NOW JAZZ NOW 100 Essential Free Jazz & Improvisation Recordings 1960-80

[cayetano]

"The three authors, music writer Byron Coley and musicians Mats Gustafsson and Thurston Moore, share a life-long mutual obsession to record collecting with a distinct focus on the recorded history of Free Music".

https://www.ecstaticpeace.net/now-jazz-now

Edited October 18, 2025 by cayetano

[clifford_thornton]

I'll be interested to read this, although I suppose it'll be a recap of some of what I've read in Mats's auction catalogs/Discaholic Corner, Thurston's Grand Royal Magazine article, etc.

[dnsrrlls]

Gotta say, while I'm mildly interested in what made the cut (and am also guilty of being a collector of absurdly expensive free jazz records), I'm not sure what the purpose of a book like this is other than as a "flex." The title deems these as 100 "essential" recordings, but the majority are almost certainly going to be prohibitively expensive, collector-chased items and not anything practical for someone interested in the actual history of the music. I can see some argument for it being a NWW-list-type guide for future enthusiasts who don't care about acquiring OG copies of things, but at the end of the day this feels more like boast from the authors than anything truly in service of the music.

(And if you actually are a collector and don't already own these records, prepare for it to stay that way...🤑)

[clifford_thornton]

Judging from the labels on the verso, I see only a few that are super expensive, and all of those have been reissued (Ra, Pullen-Graves, Black Unity Trio, and Cairo Free Jazz Ensemble). Cautiously hoping that it won’t be all flexing… 

[Chuck Nessa]

Ordered from Forced Exposure.

[paulfromcamden]

I'm looking forward to this. Mats and Thurston are both massive record nerds whose enthusiasm I find infectious (I'm less familiar with the work of Byron Coley). Based on the sample pages both the record picks and writing style are accessible. I think it's going to be a fun book to flick through.

I'm seeing Mats and Thurston play tomorrow and kind of hoping there might be copies on the merch table.

[cayetano]

I got mine. Nice selection, fun reading, with some rare records for chase collectors. A lot of european free jazz and also some japanese. I have 9 OG, 32 vinyl reissues and 18 CD reissues.

[AndreyHenkin]

On 11/14/2025 at 10:17 PM, clifford_thornton said:

Judging from the labels on the verso, I see only a few that are super expensive, and all of those have been reissued (Ra, Pullen-Graves, Black Unity Trio, and Cairo Free Jazz Ensemble). Cautiously hoping that it won’t be all flexing… 

You are included in the book a couple of times, quoting interviews you did.

[clifford_thornton]

huh!

ordered one the other day...

[cayetano]

On 12/29/2025 at 5:05 PM, clifford_thornton said:

huh!

ordered one the other day...

Quoted by Thurston Moore, author of the best-documented articles, generally with biographical profile and mention of other prominent albums.

[clifford_thornton]

Arrived. Handsomely assembled and an interesting array of recordings. I was a little taken aback that certain acetates and test pressings were included as "essential" but I guess the music in question has largely been issued in some form. It is cool to see the original Axiom LP, for example, even if it was made in an edition of.. 2.

Wish I had not sold my copy of Heliopolis.