Free Jazz

I’ve tried pretty hard to get into jazz, even taking a jazz history class in college but I’ve never been able to get into more than Kind of Blue, Bitches Brew and A tribute to Jack Johnson. I also have always had a lot of respect for John Coltrane’s Interstellar Space but I’m recently really listening to free jazz. I somehow suddenly understood how to listen to it. I think getting into Metal may have led to me understanding how to listen to free jazz.

I thought it would make a good thread and also selfishly would love seeing recommendations.

Please post a link to music somewhere, vis it YouTube or bandcamp or whatever (bandcamp is better than YouTube because it won’t get taken down)

saying something about it is a plus but not necessary.

I’ll start with this live recording I posted in my music blog of Milford Graves and John Zorn. Two insanely gifted musicians. What they are able to get out of their instruments is mind blowing.

 

It is nice to see this separated out, but also take a look here; there are a lot of great free jazz recommendations.

It sounds like you are into horn and drum free jazz duos. These are my favorites lately.

Basically, delve into anything by Wadada Leo Smith.



https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lr5HvUOuoDKVdKaVszttfjVpNW-U-2G6c

Also check out anything by Charles Lloyd



Dewey Redman (Joshua Redman’s Dad) and Ed Blackwell


You’ve already found John Zorn, here is a great primer

I would also check out https://jazztrail.net/

My personal journey into Free Jazz started with the Vandermark 5.
Check out their Free Jazz Classics albums



Also search for posts in Jazz Nuts thread by @earnmyturns he is the Smartest Friend

 

I like the fire-breathing, skronky free stuff a lot, and it's interesting to hear you compare it to metal. There's a shared visceral or aggressive quality there, and a similar interest in pushing harmony/melody/rhythm to the limits of what we consider "music." I'd argue that free jazz comes out of a spiritual/mystical impulse and the desire for transcendence (Coltrane's Ascension, for example), whereas metal privileges a kind of sheer, physical catharsis. Both are totally valid, but it's the searching quality of jazz that most connects with me.

I also like improvised music that flirts with free without going fully into Interstellar Space and/or by finding a quieter approach.

Jimmy Guiffre's various trios, Dave Holland's Conference of the Birds, Sonny Sharrock's Ask the Ages.

 

not necessarily I like it all at this point. I’ll post some group albums later.

thanks for the recommendations I’m going to dig into all of those!

 

Sadly the Charles Lloyd video is "only available to Music Premium members" on YT. He's awesome.

 

My voyage into free jazz began with a live performance in Boston of Ornette Coleman and Prime Time performing Virgin Beauty. You might say it opened my ears. There have been many since then but this was the catalyst.

 

Very partial, biased, "free jazz" freely interpreted list:

Classics:

The Shape of Jazz to Come, Ornette Coleman

Old and New Dreams, Don Cherry/Dewey Redman/Charlie Haden/Eddie Blackwell

New York Eye and Ear Control, Albert Ayler/Don Cherry/John Tchicai/Roswell Rudd/Gary Peacock/Sonny Murray
Prophecy, Albert Ayler

Circle -- Paris Concert, Dave Holland/Chick Corea/Anthony Braxton/Barry Altschul

Open, to Love, Paul Bley

For Olim, Cecil Taylor

More recent, "free jazz" interpreted very liberally:

Monk's Dream, Steve Lacy

Time Lapse, Evan Parker

Zero, Matthew Shipp -- I've never managed to catch Shipp live, but much of what he's been doing in the last few years is a new take on free jazz

Not Two, Not One, Paul Bley/Gary Peacock/Paul Motian

Lebroba, Andrew Cyrille/Wadada Leo Smith/Bill Frisell -- Bill Frisell partly back to his free jazz roots, reminding me of a time I heard him at the Vanguard with Joe Lovano and Paul Motian, just before Motian stopped playing because of his final illness

The Year of the Elephant, Wadada Leo Smith's Golden Quartet -- somewhere between free jazz, AACM, and 1970 Miles; anything by Wadada Leo Smith is a revelation, not to mention the intense experience of listening to him improvise live, where each blow of his trumpet feels like a tectonic rearrangement

D'agala, Sylvie Courvoisier Trio -- not strictly free jazz, but a great entry into Courvoisier's work, which has a lot of other free-ish tracks

Bells for the South Side, Roscoe Mitchell -- AACM revival, with amazing alumni like Tyshawn Sorey, Craig Taborn, or Tani Tabbal

