SOUFFLE CONTINU RECORDS - Forced Exposure

$28.00 PREORDER RELEASE DATE: 10/15/2021

Souffle Continu Records present a reissue of Ted Curson's Pop Wine, originally released in 1971. Originally from Philadelphia, invited to New York by Miles Davis, playing at Antibes in 1960 with Charles Mingus and Eric Dolphy, here is trumpeter Ted Curson in 1971... in Paris. With him, a legendary trio: Georges Arvanitas (piano), Jacky Samson (double bass) and Charles Saudrais (drums). A new transatlantic alliance in the service of jazz of all kinds: classic, modal, fusion and even free... Pop Wine is -- between Coltrane and Miles with a nod to roots in the club the Caveau de la Huchette -- an explosive cocktail but which leaves no stains! In 1960, trumpeter Ted Curson played with Charles Mingus and Eric Dolphy on stage at the Antibes jazz festival. Eleven years later he was in Paris to record one of the gems of his discography, with a hard-hitting French trio: Georges Arvanitas (piano), Jacky Samson (double bass) and Charles Saudrais (drums). Arvanitas was also someone who had travelled widely. Originally from Marseille, he had accompanied visiting American musicians in Paris before moving to the States. It was when he came back that the charismatic trio was created with Samson and Saudrais and who recorded, in 1970 on Futura, the unforgettable In Concert and then, the following year, Pop Wine with Ted Curson. Pop Wine: don't be fooled into thinking you are going to hear jazz musicians trying to play pop after uncorking too many bottles. For, although the album occasionally tends toward fusion, it is first and foremost a wonderful jazz recording; and a recording with enough fizz to make your head spin. There are five tracks in total: "Quartier Latin" is reminiscent a little of Olé Coltrane (Curson, like the saxophonist, is originally from Philadelphia), "Flip Top" where the trumpet and piano play out a chase scene through the streets of Paris, Pop Wine where funk and cool jazz meet on the barricades of black and white, "L.S.D. Takes A Holiday" which breaks out in a style close to free jazz, and finally "Lonely One", with the impression that ends this unclassifiable album. Unclassifiable, unless we decide to elevate Pop Wine to the rank of a great vintage. Carefully remastered from the master tapes. Licensed from Futura / Marge. 180 gram vinyl.

$28.00 PREORDER RELEASE DATE: 10/15/2021

Souffle Continu Records present a reissue of Michel Portal's Alors !!!, originally released in 1970. Could the missing link between Eric Dolphy and Albert Ayler be the Michel Portal of 1970? After having worked alongside François Tusques defending a free jazz "made in France", you find him here, heading up an international quintet of which each member is on fire: John Surman, Barre Phillips, Stu Martin, and Jean-Pierre Drouet. The quintet had full leeway to break out the free-form in long ambient tracks to compose this Alors!!! which leaves listeners with just one word to say: More! Do we still need to present Michel Portal?... Clarinetist destined for the classical and contemporary world after his passage in the Paris Conservatory, he decided to try his hand at jazz, with an incendiary flamboyance. After his first experience with André Hodeir and Pierre Michelot, he would break all the codes with François Tusques (Free Jazz, in 1965) before starting the emblematic Michel Portal Unit. It is the Portal of those years that Alors!!! offers you the chance to listen to again. "There are periods of insolence," the musician declared and the year 1970 was one all on its own. Heading up an impetuous international troupe, a quintet consisting of John Surman (saxophones, bass clarinet), Barre Phillips (double-bass), Stu Martin (drums) and Jean-Pierre Drouet (percussion), Portal moves from alto sax to clarinet in the compositions shared with his partners. From the off, the group sparks an explosion with the sound of "OO Bam Ba Deep" battered by the horns and percussion. Next up is the fabulous free jazz of "Yes, Oh Yes, You Wonderous Sun Kissed Maiden!" and the fantastic disjointed march of "Ça Boom?" which shakes up the musicians every which way. The quintet imagined that listeners would need to catch their breath, and thoughtfully added: "Billie The Kid" and "Undercurrent", marvelous moments of ambient mystery. Audacious from beginning to end, including the sleeve -- the bird-man and his quintet brain designed by Avoine -- the album is a fabulous object, to which the label Futura gave wings at the time. And as it is being reissued today there is just one word to use: the French translation of the title, "So!!!" Carefully remastered from the master tapes. Licensed from Futura / Marge. 180 gram vinyl.

$13.50 IN STOCK

"While he was working on the repertoire for the new version of his group Malagasy, with young Malagasy musicians he had met in Paris in 1972 (and who can be heard on the album Malagasy At Newport-Paris), Jef Gilson realized that two of his new discoveries, in addition to being established poly-instrumentalists (who both had sharpened their skills in the legendary seja-jazz band from La Réunion, Le Club Rythmique), were also skilled composers. They were capable of reinventing jazz and traditional Malagasy music, adding influences from the new generation inspired by pop, rock and funk into the mix. He offered them the chance to share the two sides of an album recorded on his own label, Palm, alongside their compatriots. Ange 'Zizi' Japhet, Gérard Rakotoarivony and Frank Raholison, this is how Del Rabenja and Sylvin Marc came to record this Madagascar Now / Maintenant 'Zao. The first side really showcases the valiha (a small Malagasy harp) of Del Rabenja who uses the occasion to pay homage to the sadly missed Rakotozafy, often called the Django Reinhardt of the instrument. His three compositions are full of spirituality and invite an almost trance-like state. But Rabenja is equally a very good tenor saxophonist and organist on the other tracks. The other side displays the full range of talents of the multi-instrumentalist and composer Sylvin Marc, who moves from bass to drums, from vocals to percussion and offers four compositions ranging from free jazz to cosmic groove. At the same period the five men could also be found amongst the cast list of the mythical albums, Funny Funky Rib Crib by Byard Lancaster and Soul Of Africa by Hal Singer and Jef Gilson. Later, Sylvin Marc would play bass for Nina Simone on her album Fodder On My Wings in 1982, then join the team of violinist Didier Lockwood, while Del Rabenja would be part of Manu Dibango's and Eddy Louiss' orchestras for a long time and would even be at the front of the top 50 at the end of the '80s with David Koven. He would also be the special guest of the Palm Unit trio (Fred Escoffier, Lionel Martin, Philippe 'Pipon' Garcia) on their first album, an homage to the oeuvre of Jef Gilson, in 2018." --Jérôme "Kalcha" Simonneau First ever standalone reissue; remastered. Licensed from Palm/Geneviève Quievreux.

