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LP
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FFL 092LP
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$28.00
PREORDER
RELEASE DATE: 4/18/2025
LP version. Music-lovers of all lands, rejoice! Here you have the rerelease of the fourth album of the Intercommunal Free Dance Music Orchestra recorded with the Guinean saxophonist Jo Maka. The title says it all: Vol.4: Jo Maka. But before that, a bit of history: The Intercommunal Free Dance Music Orchestra was created in 1971 by an "old hand" of French free jazz, François Tusques. "Free Jazz" was also the name of the recording made by the pianist and other like-minded Frenchmen (Michel Portal, François Jeanneau, Bernard Vitet, Beb Guérinand Charles Saudrais) in 1965. But, six years later Tusques had had his fill of free jazz. So he then founded the Inter Communal, an association a name under which the different communities could become closer and compose, simply. In 1976, on the first album: L'Inter Communal, listeners can already hear Tusques playing without borders in the company of Carlos Andreu, Ramadolf, Michel Marreand, and Jo Maka (as a conclusion to this Vol. 4, listeners can hear them in 1977 at the Moulin de Prades Le Lez). Over the next decade, the, association kept going with concerts at the Dunois theatre, in 1980 and 1981, it welcomed old hands and new recruits (Bernard Vitet, Jean-Jacques Avenel, Jacques Thollot, Sylvain Kassap). If Vol. 4 : Jo Maka is an homage to the Guinean saxophonist, who passed away a few months before the release of this selection of concert recordings, it also displays a proud collective inspiration! One foot in the blues, and ears open to everything else, Tusques begins with a lament that the Company rapidly transforms into a joyful dance ("Vive la Commune"), weaves a full-blown party piece ("Poses ton fardeau et remets la machine en route," "7 rue des prêcheurs," "Mazir") or gets fabulous with Mingus ("Fable Of Faubus"). And there you have it, with so many revolutions François Tusques is almost back to free jazz. So, your turn with the turntable.
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LP
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FFL 093LP
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$28.00
PREORDER
RELEASE DATE: 4/18/2025
LP version. If the jazz of François Tusquesis is "free," his spirit is even more so: having recorded free jazz with other like-minded Frenchmen (Michel Portal, François Jeanneau, Bernard Vitet, Beb Guérinand Charles Saudrais), the pianist had covered a lot of ground, with Barney Wilen (Le Nouveau Jazz) or even solo (Piano Dazibao and Dazibao N°2), so as not to repeat himself. In 1971 he founded the Intercommunal Free Dance Music Orchestra which, as the notes to this album stated, "is an interpretation of a music which synthesizes the different communities living and working in France." In 1976, on the first album (L'InterCommunal) listeners can already hear Tusques playing without borders in the company of Carlos Andreu (vocals), Michel Marre (trumpet and saxophone), Jo Maka (saxophone) and Ramadolf (trombone). It is a meeting between jazz and music from Catalonia, Occitanie and Africa. So far so good, but what about Brittany, that, Tusques knows "by heart?" Having lived for a long time in Nantes, he would expand his "brittanitude" on the canal linking the city to Brest by playing with, for example the Diaouled-Ar-Menez. With these "devils from the mountain" who, under the baton of Yann Goasdoué, worked throughout the 1970s on the renewal of music from Brittany, Tusques met, notably, Tanguy Ledoré and invited him one day, with trois bombards and some bagpipes (Jean-Louis Le Vallegant, Gaby Kerdoncuff and Philippe Lestrat), to join the ranks of the Intercommunal. And so they set of towards a new music from Brittany, as the title states; Vers une Musique bretonne nouvelle! With percussion from Samuel Ateba and Kilikus, the association launches the "bombardier:" the repetitions and dissonance of the different members all serve a common cause however: the dance, which is always the reason for the party. This sets a whole universe spinning, which can bring to mind Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath ("La rencontre") when not taking on board waltz, swing, blues and gavotta or even revealing mysteries like those of Gurdjieff ("Les racines de la montagne" or "Le cheval" sung by Andreu).
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CD
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FFL 093CD
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$13.50
PREORDER
RELEASE DATE: 4/18/2025
If the jazz of François Tusquesis is "free," his spirit is even more so: having recorded free jazz with other like-minded Frenchmen (Michel Portal, François Jeanneau, Bernard Vitet, Beb Guérinand Charles Saudrais), the pianist had covered a lot of ground, with Barney Wilen (Le Nouveau Jazz) or even solo (Piano Dazibao and Dazibao N°2), so as not to repeat himself. In 1971 he founded the Intercommunal Free Dance Music Orchestra which, as the notes to this album stated, "is an interpretation of a music which synthesizes the different communities living and working in France." In 1976, on the first album (L'InterCommunal) listeners can already hear Tusques playing without borders in the company of Carlos Andreu (vocals), Michel Marre (trumpet and saxophone), Jo Maka (saxophone) and Ramadolf (trombone). It is a meeting between jazz and music from Catalonia, Occitanie and Africa. So far so good, but what about Brittany, that, Tusques knows "by heart?" Having lived for a long time in Nantes, he would expand his "brittanitude" on the canal linking the city to Brest by playing with, for example the Diaouled-Ar-Menez. With these "devils from the mountain" who, under the baton of Yann Goasdoué, worked throughout the 1970s on the renewal of music from Brittany, Tusques met, notably, Tanguy Ledoré and invited him one day, with trois bombards and some bagpipes (Jean-Louis Le Vallegant, Gaby Kerdoncuff and Philippe Lestrat), to join the ranks of the Intercommunal. And so they set of towards a new music from Brittany, as the title states; Vers une Musique bretonne nouvelle! With percussion from Samuel Ateba and Kilikus, the association launches the "bombardier:" the repetitions and dissonance of the different members all serve a common cause however: the dance, which is always the reason for the party. This sets a whole universe spinning, which can bring to mind Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath ("La rencontre") when not taking on board waltz, swing, blues and gavotta or even revealing mysteries like those of Gurdjieff ("Les racines de la montagne" or "Le cheval" sung by Andreu).
