Jazz Archives

Easily one of the most important records ever made, John Coltrane's A Love Supreme was his pinnacle studio outing that at once compiled all of his innovations from his past, spoke of his current deep spirituality, and also gave a glimpse into the next two and a half years (sadly, those would be his last). Recorded at the end of 1964, Trane's classic quartet of Elvin Jones, McCoy Tyner, and Jimmy Garrison stepped into the studio and created one of the most thought-provoking, concise, and technically pleasing albums of their bountiful relationship (not to mention his best-selling to date). From the undulatory (and classic) bassline at the intro to the last breathy notes, Trane is at the peak of his logical yet emotionally varied soloing while the rest of the group is remarkably in tune with Coltrane's spiritual vibe. Composed of four parts, each has a thematic progression leading to an understanding of spirituality through meditation. From the beginning, "Acknowledgement" is the awakening of sorts that trails off to the famous chanting of the theme at the end, which yields to the second act, "Resolution," an amazingly beautiful piece about the fury of dedication to a new path of understanding. "Persuance" is a search for that understanding, and "Psalm" is the enlightenment. Although he is at times aggressive and atonal, this isn't Trane at his most adventurous (pretty much everything recorded from here on out progressively becomes much more free, and live recordings from this period are extremely spirited), but it certainly is his best attempt at the realization of concept -- as the spiritual journey is made amazingly clear. A Love Supreme clocks in at just over 30 minutes, but if it had been any longer it could have turned into a laborious listen. As it stands, just enough is conveyed. It is almost impossible to imagine a world without A Love Supreme having been made, and it is equally impossible to imagine any jazz collection without it. 

:::Review by Sam Samuelson:::

John Coltrane - A Love Supreme (Deluxe Edition 2002) (1965)

CD1
1-1. Part 1 - Acknowledgement 7:43
1-2. Part 2 - Resolution 7:20
1-3. Part 3 - Pursuance 10:42
1-4. Part 4 - Psalm 7:05

CD2
2-1. Introduction By André Francis 1:13
2-2. Part 1 - Acknowledgement (Live Version) 6:12
2-3. Part 2 - Resolution (Live Version) 11:37
2-4. Part 3 - Pursuance (Live Version) 21:30
2-5. Part 4 - Psalm (Live Version) 8:49
2-6. Part 2 - Resolution (Alternative Take) 7:25
2-7. Part 2 - Resolution (Breakdown) 2:13
2-8. Part 1 - Acknowlegement (Alternative Take) 9:09
Bass - Art Davis
Saxophone [Tenor] - Archie Shepp
2-9   Part 1 - Acknowlegement (Alternative Take) 9:23
Bass - Art Davis
Saxophone [Tenor] - Archie Shepp

Credits
Bass - Jimmy Garrison
Drums - Elvin Jones
Piano - McCoy Tyner
Saxophone [Tenor] - John Coltrane

Notes
A Love Supreme: Studio and Live versions including some alternative takes.
Disc One and Disc Two (tracks 6-9) recorded December 1964 at Van Gelder Recording Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
Disc Two (tracks 1-5) recorded July 1965 at the Festival Mondial du Jazz Antibes, Juan-les-Pins, France.

The debut of this german band which was founded early 1969 in Hamburg. In summary the music is Jazz Rock oriented but also with some Hard Rock and Folk/Hippie elements. Of course there are many impressions from other artists coming together here. But I'm quite sure this album from 1971 also must have influenced bands like EMBRYO or MISSUS BEASTLY. A wide range of instruments is used which provides variety to the songs. We have a fuzzy guitar which brings some psych moments, the rhythm section and saxophone for a fusion/jazzrock orientation, nice percussion work and a flute for a folk feeling.
So the first long track Simple Headphone Mind unites all this elements. The result is a very good song which in parts sounds like a collaboration between SANTANA, TRAFFIC and SOFT MACHINE. Your Chance Of A Lifetime contains vocals which are not really satisfying. But the rest is exciting though with a crazy piano part. Where The Wild Things Are is a short jazz rocking piece which might be an impression how they were able to jam live on the stage. Vampire State Building of course contains a drum solo which was compelling at that time, just a sacred duty. This song is another highlight of the album because of a great variety. Marvellous piano and guitar work - even the vocals are impressive.
With Piss Off a heavy and crazy guitar is striking, weird or maybe one could say Avant. Duelling with a sax accompanied by a simple drum rhythm - fantastic!
Change Will Come is one of three songs which were recorded three months later and therefore appears only on the CD version. It's a good one, very jazzy and partially up-tempo.
As for a conclusion this album is recommended to Krautrock fans which prefer a Jazz Rock trend.

:::Review by Rivertree:::

Alcatraz - Vampire State Building (1971)

1. Simple Headphone Mind (10:00)
2. Your Chance Of A Lifetime (5:06)
3. Where The Wild Things Are (3:03)
4. Vampire State Building (13:10)
5. Piss Off (3:18)
6. Change Will Come (6:08)

Credits
- Rüdiger Berghan / piano, vocals
- Klaus Holst / guitar
- Klaus Nagurski / flute, tenor saxophone
- Ronald Wilson / bass
- Jan Rieck / drums, percussion

Releases information
LP Long Hair Music (Germany 1971)
CD Long Hair Music LHC 14 (Germany 2002)

As Dzyan's first album was more or less a studio/one-time project, the first line-up did not survive the album's release. So the group was reduced to a very-different trio with only Karwataky remaining from the previous one. In came Giger on drums and percussions and Eddy Marron on guitars. Graced with a full psych artwork representing their tree-bordered paths, this album is one of Germany's most acclaimed instrumental jazz-fusion album. It was recorded in the Dieter Dierks studios and released on the very collectible Bacillus label.
Made of three tracks, the first side starts on the superb 8-min ethnic-sounding Kabisrain with a distinct Indian influence. The following almost 9-min Magika is much harder to swallow/ingest as it starts out on a wild drum intro, and it never really lets up until its end. The tracks often veers dissonant and limit atonal, but does remain accessible (more so than Crimson's Moonchild or Providence) to most and in its second part the guitar does take the track into more conventional improv grounds, but still remains uneasy reminding some of Nucleus's Belladona works. The third (and much shorter) Light Shining Out Of Darkness is quite a change as it veers Flamenco-jazz in a way that Metheny or DeLucia would not disown. Easily the album's most accessible track.
A sidelong monster title track with its 18 minutes fills the flipside. The track can be seen as a manic Mahavishnu Orchestra meeting a brass-less Nucleus. If the track remains relatively on the subject, avoiding useless lengthy soloing, it does not avoid some lengths especially that Marron's guitars are the only fronting soloing instrument. However the track veers around the 1é-min mark and presents a very repetitive riff that makes the last 6 minutes a bit minimalist, but also a bore.
While Dzyan's second album is well in the line of their first album, it is more "concise", precise and urgent than the debut album.