$13.50 IN STOCK

"Paris, May 13th 1968. There was a general strike. One last plane left the runway, strewn with flaming oil drums. On board were three jazz musicians wondering whether they would be able to return home one day. But for the time being they really want to make it to Madagascar where concerts and workshops with young local musicians were waiting for them. Pianist and bandleader Jef Gilson was accompanied by his bassist Gilbert 'Bibi' Rovère (Martial Solal Trio) and the young drummer Lionel Magal (Crium Delirium). Gilson, who already had a reputation for finding new talent (it was thanks to him that, amongst others Jean-Louis Chautemps, Henri Texier, Jean-Luc Ponty or Michel Portal first became known) was literally blown away by the standard of the young Malagasy musicians, all capable of imitating their American idols by ear. Their names were known only to jazz fans on the island; Serge, Allain and Georges Rahoerson, Arnaud Razafy, Roland de Comarmond, Joel Rakotomamonjy, Alain Razafinohatra, Samuel Ramiara... Gilson then had a vision: he wanted to encourage them to play jazz which was truly Malagasy and which would find its' soul in the island's culture and traditional instruments (Sodina flute, valiha, various percussion instruments...) He would go back to the big island three times, in March (with cellist Jean-Charles Capon), in October 1969 (alone), then in February 1970 (as a trio with guitarist Raymond Boni and drummer Bertrand Gauthier). The two trips in 1969 would lead to the sessions, recorded on a simple ReVox with two Neuman microphones, which would make up the essential part of this mythical album entitled Malagasy, and first issued in 1972 on the Lumen label, and then reissued, as early as 1973, on Palm, Jef Gilson's own label. Apart from the last track, recorded in Paris in 1971 with Malagasy instruments brought back from trips by the trio which would play on the avant-garde Le Massacre du Printemps (Futura), all the other compositions on the album are by Jef Gilson, Jean-Charles Capon and the young saxophonist Serge Rahoerson. There is also a cover of a song issued just a few months earlier and that the Malagasy musicians had only heard through bits and pieces played by Gilson on piano: the song is 'The Creator Has A Masterplan' by Pharoah Sanders, and it is one of the most wild and mystical versions you will ever hear. In May 1972, Madagascar itself would be the theater of youth revolt. And the composition 'Avaradoha' by Serge Rahoerson would be the anthem of the revolution on the streets." --Jérôme "Kalcha" Simoneau First standalone reissue. Licensed from Palm / Geneviève Quievreux. Remastered.

$28.50 IN STOCK

LP version. 180 gram vinyl. "While he was working on the repertoire for the new version of his group Malagasy, with young Malagasy musicians he had met in Paris in 1972 (and who can be heard on the album Malagasy At Newport-Paris), Jef Gilson realized that two of his new discoveries, in addition to being established poly-instrumentalists (who both had sharpened their skills in the legendary seja-jazz band from La Réunion, Le Club Rythmique), were also skilled composers. They were capable of reinventing jazz and traditional Malagasy music, adding influences from the new generation inspired by pop, rock and funk into the mix. He offered them the chance to share the two sides of an album recorded on his own label, Palm, alongside their compatriots. Ange 'Zizi' Japhet, Gérard Rakotoarivony and Frank Raholison, this is how Del Rabenja and Sylvin Marc came to record this Madagascar Now / Maintenant 'Zao. The first side really showcases the valiha (a small Malagasy harp) of Del Rabenja who uses the occasion to pay homage to the sadly missed Rakotozafy, often called the Django Reinhardt of the instrument. His three compositions are full of spirituality and invite an almost trance-like state. But Rabenja is equally a very good tenor saxophonist and organist on the other tracks. The other side displays the full range of talents of the multi-instrumentalist and composer Sylvin Marc, who moves from bass to drums, from vocals to percussion and offers four compositions ranging from free jazz to cosmic groove. At the same period the five men could also be found amongst the cast list of the mythical albums, Funny Funky Rib Crib by Byard Lancaster and Soul Of Africa by Hal Singer and Jef Gilson. Later, Sylvin Marc would play bass for Nina Simone on her album Fodder On My Wings in 1982, then join the team of violinist Didier Lockwood, while Del Rabenja would be part of Manu Dibango's and Eddy Louiss' orchestras for a long time and would even be at the front of the top 50 at the end of the '80s with David Koven. He would also be the special guest of the Palm Unit trio (Fred Escoffier, Lionel Martin, Philippe 'Pipon' Garcia) on their first album, an homage to the oeuvre of Jef Gilson, in 2018." --Jérôme "Kalcha" Simonneau First ever standalone reissue; remastered. Licensed from Palm/Geneviève Quievreux.

$28.50 IN STOCK

LP version. 180 gram vinyl. "Paris, May 13th 1968. There was a general strike. One last plane left the runway, strewn with flaming oil drums. On board were three jazz musicians wondering whether they would be able to return home one day. But for the time being they really want to make it to Madagascar where concerts and workshops with young local musicians were waiting for them. Pianist and bandleader Jef Gilson was accompanied by his bassist Gilbert 'Bibi' Rovère (Martial Solal Trio) and the young drummer Lionel Magal (Crium Delirium). Gilson, who already had a reputation for finding new talent (it was thanks to him that, amongst others Jean-Louis Chautemps, Henri Texier, Jean-Luc Ponty or Michel Portal first became known) was literally blown away by the standard of the young Malagasy musicians, all capable of imitating their American idols by ear. Their names were known only to jazz fans on the island; Serge, Allain and Georges Rahoerson, Arnaud Razafy, Roland de Comarmond, Joel Rakotomamonjy, Alain Razafinohatra, Samuel Ramiara... Gilson then had a vision: he wanted to encourage them to play jazz which was truly Malagasy and which would find its' soul in the island's culture and traditional instruments (Sodina flute, valiha, various percussion instruments...) He would go back to the big island three times, in March (with cellist Jean-Charles Capon), in October 1969 (alone), then in February 1970 (as a trio with guitarist Raymond Boni and drummer Bertrand Gauthier). The two trips in 1969 would lead to the sessions, recorded on a simple ReVox with two Neuman microphones, which would make up the essential part of this mythical album entitled Malagasy, and first issued in 1972 on the Lumen label, and then reissued, as early as 1973, on Palm, Jef Gilson's own label. Apart from the last track, recorded in Paris in 1971 with Malagasy instruments brought back from trips by the trio which would play on the avant-garde Le Massacre du Printemps (Futura), all the other compositions on the album are by Jef Gilson, Jean-Charles Capon and the young saxophonist Serge Rahoerson. There is also a cover of a song issued just a few months earlier and that the Malagasy musicians had only heard through bits and pieces played by Gilson on piano: the song is 'The Creator Has A Masterplan' by Pharoah Sanders, and it is one of the most wild and mystical versions you will ever hear. In May 1972, Madagascar itself would be the theater of youth revolt. And the composition 'Avaradoha' by Serge Rahoerson would be the anthem of the revolution on the streets." --Jérôme "Kalcha" Simoneau First standalone reissue. Licensed from Palm / Geneviève Quievreux. Remastered.