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CD
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FFL 092CD
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$13.50
PREORDER
RELEASE DATE: 4/18/2025
Music-lovers of all lands, rejoice! Here you have the rerelease of the fourth album of the Intercommunal Free Dance Music Orchestra recorded with the Guinean saxophonist Jo Maka. The title says it all: Vol.4: Jo Maka. But before that, a bit of history: The Intercommunal Free Dance Music Orchestra was created in 1971 by an "old hand" of French free jazz, François Tusques. "Free Jazz" was also the name of the recording made by the pianist and other like-minded Frenchmen (Michel Portal, François Jeanneau, Bernard Vitet, Beb Guérinand Charles Saudrais) in 1965. But, six years later Tusques had had his fill of free jazz. So he then founded the Inter Communal, an association a name under which the different communities could become closer and compose, simply. In 1976, on the first album: L'Inter Communal, listeners can already hear Tusques playing without borders in the company of Carlos Andreu, Ramadolf, Michel Marreand, and Jo Maka (as a conclusion to this Vol. 4, listeners can hear them in 1977 at the Moulin de Prades Le Lez). Over the next decade, the, association kept going with concerts at the Dunois theatre, in 1980 and 1981, it welcomed old hands and new recruits (Bernard Vitet, Jean-Jacques Avenel, Jacques Thollot, Sylvain Kassap). If Vol. 4 : Jo Maka is an homage to the Guinean saxophonist, who passed away a few months before the release of this selection of concert recordings, it also displays a proud collective inspiration! One foot in the blues, and ears open to everything else, Tusques begins with a lament that the Company rapidly transforms into a joyful dance ("Vive la Commune"), weaves a full-blown party piece ("Poses ton fardeau et remets la machine en route," "7 rue des prêcheurs," "Mazir") or gets fabulous with Mingus ("Fable Of Faubus"). And there you have it, with so many revolutions François Tusques is almost back to free jazz. So, your turn with the turntable.
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FFL 095CD
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At the beginning of the 1960s, at the Berklee College of Music, Byard Lancaster met some feisty friends: Sonny Sharrock, Dave Burrell, and Ted Daniel. It is easy to see why he rapidly became involved in free jazz. Once he was settled in New York, he appeared on Sunny Murray Quintet, recorded under the leadership of the drum crazy colleague of Albert Ayler. In 1968, the saxophonist and flutist recorded his first album under his own name: It's Not Up To Us. The following year he came to Paris in the wake of... Sunny Murray. He would come back to France in 1971 (again with Murray) and in 1973 (without Murray for a change). This is when he met Jef Gilson, the pianist and producer who encouraged him to record under his own name again. On Palm Records (Gilson's label), he would release four albums: Us, Mother Africa, Exactement, and Funny Funky Rib Crib. A few months after recording Us, Lancaster recorded Mother Africa along with Clint Jackson III, a trumpeter, partner of Khan Jamal or Noah Howard on other recordings. On March 8th, 1974, Lancaster and Jackson headed up a group composed of Jean-François Catoire (electric and double bass), Keno Speller (percussion) and Jonathan Dickinson (drums). Together, they create an immediate impression. From the first seconds of "We The Blessed", they develop a free jazz which rapidly abandons any virulence under the effect of blues and soul based interventions. When Gilson's composition "Mother Africa" begins, listeners are transported into the studio, listening to the musicians setting up: chatting and joking... Then comes the melody: a dozen or so notes of a repeated theme which is accelerated and deformed according to their whims. This CD edition contains a bonus track, the magnificent "Love Always" that was originally released on the fourth (and last) volume of the Jef Gilson anthology series released in 1975. Recorded on March 8th, 1974, it is a beautiful 15-minute-long modal jazz piece. Four notes from the bass (the relentless Jean-François Catoire, who makes up the rhythm section alongside drummer Jonathan Dickinson and percussionist Keno Speller), and the group is up and running. First ever CD reissue; carefully remastered and restored by Gilles Laujol; graphic design by Stefan Thanneur; digipack. CD Licensed from Palm / Geneviève Quievreux.
