Jazz & Improvisation / All styles

"The album Tete’s Big Sound emerged during a golden age for local South African jazz recordings in the 1970s. Issued by the independent As-Shams/The Sun label in 1976, it was the first album attributed to pianist Tete Mbambisa as a solo artist. Yet, Mbambisa was already a seasoned composer, arranger, bandleader and performer by the mid-1970s - an artist at the peak of his powers who had patiently cultivated his craft to create his enduring debut. Born in 1942 and raised in South Africa's Eastern…

Raposa Velha was a notable Bahian jazz group, which was part of the wave of great musicians and bands from Bahia during the 1980s, such as Sexteto do Beco, Saul Barbosa and Andréa Daltro. Thus, Raposa Velha released only this album, independently in 1981. Outlined between jazz-fusion and avant-garde jazz, this LP has become a very obscure piece within the Brazilian jazz universe.

"There is an expression that string players use: the wolf tone. It refers to a floating sound, an unpleasant vibratory acoustic phenomenon, which occurs when the instrument emits a sound like the cry of a wolf when the bow is drawn across a string. This illustrative metaphor arises from the instrument’s physical properties, due to which it will never be a docile sheep: from time to time its “wolven genes” show through. Owing to its shape, the double bass is like a large wild beast, particularly …

Gábor Szabó was one of the most original guitarists to emerge in the 1960s, mixing his Hungarian folk music heritage with a deep love of jazz and crafting a distinctive, largely self-taught sound. This evocative 1967 set for Impulse! features nine live tracks recorded at Boston's Jazz Workshop, capturing Szabó and his finest working group at their peak.

Previously only issued in fragmented form and long out of print, these recordings catch Tubby Hayes in transition. Less than a month after they were taped just before Christmas 1969, he was to collapse on a gig, signaling the beginning of the final phase of his tragically foreshortened career. But on this night, buoyed and stimulated by his regular working quartet of pianist Mike Pyne, bassist Ron Mathewson and drummer Spike Wells, Hayes wasn’t only on form he was on fire! Indeed, coming so clos…

These three brand new recordings made between 2020-21 were all written specifically for bassist Chris Laurence by his close friend and long-time colleague, the late great jazz trumpeter and composer Kenny Wheeler. Of the three, Piece for Double Bass and Low Strings and Baroque Piece have never previously been recorded in any form. C-Man first appeared in this form on Kenny’s album ‘Kayak’ but was also rearranged and retitled as Ma Belle Hélène for his album ‘The Widow In The Window’. Whilst Kenn…

the first authorized release by permission of the Estate of Albert Ayler of the two concerts played at La Cave, Cleveland on April 16 & 17, 1966. Remastered for best possible sound of these under difficult technical circumstances recorded performances.

Despite the Covid-19 outbreak disrupting promotional and concert plans of the band Błoto, the three pressings of the debut album ‘Erozje’ have quickly sold out. Instead of leaving fans with old (recorded in 2018) material, the quartet decided to build the momentum and release the second album in 2020, entitled ‘Kwiatostan’ (‘Inflorescence’).

Joe McPhee’s response to the challenge of making a new CD of solo music during Covid was to go at it head on, to address the present in its starkest aspects, to reach for comfort in the music of great composers, and to speak directly to the virus in no uncertain terms.  The result is unlike any other of McPhee’s many records, a variety show of improvisations, favorite compositions, field recording, multi-tracking, incantation and recitation.  After searching for the right studio-like setting wit…

With his riveting performance in the inaugural Sequesterfest online festival in April 2020, Ken Vandermark inspired the Black Cross Solo Sessions.  Already in the early days of lockdown, making good on the promise – or threat – of protracted off-road time, Vandermark had dedicated himself to the creation of a new book of works for solo reed instruments, which he debuted that day.  The result of this watershed moment for the Chicago-based improvisor and composer was a body of works that reassert …

Extremely personal and passionate, cellist Okkyung Lee recorded this album after separation from her instrument for months; the 9 pieces are layered with strings, instrument sounds, voice and with profound timing, creating an intensely beautiful album reflecting the anguish and loss of the time.

