"Clyde Hart and I made a record like that once. We decided in front that there'd be no regular chords, we'd announce no keys, stick to no progressions. Only once I fell into a minor key; the rest was free, just blowing. And, man, it felt good." (p. 239)
Eldridge's only known recordings with Hart happened between 1938 and 1940. They recorded together in Chu Berry's band in 1938, and with Fred Rich in 1940. And Eldridge hired Hart for a stint at the Arcadia Ballroom in 1939.
Perhaps the recording has been released. But I have not found it listed in any discography. If it was in fact recorded, there's the possibility that it was never released. If that's the case, the master was either discarded or it was put into storage.
I am, rather loosely, defining free improvisation as any music within which, as a matter of principle, the musician has complete freedom to do whatever he/she wishes. This presupposes that there is no composition whose directions are being followed: not a motive, not a graphic score, not a mode or scale, not a riff, and no conduction.
These criteria are probably too strict. But that's what I'm working with here. If you have suggestions for how to make this list better, please post a comment below.
Additions have been made for the following artists:
The People Band (added Aug 2021)
The Fourth Stream (added Feb 2021)Art Ensemble Of Chicago (added Sept 2020)
Malachi
Gruppo Romano Free Jazz
Mario Schiano
Chico Hamilton Quintet
Paul Horn
July 2020 - I took out the Paul Horn entry... The title track sounds like it's free, but then the band comes in. Chico is first, with a Charleston figure on brushes - then when Fred (cello) and Gerry (Wiggins, piano) enter, they seem to know exactly what to do harmonically and rhythmically. It's probably a very loosely composed piece or head chart, in sort of the way that Flamenco Sketches is - not exactly a "tune" but also not exactly a free improvisation.
Improvised Music Before 1970 - An Incomplete Discography
C
Charles Ives, “Ives Plays Ives – The Complete Recordings of Charles Ives at the Piano, 1933-1943”. Composers Recordings, Inc. [Two, maybe three tracks improvised.]
Clare Fischer (added May 2017)
Charlie NothingMalachi
Gruppo Romano Free Jazz
Mario Schiano
Chico Hamilton Quintet
July 2020 - I took out the Paul Horn entry... The title track sounds like it's free, but then the band comes in. Chico is first, with a Charleston figure on brushes - then when Fred (cello) and Gerry (Wiggins, piano) enter, they seem to know exactly what to do harmonically and rhythmically. It's probably a very loosely composed piece or head chart, in sort of the way that Flamenco Sketches is - not exactly a "tune" but also not exactly a free improvisation.
Improvised Music Before 1970 - An Incomplete Discography
A
AMM, “AMMMusic”, Elektra, 1966
AMM, “AMMMusic”, Elektra, 1966
AMM
/ Musica Elettronica Viva, “Live Electronic Music Improvised”.
Mainstream Records, 1970
AMM,
“The Crypt – 12th, June, 1968”. Matchless
Recordings, 1978
Amon Düül, "Psychedelic Underground"
Amon Düül, "Collapsing"
Amon Düül, "Disaster"
Amon Düül, "Psychedelic Underground"
Amon Düül, "Collapsing"
Amon Düül, "Disaster"
Art Ensemble of Chicago, "People In Sorrow", Pathé, Nessa, 1969
C
Charles Ives, “Ives Plays Ives – The Complete Recordings of Charles Ives at the Piano, 1933-1943”. Composers Recordings, Inc. [Two, maybe three tracks improvised.]
Charlie Nothing, "The Psychedelic Saxophone of Charlie Nothing". Takoma Records, 1967.
Charlie Nothing, "Outside/Inside". De Stijl Records, 2011 [recorded in 1969].
Chico Hamilton Quintet, "s/t". Pacific Jazz, 1955. One track ('Free Form') fully improvised. They get into a i ii(halfdim) iii ii pattern for a while but I'm pretty sure
Charlie Nothing, "Outside/Inside". De Stijl Records, 2011 [recorded in 1969].
Chico Hamilton Quintet, "s/t". Pacific Jazz, 1955. One track ('Free Form') fully improvised. They get into a i ii(halfdim) iii ii pattern for a while but I'm pretty sure
Columbia
Symphony Orchestra, “Lukas Foss: Time Cycle”. Columbia, 1962 [Featuring improvised interludes by Foss' Improvisation Chamber
Ensemble.]
Clare Fischer, "First Time Out". Pacific Jazz, 1962. One track ('Free Too Long') sounds fully improvised.
D
Django Reinhardt, "In Solitaire". Definitive, 2005 [recorded between 1937-1950]
Clare Fischer, "First Time Out". Pacific Jazz, 1962. One track ('Free Too Long') sounds fully improvised.
