Black Saint/Soul Note one-offs

colinmce · September 10, 2012

In my estimation, the Black Saint/Soul Note box sets represent one of the great events in jazz reissues in the last several years. It's fantastic to think that a box set of Don Pullen or George E Lewis albums is (relatively) commercially viable in this day and age. Nevertheless, the fact that they focus on the combined output of one artist means that performers who released only one or two titles on the labels, as well as those who may be too obscure to warrant a set fall through the cracks. So I'd like to solicit recommendations of notable "one-off" records, or great albums from the labels with a low profile. The entire BS/SN catalogue is available on Spotify, as well as Amazon, iTunes, etc.

Walt Dickerson/Sirone/Andrew Cyrille - Life Rays (Soul Note, 1982)

A true trio endeavor, beautiful, serene, yet challenging. This is by far th best work I've heard from Walt Dickerson and could be said to represent the culmination of his art. Indeed it iss his last recorded work, if I'm not mistaken.

BassDrumBone - Wooferlo (Soul Note, 1997)

A more reliable group of players you will not find. This, like everything they do, is immensely enjoyable and expertly played.

Marcelo Melis - Free To Dance (Black Saint, 1978)

Pullen, Jeanne, Bowie, Moye, Hopkins, Lewis , Vasconcelos, Rava, Shiela Jordan ... I guess you could conceivably lose here, but the chances are slim. The end result is cohesive but loose. Very AEC, very funky, very. 70s.

Baikida Carroll - The Door of the Cage (Soul Note, 1994)

I like his earlier, Hemphill-ish Shadows & Reflections, but this is better. Stone-solid modern jazz in the Search For The New Land vein.

Pete C · September 10, 2012

Door of the Cage and Marionettes on a High Wire are both brilliant Carroll albums. Erica Lindsay is excellent on those. I think of them more in the Miles 2nd quintet vein rather than Lee Morganish.