Pierre Crépon: Jazz Writing

About

Writings and research on the history of avant-garde jazz. Publications I have contributed to include The Wire, New York City Jazz Record, Point of Departure, Chimurenga Chronic, We Jazz, and Current Research in Jazz.

I can be reached at pierre.crepon@outlook.com and found on Substack at Acoustical Swing.

Selected publications

Black Unity Trio and associated 1960s Cleveland history through interviews with Hasan Shahid and Mutawaf A. Shaheed, editing work on pieces by Yusuf Mumin and Hasan Abdur-Razzaq, a previously unpublished interview with Abdul Wadud, and a Wadud tribute (The Wire, Chimurenga, We Jazz).
Liner notes for the Pharoah Sanders box set, Pharoah (Luaka Bop) and follow-up article (Point of Departure), essay on Sanders (The Wire), and research data (Current Research in Jazz).
Liner notes for the Byard Lancaster box set, The Complete PALM Recordings, 1973-1974 (Souffle Continu).
Essay on Sunny Murray's work in Europe between 1968 and 1972 based on uncirculated material (The Wire).
Essay on American free jazz in Paris in 1969 and the BYG Actuel connection, with accompanying mix (Chimurenga).
Feature on Gérard Terronès, French producer and promoter, focused on the history of his clubs, with accompanying playlist (The Wire) and research data (Current Research in Jazz).
Interview with drummer Noel McGhie on the Paris free jazz scene of the 1970s, and follow-up interview on McGhie’s work with Steve Lacy and François Tusques (Point of Departure).
Review essay on Teruto Soejima’s history of Japanese free jazz (Point of Departure), with accompanying playlist (The Wire) and discography (Jazz à Paris).

Publications

Playlist: Ellen Christi

"Wire Playlist: Ellen Christi’s Free Jazz Vocals," The Wire, February 2025.

Prince Lasha Quintet Featuring Sonny Simmons - The Cry!

Record review: Prince Lasha and Sonny Simmons (Craft)

Review of Prince Lasha Featuring Sonny Simmons, The Cry!, New York City Jazz Record, December 2024, 22. [PDF]

Record review: Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre (NoBusiness)

Review of Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre, Live from Studio Rivbea, July 12, 1975, New York City Jazz Record, November 2024, 26. [PDF]

Liner notes: Byard Lancaster (Souffle Continu)

Liner notes for Byard Lancaster, The Complete PALM Recordings, 1973-1974, Souffle Continu, 2024, 5 LPs, 12", and 7". With online selected bibliographies on Byard Lancaster and Jef Gilson, and an interview about the work on this essay at It’s Psychedelic Baby Magazine.

Newsletter series: Some Jazz Records

"Some Jazz Records," Acoustical Swing, May 2024-ongoing. This series compiling musicians' comments on recordings has included installments on Jackie McLean, Ornette Coleman, Bennie Maupin, Grachan Moncur III, Baikida Carroll, Dave Burrell, Burton Greene, Andrew Cyrille (on solo drums), Patty Waters, Jimmy Lyons, McCoy Tyner, Abbey Lincoln (twice), Yusef Lateef, Jacques Thollot, Joachim Kühn, Sonny Sharrock, Sunny Murray (twice), Cecil Taylor (three times), Herbie Nichols, Leon Thomas (on "pygmy" music), Faruq Z. Bey, Ed Blackwell, Billy Higgins, Barre Phillips (on his solo bass recordings), Paul Bley (twice), Steve Lacy (twice and a third time, on Watazumi Dōso). This series has also featured original writing by bassist Mike Johnston (twice).

Book review: Larry Neal

Review of Larry Neal, Any Day Now: Toward a Black Aesthetic, ed. Allie Biswas, We Jazz, Summer 2024, 102-3.

Essay: Intercommunal Free Dance Music Orchestra

"The Old Music and the New Fascists," The Wire, July 2024.

