“Jazz critic Gary Giddins once described early bebop as music that was "giddy with its own virtuosity." A variety of different things came after that period of giddiness -- the introspection of cool jazz, the deep-thinking spirituality of modal post-bop and avant-garde jazz, the rock-influenced intensity of fusion -- but bebop and hard bop did, in fact, have more than their share of performances that thrived on both giddiness and virtuosity. Post-bop, even at its most optimistic and exuberant, is seldom....

Robyn Hitchcock – guitars, vocals
Peter Buck – guitars
Scott McCaughey – bass
Bill Rieflin – drums

In the 80s and 90s, in DC, one of the great nights out you could see once every 10 months or so, was singer / songwriter / guitarist / bandleader Robyn Hitchcock with whatever group of musicians he was fronting at that time.
To this day, I’m always happy to hear whatever it is that Robyn is up to. Some of his output is more to my taste than others, but he’s always a fine songwriter

60s Brit-beat fans will hugely enjoy this BBC set which I found featured a little more of a raw edge on here than on the originals.
Pretty much excellent sound throughout.

“Haunting folk rock with the exquisite compositions of Bob Hughes, this inexplicably ultra-rare private pressing is generally unknown, and includes a stunning version of the fragile and monumentally melancholic 'High & Dry', a song that is a genuine masterpiece, predating Radioheads identically titled pop tune, and vastly better. First ever reissue with sleevenotes by Bob Hughes.”

“This brings together some early-'60s sides that Hopkins recorded for the Chicago-based Vee-Jay label, although all of them were recorded in his native Houston. Lightnin's spoken introduction sets up the hilarious "Big Car Blues," part of five live tracks aboard, before setting up eight heavily reverbed studio tracks from Bill Quinn's Gold Star Studios. The final two are full-band tracks produced by drummer King Ivory Lee Semiens with Lightnin' playing electric, the band following his erratic timing as...

The second of two albums made by Kramer (who was still riding high with his Shimmy-Disc label as well as with his release by Bongwater), Hugh Hopper and Damon Krukowski (of Galaxie 500 and Damon and Naomi) on drums. 1997-style modern, whacked-out psychedelia. It's all instrumental, as long as you don't count all the found sounds/tape cut-ups as vocals, and all of Hugh's fans will immediately be able to hear that it is him.

“Recorded as a guitar-less trio (Hugh Hopper on bass, Kramer on piano...

Subtitled "Songs by Hugh Hopper", that's just what it is, as it collects tunes from the Voiceprint catalog of his songs and even includes a otherwise unavailable version of "Was a Friend" with Robert Wyatt singing! Well worth owning!

"This record reflects the work Hugh has achieved with various creative singers and lyricists, from 1983 through to 1999.
Featured musicians include Lisa S Klossner, Richard Sinclair, Rick Biddulph and Robert Wyatt."

"...through our mutual interests we began a friendship which led to my idea to create a recording of these two amazing musicians, Slava Genelin (piano) & Aharon Kaminski (drums & percussion)....the session lasted 3 hours and was fantastic....right...

This is the 1st of two collaborative albums that paired Hugh the composer with vocalist Lisa. Both of the albums they made are quite good, with Lisa's lyrics and vocals set against Hugh's compositions and programming. Also appearing are Hugh on fuzz bass, Elton Dean, and a couple of other guests. An interesting album of songs.

"I just bought Different recently. It, and the sequel album are musically and lyrically intellengent and interesting. This is not anything you will ever hear on Pop radio...

"Wayne Horvitz’s esteemed stature in modern music as a prolific composer-performer is undeniable. On American Bandstand, Horvitz and co. provide the listener with a diversion or intermission from previous Horvitz-“Zony Mash” releases as they tone things down a bit while pursuing refined elegance on delicately melodic and altogether stirring pieces such as “Ben’s Music” and the gently understated “Tired”. Horvitz and guitarist Timothy Young continue their enticing blend of richly stated chord voicings and...

"When top jazz trumpeter Freddie Hubbard began recording for the CTI label in the early 1970s, he combined his mastery of bop with forays into fusion and imaginative interpretations of contemporary rock and soul hits. With more than two hours of music, this two CD compilation showcases Hubbard at the head of several lineups at four different concerts, broadcast on different radio stations: WRSU-FM, WBCN-FM, and KCUV-FM. Hubbard performs songs from his popular albums Red Clay (1970), First Light (1971)...

“For the first time since its original release in 1970, an exact re-issue of The Human Zoo album, taken from the original master tapes, with all album artwork faithfully replicated! As was the case with label-mates The Human Expression, The Human Zoo were also from the Los Angeles suburbs of Westminster and were also signed to Accent Records. (In fact, the connection between the two bands is greater still, as the Human Zoo were managed by Jim Foster of The Human Expression). The Human Zoo were originally...

