Archie Shepp

Philadelphia-raised tenor saxophonist Archie Shepp (1937) cut his teeth in Cecil Taylor's quartet (1960-62) and with Bill Dixon (1962), and then (1963) joined the New York Contemporary Five, a quintet with Don Cherry on cornet and John Tchicai on alto saxophone that implemented the principles of Ornette Coleman's Free Jazz (1960) on their Consequences (october 1963), particularly Consequences (the only track with Cherry). The ensemble was also documented on The New York Contemporary Five (november 1963).

Shepp played on John Coltrane's Ascension (1965) and became one of the first saxophonists to take Coltrane's new style literally. Four tracks of Four For Trane (august 1964) were Coltrane compositions, performed by Shepp, trombonist Roswell Rudd, Tchicai, Coltrane's bassist Reggie Workman and Coleman's drummer Charles Moffett.
Shepp's festival of dissonance, Fire Music (march 1965), was no less revolutionary than Coltrane's masterpiece. In fact, it was even wilder and harsher, like a volcanic eruption of notes that superficially defied any logic, although at the end they left a sense of cathartic rebirth. Only two pieces were by Shepp, Hambone and Los Olvidados, but they both displayed innovative elements, the former relying on minimalist-like horns and the latter painting an abstract soundscape. Shepp was even more convincing on On This Night (august 1965), accompanied by vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson and a rotating cast of bassists and drummers, at least in his On This Night and Mac Man. Shepp used free jazz as a pretext to build up a dramatic style of saxophone playing, that was closer in spirit to rhythm'n'blues than to bebop or swing. He never really settled on a stable group, save a quintet with Rudd documented on Three for a Quarter One for a Dime (february 1966).
Shepp was clearly much more influenced than Coltrane by contemporary black politics and by the African heritage. The drawback of Shepp's art is that, no matter how original, it never sounded quite as sincere and profound as Coltrane's. Where Coltrane was simply his own creation, largely independent of the times, Shepp seemed more prone to follow (whether free jazz or "Black Power" or Afrocentrism) than to lead. There were more authentic free-jazz players, there were more sincere jazz politicians, and there were more fervent Afrocentric musicians; but probably noone else came close to fusing all three elements into one organic body of art as he did.
This socio-musical-philosophical fusion peaked with the three-part suite A Portrait of Robert Thomson (dedicated to revisitations of blues, gospel and jazz) and with the Middle-eastern Basheer on Mama Too Tight (august 1966), again performed by a rotating cast of avantgarde musicians. The African element became explicit with the 18-minute The Magic of Ju-Ju for African percussion instruments and tenor saxophone on The Magic of Ju-Ju (april 1967). After The Way Ahead (january 1968), his first recording with a pianist, that sounded like a partial retreat, Shepp penned the 20-minute Yasmina A Black Woman on Yasmina (august 1969), accompanied by three members of the Art Ensemble of Chicago and assorted percussionists. After another half-hearted effort, Kwanza (mostly february 1969), possibly his best ensemble ever (vocalist Jeanne Lee, trumpeter Lester Bowie, pianist Dave Burrell, bassist Malachi Favors, drummer Philly Joe Jones) helped him deliver the more meditational performances of Blase', My Angel and Tuareg on Blase' (august 1969). Shepp played soprano on Black Gypsy (november 1969), basically divided into two suites (not composed by him), Black Gipsy and Epitaph of a Small Winner, but that great season was rapidly winding down. He seemed increasingly less interested in jazz (whether "free" or not) and more interested in rhythm'n'blues and funk music. This phase culminated in the more conventional and heavily-arranged "songs" of Attica Blues (january 1972) and The Cry Of My People (september 1972), quite a repudiation of free jazz.

The Long March (august 1979) documents a live performance by Max Roach and Archie Shepp .

Divine Song (october 1979), credited to guitarist Sangeeta Michael Berardi, documents a session with Shepp, Roswell Rudd (trombone), Mario Pavone and Eddie Gomez (basses) and Rashied Ali (drums).

Shepp's activity declined rapidly after Soul Song (december 1982), in a quartet with Kenny Werner (piano), Santi Debriano (bass) and Marvin Smith (drums), and containing the 15-minute Mama Rose and the 19-minute Geechee. Down Home New York (february, 1984) was recorded by the same lineup augmented with Charles McGhee (trumpet) and vocalist Bazzi Bartholomew Gray. Little Red Moon (december 1985) featured Wilbur Little (bass), Clifford Jarvis (drums), Siegfried Kessler (piano and synthesizer) and Enrico Rava (trumpet and flugelhorn) and contains the 18-minute Little Red Moon. The double-disc Gemini (march 2007) documents a session with Wayne Dockery (bass) Steve McCraven (drums), Stephane Guery (guitar), Tom McClung (piano) and Chuck D (vocals) and a live performance by the same lineup of July 2002.

Wo!Man (november 2010) was a collaboration between Archie Shepp and Joachim Kuhn, who had already worked together in drummer Edward Vesala's band.

Let my People go (2021) documents a collaboration with Jason Moran, mostly devoted to covers.