ALBERT AYLER - Holy Ghost : Rare & Unissued Recordings (1962-70) (2004) 10CD BOX | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

After listening to Revenant's massive Albert Ayler box set, Holy Ghost: Rare & Unissued Recordings (1962-70), a pair of questions assert themselves in the uneasily settling silence that follows: who was Albert Ayler, and how did he come to be? At the time of this box set's release 26 years after the Cleveland native's mysterious death -- his lifeless body was found floating in New York's East River, without a suicide note -- those questions loom larger than ever. Revenant's amazing package certainly adds weight and heft to the argument for Ayler's true place in the jazz pantheon, not only as a practitioner of free jazz but as one of the music's true innovators. Ayler may have been deeply affected by the music of Ornette Coleman, but in turn he also profoundly influenced John Coltrane's late period.

The item itself is a deeply detailed 10" by 10" black faux-onyx "spirit box," cast from a hand-carved original. Inside are ten CDs in beautifully designed, individually colored rice paper sleeves. Seven are full-length music CDs, two contain interviews, and one is packaged as a replica of a recording tape box, containing two tracks from an Army band session Ayler participated in. Loose items include a Slug's Saloon handbill, an abridged facsimile of Amiri Baraka's journal Cricket from the mid-'60s containing a piece by Ayler, a replica of the booklet Paul Haines wrote for Ayler's Spiritual Unity album, a note Ayler scrawled on hotel stationery in Europe, a rumpled photograph of the saxophonist as a boy, and a dogwood flower. Finally, there is a hardbound 209-page book. It contains a truncated version of Val Wilmer's historic chapter on Ayler from As Serious As Your Life, a new essay by Baraka, and biographical and musicological essays by Ben Young, Marc Chaloin, and Daniel Caux. In addition, there are testimonies by many collaborators, full biographical essays of all sidemen, detailed track information on the contents, and dozens of photographs.

Almost all this material has been, until now, commercially unavailable. Qualitatively, the music here varies, both artistically and mechanically. Some was taken from broadcast and tape sources that have deteriorated or were dubious to begin with, but their massive historical significance far outweighs minor fidelity problems. Chronologically organized, the adventure begins with Ayler's earliest performances in Europe fronting a thoroughly confounded rhythm section that was tied to conventional time signatures and chord changes. Ayler, seemingly oblivious, was trying out his new thing in earnest -- to the consternation of audiences and bandmates alike. How did a guy who played like this even get a gig in such a conservative jazz environment? Fumbling as this music is, it proves beyond any doubt Ayler's knowledge and mastery of the saxophone tradition from Lester Young to Sonny Rollins. Ayler's huge tone and his amazing, masterfully controlled use of both vibrato and the tenor's high register are already in evidence here. Following these, there is finally recorded evidence to support Ayler playing with Cecil Taylor in Copenhagen in 1962. This is where he met drummer Sunny Murray who, along with bassist Gary Peacock, formed the original Ayler trio. Their 1964 performances at New York's Cellar Café are documented here to stunning effect. Following these are phenomenal broadcast performances from later that year that include Don Cherry on trumpet in France.

Other discs here document Ayler's sideman duties: with pianist Burton Greene's quintet in 1966 (with Rashied Ali), a Pharoah Sanders band with Sirone and Dave Burrell, a Town Hall concert with his brother Donald's sextet that also included Sam Rivers, and a quartet with Donald, drummer Milford Graves, and bassist Richard Davis playing at John Coltrane's funeral. These live sessions have much value historically as well as musically, but are, after all, blowing sessions -- though they still display Ayler as a willing and fiery collaborator who upped the ante with his presence. Though he arrived fully formed as a soloist, his manner of trying to adapt to other players and bring them into his sphere is fascinating, frustrating, and revealing.

Ayler's own music is showcased best when leading his own quartets and quintets, and there are almost four discs' worth of performances here. Much of this music is with the classical violinist Michel Sampson and trumpeter Donald Ayler with alternating rhythm sections. Indeed, the quintet gigs here with Sampson and Donald in the front line that used marching rhythms and traditional hymns as their root may not be as compelling sonically as the Village Vanguard stuff issued by Impulse!, but they are as satisfying musically. The various rhythm sections included drummers Ronald Shannon Jackson, Allen Blairman, Muhammad Ali, Beaver Harris, and Bernard Purdie, and bassists Bill Folwell, Steve Tintweiss, Clyde Shy (Mutawef Shaheed), pianist Call Cobbs, and tenor saxophonist Frank Wright. What is clearly evident is that the only drummer with whom Ayler truly connected with, the only one who could match his manner of playing out of time and stretching it immeasurably, was Murray, who literally played around the beat while moving the music through its dislocated center.

The late music remains controversial. Recorded live in 1968 and 1970 in New York and France, it illuminates the troublesome period on Ayler's Impulse! recordings, New Grass and Music Is the Healing Force of the Universe. In performance, struggling and ill-conceived rhythm sections try to comprehend and articulate the complex patchwork of colors, motivations, and adventurous attempts at musical integration with the blues, rock, poetry, and soul Ayler was engaging instrumentally and -- with companion Mary Parks -- vocally. Ayler's own playing remains unshakable and revelatory, stunning for its ability to bring to the surface hidden melodies, timbres, and overtones and, to a degree, make them accessible. His solos, full of passion, pathos, and the otherworldly, pull everything from his musical sound world into his being and send it out again, transformed, through the horn.

Ayler is credited with the set's title, in that he once said in an interview: "Trane was the father. Pharoah was the son. I was the Holy Ghost." While it can be dismissed as hyperbole, it should also be evaluated to underscore the aforementioned questions. Unlike Coltrane and Sanders whose musical developments followed a recorded trajectory, Ayler, who apparently had very conventional beginnings as a musician, somehow arrived on the New York and European scenes already on the outside, pushing ever harder at boundaries that other people hadn't yet even perceived let alone transgressed. Who he was in relation to all those who came after him is only answered partially, and how he came to find his margin and live there remains a complete cipher. What Revenant has accomplished is to shine light into the darkened corners of myth and apocrypha; the label has added flesh-and-bone documented history to the ghost of a giant. Ayler struggled musically and personally to find and hold onto the elusive musical/spiritual balance that grace kissed him with only a few times during his lifetime -- on tape anyway. But the quest for that prize, presented here, adds immeasurably to both the legend and the achievement.
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <-
All Tracks & Credits

