ESP. Volume One, Number One
New York: ESP Disk, 1971. Tabloid, publisher's black-and-white newsprint wraps.
Scarce issue of avant-garde and free jazz record label ESP-Disk’s catalog-magazine. Established by music lawyer Bernard Stollman, ESP-Disk was originally founded to release Esperanto recordings (hence "ESP"). Upon meeting Albert Ayler at a Harlem club, Stollman released the free jazz pioneer's epochal album "Spiritual Unity"; he went on to release influential free jazz records by Ornette Coleman, Sun Ra, and Pharoah Sanders, as well as recordings by outsider and underground artists and cultural figures such as the Fugs, Timothy Leary, Pearls Before Swine, William S. Burroughs, and Cromagnon. Dubbed "the most outrageous record label in America," ESP was shuttered in 1975 due to financial difficulties and accusations of not paying royalties to artists. This catalog comprises entries for ESP releases, lyrics by Ed Askew and Charles Manson, articles on Ayler and Ra, a review of the Dynaquad, a 4-channel quadraphonic sound system by Dynaco, and more. While the label produced several catalogs preceding this issue, this is the first in what was intended to be a more general, magazine-style format. Illustrated with black-and-white photos, drawings, and reproductions. Some toning to wraps, approximately one-inch tear to pp. 5-6, minor finger-soiling. Very good. Item #11238
$350.00