“Sandy Hurvitz began her career at the age of sixteen when she released a single for the old Liberty label. By the time she was nineteen she was playing keyboards for Frank Zappa’s Mothers Of Invention. Zappa signed her to a solo recording contract for his personal label and decided to produce the record himself. He quickly clashed with the nineteen year old, though, and turned producing chores over to band mate Ian Underwood.
What emerged was a stark and bare bones affair that focused upon her...

"Ashley Hutchings is the single most important figure in English folk-rock" - Bob Dylan 2015

In 1987 Ashley Hutchings released By Gloucester Docks I Sat Down and Wept, an album that told a very personal love story. It was unusual in that the story was not told from a 'looking back' perspective, Ashley had written the songs, the poems and letters as the story itself was unfolding. Only later did he realise that all those fragments could come together to tell some of the story. But it was an...

Third album from a Belgian quartet of vocals, reeds, guitar, keyboards, bass and drums. Their earlier albums are sort of molded on the "1971 UK proto-progressive" sound, with a progressive hard rock edge and this has that as well, but in much smaller doses and this is the album where they begin to mix that sound in with a sound more reminiscent of early King Crimson (Court and Poseidon) mixed with the heavier sounds and proto-progressive vibe. Maybe a bit comparable to the excellent Diagonal album with...

"Captured on this CD is a remarkable performance of Laborintus II, only the third recording released to the public since it was first performed in 1965. Described as a music theatre work by its pioneering composer Luciano Berio (1925-2003), the avant...

"In 1972, the Stooges were near the point of collapse when David Bowie's management team, MainMan, took a chance on the band at Bowie's behest. By this point, guitarist Ron Asheton and bassist Dave Alexander had been edged out of the picture, and James Williamson had signed on as Iggy's new guitar mangler; Asheton rejoined the band shortly before recording commenced on Raw Power, but was forced to play second fiddle to Williamson as bassist. By most accounts, tensions were high during the recording of....

Every time I think I can not be surprised by a archival release found somewhere and somehow negotiated for release, one shows up that amazes. Here is some great archival footage by the original version of the group at their peak...

“Superb. A classical record within Japanease 80’s ambient, neo classical non-music.”

“Makoto Inoue and Yasushi Yamashita's Inoyama Land project spans nearly four decades, still active to this day. A portmanteau of their family names, the "Land" of Inoyama hovers between imagined mythical space and concrete reality, extending beyond physical releases into installations, site-specific sound design and theatre scores.
After their famed Haruomi Hosono-produced 1983 release Danzindan-Pojidon...

“TEMPORAL spans the groundbreaking band's entire discography with inclusions from MOSQUITO CONTROL to the band's final full-length album, WAVERING RADIANT. "It was fun and also very nostalgic collecting material for this release," commented Aaron Harris. "I hear our catalogue differently now that I'm not living with these songs day to day. This is a special collection of outtakes, demos, unreleased tracks and videos; some of which I think we even forgot about."

“While bands like Neurosis and...

Crush of Night, serves as Part 2 of a 3-part series of thematic albums that began with The Darkened Room (TDR) in 2009. Featuring a guest appearance by Gary Green of Gentle Giant on Words and Miracles (Electric guitar, Guitar solos and backing vocals) and The Crush of Night (guitar solo), IZZ brings their characteristic sense of melody to the fore on this album, while at the same time fusing high reaching emotion with the driving impact that IZZ fans have come to identify with the band.
From the...

"One of the most important and influential figures on the post war blues scene, singer, guitarist and songwriter Elmore James was the unchallenged king of the electric slide guitar, updating the legacy of the country blues to post-war Chicago. His music, and particularly his guitar playing, has been a major source of inspiration for countless blues and rock musicians over the years. Eric Clapton, Duane Allman and Jimi Hendrix are just a few of the rock legends who have acknowledged his influence. This...

From the group’s last tour, this set was recorded at The Budokan, Tokyo in December 1982 and was their fifth from last show on that tour. The band had become friends with Yellow Magic Orchestra who joined them on some of the performances here - "Bamboo Music" is a duet featuring Akiko Yano, and "Taking Islands In Africa" features Yukihiro Takahashi. Ryuichi Sakamoto also plays on those tracks.”

"This is the first digital issue of Belgian songsmith Catherine Jauniaux’s classic recording from 1983. Her main co-conspirator is Tim Hodgkinson (Henry Cow, The Work), himself a mainstay in the world of modern, experimental music.
Together they perform a work which defies both categorization and genre labeling, offering up almost as many different styles of music as the instruments that played them. Besides capturing what could arguably be Catherine’s most unique and auspicious vocal work, this....

This is an authorized issue of a recording of the concert given on May 7, 1969 by Jefferson Airplane at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. This concert was popularly bootlegged several times and this is the first time it has been officially released. It is a very, very good audience tape for the time period and shows the band at home in front of their hometown crowd and enjoying themselves.
While there are repeats from Bless It's Pointed Little Head, this has more later period Jefferson Airplane...