A vinyl-only sampler spanning 1970-2007, showcasing Joe McPhee's fiercely inventive spirit through funk-driven grooves, spiritual jazz depth, fiery collaborations with Cato Salsa Experience and The Thing, and intimate duo interplay with Paal Nilssen-Love - a defiant, time-jumping portrait of one of improvised music's most dynamic voices.

Uniting Joe McPhee on tenor saxophone and spoken word with violist Mat Maneri, cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm, and bassist Michael Bisio, this remarkable quartet of long-time collaborators and distinct musical voices forges a deeply cohesive work of lyrical chamber jazz and free improvisation, balancing individual expression with a collective language of striking originality and emotional depth.

Recorded live at the 2023 Music Unlimited Festival in Wels, Austria, this powerhouse quartet of Joe McPhee, Susanna Gartmayer, John Edwards, and Maria Portugal delivers an electrifying set of spontaneous composition, blending fierce improvisation, commanding technique, and bold interplay in a dynamic performance brimming with vitality and creative approaches to improv.

A cosmic tribute to Sun Ra's legacy, this limited-edition LP opens with a rare 1950s home recording of Ra performing a cappella, followed by archival and new works from Joe McPhee, Raymond Boni, Jason Adasiewicz, Wolfgang Voigt, and Spaceways Inc. (Ken Vandermark/Nate McBride/Hamid Drake) with Zu, reimagining Ra's soundworld through homage, remix, and exploratory improvisation.

A meeting of deep lyrical expression and adventurous collective free jazz, as Korean pianist Eunhye Jeong and bassist Michael Bisio expand their intuitive duo with the soulful power of Joe McPhee on tenor saxophone and the dynamic energy of drummer Jay Rosen, in a resonant, poetic session beautifully captured at Park West Studios for ESP-Disk.

Joe McPhee recounts his journey from his formative years and time in the army to his evolution as a creative free jazz saxophonist and trumpeter, sharing experiences and encounters with artists such as Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Albert Ayler, Peter Brötzmann, and Pauline Oliveros; featuring a foreword by Fred Moten and an afterword by Moor Mother.

Possibly Joe McPhee's earliest recording, this session with bassist Tyrone Crabb's band, The Jazzmen, features McPhee on trumpet alongside saxophonists Harry Hall and Reggie Marks, pianist Mike Kull, and drummer Charlie Benjamin, performing two extended pieces, including the politically charged 'Killed in Vietnam' that evolves into a passionate interpretation of Miles Davis' 'Milestones'.

27 concise poems written and read by saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist Joe McPhee, punctuated by 9 musical interludes between McPhee on soprano sax and Chicago reedist Ken Vandermark on clarinet and bass, fortifying McPhee's captivating words that mix life observations among jazz references to Dolphy, Monk, Brötzmann, Coleman, &c.; a truly embraceable "book" of poetry.

A masterful album of collective free improvisation captured in Brooklyn's Park West Studios by Jim Clouse, of the trio of tenor saxophonist Joe McPhee, trombonist Steve Swell and drummer Chris Corsano, ten conversations of diverse approach, from reflectively abstract to uncompromisingly assertive discourse that is ultimately fueled by a joyful camaraderie.

A monumental release from Fire! Orchestra led by Mats Gustafsson, Johan Berthling & Andreas Werliin, in an expanded ensemble of 43 international musicians, with new members including Joe McPhee, for a massive work organized into seven parts, presented in a solid box set spread across 3 vinyl LPs of music with titles inspired by Swedish author & poet Erik Lindegren; magnificent!

Long a fan of his music, NY trumpeter Kirk Knuffke joined with saxophonist Joe McPhee and his quartet of Christof Knoche (bass clarinet), Michael Bisio (bass) and Jay Rosen (drums), following Knuffke's wife's advice to "keep the dream up" as the quintet recorded a series of exceptional collective improvisations, one Knuffke compositions and at Knuffke's request, a poem/"Invocation" from McPhee.

The incredible first meeting between legendary saxophonist Joe McPhee and double bassist John Edwards is this performance at the 2019 Artacts festival in Austria, a powerfully reflective free jazz concert with McPhee speaking & preaching about the loss of giants John Coltrane, Albert Ayler and James Baldwin, as they stand upon their shoulders through free music.

