The Dance
The Dance was a vibrant presence in early-80s New York City, epitomizing the post-punk melting pot. They made "a cultural fusion of music styles, blending the urgency of punk with dance music, reggae, and a large dose of funk," culminating in group two full-lengths, and then a shelved full-length with Arthur Baker for Island Records. “Soul Force” captures the band at the peak of their powers, and is full of raw energy and catchy hooks.
Elysian Spring
The history of Elysian Spring is as eclectic and unusual as the music they made. When the summer of love was gripping the west coast, the group was busy creating a sound based on pure improvisation. The members were inspired by the classic jazz of Brubeck and Adderley, and also sound of early new age music from Rainer’s trip to Berkeley. They quite literally would practice in the fields in Western MA. This openness helped the group evolve while keeping it separate from the frequently stale and clinical school-based jazz in the surrounding colleges.
Mark Harvey
Mark Harvey is a professor at MIT, methodist minister, and prominent figure on the improvisatory jazz scene. His albums have been released on the UK-based Leo records and his Aardvark Jazz Orchestra is going strong after nearly 35 years. His first two albums, “Mark Harvey Group” and “Duets” have long been unavailable. ReRelease is excited to present these groundbreaking pieces of improvisatory music, unedited, in a format for a new generation.
Arni Cheatham
ReRelease.net is privileged to present the early works of Arni Cheatham. Cheatham has been active in the Boston jazz scene for nearly 40 years. He is active in both religious and secular areas of musical performance, and frequently collaborates with Mark Harvey. He refers to the act of creating music as “at spiritual event,” and describes making music as “getting to hold the horn while God plays.” One of Cheatham’s other passions is photography, and is frequently out at the end of the day to capture the “golden hour” of light. Cheatham’s current group is “Smoke” and can be found online here.
Thesda
Thesda is a homegrown gem of late-70s funk. Musical ideas collided in a small studio, then were packaged in a record graced with generic cover art; The result, "Spaced Out," was pressed in minute numbers. The only distribution it got was as a Christmas present one year. So producer Eugene Hagburg was surprised when he realized that a small group of collectors not only found out about the album, but thought highly of it. In April 2007, a record collector in Washington, DC, found the album at a thrift store, and contacted Hagburg. After the word got out and a copy sold for top dollar on ebay, he quickly received calls from fans as far-flung as Italy and Vermont.