Great saxophonist, improviser Ivo Perelman celebrates its 60th birthday this year. Brass & Ivory tales - 9 CDs box-set is a gift for this phenomenal musician, great human being, and marvelous artist. Nine studio sessions with nine top and most creative pianists like Dave Burrell, Marilyn Crispell, Aruan Ortiz, Sylvie Courvoisier, Angelica Sanchez, Aaron Parks, Agusti Fernandez, Craig Taborn, and Vijay Iyer in a beautiful box with liner notes from Grammy Award Winner writer Neil Tesser

Fundacja Sluchaj! presents a new recording by Gerard Lebik (tenor sax), John Edwards (doubke bass) and Paul Lovens (Drums), performed live on 23 of April 2015 at Lublin Jazz Festival "They are sameïliar which means each one resembles the one before as well as the consecutive one as if they were the same. Perhaps they were all the same in a utopian past, or there was even only one of them – which must have been, then, identical. The sameïliarity they show holds that the same is always different. …

"Renaissance is back, this time with a double CD on Maciek Karlowski's Fundacja Sluchaj!. This clearly, the trio's masterpiece: rick, diverse, amazingly deep, emotional, expressive and simply beautiful like hell. Disc 1, "Gesualdo", contains Anna Gadt's arrangements, deconstructions and her own original music obviously related to ancient, renaissance music. With one exception: "Monumentum" de-constructs already a de-construction of ancient music by Igor Stravinski of the same title. Everything i…

Ming Bau Set is a collective of three improvisers who began meeting regularly in 2018 to deeply explore improvisation and song form. Over the next three years this process yielded a shared language and vision of music realization that led to their first publication, Yakut's Gallop. They utilized both acoustic and electronic resources to carve a personal sound as well as a sense of place with their inventions. The trio, as it has matured, is notable for its cross generational constitution. Gerry …

Fundacja Sluchaj! presents a new thrilling recording by Susana Santos Silva (trumpet), Yedo Gibson (tenor sax & soprano sax) and Vasco Trilla (Drums), performed live at the 24th Jazz Cerkno, 18th May 2018.

Full-length, legendary Cecil Taylor Orchestra concert from Jazz Jamboree 1984 feat. greatest names on American and European free jazz scene.

** Purple Vinyl ** Recorded in New York in 1979 and released that year on Sun Ra's Saturn label, this is a solid, overlooked set in the vast Ra canon. The tracks aren't so much compositions as excursions, pure jazz, lots of reflective piano in trio, quartet, and sextet settings. Features cover art interpreted from a favorite Arkestra hand drawn cover, and liner notes from Irwin Chusid.

** LP version. 180 gram vinyl. Heavy sleeve and obi ** We Release Jazz announce the official reissue of Ryo Fukui's only solo piano album, recorded live, June 4-5, 1994 at The Lutheran Hall in Sapporo. Originally released on CD only by Sapporo Jazz Create in 1994, My Favorite Tune is a beautiful bop adventure which includes two superb compositions that Ryo Fukui wrote as an homage to his beloved Hokkaido region, the fan-favorite "Nord" and "Voyage", a tribute to his mentor Barry Harris ("Nobody'…

Photographs by Roberto Masotti, Lelli e Masotti  Forewords by Joan La Barbara, Franco Masotti, Veniero Rizzardi . The book "John Cage, in a landscape" is based on a rich photographic material taken to the American composer and theorist between 1977 and 1991, mainly by Roberto Masotti and in the remaining part by Lelli and Masotti, both during events that took place in Italy and abroad, like in his New York house.   To John Cage correspond such a multiplicity of aspects that it is even difficult …

Carried by a blast of pure joy comes Black Sweat’s latest LP, the self-titled debut by the mysterious Milan based ensemble Fusione. Channeling free and spiritual jazz, funk, and a globally minded ear, all carried by heavy dose of druggy psychedelic experimentalism, it’s one of the most exciting sonic journeys that we’ve taken all year.