D
Django Reinhardt, "In Solitaire". Definitive, 2005 [recorded between 1937-1950]
E
Erroll
Garner, “Overture to Dawn, vol. 1”. Blue Note, 195? [recorded in
1944]
Erroll
Garner, “Overture to Dawn, vol. 2”. Blue Note, 195? [recorded in
1944]
Erroll
Garner, “Afternoon of an Elf”, Mercury, 1955. [One track improvised.]
F
The Fourth Stream, "White Field". Pioneer, 1968 [recorded in 1967]
Free
Form Improvisation Ensemble, “The Free Form Improvisation
Ensemble”. Cadence, 1998 [recorded in 1964]
G
Georges
I. Gurdjieff, “Harmonic Development”. Basta, 2005 [recorded in 1948-49]
Group
Ongaku, “Music by Group Ongaku” Seer Sound Archive, released in 1996/2011, recorded in 1960.
Gruppo
Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza, “The Private Sea of Dreams” [US
title]. RCA Victor, 1967.
Gruppo
Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza, “Improvisationen”. Deutsche
Grammophon, 1968.
Gruppo
Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza, “The Feed-back”. RCA Italiana,
1970.
Gruppo
Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza, “1967-1975”. Edition RZ, 1992.
Gruppo
Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza, “Azioni”. Die Schachtel, 2006.
Gruppo Romano Free Jazz, "1966-67". Vedette, 1977. [recorded in 1967]
H
Gruppo Romano Free Jazz, "1966-67". Vedette, 1977. [recorded in 1967]
H
Hapshash and the Coloured Coat, "Featuring the Human Host and the Heavy Metal Kids". Liberty, 1967.
J
Jean
Dubuffet & Asger Jorn, “Musique Phénoménale”. 4 10''-record
set, 50 copies, Edizione del Cavallino, 1961.
Jean
Dubuffet, “Experiences Musicales”. Finnadar, 1973.
L
Lennie
Tristano, “Crosscurrents”. Capitol Records, 1972. [Contains Intuition and Digression, recorded in
1949]
M
M
Malachi, "Holy Music". Verve Records, 1966. [Richard Barthelme from the Red Krayola plays on a couple tracks]
Mario Schiano, "Original Sins 1967/70 Unreleased". Splasc(h), 1992. [recorded between 1967 and 1970]
Mario Schiano, "Original Sins 1967/70 Unreleased". Splasc(h), 1992. [recorded between 1967 and 1970]
Musica
Elettronica Viva, “Friday”. Polydor, 1969.
Musica
Elettronica Viva, “The Sound Pool”. Actuel, 1970.
Musica
Elettronica Viva, “The Original”. IRML, 1996.
Musica
Elettronica Viva, “Rome Cansrt”. IRML, 1999.
Musica
Elettronica Viva, “Spacecraft / Unified Patchwork Theory”. Alga
Marghen, 2001. [disc 1 recorded in 1967.]
Musica
Elettronica Viva, “Pieces”. IRML, 2004. [recorded in 1966/67]
Musica
Elettronica Viva, “MEV 40”. New World Records, 2008. [disc 1
recorded in 1967]
N
New
Music Ensemble, “Improvisations”. New Music Ensemble, 1963.
New
Music Ensemble, “New Music Ensemble II”. New Music Ensemble,
1964.
Nihilist
Spasm Band, “The Sweetest Country This Side of Heaven”. Arts
Canada, 1967.
Nihilist
Spasm Band, “No Record”. Allied Record Corporation, 1968.
P
The People Band, “The People Band". Transatlantic, 1970. [recorded in 1968]
R
The Red Crayola & the Familiar Ugly, “Parable of Arable Land”.
International Artists, 1967. [Free-form Freak-out tracks are improvised, also the title track. Mayo Thompson, Fred Barthelme and Steve Cunningham.]
The
Red Krayola, “God Bless the Red Krayola and All Who Sail With It”.
International Artists, 1968. (2, maybe 3 tracks improvised)
The
Red Crayola, “Live 1967”. Drag City, 1998. [recorded in 1967]
The
Red Krayola, “Coconut Hotel”. Drag City, 2005. [recorded in 1967]
Roy
Eldridge & Clyde Hart, unknown title, unissued? 1939?
S
Stuff
Smith & Robert Crum, “The 1944 Rosenkrantz Apartment
Transcriptions”. AB Fable, 2002.
Stuff
Smith, “1944–1946
Studio, Broadcast, Concert & Apartment Performances”. AB Fable,
2002.
T
T
Tangerine Dream, "Electronic Meditation"
1 comment:
Well,Spontaneous Music Ensemble: "Challenge" (1966) and "Karyòbin" (1968).Moreover, The People Band: "People Band 69/70" and "The People Band" (1970). And something on Tony Oxley's "The Baptized Traveller" (1969). Bye!
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