Jazz & Improvisation / All styles

Recorded when Johnny Walker was touring Worldwide with Veteran Jazz Star Lionel Hampton in 1982 and originally released on his own Private Press label: Walk On Productions. This neglected underground classic LP has been off the radar since then except for the appearance of "Dipping" on the Kev Beadle ‎– Private Collection (Independent Jazz Sounds From The Seventies And Eighties) compilation on BBE Records. Almost unknown and unjustly negected, it's a funk drenched jazz journey with some crunchy …

*In process of stocking* The follow-up to 2018's underground jazz milestone from Los Angeles-based musicians Sam Gendel & Sam Wilkes. Music for Saxofone & Bass Guitar More Songs collects nine additional songs from the duo. Performed, recorded, mixed and produced by Sam Gendel + Sam Wilkesadditional bass by Daniel Aged

Gondwana Records sign LA bassist and composer Seth Ford-Young's Phi-Psonics project and announce a remastered deluxe-edition of The Cradle featuring bonus material.

'Both bassists had made regular appearances in Victo over the past two decades, but no one in the audience could have guessed that it would be Kowald's last. The German improviser died in New York City four months later. The French-Canadian radio was not recording this concert, but the mixing desk engineer kept a tape rolling, just in case, and negotiations toward the release of this performance were already in progress when fate struck. There is magic on this record, especially in the last minu…

Cecil Taylor, Bill Dixon and Tony Oxley in concert at Victoriaville on 19 May 2002: piano, trumpet and percussion in an intimate, often delicate trio set.

Evan Parker's trio with Alexander von Schlippenbach and Paul Lytton meets Peter Brötzmann's trio with William Parker and Hamid Drake, live at Victoriaville on 19 May 2003: two tenor saxophone giants face to face.

Four double bassists, Barre Phillips, Joëlle Léandre, William Parker and Tetsu Saitoh, live at Victoriaville on 23 May 2003 in memory of Peter Kowald: bowed and plucked basses and voices in a shared farewell.

Anthony Braxton and Fred Frith each have about as close a relationship to the Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville as just about any non-Canadians. The first release on Victo, the label run by the producers of the annual Canadian festival, was a guitar duo with Frith and Rene Lussier; the second was a duet between Braxton and Derek Bailey. Until this year, each had released three discs on the label. But 2005 was the Year of Braxton and the label has released three new Brax…

*50th Anniversary Remaster* Outstanding!! Matsuli Music presents soul, spirituality and avant-garde jazz from South African political exile Ndikho Xaba. Its rarity has until now served to obscure both its beauty and its historical significance. Making profound links between the struggle against apartheid and the Black Power movement in the USA Ndikho Xaba and the Natives is arguably the most complete and complex South African jazz LP recorded in the USA. It stands out as a critical document in t…

*In process of stocking* Spectacular mystical jazz infused psychedelics from Canary islands cult band GAF. Adopting a series of different addendums to their names (Love Supreme Arkestra, La Estrela de la Muerte, etc) to illustrate what mutation or influence they are feeding through at the time of recording, the Love Supreme Arkestra here being the more Coltrane-ish (Alice more than John) and Sun Ra-esque influenced the matic of the project. Over a series of 7 huge sounding themes, we can hear sa…

*2022 repress. 400 copies limited orange vinyl + insert* On Elephantine, his new album released exclusively on Sub Rosa as vinyl LP, Cairo-based Maurice Louca guides a 12-piece ensemble through a 38-minute masterwork that might best be described as panoramic. Elements of free improvisation, Sun Ra's cosmic jazz, gorgeous Arabic melody, trancelike African and Yemeni music and minimalism meet in his wholly unique compositional vision. Louca also makes vital contributions on guitar and piano, and i…

“We’re improvisers first and we’re bringing “moment music” into these other zones of hip hop and electronic music, drum-machine music, sound-system culture… Acoustic musicians sun-kissed by electro-magnetism, flowing out into everything. This is the shit that we want to be playing on big ass systems. Omnivorous, energy space time, mosh pit dance-music. Get it in the subwoofers so you can feel it hit, cuz the music has to begin in the body!” – jaimie branch jaimie branch and Jason Nazary are Ante…

Panamá 77 – a vibrant and verdant suite of multi-textural, jazz-laced psychedelic instrumental folk-funk – is the debut album by Panamá-born, Chicago-based drummer and DJ Daniel Villarreal.