$13.50 IN STOCK

"In May 1972, the wave of anger and the thirst for freedom that had swept the world in 1968 arrived in Madagascar. The Malagasy youth took the opportunity to exile in search of a brighter future. Several of them, all jazz musicians and often polyintrumentalists, came to Paris with their Afro hair and bellbottoms. Their names were Sylvin Marc, his cousin Ange 'Zizi' Japhet, Del Rabenja, Gérard Rakotoarivony and Frank Raholison. By chance, they crossed paths with pianist and bandleader Jef Gilson, who they had already met as kids during a series of concert and workshops in Tananarive four years earlier. Gilson was far from an unknown on the French jazz scene. He had played with Boris Vian and André Hodeir at the end of the forties, he was one of the first French composers to move away from the New-Orleans style to try his hand at bebop, had launched numerous young stars (Ponty, Texier, Portal...), was a polemical critic for Jazz Hot, had opened for Coltrane at Antibes/Juan Les Pins, and was part of the Double Six... But it was tough to make a living playing personal compositions and Jef, who didn't have enough money to return to the island and continue mining the seam of Malagasy jazz, saw an opportunity to relaunch Malagasy. He had his recording studio in the Les Halles area, at the Foyer Montorgueil, where he was teaching jazz to a choir. He set to work with the new Malagasy group, working on a repertoire and reviving some of his compositions from the '50s/'60s and also included more recent tunes. The group Malagasy 73 gigged a lot. One of their concerts was recorded on the 14 March in a club, 'Le Newport', in rue Grégoire de Tours, Saint Germain des Prés, not far from the 'Kiosque d'Orphée' where Gilson worked at the beginning of the '60s when he brought bebop and avant-garde jazz to the attention of a generation of musicians with his records imported from USA. This meeting between two generations and two cultures created a new mix between jazz, traditional music and electric funk. Jef Gilson had reinvented himself yet again, and it wouldn't be the last time." --Jérôme "Kalcha" Simonneau First ever standalone reissue, remastered. Licensed from Palm/Geneviève Quievreux.

$28.50 IN STOCK

LP version. 180 gram vinyl. "In May 1972, the wave of anger and the thirst for freedom that had swept the world in 1968 arrived in Madagascar. The Malagasy youth took the opportunity to exile in search of a brighter future. Several of them, all jazz musicians and often polyintrumentalists, came to Paris with their Afro hair and bellbottoms. Their names were Sylvin Marc, his cousin Ange 'Zizi' Japhet, Del Rabenja, Gérard Rakotoarivony and Frank Raholison. By chance, they crossed paths with pianist and bandleader Jef Gilson, who they had already met as kids during a series of concert and workshops in Tananarive four years earlier. Gilson was far from an unknown on the French jazz scene. He had played with Boris Vian and André Hodeir at the end of the forties, he was one of the first French composers to move away from the New-Orleans style to try his hand at bebop, had launched numerous young stars (Ponty, Texier, Portal...), was a polemical critic for Jazz Hot, had opened for Coltrane at Antibes/Juan Les Pins, and was part of the Double Six... But it was tough to make a living playing personal compositions and Jef, who didn't have enough money to return to the island and continue mining the seam of Malagasy jazz, saw an opportunity to relaunch Malagasy. He had his recording studio in the Les Halles area, at the Foyer Montorgueil, where he was teaching jazz to a choir. He set to work with the new Malagasy group, working on a repertoire and reviving some of his compositions from the '50s/'60s and also included more recent tunes. The group Malagasy 73 gigged a lot. One of their concerts was recorded on the 14 March in a club, 'Le Newport', in rue Grégoire de Tours, Saint Germain des Prés, not far from the 'Kiosque d'Orphée' where Gilson worked at the beginning of the '60s when he brought bebop and avant-garde jazz to the attention of a generation of musicians with his records imported from USA. This meeting between two generations and two cultures created a new mix between jazz, traditional music and electric funk. Jef Gilson had reinvented himself yet again, and it wouldn't be the last time." --Jérôme "Kalcha" Simonneau First ever standalone reissue, remastered. Licensed from Palm/Geneviève Quievreux.

$23.00 IN STOCK

Repressed. Souffle Continu Records present the first vinyl reissue of Sahib Shihab + Jef Gilson Unit's La Marche Dans Le Désert, originally released in 1972. A few months after having released Le Massacre Du Printemps (FFL 064LP), Jef Gilson was back behind his keyboards heading up his Unit. This time he was joined by Sahib Shihab. The caravan passes by, evoking, one after the other, Pharoah Sanders and Alice Coltrane, Pierre Henry and Karlheinz Stockhausen... Oh yes, Shihab's saxophone is... amplified. La Marche Dans Le Désert (The Walk in the Desert) is first and foremost the meeting of two iconoclastic musicians: Jef Gilson, pianist who tried his hand in all forms of jazz collaborating with emblematic American musicians (Walter Davis Jr., Woody Shaw, Nathan Davis...) or French musicians who were on their way to becoming so (Jean-Luc Ponty, Bernard Lubat, Michel Portal, Henri Texier...) Shihab is one of the many black American jazzmen who found refuge in Europe. After having played in the bands of Fletcher Henderson and Roy Eldridge, the saxophonist worked with Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Art Blakey and Tadd Dameron. He came to the old continent with the Quincy Jones orchestra, spent a few years in Copenhagen, returned to Los Angeles, then came back to Europe. When he met Jef Gilson, in February 1972, the saxophonist was happily touring with the Clarke-Boland Big Band. La Marche Dans Le Désert was an opportunity for this supporting player to show what he was capable of. And it was some opportunity: with Gilson and his Unit (Pierre Moret on keyboards and Jean-Claude Pourtier on drums, Jef Catoire on double bass, and Bruno Di Gioia and Maurice Bouhana on flute and percussion respectively), Shihab got maximum exposure. To mark the occasion, he put aside his baritone saxophone to play a soprano... varitone. The amplified instrument, while losing nothing of its natural sound, was capable of generating the same presence as Gilson's electronic keyboards. And it would change the face of modal jazz: in a forest of percussion, Shihab and Gilson go on a sensual walkabout that will remain with listeners for long after. Between the two takes of "Mirage", Shihab, this time on baritone again, takes up the mantle once more of a style of jazz he was unable to strictly define. Licensed from Futura / Marge. Remastered from the master tapes; Restored artwork and obi strip.

