On his seventh Criss Cross date, and second two-trombone pairing with Steve Davis, Conrad Herwig offers a tribute to eight trombone heroes. Joined by the rhythm section with whom Herwig plays regularly in the Mingus Big Band and Mingus Dynasty, pianist Orrin Evans, bassist Boris Kozlov and drummer Donald Edwards, the trombonists navigate from bebop to modal, to Brazilian to Afro-Cuban, playing with invention and joie de vivre.

Trombonist Conrad Herwig continues his spiritual journey here on his fourth Criss Cross release. Long reknown for his work with Slide Hampton's World of Trombones, the Mingus Big Band, Eddie Palmieri and, more recently, Joe Lovano & Tom Harrell, Herwig's trombone playing is bold, brash & unpredictable. Through musical conversations with the wonderful rhythm section of Bill Charlap, James Genus & Gene Jackson, Conrad's new album speaks equally well to his prowess as a leader & composer.

I have always thought orchestra. I play that way, even when playing the piano. - Sun Ra Considering the monumental depth of Sun Ra's recorded oeuvre, there are surprisingly few solo piano albums. Monorails and Satellites Volumes 1 and 2 were the first commercial LPs of the artist's solo keyboard excursions. Recorded in 1966 and released on his Saturn imprint in 1968, Volume 1 featured seven idiosyncratic originals and one standard ("Easy Street") delivered in Sunny's singular manner. Volume 2 was released the following year, and contains five compositions, all originals. A third volume was prepped but shelved, and this deluxe edition marks it's premiere release. As with all Cosmic Myth releases these volumes are superbly mastered, and are available as a deluxe 2xCD or 3xLP tri-gatefold cover with copious liners notes by renown American jazz pianist Vijay Iyer, and additional overviews by jazz historian Ben Young and producer Irwin Chusid.

Two CDs. Sun Ra At The Showcase: Live In Chicago contains previously unissued live recordings of the legendary intergalactic composer/pianist Sun Ra captured live at Joe Segal's Jazz Showcase in Chicago, IL. Between 1976 and 1977. This is an official release on producer Zev Feldman's Jazz Detective record label, in partnership with Elemental Music, and in cooperation with the Sun Ra Trust. Researched and compiled by longtime Sun Ra archivist Michael D. Anderson, and transferred from the original tape reels. Liner notes by James Corbett, and interviews and statements from photographer Hal Rammel, Michael Weiss, Marhall Allen, Thurston Moore, Jack DeJohnette, David Murray, Dave Burrell, Matthew Shipp, Amina Claudine Myers, and Reggie Workman.

COLLEGE TOUR 1: COMPLETE NOTHING IS

\'Released in the early \'90s, Concert for the Comet Kohoutek captures a typically inspired night by Sun Ra & the Intergalactic Space Research Arkestra. Recorded in late 1973, on this date the Arkestra is guided by a musical theme composed around the idea of the Comet Kohoutek, which was passing close to Earth at the time. Typically, the release vaults between cosmic vocal songs that speak of Truth and other such brashly capitalized affairs (such as \'Astro Black\'), almost straight-ahead big-band jazz arrangements (\'Variations of Kohoutek Themes\'), and frighteningly evil free explorations (\'Journey Through the Outer Darkness\').\'-Jesse Jarnow, AMG Digitally remastered by Joe Phillips with brief liner notes by ESP label founder Bernard Stollman.\' Recorded live at Town Hall, NYC, on December 22, 1973.

ETERNITY

After receiving four Grammy nominations for his highly successful series of recordings that "latinize" the music of John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Joe Henderson, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock and Horace Silver, Conrad Herwig turns his attention to the legendary Charles Mingus. An imposing figure in jazz, Mingus was known for being complicated, volatile and a touched-by-genius innovator. As an homage to this influential artist, Conrad Herwig provides a fiery excursion into the world of Afro-Caribbean rhythms skillfully applied to Mingus' wildly imaginative compositions. Joining Herwig is special guest trumpeter Randy Brecker together with long-time "Latin Side" band colleagues pianist Bill O'Connell, reedman Craig Handy and the trumpet/flugelhorn of Alex Sipiagin with the rhythm section of Luques Curtis, Robby Ameen and Camilo Molina. Collectively they bring a vibrant spirit and authority to this repertoire which is unique among today's salsa ensembles. Featured tunes run the gamut from the thoughtful and intimate "Duke Ellington's Sound of Love" to the unbridled joy of "Boogie Stop Shuffle" with the somewhat lop-sided introduction to the opening track, "Gunslinging Bird," being the perfect harbinger of things to come. This latest installment in Conrad Herwig's "Latin Side" series pays tribute to the work of Charles Mingus with progressive arrangements, propulsive rhythms, exciting solos and the consummate musicianship of the leader and his bandmates.

