Rabble Without A Cause, May 29: A Profile of Black Saint Records
Black Saint Records, and its sister label, Soul Note, were established to feature avant garde jazz musicians, mostly American, at a time when major record labels were not interested in this music
In 1975, an Italian jazz fan, Giacomo Piaciotto, saw an untapped opportunity to record the avant garde music of the 1970s, and established Black Saint Records. Giovanni Bonandrini took over in 1977. In 1979, a sister label was established — Soul Note — for artists a bit closer to the mainstream. The label was based in Tribiano, Italy. Many of the recordings were made in Milan, as artists passed through when on tour. The Black Saint catalogue is about 190 albums. Soul Note has about 350 albums in its catalogue. The labels were sold in 2008 to Cam Jazz.
In April, many of those albums started to became available for the first time as digital downloads (see Black Saint and Soul Note on Bandcamp). Each week more albums are being added.
On this show we’re going to dip into these newly available downloads (and a bonus track not yet re-released). New re-releases keep coming every week - It is hard to keep up! And, a follow up show might be warranted.
Here is the playlist for the show:
Billy Harper - Eternal Spirits, Dance! from Black Saint Dance (Black Saint, 1975)
Max Roach & Anthony Braxton - Tropical Forest from Birth and Rebirth (Black Saint, 1978)
Old and New Dreams - Dewey’s Dance from Old and New Dreams (Black Saint, 1976)
Andrew Hill Trio and Quartet - Tripping from Shades (Soul Note, 1986)
Muhal Richard Abrams Orchestra - One for the Whistler, from Blu Blu Blu (Black Saint, 1991)
Julius Hemphill - G Song from Raw Materials and Residuals (Black Saint, 1978)
David Murray Octet - Dewey’s Circle from Ming (Black Saint, 1980)
Charlie Haden and Paul Motian (feat. Geri Allen) - Dolphy’s Dance from Etudes (Soul Note, 1988)
Muhal Richard Abrams Orchestra - Bermix from Hearinga Suite(Black Saint, 1989)
You can listen live on May 29 at 11 p.m. (EST) at 93.1 FM, or live stream at CKCUFM.com. The show is also available for streaming on demand.