Part of his 80th Anniversary celebration and subtitled "The Art Of The Trumpeter And Drummers", this 5-CD box set brings legendary improviser Wadada Leo Smith together with four long-time collaborators and masterful drummers--Andrew Cyrille, Jack DeJohnette, Pheeroan akLaff and Han Bennink--with Smith performing on both piano and trumpet.

Recorded for radio for the series Jazz in der Kammer Nr 71, this 1974 concert was the first in East Germany for Peter Brötzmann, Fred Van Hove, and Han Bennink, bridging the divided German states through an energetic set of improvisations that extended traditional jazz with outrageous approaches to improv in an exciting, quirky and profoundly masterful set of European Free Jazz.

A wonderfully idiosyncratic and masterful live recording from the Akademie der Kunste in Berlin, 1979, in this reissue of the 1979 FMP LP from the trio of Peter Brotzmann on alto & tenor saxophones, E flat & A clarinets & bass clarinet, Misha Mengelberg on piano and Han Bennink on drums, with a bit of free bop, some free insanity, and passages of stark beauty.

A tremendous concert from the 1974, 105th NDR Jazzworkshop at the Funkhaus Hamburg from the influential free jazz ensemble Globe Unity Orchestra with a who's who of European Free Jazz players (Brotzmann, schoof, Parker, Rutherford, Bailey, Kowald, Bennink, Lovens, Schlippenbach, &c) in a Satirical Oratorio in seven parts with the NDR Choir, plus Schoof's "Kontraste Und Synthesen".

A rollicking set of interwoven tunes and improvisations from the trio of Michael Moore on clarinet, bass clarinet, alto saxophone & melodica, Will Holshouser on accordion, and Han Bennink on drums, performing live at Drom, in New York City in 2009 during a 2-week American tour, a joyfully upbeat and lyrical set of improvisations with exuberant drive.

Reissuing two essential albums from saxophonist Marion Brown--Why Not? (ESP, 1968) and Porto Novo (Polydor, 1969)--the first recorded in NY in a quartet with pianist Stanley Cowell, bassist Sirone and drummer Rashied Ali, the second recorded in The Netherlands in a trio with Han Bennink on drums and Maarten Van Regteren Altena on double bass; essential.

Using hard bop as his jumping off point, Swiss saxophonist Omri Ziegele Tomorrow Trio with Christian Weber on bass and Han Bennink on drums--musicians who have toured and performed together over years--went into the studio hot off of a 13 day tour to record these 6 Ziegele original compositions, lyrically balanced with room for exemplary soloing and group interplay.