Record review: Baikida Carroll (Souffle Continu)

Review of Baikida E. J. Carroll, Orange Fish Tears, It’s Psychedelic Baby Magazine, July 2024.

Playlist: Cello

"Wire Playlist: Pathways to (Free) Jazz Cello," The Wire, June 2024. Photograph by Thierry Trombert.

[EDITING] Interview: Abdul Wadud

Chris Flicker and Thierry Trombert, "An Interview with Abdul Wadud, October 1977, Nancy, France," We Jazz, Spring 2024, 68-72. Photograph by Thierry Trombert.

Essay: Pharoah Sanders

"Pharoah Sanders: 1977 Revisited," Point of Departure, no. 86 (March 2024). Photographs by Gérard Rouy and Guy Stevens.

Book review: Milford Graves (Inventory Press/Ars Nova Workshop)

Review of Mark Christman, Celeste DiNucci, and Anthony Elms, eds., Milford Graves: A Mind-Body Deal, New York City Jazz Record, February 2024, 17. [UNEDITED VERSION]

Record review: Masayuki Takayanagi (Black Editions)

Review of Masayuki Takayanagi New Direction Unit, Mass Hysterism in Another Situation, We Jazz, Winter 2023, 93.

Book review: Tokyo Jazz Joints

Review of Philip Arneill with James Catchpole, Tokyo Jazz Joints, We Jazz, Winter 2023, 102-3.

Playlist: Phyllis Hyman

"A Phyllis Hyman Selection, 1976-1982," Chimurenga, December 2023.

Book translation: Eric Dolphy

Translation of Guillaume Belhomme, Eric Dolphy: Biographical Sketches (Hofheim am Taunus: Wolke Verlag, 2023).

Interview: Zae Tinaza

"Disparate Elements: An Interview with Zae Tinaza," It’s Psychedelic Baby Magazine, October 2023.

Liner notes: Pharoah Sanders (Luaka Bop)

Liner notes for Pharoah Sanders, Pharoah, Luaka Bop, 2023, 2 LPs.

Book review: Sam Rivers

Review of Rick Lopez, The Sam Rivers Sessionography, We Jazz, Fall 2023, 104-5.

Essay: Don Cherry and François Tusques

"Spectral Nomad," The Wire, September 2023, 42-43.

Record review: Milford Graves (Black Editions)

Review of Milford Graves, Children of the Forest, New York City Jazz Record, August 2023, 22. [PDF]

Essay: Ray Draper

"Lest We Forget: Ray Draper," New York City Jazz Record, May 2023, 10, 37. [PDF]

Essay: Jimmy Stewart

"For a Very Short Period of Time: Jimmy Stewart, Western Temperament, and Black Cultural Nationalism, 1966-1971," Snow lit rev, no. 11 (Spring 2023): 48-58.

Essay: Archie Shepp

"Archie Shepp and Mobilization for Youth," Playback with Lewis Porter!, April 2023.

Record review: Cecil Taylor (Candid)

Review of Cecil Taylor, The World of Cecil Taylor, New York City Jazz Record, April 2023, 20-21. [PDF]

Playlist: Hanns Eisler

"Wire Playlist: Hanns Eisler Fighting Songs," The Wire, March 2023.

Record review: Barney Wilen (We Are Busy Bodies)

Review of Barney Wilen, Zodiac, New York City Jazz Record, March 2023, 25. [PDF]

Radio show: François Tusques

Contribution to Destination Out, hosted by Mike Johnston, WCMU Public Radio, February 19, 2023.

Record review: Horace Tapscott (Mr Bongo and Dark Tree)

Review of Horace Tapscott Quintet, The Quintet, and Legacies for Our Grandchildren: Live in Hollywood, 1995, New York City Jazz Record, February 2023, 15. [PDF]

Essay: Pharoah Sanders

"Pharoah Sanders in Billboard, 1969-1974," Current Research in Jazz 14 (2022).