ALBERT AYLER - Live in Greenwich Village : The Complete Impulse Recordings (1998) 2CD | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Live in Greenwich Village was Albert Ayler's first recording for Impulse, and is arguably his finest moment, not only for the label, but ever. This double-CD reissue combines both of the Village concerts -- documented only partially on previously released LPs -- recorded in 1965 and 1966 with two very different groups. The Village gigs reveal the mature Ayler whose music embodied bold contradictions: There are the sweet, childlike, singalong melodies contrasted with violent screaming peals of emotion, contrasted with the gospel and R&B shouts of jubilation, all moving into and through one another. On the 1965 date, which featured Ayler, his brother Donald on trumpet, Joel Freedman on cello, bassist Lewis Worrell, and the great Sunny Murray on drums, the sound is one of great urgency. Opening with "Holy Ghost," the Aylers come out stomping and Murray double times them to bring the bass and cello to ground level in order to anchor musical proceedings to their respective generated sounds. "Truth Is Marching In" casts a bleating, gospelized swirl against a backdrop of three- and four-note "sung" phrases that are constantly repeated, à la a carny band before kicking down all the doors and letting it rip for almost 13 minutes. On the 1967 date of the second disc, the Aylers are augmented with drummer Beaver Harris, violinist Michel Sampson, Bill Folwell and Alan Silva on basses, and trombonist George Steele on the closer, "Universal Thoughts." "For John Coltrane" opens the set with a sweltering abstraction of tonalities in the strings and horns. On "Change Has Come," the abstraction remains but the field of language is deeper, denser, more urgent. Only with "Spiritual Rebirth," which opens with a four-note theme, does one get the feeling that the band has been pacing itself for this moment, and that the concert has become an actual treatise on the emotion of "singing" as an ensemble in uncharted territories. Throughout the rest of the set, Ayler's band buoys him perfectly, following him up through every new cloud of unknowing into a sublime musical and emotional beyond which, at least on recordings, would never be realized again. This recording is what all the fuss is about when it comes to Ayler.
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <-
Tracklist 1 :
1     Holy Ghost 7'41
Albert Ayler
2     The Truth Is Marching In 12'42
Albert Ayler
3     Our Prayer 4'45
Donald Ayler
4     Spirits Rejoice 16'22
Albert Ayler
5     Divine Peacemaker 12'37
Albert Ayler
6     Angels 9'53
Albert Ayler
Tracklist 2 :
1     For John Coltrane 13'40
Albert Ayler
2     Change Has Come 6'24
Albert Ayler
3    Light in Darkness 10'59
Albert Ayler
4     Heavenly Home 8'51
Albert Ayler
5     Spiritual Rebirth 4'26
Albert Ayler
6     Infinite Spirit 6'37
Albert Ayler
7     Omega Is the Alpha 10'46
Albert Ayler
8     Universal Thoughts 8'22
Albert Ayler
Credits :    
Bass – Alan Silva (tracks: 2-1 to 2-8), Bill Folwell (tracks: 1-2 to 1-5, 2-1 to 2-8), Henry Grimes (tracks: 1-2 to 1-5)
Cello – Joel Freedman (tracks: 1-1, 2-1 to 2-8)
Drums – Beaver Harris (tracks: 1-2 to 1-5, 2-2 to 2-8)
Tenor Saxophone, Alto Saxophone – Albert Ayler
Trumpet – Don Ayler (tracks: 1-1 to 1-5, 2-2 to 2-8)
Violin – Michel Sampson (tracks: 1-2 to 1-5, 2-1 to 2-8)

ALBERT AYLER – Stockholm, Berlin 1966 (2011) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Stockholm, November 10, 1966
1    Truth Is Marching In    9:15
Composed By Albert Ayler
2    Omega (Is The Alpha)    10:36
Composed By Albert Ayler
3    Our Prayer - Bells 7:51
Composed By [Our Prayer] – Donald Ayler
4    Infinite Spirit - Japan 3:53
Composed By [Japan] – Pharoah Sanders
Berlin, November 3, 1966    
5    Truth Is Marching In    7:25
Composed By Albert Ayler
6    Omega (Is The Alpha)    3:36
Composed By Albert Ayler
7    Our Prayer - Truth Is Marching In 5:06
Composed By [Our Prayer] – Donald Ayler
8    Ghosts - Bells    11:29
Composed By Albert Ayler
Credits :
Double Bass – William Folwell
Drums – Beaver Harris
Tenor Saxophone – Albert Ayler
Trumpet – Donald Ayler
Violin – Michel Samson

ALBERT AYLER - Live In Europe 1964-1966 (1991) Unofficial Release | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Tracklist :
1    Mothers    7:36
 Composed By – Albert Ayler
2    Children    8:04
 Composed By – Albert Ayler
3    Holy Spirits    8:03
 Composed By – Albert Ayler
4    Our Prayer    4:24
 Composed By – Donald Ayler
5    Ghosts - Bells    11:11
 Composed By – Albert Ayler
6    Truth Is Marching In    7:06
 Composed By – Albert Ayler
7    Omega    3:40
 Composed By – Albert Ayler
Credits :
Bass – Bill Folwell (pistas: 4 to 7), Gary Peacock (pistas: 1 to 3)
Drums – Beaver Harris (pistas: 4 to 7), Sunny Murray (pistas: 1 to 3)
Tenor Saxophone [Tenor Sax] – Albert Ayler
Trumpet – Don Cherry (pistas: 1 to 3), Donald Ayler (pistas: 4 to 7)
Violin – Michael Sampson (pistas: 4 to 7)
Notas.
Tracks 1-3: Recorded live at Montmartre Jazzhus, Copenhagen (Denmark) on November 5, 1964
Tracks 4-7: Recorded live at Berlin Jazz Festival, Berlin (Germany) on November 3, 1966
However, tracks 1-3 were in fact recorded on September 3, 1964 (subsequently released as part of The Copenhagen Tapes).

