‘SK Kakraba is a master of the gyil xylophone — fourteen wooden slats strung across calabash resonators. The silk walls of spiders’ egg sacs — ‘paapieye’ in the Lobi language — are stretched across holes in the gourds, giving each note a buzzy rattle. SK learned as a child from elders in his Lobi community in the far northwest reaches of Ghana.’
Beautiful, spare, mesmeric recordings — song cycles, dirges, improvisations based on traditional songs, original compositions — newly made.

His debut LP, a little over-produced by Jack Clement for Poppy in 1965; including precious first goes at songs like Tecumseh Valley and Waiting ‘Round to Die.
‘It seems a lot of people in Nashville write by phrase, or by the line. As opposed to writing by the word. A lot of my best songs are where every single word is where it’s supposed to be… For the Sake of the Song was written by the word. I once sat down and wrote out the rhyme scheme for that song, and it was amazing. Pretty complex. But it didn’t seem that complex when I was writing it.’

Perhaps the great pianist’s best record — duets with the Arts Ensemble bassist Malachi Favors, in 1975.

Mostly from two cassettes, Douce Torture and Aut Aut, each limited to twenty-five copies, originally self-released in the early 2000s by Vincent E.F. from Turin. ‘A mixture of hardware electronics, guitar and musique concrete-style sampling techniques, recorded on everything from minidisc to VHS tape. With its roots in vintage dub, Krautrock and Italo-Industrial artists like Maurizio Bianchi and Mauthausen Orchestra… and yet strikingly original.’

Superb recordings for Delroy Wright’s Live & Learn label, originally released as Jah Love in 1983. Post-Yabby You, post-Gunman.
Laid down at Channel One, with the Roots Radics and High Times bands, and The Tamlins on backing vocals; mixed by Scientist.

With Joe Henderson, Duke Pearson, Bobby Hutcherson.
The title-track is lengthily, meltingly gorgeous.

Solo acoustic guitar renditions of nine Thelonious Monk tunes.
‘Baker will remind you through his playing that the idiosyncrasies of Monk’s composing are further dimensions of the Americana continuum (and source musics) that has been his turf for years. Especially in Monk’s centennial year, many will address Monk’s oeuvre, in fact hundreds will interpret the scores, but very few can inhabit this music in the way Duck Baker does here.’

His first quartet session as leader — with Herbie, Joe Chambers and Bob Cranshaw. Seven BH originals and Maiden Voyage. A kind of breather, in amongst his experiments at this time; relaxed, gorgeous and atmospheric, with brilliant playing.
Warmly recommended.
‘Classic Vinyl series.’

The trio of Roland P. Young, Aisha Khalil and Glenn Howell, recorded in 1975 at 1750 Arch, in Berkeley, California.

“There was a vibe in the air that we connected with,” recalls Young, “along with other kindred spirits world-wide. What appeared to be ‘experimental’ was reaching for sounds and emotions that were unfamiliar. We often performed at rallies in support of various causes: Black Liberation, Women’s Movement, Anti-War Movement, Gay Liberation. While the music came out of the Black Liberation struggle our ultimate goal was a blending of cultures.”

‘A fascinating glimpse of the trio in action. It testifies to the energy that Infinite Sound channelled into their music, but also to their imaginative breadth and expressive versatility… with Howell’s buoyantly springy and resilient bass taking on a strong pivotal role around which Young’s horns and Kahlil’s voice dance and spar and soar and play. Well-defined rhythms dissolve into textures; melodic shapes soften into shadings of timbre or flare into exuberant bursts of tonal colour. The music’s mood swings unpredictably from flamboyance to introspection; pacing shifts spontaneously from languor to urgency. Moments of musical allusiveness, sly quotation or stylistic reference, mutate into passages of wild inventiveness.’

Eighteen freeform electronic miniatures by Lorenz Lindner — aka Mix Mup — after his love of experimental ambient and soundtrack idioms.