BOOKER ERVIN — The In Between (1968-1997) RM | Blue Note Connoisseur Series | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Booker Ervin headed to Blue Note in 1968 for The In Between, a record that found him continuing in the vein of his later Prestige sessions. Supported by trumpeter Richard Williams, pianist Bobby Few, bassist Cevera Jeffries and drummer Lennie McBrowne, Ervin created an album that pushed the boundaries of hard bop. Every song on The In Between is an Ervin original designed to challenge the musicians. The music rarely reaches avant-garde territory -- instead, it's edgy, volatile hard bop that comes from the mind as much as the soul. Appropriately, Ervin balances his full-bodied tone with a forceful, aggressive attack that even sounds restless on the slower numbers. The result is a satisfying, cerebral set of adventurous hard bop that finds Booker Ervin at a creative peak. Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Tracklist :
1    The In Between    7:39
 Booker Ervin
2    The Muse    7:14
 Booker Ervin
3    Mour    5:57
 Booker Ervin
4    Sweet Pea    5:33
 Booker Ervin / Tommy Roe
5    Largo    6:23
 Booker Ervin
6    Tyra    7:28
 Booker Ervin
Credits :
Bass – Cevera Jeffries Jr.
Drums – Lenny McBrowne
Engineer – Rudy Van Gelder
Piano – Bobby Few Jr.
Tenor Saxophone, Flute – Booker Ervin
Trumpet – Richard Williams (tracks: 1 to 4, 6)

ALBERT AYLER - Music Is The Healing Force Of The Universe (1970-2003) RM | Serie : LP Reproduction | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Music Is the Healing Force of the Universe is a powerful and often ignored recording from the Albert Ayler catalog. It is a prophetic statement dealing with guilt, confusion, sorrow, and hopes of redemption. A powerful rhythm section of Bobby Few on piano, Stafford James and James Folwell on bass, (Folwell on electric fender bass), and Muhammad Ali on drums manage to take a backseat to the prominent vocals of Ayler's business associate and girlfriend Mary Parks, listed on the record as Mary Maria. Her emotional vocals are featured on "Music Is the Healing Force of the Universe," "Man Is Like a Tree," and "Island Harvest." Throughout these tracks Maria sounds as if she is pleading and reasoning not just universally, but directly with Ayler, trying to convince him of the positive aspects of life and her evangelistic shouts of "be healed" on the title track can prove uncomfortable. "Masonic Inborn" is an instrumental track finding Ayler not only overdubbing cacophonous bagpipe solos but also playing ocarina. "Oh Love Is Life" is Ayler's sole vocal performance on the album, his words and vocal delivery are truly frightening. This is a dreamlike plea to the sources haunting his soul to succumb to universal love. Following the intensity of the previous five tracks, the album closes with the hazy gutbucket blues of "Drudgery" reminiscent of the New Grass sessions, adding guitarist Henry Vestine of the blues rock band Canned Heat. Ayler's musical curtain was eerily closing the same way it started -- playing the blues of his high school summer vacations as a member of Little Walter's band. Music Is the Healing Force of the Universe, along with tracks that were released posthumously on the Last Album, were recorded at the same session. While not easy listening, they complete an important portrait of a man facing a life and death inner struggle beyond the boundaries of jazz. The inevitable outcome culminated on November 25, 1970, when Ayler's drowned body was found floating in New York's East River. Al Campbell
Tracklist :
1     Music Is the Healing Force of the Universe 8'37
Mary Maria Parks / Mary Parks
2     Masonic Inborn, Pt. 1 12'08
Mary Maria Parks / Mary Parks
3     A Man Is Like a Tree 4'31
Mary Maria Parks / Mary Parks
4     Oh! Love of Life 3'48
Mary Maria Parks / Mary Parks
5     Island Harvest 5'01
Mary Maria Parks / Mary Parks
6     Drudgery 8'09
Bill Folwell / William Folwell / Mary Maria Parks / Mary Parks / Henry Vestine
Credits :
Bass – Bill Folwell, Stafford James
Drums – Muhammad Ali
Guitar – Henry Vestine
Piano – Bobby Few
Tenor Saxophone – Albert Ayler (pistas: 1, 3 to 6)
Vocals – Mary Maria (pistas: 1, 3, 5)
Notas.
"Recorded at Plaza Sound Studios, New York City, August 26, 27, 28 and 29, 1969. Throughout the album Bill Folwell's bass is heard on the left channel, Stafford James' on the right. On 'Masonic Inborn (Part 1)', Albert Ayler plays two bagpipe parts employing overdubbing. Henry Vestine plays both guitar parts, employing overdubbing on 'Drudgery'".

ARCHIE SHEPP - Coral Rock (1970) lp | FLAC (tracks), lossless

Coral Rock features an absolutely monster free jazz lineup. Fans of other releases on America or the BYG Actuel series should be familiar with a number of these sidemen: Bobby Few, Clifford Thornton, Muhammad Ali, Joseph Jarman. Particularly of interest, though, might be the under-recorded Alan Shorter, who contributed the title track. This piece is especially reminiscent of "Mephistopheles," a tune that appeared (in different capacities) on his brother Wayne's similarly great Blue Note LP The All Seeing Eye and certain reissue pressings of the self-titled Marion Brown record on ESP. Like "Mephistopheles," "Coral Rock" features a lumbering, march-like bassline and incredibly dissonant head. "Coral Rock," however, is much looser and, for this reason, it would be difficult to imagine it on a Blue Note release of any kind. This is free jazz straight out of the late-'60s/early-'70s Paris scene. Very serious stuff. That having been said, the inclusion of the standard "I Should Care" may come as a surprise, but one should keep in mind that no matter how far out Archie Shepp got, his roots have always been firmly planted in the past. It is seemingly presented here more as a vehicle for pianist Bobby Few than anything else and, within Shepp's catalog, might be compared to the free blues of "Damn If I Know (The Stroller)" from his 1968 Impulse LP, The Way Ahead. This session was reissued in the States by Prestige. Brandon Burke
SIDE A     Coral Rock 21'35
Alan Shorter
SIDE B     I Should Care 14'05
Sammy Cahn / Axel Stordahl / Paul Weston
Credits :
Bass – Bob Reid
Congas [Conga Drums] – Djibrill
Drums – Mohamed Ali
Flugelhorn [Flugal Horn] – Alan Shorter
Percussion – Ostaine Blue Warner
Piano – Bobby Few
Tenor Saxophone [Tenor-Sax], Piano – Archie Shepp
Trumpet – Lester Bowie
Valve Trombone [Valve-Trombone] – Clifford Thornton