Noah Howard - The Black Ark

[Head Man]

I see that Downtown Music Gallery in New York have CD & LP copies of this "rare-as-hen's-teeth" album. Here's the blurb they sent me:

NOAH HOWARD With ARTHUR DOYLE/EARL CROSS/LESLIE WALDRON/NORRIS JONES [sIRONE]/MUHAMMAD ALI/JUM SANTOS - The Black Ark (Bo Weavil 24; UK)

CD re-issued by the request of Noah Howard's family and estate. Noah sadly passed away suddenly on the 3rd of September, 2010. Born in New Orleans in 1943, Noah was a key player in the U.S. free jazz scene from the late '60s. He recorded albums for ESP and numerous other labels, including his own Altsax label. Many see 1969's The Black Ark as Noah's defining statement, so it is only fitting that it should be available once again.

"It's no understatement that The Black Arc is one of the most sought-after underground free jazz releases of all time. The original Freedom vinyl LP and the brief Japanese CD reissue were criminally out-of-print and impossible to find. Both versions popped up on internet auction sites once in a blue moon but when they did they always fetched insanely astronomical prices This record simply is THE

BOMB -- a perfect combination of Noah's soulful compositions and playing, infused with plenty of sweet/sour/in/out forms and shapes from the incredible line-up assembled for this release. Plus we get to experience Arthur Doyle's outrageous debut on a recording session, increasing the playing and feeling to an intense level throughout. And dig the spaced out afro-delay on Juma's percussion (yes, that Juma Santos from Hendrix's killer Woodstock show of the same year, and Coltrane's Olatunji concert disc). All of the players on this record- including Earl Cross trumpet, Leslie Waldron piano, Sirone bass, and Mohammed Ali drums - combine to make it a CLASSIC and its esteemed reputation IS well earned." --Oren Ambarchi

CD $17

also available on LP for $24

Edited August 31, 2012 by Head Man

[romualdo]

I see that Downtown Music Gallery in New York have CD & LP copies of this "rare-as-hen's-teeth" album. Here's the blurb they sent me:

NOAH HOWARD With ARTHUR DOYLE/EARL CROSS/LESLIE WALDRON/NORRIS JONES [sIRONE]/MUHAMMAD ALI/JUM SANTOS - The Black Ark (Bo Weavil 24; UK)

CD re-issued by the request of Noah Howard's family and estate. Noah sadly passed away suddenly on the 3rd of September, 2010. Born in New Orleans in 1943, Noah was a key player in the U.S. free jazz scene from the late '60s. He recorded albums for ESP and numerous other labels, including his own Altsax label. Many see 1969's The Black Ark as Noah's defining statement, so it is only fitting that it should be available once again.

"It's no understatement that The Black Arc is one of the most sought-after underground free jazz releases of all time. The original Freedom vinyl LP and the brief Japanese CD reissue were criminally out-of-print and impossible to find. Both versions popped up on internet auction sites once in a blue moon but when they did they always fetched insanely astronomical prices This record simply is THE

BOMB -- a perfect combination of Noah's soulful compositions and playing, infused with plenty of sweet/sour/in/out forms and shapes from the incredible line-up assembled for this release. Plus we get to experience Arthur Doyle's outrageous debut on a recording session, increasing the playing and feeling to an intense level throughout. And dig the spaced out afro-delay on Juma's percussion (yes, that Juma Santos from Hendrix's killer Woodstock show of the same year, and Coltrane's Olatunji concert disc). All of the players on this record- including Earl Cross trumpet, Leslie Waldron piano, Sirone bass, and Mohammed Ali drums - combine to make it a CLASSIC and its esteemed reputation IS well earned." --Oren Ambarchi

CD $17

also available on LP for $24

Actually, the CD is still quite easy to find - I recently bought a copy from Import CDs for $11 (they currently have copies in stock - just looked)

I find that DMG sometimes "hype" up their stock

[Head Man]

Oops...I've just checked and see that Amazon are stocking it as well!

I'll try not to get too carried away again........

[king ubu]

Well, it IS great!

Both CD and LP can also be obtained straight from the label:

http://www.boweavilrecordings.com/Weavil_24.html

I did get carried away similarly and bought the LP via some vendor, assuming the CD was OOP ... then after some more searching I saw that the label is selling both and was pissed for a second. But now I'm happy I went for the LP, in this particular case!

[mjzee]

Also available for download from eMusic.

[Stefan Wood]

Yeah, DMG is a great store, with helpful staff, but they are not the only game in town. Or, in this case, the internet. I find their prices to be moderate to expensive -- what they are good for are hard to find to obscure or independent labels or pressings, and those are worth the money.

[sambrasa]

There's also another mistake here, Jumma Santos (Jim Riley) who played on Bitches Brew, Olatunji Concert, etc. is not the same person as Juma Sultan, who played with Hendrix. It's a wide spread misconception, though. Would be neat if it be true, but it's not.

[romualdo]

Yeah, DMG is a great store, with helpful staff, but they are not the only game in town. Or, in this case, the internet. I find their prices to be moderate to expensive -- what they are good for are hard to find to obscure or independent labels or pressings, and those are worth the money.

I agree for those rarer/hard to find CDs but I have had the experience of ordering items that are listed to find out that they are OOP/not in stock (eg Charles Tyler, Pere Ubu). Now, before I place an order I contact them to find out if the items are in stock or available (even though they are listed in their catalogue).

[clifford_thornton]

I thought the reissue was now OOP. Anyway, it's a great record that should be in any "free jazz" fan's collection.

And yeah, it's Juma Sultan on there, not Santos.

[David Ayers]

Schizophrenic Blues and Berlin Concert are available as lossless downloads at Destination Out, for those interested. http://destination-out.bandcamp.com/