Various Artists – Freedom Rhythm & Sound

This album is part of a major new project for Soul Jazz, coinciding with the release of a hardback book spanning over 200 pages and almost twenty years’ worth of cover artwork for classic revolutionary jazz records. Tied into the civil rights movement, 1960s counter culture and the burgeoning spirit of underground rock music, some of the seminal jazz artists of the day set about taking full artistic control of their work, applying a kind of proto-DIY ethic to the recording, release and distribution of their music. Among the artists selected for this double-disc volume are The Art Ensemble Of Chicago, Joe McPhee, Steve Reid, Joe Henderson, Oliver Lake and Errol Parker, with particular highlights coming from Sun Ra (whose awesome ‘Nuclear War’ is always a welcome listen), Archie Shepp (the riotous big band soul of ‘Attica Blues’) and Horace Tapscott & The Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra (with the amazing string-laden ensemble composition ‘Peyote Song No. III’). Even by Soul Jazz’s impeccable standards this compilation is outstanding – highly recommended.