Record review: Masayuki Takayanagi (Black Editions)

Review of Masayuki Takayanagi New Direction, Station '70: Call in Question/Live Independence, New York City Jazz Record, December 2022, 32. [PDF]

Record review: Mototeru Takagi (Nadja 21-King International)

Review of Mototeru Takagi, Love Dance: Solo Live at Galerie de Café 伝, Tokyo 1987-1997, New York City Jazz Record, December 2022, 27. [PDF]

Essay: Pharoah Sanders

"Let It End Some Kind of Way: Pharoah Sanders, 1940-2022," The Wire, September 2022. Photograph by Chuck Stewart.

Book review: Ubadah McConner

Review of Ubadah McConner, The African Omnidevelopment Space Complex/We New, The Wire, October 2022, 62.

Essay: Abdul Wadud

With Yusuf Mumin, Mutawaf A. Shaheed, and Hasan Shahid, "Cleveland Memories of Abdul Wadud," The Wire, August 2022.

Book review: Albert Ayler

Review of Peter Niklas Wilson, Spirits Rejoice!: Albert Ayler and His Message, The Wire, August 2022, 73.

Playlist: François Tusques

"Wire Playlist: Nouveau Jazz and Next to Last Blues, An Introduction to François Tusques," The Wire, May 2022. Photograph by Thierry Trombert.

Record review: Laurence Cook/Jacques Coursil/Warren Gale/Perry Robinson/Steve Tintweiss (Inky Dot Media)

Review of Laurence Cook/Jacques Coursil/Warren Gale/Perry Robinson/Steve Tintweiss, Ave B Free Jam, New York City Jazz Record, May 2022, 31. [PDF]

Book review: Celeste Day Moore

Review of Celeste Day Moore, Soundscapes of Liberation: African American Music in Postwar France, The Wire, January 2022, 88.

Chronology: Jazz Workshop, Montreal

"The Jazz Workshop/L’Atelier de jazz (1966–1968)," Current Research in Jazz 13 (2021).

Record review: Mototeru Takagi (NoBusiness)

Review of Derek Bailey and Mototeru Takagi, Live at FarOut, Atsugi 1987, and Mototeru Takagi, Live at Little John, Yokohama 1999, New York City Jazz Record, December 2021, 27. [PDF]

[EDITING] Interview: Mark Whitecage

Marc Chaloin, "Mark Whitecage, 1997: An Interview," Point of Departure, no. 76 (September 2021). Photograph by Michael Wilderman.

Record review: Yusuf Mumin (Phillips Enterprise)

Review of Yusuf Mumin, Sketches of the Invisible: A Tribute to Albert Ayler, New York City Jazz Record, August 2021, 20. [PDF]

Record review: Steve Tintweiss and The Purple Why (Inky Dot Media)

Review of Steve Tintweiss and The Purple Why, MarksTown, New York City Jazz Record, July 2021, 26. [PDF]

Playlist: PALM

"Wire Playlist: Jef Gilson’s PALM Label, Independent Jazz Production in 1970s France," The Wire, June 2021.

Book review: Archie Shepp

With David Grundy, review of Sezgin Boynik and Taneli Viitahuhta, eds., Free Jazz Communism: Archie Shepp-Bill Dixon Quartet at the 8th World Festival of Youth and Students in Helsinki 1962, Critical Studies in Improvisation/Études critiques en improvisation 14, nos. 2-3 (2021). [PDF]

Playlist: American Avant-Garde Jazz in Paris, 1969

"The Summer of '69," Chimurenga, April 2021.

Essay: American Avant-Garde Jazz in Paris, 1969

"The Summer of '69," Chimurenga Chronic: Imagi-nation Nwar (April 2021): 26, 28, 59, 61, 65, 67.

