★Fledgling
Up To Earth
Vinyl edition of this joyous improvised music drawing on South African roots and European free jazz from Chris McGregor and a group including Evan Parker, Louis Moholo, Barre Philllips, &c. This album only had a few test pressings at the time of recording and this is therefore the first vinyl release of this classic work. In 1969 the Chris McGregor Group were riding high on the London jazz scene, playing and hanging out with all the rising stars of British free jazz. Sessions for the previously…
Large As Life and Twice As Natural
Reissued by Fledg'ling in 2005. First released in 1968, Large As Life And Twice As Natural is a tremendous acoustic-folk-blues-jazz masterpiece. As always with Davy Graham, the music seems to defy categorization. Perhaps the simplest description would be "great." On Large As Life And Twice As Natural, Davy is joined by the legendary Harold McNair on flute, Dick Heckstall-Smith on saxophone, Jon Hiseman on drums (both from Colosseum) and Danny Thompson (from Pentangle) on double bass. For this ca…
Watch The Stars
Reissued by Fledg'ling in 2005, and originally released in 1967, Watch The Stars is a remarkable long-lost gem from the mid-'60s British folk revival. A beautiful collection of folk, blues and haikus, the album melds a folk-boom topicality with a fine "beat" sensibility; uniting the Afro-American West Coast with suburban London. Long out-of-print, the record is an early milestone in the careers of Dorris Henderson and John Renbourn. OnWatch The Stars, Dorris and John are joined by the classical …
Sea Breezes: Solo Piano - Live in Durban 1987
Fledg'ling Records proudly presents the long-overdue CD release of this remarkable solo performance from 1987 by Chris McGregor. Sea Breezeswas recorded during an emotional visit to his homeland by the great South African composer and pianist. McGregor played "an energetic mixture ofDuke Ellington, Charles Mingus and Sun Ra, but always retained a unique feel due to his South African influences and the intelligent arrangements." Over the last four years, Fledg'ling has been collaborating with the…
2
2008 release, restocked. "Fotheringay remain one of the great might-have-beens of British music. They lasted less than a year, and released just one album, but their disappearance robbed the early-'70s scene of a group of musicians capable of taking folk-rock to new heights of subtlety and musicianship. Now, the nine songs on that debut album; assumed for almost four decades to be their sole testament, are joined by the eleven that would have constituted a follow-up. Sadly the group broke up d…
Morning Glory
At the time of its original release in 1973, Morning Glory, seemed a surprising departure for saxophonist John Surman. It seemed to owe more to the music being made by Miles Davis, Weather Report andTony Williams' Lifetime in the USA or Ian Carr's Nucleus and Soft Machine in the UK than it did to the often abstract, free but determinedly acoustic music that Surman had pioneered up to that point. Hindsight tells another story. Morning Glory stands as both a consolidation of his work to date and, …
Westering Home
Fledg'ling are very proud to bring Westering Home to CD. Westering Homewas originally released in 1972. John Surman plays everything on the album, drawing together many of the threads of his earlier recordings with the possibilities offered by technology (and his own prodigious musicality). "I took a break from being on the road. This was just around the time when mono had become stereo, and then - in a flash - multi-track recording became possible. I was fascinated by the possibilities of, say,…
Hat
Reissued by Fledg'ling in 2005, originally released in 1969 on Decca Records, Hat. The album is a rounded portrait of Davy Graham's remarkable guitar style -- drawing together Willie Dixon, Charles Mingus, The Beatles, Henry Purcell and Indian raga on one splendid record. Fledg'ling have carefully remastered this album from the original master tapes, adding new sleeve-notes and previously unpublished photographs.
Folk, Blues & Beyond...
Reissued in 2005 by Fledg'ling. Folk, Blues & Beyond was first released on Decca Records in 1965, and is one of the most important recordings from the 1960s folk revival. Davy Graham was a UK guitarist, multi-instrumentalist and serviceable-to-perfunctory vocalist, setting standards for succeeding generations. Graham was the first guitarist to emerge from Britain whose work combined stylistic elements from Julian Bream, Big Bill Broonzy, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Ali Akbar Khan, Leadbelly, Joe Pass…
Teach me to be a Summer's morning: A Portrait of Lal Waterson
Fledg'ling Books in association with Topic Records present Teach Me to Be a Summer's Morning, a portrait of the late Lal Waterson through a collection of her writings, drawings, paintings, stained glass, and a 15-track CD of very rare home demos. Known primarily as a singer and songwriter, Lal Waterson is shown, through this beautiful new book, to be much more: a versatile and vibrant artist. The 15 songs on the CD confirm her stature as a songwriter of rare imagination, depth, and rich beauty; …
Our Prayer
Another previously-unreleased gem from South African pianist/composer Chris McGregor and his cohorts in '60s UK free jazz. Our Prayer was culled from the same sessions that produced the also never-released Up To Earth in 1969 and was produced by Joe Boyd and engineered by John Wood at Sound Techniques studio. The previous year they had signed to Joe Boyd's illustrious Witchseason production company alongside Fairport Convention, John and Beverley Martyn, Nick Drake and the Incredible String Ba…
Chris McGregor's Brotherhood Of Breath
Reissued by Fledg'ling in 2007, this is a classic title from 1971 by Chris McGregor's magnificent big band -- Brotherhood Of Breath. Arguably one of the most influential albums to emerge from the London jazz scene of the early 1970s, the Brotherhood of Breath was an exuberant big-band created by South African-born pianist and composer, Chris McGregor. In South Africa, McGregor had formed the racially mixed Blue Notes in the early 1960s. By 1964, finding it very difficult to work at home, t…
Very Urgent
Originally released on Polydor in 1968. During this year, The Chris McGregor Group were riding high on the London jazz scene, playing and hanging out with all the rising stars of British free jazz. Very Urgent, their eagerly-awaited debut recording, was a joyful call of intent. The album mixes simple but utterly unstoppable tunes and exhilarating horn charts -- immediately establishing a vitality and exuberance that would continue to define the group. Nevertheless, their evident preference f…
Fotheringay
Fledg'ling's 2004 reissue of one of the highest-regarded British folk-rock albums, featuring Sandy Denny. Originally issued by Island in 1970 (previous Hannibal CD long o/p). With additional artwork and bonus tracks. Fotheringay's beautiful debut album was recorded in 1970, and has long been regarded as one of the greatest achievements of British folk-rock. Sandy Denny, Trevor Lucas, Jerry Donahue, Pat Donaldson and Gerry Conway created a magical ensemble sound and one of the finest albums of…
Brotherhood
Reissued by Fledg'ling in 2007. The long-overdue release on CD of Brotherhood -- a classic title from 1972 by Chris McGregor's magnificent big band Brotherhood Of Breath. Never before officially reissued, this wonderful album continues the ground-breaking music of their debut album. Mighty music for the head, the heart and the feet. "The Brotherhood of Breath is the kind of band you want to tell people about. It's not for private enjoyment, or for worship by a elitist cult. The Brotherhood'…
Folk Roots, New Routes
Reissued on Fledg'ling in 2005, originally released in 1965 by Decca. An experimental recording conceived by Austin John Marshall bringing together Shirley's haunting traditional song with Davy's guitar improvisations. Folk Roots, New Routes opened the door for Fairport Convention's Liege and Lief and Pentangle's debut. For this carefully remastered edition, Fledg'ling have restored the original artwork, added a new sleeve-note essay as well as previously unpublished photographs.