ALBERT AYLER - Lörrach, Paris 1966 (1966-2002) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The two concerts presented on this disc represent two of the finest dates of Albert Ayler's European tour of 1966. The band -- with brother, Don, on trumpet, violinist Michael Sampson, drummer Beaver Harris, and bassist William Folwell -- was in fantastic shape and performed beyond expectation on both evenings. What is most noticeable about these dates and how they fill in a part of the Ayler mystique as a performer was to hear how immediately he would dictate a marching rhythm, theme, or folk song melody, or even perhaps a child ballad. It was important to acknowledge, right from the beginning in these tunes for a European audience, where this music came from and what continuum he was part of. The opener is "Bells," and for the longest time a Sousa marching rhythm precedes an eight-note melody. Like Ornette Coleman, he uses Sampson's violin and Donald's trumpet to move that melody through the modulation of the rhythm section before taking off into something else, someplace where the saxophone can become a real and true extension of the human voice. The squealing and honking and wailing all become part of a choir of voices forgotten by history, yet inextricably tied to it as ciphers and ghosts. The theme of "Bells" and those of "Our Prayer," "Ghost," "Holy Ghost," and "Spirits" all come from the entryway of emotional clarity and parade churchlike through the band, transferring themselves out onto an audience that must have been staring in disbelief. The shock is how well Ayler moves through his harmonic inventions and involves the band without regard for their involvement. He knows they are there; that's enough, and so he speaks freely. His timbral modulations carry emotions directly from the heart through the horn onto the band, who fills them and sends them out, whether tenderly or terrifyingly, onto those in the seats. This is an amazing document, like the Hilversum sessions but better, because the sound is respectable here and matches the grandeur and shocking emotional immediacy of the performances.
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <-
Tracklist :
1     Bells 13'30
Albert Ayler
2     Prophet 7'00
Albert Ayler
3     Our Prayer/Spirits Rejoice 6'25
Albert Ayler / Donald Ayler
4     Ghosts 3'26
Albert Ayler
5     Truth Is Marching In 11'24
Albert Ayler
6     Ghosts 7'43
Albert Ayler
7     Spiritual Rebirth/Light in Darkness/Infinite Spirit 11'05
Albert Ayler
8     All/Our Prayer/Holy Family 4'45
Albert Ayler / Donald Ayler
Credits :    
Bass – William Folwell
Drums – Beaver Harris
Tenor Saxophone – Albert Ayler
Trumpet – Don Ayler
Violin – Michel Sampson

ALBERT AYLER - In Greenwich Village (1967-1987) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

During 1967-69 avant-garde innovator Albert Ayler recorded a series of albums for Impulse that started on a high level and gradually declined in quality. This LP, Ayler's first Impulse set, was probably his best for that label. There are two selections apiece from a pair of live appearances with Ayler having a rare outing on alto on the emotional "For John Coltrane" and the more violent "Change Has Come" while backed by cellist Joel Friedman, both Alan Silva and Bill Folwell on basses and drummer Beaver Harris. The other set (with trumpeter Donald Ayler, violinist Michel Sampson, Folwell and Henry Grimes on basses and Harris) has a strong contrast between the simple childlike melodies and the intense solos. However this LP (which was augmented later on by the two-LP set The Village Concerts) will be difficult to find. Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1     For John Coltrane 13'38
Albert Ayler
2     Change Has Come 6'24
Albert Ayler
3     Truth Is Marching In 12'43
Albert Ayler
4     Our Prayer 4'43
Donald Ayler
Credits :    
Alto Saxophone – Albert Ayler (tracks: 1)
Bass – Alan Silva (tracks: 1, 2), Bill Folwell, Henry Grimes (tracks: 3, 4)
Cello – Joel Friedman (tracks: 1, 2)
Drums – Beaver Harris
Producer – Bob Thiele
Tenor Saxophone – Albert Ayler (tracks: 2 to 4)
Trumpet – Donald Ayler (tracks: 3, 4)
 Violin – Michel Sampson (tracks: 3, 4)

ARCHIE SHEPP - The Impulse Story (2007) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Archie Shepp's volume in The Impulse Story series, with liner notes by Ashley Kahn, author of The House That Trane Built: The Impulse Story, is arguably the best and most representative of any of the editions in it. These ten cuts capture Shepp's many faces. There's his wonderful look inside the music of his mentor John Coltrane ("Naima" from Four for Trane), through to his gaze at the jazz tradition (Duke Ellington's "Sophisticated Lady"), to bossa nova (a very unique read of "Girl from Ipanema") to the weighty concerns of his own compositions that engaged everything from the avant-garde "Les Matin des Noires" to politics ("Malcolm Malcolm -- Semper Malcolm"), to R&B and soul ("Damn If I Know" "Mama Too Tight," and "Attica Blues"). While certain albums are not represented here -- the magnificent Magic of Ju-Ju being one -- the breadth and depth of Shepp's true genius is all here. That said, it is a shame that many of his albums recorded for Impulse (the classic Fire Music and Magic of Ju-Ju just to name two) are currently out of print. Of all the volumes in this fine collection, Shepp's stands, with Alice Coltrane's as the very best in that it gives a true introduction to an artist often misunderstood, but during his tenure for this label, he was creatively unstoppable.
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <-
Tracklist :
1     Naima 7'10
(John Coltrane)
Bass – Reggie Workman
Drums – Charles Moffett
Flugelhorn – Alan Shorter
Producer – John Coltrane
Trombone – Roswell Rudd
2     Los Olvidados 8'56
(Archie Shepp)
Alto Saxophone – Marion Brown
Bass – Reggie Johnson
Drums – Joe Chambers
Trumpet – Ted Curson
3     The Girl from Ipanema 8'35
(Norman Gimbel / Antônio Carlos Jobim / Vinícius de Moraes)
Alto Saxophone – Marion Brown
Bass – Reggie Johnson
Drums – Joe Chambers
Trumpet – Ted Curson
4     Malcolm, Malcolm - Semper Malcolm 4'51
(Archie Shepp)
Bass – David Izenzon
Drums – J.C. Moses
Vocals [Recitation] – Archie Shepp
5     Le Matin des Noires 8'00
(Archie Shepp)
Bass – Barre Phillips
Drums – Joe Chambers
Vibraphone – Bobby Hutcherson     
6     Scag 3'23
(Archie Shepp)
Bass – Barre Phillips
Drums – Joe Chambers
Vibraphone – Bobby Hutcherson
Vocals [Recitation] – Archie Shepp
7     Mama Too Tight 5'25
(Archie Shepp)
Bass – Charlie Haden
Clarinet – Perry Robinson
Drums – Beaver Harris
Trombone – Grachan Moncur III, Roswell Rudd
Trumpet – Tommy Turrentine
Tuba – Howard Johnson
8     Damn If I Know (The Stroller) 6'19
(Walter Davis, Jr.)
Bass – Ron Carter
Drums – Beaver Harris
Trombone – Grachan Moncur III
Trumpet – Jimmy Owens
9     Sophisticated Lady 7'10
(Duke Ellington / Irving Mills / Mitchell Parish)
Bass – Ron Carter
Drums – Roy Haynes
Trombone – Grachan Moncur III
Trumpet – Jimmy Owen
10     Attica Blues 4'47
(Beaver Harris / Archie Shepp)
Alto Saxophone – Clarence White, Marion Brown
Backing Vocals – Albertine Robinson, Joshie Armstead
Baritone Saxophone – James Ware
Bass [Fender] – Jerry Jemmott, Roland Wilson
Cello – Calo Scott, Ronald Lipscomb
Cornet – Clifford Thornton
Drums – Beaver Harris
Guitar – Cornell Dupree
Lead Vocals – Henry Hull
Percussion – Juma Sutan*, Nene DeFense, Ollie Anderson
Producer – Ed Michel
Tenor Saxophone – Roland Alexander
Trombone – Charles Greenlee, Charles Stephens, Kiane Zawadi
Trumpet – Charles McGhee, Michael Ridley
Tuba – Hakim Jami
Violin – John Blake, Leroy Jenkins, Shankar