The 2nd album from the quartet of Joe McPhee on tenor saxophone, Warren Smith on vibraphone, Michael Marcus on reeds and Jay Rosen on drums, formed from a 2018 Jazzgalerie Nickelsdorf date with NY drummer Jay Rosen rounding out the quartet, this album extends their accessibly relaxed and creatively magnificent approach to free and structured jazz.

The 3rd album from the touring trio of Joe McPhee on trumpet & tenor sax, John Edwards on double bass and Klaus Kugel on drums, following their previous NotTwo releases A Night In Alchemia and Journey To Parazzar, here captured live at FreeJazzSaar 2019, in Saarbrucken, Germany for a boisterously exciting set of three collective improvisations, including a tip of the hat to Charles Gayle.

The 3rd meeting of the transatlantic quintet of Joe McPhee on alto & soprano saxophones and pocket trumpet, Daunik Lazro on tenor & baritone saxophones, Joshua Abrams on double bass & guembri, Guillaume Seguron on double bass and Chad Taylor on drums & mbira is heard in this exceptional 2018 concert at the International Jazzfestival Saalfelden in Salzburg, Austria.

A confluence of masterful playing through two soprano & two tenor saxophones plus one pocket cornet, as Evan Parker and Joe McPhee perform live in 2003 at the Chicago Cultural Center as part of the Empty Bottle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music, weaving lines with intricately relaxed confidence and coming together for beautiful moments of lyrical connection.

One of Corbett vs. Dempsey's Black Cross Solo Sessions, Joe McPhees approaches his album recorded during pandemic lockdown in his home through tenor sax, voice, water, objects and field recordings, the center of the album a cycle of compositions by Charles Mingus, alongside works by Carla Bley and influences by Joni Mitchell, and a virtual symphony of saxes on the title track.

Bringing together four masterful players into the studio in NYC--Joe McPhee on saxophones, Michael Bisio on double bass, Fred Lonberg-Holm on cello and Juma Sultan on percussion--for a set of with one composition each from McPhee, Sultan and Lonberg-Holm, two collective improvisations, Charlie Haden's "Human Being" and Henry Grimes "For Django".

Woodwind player Michael Marcus' duo with drummer Jay Rosen performed with fellow reedsman Joe McPhee and a 2nd drummer at the Jazzgalerie Nickelsdorf in 2018, the concept so appealing that he took it to the studio in New York, with Warren Smith handling the 2nd drum part and cementing this unusually orchestrated and elegantly passionate band as "The Blue Reality Quartet".

Joining the exemplary New York City Flow Trio of Louie Belogenis on tenor & soprano saxophones, Joe Morris on bass, and Charles Downs on drums is NY legendary saxophonist & trumpeter Joe McPhee, performing on tenor saxophone in an album of collective free jazz that reminds its listeners of the power of passionately unfettered yet superbly controlled free playing.

Named for a Don Cherry composition included on this album, the core trio of The Thing--Mats Gustafsson on reeds, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten on bass, and Paal Nilssen-Love on drums--is joined by saxophonist and pocket trumpter Joe McPhee, recording classic free jazz and harmolodic pieces by Don Cherry, Ornette Coleman, James Blood Ulmer, Frank Lowe, & Joe McPhee.

Unreleased material from Joe McPhee's archives, three live settings of the saxophonist and pocket trumpeter in upstate NY: a quartet with vibraphonist Ernie Bostic and the rhythm section of Tyrone Crabb and Bruce Thompson live at Vassar College; live in New Windsor with saxophonist Reggie Marks; and an outdoor concert at Poughkeepsie's Lincoln Centre.

The UK Decoy trio of John Edwards (bass), Steve Noble (drums) and Alexander Hawkins (keys) joins forces with pocket trumpet and saxophone player Joe McPhee during McPhee's residency at London's Cafe OTO, recording these two huge sets of brilliant free improv, Hawkins performing on organ adding a unique and soulful tone to a set that balances powerful energy with innate lyricism.

The working trio of New York trumpeter & saxophonist Joe McPhee, London double bassist John Edwards, and German drummer Klaus Kugel, actively touring through Europe since 2017, are heard live at Alchemia in Krakow, Poland in 2018, for four monumental examples of free improvisation in superlative playing with intense rhythmic interaction and deeply expressive soloing.

