Atavistic's 'Unheard Music Series'

[peterintoronto]

I am sampling Clifford Thornton's 'Freedom & Unity' online, and it sound like a straight LP to CD rip. I have a few discs on the Unheard Music Series, but I always thought they were legit re-issues?

This Clifford Thornton is making me think twice. So what's the verdict?

[Chalupa]

I think they are legit. The master tapes are probably AWOL so they had to do a needle drop. I know that was the case w/ their reissue of Sun Ra's Nuclear War LP.

[Chuck Nessa]

I agree. John Corbett runs the series and does what he can.

[clifford_thornton]

Thornton's daughter (I think) has his archives and tapes, and did not want them to be used, but otherwise gave Corbett/UMS carte blanche to do what they wished.

The reissue was taken from three sealed copies as well as a tape of part of the session(s) that McPhee had in his collection.

Edited November 4, 2009 by clifford_thornton

[alppila]

I noticed somewhere (this isn't on their web site yet) that they're issuing a Sun Ra title called Continuation. Info below. Anyone heard this set?

Sun Ra - Continuation

The 5th Sun Ra Deluxe CD reissue on UMS... A Key, Long-Lost 60s Space Relic!

ATAVISTIC & the UMS issue the 5th SUN RA DELUXE CD REISSUE featuring

PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED RECORDINGS. A spectacular and rarely heard Saturn

Research LP presenting music recorded in the mid 1960s in New York, Continuation

features space classics like "Biosphere Blues," "Earth Primitive Earth," and an

unheralded appearance of "Second Stop is Jupiter," with Marshall Allen featured on

Jupiterian flute and Danny Thompson on Neptunian libflecto. Bold Bauhaus-ish artwork,

liner notes by Scott Nielsen. "(excerpted) Continuation is an interesting late-'60s date with

a nice mixture of styles (ranging from) great slow blues, creepy space voice, very cool

space-exotica, crazed circus fanfare and a cacophonous romp..." ~ Sean Westergaard,

All Music Guide

[king ubu]

There's an earlier thread here:

http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=18722

Weren't there some issues about the FMP releases in the UMS series? (Related the split/breakup/fuckup of FMP as whole... the "wrong" party let Corbett do reissues or something like that?)

[clifford_thornton]

Well... the artists held the rights to the earlier FMP recordings, as I understand it, so Brotzmann & Schlippenbach probably just told Corbett to go ahead. A lot of more recent reissues were leased/sold to Jazzwerkstatt Germany, so the catalog is kind of flung about.

Now that Jost is back in control (or whatever) of the label, it'll be interesting to see what happens.

[Д.Д.]

Well... the artists held the rights to the earlier FMP recordings, as I understand it, so Brotzmann & Schlippenbach probably just told Corbett to go ahead. A lot of more recent reissues were leased/sold to Jazzwerkstatt Germany, so the catalog is kind of flung about.

Now that Jost is back in control (or whatever) of the label, it'll be interesting to see what happens.

Why, we already see what happens. Old FMP stuff is being reissued on jazzwerkstatt (http://www.jazzwerkstatt-online.de/ ), and there are new FMP releases on "FMP-Publishing" : http://www.fmp-label.de/ . The "old" FMP (http://free-music-production.de/ ) is now only in charge of TMM festival, it seems.

[king ubu]

It seems Jost isn't interested much any longer... a friend of mine tried to get him to talk some by sending emails, but he seems to escape from questions. I guess this generation of producers might just well go and call it a day once their time here comes to an end, without actively trying to keep their legacy alive... sort of like their legacy will go when they go, too... that's sad, but then they can do as they please, of course.

I'll have to get some of those Jazzwerkstatt reissues, some good ones there!

[AmirBagachelles]

Is it possible to see the jazzwerkstatt offerings in English? If these catalogs can't be monetized, it is hard to find fault with decisions to avoid losses on new reissue efforts. But when that becomes the case I don't understand these properties not reverting to the artists, many of whom can find a way to reissue material on a smaller scale. The FMP/SAJ catalogs are so rich, further long-term neglect should be deemed a cultural crime.

[clifford_thornton]

I've tried emailing Gebers as well - never heard back, though I do get new FMP releases for review. I understand that he is producing those as well, though.

Cadence sells Jazzwerkstatt titles in the US.

[AndrewHill]

Cadence sells Jazzwerkstatt titles in the US.

I've seen them listed at Amazon as well, in some cases, even more expensive than the FMP reissues!

[Hoppy T. Frog]

Cadence sells Jazzwerkstatt titles in the US.

I've seen them listed at Amazon as well, in some cases, even more expensive than the FMP reissues!

I read in All About Jazz that Jazzwekstatt is an Ulli Blobel label. Hadn't he had a track record of releasing unauthorized releases (not to say bootlegs).

[jostber]

I noticed somewhere (this isn't on their web site yet) that they're issuing a Sun Ra title called Continuation. Info below. Anyone heard this set?

Sun Ra - Continuation

The 5th Sun Ra Deluxe CD reissue on UMS... A Key, Long-Lost 60s Space Relic!

ATAVISTIC & the UMS issue the 5th SUN RA DELUXE CD REISSUE featuring

PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED RECORDINGS. A spectacular and rarely heard Saturn

Research LP presenting music recorded in the mid 1960s in New York, Continuation

features space classics like "Biosphere Blues," "Earth Primitive Earth," and an

unheralded appearance of "Second Stop is Jupiter," with Marshall Allen featured on

Jupiterian flute and Danny Thompson on Neptunian libflecto. Bold Bauhaus-ish artwork,

liner notes by Scott Nielsen. "(excerpted) Continuation is an interesting late-'60s date with

a nice mixture of styles (ranging from) great slow blues, creepy space voice, very cool

space-exotica, crazed circus fanfare and a cacophonous romp..." ~ Sean Westergaard,

All Music Guide

I have ordered it, but have not received it yet. Working in the Far East now, hope it is there in the mail when I get back home in a week.

[Joe Bip]

It's worth mentioning that concurrent with Sun Ra - Continuation is a release of Bennink and Hazevoet's Calling Down the Flevo Spirit. About three years ago I learned from a reliable source I'll not bother to name that this would be one of the next UMS releases, and I'm glad to see it's finally going to become a reality. This was right around the time that the series went alarmingly from around 12 releases a year to 2 or 3, and almost all Sun Ra and Brotzmann. I'm not complaining about these Sun Ra and Brotzmann reissues per se; my point is that I started to worry even more that the series was having such a hard time that they were having to stick to the better selling artists (as opposed to, say, Starship Beer, I'd imagine).

I wish there were enough support for them to up the flow again, but in any case it will be interesting to see what UMS brings us next year -- another volume of the Steve Lacy Cassette Archive perhaps?

[AmirBagachelles]

Does FMP sell any of their old catalog directly on their site? FMP CDs have become really scarce, I am amazed at how few DMG and Cadence and the usual online sources have. I need to find the first Die Like a Dog (Fragments of....Ayler).