Air Mail is an album by the improvisational collective Air

Air (jazz group)

Air was a free jazz trio founded in 1971 by saxophone player Henry Threadgill, double bassist Fred Hopkins and drummer Steve McCall. They combined radical free improvisation with a strong sense of tune and equal emphasis on each instrument in the group....

 featuring Henry Threadgill

Henry Threadgill

Henry Threadgill is an American composer, saxophonist and flautist. Threadgill came to prominence in the 1970s leading ensembles with unusual instrumentation and often incorporating a range of non-jazz genres....

, Steve McCall

Steve McCall (drummer)

Steve McCall was an American jazz drummer.McCall was born in Chicago and began his career there in the 1950s. One of his early gigs was playing behind blues singer Lucky Carmichael. McCall befriended Muhal Richard Abrams in 1961, and went on to be one of the founders of the AACM in 1965...

, and Fred Hopkins

Fred Hopkins

Fred Hopkins was a Chicago double bassist who played a major role in the development of the avant-garde jazz movement. He was a member of the avant garde jazz trio Air and David Murray's Low Class Conspiracy; he frequently worked with the cellist Diedre Murray...

 recorded for the Italian Black Saint

Black Saint/Soul Note

Black Saint and Soul Note are two affiliated Italian jazz independent record labels. Since their conception in the 1970s, they have released albums from a variety of influential jazz musicians, particularly in the genre of free jazz.-History:...

 label. The album consists of three compositions dedicated to Bobbie Kingsley, Ronnie Boykins

Ronnie Boykins

Ronnie Boykins was a jazz bassist and is best known for his work with pianist/bandleader Sun Ra, although he had played with such disparate musicians as Muddy Waters, Johnny Griffin, and Jimmy Witherspoon prior to joining Sun Ra's Arkestra.-Biography:He joined the Arkestra during the Chicago...

, and Cecil Taylor

Cecil Taylor

Cecil Percival Taylor is an American pianist and poet. Classically trained, Taylor is generally acknowledged as one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an extremely energetic, physical approach, producing complex improvised sounds, frequently involving tone clusters and...

 & Jimmy Lyons

Jimmy Lyons

Jimmy Lyons was an alto saxophone player. He is best known for his long tenure in the Cecil Taylor Unit.-Biography:...

.

Reception

The Penguin Guide to Jazz

The Penguin Guide to Jazz

The Penguin Guide to Jazz is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on CD which are currently available in Europe or the United States...

selected this album as part of its suggested Core Collection.

The Allmusic review by Ron Wynn awarded the album 4 stars stating "The Chicago trio Air was at a high point on this 1980 date".

Track listing

1. "B. K." (Steve McCall) – 8:55
2. "R. B." (Fred Hopkins) – 8:19
3. "C. T., J. L." (Henry Threadgill) – 18:27
   • Recorded at Right Track Studio, New York City on December 28, 1980

Personnel

• Henry Threadgill
  Henry Threadgill
  Henry Threadgill is an American composer, saxophonist and flautist. Threadgill came to prominence in the 1970s leading ensembles with unusual instrumentation and often incorporating a range of non-jazz genres....
  
   – tenor saxophone
  Tenor saxophone
  The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
  
  , alto saxophone
  Alto saxophone
  The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
  
  , flute
  Flute
  The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
  
  , bass flute
  Bass flute
  The bass flute is the bass member of the flute family. It is in the key of C, pitched one octave below the concert flute. Because of the length of its tube , it is usually made with a "J" shaped head joint, which brings the embouchure hole within reach of the player...
  
  , hubkaphone
• Fred Hopkins
  Fred Hopkins
  Fred Hopkins was a Chicago double bassist who played a major role in the development of the avant-garde jazz movement. He was a member of the avant garde jazz trio Air and David Murray's Low Class Conspiracy; he frequently worked with the cellist Diedre Murray...
  
   – bass
  Double bass
  The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
  
  
• Steve McCall
  Steve McCall (drummer)
  Steve McCall was an American jazz drummer.McCall was born in Chicago and began his career there in the 1950s. One of his early gigs was playing behind blues singer Lucky Carmichael. McCall befriended Muhal Richard Abrams in 1961, and went on to be one of the founders of the AACM in 1965...
  
   – drums
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
  
  , bells
  Bell (instrument)
  A bell is a simple sound-making device. The bell is a percussion instrument and an idiophone. Its form is usually a hollow, cup-shaped object, which resonates upon being struck...