ARCHIE SHEPP - Live in San Francisco (1966-2015) RM | Impulse! Classics 50 – 30 | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This Impulse recording features the fiery tenor Archie Shepp with his regularly working group of the period, a quintet also featuring trombonist Roswell Rudd, drummer Beaver Harris and both Donald Garrett and Lewis Worrell on basses. Although two pieces (Shepp's workout on piano on the ballad "Sylvia" and his recitation on "The Wedding") are departures, the quintet sounds particularly strong on Herbie Nichols' "The Lady Sings the Blues" and "Wherever June Bugs Go" while Shepp's ballad statement on "In a Sentimental Mood" is both reverential and eccentric. Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1     Keep Your Heart Right 1'15
Roswell Rudd
2     Lady Sings the Blues 7'32
Herbie Nichols
3     Sylvia 5'35
Oley Speaks
4     The Wedding 2'52
Archie Shepp
5     Wherever June Bugs Go 10'25
Archie Shepp
6     In a Sentimental Mood 6'14
Duke Ellington / Manny Kurtz / Irving Mills
7     Things Ain't What They Used to Be 7'56
Mercer Ellington / Ted Persons
8     Three for a Quarter, One for a Dime 32'54
Archie Shepp
Credits
Bass – Donald Garrett (pistas: 1, 2, 5 to 6), Lewis Worrell
Drums – Beaver Harris (pistas: 1 to 3, 5 to 6)
Piano – Archie Shepp (pistas: 3)
Tenor Saxophone – Archie Shepp (pistas: 1 to 3, 5 to 6)
Trombone – Roswell Rudd (pistas: 1 to 3, 5 to 6)
Voice [Recitation] – Archie Shepp (pistas: 4)

ARCHIE SHEPP - The Magic Of Ju-Ju (1967-2000) RM | Impulse! Best 50 – 21 | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

On this 1967 Impulse release, tenor saxophonist Archie Shepp unleashed his 18-minute tour de force "The Magic of Ju-Ju," combining free jazz tenor with steady frenetic African drumming. Shepp's emotional and fiery tenor takes off immediately, gradually morphing with the five percussionists -- Beaver Harris, Norman Connor, Ed Blackwell, Frank Charles, and Dennis Charles -- who perform on instruments including rhythm logs and talking drums. Shepp never loses the initial energy, moving forward like a man possessed as the drumming simultaneously builds into a fury. Upon the final three minutes, the trumpets of Martin Banks and Michael Zwerin make an abrupt brief appearance, apparently to ground the piece to a halt. This is one of Shepp's most chaotic yet rhythmically hypnotic pieces. The three remaining tracks, somewhat overshadowed by the title piece, are quick flourishes of free bop on "Shazam," "Sorry Bout That," and the slower, waltz-paced "You're What This Day Is All About." Al Campbell
Tracklist :
1     The Magic of Ju-Ju 18:37
Archie Shepp    
2     You're What This Day Is All About 1:51
Archie Shepp    
3     Shazam! 4:43
Archie Shepp    
4     Sorry 'Bout That 10:07
Archie Shepp    
Credits
Bass – Reggie Workman
Drums – Beaver Harris, Norman Connor
Percussion – Dennis Charles
Percussion [Rhythm Logs] – Eddie Blackwell
Percussion [Talking Drums] – Frank Charles
Producer – Bob Thiele
Tenor Saxophone – Archie Shepp
Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Martin Banks
Trumpet, Trombone – Michael Zwerin

ARCHIE SHEPP - Live At The Donaueschingen Music Festival (1967-2000) RM | Most Perfect Sound Edition – 28 | FLAC (tracks), lossless

This is an exciting album. The important tenor Archie Shepp and his 1967 group -- with both Roswell Rudd and Grachan Moncur on trombones, bassist Jimmy Garrison, and drummer Beaver Harris -- romp through the continuous 43-and-a-half-minute "One for the Trane" before an enthusiastic audience at a German music festival. Although he improvises very freely and with great intensity, Shepp surprised the crowd by suddenly bursting into a spaced-out version of "The Shadow of Your Smile" near the end of this memorable performance. On the whole, this very spirited set represents avant-garde jazz at its peak and Archie Shepp at his finest. Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1     One for the Trane, Pt. 1 22:09
Archie Shepp    
2     One for the Trane, Pt. 2 21:54
Archie Shepp
Credits
Bass – Jimmy Garrison
Drums – Beaver Harris
Tenor Saxophone – Archie Shepp
Trombone – Grachan Moncur III, Roswell Rudd

ARCHIE SHEPP - The Way Ahead (1968-1998) RM | Impulse! Master Sessions | FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

