Welcome to 2026 you massive survivors. I think we all deserve a pat on the back for getting through 2025 and a shot of something to kick off the imminent shit-storm that is 2026. I thought I’d start the year off with a mix I spent most of the last few months putting together. Jazz, particularly the free / avant-garde corner of the genre, is very dear to me. Introduction to this music is often steered in certain directions for newcomers by older men with large vinyl collections and little else to talk about (I am one of these insufferable bores). But these are also people who have dedicated their lives to music so maybe we should listen. I am by no means a jazz aficionado and have a pretty tiny collection (in comparison), but the more I find, the more my brain creates new and exciting connections, tingling with each new discovery; like finding a new friend or lover.
I first got into free jazz and more experimental forms of improvisational music in my late teens. Firstly through the movies Lost Highway and Polar X, and then by discovering Sonic Youth, Jim O’Rourke, Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart. As you can see I had a very white point of entry. I also discovered new music through The Wire magazine and my local library. Today I feel I’m still relatively new to the wealth of music that fills this vast vat of experimental goo and musical magic. Just take a look at Philippe Robert’s collection and you’ll see just how big a world this is, and how most of us mortals don’t have the time or money to unpack all there is. I advise you to go follow him as he always posts wonderful and interesting music from all genres.
There is a point from the early 60’s to the 70’s that feels like a zenith for African American experimental expressionism. And as a person who grew up in the UK in a suburban town in Surrey during the 1980s, I still feel that I have the need to share my picks with you. And this is because this is the kind of music that touches people no matter where they are from. These are truly universal sounds.
I didn’t deliberately exclude John Coltraine, Miles Davis and other heavy weights from this mix. I went with what I know and what I discovered as an individual, who often fell in love with a good record cover or interesting story. As with many people I feel like I am at the start of my journey into a saturated genre (even though I have been collecting fragments for two decades). I have been blessed to come into contact with various experts who have tipped me on to new music. All the music on this mix I have found and picked up on physical media. This means that everything you hear is recorded from vinyl, some of which is at least 65 years old. To me it sounds as fucking fresh as a kick in the balls with a foot coated in lemon and chilli juice. I’d like to thank some people that have helped me discover this music whether they know it or not: Bradford Bailey, David Keenen, Philippe Robert, Fanny Chiarello and a jazz freak I met in a mental health ward when I was 15.
Another thing you might notice from this mix is how male heavy it is. Also remember it’s regionally reasonably tight as well. In the coming months I will be following this with a mix of female and non-US artists, and this is why you don’t hear anything from those you might expect (see Alice Coltraine, Mary Lou WIlliams, Jeanne Lee et al). It’s also very hard to find free jazz female artists from the 60s and 70s as they often appeared as guests and little more. But I will have something for you soon (not necessarily all free jazz but a kaleidoscope of incredible sounds). This mix is also based on what I could find in local record shops and I think that is a good thing. I like the fact that I have travelled physically to find all this music rather than creating a digital playlist.
Now I have to be in a certain mood for certain types of music. But what I love about the nine pieces here is that they put me in the required mood instantly. I want to give a massive shout to Milford Graves because he is a king. RIP to all those wonderful musicians on this that are no longer with us. May you rest in power and bring spectrums of light to new listeners wherever they are.
Driva’ 1
Freedom Day
Max Roach
w/ Abbey Lincoln, Coleman Hawkins, Olatunji
We Insist!
LP on Globe, Japan, 1970
Driva’ 2
Zion Hill
Albert Ayler
w/ Call Cobbs, Alan Silva, Milford Graves
Love Cry
LP on Impulse 1968
Driva’ 3
Amaxesha Osizi (Times of Sorrow)
Louis Moholo
w/ Even Parker, Kenny Wheeler, Nick Evens, Radu Malfatti, Keith Tippett, Johnny Dyani, Harry Miller
Spirits Rejoice!
LP on OTOKORU 1978 (r.2019)
Driva’ 4
I Know
Jack DeJohnette’s Special Edition
w/ Chico Freeman, John Purcell, Peter Warren
Tin Can Alley
LP on ECM 1980
Driva’ 5
Dance of Satan
The Giuseppi Logan Quartet
w/ Don Pullen, Eddie Gomez, Milford Graves
The Giuseppe Logan Quartet
LP on ESP 1965
Driva’ 6
Bialero
Sonny Sharrock
w/ Linda Sharrock, Norris Jones, Richard Pierce, Milford Graves, Teddy Daniel, Dave Burnell
Black Woman
LP on Vortex Records 1969
Driva’ 7
Omejelo
Don Cherry
w/ Ed Blackwell
“Mu” first part
LP on BYG Records 1969
Driva’ 8
Sorry ‘Bout That
Archie Shepp
w/ Michael Zwerin, Reggie Workman
The Magic of Ju-Ju
LP on Impulse 1967
Driva’ 9
Free Jazz Pt 1
Ornett Coleman
w/ Don Cherry, Freddie Hubbard, Scott LaFaro, Charlie Haden, Billy Higgins, Ed Blackwell
Free Jazz: A collective improvisation by the ornette coleman double quartet
LP on Atlantic 1961
Inside No. 9 is an attempt to share unique narratives through the mixing of 9 songs. Every episode will showcase a new theme, opening up new tributaries of discovery. Inside No. 9 is presented by Peter Taylor, a former features writer for Foxy Digitalis from back in the late 2000s. Peter is a visual artist and musician and has been creating music as MAbH since 2008.
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