New York Contemporary Five
Encyclopedia
The New York Contemporary Five was an avant-garde jazz
ensemble active in the first half of the 1960s.
It has been described as "a group which, despite its ... short lease on life, has considerable historical significance", laying "the cornerstone of what might be called the mainstream of free jazz".
The ensemble was formed around 1962, and its early members were Don Cherry
, Archie Shepp
, John Tchicai
, Don Moore
, and J.C. Moses
. They released four albums in 1962-63, for Fontana
and Sonet
, and a final album early in 1964 on Savoy Records
. The last record featured an altered lineup, with Shepp, Tchicai, Cherry, Ted Curson
, Ronnie Boykins
, and Sunny Murray
. The group disbanded later in 1964.
Avant-garde jazz
Avant-garde jazz is a style of music and improvisation that combines avant-garde art music and composition with jazz. Avant-jazz often sounds very similar to free jazz, but differs in that, despite its distinct departure from traditional harmony, it has a predetermined structure over which ...
ensemble active in the first half of the 1960s.
It has been described as "a group which, despite its ... short lease on life, has considerable historical significance", laying "the cornerstone of what might be called the mainstream of free jazz".
The ensemble was formed around 1962, and its early members were Don Cherry
Don Cherry (jazz)
Donald Eugene Cherry was an innovative African-American jazz cornetist whose career began with a long association with saxophonist Ornette Coleman. He went on to live in many parts of the world and work with a wide variety of musicians.-Biography:Cherry was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and...
, Archie Shepp
Archie Shepp
Archie Shepp is a prominent African-American jazz saxophonist. Shepp is best known for his passionately Afrocentric music of the late 1960s, which focused on highlighting the injustices faced by the African-Americans, as well as for his work with the New York Contemporary Five, Horace Parlan, and...
, John Tchicai
John Tchicai
John Martin Tchicai is a Danish jazz saxophonist. He was one of the earliest European free jazz musicians. He is of Danish and Congolese descent....
, Don Moore
Don Moore
Don Moore is an American jazz double-bassist.Moore initially played piano but switched to bass in 1959. He played and recorded with Archie Shepp and Bill Dixon in Europe in 1962. In 1963 he was a member of the New York Contemporary Five, and while the ensemble was in Copenhagen, Moore recorded...
, and J.C. Moses
J.C. Moses
J.C. Moses was an American jazz drummer.Moses worked early in the 1960s with Clifford Jordan, Kenny Dorham, and Eric Dolphy. In 1963, he performed and recorded with the New York Contemporary Five, a group that included Archie Shepp, John Tchicai, and Don Cherry among its members...
. They released four albums in 1962-63, for Fontana
Fontana Records
Fontana Records is a record label which was started in the 1950s as a subsidiary of the Dutch Philips Records; when Philips restructured its music operations it dropped Fontana in favor of Vertigo Records. In the seventies PolyGram acquired the dormant label....
and Sonet
Sonet Records
Sonet Records is a jazz record label operating as an imprint of Universal Music Sweden. It was founded in Sweden in 1956.Sonet Records was established by Sven Lindholm and Gunnar Bergström, who managed the label into the 1980s. Dag Haeggqvist, the owner of Gazell Records, became an executive of the...
, and a final album early in 1964 on Savoy Records
Savoy Records
Savoy Records is an American record label specializing in jazz, R&B and gospel. Starting in the mid 1940s, Savoy played an important part in popularizing bebop.Savoy Records is an American record label specializing in jazz, R&B and gospel. Starting in the mid 1940s, Savoy played an important part...
. The last record featured an altered lineup, with Shepp, Tchicai, Cherry, Ted Curson
Ted Curson
Theodore "Ted" Curson is a jazz trumpeter. He is perhaps best-known for recording and performing with Charles Mingus....
, Ronnie Boykins
Ronnie Boykins
Ronnie Boykins was a jazz bassist and is best known for his work with pianist/bandleader Sun Ra, although he had played with such disparate musicians as Muddy Waters, Johnny Griffin, and Jimmy Witherspoon prior to joining Sun Ra's Arkestra.-Biography:He joined the Arkestra during the Chicago...
, and Sunny Murray
Sunny Murray
James Marcellus Arthur "Sunny" Murray is one of the pioneers of the free jazz style of drumming.-Biography:...
. The group disbanded later in 1964.
Discography
- ConsequencesConsequences (New York Contemporary Five album)Consequences is the debut album by the New York Contemporary Five featuring saxophonists Archie Shepp and John Tchicai, trumpeter Don Cherry, bassist Don Moore and drummer J. C. Moses...
(FontanaFontana RecordsFontana Records is a record label which was started in the 1950s as a subsidiary of the Dutch Philips Records; when Philips restructured its music operations it dropped Fontana in favor of Vertigo Records. In the seventies PolyGram acquired the dormant label....
, 1963) - Rufus (Fontana, 1963) without Don CherryDon Cherry (jazz)Donald Eugene Cherry was an innovative African-American jazz cornetist whose career began with a long association with saxophonist Ornette Coleman. He went on to live in many parts of the world and work with a wide variety of musicians.-Biography:Cherry was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and...
- New York Contemporary Five Vol. 1Archie Shepp & the New York Contemporary FiveArchie Shepp & the New York Contemporary Five is a live album by the New York Contemporary Five recorded at the Jazzhus Montmartre in Copenhagen, Denmark on November 15, 1963 and featuring saxophonists Archie Shepp and John Tchicai, trumpeter Don Cherry, bassist Don Moore and drummer J. C. Moses...
(SonetSonet RecordsSonet Records is a jazz record label operating as an imprint of Universal Music Sweden. It was founded in Sweden in 1956.Sonet Records was established by Sven Lindholm and Gunnar Bergström, who managed the label into the 1980s. Dag Haeggqvist, the owner of Gazell Records, became an executive of the...
, 1963) - New York Contemporary Five Vol. 2Archie Shepp & the New York Contemporary FiveArchie Shepp & the New York Contemporary Five is a live album by the New York Contemporary Five recorded at the Jazzhus Montmartre in Copenhagen, Denmark on November 15, 1963 and featuring saxophonists Archie Shepp and John Tchicai, trumpeter Don Cherry, bassist Don Moore and drummer J. C. Moses...
(SonetSonet RecordsSonet Records is a jazz record label operating as an imprint of Universal Music Sweden. It was founded in Sweden in 1956.Sonet Records was established by Sven Lindholm and Gunnar Bergström, who managed the label into the 1980s. Dag Haeggqvist, the owner of Gazell Records, became an executive of the...
, 1963) - Bill Dixon 7-tette/Archie Shepp and the New York Contemporary Five (SavoySavoy RecordsSavoy Records is an American record label specializing in jazz, R&B and gospel. Starting in the mid 1940s, Savoy played an important part in popularizing bebop.Savoy Records is an American record label specializing in jazz, R&B and gospel. Starting in the mid 1940s, Savoy played an important part...
, 1964) One side of LP