:::Review by Sean Trane:::

Dzyan - Time Machine (1973)

1. Kabisrain (7:59)
2. Magika (8:45)
3. Light shining out of darkness (3:13)
4. Time machine (17:47)

Credits
- Peter Giger / drums, percussion
- Reinhard Karwatky / bass, keyboards
- Eddy Marron / guitar, sitar, saxophone

Take the opening tracks from Chicago's debut and Colosseum's Valentyne Suite. Clutch them together and add rough heavy vocals. That's what Altona sounds like, raw acid-rock with a jazzy brass section and powerful vocals. An ultra-rare gem but if you want some more of that great upbeat 60's vibe, here you go.
The album starts with a swinging heavy rock groove. The brass section and Beefheart-alike vocals give it a nice twist. It's a bit of a stretch but the brass instruments somehow remind me of Morphine. Altona's mood isn't morose though, this must be the most energetic and vivacious music I know. Oh yes this is prog you can boogie to!
Cocopus partially continues the upbeat pace, but also adds some more reflective bluesy pieces that could have been from Pink Floyd's More or Ash Ra Tempel.
Uberlandfarth shifts up the gear another notch. One day I'll throw in this song at a party at home. Guaranteed swinging and air-guitar fun. 7/4 is a bit of an old-fashioned rockabilly track but from here on the album doesn't let go of its tight rocking energy anymore.
Is it kraut? Is it acid-rock? Jazz-rock? It's sure heavy energetic fun!

:::Review by Bonnek:::

Altona - Altona (1974)

01. Can't Live Without You - 4:05
02. Cocopus - 5:36
03. Überlandfahrt - 4:03
04. 7/4 - 4:13
05. Boulevard - 4:59
06. Frustration - 6:44
07. Hide Yourself - 5:48

Credits
- Klaus Gerlach - guitar
- Karl-Heinz "Carlo" Blumenberg - vocals, soprano sax
- Karl-Heinz Gossler - drums
- Fritz Kahl - bass
- Werner von Gosen - guitar
- Wolfgang Wülff - tenor sax
- Michael von Rönn - tenor sax

This album is considered the turning point where Soul Caravan will become eventually Xhol, losing the second part to avoid confusion with the Canterbury band. With s superb psychedelic artwork and a title to match it, the album is clearly proof that Soul Caravan was indeed growing into Xhol as part of the members lived in a commune. The term Krautrock was probably first used while talking of this band, and this album might just be the first album presented as such.
Starting on a toilet flush, the opening side is made of extended tracks where the organs and saxes are exchanging/alternating solos on a series of tracks that don't seem tomatter if theyb really exist on their own rather than as a whole. Electric Fun Fair is an extended soloing round circling on a circus-music theme. Slightly superior is Pop Games where Belbe and Fischer's saxes trade licks before drummer Skip (not Spence) and conga-er Rhodes interrupt for some 90 seconds, before the track returns to the original feel. All Green is definitely funkier and jazzier and laid back.
The flipside is more about the unavoidable 17-min Raise Up High's presence (and its rocket start, followed by a raunchy guitar/vocal passage that last pretty well the whole tracks save the atonal improvs that are scattered throughout. The whole thing is a bit sketchy, indulgent, dodgy, repetitive and not always interesting either but on average, it doesn't stand up to the first side, finishing on a harpsichord tinkling. The last Mashalla is a botched-up idea best forgotten
The GOD label reissue joins as bonus both tracks of their preceding single with both sides actually clash with the rest of the album, but has the merit to show further proof of Xhol's passage from soul to psychedelic, but both tracks being still closer to experimental soul (BS&T in Planet Earth and early Colosseum on So Down) than psych. Indeed Electrip is really a product of its time and probably one of the more significant albums of the Krautrock genre. Essential certainly, classic also, but flawless certainly not!!

:::Review by Sean Trane:::

Xhol Caravan - Electrip (1969)

1. Electric Fun Fair (6:25)
2. Pop Games (6:56)
3. All Green (7:38)
4. Raise Up High (17:45)
5. Walla Masallah (1:38)

Bonus Tracks

6. Planet Earth (2:46)
7. So Down (3:29)

Credits
- Skip van Wyck / drums
- Tim Belbe / saxophone
- Hansi Fischer / saxophone, flute
- Klaus Briest / bass
- Öcki / keyboards

When we are witness to a new kind of art, it should be noted. And though the first glimpses of an unproven form are sometimes raw, the impact is usually undeniable. This is the case with 'Emergency!'. Sometimes ugly but always real, this little record is very likely the first true and fully blended mix of modern jazz with electric rock in all its manic glory. There had been hints at it, experiments and false starts that often lacked total vision, like Cannonball Adderly's use of pop stylings in jazz. As well, Miles Davis is most often credited with being the 'father' of jazz-rock but on closer inspection, Davis is, at best, its grandfather whose 'In a Silent Way' (1969) was more a flirtation between styles than an infusion of musics. There were superior and better-realized fusion projects to come, such as John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu and the later symphonic aspirations of Chick Corea and Al Di Meola. But in hindsight, this rough, tainted and trance-induced set, deeply intuitive on a level not before heard, is the first recording of jazz artists doing what the heavy blues and psych scenes had been doing for years. And while there had been those who progressed jazz itself, such as Jimmy Giuffre, Dave Brubeck or Gunther Schuller, no one had brought together the hot bop of Coltrane with the howling rock spirit of Jimi Hendrix in the same room at the same time. Finally... Fusion with a capital 'F' had arrived, kicking and screaming but alive and well.
This session, not to be confused with Williams' first album as leader in 1964 titled 'Lifetime', had all the makings for explosive creativity and boundary-wrecking; John McLaughlin's guitar sounding more urgent and other-worldly than ever, Larry Young's irrepressible organ, and Williams' ridiculously confident charge on drums. If one didn't know better, the nine-minute title cut could just be the sound of another crazy jazz band bopping their way into the 1970's with drug-induced abandon. But the unmistakable sounds of riff rock can be heard fighting to break on through, Larry Young's insistent organ- grind, McLaughlin's lead, and the whole thing coming alive with Williams' crashes and acrobatic backbeat. Some acid mud follows, as well as passages of sheer spontaneity. 'Beyond Games' is hideous and nervous freeform featuring Williams' bizarre vocals and the 12-minute 'Where' is a troubled dervish of a jam, dizzying and sweaty with odd rhythms, sudden changes of mood and semi-classical lines running between guitar and organ. But it's the fourth, 'Vashkar', where we begin to hear the first clearly-cut form of jazz rock with all of its facets, finally gelling in the way we would become familiar with in later years showing intelligent melodics, tight dynamics, and plenty of fire. 'Via the Spectrum Road' is the requisite weird pop-psych tune, but luckily the firecracking jam 'Spectrum' wakes things up again with pure hot jazz and wild soloing from everyone. It would be the highlight of the set if not for the 13- minute 'Sangria For Three', a beautifully messy explosion of jazz rock at its most pure. 'Something Special' finishes with unsettled dissonance and closes out a musical statement so bold and irreverent that it was, in the truest sense, revolutionary. A mad experiment gone out of control and one of the most important records you will ever hear.

