05/26/2026
This week’s used vinyl drop will include some landmark free-jazz LPs that deserve a longer look. These weren’t albums that broke any sales records; more importantly, they pushed boundaries, inspiring generations of jazz and experimental musicians across the globe. In many cases, these small-run records captured artists whose invention and evolution often took place in the live setting rather than the studio, giving us a rare glimpse of singular moments in jazz history, all these decades later. Here’s ten of ‘em.
We start with a few from the landmark experimental label ESP-Disk’, started by a New York lawyer in the 60s initially to release records in the invented language of Esperanto. A chance encounter with Albert Ayler in Harlem led to the label’s second release, ‘Spiritual Unity’’; its explosiveness immediately changed the trajectory of the label and, many believe, the entire arc of the jazz avant-garde. While never gaining a reputation for paying artists well, the ESP label did provide an early forum to artists like Ayler, Milford Graves, Alan Silva, Roswell Rudd, John Tchicai, and Sun Ra.
We also see some extremely rare releases from players on their own artist-run labels, such as Leo Smith’s Kabell and Bobby Naughton’s Otic, plus essential pieces from foundational spiritual jazz labels like Nessa, India Navigation, and Strata-East. Collected in the main only by obsessives, it is rare to come across so many of these records at once, and in such immaculate shape. Enjoy the artwork and check these out this Friday!
