Forty years of recordings from the underground, avant-garde ESP-Disk record label stimulate, challenge and sometimes confound the listener. And for all of the mind-altering music, admirers of the offbeat should be grateful.
Originally it was an imprint for founder Bernard Stollman to entice the masses into embracing the proposed universal language, Esperanto, that theoretically all global citizens could get behind (that’s where the ESP comes from). But it wasn’t long before Stollman fell for the burgeoning free-jazz movement of the ’60s, apparently discovering something universal in that language as well.
From 1966 to 1968, he saw to the release of dozens of fiery demonstrations of the extreme, including landmarks from saxophonists Albert Ayler and Ornette Coleman, skewered big-band freakouts from extraordinary keyboardist Sun Ra, even the gloriously improper proto-punk ramblings of The Fugs.
There was no catalog like ESP’s before or since. Of course it couldn’t last, and essentially ran dry of funding by the late ’60s.
But the recordings themselves have endured, and Stollman, obviously tired of his commitment at the time being endlessly ripped off over the course of decades’ worth of unauthorized reissues, has decided to reactivate the revolutionary ESP line.
Now anyone with an iTunes account can download Ayler’s heart-wrenching “Spirits Rejoice” album and feel his majestic and unsettling power, or instantly obtain the first two volumes of “The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra” in all of their spacey magnificence. And a couple of recently unearthed examples of ’60s creative freedom are now available to the adventurous listener.
Ayler’s “The Hilversum Session” was recorded in the Netherlands in late 1964, and it’s a beautiful excavation, with the rapid-fire tenor man unselfconsciously representing his church roots and singing through his horn with a haunting intensity. Abetted by cornetist Don Cherry, bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Sunny Murray, this quartet indeed conversed in their own jazz dialect that’s never really been replicated in ensuing generations.
The sound is crisp, giving it a distinct advantage over the muddiness that occasionally hampered some of the label’s most notorious recordings. This take on Ayler’s anthem, “Ghosts,” practically levitates.
There’s also a newly discovered set from Cherry, who played horn alongside many of the great avant saxophonists of the ’60s and had a worldly, restless quality all his own. “Live at Café Montmartre 1966” isn’t as clear sonically, but the spirit is that of a pan-cultural revolution, aided by the eccentric vibes of Karl Berger, still largely unknown stateside.
It’s a rousing addition to Cherry’s thin available discography, and the bonus disc included with the set really is a bonus: a 12-hour DVD featuring audio tracks from the majority of ESP’s vast catalog. It’s a cheap and pleasurable history lesson if you’d like to hear full-length performances from any of the above mentioned artists.
ESP-Disk didn’t have anything resembling a major-label budget, but Stollman’s roster of artists was visionary, and their collective message of creativity continues to burst through.
Groundtruther’s finale
Seven-string guitarist Charlie Hunter, armed with imagination and stunning technique, brings his working trio to the Boulder’s Fox Theatre tonight. And while he’s released a long stream of groove-oriented releases under his own name, his collaboration with drummer Bobby Previte, named Groundtruther, probably isn’t as well recognized.
Groundtruther has served as a more esoteric outlet for Hunter, where he’s been able to deploy an army of surprising sound effects in conjunction with Previte’s driving beat. The final CD of their collaboration, “Altitude” (Thirsty Ear), out on Tuesday, contains two discs of fearlessness and contributions from keyboardist John Medeski, of the trio Medeski Martin and Wood.
The first disc, “Above Sea Level,” crams together fusion, surf-rock, indie-rock and noise-for-the-fun-of-it for extended periods of time. “Below Sea Level” is a series of improvisations for acoustic instruments, and in many ways it’s the more daring of the two CDs. “Below” proves that Hunter doesn’t need to plug in to show off his multi-textured ideas, but “Above” is the jazz-rock amusement park you’ll want to revisit.
It seems a shame that “Altitude” represents the last round for Groundtruther. Perhaps they’ll reconsider and become one of the smartest touring groups in improvised music.
Three-day Summit fest
Summit Jazz 2007 runs Friday through Sunday at Four Points by Sheraton Denver Southeast, and it’s a three day traditional-leaning fest with The Jim Cullum Jazz Band, Titan Hot Seven and Ken Peplowski … The following weekend, it’s Sutton’s 8th Rocky Mountain Jazz Party at the same location, with Dick Hyman, Houston Person and Bucky Pizzarelli … John Hines’ Table For Five appears at Dazzle on Thursday.
Bret Saunders’ column on jazz appears every other Sunday in A&E. Saunders is host of the “KBCO Morning Show,” 5:30-10 a.m. weekdays at 97.3-FM. His e-mail address is bret_saunders@hotmail.com.
