Wildflowers: The New York Loft Jazz Sessions

Perhaps the essential document of the loft jazz era, this 5LP set (later reissued on 3 CDs) was recorded in May 1976 at Sam Rivers’ Studio Rivbea. It features brilliant performances by a broad range of players including Rivers, Anthony Braxton, David Murray, Henry Threadgill (with Air), Roscoe Mitchell, Randy Weston, Sunny Murray, Wadada Leo Smith… anyone who wants to get an idea of the many forms avant-garde jazz took in the mid to late ’70s must start here.