Drawing on many collaborations, from Peter Brotzmann's large groups to Gustafsson's The Thing, this duo album recorded in 2008 is finally issued to unleash 1 blistering album of saxophone duos, Joe McPhee on altos sax, alto clarinet, pocket trumpet and voice, with Gustafsson on baritone and slide saxophone, alto fluteophone and live electronics; brace yourself!

The second duo album between saxophonist & pocket trumpeter Joe McPhee and drummer/frame drummer Hamid Drake begins with McPhee reciting words by Harriett Tubman (Keep Going), as the two inform and astound through masterful playing, together and solo, shaking the listener through intense and unambiguously clear playing, with pieces reflecting our world situation.

The Thing "again" as Gustafsson on saxophones, Haker Flaten on electric and acoustic bass, and Nilssen-Love on drums & percussion present 3 extended blues-based, Ayler-inflected free jazz pieces, with Gustafsson's powerfully emotional playing over Haker-Flaten and Nilssen-Love's powerful polyrhythmic foundations; Joe McPhee joins for one track taking on a Frank Lowe piece.

Led by bassist Lisle Ellis with a fierce San Francisco contingent, this 1993 studio session brings together saxophonists Christopher Cauley, Joe McPhee, Glenn Spearman, and Larry Ochs with guitarist James Ruthier and drummer Donald Robinson, delivering energetic free jazz rooted in the 1960s tradition but propelled by raw interplay, bold horn lines, and committed group momentum.

1995 recordings of the superb saxophone trio of Evan Paker on tenor & soprano, Daunik Lazro on alto & baritone, and Joe McPhee on alto & soprano, plus alto clarinet and pocket trumpet, a group that went undocumented until this live concert tape at Willisau was discovered.

In 1979 saxophonist/cornetist Joe McPhee met French reedist Andre Jaume in Paris to record this exceptional album of standards, drawing on works from Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, Duke and Ellington, and Ornette Coleman; melodic, poignant, emotional and insightful jazz.

The free improvising trio of John Dikeman on sax, Jon Rune Strom on bass, and Tollef Ostvang on drums, invites Joe McPhee on pocket trumpet and alto sax for a release of rugged free improv using unorthodox approaches and amazing dexterity in their playing.

In 1979 Joe McPhee, working with CJR produced Craig Johnson, recorded this set of overdubbed recordings of himself performing on saxes, trumpet and flugelhorn over original compositions showcasing solo, duo, trio and quartet contexts, an album of virtual McPhee ensembles!

A burning spiritual session inspired by John Coltrane's "Live at the Village Vanguard Again" that began when Jamie Saft told Joe Morris about his deep admiration for Alice Coltrane's playing, adding McPhee and Downs as the perfect complement to realize this excellent album.

A 2 CD issue of the 2013 LP with 78 additional minutes, from the two day residency at UK's Cafe Oto of Decoy (bassist John Edwards, Alexander Hawkins on Hammond B3, and drummer Steve Nobles) with special guest Joe McPhee on pocket trumpet and alto sax.

A rich and unusual interpretation of Ornette Coleman's "Lonely Woman" recorded in Boswil, Switzerland in 1981 with McPhee, Pierre Favre, Irene Schweizer, Radu Malfatti, Daniel Bourquin, &c., in its first-ever release.

A much-needed reissue of McPhee's 1979 Hat Hut LP documenting his 1977 concert at Salle Ste Croix des Pelletiers, performing 3 original compositions and Monk's "Round Midnight" with incredible skill and inventiveness.

Bassist Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten is joined by key improvisers Joe McPhee (sax), Joe Morris (guitar) and Nate Wooley (trumpet) for this improvised studio recording, free improvisation with the influence of swing and blues.

Joe Morris wrote this book to discuss aspects of free music, including responses to his questionnaire written by Joe McPhee, William Parker, Jamie Saft, Ken Vandermark, Marilyn Crispell, Nate Wooley, Jack Wright, Matthew Shipp, &c.

A large excerpt from the tribute to Albert Ayler concert presented at Fondation Cartier, Paris on December 2nd 2010 with Joe Mcphee, Evan Parker, Barre Phillips, John Tchicai, Jean-Luc Cappozzo, Jean-Jacques Avenel, &c. &c.