Two CDs. Available for the very first time, the intergalactic icon Sun Ra and his Arkestra's Lights On A Satellite: Live At The Left Bank was recorded on July 23, 1978 at the Famous Ballroom in Baltimore, Maryland by the Left Bank Jazz Society.

The music is both avant-garde and accessible, one of the highpoints of the decade for Sun Ra

Vinyl LP pressing, includes digital download. Alice Coltrane's devotion to spirituality was the central purpose of the final four decades of her life, an often-overlooked awakening that largely took shape during her four-year marriage to John Coltrane and after his 1967 death. By 1983, Alice had established the 48-acre Sai Anantam Ashram outside of Los Angeles. She quietly began recording music from the ashram, releasing it within her spiritual community in the form of private press cassette tapes. Luaka Bop is pleased to present the first-ever compilation of recordings from this period, making these songs available to the wider public for the first time. Entitled World Spirituality Classics, Volume 1: The Ecstatic Music of Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda, the release is the first installment in a planned series of spiritual music from around the globe; curated, compiled and distributed by Luaka Bop.

The young Egyptian soprano Fatma Said, praised for the luminosity and rich colours of her voice, makes her recording debut for Warner Classics with El Nour. Her enticing and absorbing recital programme crosses cultures, combining art songs by French, Spanish and Egyptian composers with Egyptian folk songs and popular songs from the Middle East. As she explains, "'El Nour' in Arabic means 'the light', and this album sheds light on how music that has been interpreted many times can be perceived in a different light. The idea is to connect three cultures - Arabic, French and Spanish - and to show how much, despite cultural, geographical and historical differences, they have in common when it comes to music".

Christina Pluhar states: "Monteverdi's most admirable trait is the enormous diversity of compositional techniques that he masters and interweaves with supreme skill. Our aim in this recording is to bring out the variet� of his secular compositions. The modernity that runs like a constant thread through his pieces and makes his music seem timeless even in the twenty-first century is selfevident if one considers, for example, his use of ostinato basses. Jazz musicians are supposed to have 'invented' the walking bass in the 1940s, but already in Monteverdi we find ostinato basses which diverge from the standard ostinatos of the seventeenth century, that are unique of their kind and sound extremely modern." The BBC Magazine reviews the performance as "technical perfection". The easy informality with each other and the music, with which these pieces are performed, makes for a captivating listen. One of the most exciting Baroque performances to hit the record shelves this year. A Must Listen."

This edition features heavyweight vinyl showcasing the original 1969 BYG Records album, restored & remastered from the original master tapes. It comes in a deluxe gatefold sleeve with a matte laminate finish, along with an insert featuring liner notes by John Masouri. The first of The Art Ensemble of Chicago's renowned trio of albums for BYG's Actuel series now returns in a deluxe, audiophile edition This album is the Art Ensemble's most celebrated release, capturing the American avant-garde jazz collective at their most sensational, provocative, and startlingly original in a historic June 1969 session at Studio Saravah in Paris. Recorded in the aftermath of widespread anti-government protests and student riots, this album showcases what happens when four highly intuitive and accomplished musicians-driven by Black Nationalism and dreams of liberation, and armed with an array of diverse instruments-let their inspiration run free. The tracks on A Jackson in Your House challenge us to view music in a different light-not just as a source of entertainment, but as enlightenment, wonderment born of togetherness, courage, beauty, and surprise, all mixed with terrifying honesty.

Sun Ra's Arkestra was at it's most radical during this period, alternating simple chants with very outside playing and dense ensembles. Although no precise date is given, these five cuts are thought to have been documented circa 1967-1968 by Sun Ra (piano) and his Arkestra in New York City, where the band was in residence at the time. First released for Record Store Day 2014, the title is now available on gold vinyl, pressed at Pallas Group in Germany.

Sun Ra, the extraordinary, outlandish, and sometimes controversial pianist, is often described as an "acquired taste", with a massive and diverse catalog. This release is a good place to start for uninitiated or dismissive listeners. The album showcases Ra's grounding in the jazz tradition, with unique takes on standards like "Time After Time," "Easy to Love," and "But Not for Me". Not unordinary for Sun Ra, the recording process was informal; "Can This Be Love?" was recorded in his Chicago apartment in 1955; he is accompanied only by the great Wilbur Ware on bass. The other five tracks, which feature, among others, Ra's longtime associate John Gilmore on tenor saxophone, were recorded at the Choreographer's Workshop rehearsal space in 1962 and 1963. The album was mastered for vinyl by Dave Gardner at Infrasonic Mastering, and pressed on metallic gold color vinyl at Pallas Group in Germany.

Us is a compilation of rare material from Sun Ra and his Arkestra, drawing from tapes recorded between 1963 and 1970, taken from both live and studio performances. The space-age jazz shaman conjures up a variety of styles and moods along the way. The album has been remastered, and pressed on audiophile-grade vinyl at Pallas in Germany.

