JazzTimes:The Sounds Of 1970

Their 40 year anniversary September issue is a  really is a cutting edge jazzrockfusion special. Which is about as close to a progrelated issue a jazzmagazine can make.

The three interesting, lenghty main articles are about:

-Bitches Brew Sessions & electric Miles
-Herbie Hancocks Mwandishi Sextet (and the album)
-Freddie Hubbard: Red Clay

Interviews with Holland, Jonette, McLaughlin, Hancock, Priester, Hart... basically everyone involved still alive.

Bonuses articles are a nice selection of ten essential avant-garde recordings of 1970 (with albums by Alice Coltrane, Art Ensemble of Chicago, Marion Brown, Sonny Sharrock, Pharoah Sanders, Sun Ra, Garbarek...) + there's Christian McBride listening and talking about a cool selection of tracks by Fank Zappa, Tony Williams, McCoy Tyner, Miles, Hendix.... from the same year as well.

Jazzwise magazine, likewise, has a couple (of relatively half-hearted) acknowledgements of the 40th Anniversary of BB's release - although in one, its review of the "complete" (how many of ths ehave there been) BB set, it is awarded one of ftheir very rare 5 stars. What of the American jazz journals

^I sort of agree with you, but this issue is not about the sounds of the 70's, its about the year 1970. Keith Jarret didn't even release an album in 1970. Its an anniversay issue, and I think its positive that they've chosen to focus on the beginning of jazzrock-fusion.

And I'm more than happy to read about largely ignored projects such as Mwandishi for starters.

Btw: Afric Pepperbird is one of their selected ten essential avantgarde albums of 1970.

^One of the reasons I find the issue genuinely interesting is that the text, inteviews, thoughts and look on these albums and the whole period, both feels and actually is kinda new, positive and fresh. I'm no specialist, but the jazzpurist dismissal of this style and period seems to have been kept very much alive by mags like JazzTimes and Downbeat. And atleast in this issue they seem to address and acknowledge this.