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FFL 097CD
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At the beginning of the 1960s, at the Berklee College of Music, Byard Lancaster met some feisty friends: Sonny Sharrock, Dave Burrell, and Ted Daniel. It is easy to see why he rapidly became involved in free jazz. Once he was settled in New York, he appeared on Sunny Murray Quintet, recorded under the leadership of the drum crazy colleague of Albert Ayler. In 1968, the saxophonist and flutist recorded his first album under his own name: It's Not Up To Us. The following year he came to Paris in the wake of... Sunny Murray. He would come back to France in 1971 (again with Murray) and in 1973 (without Murray for a change). This is when he met Jef Gilson, the pianist and producer who encouraged him to record under his own name again. On Palm Records (Gilson's label), he would release four albums: Us, Mother Africa, Exactement, and Funny Funky Rib Crib. Funny Funky Rib Crib is an unforgettable recording (made up of several sessions dating from the middle of 1974) of creative jazz overwhelmed by funk and soul. If Lancaster had already made successful albums in the same genre -- notably New Horizons, under the name Sounds Of Liberation, which he co-led with Khan Jamal -- this one is an homage to James Brown and Sammy Davis enjoying the company of a host of guests including François Tusques (electric piano), Clint Jackson III (trumpet), François Nyombo (guitar), Joseph Traindl (trombone). Funny Funky Rib Crib's cover is a three-quarter profile portrait of the saxophonist (who can also be heard on flute, piano and even vocals), however, on the record, it is the whole group, inspired and frenetic, that tests the melodies of "Just Test," "Dogtown," or "Rib Crib" -- the two versions of which display leader Lancaster's art of nuance. On both sides of the album, the group also moves into a calmer groove, infused by blues and soul, "Work And Pray" and "Loving Kindness" are meditative tracks where listeners can lay back and relax before asking for more. Carefully remastered and restored by Gilles Laujol. Graphic design by Stefan Thanneur. Digipack CD.
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2CD
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FFL 096CD
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At the beginning of the 1960s, at the Berklee College of Music, Byard Lancaster met some feisty friends: Sonny Sharrock, Dave Burrell, and Ted Daniel. It is easy to see why he rapidly became involved in free jazz. Once he was settled in New York, he appeared on Sunny Murray Quintet, recorded under the leadership of the drum crazy colleague of Albert Ayler. In 1968, the saxophonist and flutist recorded his first album under his own name: It's Not Up To Us. The following year he came to Paris in the wake of Sunny Murray. He would come back to France in 1971 (again with Murray) and in 1973 (without Murray for a change). This is when he met Jef Gilson, the pianist and producer who encouraged him to record under his own name again. On Palm Records (Gilson's label), he would release four albums: Us, Mother Africa, Exactement, and Funny Funky Rib Crib. The recording of Exactement required two sessions in the studio: February 1st and May 18th 1974 -- in between the two dates, Lancaster recorded, alongside Clint Jackson, the excellent Mother Africa. Two names appear on the cover of Exactement: Lancaster (Byard) and Speller (Keno). Byard Lancaster wanted to be precise, moving regularly from one instrument to another: first on piano, which was the first instrument he learned. On "Sweet Evil Miss Kisianga," his inspiration is first and foremost Coltrane (even if leaning more towards Alice than John), this announces the storm to follow. It is Lancaster's horn-playing which really stands out: on alto or soprano saxophones, as well as on flute or bass clarinet, the musician walks a tightrope making the most of all the risks he takes. Using the full register of his instruments, he has fun with the possibilities. Then, Lancaster invokes or evokes Ornette Coleman, Eric Dolphy, and even Prokofiev, before going into a danse alongside Keno Speller on percussion. Above all, he has a unique sound. Byard Lancaster, on whatever instrument he plays and by continually seeking, always ends up hitting the right note. First ever CD reissue. Carefully remastered and restored by Gilles Laujol. Graphic design by Stefan Thanneur. Digipack 2CD.
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7LP BOX
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FFLBOX 002LP
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Souffle Continu presents Byard Lancaster -- The Complete Palm Recordings 1973-1974, the definitive seven LP deluxe package of Philadelphia born jazz wizard Byard Lancaster, including his four legendary albums released on Jef Gilson's Palm Records in the 1970s: Us, Mother Africa, Exactement, and Funny Funky Rib Crib, along with the first ever standalone edition of "Love Always," a fifteen minute modal jazz beauty plus a 20-page booklet with rare photos and in-depth article about Byard Lancaster's Parisian years by Pierre Crépon. At the beginning of the 1960s, at the Berklee College of Music, Byard Lancaster met some feisty friends: Sonny Sharrock, Dave Burrell, and Ted Daniel. Once he was settled in New York, he appeared on Sunny Murray Quintet, recorded under the leadership of the drum crazy colleague of Albert Ayler. In 1968, the saxophonist and flutist recorded his first album under his own name: It's Not Up To Us. He would come back to France in 1971 and in 1973. This is when he met Jef Gilson, the pianist and producer who encouraged him to record under his own name again. On Palm Records (Gilson's label), he would release four albums: Us, Mother Africa, Exactement, and Funny Funky Rib Crib. Us, the first of the four records was recorded on November 24th, 1973 with Sylvin Marc on electric bass and the evergreen Steve McCall on drums. A few months after recording Us, Lancaster recorded Mother Africa along with Clint Jackson III, a trumpeter, partner of Khan Jamal or Noah Howard on other recordings. The recording of Exactement required two sessions in the studio: February 1st and May 18th 1974. Two names appear on the cover of Exactement: Lancaster (Byard) and Speller (Keno). Funny Funky Rib Crib is an unforgettable recording (made up of several sessions dating from the middle of 1974) of creative jazz overwhelmed by funk and soul. If Lancaster had already made successful albums in the same genre, this one is an homage to James Brown and Sammy Davis. The magnificent "Love Always" was originally released on the fourth (and last) volume of the Jef Gilson Anthology series released in 1975. Recorded on 8th March 1974, it is a beautiful 15-minute-long modal jazz piece. Four notes from the bass (the relentless Jean-François Catoire, who makes up the rhythm section alongside drummer Jonathan Dickinson and percussionist Keno Speller), and the group is up and running! On piano, Gilson shows the subtle tact of a sideman, leaving the lions' share of the place to the horns. And if further proof was required of the confidence that Byard Lancaster and Jef Gilson inspire, "Love Always" provides it on this one-sided release exclusive to the box set. Carefully restored and remastered by Gilles Laujol. Graphic design by Stefan Thanneur.
