I Should Have Stayed Dead
...is a documentary about saxophonist and American music historian Allen Lowe, whom John Szwed had called “a genius” comparable to Thelonious Monk and James Joyce, and of whom critic David Hajdu has said “his work taken as a whole is a monumental achievement. There’s no one better alive.”
A cancer survivor who has had 25 operations post-cancer, Lowe has continued, through his illness and recovery, to record over 8 compact discs for ESP DISK, with such people as Mark Ribot, Wadada Leo Smith, Kresten Osgood, Jeppe Zeeberg, Matt Shipp, Ken Peplowski, Lewis Porter, Ray Anderson, and Frank Lacy
Louis Armstrong’s America Vol. 1
is a progressive musical examination of the musical eras through which Armstrong lived. Featuring Matt Shipp, Ursula Oppens, Andy Stein, Marc Ribot, Aaron Johnson, Lewis Porter, Kresten Osgood, Ray Anderson.
Louis Armstrong’s America Vol. 2
is a progressive musical examination of the musical eras through which Armstrong lived. Featuring Matt Shipp, Ursula Oppens, Andy Stein, Marc Ribot, Aaron Johnson, Lewis Porter, Kresten Osgood, Ray Anderson
Letter to Esperanza
is a collection of Allen Lowe’s critical writings over the last ten years, on race, jazz, the blues, rock and roll, cultural equity, cultural appropriation, Maine, anti-Semitism, and white and black country music.
If I Don’t Live Forever It’s Your Fault
Compiled and edited by Fredda Gordon, this book begins in 2019 and ends in 2021, spanning COVID lockdown, an important election year, and the appearance of cancer in Lowe’s life. Because of the social media algorithms, not every post is always visible so some may be missing. Fredda cut much of the music writing since that can be found in Lowe’s book, Letter to Esperanza. All photos are courtesy of Allen Lowe and this book has been published with his permission.