:::Review by Atavachron:::

Tony Williams - Emergency (1969)

1. Emergency - 9:35
2. Beyond Games - 8:17
3. Where - 12:10
4. Vashkar - 4:59
5. Via the Spectrum Road - 7:49
6. Spectrum - 8:50
7. Sangria For Three - 13:07
8. Something Special - 5:37

Credits
- Tony Williams/ drums
- John McLaughlin / guitar
- Larry Young / Organ

This band is Doldinger's baby and this was the first line-up to record an album and tour. It is also one of the better album of that first era (very visible because all sleeve artwork are by the same artist) and of course most progheads will be interested in this era instead of the second one (stating with 77's Iguacu) that will be more Latino-fusion - a bit like later Weather Report or Spiro Gyra.
Abracadabra and the title track are the two highlight of this album but all tracks are strong. We hover around a very KB jazz-rock with Doldinger and Roberts on KB (Doldinger also doubles up on Sax) and the guitar is somewhat not present enough as Schmid doubles up on bass and guitar! The main influences I can think of is a bit of Canterbury style as the KB sometimes remind me of Caravan's David Sinclair's organs but also some Bundles-era Soft Machine.
Outside these consideration , Hand Made is a real excellent album well worth investigating !

:::Review by Sean Trane:::

Passport - Hand Made (1973)

1. Abracadabra (7:20)
2. The connexion (5:33)
3. Yellow dream (4:20)
4. Proclamation (2:39)
5. Hand made (9:26)
6. Puzzle (4:07)
7. The quiet man (4:43)

Credits
- Curt Cress / drums
- Klaus Doldinger / soprano & tenor saxes, electric piano, synthesizers, Mellotron
- Frank Roberts / electric piano, organ
- Wolfgang Schmid / bass, guitar

Nils Peter Molvaer debut album is one of the greatest nu.jazz album I ever heard! Started with classic ECM/Norwegian jazz cold acoustic sound, Nils came to synthesis of ambient, electronics, very light world element with jazzy trumpet, guitars and excellent cool atmosphere. When listened to this album, I remembered possibly greatest Chick Corea work - "Return To Forever" LP. Different time, different place, different emotional level - but both these albums are very connected. They both are great products of it's time. Even more strange that Nils debut was released on ECM, his sound there is far from their standard!
Distorted guitars and trumpet, sounding almost in cool jazz traditions, built tension and romance at the same time. There I believe, that Nils often mentioned between greatest jazz figures of late 90-s.
If you're new for nu.jazz - start here. If you 're searching on new sound in jazz-fusion - try this! Very recommended!

:::Review by snobb:::

Nils Petter Molvaer - Khmer (1997)

1. Khmer
2. Tion
3. Access / Song Of Sand I
4. On Stream
5. Platonic Years
6. Phum
7. Song of Sand II
8. Exit

Credits
-Nils Petter Molvaer/ trumpet, guitar, bass, percussion, samples
-Eivind Aarset/ talk box, guitar, sound treatment
-Roger Ludvilgsen/ guitar, dulcimer, percussion
-Morten Molster/guitar
-Rune Arnesen/ drums
-Ulf W.O. Holand/samples
-Reider Skar/ sound treatment)

Harmony of the Spheres was composer Neil Ardley's final album for a major label. Released by Decca in the U.K. in 1979. This is the record many of Ardley's most ardent (no pun intended) fans and jazz purists have dismissed out of hand. Simply put, both groups are wrong. The primary reason for this dislike is two-fold: first, the ubiquitous use of synthesizers. Given that this is a conceptual recording of the title, derived from the complex notions of the ancient Greeks, Ardley could find no acoustic instruments that could actually reproduce the sounds required. He assigned musical notes to each of the planets and discovered that the ratio of the orbit times of Mercury and Pluto (assigned the highest and lowest tones, respectively, because of their distance from the sun) were virtually identical to the ratio of frequencies of the sounds of the upper and lower range limits of human hearing. That this entire schemata is only approached and achieved once on the entire album, on "Soft Stillness & the Night," is immaterial. Ardley composed an entire suite around these sounds, the "harmony" as it were, and came up with a stellar jazz-rock set, that combines some of the very finest elements of prog, jazz improvisation, funk, and rock composition to hit record stores, and sounds distinctly different from anything else in his catalog. The cast on this brilliant album includes trumpeter Ian Carr and members of his band Nucleus, vocalist Norma Winstone, Tony Coe and Barbara Thompson on reeds and winds, Geoff Castle, Trevor Tomkins, Richard Burgess, Pepi Lemer, and the utterly amazing (and largely unrecognized) Billy Kristian, whose bassline is the anchor of the entire set, and who gets in some amazingly funky playing. The other big surprise is the appearance of John Martyn on electric guitar -- playing both lead and rhythm -- his playing here goes far beyond anything to appear on his own records -- let's put it this way, he could have hung with John Goodsall of Brand X without difficulty and possesses a trunkload of soul. Check out his smokin' fretwork on the opener "Upstarts All," which complements Kristian's bass work astutely. The disjointed funk on "Leap in the Dark" would have been right at home in many clubs at the time, though its syncopation would have thrown many. Here again, Kristian shines.
Carr's genius is heard bountifully on "Head Strong, Headlong," that walks a line between jazz, funk, and blues. Taken as a whole, Harmony of the Spheres is not nearly as jarring now as it was when released, and is far less a "commercial" album than it was once considered. It's a fitting testimony to Ardley's compositional and sonic genius that he employs synthesizers as not only architectural building blocks but as actual melodic instruments as well. Only a brilliant pianist and harmonist could accomplish such a thing, and Ardley was both. Luckily for us, the grand British reissue label Esoteric released this set on CD for the first time in the West in 2008.