$23.00 IN STOCK

Repressed. Souffle Continu Records present the first vinyl reissue of Jef Gilson's Le Massacre Du Printemps, originally released in 1971. In 1971, the day after the death of Igor Stravinsky, Jef Gilson, and his Unit (Pierre Moret and Jean-Claude Pourtier) made this curious homage to classical music. It is jazz, contemporary, and electroacoustic music that the trio interrogate through a wild "noise" session evoking as much John Cage as Pierre Henry, John Coltrane as the Percussions de Strasbourg, the Art Ensemble of Chicago as the Tacet by Jean Guérin. Le Massacre du Printemps, (the Massacre of Spring) is a strange kind of homage to Igor Stravinsky, who had just died when, in 1971, Jef Gilson recorded this not-to-be-missed album of French experimental jazz. "Too many pieces of music finish too long after the end," the Russian composer was quoted as saying and here is Gilson offering us... six! A funny bird (of fire) was Jef Gilson. Clarinetist who came up playing in the basement clubs with Claude Luter and Boris Vian, he turned to piano and multiplied his experiences in jazz: bebop, choral, modal, free, fusion... As a free spirit, Gilson welcomed many "up and coming" French musicians in his bands (Jean-Luc Ponty, Bernard Lubat, Michel Portal, Henri Texier...) as well as being associated with Woody Shaw, Nathan Davis, or Byard Lancaster. Later he would go on to create, Europamerica, a transatlantic formation in which Butch Morris, Frank Lowe, and Joe McPhee would play... But for the time being it's a massacre! With Pierre Moret on organ and Jean-Claude Pourtier on drums, Gilson improvises with style and gusto. On the eponymous title track of the album, he also plays tuba and invites Claude Jeanmaire to get involved on prepared piano. Spring, for the four musicians here, is windswept: billowing, rumbling, frantic, it sounds like Stravinsky played by the "Percussions de Strasbourg" without a scoresheet! After which, behind his electric piano, Gilson with Moret and Pourtier offers us five more "unpremeditated spontaneous expressions", as he wrote on the back of the album sleeve. Five wily and electric expressions which are like the soundtrack to a film which could also have been played by the Art Ensemble or Jean Guérin. Licensed from Futura / Marge. Remastered from the master tapes; restored artwork with obi strip.

$12.00 IN STOCK

Two years after having recorded Aurora, which Gérard Terronès released on his Futura Records label in 1971, the Théâtre du Chêne Noir put on another show, Miss Madona, first at Avignon, and then at Ariane Mnouchkine's Théâtre du Soleil. From this play, Gérard Gelas's group took three sound extracts which they made, with no further ado, into a single. Miss Madona is thus the second recording by Théâtre du Chêne Noir. The two sides (and three tracks) offer up an unbelievable instrumental theater with something of a white magic ritual about it. The actors, so much better for the record, were also musicians; alongside Miss Madona, ex-star of the circus and now idol, were the piano and electric organ of Daniel Dublet, the saxophones of Pierre Surtel and Jean-Louis Canaud, and the trumpet of Gilbert Say. But there are also the vocals of Beatrice Le Thierry, Bénédicte Maulet, Jean Paul Chazalon, Monik Lamy, Nicole Aubiat... which added to the mystery of what happened on stage. The sound of this particular theater is reminiscent as much of John Coltrane as of Ravi Shankar, Pierre Henry or the Art Ensemble of Chicago. There are voices from beyond the grave, inspirational for future musicians: Steven Stapleton, for example who included Théâtre du Chêne Noir in his Nurse With Wound List. Souffle Continu re-release this single, which is rare in more ways than one. First ever vinyl reissue. Remastered from the master tapes. Licensed from Le Théâtre du Chêne Noir.

$23.00 IN STOCK

LP version. Souffle Continu Records present the first ever reissue of Steve Potts's Musique Pour Le Film d'Un Ami, originally released in 1975. In 1975, Steve Potts left Steve Lacy for a time to compose Musique Pour Le Film d'Un Ami following the proposition from the film's director Joaquín Lledó. With guest musicians of quality and from vairied horizons, the saxophonist recorded a soundtrack ranging from modal jazz to free funk and from dirty grooves, to java wah-wah with disconcerting elegance. Rather than blaxploitation, Potts and his group offer us their mixploitation made in Paris which would be recognized way beyond the boundaries of La Défense. If you have never seen Sujet ou le secrétaire aux 1001 tiroirs (1975), Steve Potts will allow you to listen to it. The film was made by a friend of his, Joaquin Noessi, a pseudonym of Joaquín Lledó, for which the saxophonist composed the music in the mid-70s. It was recorded in Saint-Germain-des-Prés and Potts was joined by the musicians he played with regularly at the time with Steve Lacy (Jean-Jacques Avenel, Ambrose Jackson, Kenneth Tyler) but not just them... Because, on Musique Pour Le Film d'Un Ami, you hear funk musicians (pianist Frank Abel and percussionist Donny Donable, both also expatriates, who played in the group Ice), nimble French musicians (Elie Ferré and Christian Escoudé on guitars, Joss Basselli on accordion) and unclassifiable men-of-all-seasons (Keno Speller on percussion and Gus Nemeth on double bass). The production was assured by another iconoclastic figure: Jef Gilson. It was an eclectic team, and they made an eclectic album, as shown by the track titles. Steve Potts just has to shake it all up and let the notes pour out: modal, (even cosmic, jazz) free funk, dirty grooves, cool jam sessions, bistro boogie, java wah-wah... Musique Pour Le Film d'Un Ami is a shattering album of shattered atmospheres. Remastered from the master tapes. Restored artwork. Licensed from Steve Potts.

