“This mix serves (hopefully) as entry point to the appreciation of jazz, and free jazz in particular, as a hub for the expansion of the black musical lexicon, as an indicator of the black condition, and as a driving force of black political action. While I won’t pretend to be a music historian or a trained jazz musician, I hope to further reinforce the fact that jazz is inseparable from its sociopolitical context. Jazz, like other musical genres of black origin, has been repackaged as an American cultural export, whitewashed, and commercialized in the process. This commercialization and purposeful repackaging has also, to some degree, barred black youth from connecting with it and I hope to be able to help rectify that in some way. Not to be the old guy yelling from his porch and all, but I do value this music and think highly of it. Please enjoy the selected songs, and peruse the recommended readings for greater effect.”

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B.A.S. is a collective effort lead by Gum.mp3 to evaluate the genealogy of black music.

The format is more like homies sharing with each other, and less like a music history professor boring you to death. With help from friends and peers, an assortment of reading materials, recommended listening, and questions to consider will be assembled. We don’t have all the answers, but we hope you’ll find them with us.

TRACKLIST:

Journey In Satchidananda – Alice Coltrane
Lonely Woman – Ornette Coleman
Solo Dancer – Charles Mingus
Nica’s Dream – The Jazz Messengers
Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt – Pharoah Sanders
Moanin’ – Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers
Last Tango – Ambiance
Soy Califa – Dexter Gordon
Infant Eyes – Doug Carn
Envisionings (Live) – Gerald Clayton
Out To Lunch – Eric Dolphy
Like It Is – Yusef Lateef
Cruising – Tony Allen
Three In One – Monnette Sudler

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RECOMMENDED READING:

Tammy L. Kernodle – Beyond the Chord, the Club, and the Critics

• John D. Baskerville – Free Jazz: A Reflection of Black Power Ideology
• Philippe Carles, Jean-Louis Comolli, Grégory Pierrot – Free Jazz | Black Power
• Val Wilmer – As Serious As Your Life
• Tammy L. Kernodle – Beyond the Chord, the Club, and the Critics
• Max Roach – What “Jazz” Means To Me
• Tana Yonas – Female Pioneers of Free Jazz: Alice Coltrane, Barbara Donald, Monnette Sudler, and more!
• ~ Download Books ~

VIDEOS/DOCUMENTARIES:

• Sun Ra, Space Is The Place (Torrent file)
• Jazz – A Film By Ken Burns
• Questlove, Summer of Soul (Torrent file)

(New to torrenting? Follow Dirty Bird’s handy guide here.)

RECOMMENDED LISTENING:

• Eric Dolphy – Out to Lunch
• John Coltrane – Ascension
• Ornette Coleman – The Shape of Jazz to Come
• Alice Coltrane ft. Pharoah Sanders – Journey In Satchidananda
• Idris Muhammad – Power of Soul
• Art Blakely and the Jazz Messengers – Ugetsu
• Monnette Sudler – Time for a Change