:::Review by Thom Jurek:::

Neil Ardley - Harmony Of The Spheres (1979)

1. Upstarts All 3:35
2. Leap In The Dark 6:02
3. Glittering Circles 6:29
4. Fair Mirage 7:21
5. Soft Stillness And The Night 7:28
6. Headstrong, Headlong 7:13
7. Towards Tranqility 8:39

Credits
Bass - Bill Kristian
Clarinet - Tony Coe
Drums - Richard Burgess
Electric Piano, Synthesizer [Minimoog] - Geoff Castle
Flugelhorn - Ian Carr
Flute - Barbara Thompson
Guitar - John Martyn
Percussion - Richard Burgess , Trevor Tomkins
Piano - Geoff Castle
Saxophone [Soprano] - Barbara Thompson , Tony Coe
Synthesizer [Arp Odyssey, Omni] - Neil Ardley
Trumpet - Ian Carr
Vocals - Norma Winstone , Pepi Lemer

Arranger Bob Curnow transcribed a dozen compositions by Pat Metheny and/or Lyle Mays (originally recorded by the Pat Metheny Group) and adapted them for his Stan Kenton-influenced big band. The instrumentation differs drastically from Metheny's quartet and some of the pieces were originally very electric, but somehow these new renditions make the songs sound as if they were originally designed for this orchestra. The 20-piece big band is full of some of the cream of L.A.'s jazz scene and includes such soloists as trombonists Andy Martin and Rick Culver; saxophonists Bob Sheppard, Rob Lockart, and Danny House; pianist Bill Cunliffe; and a mighty trumpet section. This is an unusual concept that somehow works perfectly and with surprising logic.

:::Review by Scott Yanow:::

Bob Curnow's L.A. Big Band - The Music of Pat Metheny & Lyle Mays (1994)

01. It's Just Talk (7.24)
02. Always and Forever (5.23)
03. The First Circle (8.51)
04. Letter from Home (2.49)
05. Are We There Yet (4.50)
06. If I Could (8.39)
07. See The World (4.33)
08. Minuano (Six Eight) (8.07)
09. Dream Of The Return (5.21)
10. Every Summer Night (7.02)
11. In Her Family (3.20)
12. Have You Heard (7.06)

Credits
Andy Martin - Trombone, Soloist
Lyle Mays - Composer
Tom Peterson - Clarinet, Soloist, Sax (Baritone), Clarinet (Bass), Flute
Jerry Pinter - Clarinet, Sax (Tenor), Flute
Don Rader - Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Soloist
Ron Stout - Trumpet, Soloist, Flugelhorn
Paul Viapiano - Guitar, Soloist
Tom Warrington - Bass
Wayne Bergeron - Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Soloist
Chuck Hughes - Trombone, Soloist
Bob Curnow - Arranger, Conductor, Liner Notes, Producer
Rick Culver - Trombone, Soloist
Bill Cunliffe - Piano, Soloist
Steve Houghton - Drums, Soloist
Danny House - Clarinet, Soloist, Flute, Sax (Alto)
Dana Hughes - Trombone (Bass)
Alexander Iles - Trombone
Brian Kilgore - Percussion, Soloist
Rob Lockart - Clarinet, Soloist, Flute, Sax (Tenor)
Buddy Childers - Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Photography
Bob Sheppard - Clarinet, Flute, Sax (Alto), Sax (Soprano), Soloist
Bobby Shew - Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Soloist

A fascinating reissue that comfortably straddles the lines of jazz, folk, and world music, working up a storm by way of a jazz protest album that points toward the Spanish Civil War in particular and the Vietnam War in passing. Haden leads the charge and contributes material, but the real star here may in fact be Carla Bley, who arranged numbers, wrote several, and contributed typically brilliant piano work. Also of particular note in a particularly talented crew is guitarist Sam Brown, the standout of "El Quinto Regimiento/Los Cuatro Generales/Viva la Quince Brigada," a 21-minute marathon. Reissue producer Michael Cuscuna has done his best with the mastering here, but listeners will note a roughness to the sound -- one that is in keeping with the album's tone and attitude.

:::Review by Steven McDonald:::

Charlie Haden - Liberation Music Orchestra (1969)

1 . The Introduction 1:15
2. Song Of The United Front 1:52
3a. El Quinto Regimento (The Fifth Regiment) 20:58
3b. Los Cuatro Generales (The Four Generals)
3c. Viva La Quince Brigada (Long Live The Fifteenth Brigade)
4. The Ending To The First Side 2:07
5. Song For Chè 9:29
6. War Orphans 6:42
7. The Interlude (Drinking Music) 1:24
8. Circus '68 '69 6:10
9. We Shall Overcome 1:19

Credits
Bass, Producer - Charlie Haden
Clarinet - Perry Robinson
Cornet, Flute [Indian Wood Flute, Bamboo Flute] - Don Cherry (tracks: 3, 5)
French Horn, Percussion [Hand Wood Blocks, Bells], Performer [Crow Call], Whistle [Military Whistle] - Bob Northern
Guitar, Percussion [Thumb Piano] - Sam Brown (tracks: 1, 3 to 7)
Percussion - Andrew Cyrille (tracks: 8) , Paul Motian
Percussion [Tambourine], Arranged By - Carla Bley
Saxophone [Tenor], Clarinet - Gato Barbieri
Saxophone [Tenor], Saxophone [Alto] - Dewey Redman
Trombone - Roswell Rudd
Trumpet - Michael Mantler
Tuba - Howard Johnson

