PolyTropoi / Of Many Turns is the highly-anticipated new release from influential saxophonist / composer Steve Coleman. Comprised of two live sets recorded during a tour in France, it features his band Five Elements, with long-running partners Jonathan Finlayson on trumpet and Sean Rickman on drums, with new addition Rich Brown on bass. Popmatters said of his 2021 release Live at the Village Vanguard, Volume II (Mdw Ntr) "The tides of his creativity continue to swell, change, surge... It is, actually, a refraction of culture and tradition that includes James Brown and Public Enemy, Jimi Hendrix and Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Kanye West. It's art infused with all that information, and it challenges us simultaneously." Recorded in concert in Paris and Voiron, the performances are raw, relying on spontaneous conversions of rhythmic and tonal shapes that weave musical figures into continuous movements. A highly visual composer and improvisor, Coleman has recently drawn inspiration from following the logical chains of amino acids, inventively imbuing them with musical information. Acting on their collective, mysterious whim, the band takes the audience through exhilarating pivots and swerves based on some secret, enigmatic internal logic. It is collective improvisation of the highest order.
The 5th album in the Smalls Living Masters series finds tenor titan George Coleman in the company of pianist Spike Wilner, bassist Peter Washington and drummer Joe Farnsworth in the intimate confines of Smalls Jazz Club. In the words of George Coleman "this record is a tribute to our great city and all of our great fans." Coleman is on fire and sound better than ever!
Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds Series presents this 180-gram LP edition of Ornette Coleman's second album Tomorrow Is The Question!. First released in 1959 and recorded by legendary engineer Roy DuNann, the album also features Don Cherry, Percy Heath, Shelly Manne and Red Mitchell. This new edition features ALL-ANALOG mastering from the original analog tapes by Bernie Grundman and is pressed at QRP and presented in a tip-on jacket.
Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. Recorded in 1962, Cole Hawkins Quartet featuring Tommy Flanagan (piano), Major Holley (bass) and Eddie Locke (drums) puts forth an easily palatable selection of repertoire, with up-tempo moments like "Go Li'l Liza," and "Swingin' Scotch," alongside a trio of ballads including Quincy Jones' "Quintessence."
Vinyl LP pressing. Improvisational sax giant Ornette Coleman was one of the principal founders of free jazz. Recorded in Copenhagen on 30 November 1965, Live at the Tivoli finds an unfettered Coleman blowing fiery peaks as drummer Charles Moffett and bassist David Izenzon provide an inobtrusive backing, Moffett locking into the groove on "Lonely Woman" and Izenzon offering a meandering melody on "Clergyman's Dream." Moffett's fine solo shows what he's made of on "Sadness," and on "Falling Stars," Coleman wreaks havoc on violin before blowing blue shades on the trumpet. Another excellent Ornette Coleman listening experience!
Earl Coleman - Early Years: The Collection 1946-56 / Earl Coleman was one of a coterie of fine African-American jazz and R&B crooners who came to the fore during the post-war era, and which included Nat King Cole, Billy Eckstine, Johnny Hartman, and later examples like Brook Benton. Unlike some of those artists, however, his career never quite scaled the heights that his talent promised or merited, although he made some excellent records with notable artists along the way. This 2-CD collection comprises as many of his recordings we could amass - he was not a prolific recording artist, and some of his sides are hard to locate, and his work has not been very thoroughly compiled over the years. It features a significant proportion of his studio recordings during this era, both on singles for the Dial, Atlantic, Mercury, Jade and Prestige labels, and albums, including the titles from his album for the Prestige label "Earl Coleman Returns" and his performances with the Sonny Rollins Quartet for the Rollins' album "Tour de Force". Other notable bandleaders and musicians featured in the recordings are Miles Davis, Gene Ammons, Charlie Parker, Erroll Garner, Milt Jackson, Red Callender, Howard McGhee, Percy Heath, Kenny Clarke, Junior Mance, Linton Garner, Fats Navarro, Art Farmer, Gigi Gryce, Hank Jones, Oscar Pettiford, Sonny Rollins, Max Roach and other noted musicians. The willingness of those stars to invite him to record with them underlines the respect in which he was held. It's a collection which offers a rare showcase for a stylish performer who should have had much more success and recognition than he enjoyed over the years.
Learning by doing: In the eighties Stefan Winter volunteered for a record company to learn autodidactically the profession as music producer. At the time a demo tape of the young Steve Coleman arrived, nobody showed any interest. During Stefan Winter's first stay in New York City (1984) he jumped at the opportunity and offered Steve Coleman a record deal. This was the hour of birth of the debut recording with the core musicians of the later named "M-Base Collective" and at the same time of the label JMT (Jazz Music Today). Right after the first record Winter started working with Greg Osby, Cassandra Wilson, Robin Eubanks, Gary Thomas, Gery Allen and many others like Kelvin Bell, Kevin Bruce Harris, Marvin "Smitty" Smith and Terri Lyne Carrington. It is historical certainty that these works were recorded mainly in the eighties, but as a listener one can hardly believe it. Each album offers a new inspiring approach to making music which is still characteristic today. Listen to the "M-Base" not to rest on tradition, but to see these artists experience as a sound basis for the future. This compilation is the second release in the Winter & Winter Jubilee Edition, celebrating the labels' 30th anniversary.
Ornette Coleman -"Something Else!!!! (Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds Series)" - Originally released in 1958 and recorded by legendary engineer Roy DuNann, Ornette Coleman's debut album Something Else!!!! introduced the world to his innovative style and features his band of Don Cherry, Walter Norris, Don Payne and Billy Higgins. Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds Series features all-analog mastering from the original tapes by Bernie Grundman and is pressed on 180-gram vinyl in a tip-on jacket at QRP.
ORNETTE COLEMAN - GENESIS OF GENIUS: THE CONTEMPORARY ALBUMS - Genesis of Genius: The Contemporary Albums combines legendary jazz saxophonist Ornette Coleman's albums for Lester Koenig's Contemporary Records. It features his first albums as a bandleader - Something Else!!!! and Tomorrow Is the Question! - both of which were originally recorded by legendary engineer Roy DuNann and have been newly mastered by Bernie Grundman. 2 CD Digipak box set includes a 32-page booklet with photos and extensive liner notes by GRAMMY-winning music historian Ashley Kahn.
