Ornette Coleman-Friends and Neighbors: Live At Princess Street. Label: BGP. Format: LP. Nowadays, saxophonist, trumpeter, violinist and composer Ornette Coleman is recognised as one of the founding fathers of the free jazz movement. He released his debut album Something Else in 1958 on the Contemporary label. The flowing year, 1959, he released Tomorrow Is the Question! After this, the pioneering musician signed to Atlantic and  later that year, released an album that was akin to a statement of intent. This was She Shape Of Jazz To Come, a unique and innovative album that combined element ..read more

Jon Savage’s 1980-1982-The Art Of Things To Come. Label: Ace Records. Format: CD. In November 2015, Jon Savage’s critically acclaimed book 1966: The Year the Decade Exploded was released. The book told the story of what was one of the most important and influential years in the history of popular music. However, this was just part of the story. To coincide with the release of the book, Ace Records released Jon Savage: 1966-The Year The Decade Exploded. This two CD set was released to plaudits and praise, and turned out to be the first instalment in a year-by-year series which has documented th ..read more

Guerrilla Girls! She-Punks and Beyond 1975-2016. Label: Ace Records. Format: CD. Eclectic describes the twenty-five tracks on Ace Records new compilation Guerrilla Girls! She-Punks and Beyond 1975-2016. This carefully curated compilation features everything from mid-seventies punk pioneers to leftfield post-punk groups, jangly female pop combos grunge bands and vigilante Riot Grrrl groups of the eighties and nineties right through to the she-punk bands that made their presence felt in recent years. Nowadays, the artists and bands on the compilation are regarded as musical trailblazers, who ove ..read more

Space, Energy and Light-Experimental Electronic and Acoustic Soundscapes 1961-88. Label: Soul Jazz Records In 2017, Soul Jazz Records released Space, Energy and Light-Experimental Electronic and Acoustic Soundscapes 1961-88 to widespread critical acclaim. The album quickly sold out and has been out-of-print. Now five years later a new edition of this compilation has just been released. It features fourteen soundscapes that were created by musical pioneers.  The story starts in the early sixties, when a new breed of musicians started creating some of the earliest electronic music. During t ..read more

This Is Flying Dutchman 1969-1975. Label: BGP. Format: CD. Release Date: 24th February 2023. Flying Dutchman was the second record label Bob Thiele founded during what was by then, a long, illustrious and successful career. The first was Signature Records in 1939, when he was just seventeen.  However, Signature Records wasn’t Bob Thiele’s first job in music. His career began when he hosted a jazz radio show. This was just the latest chapter in his long and varied musical career. When Bob Thiele was still a high school student was already an accomplished clarinet player ..read more

Lonnie Liston Smith and The Cosmic Echoes-Renaissance. Label: BGP. Format: LP. Release Date: 26th August 2022. Innovative, influential and way ahead of the musical curve, describes the music of Lonnie Liston Smith, and specially the five albums he recorded with The Cosmic Echoes for Bob Thiele’s Flying Dutchman Productions between 1973 and 1976  This began with Astral Travelling in 1973 with Cosmic Funk followed in 1974. This was just the start. Expansions which followed in 1975 featured Lonnie Liston Smith at the peak of his powers on what was the most successful album of his c ..read more

Lonnie Liston Smith-Live! Label: BGP. Format: CD. Innovative, influential and way ahead of the musical curve describes the music of Lonnie Liston Smith. Especially the music he recorded with The Cosmic Echoes for Bob Thiele’s Flying Dutchman Productions. A total of five groundbreaking albums were released by the label starting with 1973s Astral Travelling. This continued  right through to Reflections Of A Golden Dream in 1976. Later that year, the sixth album album Renaissance was released on RCA Victor who had taken over the label. It was hail ..read more

Jon Savage’s 1977-1979-Symbols Clashing Everywhere. Label: Ace Records. Format: 2CD Set.  Jon Savage’s 1977-1979-Symbols Clashing Everywhere is the seventh instalment in the compliant series he has curated for Ace Records. This long-running series has been released to critical acclaim, and like previous volumes features a truly eclectic collection of tracks. They reflect just what music journalist Jon Savage was listening to during what was an important period in his burgeoning career.  He had been writing small live reviews but in April 1978, while work ..read more

Lonnie Liston Smith and The Cosmic Echoes-Renaissance. Label: BGP. Format: CD. Innovative, influential and way ahead of the musical curve, describes the music of Lonnie Liston Smith, and specially the five albums he recorded with The Cosmic Echoes for Bob Thiele’s Flying Dutchman Productions between 1973 and 1976  This began with Astral Travelling in 1973 with  Cosmic Funk followed in 1974. This was just the start. Expansions which followed in 1975 featured Lonnie Liston Smith at the peak of his powers on what was the most successful album of his career. He had brought onboard h ..read more

Cult Classic: Doug Carn-Infant Eyes. Although Gene Russell and Dick Schory founded Black Jazz Records in 1969, two years passed before the nascent label released its first album. This was Gene Russell’s sophomore album New Direction which was released in 1971. It was the first of twenty albums by a label that was very different from other new indie jazz labels that were being founded across the America. Gene Russell and Dick Schory wanted their new label: “to promote the talents of young African American jazz musicians and singers.” That was only part of the story. Black Jazz Records’ cofounde ..read more