Black Beings by Frank Lowe

The CD version of Black Beings contains of 15 minutes of additional material thought to have been lost.

When he started out on ESP-Disk', Frank Lowe was one of those hard-blowing tenor saxophonists we think of when we heard the phrase "free jazz." Born in Memphis, he moved to San Francisco and, while visiting New York, began playing with Alice Coltrane (on whose album World Galaxy he made his recording debut in 1971), Sun Ra, Rashied Ali, and Noah Howard, and eventually moved to the Big Apple.

On his debut as a leader, Lowe was confident enough to share the frontline with the Art Ensemble of Chicago's Joseph Jarman, who sticks to soprano and alto saxes here. This album is also notable as the recording debut of bassist William Parker, who has gone on to become an elder statesman of the genre and a ubiquitous presence on the New York scene. And then there is the mystery of the violinist originally credited only as The Wizard. Speculation long ran rampant, with one eminent jazz critic declaring not only that it was Leroy Jenkins under a pseudonym, but "quite recognizable" as such. Consider that a compliment to Raymond Lee Cheng, whom we now know it to have been; he recorded with Lester Bowie two years later as Raymund Cheng.

That is not the only discovery unveiled on ESP's 2008 reissue of this classic. ESP's Michael Anderson went into the vaults and discovered unreleased music that was edited out to fit the time confines of the LP. "In Trane's Name" is now 33:29 rather than 25:00; the Jarman-penned "Thulani" is 22:09 compared to 15:55. One listen quickly reveals that the glory of this album is thoroughly enhanced by the additional music.

Press Quotes:

"Black Beings serves as an historical document and stopping-off point in the musical legacy of Lowe, showing a rare side of the musician. " - Jerry D'Souza, All About Jazz

"Essentially just a recording of a live show, Black Beings encapsulates what’s great about improvisation at its very core: harnessing spontaneity in a way that can never be recreated. Aside from stellar, moment-to-moment playing, Black Beings also documents a pivotal time in music. Lowe takes free jazz to its fiercest and rawest states, while remaining deeply invested in the same roots as the previous generation of jazz experimenters. As avant-garde as Black Beings gets, it is indeed pure soul music" - Seth K, Tiny Mix Tapes