Angel Dusk, Tim Berne/Matt Mitchell -- choosing this one because it's close to a live gig of theirs I heard just before covid confinement, but much of Tim Berne's work is centered on free jazz roots; other suggestions: Sun of Goldfinger, Fantastic Mrs. 10

Planktonic Finales, Stephan Crump/Ingrid Laubrock/Cory Smythe -- lots of other Laubrock material fits the query, best to explore on Bandcamp

Dirt ... and More Dirt, Henry Threadgill/Henry Threadgilll 14 or 15 Kestra: Agg -- Henry Threadgill has lots more to explore

Imaginary Archipelago, THe Karuna Trio (Hamid Drake, Ralph Jones, Adam Rudolph)

Every Dog Has its Day but it Doesn't Matter Because Fat Cat Is Fatter, Okuden Quartet (Matthew Shipp, William Parker, Hamid Drake, Matt Walerian)

 

Oh Jesus I so badly want to read thst list but it gives me a seizure. Could you possibly add spaces or something to make the artist/albums more clear? Sorry I know that’s kind of bitchy when you’re doing us a favor but I really want to digest it!

 

In case you like 90's Sega OST, here is some lightweight Japanese Fusion Jazz, very easygoing.

 

Sure, done.

 

Thank you! (Deserved more than a like)

 

That’s why I tagged him,
“This guy f**ks!”

 

@rhythmdevils since you are into MMW I’m sure you already know, but they can get very free, especially live.

I couldn’t find a YT for their album “Farmer’s Reserve” that was the free jazz companion to “Shack Man”

Here a some good examples:




Bonus:
My favorite MMW show I went to

 

Really depends on what our working definition is. I see more prog-leaning jazz in this thread so if that's the flavor, this is a personal favorite, albeit more damaged/lo-fi/reverb-drenched, Kraut-y.

 

here’s a couple more I like that aren’t duos. I’ve been too busy finding new music on bandcamp today to check any of these out here yet but I will for sure. Very exciting.

Anna Högberg Attack - s/t

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lxsTHxc4HXeG09D8EFBQFM4kQx0fVDejU

LISTEN ON BANDCAMP

Tidal

Qobuz

Amazon Music

YouTube Music

Spotify

———————

Rodrigo Amado - This is our Language

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mhtc-ZXAMOLhLjmI6MrdmCkm0oefIzRIU

BANDCAMP

Yes I love MMW. They don’t get as chaotic as my favorite free jazz albums I’ve heard so far but yeah I’ve been into MMW since The Dropper. Seen them live a couple times. Awesome.

For some reason I find really chaotic free jazz very soothing. I don’t know why.

 

A couple of free jazz musicians who may not be known widely are Tom Guralnick and David Moss. Tom Guralnick plays sax and other wind instruments and is the presence behind the Outpost Performance Space in Albuquerque NM.

David Moss is a vocalist and percussionist who lives in Germany and has a very wide range of performance interests.

Neither of the above comments do any justice to either of these guys. Way beyond my vocabulary to describe what they make happen!

Both are worth a listen if you are interested in the fringes of free jazz.




https://david-moss.bandcamp.com/album/my-favorite-things

 

For me, John Coltrane's Meditations is matched in cathartic power only by Arvo Part's Tabula Rasa and perhaps Astor Piazzolla's Tango: Zero Hour.


So John Coltrane's Meditations.

 

I agree with earnmyturns on Henry Threadgill and Matthew Shipp. I would recommend a couple more. An earlier work by Heny Threadgill and Make a Move "Where's your Cup". Fantastic use of trombone and accordionish sound.



Matthew Shipp has a phenominal range of exploration. More on the side of funk than free jazz is Blues Continuum "The Good and Evil Sessions". Captivating.

 

Must have:

Albert Ayler - it's all good, but if one must pick only a few, go with Spiritual Unity and Something Different!!!!!

Peter Brötzmann - For Adolphe Sax, Machine Gun

Joe McPhee - Nation Time, Black Magic Man, Trinity

For Brötzmann and McPhee you can't really go wrong...

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Anna Högberg Attack released their follow-up Lena and it's at least as good as the first one.
From Ken Vandermarks more recent work I really like his "new" group Marker.

 

John Zorn's been mentioned, but I must bring attention to one of his many side projects, Naked City, which to me in part bridges the free jazz/metal gap in a powerful way.