Jacques Coursil - Black Suite

2026

A Jazz Landmark of the Black Diaspora Reborn

First released in 1971 as part of BYG Records' groundbreaking Actuel series, Jacques Coursil's Black Suite remains one of the boldest expressions of the Black Diaspora's creative and political awakening. Recorded in Paris on June 10, 1969, this visionary work now returns in a newly restored and remastered edition, revealing it's full depth and clarity for the first time in decades. Featuring a transatlantic ensemble - Jacques Coursil, Anthony Braxton, Arthur Jones, Burton Greene, Beb Guérin, and Claude Delcloo - Black Suite bridges the radical spirit of the American avant-garde and the intellectual fire of postcolonial Europe.

Across two long, meditative movements, Coursil transforms jazz into a language of liberation, evoking the writings of Frantz Fanon, Léopold Sédar Senghor, and Aimé Césaire as well as the fierce energy of the Civil Rights era. "Black Suite is a work of Black Excellence." - Kevin Le Gendre Born in Paris to Martiniquan parents, Coursil embodied the dialogue between African, Caribbean, and African-American identities, turning sound into philosophy and music into movement. With it's blend of intellect, emotion, and resistance, Black Suite stands alongside the seminal works of Pharoah Sanders, Eddie Gale, and Frank Lowe - timeless statements of self-definition and artistic freedom. Half a century later, Black Suite still speaks powerfully to our time: a sound of struggle and pride, of beauty and becoming - still unbroken.