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CD
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FFL 094CD
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At the beginning of the 1960s, at the Berklee College of Music, Byard Lancaster met some feisty friends: Sonny Sharrock, Dave Burrell, and Ted Daniel. It is easy to see why he rapidly became involved in free jazz. Once he was settled in New York, he appeared on Sunny Murray Quintet, recorded under the leadership of the drum crazy colleague of Albert Ayler. In 1968, the saxophonist and flutist recorded his first album under his own name: It's Not Up To Us. The following year he came to Paris in the wake of... Sunny Murray. He would come back to France in 1971 (again with Murray) and in 1973 (without Murray for a change). This is when he met Jef Gilson, the pianist and producer who encouraged him to record under his own name again. On Palm Records (Gilson's label), he would release four albums: Us, Mother Africa, Exactement, and Funny Funky Rib Crib. Us, the first of the four records was recorded on November 24th, 1973 with Sylvin Marc on electric bass (a Fender... Lancaster?) and the evergreen Steve McCall on drums. On the album, the trio works from the John Coltrane model; free jazz shook up by the timely contributions of the bassist, followed by a mesmerizing atmospheric music. Then, Lancaster delivers a sinuous solo path, which is a reminder of his unique tone. On the album's companion single, the trio launches into great black music of a different genre which would lead the clairvoyant François Tusques to claim that Byard Lancaster is an "authentic representative of soul/free jazz," to sum up this is Great Black Music! First ever CD reissue; carefully remastered and restored by Gilles Laujol; graphic design by Stefan Thanneur; digipack. Licensed from Palm / Geneviève Quievreux.
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CD
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FFL 083CD
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The Intercommunal Free Dance Music Orchestra was created in 1971 by French free jazz pianist legend, François Tusques. "Free Jazz" was also the name of the 1965 recording Tusques made along with Michel Portal, François Jeanneau, Bernard Vitet, Beb Guérin, and Charles Saudrais. Six years later, in 1971 Tusques would go ahead of free jazz. Wondering if free jazz wasn't a bit of a dead end together with Barney Wilen ("Le Nouveau Jazz") or even solo ("Piano Dazibao" and "Dazibao N°2"), Tusques formed the Inter Communal Free Dance Music Orchestra, an association under the banner of which the different communities of the country would come together and compose, quite simply. If at first the structure was made up of professional musicians from the jazz scene it would rapidly seek out talent in the lively world of the MPF (Musique Populaire Française). Compiling extracts from concerts given between 1976 and 1978, L'Inter Communal demonstrate the "social function" which inhabited free jazz and popular music at the time calling upon Spanish singer Carlos Andreu along with Michel Marre, Jo Maka, Adolf Winkler, and Jean Méreu. Andreu, claimed Tusques, was a griot "who created of new genre of popular song improvised with our music, based on events going on at the time." L'Inter Communal can start the festivities: on "Blues pour Miguel Enriquez," it is first Thelonious Monk who is invoked in an homage to one of the leading figures of the Chilean revolution, and a victim of Pinochet. The circumstances may be serious, the music, though, is not. The musicians light a bonfire to bring together on the same frequency France and Spain, the Americas and Africa: "L'heure est à la lute," is the new song offered by the l'Intercommunal Free Dance Music Orchestra. As if proof were needed that their music is still more than timely!
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LP
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FFL 084LP
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LP version. The Intercommunal Free Dance Music Orchestra was created in 1971 by French free jazz pianist legend, François Tusques. "Free Jazz" was also the name of the 1965 recording Tusques made along with Michel Portal, François Jeanneau, Bernard Vitet, Beb Guérin, and Charles Saudrais. Six years later, in 1971 Tusques would go ahead of free jazz. Wondering if free jazz wasn't a bit of a dead end together with Barney Wilen ("Le Nouveau Jazz") or even solo ("Piano Dazibao" and "Dazibao N°2"), Tusques formed the Intercommunal Free Dance Music Orchestra, an association under the banner of which the different communities of the country would come together and compose, quite simply. If at first the structure was made up of professional musicians from the jazz scene it would rapidly seek out talent in the lively world of the MPF (Musique Populaire Française). As with L'Inter Communal a few years earlier, Le Musichien follows on from the group of varying musicians that Tusques had conceived as a "people's jazz workshop." In 1981, at the famous Paris address, 28 rue Dunois, the pianist sang with his partner Carlos Andreu "Le Musichien," an Afro-Catalan tale over an exceptional bass line from Jean-Jacques Avenel backed by percussion from Kilikus, saxophones from Sylvain Kassap, and Yebga Likoba and trombone from Ramadolf which presented a myriad of constellations. "Les Amis d'Afrique" is recorded the following year, at the Tombées de la Nuit festival in Rennes, bassist Tanguy Le Doré would weave with Tusques the fabric on which would evolve an explosive "brotherhood of breath." Featuring Bernard Vitet on trumpet, Danièle Dumas and Sylvain Kassap on saxophones, Jean-Louis Le Vallegant and Philippe Le Strat on bombards. With hints of modal jazz inspired by Coltrane or Pharoah Sanders, the Intercommunal Free Dance Music Orchestra is an ecumenical project which speaks to the whole world.
