bill dixon and archie shepp - peace

here's a rarity: bill dixon and archie shepp's "peace" on BYG (france) and savoy (usa). i cannot find an image of the record cover to post here. in fact, there is very little info on this album at all. the sound quality of this recording isn't too hot (below is a link to download a copy of the BYG vinyl), but the songs are wonderful - absolutely wonderful. as far as i can tell, there's never been a reissue of this album. there is another dixon/shepp collaboration that was also on this label- "winter song" - it's one of my favorites and it was reissued a few years back on cd. lucky for us, when i get around to posting "winter song," we'll have better sound quality.

another thing: reggie workman is on this album playing bass. i've always put him in a special category of bass players; a category that can only be explained by mentioning other bassists: ronnie boykins, henry grimes, jimmy garrison, charlie haden...he's recorded with coltrane, wayne shorter, tony williams, thelonious monk, art blakey, red garland, lee morgan, and many others. he's one of my favorite musicians. his work on this album is great.

there is a fantastic movie about dixon and shepp called "imagine the sound." i actually had a chance to see it on the big screen at the art museum here in portland last night. i highly recommend it. it contains interviews with shepp, dixon, cecil taylor, and paul bley. the topic of discussion is the origin of this music; new york city in the 60's, the influence of trane and bird, the jazz composers guild - a real glance into a world all too undocumented, a world that so many of us missed. also, the movie boasts numerous whole performances, not just clips, by these great players: shepp and dixon, both with their own quartets, bley and taylor both performing solo.

these recordings were made in 1962.

here's some info:

1: "ARCHIE SHEPP - BILL DIXON Quartet"
Savoy MG 12178 (Lp)
BYG 529101 (LP, France) entitled "Peace"

1) Trio                                        (Bill Dixon)
2) Quartet                                     (Bill Dixon)
3) Somewhere                                   (Leonard Bernstein)
4) Peace                                       (Ornette Coleman)

Archie Shepp:           ts
Bill Dixon:             tp
Don Moore:              b (1-3)
Paul Cohen:             dr (1-3)
Reggie Workman:         b (4)
Howard McRae:           dr (4)

rec. Oct 1962

get a digital copy of the original BYG release of bill dixon and archie shepp's "peace" here