Absolute Zero, an amazing American avant-rock ensemble including a Canterbury living legend (now dead, unfortunately), delivered the studio gem "Crashing Icons" in the early years of the new millennium. This wonderful yet difficult record states a powerful mixture of jazz-fusion and rock in opposition, which means an electrifying combination of vibrant cadences and deconstructive structures. This is the band's only official CD after releasing a number of domestic, limited-edition demos and live recordings. The album's title can also be the literal manifesto of the band's writing and performing strategies: iconoclastic performances cleverly inspired by the free spirit of jazz-based improvisations, fueled by the rhythm duo's bizarrely powerful expansions and ornamented by Quinn's ever elegant and ever bizarre inputs. The Dadaistic vocalizations by Quinn (whose tone reminds me of Thinking Plague alumnus Deborah Perry's) also help to expand the irreverent nature of the musical ideas developed, destroyed and reconstructed along the way of each piece (long pieces all of them, clocking between the 12 and 20+ minute marks). As points of reference, one can notice influences from Art Bears, "In Praise of Learning"-era Henry Cow, the wildest side of Zappa and the challenging standard of late 60s-early 70s free jazz. The way Jardines plays his bassist's role is amazing beyond belief: he usually uses his instrument as a mad lead guitar "in your face", while Pip masterfully accepts the challenge with an incredible energy that one doe not usually expect from a man that is past his 50th birthday. Forget about the melodic drive of Hatfield albums or the easy-going pulsations of early Gong releases, the Pip Pyle of Absolute Zero works as a wise accomplice of the band's global post-modernistic approach. Track 2 'Further On' is the most accomplished example of the radically avant-garde style that the band is aimed to. The presence of African tuned percussions among the track's development and variations works as a catalyser of colorfulness through the overall neurosis and fun elaborated by the nuclear trio. Nothing to complain about once you have gotten into the album's spirit through the opener 'Bared Cross', which defies the limits of rational sensitiveness in the art of noise from its initial seconds: 'Bared Cross' is an open invitation to find a new rationale in art beyond the habitual sense of rationality, headlong for the disturbing, celebrating the marriage of chaos and interconnectivity under the guidance of a new intelligence. In lesser words, a post-modernistic approach to jazz-rock-fusion. 'Stutter Rock/You Said' emphasizes the jazz element, enhancing the band's gusto for free-jazz and mixing it with some unmistakable funky cadences. Here we can enjoy the most impressive synth solo by Quinn in the entire album, as well as an exciting conga solo by guest Jim Stewart (announced by Jardines as a "fabulous salsero" and a "master of tropical rhythms") during a Latin-jazz excursion. Absolute Zero's music cries rebellion, but it doesn't deny fun or warmth at all. This Latin portion is an excuse for the whole band to propel itself toward an expansion of the madness that had been somewhat constrained so far. Being the least inscrutable track in the album, it still has plenty of room for radical weirdness. 'Sueños Sobre un Espejo' (Spanish for 'Dreams On a Mirror') entitles the closing track. This one manages to insert some lyricism as well as ethereal ambiences while staying in touch with the album's overall surrealistic scheme. The emergence of somber passages and ceremonious vocalizations preferentially hint at the absurd instead of the creepy.
The track's coda is as explosive as can be expected by the attentive listener. Crashing your musical conceptions like a Nietzschean hammer, Absolute Zero's music will be pleasantly perceived as a declaration of war against the musical conventions of jazz and rock by any true avant-prog lover.

:::Review by Cesar Inca:::

Absolute Zero - Crashing Icons (2004)

1. Bared Cross (13:47)
2. Further On (20:43)
3. Stutter Rock / You Said (11:49)
4. Suenos Sobre Un Espejo (16:46)

Credits
- Aislinn Quinn / keyboards, vocals, percussion (4)
- Enrique Jardines / bass, percussion (4)
- Pip Pyle / drums, percussion

Guest musicians
- Keith Hedger / trumpet, percussion (4)
- Jim Stewart / percussion (2,4)

Abrasive energy, aggressive darkness and challenging inventiveness - name these three items and you will be summarizing what NeBeLNeST's recent release "ZePTO" is all about. This has to be one of the Top 5 prog albums of the year, and it's really stunning how energetic and cohesive this avant-rock album is, considering that it was conceived and recorded during a long period of crisis, during which an old guitarist stayed for a little more time and then left, another one came in to replace him, and ultimately, the band's nucleus was reduced to Tejedor brothers and drummer Anselmi. Anyway, NeBeLNeST's sound is more focused on Olivier's multiple keyboards than ever before, but it hasn't stopped the band from creating their most ballsy recording so far. Yes, the nuclear trio have managed to concentrate mainly on their most chaotic side of their music and explore it further in order to instill a renewed electrifying energy into the realms of RIO. But that doesn't come out that clear until the second track. The catchy opening track 'Pillars of Birth', built on a robust 5/4 tempo, pretty much follows the path of the previous offering "Nova Express". 'Manjuns' is definitely oriented toward radical disturbance, stating an ambience of semi-controlled anarchy that the musicians deliver with solid efficiency, while challenging each other mercilessly. 'The Old Ones' kind of recycles the spirits of the previous two numbers; it recaptures the swing of track 1, but with a more sinister vibe, which results in a tension similar to that exposed in track 2. A special mention has to go to the keyboard input, essential for the mood of 'The Old Ones'. There is also a noticeable presence of jazz-rock nuances in places, which allows the generation of contrast against the harder-edged sections: Gregory's wickedly distorted bass lines serve as main solidifiers of those aforesaid harder sections. Does the listener want some more anarchy? There is the short 'The Thing in the Walls', that appears to our ears as an endless masochistic nightmare with its random paths that concretize a massive sonic deconstruction. Free-jazz, thrash-metal, radical psychedelia and HC's "In Praise of Learning" RIO: all this and more in less than 2 minutes. Its abrupt end is segued into the more ethnic 'Fabric of Reality': percussive drifts and exotic clarinet flourishes emerge over a krautrock-inspired minimalist series of keyboard layers, until the last minute brings a defying musique concrete display. 'De Triumpho Naturae' and 'Do What Thou Wilt' are the longest tracks in the album. The former is linked to the aleatory coda of 'Fabric', and actually gets started in a similar mood, until a well-ordained crescendo appears, seasoned with a cosmic interlude. The latter has a weird, eerie 4-minute intro, like a subtle hint of scary things to come. Then. they come. The main motif shows a ballsy mixture of classic Present and "Starless and Bible Black"-era KC. The spacey synthesizer ornaments are featured in order to enhance the track's overall surreal essence. The epilogue 'Station 9' portrays the machine-driven world that we live in. The cybernetic aura created by the free flowing of mechanic- sounding keyboards and percussions is full of abstract mystery and creepy intensity. Many of NeBeLNeST connoisseurs were afraid that the band had left the scene for good: we were so wrong. the band was only recreating itself in the dark, waiting to reappear with a vengeance. And so they did: "ZePTO" is a hell of a masterpiece in the current world of RIO.