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LP
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FFL 083LP
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LP version. The Intercommunal Free Dance Music Orchestra was created in 1971 by French free jazz pianist legend, François Tusques. "Free Jazz" was also the name of the 1965 recording Tusques made along with Michel Portal, François Jeanneau, Bernard Vitet, Beb Guérin, and Charles Saudrais. Six years later, in 1971 Tusques would go ahead of free jazz. Wondering if free jazz wasn't a bit of a dead end together with Barney Wilen ("Le Nouveau Jazz") or even solo ("Piano Dazibao" and "Dazibao N°2"), Tusques formed the Inter Communal Free Dance Music Orchestra, an association under the banner of which the different communities of the country would come together and compose, quite simply. If at first the structure was made up of professional musicians from the jazz scene it would rapidly seek out talent in the lively world of the MPF (Musique Populaire Française). Compiling extracts from concerts given between 1976 and 1978, L'Inter Communal demonstrate the "social function" which inhabited free jazz and popular music at the time calling upon Spanish singer Carlos Andreu along with Michel Marre, Jo Maka, Adolf Winkler, and Jean Méreu. Andreu, claimed Tusques, was a griot "who created of new genre of popular song improvised with our music, based on events going on at the time." L'Inter Communal can start the festivities: on "Blues pour Miguel Enriquez," it is first Thelonious Monk who is invoked in an homage to one of the leading figures of the Chilean revolution, and a victim of Pinochet. The circumstances may be serious, the music, though, is not. The musicians light a bonfire to bring together on the same frequency France and Spain, the Americas and Africa: "L'heure est à la lute," is the new song offered by the l'Intercommunal Free Dance Music Orchestra. As if proof were needed that their music is still more than timely!
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CD
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FFL 084CD
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The Intercommunal Free Dance Music Orchestra was created in 1971 by French free jazz pianist legend, François Tusques. "Free Jazz" was also the name of the 1965 recording Tusques made along with Michel Portal, François Jeanneau, Bernard Vitet, Beb Guérin, and Charles Saudrais. Six years later, in 1971 Tusques would go ahead of free jazz. Wondering if free jazz wasn't a bit of a dead end together with Barney Wilen ("Le Nouveau Jazz") or even solo ("Piano Dazibao" and "Dazibao N°2"), Tusques formed the Intercommunal Free Dance Music Orchestra, an association under the banner of which the different communities of the country would come together and compose, quite simply. If at first the structure was made up of professional musicians from the jazz scene it would rapidly seek out talent in the lively world of the MPF (Musique Populaire Française). As with L'Inter Communal a few years earlier, Le Musichien follows on from the group of varying musicians that Tusques had conceived as a "people's jazz workshop." In 1981, at the famous Paris address, 28 rue Dunois, the pianist sang with his partner Carlos Andreu "Le Musichien," an Afro-Catalan tale over an exceptional bass line from Jean-Jacques Avenel backed by percussion from Kilikus, saxophones from Sylvain Kassap, and Yebga Likoba and trombone from Ramadolf which presented a myriad of constellations. "Les Amis d'Afrique" is recorded the following year, at the Tombées de la Nuit festival in Rennes, bassist Tanguy Le Doré would weave with Tusques the fabric on which would evolve an explosive "brotherhood of breath." Featuring Bernard Vitet on trumpet, Danièle Dumas and Sylvain Kassap on saxophones, Jean-Louis Le Vallegant and Philippe Le Strat on bombards. With hints of modal jazz inspired by Coltrane or Pharoah Sanders, the Intercommunal Free Dance Music Orchestra is an ecumenical project which speaks to the whole world.
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FFL 085LP
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LP version. To abandon animals for music -- and avant-garde jazz at that -- could seeming shocking to some people. However, it is exactly what Manuel Villarroel did, as he was a vet for three years before leaving his native Chili for Europe and a career in music. And though the animals may have suffered, the world of music can be grateful. Born in 1944, Manuel Villarroel lent an ear to the best pianists from North America: Oscar Peterson and Erroll Garner, then Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner, and Cecil Taylor. Manuel left Santiago in September 1970 to participate in the Contemporary Music Workshop in Berlin. To pursue his musical career, he rapidly decided to remain in Europe. The following year in Paris, Manuel began a quartet with saxophonist Jef Sicard (who would also play with his brother Patricio, in the Dharma Quintet). But the group would rapidly expand: Villarroel and Sicard added Gérard Coppéré (saxophone), William Treve (trombone), François Méchali (bass) and Jean-Louis Méchali (drums). And with the arrival of Sonny Grey, a Jamaican trumpeter heard ten years earlier with Daniel Humair, the Matchi-Oul Septet was complete. Complete and ready: on May 8th, 1971, Matchi-Oul was in the studio for Gérard Terronès' Futura label. The septet recorded seven of the pianist's compositions. A succession of tracks which flow magically from one to the next: from the first drum strokes to the last deep notes of the bass, the successive waves roll over the piano and whistle through the wind instruments. And when they all come together it gives even greater force to Villarroel's beautiful songs. Terremoto is a masterpiece of collective expression.