$14.00 IN STOCK

Souffle Continu Records present the first ever reissue of Alain Bellaïche's Sea Fluorescent, originally released in 1976. Frenchman who is on the return from the USA is something unusual. Everything seemed to start out well for Alain Bellaïche: Born in Tunis, childhood in Cannes, studies at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, his first folk concerts folk in youngsters' houses and clubs where everyone was well behaved... Then, in 1973, he left for the States. Bellaïche would settle for around ten years, with, as a soundtrack, the two albums that he would record there. Metropolitain (1974), which was the fruit of his collaboration with the Heldon guitarist Alain Renaud, and Sea Fluorescent. In the catalog of Asylum, David Geffen's first label, Bellaïche's music was listed alongside that of the Byrds, Tom Waits, Joni Mitchell, and Bob Dylan. In a Rock & Folk interview, Bellaïche expressed his regrets as to the prudence of French musicians: "I never had a group... perhaps the guys here are not motivated to play this kind of music." It's of note that the influences of the expatriate were, for example, Led Zeppelin, John McLaughlin, Weather Report, Herbie Hancock, The Spencer Davis Group... Bellaïche, a multi-faceted and iconoclastic musician, composed Sea Fluorescent just following his desires: from a cosmic ballad ("St Andrea"), to West Coast funk ("California"), dreamlike Spanish influences ("Spanish Roots"), optimistic blues ("Foolin' Myself"), a solar track ("I'm Angry", "Sun Blues"). And the Frenchman was in good company: Jean-Marie Fabiano (from Fabiano Orchestra) on percussion, Jerry Mahavishnu Goodman on violin on "Got My Place In That Country" or John Hicks whose cascades of notes bring reggae and western closer to the "reassembled" jazz that the pianist was playing at the time. A highly sought-after French jazz funk fusion nugget. Remastered from the master tapes. Licensed from Alain Bellaïche. CD version includes Kirlian Effect's self-titled, two-track EP.

$23.00 IN STOCK

LP version. Souffle Continu Records present the first ever reissue of Alain Bellaïche's Sea Fluorescent, originally released in 1976. Frenchman who is on the return from the USA is something unusual. Everything seemed to start out well for Alain Bellaïche: Born in Tunis, childhood in Cannes, studies at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, his first folk concerts folk in youngsters' houses and clubs where everyone was well behaved... Then, in 1973, he left for the States. Bellaïche would settle for around ten years, with, as a soundtrack, the two albums that he would record there. Metropolitain (1974), which was the fruit of his collaboration with the Heldon guitarist Alain Renaud, and Sea Fluorescent. In the catalog of Asylum, David Geffen's first label, Bellaïche's music was listed alongside that of the Byrds, Tom Waits, Joni Mitchell, and Bob Dylan. In a Rock & Folk interview, Bellaïche expressed his regrets as to the prudence of French musicians: "I never had a group... perhaps the guys here are not motivated to play this kind of music." It's of note that the influences of the expatriate were, for example, Led Zeppelin, John McLaughlin, Weather Report, Herbie Hancock, The Spencer Davis Group... Bellaïche, a multi-faceted and iconoclastic musician, composed Sea Fluorescent just following his desires: from a cosmic ballad ("St Andrea"), to West Coast funk ("California"), dreamlike Spanish influences ("Spanish Roots"), optimistic blues ("Foolin' Myself"), a solar track ("I'm Angry", "Sun Blues"). And the Frenchman was in good company: Jean-Marie Fabiano (from Fabiano Orchestra) on percussion, Jerry Mahavishnu Goodman on violin on "Got My Place In That Country" or John Hicks whose cascades of notes bring reggae and western closer to the "reassembled" jazz that the pianist was playing at the time. A highly sought-after French jazz funk fusion nugget. Remastered from the master tapes. Licensed from Alain Bellaïche.

$14.00 IN STOCK

Souffle Continu Records present the first ever reissue of Steve Potts's Musique Pour Le Film d'Un Ami, originally released in 1975. In 1975, Steve Potts left Steve Lacy for a time to compose Musique Pour Le Film d'Un Ami following the proposition from the film's director Joaquín Lledó. With guest musicians of quality and from vairied horizons, the saxophonist recorded a soundtrack ranging from modal jazz to free funk and from dirty grooves, to java wah-wah with disconcerting elegance. Rather than blaxploitation, Potts and his group offer us their mixploitation made in Paris which would be recognized way beyond the boundaries of La Défense. If you have never seen Sujet ou le secrétaire aux 1001 tiroirs (1975), Steve Potts will allow you to listen to it. The film was made by a friend of his, Joaquin Noessi, a pseudonym of Joaquín Lledó, for which the saxophonist composed the music in the mid-70s. It was recorded in Saint-Germain-des-Prés and Potts was joined by the musicians he played with regularly at the time with Steve Lacy (Jean-Jacques Avenel, Ambrose Jackson, Kenneth Tyler) but not just them... Because, on Musique Pour Le Film d'Un Ami, you hear funk musicians (pianist Frank Abel and percussionist Donny Donable, both also expatriates, who played in the group Ice), nimble French musicians (Elie Ferré and Christian Escoudé on guitars, Joss Basselli on accordion) and unclassifiable men-of-all-seasons (Keno Speller on percussion and Gus Nemeth on double bass). The production was assured by another iconoclastic figure: Jef Gilson. It was an eclectic team, and they made an eclectic album, as shown by the track titles. Steve Potts just has to shake it all up and let the notes pour out: modal, (even cosmic, jazz) free funk, dirty grooves, cool jam sessions, bistro boogie, java wah-wah... Musique Pour Le Film d'Un Ami is a shattering album of shattered atmospheres. Remastered from the master tapes. Restored artwork. Licensed from Steve Potts.