:::Review by Cesar Inca:::

NeBeLNeST – ZePTO (2006)

1. Pillars of Birth (6:34)
2. Manjnuns (5:42)
3. The Old Ones (5:48)
4. The Thing in the Walls (1:48)
5. Fabric of Reality (3:13)
6. De Thriumpho Naturae (8:27)
7. DO WHAT THOU WILT (10:06)
8. Station 9 (4:25)

Credits
- Michaël Anselmi / drums, percussion
- Grégory Tejedor / bass
- Olivier Tejedor / keyboards, devices, ocarina ,violin
With
- Sébastien Carmona / guitar (1, 3, 6)
- Cyril Malderez / guitar (2, 4, 5, 7)
- Vincent Bouzefa / clarinet

miRthkon hails from Oakland, California, and plays what they describe as "an inimitable blend of quirky prog rock, avant-garde jazz, contemporary classical abstraction, thrash metal, and an uncanny pop accessibility that defies categorization". The band was founded by guitarist/vocalist Wally Scharold in the late 1990s; while existing in some incarnation of some sort for well over a decade, it was not until 2005 that the core lineup (Sharold, guitarist Rob Pumpelly, bassist Nat Hawkes, drummer Dickie Ogden, and multi-reedist Carolyn Walter) came together for a heavy gigging rotation throughout the Bay Area. An EP, The Illusion of Joy, was released in September 2006. They were shortly thereafter signed to AltrOck Productions (home of Italian avant-prog outfit Yugen), and soon began work on their first full-length album Vehicle, which was released in May 2009. The current lineup now features Matt Guggemos on drums and Jamison Smeltz playing alto and baritone saxes, as well as vocals.

:::Review from mirthkon.com:::

Mirthkon - The Illusion Of Joy (2006)

1. Zhagunk (5:00)
2. Johnny Yen (4:22)
3. Daddylonglegz (5:11)
4. Trishna (8:51)

Credits
Nathaniel Hawkes / Bass
Dickie Ogden / Drums
Rob Pumpelly / Guitar
Wally Scharold / Guitars, Vocals

Aram Shelton / Woodwinds
Carolyn Walter / Woodwinds

TIPOGRAPHICA are very hard to describe, which is probably why they were one of the most interesting band of the 90s (unfortunately, the band recently decided to part ways). The musicians, consisting of guitarist, bassist, drummer, and a small horn section seemed influenced by Frank ZAPPA's 70s jazz compositions, and especially Ruth Underwood's crazed percussion work-outs. However, the rhythms on "God Says I Can't Dance" are really unique, and don't seem directly influenced by ZAPPA. I've heard their unique rhythm work being called "arhythmic" (tons of starts, stops, 90 degree turns, tempo changes). Yes, you could definitely say that. But the band is great at creating grooves out of those irregular rhythms, giving the music a strange danceable quality to it (like ZAPPA's catchiest work). The interaction between musicians has a playfulness to it that is typical of most of the experimental Japanese bands. TIPOGRAPHICA are a perfect introduction to the Japanese prog scene.

:::Review by Steve Hegede:::

Tipographica - God Says I Can't Dance (1996)

1. Friends (8:54)
2. Control Tower Says 'TP-1, Break Down' (8:45)
3. White Collar Worker VS Black Rubber Man (11:22)
a) AM 3:28 Shinjuku
b) AM 3:45 Kasumigaseki
c) AM 5:02 Berlin
4. And Then The Last Ship Is Going (7:35)
5. Japanese Room (we Have No ZEN) (7:34)
6. Laughin' Photograph (8:15)
7. Forest Tipographical II (7:34)

Credits
- Tsuneo Imahori / guitar
- Naruyoshi Kikuchi / saxophone
- Osamu Matsumoto / trombone
- Akira Minakami / keyboards
- Hiroaki Mizutani / bass
- Akira Sotoyama / drums
+ Kazuto Shimizu / mokkin

In 1982, a one-off version of The Work went to Japan for a series of concerts - in the absence of regulars Rick Wilson and Mick Hobbs, Chris Cutler and L. Voag (as he was then known) filled in alongside regulars Tim Hodgkinson and Bill Gilonis. This recording was made at the last concert in Osaka, and the LP assembled from it came out later the same year, only in Japan, soon to go out of print and to remain so until now. This is a different and extremely in your face version of The Work, made more so by the recording, which brings everything forward and accentuates every punch and roar. Tim is in screaming form and the band take extreme liberties, somehow staying inside the songs they are systematically splitting them open and spitting them out. There's a lot going on here, in rapid succession, and yet somehow it remains uncluttered. Best taken loud (though, technically it sounds loud even when it's quiet), this recording is a nice example of what I like about certain live recordings - they have an energy and directedness (thanks to a lively public) that is quite impossible to capture in a studio. This CD Includes one piece never recorded by the official Euro Work, laconic spoken comments from Amos/Voag and the rare red flexi-disc version of 'I Hate America' by the same band from the same concert.

:::Review by RéR Megacorp:::

The Work - Live in Japan (1982)

1. State Room 3:40
2. Like This 3:01
3. Fingers & Toes 3:02
4. Pop 4:40
5. Crabs 4:29
6. Duty 2:10
7. Cain & Abel 3:50
8. Do It 2:16
9. Tuning 0:43
10. Flies 0:58
11. Benidorm 1:42
12. Night By The Sea 4:54

Credits
Artwork By - Chris Cutler
Bass Guitar, Voice - Amos
Drums, Drums [Electric] - Chris Cutler
Guitar [Hawaian], Saxophone, Organ, Voice - Tim Hodgkinson
Guitar, Backing Vocals - Bill Gilonis
Performer [Live Mix] - C.D. Gray
Recorded By - Masae Nishimura
Saxophone [Tenor] - Bill Gilonis (tracks: 12)

Notes
Recorded at a concert at the Osaka Koseikenkin Kaikan Middle Hall, Jun 29, 1982 with a cassette recorder 1/2 way back the hall and later reprocessed through a graphic equaliser & a DBX expander.