The Way Ahead was a turning point for Archie Shepp. For starters, he had looked all over the jazz/improv arena for the proper combination of players -- without a piano. One can speculate that this was because he cut his first teeth with pianist Cecil Taylor, and that could ruin anybody for life. Recorded in 1969, The Way Ahead featured Ron Carter on bass, Grachan Moncur III's trombone, Jimmy Owens' trumpet, and drums by either Beaver Harris or Roy Haynes, with Walter Davis, Jr. on piano. The set is a glorious stretch of the old and new, with deep blues, gospel, and plenty of guttersnipe swing in the mix. From the post-bop blues opener "Damn If I Know (The Stroller)," the set takes its Ellington-Webster cue and goes looking for the other side of Mingus. Shepp's solo is brittle, choppy, honky, and glorious against a set of changes gracefully employed by Moncur and Owens. Harris' stuttering, skittering rhythm may keep it anchored in the blues, but holds the line for anything else to happen. Likewise, the modern edge of things evidenced by Moncur's "Frankenstein" (first recorded with Jackie McLean's group in 1963) turns up the heat a bit more. Shepp's take is wholly different, accenting pedal points and microharmonics in the breaks. On "Sophisticated Lady" and "Fiesta," Haynes fills the drum chair and cuts his manic swinging time through the arrangements, lending them more of an elegant flair than perhaps they deserve here, though they also dig deeper emotionally than one would expect.
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <-
Tracklist :
1    Damn If I Know (The Stroller) 6:16
Written-By – Walter Davis Jr.
2    Frankenstein 13:50
Written-By – Grachan Moncur III
3    Fiesta 9:54
Written-By – Archie Shepp
4    Sophisticated Lady 7:08
Written-By – Duke Ellington
5    New Africa 12:55
Written-By – Grachan Moncur III
6    Bakai 10:04
Written-By – Cal Massey
Credits
Baritone Saxophone – Charles Davis (pistas: 5, 6)
Bass – Ron Carter (pistas: 1 to 4), Walter Booker (pistas: 5, 6)
Drums – Beaver Harris (pistas: 1, 2, 5, 6), Roy Haynes (pistas: 3, 4)
Piano – Dave Burrell (pistas: 5, 6), Walter Davis Jr. (pistas: 1 to 4)
Tenor Saxophone – Archie Shepp
Trombone – Grachan Moncur III
Trumpet – Jimmy Owens

ARCHIE SHEPP - Things Have Got to Change (1971-1992) RM | FLAC (tracks), lossless

1    Money Blues    18:25
1.1    a) Part 1    5:54
1.2    b) Part 2    5:47
1.3    c) Part 3    6:41
2    Dr. King, The Peaceful Warrior    2:30
3    Things Have Got To Change    16:59
3.1    a) Part 1    9:07
3.2    b) Part 2    7:51
Credits
Alto Saxophone, Piccolo Flute – James Spaulding (pistas: 1,3)
Backing Vocals – Anita Branham (pistas: 1,3), Anita Shepp (pistas: 1,3), Barbara Parsons (pistas: 1,3), Claudette Brown (pistas: 1,3), Ernestina Parsons (pistas: 1,3), Jody Shayne (pistas: 1,3), Joe Lee Wilson (pistas: 3), Johnny Shepp (pistas: 1,3), Sharon Shepp (pistas: 1,3)
Baritone Saxophone – Howard Johnson (pistas: 1,3)
Bass – Roland Wilson (pistas: 1,3)
Cello – Calo Scott (pistas: 3)
Drums – Beaver Harris (pistas: 1,3)
Electric Piano – Cal Massey (pistas: 2), Dave Burrell (pistas: 1,3)
Engineer – Rudy Van Gelder
Guitar – Billy Butler (pistas: 1), David Spinozza (pistas: 1)
Percussion – Calo Scott (pistas: 1), Hetty 'Bunchy' Fox (pistas: 1,3), Juma Sutan (pistas: 1,3), Ollie Anderson (pistas: 1,3)
Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Archie Shepp
Trombone – Charles Greenlee (pistas: 1,3), Grechan Moncur III (pistas: 1,3)
Trumpet – Roy Burrowes (pistas: 1,3), Ted Daniel (pistas: 1,3)
Violin – Leroy Jenkins (pistas: 3)
Vocals – Joe Lee Wilson (pistas: 1)

ARCHIE SHEPP - For Losers + Kwanza (2011) RM | Impulse! 2-On-1 | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Though the two titles featured on this Impulse two-fer were originally issued four years apart, they were recorded pretty much at the same time. For Losers, released in 1970, reflects Archie Shepp's deep fascination with rhythm & blues and soul, as well as showing how vanguard jazz drew directly from the tradition. Produced by Ed Michel, this album (and Kwanza) features Shepp in the company of Grachan Moncur III, Jimmy Owens, Woody Shaw, Charles Davis, Dave Burrell, Cedar Walton, Andy Bey, Robin Kenyatta, Cecil Payne, James Spaulding, Wilbur Ware, Beaver Harris, Bernard Purdie, Joe Chambers, Leon Thomas, and Doris Troy, to name a few. It ranges from the funky stomp of "Stick 'Em Up" with Thomas up front and which draws equally on James Brown and Rufus Thomas, through to an avant version of Duke Ellington's "I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)," with Troy's vocal atop a warm but angular and elastic harmonic arrangement, to a nearly straight version of Cal Massey's classic ballad "What Would It Be Without You," with beautiful interplay between Shepp's tenor and Payne's flute. The entire second side is taken up by "Un Croque Monsieur (Poem: For Losers)," an outside jazz jam of epic proportions. Kwanza, though it was recorded at nearly the same time, was not released until 1974. Its cuts display the same lineups as those on For Losers. While on the surface it would seem to be a collection of outtakes and leftovers from the earlier album, it doesn't doesn't play like one. With Michel producing only one track, and the balance by Bob Thiele, it sounds more like a direct follow-up. Shepp composed three tunes here; two of which ("Back Back" and "Slow Drag," with killer trumpet work by Shaw) reflect the tough, nasty soul and rhythm & blues foundations of the earlier album, while the other, "Spoo Pee Doo," while brief, is a curiously strange midtempo jazz ballad sung by Thomas. Moncur's modally based free workout "New Africa" appears as the set's longest and most satisfying number, with another Massey number, "Makai," which has its repetitive, labyrinthine counterpoint played to the hilt by Shepp and bassist Walter Booker. Together, For Losers and Kwanza are hotly debated but essential parts of the Shepp Impulse discography; they embody not merely the paradoxes of his vision, but the enormity of it.
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <-
For Losers    
1    Stick 'Em Up 2:05
Alto Saxophone – Robin Kenyatta
Bass [Fender] – Albert Winston, Wilton Felder
Drums – Beaver Harris
Guitar – Bert Payne
Organ, Guitar – Mel Brown
Piano – Andrew Bey
Trombone – Grachan Moncur III
Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Martin Banks
Vocals – Doris Troy, Leon Thomas, Tasha Thomas
2    Abstract 4:20
Alto Saxophone – James Spaulding
Baritone Saxophone – Charles Davis
Bass [Fender] – Bob Bushnell
Drums – Bernard Purdie
Guitar – Wally Richardson
Organ – Dave Burrell
Trombone – Grachan Moncur III
Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Jimmy Owens
3    I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good) 5:16
Alto Saxophone – Clarence Sharpe
Bass – Wilbur Ware
Drums – Joe Chambers
Piano – Cedar Walton
Soprano Saxophone – Archie Shepp
Vocals – Chinalin Sharpe
4    What Would It Be Without You 4:05
Baritone Saxophone, Flute – Cecil Payne
Bass – Wilbur Ware
Drums – Joe Chambers
Piano – Cedar Walton
Soprano Saxophone – Archie Shepp
5    Un Croque Monsieur (Poem: For Losers) 21:49
Alto Saxophone – Clarence Sharpe
Baritone Saxophone – Cecil Payne
Bass – Wilbur Ware
Drums – Joe Chambers
Piano – Cedar Walton
Soprano Saxophone – Archie Shepp
Trombone – Matthew Gee
Trumpet – Woody Shaw
Vocals – Chinalin Sharpe
Kwanza    
6    Back Back 5:45
Alto Saxophone – James Spaulding
Baritone Saxophone – Charles Davis
Bass [Fender] – Bob Bushnell
Drums – Bernard 'Pretty' Purdie
Guitar – Wally Richardson
Organ – Dave Burrell
Trombone – Grachan Moncur III
Trumpet – Jimmy Owens
7    Spoo Pee Doo 2:37
Bass – Albert Winston
Drums – Beaver Harris
Guitar – Bert Payne
Piano – Andrew Bey
Trumpet – Martin Banks
Vocals – Doris Troy, Leon Thomas, Tasha Thomas
8    New Africa 12:47
Baritone Saxophone – Charles Davis
Bass – Walter Booker
Drums – Beaver Harris
Piano – Dave Burrell
Trombone – Grachan Moncur III
Trumpet – Jimmy Owens
Vocals – Archie Shepp
9    Slow Drag 10:08
Bass – Wilbur Ware
Drums – Joe Chambers
Piano – Cedar Walton
Soprano Saxophone – Archie Shepp
Trumpet – Woody Shaw
10    Bakai 9:57
Baritone Saxophone – Charles Davis
Bass – Walter Booker
Drums – Beaver Harris
Piano – Dave Burrell
Trombone – Grachan Moncur III
Trumpet – Jimmy Owens

