Music from United States

Anthony Braxton, Milford Graves and William Parker are quite literally three of the most important virtuoso instrumentalists in new music, each a vivid conceptualist as well an influential composer/perf o rm e r. This intense improvisational outing features them at their best: excited, inspired and in complete communication. Recorded and mixed by musical alchemist Bill Laswell, sparks fly in this important and historic meeting of creative music masters.

Triple Point, featuring Pauline Oliveros, Doug Van Nort and Jonas Braasch, was an improvising trio with a core instrumentation of soprano saxophone, greis/electronics, and V-accordion. The name refers to the point of equilibrium on a phase plot, which acts as a metaphor for the group's improvisational dialogue. Triple Point's musical interaction was centered around an interplay between acoustics, physically-modeled acoustics (v-accordion), and electronics. Van Nort captured the sound of the othe…

An original member of the legendary Black Artists Group (St. Louis' counterpart to the AACM), and founder of the World Sax Quartet, Julius Hemphill was one of the most important composer/performers in creative music. His work is marked by a sharp, edgy melodicism steeped in the blues, contrapuntal complexity and a striking formal logic. One Atmosphere presents the full range of his compositional talents: a long, epic work for seven woodwinds (one of his greatest compositions, here receiving its …

Originally released in 1968 on Reprise Records, Release Of An Oath is the fourth studio album by The Electric Prunes and a radical departure from their earlier garage-psychedelic sound. The album was fully composed and arranged by David Axelrod, drawing inspiration from liturgical music and classical structures, most notably Johann Sebastian Bach’s Mass in F Minor. Although credited to The Electric Prunes, the record largely features session musicians under Axelrod’s direction, with only drummer…

Released in June 1966, Dirty Water stands as the definitive album by The Standells. Recorded during a two-day break from touring, the LP blends garage rock, attitude, and raw energy, powered by the iconic title track — a Top 10 hit and one of the band’s signature moments. A longtime cult favorite, it remains one of the strongest garage-rock statements of the 1960s.

Rio de Janeiro guitarist and composer Fabiano do Nascimento returns with new album Cavejaz.

Rex is a solo cello record written and recorded while I’ve been living in the former home of Rex Brasher, a self-taught painter who created over 1,200 watercolors of North American birds. Composed for acoustic and electric cello, the record reflects the solitude and intensity that shaped both Brasher’s vision and my own process. Rex is not a portrait, but an echo—of a person, a place, and a way of seeing the world. Thank you to Matthew, Munawar, Cynthia & the RBA for the place, support, and gene…

On Diana in the Autumn Wind, Gap Mangione turns late‑60s trio jazz into a Technicolor funk miniature: short, intricate charts, molten Rhodes, and a young Tony Levin/Steve Gadd rhythm engine that future hip‑hop would mine like sacred scripture.

Groggy, engrossing new work from Ulla under their newly minted U.e. tag, riffing to the sublime on a set of (mostly) acoustic reveries that tap into the kind of smokey vapours favoured by the likes of Vincent Gallo, Voice Actor, Jonnine. Oh aye, it’s a special one.

Originally released in 1962 on Candid Records, The Straight Horn of Steve Lacy finds a young Steve Lacy stepping forward with quiet confidence and a sound unlike anyone else at the time. Stripped of excess and focused on tone, space, and intent, these sessions reveal a musician already thinking beyond convention. The soprano sax cuts clean and direct, moving between sharp angles and lyrical calm, with a small group that listens as closely as it plays. Nothing here feels rushed or ornamental, jus…

The year 2026 marks the hundredth birthday of John Coltrane, whose groundbreaking artistry as a saxophonist, composer, and bandleader made him one of the most influential musical figures of the 20th century. To honor his immeasurable impact, Craft Recordings looks back on Coltrane’s early years as a bandleader with a carefully curated collection of original compositions and standards. Produced with the full support of the John Coltrane Estate, The Best of John Coltrane draws from the saxophonist…

Entering Elysium, the third collaborative release from ambient pioneer Steve Roach and multi-instrumentalist Serena Gabriel, blends deep analog synth textures with acoustic and archaic instruments to create a living, breathing sonic paradise. The album unfolds as a doorway into a visionary, liminal realm of tranquility and inspiration where flute, lyre, harmonium, and voice convene within vast atmospheric currents. Warm, contemplative, and deeply evocative, the music reveals a hidden garden of s…

On Oblivion Seekers, Ben Vida turns everyday speech into a glowing maze: neutral‑toned duets, drifting chamber textures and collaged overheard phrases dissolve meaning and sound into one long, entrancing mantra of language in motion.

More than just a collection of Love's most essential tracks, Love Singles features all the A and B sides of their Elektra singles released in the US between 1966 and 1970, capturing the full scope of the band's creative output during their golden age. Featuring classics such as My Little Red Book, 7 and 7 Is, and Alone Again Or, this compilation highlights their influence on the music scene of the 1960s. 7 and 7 Is became their most successful single on the charts, reaching number 33 on the Bill…

"Welcome to the mind-expanding 1968 jazz recording of Bill Plummer and The Cosmic Brotherhood -- where Eastern and psychedelic influences meld together to produce one of the trippiest jazz albums on Impulse Records. This LP is a much-sought-after sonic travelogue, with the pop-psych spoken-word sitar freakout of 'Journey To The East' to Bill Plummer's swinging, rapid fire/cool jazz compositions, to his covers that go straight to the heart of any '60s genre-crossing jazz fans. Featuring an incred…

Tim Buckley ranks among the most adventurous singer-songwriters, and 1969's Happy Sad shows his talent in full bloom. After two albums working with lyricist Larry Beckett, the Elektra collection is the first of all-Buckley originals, and these six songs reflect a growing fascination with jazz (opener "Strange Feelin'" was inspired by Miles Davis). Predominantly acoustic, the relaxed arrangements include some fine guitar work by Lee Underwood and vibraphone playing by David Friedman, but the most…

"We’re listening to Blue Train, which to me is one of the most beautiful pieces on one of the most beautiful records that Coltrane recorded in the fifties. It’s his first real mature statement and he wrote all but one of the tunes on this album which was very rare in the fifties and each one is a gem, particularly the title tune Blue Train. And while it’s kind of easy to play the blues, this has a suspended and haunting kind of quality to it." - Michael Cuscuna

2026 stock Doug Carn made four records for the Black Jazz label, more than any other artist, and each one topped the previous release's lofty standard. Adam's Apple was his last (1974) album for the label, representing the final note in his staggeringly creative crescendo. It was also the first record without Jean Carn, but Carn and crew (John Conner and Joyce Greene) don't miss a beat on the vocals. And the band is absolutely sick, featuring reedman Ronnie Laws and fellow Black Jazz recording a…

Modern and grounded in the 1960s hard-bop sensibility, the American pianist and composer Albert Dailey (1939 – 1984) had perfect control over his instrument. Since an early age he played with cutting-edge musicians of the likes of Art Blakey, Sarah Vaughan, Stan Getz, Charles Mingus, and Lee Konitz, only to name a few. But despite that, he was an underrated artist during his lifetime, receiving the deserved recognition only after his death. Renaissance 2 November 1977 is his second album, played…

Yuvi Havkin aka Rejoicer returns with an exceptional collaborative album, California Space Craft. On this aptly titled record, he joins forces with seasoned LA bass polymath Sam Wilkes — known for his inspired studio work with Sam Gendel and his dynamic live performances alongside Louis Cole and Knower — and drummer Tamir Barzilay, completing the LA-connected trifecta alongside a select handful of key featured guests. The idea for California Space Craft was born out of a series of inspired live …