Review: Earl Freeman

With David Grundy, review of Earl Freeman, Poems and Drawings, New York City Jazz Record, March 2021, 24. [PDF]

Record review: Don Cherry (Gearbox)

Review of Don Cherry, Cherry Jam, New York City Jazz Record, February 2021, 18. [PDF]

Essay: Bobby Few

"Let It Rain: Bobby Few, 1935-2021," The Wire, January 2021. Photograph by Gilbert Spagnoli.

[EDITING] Interview: Abdul Wadud

David Lee, "Knocking Down Barriers: An Interview with Abdul Wadud, 1980," Point of Departure, no. 73 (December 2020).

[EDITING] Essay: Yusuf Mumin

Yusuf Mumin, "Wire Playlist: Yusuf Mumin and The Black Unity Trio," The Wire, November 2020.

[EDITING] Essay: Black Unity Trio

Hasan Abdur-Razzaq, "Creative Urban Momentum: Witnessing the Black Unity Trio," Chimurenga, November 2020.

Jothan Callins and the Sounds of Togetherness - Winds of Change

Playlist: Musician-Owned Record Labels, 2/2

With Mutawaf A. Shaheed, "Wire Playlist: Musician-Owned Record Labels in Jazz in the 1970s," The Wire, September 2020.

Review essay: Quatuor de Jazz Libre du Québec

"Free Jazz/Québec Libre: Le Quatuor de Jazz Libre du Québec, 1967-1975," review of Eric Fillion, Jazz libre et la révolution québécoise: Musique-action, 1967-1975, Point of Departure, no. 72 (September 2020).

"Memories refreshed": François Tusques (Cacophonic)

François Tusques, La Chasse au snark, Cacophonic 27CACKLP, 2020.

Record review: Burton Greene (Legacy)

Review of Burton Greene, Presenting Burton Greene, New York City Jazz Record, September 2020, 23. [PDF]

Record review: TEST and Roy Campbell (577 Records)

Review of TEST and Roy Campbell, TEST and Roy Campbell, New York City Jazz Record, September 2020, 22. [PDF]

Charles Mingus and Spaulding Givens - Strings and Keys

Playlist: Musician-Owned Record Labels, 1/2

"Wire Playlist: Musician-Owned Record Labels in Jazz in the 1940s-60s," The Wire, July 2020.

Obituary: Jacques Coursil

"Jacques Coursil, 1938-2020," The Wire, June 2020. Photograph by Thierry Trombert.

Record review: Borah Bergman, Wilber Morris, and Sunny Murray (Some Real Music)

Review of Borah Bergman, Wilber Morris, and Sunny Murray, Monks, New York City Jazz Record, June 2020, 30. [PDF]

Record review: François Tusques and Sunny Murray (Ni vu ni connu)

Review of François Tusques and Sunny Murray, Intercommunal Dialogue 1 & 2, New York City Jazz Record, May 2020, 15. [PDF]

Discography: Japanese free jazz

With Ernst Nebhuth, "Japanese Free Jazz: A Chronological Discography, 1969-1976," Jazz à Paris, April 2020.

Obituary: Giuseppi Logan

"Giuseppi Logan, 1935-2020," The Wire, April 2020. Photograph by Val Wilmer.

Interview: Hasan Shahid

"The Blistering Cosmic Music of the Black Unity Trio," The Wire, March 2020.

Bibliography: Actuel

"Jazz in Claude Delcloo’s Actuel: An Annotated Bibliography," Current Research in Jazz 11 (2019).

Amougies European Music Revolution poster detail

Essay: Amougies Music Power and Amougies European Music Revolution

"Seeing Amougies: Music Power and European Music Revolution," Point of Departure, no. 69 (December 2019).

Record review: Sunny Murray, Bob Dickie, and Robert Andreano (NoBusiness)

With Marc Chaloin, review of Sunny Murray, Bob Dickie, and Robert Andreano, Homework, New York City Jazz Record, December 2019, 30. [PDF]

Record review: Noah Howard (Eating Standing)

Review of Noah Howard, Space Dimension, New York City Jazz Record, December 2019, 24. [PDF]

"Memories refreshed": François Tusques (Cacophonic)

François Tusques, Alors Nosferatu combina un plan ingénieux, Cacophonic 26CACKLP, 2019.

