epitomizes the idioms of Free Jazz / improvised Music and places him among the leaders of the genre. The music ranges in format from septet to duets with British drummer Tony OxleyFind albums by this artist. Other musicians playing on these nine albums include: trumpeters Arthur BrooksFind albums by this artist and Stephen HaynesFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Stephen HorensteinFind albums by this artist, bassists Alan SilvaFind albums by this artist, Mario PavoneFind albums by this artist, William ParkerFind albums by this artist and British bassist Barry GuyFind albums by this artist (Silva and Pavone / Guy and Parker play as double-bass section), drummers Laurence CookFind albums by this artist and Tony Oxley and others. Remastered, mini-sleeved, and with a great bargain price – this Box Set an absolute must for any serious Jazz collector. Side Note The Italian independent record label Black SaintFind albums on this label was founded by the music critic / author / producer Giacomo PellicciottiFind albums by this artist in 1975. It was taken over by the producer Giovanni BonandriniFind albums by this artist in 1978 and a year later (1979) a sister label, called Soul NoteFind albums on this label, was established. The twin labels were run by Giovanni and later his son Flavio BonandriniFind albums by this artist, until they were sold in 2008 to the Italian KEPACH Music Group, which already owned the CAM JazzFind albums on this label label, and which also bought another Italian independent record label Dischi Della QuerciaFind albums on this label. The mission of the Black Saint / Soul Note labels was to record and document the Free Jazz / Improvised Music / Avant-Garde scene, mostly from the US but also from Europe, which continued between mid 1970s and late 1990s and produced a staggering collection of almost 550 albums recorded by world's most important Jazz innovators active at the time, providing an opportunity to American (mostly Afro-American) musicians, who would have never managed to make these recordings at home, ridden by racism, alienation and closed-mindedness. Without these two labels most of this fantastic human creativity would have been never documented. However, the Black Saint / Soul Note Box Sets produced under the CAM JazzFind albums on this label moniker are an archetypal example of how good intentions turn sour. Although these new editions often bring back to life some of the best music ever made on this planet, which in many cases has been lost in the tides of time and was unavailable on the market for ages, they suffer from an unforgivable disregard to the essence of cultural values and general sloppiness, contrary to human decency, which requires us to treat our cultural legacy with respect and loyalty. These Box Sets have no booklet which presents researched historical background and exact discographical information of the albums included, and most importantly an overview of the music and its meaning and contribution to the Jazz Art form. Although the original LP sleeves are reproduced, the information is in most cases too small to be readable at all. In short the fact that these Box Sets are meant to be inexpensive, does not mean that they have to be cheap!

Updated: 12/04/2020Posted:

CD 9 Mini-Sleeve Box Set Remastered Recommend To A Friend

ANDREW HILL ~ THE COMPLETE REMASTERED RECORDINGS ON BLACK SAINT & SOUL NOTE CAM JAZZ 1039 (Barcode: 8052405141866) ~ USA ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 1980 - 1986 Released: 2015 This superb Box Set collects recordings by the legendary American pianist / composer Andrew HillFind albums by this artist released on the Black SaintFind albums on this label and Soul NoteFind albums on this label labels. It includes four albums, two of which are solo piano recordings: "Faces Of HopeFind albums with this title" and "Verona RagFind albums with this title". The album "Strange SerenadeFind albums with this title" was recorded in a trio setting with bassist Alan SilvaFind albums by this artist and drummer Freddie WaitsFind albums by this artist. The album "ShadesFind albums with this title" was recorded in a trio / quartet setting with saxophonist Clifford JordanFind albums by this artist, bassist Rufus ReidFind albums by this artist and drummer Ben RileyFind albums by this artist. Most of the music was composed by Hill. Hill is best known from a long stream of albums released on the Blue NoteFind albums on this label label in the 1960s, recorded with the top American players at the time, which show his brilliant technique and superb compositional talent. Later on Hill moved out of the Bebop and Post-bop traditions into more adventurous explorations, playing almost exclusively his own compositions, as documented on the albums included in this Box Set. The music is still absolutely fresh and shows why Hill was so influential to generations of Jazz piano players and composers. This is definitely an important document of the American Free Jazz movement, which deserves to be preserved for posterity and which should serve as a source if inspiration to the young generation of contemporary Free Jazz artists. Side Note The Italian independent record label Black SaintFind albums on this label was founded by the music critic / author / producer Giacomo PellicciottiFind albums by this artist in 1975. It was taken over by the producer Giovanni BonandriniFind albums by this artist in 1978 and a year later (1979) a sister label, called Soul NoteFind albums on this label, was established. The twin labels were run by Giovanni and later his son Flavio BonandriniFind albums by this artist, until they were sold in 2008 to the Italian KEPACH Music Group, which already owned the CAM JazzFind albums on this label label, and which also bought another Italian independent record label Dischi Della QuerciaFind albums on this label. The mission of the Black Saint / Soul Note labels was to record and document the Free Jazz / Improvised Music / Avant-Garde scene, mostly from the US but also from Europe, which continued between mid 1970s and late 1990s and produced a staggering collection of almost 550 albums recorded by world's most important Jazz innovators active at the time, providing an opportunity to American (mostly Afro-American) musicians, who would have never managed to make these recordings at home, ridden by racism, alienation and closed-mindedness. Without these two labels most of this fantastic human creativity would have been never documented. However, the Black Saint / Soul Note Box Sets produced under the CAM JazzFind albums on this label moniker are an archetypal example of how good intentions turn sour. Although these new editions often bring back to life some of the best music ever made on this planet, which in many cases has been lost in the tides of time and was unavailable on the market for ages, they suffer from an unforgivable disregard to the essence of cultural values and general sloppiness, contrary to human decency, which requires us to treat our cultural legacy with respect and loyalty. These Box Sets have no booklet which presents researched historical background and exact discographical information of the albums included, and most importantly an overview of the music and its meaning and contribution to the Jazz Art form. Although the original LP sleeves are reproduced, the information is in most cases too small to be readable at all. In short the fact that these Box Sets are meant to be inexpensive, does not mean that they have to be cheap!

