Jazzactuel [Box Set]

by Jazzactuel / Various

Overview

The release of Jazzactuel reclaims from obscurity a remarkable period of avant-garde music. Compiled by devoted fans Thurston Moore and Byron Coley, this three-CD box set compiles free jazz, electronic, and psychedelic rock tracks originally released in the late '60s and early '70s by the French label BYG. According to the informative, but at times overzealous, liner notes, the BYG sessions originated from a music festival held in Paris in 1969 that was headlined by such American free jazz legends as Sunny Murray, Dave Burrell, Grachan Moncur III, and Archie Shepp. The music is just as wild as one might expect from such a roster. Sunny Murray's "Red Cross," which opens the first disc, is a near-perfect document of late-'60s free jazz battery, with the leader's drums scrambling and crashing underneath Kenneth Terroade's foghorn tenor drones and the siren-like altos of Arthur Jones and Roscoe Mitchell. Archie Shepp's "Blase" shocks through brooding intensity, as Jeanne Lee coolly recites a chilling indictment of machismo over a spooky Dave Burrell piano vamp; in the context set by Lee's words, Shepp's burly tenor obligatos take on a predatory quality. Other highlights of the set include Sonny Sharrock's "Soon," on which the guitarist's ferocious tangle of distortion spurs his wife Linda to primitive, orgasmic wails; Dewey Redman's "Tarik," where Redman's snaking muzette lines dance over Ed Blackwell's relentless, often polyrhythmic march beat; and lastly the sublimely noisy "The Seasons Part 6," a 22-minute free workout by Alan Silva's Celestrial Communications Orchestra, comprised of most of the BYG crew and special guests like the elusive trumpeter/flugelhornist Alan Shorter. Admittedly, this music can be numbingly extreme, but there are enough surprises to merit close listening all the way through. A delightful moment is the Art Ensemble of Chicago whooping their way through a parody of military music called "Get in Line" that captures perfectly the revolutionary spirit that infuses seemingly the entire BYG catalog. It should also be mentioned that though free jazz dominates here, the listener is also treated to tripped-out psychedelia courtesy of Daevid Allen and Gong, and electronic exploration by Musica Elettronica Viva. These oddball tracks reveal the period from 1969-1971 as a true renaissance of "out" music, to which Jazzactuel serves as a wonderful introduction. ~ Henry M. Shteamer

Product Details

Release Date:	04/30/2021
Label:	Charly Records
UPC:	5060767441831
Rank:	116333

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Arthur Jones   Primary Artist,Sax (Alto)
Daevid Allen   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals
Andrew Cyrille   Primary Artist,Drums,Percussion
Steve Lacy   Primary Artist,Sax (Soprano)
Jimmy Lyons   Primary Artist
Don Cherry   Primary Artist
Grachan Moncur III   Primary Artist
Anthony Braxton   Primary Artist,Flute,Chimes,Clarinet,Sax (Alto),Sax (Soprano)
Kenneth Terroade   Primary Artist,Flute,Sax (Tenor)
Gong   Primary Artist
Dave Burrell   Primary Artist,Piano
Paul Bley   Primary Artist,Piano
Dewey Redman   Primary Artist,Musette,Sax (Tenor)
Frank Wright   Primary Artist,Sax (Tenor)
Clifford Thornton   Primary Artist,Congas,Cornet
Archie Shepp   Primary Artist,Sax (Tenor)
Acting Trio   Primary Artist
Jacques Coursil   Primary Artist,Trumpet
Claude Delcloo   Primary Artist,Drums
Sun Ra Arkestra   Primary Artist
Sunny Murray   Primary Artist,Drums
The Art Ensemble of Chicago   Primary Artist
Alan Silva   Primary Artist,Bass,Sarangui,Bowed Bass,Violin (Electric)
Burton Greene Ensemble   Primary Artist
Sonny Sharrock   Primary Artist,Guitar
Musica Elettronica Viva   Primary Artist
Alan Silva & The Celestial Communication Orchestra   Primary Artist
Sun Ra & His Solar Myth Arkestra   Primary Artist
Burton Greene   Primary Artist,Piano
Sun Ra & His Solar Arkestra   Primary Artist
Steve McCall   Drums,Darbouka,Percussion
Bobby Few   Piano
Jacques Thollot   Drums
Joachim Kuehn   Piano
Famoudou Don Moye   Drums,Percussion
Robin Kenyatta   Flute,Sax (Alto)
Philly Joe Jones   Drums
Ronnie Boykins   Bass
Sun Ra   Piano
Alan Shorter   Trumpet
Dieter Gewissler   Bass,Violin (Electric)
Wayne Harris   Trumpet
Julio Finn   Harmonica
Jean-Pierre Sabar   Piano
Robert Wyatt   Drums,Guitar,Vocals
Marshall Allen   Percussion,Sax (Alto)
Jerome Cooper   Drums,Percussion
Michel Portal   Flute,Sax (Alto)
Gilli Smyth   Vocals,Space Whisper
Ali Hassan   Trombone
Marcello Melis   Bass
Charles Stephens   Trombone
Beb Guerin   Bass
James Jacson   Log Drums
Malachi Favors   Bass,Log Drums,Percussion,Fender Jazz Bass
Roscoe Mitchell   Oboe,Bells,Flute,Siren,Congas,Piccolo,Clarinet,Saxophone,Sax (Alto),Sax (Bass),Drums (Steel),Sax (Soprano),Whistle (Human),Gong,Logs
Kent Carter   Cello
Chicago Beau   Harmonica
Irene Aebi   Cello,Violin,Vocals,Celeste
Christian Tritsch   Guitar (Bass)
Barry Altschul   Drums
Pat Patrick   Percussion,Sax (Baritone)
Ed Blackwell   Bells,Drums,Percussion
Clifford Jarvis   Drums
Gary Wright   Piano
John Gilmore   Percussion,Sax (Tenor)
Jeanne Lee   Vocals
Leo Smith   Horn,Logs,Siren,Trumpet,Flugelhorn
Lester Bowie   Horn,Trumpet,Flugelhorn,Drums (Bass)
Earl Freeman   Bass,Gong,Bells,Percussion
Didier Malherbe   Flute,Shenai,Saxophone
Linda Sharrock   Vocals
Mark Levinson   Bass

Technical Credits

Andrew Cyrille   Composer
Steve Lacy   Composer
Jimmy Lyons   Composer,Performer
Don Cherry   Composer,Performer
Grachan Moncur III   Performer,Composer
Anthony Braxton   Composer,Sound Machine
Sun Ra   Composer
Sun Ra & His Solar Myth Arkestra   Performer
Kenneth Terroade   Composer
Gong   Performer
Kam Tang   Artwork,Design
Robert Wyatt   Composer
Ornette Coleman   Composer
Archie Shepp   Composer
Acting Trio   Performer
Jacques Coursil   Composer
Claude Delcloo   Composer
Byron Coley   Annotation
Thurston Moore   Annotation
Sunny Murray   Composer
The Art Ensemble of Chicago   Performer
Alan Silva   Composer
Burton Greene Ensemble   Performer
Arthur Jones   Composer
Burton Greene   Composer
Dave Burrell   Composer
Roscoe Mitchell   Composer
Musica Elettronica Viva   Composer,Performer
Clifford Thornton   Composer
Frank Wright   Composer
Dewey Redman   Composer
Matt Robin   Reissue
Christian Rose   Photography
Hugh Hopper   Composer
Linda Sharrock   Composer
Gilli Smyth   Composer
Daevid Allen   Composer