Also known as Jazz by Sun Ra, this 1956 LP was the first widely distributed album by this experimental-jazz trailblazer. It took many critics years to fully apprehend the harmonic and rhythmic inventions of Brainville; Transitions; Possession; a Call for All Demons; Street Named Hell, and more!

The Spiritual, a free jazz album recorded by The Art Ensemble of Chicago in 1974, finds the group of stellar musicians at their creative peak. With various types of percussion, though the absence of a traditional drummer, the ensemble is able to create vivid, freeing compositions without the confines of conventional structure. The quartet, consisting of Joseph Jarman, Roscoe Mitchell, Lester Bowie, and Malachi Favors, explore the depths of Avant-Garde Jazz through a means that has yet to be touched on in a comparable capacity. Previously released on red color vinyl exclusively for Record Store Day, The Spiritual will now be widely available on coke bottle clear color vinyl.

Art Ensemble of Chicago "The Sixth Decade - From Paris to Paris" Roscoe Mitchell, Famoudou Don Moye, Roco Co�rdova, Erina Newkirk, Moor Mother, Nicole Mitchell, Hugh Ragin, Simon Sieger, Jean Cook, Eddy Kwon, Tomeka Reid, Brett Carson, Junius Paul, Silvia Bolognesi, Jaribu Shahid, Dudu` Kouate�, Enoch Williamson, Babu Atiba, Doussou Toure�, Steed Cowart

This edition features heavyweight orange vinyl showcasing the original 1969 BYG Records album, restored & remastered from the original master tapes. It comes in a deluxe gatefold sleeve with a matte laminate finish, along with an insert featuring liner notes by John Masouri. The first of The Art Ensemble of Chicago's renowned trio of albums for BYG's Actuel series now returns in a deluxe, audiophile edition This album is the Art Ensemble's most celebrated release, capturing the American avant-garde jazz collective at their most sensational, provocative, and startlingly original in a historic June 1969 session at Studio Saravah in Paris. Recorded in the aftermath of widespread anti-government protests and student riots, this album showcases what happens when four highly intuitive and accomplished musicians-driven by Black Nationalism and dreams of liberation, and armed with an array of diverse instruments-let their inspiration run free. The tracks on A Jackson in Your House challenge us to view music in a different light-not just as a source of entertainment, but as enlightenment, wonderment born of togetherness, courage, beauty, and surprise, all mixed with terrifying honesty.

Art Ensemble of Chicago "The Sixth Decade - From Paris to Paris" Roscoe Mitchell, Famoudou Don Moye, Roco Co�rdova, Erina Newkirk, Moor Mother, Nicole Mitchell, Hugh Ragin, Simon Sieger, Jean Cook, Eddy Kwon, Tomeka Reid, Brett Carson, Junius Paul, Silvia Bolognesi, Jaribu Shahid, Dudu` Kouate�, Enoch Williamson, Babu Atiba, Doussou Toure�, Steed Cowart

Rob Mazurek's latest venture into the universe of sound is the all mighty Pulsar Quartet featuring the magic and power of Angelica Sanchez - piano; the melodic shapes of Matthew Lux - bass; the polyrhythmic galaxies of John Herndon - drums and the solar arcs of Rob Mazurek on cornet. All members of the critically acclaimed Exploding Star Orchestra, the quartet sprays, throws, erupts and caresses 7 new Mazurek compositions that expand upon the idea of melodic freedom within the realm of shifting chromatics, pop-like harmonies, pulling anthems and contrasting pedal points.

Sun Ra's second album was a Delmark release recorded in 1957, although it was originally intended for the Transition label, which did not survive long enough to release it. Personnel: Sun Ra, piano, electric piano; Art Hoyle & Dave Young, trumpets; John Gilmore, tenor sax; Pat Patrick, alto & baritone sax; Jim Herndon, tympani, timbali; Julian Priester, trombone; Charles Davis, baritone sax; Victor Sproles, bass; William Cochran, drums; Clyde Williams, vocals. (Previously deleted:4/1/02. Original release date:1/3/98)

Jazz cornet player Rob Mazurek has created a sound world that is uniquely his own, sculpting a total sound environment, by fully utilizing the beautiful instrumentation of the Exploding Star Orchestra and sounds from a variety of sources, including: rain from the Brazilian Amazon, insects at the turn of an eclipse, the hammering overdrive of bicycles in Copenhagen, stacked muted cornets run through various filters, drones built from electric eels and piano feedback, hi-frequency sinuous lines from tone generators, pitched bass guitars, and other prepared instruments. With Nicole Mitchell, Jason Adasiewicz, Greg Ward, Josh Abrams, Mike Reed. Also on LP; CD has one extended track and one bonus track not on the LP.

PLACES

ROSENSFOLE

NON-COGNITIVE ASPECTS OF THE CITY: LIVE IRIDIUM

ON MEANING

TRAVAIL TRANSFORMATION & FLOW