[acousticrock87]

Some are better than others, but to be honest it's not a huge difference as long as it's an artist with a reputation. Especially if you can't find the right stuff in stock. I mean, if you find anything by Ornette Coleman, Sun Ra, Cecil Taylor, or any of the names here that you can remember, just get a few random records.

And I actually haven't heard Coltrane's Ascension (sorry!), but apparently it's good free jazz, and I'm sure it'll be in stock.

[Massassinated]

Originally Posted by acousticrock87

And I actually haven't heard Coltrane's Ascension (sorry!), but apparently it's good free jazz, and I'm sure it'll be in stock.

My favorite album by anyone.

Originally Posted by Dead-Air

John Coltrane - Om (arguably his most out and admittedly a difficult listen even for fans, but worth it), Ascension, Meditations, Inerstellar Space

I'd say his most radical stuff is the Olatunji concert. Sheer agression.

[ZEROpumpkins]

Note that I don't buy from online stores. (Although I appreciate the effort)

[ZEROpumpkins]

Ok, back. I bought two more by Davis
In a Silent Way
&
Down on the Corner

[Dead-Air]

Originally Posted by ZEROpumpkins

Ok, back. I bought two more by Davis
In a Silent Way
&
Down on the Corner

Those are my two favorite Miles records except for Sketches of Spain. None are considered "Free Jazz", but all good genre stretching records.

[acousticrock87]

In a Silent Way is great. I like it a lot more than On the Corner, but OtC sounds closer to what you're looking for.

Speaking of which, try Dark Magus. It's a live Davis recording (1974), a lot like Bitches Brew, but better in my opinion because it's more thematic and consistent. It's also about as long--which is a good thing, of course, accept that it ups the price. And again, try Evil-Live for sure, but it's rarer.

[jonathan]

Start with Free Jayy by Ornette Coleman, work your waz through early Cecil Taylor works, hit on Sun Ra, Eric Dolphy, John Coltrane, and Miles Davis' Second Quintet, and I think you'll find a very listenable form of jazz with a hint of the avant garde.

My personal favorite.

[fugazifan]

albert ayler-spiritual unity
alexander von schlippenbach-pakistani promade
SME--Challenge
and what everybody else said

[ilduclo]

mentioning the B Brew, I'd of course recco the Box Set. In a Silent Way is a good fit to the B Brew style as are a couple of Wayne Shorter things, Schizophrenia and Oddyssey of Iska come to mind, also the Johhny McLauglin My Goals Beyond.

[themawt71]

check out nels cline-

he balances and sonic youth rock aesthetic with a open free jazz aesthetic. no one like him.......

nels cline singers
-instrumentals
-the giant pin
-draw breath

nels cline trio
-silencer
-chest
-ground
-sad

nels cline/gregg bendian
-interstellar space revisited
coltrane's sax/drums powerhouse redone with guitar and drums

[DJ Rick]

Some great names of the past have been listed already. I'll add Rashied Ali's Duets albums plus his Afro Algonquin album that he made with the Rozie brothers. If you like the soulless Teutonic musical experience, there's von Schlippenbach. And Peter Brötzmann had some really murderous stuff...His Octet's Machine Gun is probably the easiest to recommend to a new curious listener.

Nab that Orange In the Midst of Chaos reissue CD on De Stijl. One of the best reissues of this year!

Of bands/artists that are active at this very moment, check these out...

Evolutionary Jass Band (copious amounts of soulfulness!)
Chad Stockdale (sax assassin from here in Sacto, various groups)
Family Pet (from Maine, scorchin' & freaky)
Little Women (one-sided LP on Gilgongo is ace!)
Weasel Walter Quartet (and other WW groups)
Ettrick (incredibly assaultive bleakness!)
Rust Ionics
Lemon Bear

Most of the Evolutionary Jass Band people play in various projects, and those always sound awfully good to me. The Oregon Artificial Limb Co. and Fly! Fly! Fly! Fly! Fly! are two such bands. That Bob guy saws some crazy cello. Maybe the single best solo I saw this year was two simultaneous solos by him and Lemon Bear at a semi-impromptu show at Valentine's in Portland. I saw a couple open mics recording...maybe you will all get to hear it someday.

Stockdale was in a band from Sacto that released a 7" and an LP about 3 years back called Antennas Erupt. If you find either of those records, those are brilliant. Free-jazz influenced, but also somewhat compositionally focused.

Another place to find music with this spirit is in the intersection of free/improv music and the broadly-defined psychedelic scene. There's plenty of No Neck hype here, and surely the best 10% of their stuff warrants it. As does Jackie-O Motherfucker's stuff. Overall, those bands are probably far too prolific, though. So, pick from that stuff wisely...get recommendations to corroborate each other. Or, better yet, try some Fushitsusha.

As with a lotta improv music, there's a lotta dreck to wade through, but that effort isn't wasted when you find the magical moments. You gotta listen with patience. It really is a wonder that this music is still finding new fans in an age when most listeners are just clicking downloads and streams one after another, quickly sampling the first few moments before moving on to the next....like skimming a book.

[ZEROpumpkins]

I really dig the second track on In a Silent Way. It's so beautiful.

[acousticrock87]

This may be far-fetched, but Tim Buckley has an album called Lorca that was supposedly recorded during a time when he was listening exclusively to In a Silent Way for a huge period of time. It's a really weird mix of psychedelic-folk-jazz-other(?), with an emphasis on vocals, but I recommend a listen to anyone who likes In a Silent Way. It's similar in a lot of ways.

[RdTv]

lot of great free jazz/improv coming out of chicago these days.
Most of the guys play together in groups but look up these titles:
Rempis Percussion Quartet
Festival Quartet
Dragons 76
Vox Arcana
Vandermark 5

All those groups feature either Dave Rempis,Tim Daisy or Ken Vandermark. So basically, search out any stuff done by those guys and you are sure to find high quality new sounds.

[Dead-Air]

Originally Posted by DJ Rick

Evolutionary Jass Band (copious amounts of soulfulness!)

Most of the Evolutionary Jass Band people play in various projects, and those always sound awfully good to me. The Oregon Artificial Limb Co. and Fly! Fly! Fly! Fly! Fly! are two such bands. That Bob guy saws some crazy cello. Maybe the single best solo I saw this year was two simultaneous solos by him and Lemon Bear at a semi-impromptu show at Valentine's in Portland. I saw a couple open mics recording...maybe you will all get to hear it someday.

Whenever the Community Library label finally gets the new Evolutionary Jass Band cd out, there's going to be a photo I took of them playing at the 2nd Halleluwah fest in the book.

[atsonicpark]

Originally Posted by Dead-Air

the big name superstars of avant jazz

I want to call a band this.