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CD
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FFL 085CD
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To abandon animals for music -- and avant-garde jazz at that -- could seeming shocking to some people. However, it is exactly what Manuel Villarroel did, as he was a vet for three years before leaving his native Chili for Europe and a career in music. And though the animals may have suffered, the world of music can be grateful. Born in 1944, Manuel Villarroel lent an ear to the best pianists from North America: Oscar Peterson and Erroll Garner, then Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner, and Cecil Taylor. Manuel left Santiago in September 1970 to participate in the Contemporary Music Workshop in Berlin. To pursue his musical career, he rapidly decided to remain in Europe. The following year in Paris, Manuel began a quartet with saxophonist Jef Sicard (who would also play with his brother Patricio, in the Dharma Quintet). But the group would rapidly expand: Villarroel and Sicard added Gérard Coppéré (saxophone), William Treve (trombone), François Méchali (bass) and Jean-Louis Méchali (drums). And with the arrival of Sonny Grey, a Jamaican trumpeter heard ten years earlier with Daniel Humair, the Matchi-Oul Septet was complete. Complete and ready: on May 8th, 1971, Matchi-Oul was in the studio for Gérard Terronès' Futura label. The septet recorded seven of the pianist's compositions. A succession of tracks which flow magically from one to the next: from the first drum strokes to the last deep notes of the bass, the successive waves roll over the piano and whistle through the wind instruments. And when they all come together it gives even greater force to Villarroel's beautiful songs. Terremoto is a masterpiece of collective expression.
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FFL 086CD
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Before coming to Europe, in 1970, pianist Manuel Villarroel was a vet in his native Chili. A few years later, as leader of the Machi Oul Big Band, he returned to the animal kingdom. A very specific kind of animal, for sure, the Quetzalcoatl, also known as the "Feathered Serpent." What is behind this title (also the name of one of the three original compositions on this album released on the Palm label in 1976), is first and foremost a sort of homecoming. After discovering the jazz of Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane, Villarroel was taken by the free jazz which was all the rage at the time in America and Europe, and this would inspire the first version of his Machi Oul, project. This was a septet, with which the pianist would record, in 1971, the tremendous Terremoto (re-released by Souffle Continu). After this masterstroke, Villarroel was invited to record with Perception (Perception & Friends) and with Baikida Carroll (Orange Fish Tears). While these were notable contributions, Villarroel was already looking into other combinations. "I had to deal personally with my situation as an expatriate, without disavowing it. I tried not to betray my roots, I tried to translate into my music what was essential to me, to reflect my origins -- Latin America, its musical and above all human feelings -- while remaining faithful to jazz, which is the mode of expression of the musicians in the group." This then is the "homecoming," which would incite Manuel Villarroel to compose what he would call "structured free music." In January 1972, the pianist enlarged his formation to reach the size of a real big band: the septet became the Machi Oul Big Band. Three years later in January 1975, with producer Jef Gilson at the helm, fifteen musicians including those from the old septet (Jef Sicard, François and Jean-Louis Méchali, Gérard Coppéré) worked on a rare form of jazz.
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FFL 086LP
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LP version. Before coming to Europe, in 1970, pianist Manuel Villarroel was a vet in his native Chili. A few years later, as leader of the Machi Oul Big Band, he returned to the animal kingdom. A very specific kind of animal, for sure, the Quetzalcoatl, also known as the "Feathered Serpent." What is behind this title (also the name of one of the three original compositions on this album released on the Palm label in 1976), is first and foremost a sort of homecoming. After discovering the jazz of Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane, Villarroel was taken by the free jazz which was all the rage at the time in America and Europe, and this would inspire the first version of his Machi Oul, project. This was a septet, with which the pianist would record, in 1971, the tremendous Terremoto (re-released by Souffle Continu). After this masterstroke, Villarroel was invited to record with Perception (Perception & Friends) and with Baikida Carroll (Orange Fish Tears). While these were notable contributions, Villarroel was already looking into other combinations. "I had to deal personally with my situation as an expatriate, without disavowing it. I tried not to betray my roots, I tried to translate into my music what was essential to me, to reflect my origins -- Latin America, its musical and above all human feelings -- while remaining faithful to jazz, which is the mode of expression of the musicians in the group." This then is the "homecoming," which would incite Manuel Villarroel to compose what he would call "structured free music." In January 1972, the pianist enlarged his formation to reach the size of a real big band: the septet became the Machi Oul Big Band. Three years later in January 1975, with producer Jef Gilson at the helm, fifteen musicians including those from the old septet (Jef Sicard, François and Jean-Louis Méchali, Gérard Coppéré) worked on a rare form of jazz.
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LP+CD
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FFL 089LP
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Having dynamited the end of the '70s with two radical albums -- Ramasse-Miettes Nucléaires (FFL 058LP) in 1976 and Nouveaux Modes Industriels (FFL 059LP) in 1978, both reissued by Souffle Continu -- Philippe Doray and his Asociaux Associés still hadn't finished singing. Throughout the next decade he began his Composant Compositeur which would document the "second period," as he calls it, of his Asociaux Associés. The record includes new schizo-electro songs which make the most of his association with Laurence Garcette, who also plays all sorts of keyboards. A prolongation of the first period of the Asociaux Associés, the duo updates Doray's poetry: in reaction to the current overcast atmosphere, here are some hallucinatory fantasies to the rhythm of an infernal circle dance or an ecstatic waltz or even coded messages stuffed into bottles and thrown into space. On the bonus CD there are further iconoclastic examples: rare recordings (unpublished or even "inaudible") of the Asociaux Associés but also by Crash, a duo that Doray formed with Thierry Müller (Ilitch, Ruth). At the controls of their experiment-bending machine the musicians multiply the possibilities: peripheral rock, arias in orbit, broken swing, industrial mantras and other joyful falsities.