The music on this album was created using only Electric Guitar * Using a single instrument - Electric Guitar - As A frame and the studio as the limit ie :The sound of ‘Harp’The layering of a single, guitar chord. The sound of ‘Trumpets’ & ‘Saxophone’Were designed and treated using fuzz / Wah Wah / Pitch Box / Delay & Mic Gate. The sound of ‘hi hat’ was designed through the scratching of two guitar strings repeatedlyetc. Thank you for listening Michael Grossman & Jai Morris-Smith Curious Music. *…

*2022 stock* "There is no doubt - Serpentes is the first serious candidate for the list of the best albums of 2019" — Spontaneous Music Tribune JJ Duerinckx, sopranino saxophoneJohn Russell, guitarMatthieu Safatly, cello

*2022 stock* “the music has kept me at the edge of my seat each time I’ve listened.” — The Free Jazz Collective "absorbing and vivid... guitar and piano in a beautiful collision... astonishing" — a Jazz Noise John Russell, guitarPaul G. Smyth, piano

*2022 stock* “exceptionally huge stylistic variety, marvellous and impressive instrumentation and evocative musical language ... remarkable, bright, intensive and original ... creatively made by two innovative and original improvisers.” — Avant Scena Rachel Musson, tenor saxophoneOlie Brice, double bass

"Originally planned for issue on Strata-East, Hammond took his collaboration with Durrah to Detroit and issued his masterpiece. Lacquered by Bernie Grundman. Now-Again presents the definitive Tribe Records reissues. Deep, spiritual jazz of the highest order. The Tribe label, one of the brightest lights of America's 1970s jazz underground, receives the Now-Again reissue treatment. This is your chance to indulge in the music and story of one of the most meaningful, local movements of the 20th Cent…

** 200 copies ** Oiro Pena moves out of the bedroom. I, like many others I’m sure, was very much blown away after hearing the first Oiro Pena 10” released by Ultraääni in 2019. From where did this Finnish flute phantasm appear? Part of the fun was the mystery of it all, the not quite grasping or understanding the music, or where it came from. The second 10” on Jazzaggression felt like a deeper dive into the Pena universe. With 2020’s Music from Moments on 2 Headed Deer we finally got the origin …

Recently rediscovered while digging through our vaults, this is the original 1984 vinyl edition of the album. It doesn't get any better than this! This is an album featuring octet led by the Milanese musician Giorgio Gaslini.

** Limited to 300 double vinyl copies, two inlays with photos and liner notes. Originally released in 1974 on Preiser Records** »It’s Up to You« is a free sound art and performance project by sound artist and singer Limpe Fuchs, sculptor and sound artist Paul Fuchs, and pianist and recorder player Friedrich Gulda, who formed the trio Anima at the time of the recordings in 1974. As musical guests they were able to enlist the trombonist Albert Mangelsdorff, the bassist Barre Phillips, the oud play…

*In process of stocking* We are beyond thrilled to present the latest from South African drummer / cultural worker / organizer Asher Gamedze.  I'm sure many of you are familiar with his incredible debut Dialectic Soul (On The Corner, 2020) or his work with Angel Bat Dawid and Tha Brothahood, and we're happy to unveil another side of Gamedze's work with out side work | two duets.  out side work | two duets is a very literal album as the album features Gamedze in a conversation of sorts, a recordi…

Lefto presents Jazz Cats volume 2, features a balance of known and obscure artists. From the thrilling frenetic grooves and innovative soundscapes of Bandler Ching and the electronic influenced Stellar Legions (Andrew Claes from (STUFF.), to the jazz fusion collective LũpḁGangGang and weaving musical odyssey that is M.Chuzi, ‘Lefto presents Jazz Cats volume 2’ is a melting pot of the best musical talent coming out one of the smallest countries in Europe. In addition, there’s the beautiful unease…

Temporary Super Offer! On Ezz-thetics: Eric Dolphy alto saxophone, bass clarinet, Don Ellis trumpet, David Baker trombone, George Russell piano, Steve Swallow double bass & Joe Hunt drums. On The Stratus Seekers: Paul Plummer tenor saxophone , John Peirce alto saxophone, Don Ellis trumpet, David Baker trombone, George Russell piano,  Steve Swallow double bass & Joe Hunt drums. The six albums that George Russell recorded in just two years – starting with Sextet at the Five Spot in September 1960 …

Temporary Super Offer! 'The studio side of Coltrane’s catalog has greater consistency in terms of caliber of aural presentation, but fewer occasions for extended improvisation and creation. This is particularly evident in an analysis of the recordings made of his Classic Quartet comprising pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison and drummer Elvin Jones. An ensemble that was a work in progress well before it was a finished cohort, Coltrane’s most fertile band was also best suited to the hot h…

*In process of stocking* Originally released in 1976, Ubok Aka Inua is the fifth album by legendary Nigerian saxophonist and band leader, Etubom Rex Williams. The album features Psychedelic Shoes and One Woman Is Enough Trouble, both heard on countless funk and soul compilations. The album was restored from the original tapes by Noah Mintz and artwork restored and recreated by Steve Lewin. "Etubom Rex Williams occupies the genuine space of legend of Nigerian Highlife. His incredible professional…

*In process of stocking* We Are Busy Bodies is proud to present a reissue of composer, guitarist, and later producer, Almon Memela’s ultra rare 1975 album, Funky Africa. From the original liner notes: 'Africa has always been many things to many people. To some, Africa is the Dark Continent, a mysterious, romantic and vast expanse of unexplored territory. To others, again, Africa is the ultimate symbol of man's triumph over his environment: a wakening giant destined to play a significant role in …

*In process of stocking* Second, and long out of print album by South Africa's Roots. Remastered from original audio tapes. Artwork completely restored by Steve Lewin.

