Always in Trouble: An Oral History of ESP-Disk’, the Most Outrageous Record Label in America

Contents

Contents Acknowledgments vii A Note on the Photographers ix Introduction xiii I What Got into His Head: Bernard Stollman, 1 Founder of the Label in the great before 1. Who, Where, When: Beginnings and Departures 3 2. Music and Law: Into the Deep End Fast 13 the rise and fall and persistent resurrection of a curious record company 3. The Initial Years 20 4. While It Worked 29 5. Decline and Fall 38 6. On Individual Artists 45 7. About Some Records 57 8. A Word or Two on Recording Engineers 61 9. Close Encounters in the Music Business 63 10. A Short History of Licensing 69 11. In the Wilderness 72 12. Revival 75 II ESP-Disk’ as Lived and Witnessed 79 Ishmael Reed 85 Gunter Hampel 87 John Tchicai 91 Paul Thornton 94 James Zitro 98 Sonny Simmons 103 vi Contents Gary Peacock 109 Milford Graves 110 Alan Sondheim 119 Tom Rapp 126 Warren Smith 134 Roscoe Mitchell 140 Michael Snow 141 Marion Brown 145 Richard Alderson 150 Roswell Rudd 160 Montego Joe 166 Evan Parker 171 Alan Silva 172 Giuseppi Logan 180 Peter Stampfel 185 Burton Greene 192 The Coach with the Six Insides: Jean Erdman and Van Dexter 199 Leo Feigin 204 Erica Pomerance 205 Joe Morris 210 William Parker 217 Ken Vandermark 220 Gato Barbieri 224 Amiri Baraka 228 Michael D. Anderson 232 Sal Salgado 240 Lindha Kallerdahl 247 Sirone 248 Sunny Murray 254 Marc Albert-Levin 260 Jacques Coursil 265 Steve Weber 273 Steve Stollman 279 Index 285 Photographs follow pages 77 and 184. ...