$23.00 IN STOCK

LP version. First vinyl reissue. Souffle Continu Records present a reissue Le Théâtre du Chêne Noir's Aurora, originally released in 1971. In 1972, Steve Lacy recorded Solo, one of the gems in his discography, in the Théâtre du Chêne Noir in Avignon. The previous year (which was also the year in which Aurora appeared), the eponymous group of actors led by Gérard Gelas, took up residence in what was a 12th century chapel. The Théâtre du Chêne Noir is therefore not just the name of a space open to all kinds of artistic audacity, but also the name of the great Theatre Group which resides there. Gérard Terronès showed some flair when he published, in 1971 on Futura, the first album by Théâtre du Chêne Noir. It has to be said that the group run by Gérard Gelas was right up his street: non-conformist, eccentric, protesting, just so alive... Singing too, as you can still hear today on Aurora, recorded at Avignon the 22nd and 23rd of June 1971. Aurora, which had been created a few weeks earlier at Ariane Mnouchkine's Théâtre du Soleil, is according to, Gelas' own words, a fantastic tale with actor musicians who play out the fabulous story of the Earth, and children who fight against terrifying bird men who fly from planet to planet to enslave the inhabitants and become the masters of the universe. It is an ambitious subject and thankfully (even more so for the album than for the play), the actors are also excellent musicians! If you can find Chêne Noir between Checkpoint Charlie and Chillum in the Nurse With Wound List created by Steven Stapleton and John Fothergill, Aurora is closer to Stances à Sophie by the Art Ensemble Of Chicago and the Divine Comédie by Bernard Parmegiani and François Bayle. So, move forward cautiously in this landscape of recitals and songs, of mysteries and cries, where saxophones and flutes, electric guitars and percussions spring up... Could the tragic climax have been possible without music? The Théâtre du Chêne Noir replies no to the question and creates a fascinating mix of text and music without one dominating the other. Enjoy the show! Remastered from the master tapes. Licensed from Futura / Marge.

$14.00 IN STOCK

Souffle Continu Records present a reissue Le Théâtre du Chêne Noir's Aurora, originally released in 1971. In 1972, Steve Lacy recorded Solo, one of the gems in his discography, in the Théâtre du Chêne Noir in Avignon. The previous year (which was also the year in which Aurora appeared), the eponymous group of actors led by Gérard Gelas, took up residence in what was a 12th century chapel. The Théâtre du Chêne Noir is therefore not just the name of a space open to all kinds of artistic audacity, but also the name of the great Theatre Group which resides there. Gérard Terronès showed some flair when he published, in 1971 on Futura, the first album by Théâtre du Chêne Noir. It has to be said that the group run by Gérard Gelas was right up his street: non-conformist, eccentric, protesting, just so alive... Singing too, as you can still hear today on Aurora, recorded at Avignon the 22nd and 23rd of June 1971. Aurora, which had been created a few weeks earlier at Ariane Mnouchkine's Théâtre du Soleil, is according to, Gelas' own words, a fantastic tale with actor musicians who play out the fabulous story of the Earth, and children who fight against terrifying bird men who fly from planet to planet to enslave the inhabitants and become the masters of the universe. It is an ambitious subject and thankfully (even more so for the album than for the play), the actors are also excellent musicians! If you can find Chêne Noir between Checkpoint Charlie and Chillum in the Nurse With Wound List created by Steven Stapleton and John Fothergill, Aurora is closer to Stances à Sophie by the Art Ensemble Of Chicago and the Divine Comédie by Bernard Parmegiani and François Bayle. So, move forward cautiously in this landscape of recitals and songs, of mysteries and cries, where saxophones and flutes, electric guitars and percussions spring up... Could the tragic climax have been possible without music? The Théâtre du Chêne Noir replies no to the question and creates a fascinating mix of text and music without one dominating the other. Enjoy the show! Remastered from the master tapes. Licensed from Futura / Marge. CD version includes two bonus, unreleased tracks from the Miss Madona EP.

$23.00 IN STOCK

Souffle Continu Records present the first ever reissue of Philippe Doray & Les Asociaux Associés' Nouveaux Modes Industriels, originally released in 1980. Between 1978 and 1980, the Asociaux Associés (antisocial associates, TN) recorded the second of the two albums which appeared under their name: Nouveaux Modes Industriels. Philippe Doray, with the help of his 'Associés, evermore iconoclastic and numerous, backs up his anguished poetry with customized krautrock, hallucinatory pop, and rock Suicide. Much more than a memory of the then surprising (and disturbing) swinging Rouen, this album is an intergalactic ambush. Following the publication, in 1977, of the first of two albums under his own name, Ramasse-Miettes Nucléaires (FFL 058LP), on the label Gratte-Ciel, Philippe Doray didn't waste any time before writing new obscure and experimental songs. As proof, between May 1978 and January 1980, with his Asociaux Associés (antisocial associates, TN), he recorded ten of them in the farm in which he lived (and shared) close to Rouen. In 1980, Nouveaux Modes Industriels was published thanks to the support of Invisible, the label of the Société Coopérative d'Ouvriers-Producteurs Artistiques (S.C.O.P.A., the Cooperative Society of Artistic Worker/Producers, TN) run by, amongst others, the ex-manager of Crium Delirium, Jacques Pasquier. This meant that Doray had free rein for his electric poetry, his personal delirium, to be heard. He had already shaken up French music with his mix of pop, krautrock, and free jazz; a few months later he would undergo a change which would be the precursor of his future projects. Before collaborating with Thierry Müller under the names Ruth and Crash, Doray let loose one last time, with his Asociaux Associés, his anguished poetry into the face of the urban labyrinth, his nuclear dynamite... It is no coincidence if the album cover is similar to those by Urban Sax, the spirit of the times was anguish as a creator of beauty. Doray's version had the advantage of still knowing how to sing. Never forgetting his interest for dance, the musician gets Cluster moving to a boogaloo, foments a Suicide on synthetic jaw harp or invents elevator music for tower blocks... All of which hotchpotch feeds into his Nouveaux Modes Industriels. If the last track of the album states "no after-sales service", it is simply because there is no need. Licensed from Philippe Doray. Remastered from the master tapes; obi strip; includes text sheet insert.