The second record by this theater troupe is a far more relaxed affair than the chaos of Aurora. Gone are the screams and howls to a free-form squall of noise. Instead, Nicole Aubiat's voice, mostly spoken, rides almost continuously over the steady ethno-percussion jazz-rock of the band. Since the lyrics are all in French, and there are no instrumental stretches until the final track, "Nil," some listeners without knowledge of the language might be put off, even more so without the visual aspects of the performance. Though at times her voice and the music are evocative enough, even when one doesn't know the meaning.
The opener, "Le Train," is propelled by African percussion and steady vibraphone riff, while Aubiat's voice, sexy and throaty, seems to climax with the rising horn session halfway through the song. Most of the emotion of the record is in her voice, as the band carries off a trance-like funk groove on "Hey," or an eerie ambience with bird noises in "Les Oiseaux." "Nil" sinks into a dirge, while her voice becomes forlorn. The record comes off maybe too well mannered, especially following in the shadow of Aurora.

:::Review by Rolf Semprebon:::

Chene Noir - Chant pour le Delta, la Lune et le Soleil (1976)

1. Le Train (4:35)
2. Les Oiseaux
3. Hey...! (11:32)
4. La 7 (5:30)
5. Le Nil (11:05)

Credits
- Nicole Aubiat / vocals
- Thierry Bergerot / synthesizers
- Jean-Loius Cannaud / Flute, tenor and alto sax, vocals, percussions
- Jean-Pierre Chalon / drums, percussions
- Daniel Dublet / piano, violincello, congas
- Monik Lamy / vocals, percussions
- Philippe Puech / vibraphone, vocals
- Christine Schaffter / soprano sax, vocals percussions
- Pierre Surtel / sporano sax, vibraphone, vocals
- Abel Valls / bass guitar, contrabass

This is the first album put out by Zu and personally its one of their best. Their blend of Speed Jazz with Henry Cow and Frank Zappa would be for anyone who loves Avant Garde Music. As a bass player, i listened to Massimo Pupillo very closely and i was pretty amazed at what he does. He blends with the rest of the band and doesnt overshadow the incredibly talented sax player, Luca T Mai. Zu pleases crowds. Their tour on this album consisted of a broken down mini van (as do all first timers) and lost of good memories.
Key tracks on the album are Zu Circus, Testa di Cane, and Erotomane. This is indeed one of their best works and its sure not to dissapoint. 4.5 stars.

:::Review by fungusucantkill:::

Zu - Bromio (1999)

1. Detonatore (3:36)
2. Xenitis (3:11)
3. Testa di Cane (3:06)
4. Paonazzi (1:20)
5. Zu Circus (3:42)
6. Asmodeo (4:06)
7. Cane Maggiore (3:24)
8. Epidurale (1:51)
9. Villa Belmonte (2:54)
10. Erotomane (4:25)
11. La Grande Madre delle Bestie (5:43)

Credits
- Jacopo Battaglia/ drums
- Massimo Pupillo / bass
- Luca T Mai / sax

Drum Circus is a shortlived Swiss band founded by the great drummer Peter Giger. The band he formed had three drummers (!) and many other musicians, including Joel Vandroogenbroeck, from Brainticket, playing Organ, Piano, Flute and Sitar. Carole Muriel from Brainticket appears also in the band doing vocals. Other curious thing about their only album is that the lyrics of two songs were written by the LSD guru Timothy Leary. After all this definition one can only think that the music contained in this album is rather crazy and in fact it is. If you like drumming/percussion, you will love this album.
The sidelong eponymous track, Magic Theatre, has many things and ideas included. The lyrics are inspired in the Tibetan Book of The Dead, written by Leary.
The sound is varied, with a percussion intro, nice organ, good flute and drum passage, some drums with a collective chanting and then fantastic sitar sounds that are very skillfully played, along with some crazy saxophone, mridanga (indian percussion) and indian-inspired chanting. Then are some avant-garde parts with percussion, sax improvisation and great organ sounds. After some jamming, there is some spoken phrases interpreted by the singers like in a play. After that a calm part with sitar, flute and percussion. Then some jazzy parts, with jazzy piano and saxophone, plus very good drumming. In the end there is the return of the theme under the spoken part.
The other songs are good also. Now It Hurts You is short, but has excellent sitar, organ and drumming. The vocals are strange in this song. Papera is a rather jazzy song with some soft saxophone arrangement and good piano. Percussion is always present and very interesting. The song has some changes during it.
La-Si-Do is the strangest song with strange vocals and dominated by percussion, with many different sounds generating a good combination.
Groove Rock is really groovy, with superb saxophone soloing and great organ and percussion backing the solo. The song is jazzy and the highlights are the superb drumming and the great saxophone.
All Things Pass has interesting piano and percussive sounds. The singing is inspired. The piano arrangement is somewhat jazzy and the drumming parts are very improvisational, with the usage of the less used parts of the drums, like cymbals.
Overall is a nice album with a great mix of psychedelic indian influences and jazz and impressive drumming. The sound is not so much varied and some shorter songs resemble the long suite, but this is a little common for their genre (Krautrock).

:::Review by akin:::

Drum Circus - Magic Theatre (1971)

1. Magic Theatre (21:32)
2. Now It Hurts You (2:48)
3. Papera (3:32)
4. La-Si-Do (2:22)
5. Groove Rock (8:44)
6. All Things Pass (3:25)

Credits
- Peter Giger / drums, percussions
- Marc Hellman / drums
- Alex Bally / drums
- Joel Vandroogenbroeck / organ, flute, sitar
- Gerd Dudek / sax, flute
- Isla Eckinger / bass
- Carole Muriel / vocals
- Polo Hofer / vocals