Assembling unreleased recordings from 1979 and 1980, Shrimp Boats is a South African jazz archival compilation from 1987 built around its epic side-long title track featuring saxophonist Basil "Mannenberg" Coetzee. The recording was made during pianist Lionel Pillay's November 1979 session with Coetzee for the As-Shams/The Sun album Plum and Cherry. Side Two is composed of material recorded in September 1980 from the session for Lionel Pillay's Deeper in Black album. The 1951 pop standard "Shrim…

*In process of stocking* As a member of the all-star Jazz Epistles in the late 1950s, saxophonist Kippie Moeketsi (also spelled Moketsi during his tenure with the As-Shams record label in the 1970s) was one of the pioneering forces of modern South African jazz. While Jazz Epistles bandmates Hugh Masekela and Abdullah Ibrahim would go on to build their careers in the United States in the 1970s, it was at home in South Africa that Moeketsi would leave his mark on the domestic jazz discography. Fro…

We Are Busy Bodies announces the officially licensed reissue of the 1966 cosmic, free jazz album Zodiac by French saxophonist and composer Barney Wilen. The album’s astrological theme and Robert Crumb-esque comic-book style cover art, illustrated by the renowned cartoonist Siné, marks it as a European parallel to the burgeoning counter-cultural happenings of the same period in the USA. The reissue also offers tantalising glimpses of a projected animated tie-in film that never was. Wilen's friend…

On Playtime, Piero Umiliani spins jazz, bossa nova, lounge and funk into a kaleidoscopic library music suite, now restored by We Are Busy Bodies from the original 1968 Omicron tapes with all the playful, genre‑hopping invention that made him one of Italy's most prolific soundtrack architects.

*Official remastered reissue* We Are Busy Bodies presents Drive Live. A live performance by South African group The Drive, founded in 1971 by Adolphus "Bunny" Luthuli and Henry Sithole.

We Are Busy Bodies presents Drive Unlimited. A gem by South African group The Drive, founded in 1971 by Adolphus "Bunny" Luthuli and Henry Sithole. Remastered reissue by We Are Busy Bodies. Art restoration by Steve Lewin.

Definitely one of Nucleus' lesser known albums, Alleycat nonetheless maintains the exceptionally high standards that Ian Carr & Nucleus had set for themselves over the course of numerous albums before this one. It's true that there's little here which is a departure from any of their previous releases, but with a quality of of both songwriting and playing this high, who could blame them? Once again we have fast, intricate, melodic jazz-rock fusion, with moments of high energy interspersed with s…

Under The Sun is the follow-up to the astonishing Roots and contains yet more absolutely essential Nucleus material. Originally released on Vertigo in 1974, Under The Sun was never re-pressed and of course those original copies are now very tricky to score. Like all the Nucleus records, it’s aged ridiculously well and this re-issue, shows off just why this deserves to be back in press. The bleak, rain-dappled cover matches the melancholic vibe of the record and has been restored as the finishing…

Born in Queenstown in South Africa's Eastern Cape province in 1938, Patrick Vuyo Matshikiza was raised in a musical family. His uncle Todd Matshikiza was a jazz columnist for Drum Magazine in the 1950s and composed the music for King Kong - the all-black musical from 1958 that played in London's West End and launched the career of singer Mariam Makeba. Pat was educated at St. Mathews, an historic mission school in Keiskammahoek, where he played organ and graduated with a teacher's diploma. He mi…

The Jazz Epistles were the very first South African jazz group who broke away from the swinging and danceable jazz forms in vogue during the 1950s. A group formed by strong personalities like pianist Dollar Brand, later known as Abdulah Hibrahim, trumpeter Hugh Masekela, saxophonist Kippi Moeketzi, trombonist Jonas Gwangwa, bassist Johnny Getze and drummer Makaya Ntschoko. A bunch of jazz modernists who already in the late 1950s, under the influence of the American "Bop" attitude began to switch…

The fourth issue of We Jazz Magazine, "The Call" for Horace Tapscott. 128 pages 174 x 250 mm in size and printed on 140g Edixion paper with laminated 300g Invercote covers. All articles presented in English. Stories include Horace Tapscott by Andy Thomas, Ava Mendoza by Stuart Smith, Tigran Hamasyan by Rui Miguel Abreu, Istanbul Scene by Alper Kaliber, Isaiah Collier by Daniel Spicer, Bill Frisell by Debra Richards, DJ Old Crank by Matti Nives, Tokyo Jazz Joints Vol. 2 by Philip Arneill, reviews…

“Orbit of Sound” is the new release from composer/double bassist Max Johnson’s newest trio, with Anna Webber on tenor saxophone/flute, and Michael Sarin on drumset. Formed in 2018, the trio traverses tightly knit composed music and patient, sprawling improvised textures, highlighting all three individual voices as improvisers. The trio completed their inaugural tour of Europe in February & March, having to cancel their final concert and subsequent recording due to the pandemic, delaying the reco…