$23.00 IN STOCK

Souffle Continu Records present the first ever reissue of Philippe Doray & Les Asociaux Associés' Ramasse-Miettes Nucléaires, originally released in 1977. In 1976, the Asociaux Associés (antisocial associates, TN) led by Philippe Doray (Rotomagus, Ruth, Crash), recorded the first of the two albums under their own name: Ramasse-Miettes Nucléaires. On synthesizer, Doray fires off his disturbing poetry over psychedelic pop, voodoo rock, off-kilter krautrock, approximate swing -- But if the music is iconoclastic (bringing to mind as much Hendrix as Areski, Ash Ra Tempel as Berrocal...), one thing is certain: Ramasse-Miettes Nucléaires is one of the best albums of obscure experimental song ever recorded. It is no surprise that, on the Nurse With Wound list that Steven Stapleton inserted in the first album of his legendary musical project, the name of Philippe Doray can be found between that of the Doo-Dooettes and Jean Dubuffet: his music is genuinely original and, what is more, ahead of its time. It was in 1977 that the first album by Philippe Doray, Ramasse-Miettes Nucléaires, was published on Gratte-Ciel, a label created by the journalist from Rock & Folk Jean-Marc Bailleux and run by Jean-Marc Patrat and José Serré. Encouraged by his wild experience in Rotomagus, a formidable rock band which swept through Rouen, for sure, but also further afield -- as Julian Cope was himself inspired, years later, by their explosivity -- Doray brought a team to this album which was both untamed and ready to fight to defend it's terrible (and trembling) poetry. Backed by his Asociaux Associés (antisocial associates, TN), the man from Rouen let his fantasy run wild and cried out again: "sing with me, and don't be afraid to clap your hands!" And so, much of French popular music was shaken: the ball in Doray's pinball machine had struck Jimi Hendrix then Alain Goraguer, then Ash Ra Tempel and onto Areski, then T-Rex followed by Jac Berrocal... As far as the texts are concerned, just take a listen. Doray's poetry is schizophrenic: nurtured in the Normandy countryside, it relates paranoid tales of booby-trapped towns, Levi's jeans, Prisunic supermarkets, and plastic dolls... Crumbs of reality which he sucked up to create the album that Souffle Continu Records and Thierry Müller, mastering (with Ruth, Crash, and Illitch too) spit out again fifty years later, with many good memories. Licensed from Philippe Doray. Remastered from the master tapes; obi strip; includes text sheet insert.

$14.00 IN STOCK

Seven years of effervescent activity: few free jazz groups can be proud of such longevity, especially with a line-up as stable as that of Perception. Yes, there would be several guest musicians, including Kent Carter and Jean-Charles Capon, on the second album... Yes the "existential problems" of Siegfried Kessler would necessitate him being temporarily replaced by Manuel Villaroel... But for the most part, it was the core quartet of the first album which would tour Europe, through concerts from Belgium to Germany and including Norway where Perception represented France at the Molde festival. So, few personnel changes then, until towards the end, in 1975, after completing the third album, when drummer Jean-My Truong left and had to be replaced. First by Mino Cinelu, at the time in Opération Rhino and Moravagine, then by Jacques Thollot, already behind the cult albums 1971's Jeter la girafe à la mer (FFL 049LP) and 1975's Watch Devil Go. These changes did not alter the spirit of Perception, as both were able to integrate a group which nevertheless had such a strong identity. There was no recorded trace of Jacques Thollot's time in the group, until Live at Le Stadium came to the rescue. So, this live recording from 1977 is a precious archive, displaying unique and contrasting directions which had first begun to be explored in 1970, following the seminal Our Meanings And Our Feelings by Michel Portal. An archive then, which proves what we already knew, that there were few quartets in Europe at the time capable of reaching such a level, other than that formed on an occasional basis, around the same period, by Gerd Dudek, Joachim Kühn, Peter Warren, and Daniel Humair. Licensed by Perception. Includes six-page booklet with unpublished paintings by Yochko Seffer and an essay by Didier Levallet.

$14.00 IN STOCK

Souffle Continu Records present a reissue of Baroque Jazz Trio's self-titled album, original released on Saravah in 1970. This CD also includes tracks from the 7" Orientasie/Largo originally released in 1970, and reissued by Souffle Continue Records. Mixing Baroque, free-jazz, and world music, the unique album of the Baroque Jazz Trio (which is in fact 3/5 of the Bach Modern Quintet) is a difficult-to-label sound object which is far from being typical of the psychedelic sounds associated with the early 1970s. Because, although fusion with Indian music (amongst others) and jazz (but also pop) was popular at the time, rarely had all this been mixed together with Baroque music. Even mentioning Jacques Loussier adapting Bach does not come close, as here, all barriers are broken down, with an audacity which begins with the highly original and extraordinary use of the harpsichord, an instrument which it is unusual to hear in such a context, even though indicated by the "baroque" in the title. Of course, jazz specialists will mention Johnny Guarnieri in the Gramercy Five with Artie Shaw, Martial Solal playing "Four Brothers" in 1965, or Lalo Schifrin in his homage to the Marquis de Sade? But no, none of these references really makes sense, as they pale in comparison to the wild adventures of Georges Rabol, probably closer to Call Cobbs with Albert Ayler, or, better still, Odile Bailleux in another remarkable French group, Armonicord, than anyone else. With George, the rhythm section is no less outstanding: Jean-Charles Capon, who, two years later would record the magnificent L'Univers-Solitude (FFL 046LP) on the same label, is a flying cello virtuoso, while Philippe Combelle, a great drummer rarely heard in such experimental circumstances, plays daringly mixed percussion. Also noteworthy is the presence of flutist, Michel Roques on one track, who was also behind a Saravah album, the splendid Chorus (FFL 048LP). In France, whether or not groups like Moravagine, Confluence, or Synchro Rhythmic Eclectic Language, working in similarly unusual areas, are taken into account, it is rare to find a group which, like the Baroque Jazz Trio, have been able to so blur the boundaries, especially by adding an exotic breath of fresh air inherited from the Third Stream. This record, alongside the album by Brigitte Fontaine with the Art Ensemble of Chicago made Pierre Barouh stand out as a pioneering producer and destroyer of stylistic frontiers.

