Muhal Richard Abrams - Celestial Birds [Karlrecords 070 Promo]

Released on February 21st, 2k20 via the ever active Karlrecords imprint is "Celestial Birds", a new four tracks and 42 minutes playtime spanning compilation album curated by Reinhold Friedl who went through the widely unrecognized electronic composition legacy of Jazz pianist Muhal Rochard Abrams, also renowned as the founding father of Chicago's AACM / Association For The Advancement Of Creative Musicians back in 1965. His electronic efforts, mostly hidden B-side gems in his actual catalogue, are represented by the 22+ minutes main piece "The Bird Song" as well as "Conversations With The Three Of Me", "Think All, Focus One" and "Spihumonesty" and showcase the work of an exploring Jazz musician overcoming multiple borders and obstacles of the time, including racial segregation and prejudice against electronic music within his own black community, fusing electronically altered and reprocessed Jazz / full on FreeJazz parts with what seems to be the result of early modular synthesis and Spoken Word sequences, shrieking cataclysmic poly-layered noise infernos on the brink of pure madness, beautifully executed piano romanticisms, minimal composition techniques, brooding, klaxon'esque bass drones and more, providing fascinating insights into almost forgotten musical history as well as one of our new favorite pieces in early electronic composition with the eerie, retrofuturist sci-fi outing that is "Spihumonesty".