Attila Zoller, Lee Konitz, Albert Mangelsdorff - Zo-Ko-Ma (1968)

On Zo-Ko-Ma, three absolute monoliths and defining structural visionaries of global jazz history—Hungarian guitar pioneer Attila Zoller, American cool jazz alto saxophone legend Lee Konitz, and German trombone master Albert Mangelsdorff—converge in the studio to deliver a towering, historically explosive, and masterfully synchronized collaborative document. Recorded in March 1968 at the mythical MPS Studio in Villingen, Black Forest, this foundational milestone stands as a monumental peak in the development of transatlantic avant-garde improvisation. Spanning over 45 minutes of immaculate high-fidelity spatial design, the 9-track landscape operates with an intense, mercurial, and beautifully balanced kinetic energy. Supported by the elite rhythm tandem of bassist Barre Phillips and drummer Stu Martin, the group constructs a radical bridge between intricate modal cool jazz and completely uninhibited abstraction—firing off magnificent tracking highlights like the thorny, hard-driving full-quintet opener Zores Mores, the playful geometric trio dialogue of Feeling-in and Filing-in in Villingen, and the deep, brassy counterpoint of the duo piece Freeline Fräulein. Driven by Zoller's sharp chordal innovations, Konitz's fluidly analytical horn lines, and Mangelsdorff's multiphonic trombone velocity, this pristine archive remains an indispensable masterpiece for serious free jazz purists and creative music collectors worldwide.