$23.50 IN STOCK

Souffle Continu Records present the first time vinyl reissue of Perception's Mestari, originally released in 1973. To finally become oneself: that was the lesson, in the 1960-1970s, that European musicians attracted to improvisation had learned from American free-jazz. Following this idea, the musicians of Perception, whilst individually accompanying Mal Waldron, Slide Hampton, Johnny Griffin, or Hank Mobley when they played in Paris, decided early on to break free from what was going on across the Atlantic and seek their own authenticity. When Mestari, their third and final album, came out, Yochk'O Seffer, Siegfried Kessler, Didier Levallet, and Jean-My Truong had four years of questing and originality behind them developing their own individual language. A language in which the spontaneity of the improvisations did not exclude influences taken from European folk or classical traditions. Balanced, ethereal, and structured, Mestari was a return to the original core quartet; the previous album included numerous guest musicians (FFL 052LP). It opens infinite perspectives and is totally in phase with what was being produced in France at the same time by Cohelmec Ensemble and the Dharma Quintet.

$23.50 IN STOCK

Souffle Continu Records present the first ever vinyl reissue of Perception's self-titled album, originally released in 1971. The story of Perception takes root in a series of chance meetings, which seem at first glance unlikely, between musicians from differing horizons, be they geographic or esthetic. Jazz Magazine was spot on with an article from the period entitled, "Perception, four conceptions", before detailing the origins of the musicians (Hungarian for saxophonist Yochk'O Seffer, German for pianist Siegfried Kessler, French for bassist Didier Levallet, Franco-Vietnamese for drummer Jean-My Truong). It then looked at their varying backgrounds (classical academic training for the first two, an improvised apprenticeship on the jazz scene for the third), in order to point out the seemingly contradictory and perhaps complementary directions which would unite in a singular identity. None of this, however, was clear from the start as the group began as a trio with a different saxophonist, before stabilizing to the first core quartet. Having been remarked on in 1970 by Gérard Terronès, who was already producer of the cult Alors! (Michel Portal), Célesphère (Burton Greene), and Basse Barre (Barre Phillips), Perception was thus given a timely opportunity to record their first album on his Futura Records label. This eponymous opus, illustrated with a drawing by Yochk'O Seffer, is the first of a fascinating trilogy. It puts the seal on those complementary contradictions with a lyrically incandescent free jazz, made up of startling interactions between complex harmonies and disjointed rhythms. Licensed from Futura / Marge. Remastered from the master tapes. Includes four-page booklet with unpublished photos and an essay by Didier Levallet.

$23.50 IN STOCK

Souffle Continu Records present the first ever vinyl reissue of Perception & Friends, originally released in 1973. After their first album which came out in 1971 on Futura Records (FFL 051LP), Perception wanted to rapidly record a second, but Gérard Terronès did not want to produce another, especially so soon after the first. Therefore, the only solution was to produce it themselves. It is thus completely logical that it came out on the label of the Association for the Development of Improvised Music (A.D.M.I.) created by Didier Levallet with the aim of promoting creative music (on this subject, this was the same label that also produced the excellent Inter Fréquences (FFL 031LP) by the Free Jazz Workshop). As the album was entirely created from A-to-Z by Perception, they decided on a more ambitious project, exploring a wider palette of colors by augmenting the original quartet with additional instruments. So, it was with numerous guests including Teddy Lasry, Jean-Charles Capon, Kent Carter, and Jean-François Jenny-Clark, that Perception developed still further the apparently contradictory directions which were their specificity. This is further highlighted by the fact that Siegfried Kessler, largely absent on this recording, is temporarily replaced by Manuel Villaroel, a pianist from Chile with a completely different temperament (and, by-the-by, already the name behind the superb Terremoto with the Matchi-oul Septet). Contrary to the first album, which seems in comparison much more compact and united this second (and second-to last, not counting the live recordings), with the many different options proposed, would seem to predict the different directions that musicians from Perception would subsequently take. One track, by Yochk'O Seffer, who had already been part of Magma two years previously, looks forward to the more structured Neffesh Music, whilst, in the opposite direction, another track, by Didier Levallet, is more evocative of the future arrangements on Swing Strings System (1978). It is, to sum up, a nice paradox that all these different elements, from tightly written pieces to wild improvisation, work so well together and are one the key attributes of a group free like few others. Licensed by Perception. Remastered from the master tapes. Includes four-page booklet with unpublished photos and an essay by Didier Levallet.

$23.00 NOT IN STOCK

Souffle Continu Records present a reissue of Baroque Jazz Trio's self-titled album, original released on Saravah in 1970. Mixing Baroque, free-jazz, and world music, the unique album of the Baroque Jazz Trio (which is in fact 3/5 of the Bach Modern Quintet) is a difficult-to-label sound object which is far from being typical of the psychedelic sounds associated with the early 1970s. Because, although fusion with Indian music (amongst others) and jazz (but also pop) was popular at the time, rarely had all this been mixed together with Baroque music. Even mentioning Jacques Loussier adapting Bach does not come close, as here, all barriers are broken down, with an audacity which begins with the highly original and extraordinary use of the harpsichord, an instrument which it is unusual to hear in such a context, even though indicated by the "baroque" in the title. Of course, jazz specialists will mention Johnny Guarnieri in the Gramercy Five with Artie Shaw, Martial Solal playing "Four Brothers" in 1965, or Lalo Schifrin in his homage to the Marquis de Sade? But no, none of these references really makes sense, as they pale in comparison to the wild adventures of Georges Rabol, probably closer to Call Cobbs with Albert Ayler, or, better still, Odile Bailleux in another remarkable French group, Armonicord, than anyone else. With George, the rhythm section is no less outstanding: Jean-Charles Capon, who, two years later would record the magnificent L'Univers-Solitude (FFL 046LP) on the same label, is a flying cello virtuoso, while Philippe Combelle, a great drummer rarely heard in such experimental circumstances, plays daringly mixed percussion. Also noteworthy is the presence of flutist, Michel Roques on one track, who was also behind a Saravah album, the splendid Chorus (FFL 048LP). In France, whether or not groups like Moravagine, Confluence, or Synchro Rhythmic Eclectic Language, working in similarly unusual areas, are taken into account, it is rare to find a group which, like the Baroque Jazz Trio, have been able to so blur the boundaries, especially by adding an exotic breath of fresh air inherited from the Third Stream. This record, alongside the album by Brigitte Fontaine with the Art Ensemble of Chicago made Pierre Barouh stand out as a pioneering producer and destroyer of stylistic frontiers. Remastered audio. Licensed from Saravah.