Digitally remastered edition includes digital download plus liner notes by Vivien Goldman. Lizzy Mercier Descloux may have come of age in Paris, but it's in New York's Lower East Side that she really came alive. The French punk pioneer, a friend of Patti Smith and Richard Hell, moved to New York in 1977 and soon immersed herself in avant-garde poetry, performance art, and punk music. Closely associated with the founders of ZE Records, Descloux released her debut album, Press Color, in 1979, revealing a punk-funk sound that positioned her as the French answer to the UK group The Slits or New York's own ESG. Just as The Slits gave "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" a makeover fit for warehouse parties on their celebrated Cut LP, Descloux's album revealed a penchant for the unexpected cover version too. It kicks off with a brilliantly rhythmic take on The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown's ‘Fire’-a hit, like Marvin Gaye's in 1968. There's also a version of Lalo Schifrin's theme from ‘Mission Impossible’ that appears to predate the breakbeat scene by a good 20 years. Elsewhere, we hear echoes of Serge Gainsbourg's Afrobeat-influenced work, Blondie's disco-inflected punk, and Talking Heads' world music-inspired art pop.

This is the great late-night Sun Ra chillout album you never knew about. The band had been working in a more groove-oriented setting off and on for over a year, as evidenced by the albums Lanquidity and On Jupiter, with both featuring prominent electric bass and electric guitar. Sleeping Beauty picks up right where On Jupiter left off, with the gentle, swaying "Springtime Again" echoing the same mellow vibe of "Seductive Fantasy" from On Jupiter.

Manic No Wave sax frenzy! James White tore up the city blueprints and charted his own map through the sonic sprawl of New York, perfecting a jittery, manic attack on sax and vocals and adopting the persona of a lounge singer in the waiting room of Hell. A maelstrom of chaotic transformations of funk, jazz (et al.) with equal parts James Brown and James White originals that rank among the most incendiary in his repertoire, plus three bonus tracks including an incendiary cover of "King Heroin"!

Point of View is the debut studio album by American jazz singer Cassandra Wilson, recorded in Brooklyn, New York, in December 1985, as the fourth release of the German JMT label in 1986. It was also one of the first albums of a group of musicians around Steve Coleman, that became known as M-Base.

Jamaaladeen Tacuma's second free funk effort for Gramavision is almost the equal of his first (Show Stopper). Once again the first four songs feature his regular band (a quintet with guitarist Rick Iannacone and altoist James Watkins) while the second half of the program showcases his electric bass in diverse groups. "Dancing in Your Head" has some of the members of Ornette Coleman's Prime Time (including the innovative altoist); Tacuma often played with Ornette during this period. The lengthy "The Battle of Images" features Tacuma with the Ebony String Quartet and a percussionist, "There He Stood" has the leader joined by percussionists and a poet. Best is "Sparkle," a jam with tenor saxophonist David Murray and guitarist Vernon Reid. Alththugh a bit of a mixed bag, this set should appeal to listeners open to both the avant-garde and eccentric funk.

Founded in 1978 by Trombonist/Vocalist Joseph Bowie (brother of Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and Art Ensemble of Chicago co-founder/trumpeter Lester Bowie), Defunkt has existed as somewhat of an anomaly, a Black band that initially gained notoriety while being active in New York’s No Wave Punk scene. Musical circles alongside noisy Punk legends like James Chance and The Contortions, DNA and Teenage Jesus & The Jerks while remaining steeped in the deep reservoirs of Jazz, Funk and the Avant Garde.

Mirakle is a 2000 album by adventurous jazz artists Derek Bailey, Jamaaladeen Tacuma and Calvin Weston. This was released bh Tzadik Records.

Jamaaladeen Tacuma (born Rudy McDaniel; June 11, 1956) is an American free jazz bassist born in Hempstead, New York. He was a bandleader on the Gramavision label and worked with Ornette Coleman during the 1970s and 1980s, mostly in Coleman's Prime Time band. Tacuma showcased a unique style of avant-garde jazz on Coleman's 1982 album Of Human Feelings, and became widely viewed as one of the most distinctive bassists since Jaco Pastorius. He formed his own group, and recorded albums that incorporated commercially accessible melodies while retaining Prime Time's elaborate harmonies. His 1988 album Jukebox was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1989.