Charlie Haden - Liberation Music Orchestra (1970)

There are very few musicians that play for a cause as noble as liberty, and ever fewer are those that have managed to encrust strong purposes into music oh so correctly and imaginatively. Charlie Haden is a lotus in the grass that bursted in the name solemnity. By creating the large jazz ensemble Liberation Music Orchestra, Haden has consecrated such heroism into the history of jazz music and into the veins of creativity for "Liberation Music Orchestra" is not just another jazz record.

Jaki Byard - Blues for Smoke

Jaki Byard - Blues for Smoke

Arguably the most versatile pianist in Jazz, Jaki Byard is shamefully underrated and unknown. Born in 1922, he was able to live through and skillfully adapt to all the changes Jazz went through, playing with both Earl Bostic and Eri Dolphy. Most importantly, he was a member of Charles Mingus' band. All of these experiences helped Byard develop his own unique style that he showed throughout his many releases until becoming a music professor at various elite colleges.

Blues for Smoke is Byard's debut as a leader. Criminally unknown due to it not being released domestically until almost 30 years after its original release, Blues for Smoke comes with nine original compositions that look at both pre-bop styles ("Aluminum Baby", "Flight of the Fly") and the avant-garde ("Spanish Tinge No. 1", "Pete and Thomas"). "Jaki's Blues Next" has Byard alternate between stride and free form á la Cecil Taylor, and by the end of the track he plays both at the same time. Thus, Blues for Smoke is an exciting and unusual piano Jazz record that has a mix of different styles all played well by the genius of Byard. 

Blues for Smoke.

Nuclear Sex Addict - Seminäål Fuckkwït (2011)

This is, to my knowledge, the Australian group's only release before breaking up, although members of the band preform in acts like Pisschrist. And it's a damn shame, considering this noisy, raucous and sloppy EP is one of the best punk releases from Australia. Anyway, they play extremely noisy and harsh hardcore in one of my personal favorite styles, raw punk. The production is far from crystal clear, but it does add to the charm of the record: the screamed vocals, incomprehensibly distorted guitar riffs, buzzsaw bass melodies and trashcan drums come together in an assualt of sound that just hits you in the chest like a chainsaw, as the cover fittingly depicts. If you're a fan of bands like Disclose, Krömosom or Nerveskade, you'll probably like Nuclear Sex Addict's wall of sound approach as well.

A house divided (by a chainsaw) against itself cannot stand