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FFL 087CD
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Compilation curated by Steven Stapleton (of Nurse with Wound) of creative-experimental-unlikely music, originally released in 1984. Released on his United Dairies label that he had created with John Fothergill, he naturally called on Jean-Jacques Birgé and Francis Gorgé, who were then playing with Bernard Vitet in Un drame musical instantané. The compilation would be named In Fractured Silence. Alongside Nurse With Wound and Un drame musical instantané, could be heard Hélène Sage (whom Birgé introduced to Stapleton) and Sema, a project from the experimental British musician Robert Haigh who had participated in key records in the Nurse With Wound discography, such as Homotopy to Marie and Spiral Insana.
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FFL 087LP
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LP version. Compilation curated by Steven Stapleton (of Nurse with Wound) of creative-experimental-unlikely music, originally released in 1984. Released on his United Dairies label that he had created with John Fothergill, he naturally called on Jean-Jacques Birgé and Francis Gorgé, who were then playing with Bernard Vitet in Un drame musical instantané. The compilation would be named In Fractured Silence. Alongside Nurse With Wound and Un drame musical instantané, could be heard Hélène Sage (whom Birgé introduced to Stapleton) and Sema, a project from the experimental British musician Robert Haigh who had participated in key records in the Nurse With Wound discography, such as Homotopy to Marie and Spiral Insana.
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FFL 087C-LP
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LP version. Smoke color vinyl. Compilation curated by Steven Stapleton (of Nurse with Wound) of creative-experimental-unlikely music, originally released in 1984. Released on his United Dairies label that he had created with John Fothergill, he naturally called on Jean-Jacques Birgé and Francis Gorgé, who were then playing with Bernard Vitet in Un drame musical instantané. The compilation would be named In Fractured Silence. Alongside Nurse With Wound and Un drame musical instantané, could be heard Hélène Sage (whom Birgé introduced to Stapleton) and Sema, a project from the experimental British musician Robert Haigh who had participated in key records in the Nurse With Wound discography, such as Homotopy to Marie and Spiral Insana.
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2LP
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FFL 050LP
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Nicknamed the Primdufs, the group have a passion for the obsolete French "valse musette". But their take has nothing in common with the smutty chords of popular balls and singalongs in little town halls. This is "bal musette" with balls, it's genuine, virile, and authentic. Though these noble savages like rummaging around in 1920s Paris, they don't shy away from including rhythms from all over the planet, rhumba from Zaireto, gypsy jazz, Hindu waltzes or Argentine tango, blues, "paso doble" or "chanson réaliste". It all began in 1986, when Dominique Cravic, "ukukeke" champion and a renowned guitarist who learned from jazzmen like Lee Konitz or Larry Coryell and also played with Georges Moustaki and Henri Salvador, met a certain Robert Crumb. Yes, the legendary comic book author from the great days of the US psychedelic underground in the '70s, the creator of Fritz the Cat (1972) and Mr Natural in person, the same man who also created the cover for Cheap Thrills (1968) by Janis Joplin. Crumb plays banjo and mandolin, collects 78s of blues, jazz and musette. The two cronies then composed their own made-to-measure orchestra, alongside many famous names including accordionist Daniel Colin, clarinetist Bertrand Auger, saxophonist Daniel Huck, bassist Jean-Philippe Viret or singer Claire Elzière (sorry, it's impossible to name them all). This great group has recorded four albums since 1986 (all with sleeves drawn by Crumb), some including guest stars such as Pierre Barouh, Jean-Jacques Milteau, Allain Leprest, Sanseverino or Olivia Ruiz. For thirty years, the Primitifs du Futur have carried the torch of musette to the four corners of the earth, from fiestas to festivals, and today release a double vinyl, entitled Résumé Des Épisodes Précédents which brings together the best of their adventures. It is a refreshing and heartening cocktail of "world tribal musette", as they call it, which, in these electro digital times, has a rejuvenating effect, a magic swing potion. Double-LP with 20-page booklet with all Crumb previous artworks for the band's albums plus unseen photos. Edition of 1500; No repress.
"The Primitifs Du Futur travel on sound waves back in time to the early twentieth century and make the world seem like a far better place than it ever actually was. I can't get the band's music off my turntable or out of my head. Accordion, mandolin, harmonica, saxophone, musical saw, and beautiful haunting melodies--what's not to love? Even their sad songs make me happy." --Art Spiegelman
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FFL 088CD
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In 1972, trumpeter Baikida Carroll and some of his colleagues from the Black Artists Group (more precisely saxophonist/flutist Oliver Lake, trombonist Joseph Bowie, drummer Charles "Bobo" Shaw and trumpeter Floyd LeFlore) took the advice of their friends in the Art Ensemble Of Chicago and left their native Missouri to come and discover the bright lights of Paris for themselves. The following year they would even get the chance to record their only album which would rapidly attain mythical status and a collector's item: In Paris, Aries 1973. Therefore, it was not surprising that they crossed paths with Jef Gilson, who offered Baikida Carroll the chance to record his first album under his own name. Carroll logically asked Oliver Lake to join him. He also recruited Manuel Villaroel, a young Franco-Chilien pianist from the group Matchi-Oul, who had already released an album on Futura in 1971 and would release another on Palm in 1976. The group was completed with the addition of Brazilian percussionist Naná Vasconcelos, who had just released a well-received album on the Saravah label. The first side of the album is divided into two long tracks which send free jazz back to its long-lost African roots. The opener "Orange Fish Tears" indeed rolls out a jungle of percussion of all sorts and sizes -- the whole group is involved -- which weave and mix together reaching a point where all bearings are lost, lending a sense of wonder to the majestic entry of the brass and woodwinds, flying suddenly out from the undergrowth. "Forest Scorpion" (sic) is a real voodoo ceremony where a venomous percussive groove backs the fiery solos from keyboards and saxophone in a furious trance. The other side is more introspective. Deliberately using dissonance and repetition, "Rue Roger" -- the only composition by Oliver Lake -- in a long dialogue between trumpet and saxophone, could almost remind us of Terry Riley in his favorite ballpark. "Porte D'Orléans", the fourth and final track on the album, has the group back to their old tricks in a long hallucinatory jam which owes as much to the contemporary music of György Ligetias to the most angst-ridden Jerry Goldsmith soundtrack music. With these two sides, and in under 45m, Baikida Carroll and his musicians show just what they can do, from cerebral to charnel without ever simplifying things. RIYL: Art Ensemble of Chicago, Sonic Youth, Shabaka Hutchings, and Rob Mazurek.
