Black Fire Nos. 1-3 [complete run]

Washington, D.C. Black Fire Distributors, [1973] - 1975. Three issues. Saddle-stapled in illustrated wraps. Offset. 12pp; 24pp; 36pp. Nos 1 and 3: 8 ⅝ x 11 in; No. 2: 8 ⅜ x 11 in. All very good to near fine. Item #6760

A full run of the New Music catalog founded by Jimmy Gray in collaboration with Strata-East Records, featuring lists of records released by Black-owned independent labels including Strata-East, Tribe, and Black Jazz, among others. Notably, every label featured in the magazine presented their address for contact, in an effort to facilitate connections within the community.

The three issues feature many exceptional photographs of famous bands and musicians, including Miles Davis, Rashied Ali, and Oneness of JuJu. Upon initial publication, saxophonist James “Plunky” Branch didn’t know his label, Strata-East Records, was involved with the publication. He was furious over being included without his knowledge, and nearly started legal action before the label clarified their involvement. In an interview with Downbeat, Branch recalls a phone call from a representative: “No, that’s Jimmy from D.C.! He is promoting for us there.” Shortly after that, Gray and Branch became close-friends and formed Black Fire Records, a label that grew out of the jazz, funk and R&B scenes in D.C. and Virginia, influenced by their Afrocentric left-wing politics and spirituality.

The second issue, subtitled “Coltrane Lives,” is heavily illustrated with photographs of the famous musician in an homage published six years after his death. These pictures are intermittently placed alongside the records in the catalog, positing an aesthetic indebtedness and lineage within the New Music. The third issue features essays, interviews, and poems alongside striking photography, featuring writing from Andrew Cyrille about his collaboration with Milford Graves on Dialogue of the Drums, essays on Eric Dolphy, the New York Jazz Repertory Company, the National Jazz Archive, Clifford Thorton’s Communications Network, all alongside lush photography of musicians such as Charles Mingus.

“Yet so many people are standing still waiting for: ‘that lucky break or one big win,’ ‘the SBA loan,’ ‘the right time,’ or . . . . Add your own excuse and call it your ‘reason’ or read this magazine and find many small organizations surviving through unity of purpose. Black Fire Distributors is but one of the many.”.

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