#loft jazz

[kosmik-signals]

Ed Blackwell, Dewey Redman, Ornette Coleman, Charlie Haden, at Prince Street May 1971 © Val Wilmer

Ornette Coleman

Sam Rivers, Joe Daley

Thelonious Monk

(via Manhattan’s Long Lost Era of Loft Jazz)

[driftglazz]

Julius Hemphill and Abdul Wadud, from this interview with Abdul Wadud at pointofdeparture.org

[burlveneer-music]

Abdullah Sami - Peace of Time - 1978 “holy grail” jazz LP reissued by Spiritmuse Records

Fully licensed and remastered audiophile deluxe vinyl edition, with liner notes on insert, detailing the extraordinary story of this incredible album. Obscure, re-discovered gem, with half of the proceeds of this reissue going directly to the artist. A spiritual jazz, ultra-rare Holy Grail from Abdullah ‘Mudon’ Sami and New York’s & Chicago’s late ‘70s underground jazz scene, that has acquired mythical status. Originally released as private press in 1978 by the artist for only 300 copies, it’s now been remastered and reissued for the first time on vinyl. A highly anticipated reissue amongst collectors 'in the know', ‘Peace of Time’ and the story of Mudon Abdullah Sami is the true stuff of legend. 

Alto Saxophone, Percussion – Abdullah Sami Bass – Hogan Jiggetts Drums – Wade Barnes Guitar – Germahn Nazario

[mosaicrecords]

One Journey with Jazz

Hua Hsu's New Yorker essay chronicles his path to the free jazz of today. So many of us who aspired to unravel the mysteries of jazz during the late '60s and early '70s unknowingly shared some of the same revelatory recordings and experiences (like, for me, the knotty brilliance of Coltrane's Interstellar Space and the New York loft scene that emerged thereafter); yet the stops each of us individually made from those times to the current day often diverged in fascinating and illuminating ways. Worth a thought for those who disparage the art form for being narrow and confining.

-Nick Moy

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[eartrumpet]

The kinetically-charged Jays, featuring Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre, tenor saxophone, with Chris White, bass, electric bass, and Jumma Santos, drums. From the New York Loft Jazz Sessions anthology Wildflowers, vol. 1. Recorded 1976.

[themaninthegreenshirt]

Ted Daniel, Milford Graves, Frank Lowe, Juma Sultan, Noah Howard, James DuBoise, unknown, Sam Rivers, and Ali Abuwi outside Studio We, 1973.

In the late 1960s and 1970s, with New York City's socioeconomic scaffolding rickety and near collapse, abandoned industrial spaces in Lower Manhattan were buttressed by artists. Painters, appropriators, and sculptors converted nineteenth-century sweatshops into studios, and dance-happy DJs turned these same buildings into the first cathedrals of disco.

One of the most fecund, though least documented, scenes was chiseled out by jazz musicians, most young, black, and with eclectic leanings. These post-Coltrane free players, and free thinkers — shunned by a mainstream in the midst of commodifying the "counterculture" — lived, rehearsed, and performed in these loft spaces, usually in or around Soho.

The movement, and the music, became known as "loft jazz," an iffy if not outright divisive term. Was it a style? A genre? An ideology? An attitude? Many of the musicians found the phrase confining, despite the high ceilings, while others saw possibility. (Ah, low rents as creative enabler!)

[mosaicrecords]

Studio Rivbea: 24 Bond Street as Epicenter of the Loft Music Scene

Like so many New York addresses, 24 Bond Street has a rich history. It was, of course, the home of Bea and Sam Rivers. It’s where they raised their kids, where Sam held ensemble classes and rehearsal and where, several nights a week, cutting edge artists would come to ply their art. No tables, no booze – just camaraderie and music. By 1976, lofts and musician-owned clubs in lower Manhattan had grown into a healthy vibrant scene. Alan Douglas of Douglas Records approached me about capturing the loft scene, initially wanted to put recording equipment in half a dozen places and seeing what bore fruit. All I could think of was paranoid artists being expected to record without the protection of a contract and hundreds of hours of after-the-fact listening. So I suggested we curate and book a festival over two weekends at Sam’s place and record it multi-track. We did and Wildflowers was the result.

-Michael Cuscuna

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[jazzfucksuicide]