Archie Shepp - Archie Shepp & The New York Contemporary Five

2004 European CD reissue.

The ten tunes (71 min.) on this CD were recorded live at the famous Montmartre jazz club in Copenhagen in 1963. The quintet was formed specifically to come and play in Copenhagen and was disbanded when the musicians returned to New York. The most “advanced” number is a 15 minute-long tune called “The Trio” which uses both modal scales and changing meters. The band is led by three of the absolute best of the avante garde musicians at the time: Don Cherry on cornet, Archie Shepp on tenor sax and John Tchicai on alto sax. The music is heavily inspired by alto player Ornette Coleman and pianist Cecil Taylor, and features three Ornette Coleman compositions and two by Thelonious Monk.