ARCHIE SHEPP - Attica Blues (1972-2003) RM | Serie: LP Reproduction | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Refining his large-ensemble experiments of 1971, Attica Blues is one of Archie Shepp's most significant post-'60s statements, recorded just several months after authorities ended the Attica prison uprising by massacring 43 inmates and hostages. Perhaps because Shepp's musical interests were changing, Attica Blues isn't the all-out blast of rage one might expect; instead, it's a richly arranged album of mournful, quietly agonized blues and Ellingtonian swing, mixed with a couple of storming funk burners. Of course, Shepp doesn't quite play it straight, bringing his avant-garde sensibilities to both vintage big band and contemporary funk, with little regard for the boundaries separating them all. His soloing on tenor and soprano is typically sharp-edged and modal, and his nasal, slicing tone on soprano is featured quite heavily. The stylishness of the slow numbers is undercut with quivering, faintly unsettling dissonances, and the up-tempo funk cuts recall the way Sly Stone's arrangements ping-ponged many different elements off each other in a gleeful organized chaos. That's especially true on the gospel-inflected title song, a monster of a groove that later became a hit on the acid jazz revival circuit (and stands up to anything recorded by straight-up funk bands of the era). In the same vein, "Blues for Brother George Jackson" sounds like an edgier Isaac Hayes-style blaxploitation soundtrack cut. Vocal ballads are plentiful, and Joe Lee Wilson ("Steam," a song Shepp would return to often) and Carl Hall (aka Henry Hull) both acquit themselves well; more debatable are the poetic recitations and the choice of flügelhornist/composer Cal Massey's young daughter Waheeda to sing "Quiet Dawn" (although Waheeda's almost-there intonation is effectively creepy). Still, in the end, Attica Blues is one of Shepp's most successful large-group projects, because his skillful handling of so many different styles of black music produces such tremendously groovy results. Steve Huey
Tracklist :
1     Attica Blues 4'47
(W.G. Harris / Archie Shepp)    
Alto Saxophone – Marion Brownburr
Backing Vocals – Albertine Robinson, Joshie Armstead
Bass [Fender] – Jerry Jemmott
Lead Vocals – Henry Hull
2     Invocation: Attica Blues 0'19
(W.G. Harris)    
Narrator – William Kunstler
3     Steam, Pt. 1 5'07
(Archie Shepp)
Electric Piano – Dave Burrell
Flute [Bamboo] – Marion Brown
Lyrics By – Archie Shepp
Vocals – Joe Lee Wilson    

4     Invocation to Mr. Parker 3'16
(Bart Gray / Archie Shepp)    
Flute – Marion Brown
Narrator, Other [Text] – Bartholomew Gray
5     Steam, Pt. 2 5'10
(Archie Shepp)    
Electric Piano – Dave Burrell
Flute [Bamboo] – Marion Brown
Lyrics By – Archie Shepp
Vocals – Joe Lee Wilson
6     Blues for Brother George Jackson 4'00
(Archie Shepp)    
Alto Saxophone – Marion Brown
7     Invocation: Ballad for a Child 0'29
(W.G. Harris)    
Narrator – William Kunstler
8     Ballad for a Child 3'36
(W.G. Harris / Archie Shepp)    
Vocals – Henry Hull
9     Goodbye Sweet Pops 4'22
(Cal Massey)
Conductor – Romulus Franceschini
Drums – Billy Higgins
Music By – Cal Massey
10     Quiet Dawn 6'12
(Cal Massey)
Conductor – Romulus Franceschini
Drums – Billy Higgins
Flugelhorn, Music By, Lyrics By – Cal Massey
Vocals – Waheeda Massey
Credits
Alto Saxophone – Clarence White (pistas: 1, 6, 9, 10)
Baritone Saxophone – James Ware (pistas: 1, 6, 9, 10)
Bass – Jimmy Garrison (pistas: 3, 4, 5, 9, 10)
Bass [Fender] – Roland Wilson (pistas: 1, 3, 5, 6, 8)
Cello – Calo Scott (pistas: 1, 3, 5, 8, 9, 10), Ronald Lipscomb (pistas: 1, 3, 5, 8, 9, 10)
Cornet – Clifford Thornton (pistas: 1, 6, 9, 10)
Drums – Beaver Harris (pistas: 1, 3, 5, 6, 8)
Euphonium – Hakim Jami (pistas: 1, 6, 9, 10)
Guitar – Cornell Dupree (pistas: 1, 3, 5, 8)
Lyrics By – William G. Harris (pistas: 1 to 8)
Music By – Archie Shepp (pistas: 1 to 8)
Percussion – Juma Sutan (pistas: 1, 6, 10), Marion Brown (pistas: 3, 4, 5), Nene DeFense (pistas: 1, 6, 10), Ollie Anderson (pistas: 1, 6, 10)
Piano – Walter Davis Jr. (pistas: 6, 8, 9, 10)
Soprano Saxophone – Archie Shepp (pistas: 3, 5, 9)
Tenor Saxophone – Archie Shepp (pistas: 1, 6, 8, 10), Billy Robinson (pistas: 1, 6, 9, 10), Roland Alexander (pistas: 1, 6, 9, 10)
Trombone – Charles Greenlee (pistas: 1, 6, 9, 10), Charles Stephens (pistas: 1, 6, 9, 10), Kiane Zawadi (pistas: 1, 6, 9, 10)
Trumpet – Charles McGhee (pistas: 1, 6, 9, 10), Michael Ridley (pistas: 1, 6, 9, 10), Roy Burrowes (pistas: 1, 6, 9, 10)
Violin – John Blake (pistas: 1, 3, 5, 8, 9, 10), Leroy Jenkins (pistas: 1, 3, 5, 8, 9, 10), Shankar (pistas: 1, 3, 5, 8, 9, 10)