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FFL 088LP
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Restocked; LP version. Eight-page booklet with rare and unpublished photos. Heavyweight 180-gram LP. In 1972, trumpeter Baikida Carroll and some of his colleagues from the Black Artists Group (more precisely saxophonist/flutist Oliver Lake, trombonist Joseph Bowie, drummer Charles "Bobo" Shaw and trumpeter Floyd LeFlore) took the advice of their friends in the Art Ensemble Of Chicago and left their native Missouri to come and discover the bright lights of Paris for themselves. The following year they would even get the chance to record their only album which would rapidly attain mythical status and a collector's item: In Paris, Aries 1973. Therefore, it was not surprising that they crossed paths with Jef Gilson, who offered Baikida Carroll the chance to record his first album under his own name. Carroll logically asked Oliver Lake to join him. He also recruited Manuel Villaroel, a young Franco-Chilien pianist from the group Matchi-Oul, who had already released an album on Futura in 1971 and would release another on Palm in 1976. The group was completed with the addition of Brazilian percussionist Naná Vasconcelos, who had just released a well-received album on the Saravah label. The first side of the album is divided into two long tracks which send free jazz back to its long-lost African roots. The opener "Orange Fish Tears" indeed rolls out a jungle of percussion of all sorts and sizes -- the whole group is involved -- which weave and mix together reaching a point where all bearings are lost, lending a sense of wonder to the majestic entry of the brass and woodwinds, flying suddenly out from the undergrowth. "Forest Scorpion" (sic) is a real voodoo ceremony where a venomous percussive groove backs the fiery solos from keyboards and saxophone in a furious trance. The other side is more introspective. Deliberately using dissonance and repetition, "Rue Roger" -- the only composition by Oliver Lake -- in a long dialogue between trumpet and saxophone, could almost remind us of Terry Riley in his favorite ballpark. "Porte D'Orléans", the fourth and final track on the album, has the group back to their old tricks in a long hallucinatory jam which owes as much to the contemporary music of György Ligetias to the most angst-ridden Jerry Goldsmith soundtrack music. With these two sides, and in under 45m, Baikida Carroll and his musicians show just what they can do, from cerebral to charnel without ever simplifying things. RIYL: Art Ensemble of Chicago, Sonic Youth, Shabaka Hutchings, and Rob Mazurek.
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LP
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FFL 080LP
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LP version. Includes eight-page booklet; 425 gsm brownboard outer sleeve; 180 gram vinyl. "Why would I sing in French? I have Breton culture, I speak Breton, I live in Brittany, and the Breton language is the language of this country..." So explained Kristen Noguès, of whom this is the first of the (rare) albums that she recorded Marc'h Gouez, is a fabulous voyage in space on each listening. Noguès learned the Breton language as a child, at the same time as the Celtic harp, -- taking lessons with Denise Mégevand, who would go on to teach others, notably Alan Stivell. At the beginning of the 1970s, she discovered the Breton song tradition (soniou and gwerziou) through Yann Poëns and became involved in Névénoé, a cooperative of traditional expression founded by Gérard Delahaye and Patrick Ewen. It was under this label that her first album Marc'h Gouez, was released in 1976. With a dozen friends playing guitar, piano, violins, flutes..., Noguès composed not Breton music, but music from Brittany: a type of shared folklore in which imagination is married to the reality of the moment, that of social demands and companionship. At the very beginning of the record, we can hear her drawing up a chair, before the plucked notes of the harp become a cascade: "Enez Rouz", is an invitation to listen up close. You are reminded here of the Meredith Monk of "Greensleeves", there of the early albums of Brigitte Fontaine/Areski, elsewhere of Emmanuelle Parrenin, Pascal Comelade... Noguès rhyming pattern is ever changing: airy ("Hunvre"), cosmopolitan ("Pinvidik Eo Va C'hemener"), enigmatic ("Ar Bugel Koar"), profound ("Ar Gemenerez"), or enchanting ("Hirness An Devezhiou"). And then there is the track from which the album takes its name: "Marc'h Gouez" which, between nursery rhyme and chamber music, weaves a fabulous web in which the auditor is obliged to be caught. "Brittany equals poetry": so, said André... Breton; and Kristen Noguès proves it to be true. Licensed from Katell Branellec. Carefully remastered from the master tapes by Gilles Laujol. Graphic design by Stefan Thanneur.
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