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LP
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IMP 57384LP
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Originally released in 1965. 2019 reissue. "One of forward-looking tenor man Archie Shepp's definitive early albums, 1965's Fire Music set the tone for much of what was to come over the next several years, both in Shepp's own career and in the jazz scene as a whole. Moving far beyond bebop toward more avant-garde realms, Fire Music was simultaneously a central document of the mid-'60s 'New Thing' school of jazz and an arrow that pointed towards the subsequent explorations of Cecil Taylor, Ornette Coleman, et al. The title refers to an African ceremony, and there's an urgency here that's fueled by the civil rights unrest of the day and aimed towards the burgeoning Black Power movement, both of which would remain key jazz subtexts for some time. Fire Music is far from the first free jazz album; Coleman and others had already experimented with free-form improvisation before this. But it subverts the conventions of the bebop generation thoroughly, turning melodies and harmonies both inward and outward upon themselves, throwing open the doors to open-ended structures and tonal experimentation. Even the "straight" tunes interpreted here are given a funhouse-mirror treatment, stretching them beyond expectations. Just as psychedelia expanded rock's palette in the '60s, so Shepp's Fire Music helped broaden the possibilities of jazz." --Jim Allen (All Music Guide)
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2LP
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FOX 034LP
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Alternative Fox present a reissue of Archie Shepp's The Tradition, originally released in 1978. Avant-garde giant Archie Shepp made an indelible contribution to experimental jazz. Double-LP The Tradition was recorded in Rome in 1977 for Horo Records with drummer Clifford Jarvis and bassist Cameron Brown; the raucous "Hooray For Mal" has shades of be-bop, while Duke Ellington's "Sophisticated Lady" is largely tackled by Shepp on upright piano (with gorgeous soloing by Brown); "Things Have Got To Change" hearkens to Shepp's experience of the Pan-African Cultural Festival of Algiers of 1969 and Ellington's "I Didn't Know About You" is relayed as a soft tenor ballad with rough edges.
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LP
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BSR 002LP
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Black Saint present a reissue of Archie Shepp's A Sea of Faces, originally released in 1975. Recorded in Milan (Italy), A Sea of Faces stands as one of Shepp's strongest recordings of the '70s. A highly varied program, covering Shepp's entire spectrum and performed by an all-star line-up featuring Archie Shepp (tenor & soprano sax, piano, vocals), Charles Greenlee (trombone, tambourine, vocals), Dave Burrell (piano), Cameron Brown (bass), Beaver Harris (drums, tambourine, vocals), Rafi Taha (vocals), and Bunny Foy (vocals, maracas, percussion). The album includes the famous 26-minute long "Hypnosis," a groovy extended jam in full spiritual Jazz mode.
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LP
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IMP A71HLP
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2015 repress. Gatefold exact repro reissue of this 1964 album, Archie Shepp's first date as a leader. Produced by John Coltrane and Bob Thiele. "The fact that this album holds up better than almost any of Shepp's records nearly 40 years after the fact has plenty to do with the band he chose for this session, and everything to do with the arranging skills of trombonist Roswell Rudd. The band here is Shepp on tenor, John Tchicai on alto, Rudd on trombone, Trane's bassist Reggie Workman, and Ornette Coleman's drummer Charles Moffett." --All Music Guide
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LP
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MPS 20651HLP
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2018 restock. Gatefold 180 gram reissue. "One For The Trane" taking up both sides, with Roswell Rudd (trombone), Grachan Moncur (trombone), Jimmy Garrison (bass) and Beaver Harris (drums). Recorded in 1967.
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LP
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IMP 9154HLP
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Gatefold 180 gram reissue of tenor saxophonist Archie Shepp's 1967 "tour de force." "...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." --All Music Guide
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LP
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IMP 9134HLP
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2018 repress. Gatefold 180 gram exact repro reissue, originally released on Impulse! in 1966. Officially licensed through Verve/Universal. Features one of Shepp's finest moments, the intricate, 18+ minute epic three-part suite "A Portrait Of Robert Thompson (as a young man)." Features: Tommy Turrentine, Roswell Rudd, Grachan Moncus III, Perry Robinson, Charlie Haden, Howard Johnson, Beaver Harris. "It was my intention to couple, in this album, the poignancy of the blues and the jubilant irreverence of a marching band returning from a funeral. It is my interpretation of a slave and neo-slave experience; rather like the feeling of being subjected to a 'haunt.' But the victims have their ghosts too. Where my own dreams sufficed, I disregarded the western musical tradition all together. After all, the 'forms' we are working with are relatively new (I challenge the thesis that they are substantially new)." -- Archie Shepp
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LP
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IMP 9222HLP
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180 gram exact repro reissue, gatefold sleeve. Originally released in 1972 on Impulse!. Officially licensed through Verve/Universal. "Never one to be close-lipped about his anger at U.S. society or its actions, Archie Shepp delivered Attica Blues on the heels of the Attica Prison massacre. Every time Shepp's breath hits the reeds he creates an emotional vibe which all of his records have displayed. Attica Blues has all his in your face sound even though he isn't ripping jagged shards as he had in the past. The record still displays emotional angst that is every bit as powerful and distraught as Davis's celluloid images. The tracks have the deep soul of all of Shepp's finest such as On This Night and Four By Trane. The difference is Archie utilizes the arrangements as the forefront while his horn simmers in the background like an angry voice needing to be heard." -- All About Jazz
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LP
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IMP 9118HLP
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2018 repress. 180 gram exact repro reissue in a gatefold sleeve, originally released on Impulse! in 1966. Featuring Archie Shepp (tenor sax and piano), Donald Garrett (bass), Beaver Harris (drums), Roswell Rudd (trombone) and Lewis Worrell (bass). "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." -- All Music Guide
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