Chronology: Festival Actuel

"Free Jazz in Amougies: Research on the Schedule of the Festival Actuel, October 24-28, 1969," Discogs, October 2019.

John Gray - Creative Improvised Music: An International Bibliography of the Jazz Avant-Garde

Interview: John Gray

"Free Jazz Research and Guerrilla Scholarship: An Interview with John Gray," The Wire, September 2019.

Record review: Sounds of Liberation (Dogtown/Corbett vs. Dempsey)

Review of Sounds of Liberation, Unreleased, New York City Jazz Record, August 2019, 24. [PDF]

Playlist: Bobby Few

"Wire Playlist: From Cleveland to Paris, the Many Sides of Bobby Few," The Wire, July 2019. Photograph by Gilbert Spagnoli. Detailed discographical information at Jazz à Paris.

Record review: Alfred Panou and the Art Ensemble of Chicago (Souffle Continu)

Review of Alfred Panou and the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Je suis un sauvage/Le moral nécessaire, New York City Jazz Record, July 2019, 16. [PDF]

Concert review: Alan Silva

"Three Hundred Seasons and Some: Alan Silva at 80," Arteidolia, June 2019. French translation at Le Son du grisli, August 2019. Photographs by Olivier Ledure.

Review essay: Japanese free jazz

"Omnidirectional Projection: Teruto Soejima and Japanese Free Jazz," review of Teruto Soejima, Free Jazz in Japan: A Personal History, Point of Departure, no. 67 (June 2019). Photograph by Tatsuro Minami

Record review: Milford Graves (Corbett vs. Dempsey)

Review of Milford Graves, Bäbi, New York City Jazz Record, June 2019, 19. [PDF]

Masayuki Takayanagi and Masahiko Togashi

Playlist: Japanese Free Jazz

"Wire Playlist: Free Jazz in Japan, Sounds from the First Decade," The Wire, May 2019.

Record review: Kaoru Abe and Sabu Toyozumi (NoBusiness)

Review of Kaoru Abe and Sabu Toyozumi, Mannyoka, New York City Jazz Record, May 2019, 29. [PDF]

Record review: Cheikh Tidiane Fall, Bobby Few, and Jo Maka (Komos)

Review of Cheikh Tidiane Fall, Bobby Few, and Jo Maka, Diom Futa, New York City Jazz Record, May 2019, 24. [PDF]

Interview: Mutawaf A. Shaheed

With Richard J. Koloda, "Avant-Garde Jazz and Black Rights Activism in 1960s Cleveland, Ohio: An Interview with Mutawaf A. Shaheed," The Wire, March 2019.

[EDITING] Interview: Bill Folwell

Marc Chaloin, "Bill Folwell," Point of Departure, no. 66 (March 2019).

Record review: Marion Brown and Dave Burrell (NoBusiness)

With Parker Fishel, review of Marion Brown and Dave Burrell, Live at the Black Musicians' Conference, 1981, New York City Jazz Record, March 2019, 24. [PDF]

Chronologies and bibliographies: Gérard Terronès

"Gérard Terronès: Introduction," Current Research in Jazz 10 (2018).

"Gérard Terronès: The Blues Jazz Museum (1965–1966)," Current Research in Jazz 10 (2018).

"Gérard Terronès: The Gill’s Club (1967–1970)," Current Research in Jazz 10 (2018).

"Gérard Terronès: Totem (1977–1979)," Current Research in Jazz 10 (2018).

"Gérard Terronès: Jazz Unité (1981–1982)," Current Research in Jazz 10 (2018).

"Gérard Terronès: Trou Noir (1984–1985)," Current Research in Jazz 10 (2018).