ARCHIE SHEPP - The Cry Of My People (1973-2004) RM | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Recorded in 1972 with a core band of Leroy Jenkins, Cornell Dupree (!), Jimmy Garrison, and Charles McGhee, Shepp supplemented these proceedings in much the same way he did with the cast of Attica Blues, with gospel singers, big bands, quintets, sextets, and chamber orchestras, with guests that included Harold Mabern on piano, Bernard "Pretty" Purdie on drums, and Ron Carter on electric bass! Recorded during a period in which Shepp was reaching out of the jazz idiom to include all of what he perceived to be "trans-African" music at the time, there is gutbucket R&B here, as well as the sweetly soul gospel of "Rest Enough." The charts' arrangements are a combination of Ellington's more pastoral moods -- usually expressed in his suites -- and the more darkly complex modal stylings of George Russell. Unlike some of Shepp's dates from this period, the vocals do not detract from the mix employed here. This is an urban record that showcases Shepp's ability, at this time in his career, to literally take on any project, combine as many sources as he was permitted by his financial resources, and come up with something compelling, provocative, and soulful. All extremes are subsumed by the whole: The avant-garde free jazz of the period is covered in the large-ensemble playing, which is covered by the gospel and R&B stylings that are accented by the free jazz players. Shepp worked with many larger ensembles as a leader, but never did he achieve such a perfect balance as he did on The Cry of My People. Given that the remastered version -- with excellent liner notes, superb sound, and a gorgeous package -- is being issued during an election year in the United States, its poignancy and urgency couldn't be more timely.
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <-
Tracklist :
1     Rest Enough (Song to Mother) 4:41
Backing Vocals – Andre Franklin, Patterson Singers
Lead Vocals – Peggy Blue
Written-By – Archie Shepp
2     A Prayer 6:29
Arranged By, Conductor – Romulus Franceschini
Written-By, Arranged By – Cal Massey    
3     All God's Children Got a Home in the Universe 2:58
Written-By – Archie Shepp
4     The Lady 5:31 Arranged By – Romulus Franceschini
Arranged By, Conductor – Cal Massey
Vocals – Joe Lee Wilson
Written-By – Bob Ford
5     The Cry of My People 5:45
Arranged By – Romulus Franceschini
Written-By, Arranged By, Conductor – Cal Massey    
6     African Drum Suite, Pt. 1-2 0:35
Vocals – Joe Lee Wilson
Written-By – William G. Harris
7     African Drum Suite, Pt. 2 7:34 Arranged By, Conductor – Dave Burrell
Berimbau, Percussion [Brazilian] – Guilherme Franco
Bongos, Congas – Nene DeFense
Tambourine, Congas – Terry Quaye
Written-By – William G. Harris
8     Come Sunday 9:30
Arranged By, Conductor – Charles Greenlee
Backing Vocals – Patterson Singers
Lead Vocals – Joe Lee Wilson
Written-By – Duke Ellington
Credits
Bass – Jimmy Garrison (pistas: 2, 4 to 8)
Bass [Fender] – Ron Carter (pistas: 1, 3, 5)
Cello – Esther Mellon (pistas: 2, 4, 5, 7, 8), Pat Dixon (pistas: 2, 4, 5, 7, 8)
Drums – Beaver Harris (pistas: 3 to 5), Bernard Purdie (pistas: 1, 2)
Guitar – Cornell Dupree (pistas: 1, 3)
Percussion – Nene DeFense (pistas: 2, 4, 5, 8)
Piano – Dave Burrell (pistas: 6. 7), Harold Mabern (pistas: 1 to 5, 8)
Soprano Saxophone – Archie Shepp (pistas: 2, 4, 7)
Tambourine – Nene DeFense (pistas: 1, 3)
Tenor Saxophone – Archie Shepp (pistas: 3, 4, 5, 8)
Trombone – Charles Greenlee (pistas: 2 to 7), Charles Stephens (pistas: 2 to 5, 8)
Trumpet – Charles McGhee (pistas: 2 to 5, 7, 8)
Violin – Gayle Dixon (pistas: 2, 4, 5, 7, 8), Jerry Little (pistas: 4, 7, 8), John Blake (pistas: 2, 5), Leroy Jenkins (pistas: 2, 4, 5, 7, 8), Lois Siessinger (pistas: 2, 5), Noel DaCosta (pistas: 4, 7, 8)

