Two recent releases from the free jazz universe of music celebrate two of the greatest saxophone icons of the 20th century, Archie Shepp and Pharoah Sanders. I was first exposed to free jazz at a ...

Don’t call Archie Shepp a jazz musician. Also, as we found out recently, don’t call him before 4 p.m. — Shepp is nocturnal and might not yet be out of bed. Sleeping habits aside, Archie Shepp, 75, is ...

Although saxophonist Archie Shepp is listed as the leader of this release, The New York Contemporary Five was really a collective; a short-lived, free jazz super-group from the early 1960s. The band, ...

Some of the most exciting jazz albums to listen to are those that try to strike a middle ground between the mainstream and the Avant-garde. One such example is Archie Shepp’s Fire Music: an ...

Through the pitch black of the cavernous Richardson Auditorium came piercing words: “In the face of injustice and adversity, certainly some gave their lives looking to change the world.” The voice of ...

The material here is familiar territory for Shepp: a mix of spirituals and standards, some of which he’s recorded before on Goin’ Home and other prior releases, plus one Moran original. But Shepp has ...

It was July 1969, a few weeks before Woodstock. Men had just landed on the moon. After 132 years of French colonialism, Algeria was independent, and 1 million settlers had left the country. It was a ...

Saxophonist Archie Shepp and pianist Jason Moran are both jazz titans: Mr. Shepp, age 83, is an NEA Jazz Master and was an important protégé of John Coltrane; Mr. Moran, 46, is a MacArthur Fellow and ...

When Jason Moore, the D.C. rapper and producer who works under the moniker Raw Poetic, first started writing rhymes as a teenager, he had a specific goal in mind. “I wanted to be able to rap to ...

The New York Contemporary Five marked a relatively brief chapter in Archie Shepp’s career; they existed for barely two years and played almost exclusively in Europe. Today, the group is recognized as ...