Over the years the fantastic, genre-defying Norwegian label Rune Grammofon has published a few books mostly celebrating its own snazzy design aesthetic and rich history, but a gorgeous new volume by art historian Johannes Rød focuses more on the music and artifacts that have influenced label owner Rune Kristofferson, who penned one of the forwards for Free Jazz and Improvisation on Vinyl 1965-1985 (there’s a second one by notorious “discaholic” and reedist Mats Gustaffson). Rød delivers an important disclaimer: “This might not be a definitive overview for the hardcore know-it-all collectors, but more of a guide for the ‘normal’ collectors and for those looking to expand their musical horizon and take a dive into the wonderful world of free jazz, improvisation, and generally speaking jazz outside of the mainstream.” The book concludes with a conversation between Kristofferson and music writer (and former Wire editor) Rob Young in which the former says the starting point for this particular project was ESP-Disk, which he calls “the first ‘serious’ independent label with a mission to record what you could call free music.”