ARCHIE SHEPP - Kwanza (1974-2006) RM | Serie : Impulse! Originals | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Kwanza is a curious Archie Shepp recording. Released in 1969 on Impulse, it features cuts recorded between September 1968 and August 1969 with an assortment of lineups. Four of the album's five cuts were produced by Bob Thiele, and one, "Slow Drag," by Ed Michel. Shepp composed three tunes here, and he is in the company of musicians such as Grachan Moncur III (who composed "New Africa"), Jimmy Owens, Dave Burrell, Wally Richardson, Bob Bushnell, Bernard Purdie and Beaver Harris, Leon Thomas, Charles Davis, Woody Shaw, Cedar Walton, Wilbur Ware, Joe Chambers, Cecil Payne, and others. As the title might suggest, Kwanza is a joyful record, full of celebration in blues and jazz. "Back Back" opens the set with a colossal funky blues that feels like an out version of the JB's with Burrell kicking it on B-3. The all-too-brief "Spoo Dee Doo," showcases Thomas' unique, and truly awesome vocal stylings along with Tasha Thomas and Doris Troy providing a swinging backing R&B chorus. "New Africa" is the most vanguard track here, with a different rhythm section than on "Back Back," and no guitar, Burrell returns to his piano. It begins in a manner that suggests anger, but not rage. It becomes an edgeless, rounded meditation on joy and gratitude, a statement of purpose at realization and transcendence with Shepp, Owens. and Davis playing alongside Moncur as a monumental choral line in timbres; textures, big harmonic reaches and ultimately resolution. "Slow Drag," is a funky blues tune, it struts a minor key line that feels like a mutated "Wade in the Water," but its Latin rhythms and the killer bass work of Wilbur Ware make the cut a standout. The set closes with Cal Massey's "Bakai," a tune that walks a fringed line on the inside and swings like mad. Kwanza may not be one of Shepp's better known recordings, but it is certainly one of his fine ones.
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <-
Tracklist :
1     Back Back 5'45
Alto Saxophone – James Spaulding
Baritone Saxophone – Charles Davis
Bass – Bob Bushnell
Composed By – Archie Shepp
Drums – Bernard Purdie
Guitar – Wally Richardson
Organ – Dave Burrell
Tenor Saxophone – Archie Shepp
Trombone – Grachan Moncur III
Trumpet – Jimmy Owens    
2     Spoo Dee Doo 2'38
Bass – Albert Winston
Composed By – Archie Shepp
Drums – Beaver Harris
Flute – Robin Kenyatta
Guitar – Bert Payne
Piano – Andrew Bey
Tenor Saxophone – Archie Shepp
Trumpet – Martin Banks
Vocals – Doris Troy, Leon Thomas, Tasha Thomas
3     New Africa 12'50
Baritone Saxophone – Charles Davis
Bass – Walter Booker
Composed By – Grachan Moncur III
Drums – Beaver Harris
Piano – Dave Burrell
Tenor Saxophone, Vocals – Archie Shepp
Trombone – Grachan Moncur III
Trumpet – Jimmy Owens
4     Slow Drag 10'09
Alto Saxophone – Clarence Sharpe
Baritone Saxophone – Cecil Payne
Bass – Wilbur Ware
Composed By – Archie Shepp
Drums – Joe Chambers
Piano – Cedar Walton
Tenor Saxophone – Archie Shepp
Trombone – Matthew Gee
Trumpet – Woody Shaw
5     Bakai 9'59
Baritone Saxophone – Charles Davis
Bass – Walter Booker
Composed By – Cal Massey
Drums – Beaver Harris
Piano – Dave Burrell
Tenor Saxophone, Vocals – Archie Shepp
Trombone – Grachan Moncur III
Trumpet – Jimmy Owens

ARCHIE SHEPP QUINTET - Lybia (1975-2009) Unofficial Release | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Tracklist :
1    Lybia    21:15
Written-By – A. Shepp, Garrett
2    My Heart Cries Out To Africa    19:05
Written-By – A. Shepp, C. Greenlee
3    Dogon    18:45
Written-By – A. Shepp
Credits :
Bass – David Williams
Drums – Beaver Harris
Piano – Dave Burrell
Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Archie Shepp
Trombone – Charles Greenlee
Notas
Recorded in Rome, Italy, September 28, 1975.
Front and disc credit the release to Archie Shepp; spine, back insert and inside back page of the booklet to Archie Shepp Quintet.
A seemingly unofficial reissue of Jazz A Confronto (Horo HLL 101-27) with an extra track from Body And Soul (Horo HZ 10); included here since all three tracks were recorded on the same date. It uses the cover of Body And Soul but replaces the title with Lybia.

ARCHIE SHEPP - Montreux One (1975-1988) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The first of two CDs that resulted from the great tenor Archie Shepp's appearance at the 1975 Montreux Jazz Festival features the important avant-garde player in a quintet with trombonist Charles Greenlee, pianist Dave Burrell, bassist Cameron Brown and drummer Beaver Harris. Shepp, who was nearing the end of his free jazz period (soon he would be exploring hymns and traditional melodies) puts a lot of emotion into "Lush Life" and sounds fine on originals by Burrell and Greenlee in addition to his own "U-jamsa." A worthy effort. Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1     Lush Life 12:40
Billy Strayhorn
2     U-Jamaa    10:22
Archie Shepp
3     Crucificado 11:43
Dave Burrell
4     Miss Toni 11:57
Charles "Majeed" Greenlee
Credits
Bass – Cameron Brown
Drums – Beaver Harris
Piano – Dave Burrell
Tenor Saxophone – Archie Shepp
Trombone – Charles Majid Greenlee

ARCHIE SHEPP - Montreux Two (1976) lp | FLAC (tracks), lossless

Tenor saxophonist Archie Shepp was at a turning point of sorts in 1975. He was near the end of his free jazz phase and would soon be exploring melodies from both the jazz tradition and the early 20th century; in addition, his tone would begin to decline within a decade. However, that is not in evidence during this fairly rousing live appearance at the Montreux Jazz Festival with his quintet (which also includes trombonist Charles Greenlee, pianist Dave Burrell, bassist Cameron Brown, and drummer Beaver Harris). This second of two CDs is the better of the pair and a good outing for Archie Shepp. Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1     Steam 8'36
Written-By – Archie Shepp
2     Along Came Betty 12:59
Written-By – Benny Golson
3     Blues For Donald Duck 15:47     
Written-By – Grachan Moncur
Credits
Bass – Cameron Brown
Drums – Beaver Harris
Piano – Dave Burrell
Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Archie Shepp
Trombone – Charles Majid Greenlee

ARCHIE SHEPP - A Sea of Faces (1975-1993) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Tracklist :
1     Hipnosis 26'10
Maracas – Bunny Foy
Tambourine – Charles Greenlee
Written-By – Grachan Moncur III
2     Song for Mozambique/Poem: A Sea of Faces 8'12
Soprano Saxophone, Vocals, Written-by [A Sea Of Faces] – Archie Shepp
Tambourine, Vocals – Beaver Harris
Vocals – Charles Greenlee, Rafi Taha, Bunny Foy
Written-by [Song For Mozambique] – Semenya McCord
3     I Know About the Life 5'20
Lyrics By – Aishah Rahman
Music By, Piano – Archie Shepp
Vocals – Bunny Foy    
4     Lookin' for Someone to Love 9'34
Written-By – Cal Massey
Credits
Bass – Cameron Brown
Drums – Beaver Harris (pistas: 1, 3, 4)
Piano – Dave Burrell (pistas: 1, 2, 4)
Tenor Saxophone – Archie Shepp (pistas: 1, 4)
Trombone – Charles Greenlee (pistas: 1, 3, 4)