Updated: 01/05/2020Posted: 01/05/2020

CD 4 Mini-Sleeve Box Set Remastered Recommend To A Friend

SUN RA / INTERGALACTIC RESEARCH ARKESTRA ~ IT`S AFTER THE END OF THE WORLD MPS 4029759097440 (Barcode: 4029759097440) ~ USA ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 1970 Released: 2014 This is a reissue of a little known album by American keyboardist / composer / bandleader Sun RaFind albums by this artist, one of the most idiosyncratic, prophetic and theatrical personalities which populated the Jazz Planet (Earth or elsewhere). The album was recorded live in Germany during the 1970 Donaueschingen and Berlin Festivals for the MPSFind albums on this label label and produced by Joachim BerendtFind albums by this artist. It presents five tracks, all of which are original composition by Sun Ra, which are performed by an orchestra which includes twenty one additional players. Some of the more familiar names of the orchestra members include among others saxophonists John GilmoreFind albums by this artist and Marshall AllenFind albums by this artist, bassist Alan SilvaFind albums by this artist, and drummer Lex HumphriesFind albums by this artist. The music, although pre-conceived and structured, is mostly freely improvised by the orchestra members, who play lengthy solos and engage in group improvisations. It is very dramatic and of course creates a kind of "space" ambience, which seems to be unattached to anything "earthly". I have seen and heard Sun Ra live many times over the years and this recording presents him at his most experimental stage of his musical "philosophy", which in many respects was also the most fascinating in retrospect. If we ignore the hype and theatrics, this is one of the earliest examples of large scale collective improvisations, and as such is an important historic document of the development of Jazz and Improvised Music. The fact that these German festivals welcomed this extravagant music documents the openness and spirit of exploration that characterized the European Jazz scene at the time, often accepting American Jazz musicians, who were personae non gratae in their homeland. This forgotten little gem is definitely worth being discovered! Side Note The legendary German MPSFind albums on this label (Musik Produktion Schwarzwald) label, founded by Hans Georg Brunner-SchwerFind albums by this artist (HGBS) in 1963, first as SABAFind albums on this label Records and later on from 1968 as MPS Records, was the most important independent European record label, which had an enormous contribution to the development of European Jazz. For many years MPS cooperated with the legendary German producer / author Joachim BerendtFind albums by this artist, my Friend and Mentor, whose visionary approach and open-mindedness brought the crème de la crème of the Jazz (in the broadest meaning of the word) musicians from all over the world to the label. Between 1963 and 1983 MPS produced about five hundred albums, many of which are among the most important Jazz recordings on this planet. In 1983 the MPS catalog was sold to UniversalFind albums on this label, which sadly resulted in all those artistic treasures to almost disappear from the face of the earth – a situation not only tragic but culturally criminal. Universal reissued a part of the MPS albums (probably 128 titles) on CD between 1999 and 2011 under the "Most Perfect Sound Edition" moniker. Since 2008 the German Promising MusicFind albums on this label label released some of the MPS recordings, but at a very slow pace. In 2014 the German company Edel AG bought the MPS catalogue from Universal and released a series of 25 MPS albums on CD with a new slipcase graphic design, which brought all those excellent albums back to life. In 2015 Edel AG started to record and release new albums under the MPS moniker. In 2016 Edel AG released a series of 10 classic MPS albums on CD, which were beautifully remastered and re-packaged, presenting the original artwork and liner notes, as well as new liner notes and photographs. An obvious labor of love, these reissues are what the MPS catalogue truly deserves. This project was continued in 2017 with another series of 10 classic MPS albums released on CD. In later years some new reissues were released sporadically. Over the years many SABA / MPS albums were reissued in Japan, which is often the only available source for these albums today, but that is a story in itself.

Updated: 27/05/2018Posted: 27/05/2016

CD 1 Slipcase Remastered Recommend To A Friend