Interview: Noel McGhie, 2/2

"Noel McGhie: Lacy, Tusques and Space Spies," Point of Departure, no. 65 (December 2018). Photograph by Uli Templin.

Essay: Sunny Murray

"Playing the Theory of Relativity: Sunny Murray in Europe, 1968-1972," The Wire, December 2018. Photographs by Thierry Trombert.

[EDITING] Interview: Marzette Watts

Chris Flicker and Thierry Trombert, "An Interview with Marzette Watts," The Wire, November 2018. Photographs by Thierry Trombert.

Record review: Cecil Taylor and Sunny Murray (FMP/Destination: OUT)

Review of Cecil Taylor and Sunny Murray, Corona, New York City Jazz Record, November 2018, 26. [PDF]

Record review: Johnny Dyani (Sing a Song Fighter)

With Olivier Ledure, review of Johnny Dyani, African Bass Solo Concert: Willisau Jazz Festival 1978, New York City Jazz Record, October 2018, 27. [PDF]

Interview: Noel McGhie, 1/2

With Jochen Behring, "Noel McGhie: Free Jazz, Paris and the Seventies," Point of Departure, no. 64 (September 2018). Photographs by Uli Templin.

Book review: Chicago Beau [in French]

"Livre: Lincoln T. Beauchamp Jr. with J. LaBosse, Too Much UnConvenience: Recollections of a Blues Gypsy," Improjazz, no. 248 (September 2018): 30.

Record review: Barre Phillips and Motoharu Yoshizawa (NoBusiness)

Review of Barre Phillips and Motoharu Yoshizawa, Oh My, Those Boys!, New York City Jazz Record, September 2018, 26. [PDF]

Dewey Johnson - Ken Simon - Malik Baraka - David S. Ware - Toshi Tsuchitori - William Parker

Obituary: Dewey Johnson

"The Alphabet of Dewey Johnson," The Wire, July 2018. Photograph from the Toshi Tsuchitori archives.

Playlist: Gérard Terronès

"Wire Playlist: Once upon a Time in Paris," The Wire, May 2018.

Feature: Gérard Terronès

"Once upon a Time in Paris," The Wire, June 2018, 36-41. Photographs by Gérard Rouy, Guy Le Querrec, Christian Ducasse. [PDF]

Record review: Marco Eneidi (Sonorus)

Review of Marco Eneidi, Philipp Quehenberger, Didi Kern, Circular Mood Scale (Music for Franz West), New York City Jazz Record, May 2018, 27. [PDF]

Concert review: Kent Carter & German Friends [in French]

"Au rapport: Kent Carter & German Friends," Le Son du grisli, May 2018. Photographs by Olivier Ledure. Print version in Le Son du grisli, no. 4 (June 2018): 64-65.

Concert review: Itaru Oki, Makoto Sato et. al. [in French]

"Au rapport: Shigemasa Horio, Itaru Oki, Kei Yoshida, Izumi Ose, Akira Ando, Makoto Sato," Le Son du grisli, February 2018. Photographs by JJGFREE, additional pictures Au Grisli clandestin. Print version in Le Son du grisli, no. 4 (June 2018): 62-63.

Film review: Milford Graves

"Fragments from the Sound World," review of Milford Graves: Full Mantis, directed by Jake Meginsky and Neil Young, Independencia, February 2018. International Film Festival Rotterdam.

Film review: Bobby Few [in French]

Review of Bobby Few: Musical Hurricane, directed by Nicolas Barachin, Improjazz, no. 241 (January 2018): 40. Festival international du film d’Amiens.

Essay: Marco Eneidi

"Contrary Motion: Marco Eneidi, 1956-2016," Point of Departure, no. 57 (December 2016). Photograph by Michael Wilderman.

Review essay: Henry Grimes

"Henry Grimes and the Spiral of Time," review of Barbara Frenz, Music to Silence to Music: A Biography of Henry Grimes, Point of Departure, no. 55 (June 2016). Photographs by Kelly Rae Weime.