Recorded over the course of three days in April of 1961, Someday My Prince Will Come is at once a curiosity and a masterpiece, a recording that not only captures trumpeter Miles Davis' group in flux but practically crystallizes the very moment of transition. As on Kind of Blue (Columbia, 1959), for which the leader brought back pianist Bill Evans, Davis again turns to the past, this time calling upon two recent alumni to participate on three of the tracks. But far more than an historical document, Someday My Prince Will Come is a thing of beauty, an indispensable addition to the Davis recorded canon.
Unfortunately, a disproportionate amount of attention has been devoted to the opening, title track. Following solos by a Harmon-muted Davis, tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley, and pianist Wynton Kelley, the leader appears to take the tune out but instead ends on a deceptive cadence, suspending the dominant chord long enough for the tenor saxophone of John Coltrane to join the party for two undeniably dazzling choruses of alternate, extended harmonies and blistering pyrotechnics. Especially those listeners less familiar with Mobley's than Coltrane's work tend to make much of the obvious disparity between the two, interpreting it either as a sign of Coltrane's unassailable superiority or Mobley's middleweight mediocrity.
In retrospect, and especially after reading the liner notes with trumpeter Eddie Henderson's first-hand, sympathetic account of Mobley's status as the newcomer, it's difficult not to come away with some sense that Mobley was "blind-sided" on this occasion. Whereas Coltrane clearly makes the dramatic entrance of a man on a mission, Mobley is merely trying to please his boss, contributing a solo, moreover, that's based on the tight-lipped, minimalist model of the one immediately preceding him. The result is "respectable" but hardly representative Mobley. Neither a motivic power player like Rollins nor an incantatory harmonicist like Coltrane, Mobley is one of the instrument's premier bel canto "singers," an unabashed Romantic who habitually plays his heart out, rarely subjecting the inspiration of the moment to potentially life-killing (and song-ending) intellectual scrutiny. But in this rare instance he pauses—and pauses again—then again—each time up to an entire measure of empty space elapsing before, realizing his time is about to run out, he hastily inserts an arbitrary and lame closing tag.
Coltrane sits out on the tune's alternate take (not included on the original release), which finds Mobley back on his game, going repeatedly to the uppermost note of his solo until its lyric ring is unmistakable, then neatly tying it all together in unhesitating, characteristic Mobley-esque fashion. Nevertheless, the earlier Coltrane solo, while not doing any favors for Mobley, sets the stage for all that follows, elevating the session from an historical curiosity to another perpetually fresh, time-resistant classic by a Davis ensemble less "transitional" than state of the art.
"Old Folks," a ballad as sentimental and wistfully nostalgic as its title suggests, acquires unaccustomed urgency and poignancy when distilled to its essence by the steely, penetrating Davis trumpet, followed by its fleshing out in the warm, round tones of Mobley's tenor on the first of several flawless turns by the saxophonist. As Henderson's written account reveals, Davis was far from sold on the suitability of Mobley as a replacement for Coltrane—and Mobley was all too aware of his new employer's reservations. Saxophonist Sonny Stitt, another provisional member of the Davis ensemble following Coltrane's departure, had been subjected to withering criticism (or, worse, cold disregard) by his employer, especially for attempting to play bebop figures on the modal scales of "So What." But whereas Stitt stood his ground, sticking to his Charlie Parker-shaped story and then simply moving on, it's apparent that Mobley took especially seriously the question of his acceptance by jazz's frequently inscrutable Prince of Darkness.
With the exception of the released version of the title track and "Teo," a Mid-Eastern modal piece on which Davis revisits some of his upper-register work from "Saete" (Sketches of Spain, (Columbia 1959), Mobley acquits himself almost as impressively as he would on the group's on-location recordings, In Person at the Blackhawk, Vols. 1 and 2 (Columbia, 1961). On "Teo" Davis simply stopped the first take in midstream and turned once again to Coltrane for the definitive, released version of the tune. Frankly, it's unlikely there was anyone besides Coltrane capable not only of sustaining the exotic, suspended-meter spell woven by Davis' incandescent trumpet but of intensifying and deepening it, probing the darkly beautiful dimensions beneath the song's enticing angular surface.
Besides the Coltrane/Mobley meeting, the session affords the listener a unique opportunity to contrast the "new" drummer, Jimmy Cobb, with his predecessor, Philly Joe Jones, who sits in on "Blues No. 2," a track available only on the CD reissue. Cobb plays with a broad, generous stroke and a brilliant, ringing ride cymbal, creating open swinging spaces for the soloists to explore, clearly anticipating the prominent role of the ride cymbal in the playing of his successor, Tony Williams.
Jones who, like Coltrane on the title tune, sounds like a man out to prove something, favors the snare and executes with a shortened, tight stroke, perfect for the crisp, quick repartee he engages in with the leader. In that respect he's closer to Max Roach than to Cobb or Williams, yet there's an unmistakable difference. Whereas Roach, the "Dean" of modern jazz drummers, would maintain a busy polyrhythmic conversation, or "counter-chatter," with the soloists, Jones plays more like a horn player himself, his phrases intricate but relatively symmetrical, rattling off the same bebop licks as those favored by the idiom's leading exponents. In fact, listening to the drummer and his former employer on this track is not just a little like hearing some of the sparring matches between Charlie Parker and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie as on Bird and Diz (Verve, 1950).
As might already be inferred, Someday My Prince Will Come is a Davis recording rich with contextual, historical and autobiographical significance (including the cover photo of a woman whose appearance the leader insisted upon as a condition for the album's release). Those listeners who insist on making much of the "shoot-out" between Mobley and Coltrane would do well to withhold judgment until hearing the two tenor giants going after one another on at least three other recordings, each granting the players generous amounts of solo space: Johnny Griffin, A Blowin' Session (Blue Note, 1957); John Coltrane, Two Tenors (Prestige, 1957); Hank Mobley, Tenor Conclave (Prestige, 1957). On the latter session, featuring four tenors, Mobley follows Coltrane as the consummate clean-up hitter on an especially memorable version of Irvin Berlin's "How Deep Is the Ocean?"—climaxing in a surprisingly forceful Mobley cadenza.
But Some Day My Prince Will Come is a recording that can be recommended solely on its intrinsic merits, not the least of which is the uniformly excellent playing of the trumpet player. For this reason, along with the consistently high level of the other individual performances as well as the unmistakable guiding if not shaping influence of the strong-willed, focused and visionary leader over virtually every measure of the music, it's a session that continues to acquire a strong following, having the potential, even, of pulling within striking distance of Kind of Blue.

:::Review by Samuel Chell:::

Miles Davis - Someday My Prince Will Come (1961)

1. Someday My Prince Will Come 9:04
2. Old Folks 5:14
3. Pfrancing 8:31
4. Drad Dog 4:29
5. Teo 9:34
6. I Thought About You 4:53

Credits
Bass - Paul Chambers
Drums - Jimmy Cobb
Piano - Wynton Kelly
Saxophone [Tenor] - Hank Mobley (tracks: 1,2,3,4)
Trumpet - Miles Davis
Tenor saxophone - John Coltrane (1,5)