REDEEM DOWNLOAD CODE

Enter the download code you received with your purchase to claim your downloads. Keep in mind many mobile devices don't have built in support for opening ZIP files; you may want to download on a computer.


LOGIN

Login with your existing account.

CREATE ACCOUNT

Create an account to purchase items.

Passwords must be at least 6 characters

Black Magic Man
LP $27.00

09/06/2024 857661008858 

SV 185 


“Black Magic Man is arguably the pivotal Joe McPhee release. It bridged the span between the regional and the international, bypassing the national altogether.

“Recorded in the same sessions that produced Nation Time, Black Magic Man consists of music not chosen for that LP. Like its much-feted sister, technically it falls under the domain of CjR, Craig Johnson’s herculean effort in support of McPhee. An erstwhile painter, Johnson became a self-taught audio engineer, acquiring equipment expressly to document McPhee’s music. In December 1970, five years after Johnson and McPhee had met, they recorded two days of activity —a concert followed by an additional day of recordings—at Vassar College where McPhee was teaching in the Black Studies department. About half of the material was used to make Nation Time. While they had planned to issue a follow-up, the money wasn’t there, so the tapes sat dormant.

“Fast-forward five years—Werner X. Uehlinger, a Swiss businessman who worked for Sandoz Pharmaceuticals, contacted Johnson while on a trip to the US, and over dinner with McPhee, they discussed putting out some of the unused tracks from the Nation Time sessions. With this casual encounter in 1975, Hat Hut Records was inaugurated. The new label’s maiden release was Black Magic Man, dubbed Hat Hut A, the first in what would become Hat Hut’s letter series. Along the way, the series would feature seven Joe McPhee records, including the first four in a row.” —John Corbett (excerpt from the liner notes)