** 300 copies on orange vinyl, inside a heavyweight reverse-board sleeve, flooded pocket, in hand stamped inner-sleeve. with insert ** Jeanne Lee (1939-2000) was an African-American vocalist, poet, composer, improvisor, activist and educator. In her 40 year career she performed with Archie Shep, Marion Brown, Gunter Hampel, Frank Lowe, William Parker, Andrew Cyrille, Anthony Braxton, Ran Blake, Billy Bang, Cecil Taylor, John Cage, Rashsaan Roland Kirk, Pauline Oliveros, Reggie Workman, and many …

Yong Yandsen is a musician from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He is member SiCKL (formerly the  EMACM), a collective promoting avant-garde and experimental music and expressions in Malaysia. Some may know his name from the Shang compilation, released on Xing-Wu, with two other artists from Malaysia. Yandsen did compose a piece for guitar, which was his first intrument that he dropped in favor of  tenor saxophone some years ago. With his tenor you can hear him on various recordings from the band Klangm…

Al Doum and the Faryds continue their journey toward a New Direction. Now, they live in a futuristic Garden of Delights, inhabited by strange bright bubbles, golden wheels, water secrets and mysterious plants. From their home of Love & Nature, they set out to travel the Universe to forge a new Being together. Their typical blend of Spiritual-Jazz, Psychedelia and Afro-Latin Rock remains on the same wave, accentuating the collective rite of liberation and expansion of the spirit. There's certainl…

Roberto Laneri's works always convey a clear artistic certainty: a total composer with an eclectic cultural background. In this latest adventure it seems to propose a kind of weird and curious Exotica music; his Mediterranean ragas release glows and shadows, but the music plays more the plateaus of the Maghreb than the Indus Valley. Like a sorcerer piper, the sax shapes alchemy and hypnotic phrasing become: vague dances of camels, ecstatic progressions of an aboriginal vortex or a mystic arabesq…

Craftman Records presents Blue City by Isao Suzuki Quartet. Art Direction, Cover – Ben Nishizawa, Bass, Cello – Isao Suzuki, Drums – Tetsujiro Obara, Engineer [Recording], Mixed By – Yoshihiko Kannari, Executive-Producer – A. Fukutomi, K. Saga, Y. Uozu, Guitar – Kazumi Wanatabe, Liner Notes – Osamu Uchida, Teruo Isono, Photography By [Cover] – Isao Suzuki, Piano – Kunihiko Sugano, Producer – Takeshi Fujii.

Digipack CD edition. An unearthed treasure from the '70s Italian avant garde archives! A previously unreleased recording from the legendary Beat72 club in Rome in 1973, featuring a one-off Italian-American all-star ensemble with Roberto Laneri founding member of the experimental vocal group Prima Materia, maverick American composer Alvin Curran co-founder of Musica Elettronica Viva. Trombone specialist Giancarlo Schiaffini from the historical Gruppo di improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza. Cello vir…

Temporary Super Offer! New York is Now! and Love Call are rarely mentioned in surveys of Ornette Coleman’s music, and they are often glossed over when they are cited…. Even in commentary focusing on Coleman’s recordings for Blue Note between 1965 and ‘68, these albums tend to be overshadowed by the two volumes of At the “Golden Circle” Stockholm... However, these last sessions before Coleman’s departure for Impulse! are pivotal, influential albums that merit reassessment. – Bill Shoemaker"Alto s…

Temporary Super Offer! Despite persisting labeling of its music as avant-garde, The New York Contemporary Five played unthreatening contemporary jazz almost as often as it explored more daring materials. Two of Thelonious Monk’s loveliest melodies – “Monk’s Mood” and “Crepuscule with Nellie” – were embedded into their sets, aswell as three of Ornette Coleman’s more accessible, swinging vehicles, “O.C.,”“When Will the Blues Leave,” and “Emotions.” These pieces provided a perspectiveof contemporar…

To write these few lines, we spoke to saxophonist François Jeanneau, an old friend of Jacques Thollot who also played on several of his albums, including the “Watch Devil Go” which interests us here. He told us a story which, according to him, sums up the personality of Thollot. A noted studio had reserved three days for a Thollot recording session. The first morning was devoted to sound checks and putting some order in the score sheets which Jacques would hand out in a somewhat anarchic manner…

This special bundle includes the latest two Souffle Continu reissues from the Palm catalogue, namely the following:- Jacques Thollot "Watch Devil Go" (LP, 1975)- Jean-Charles Capon / Philippe Maté / Lawrence 'Butch' Morris / Serge Rahoerson "Untitled" (LP, 1977)Jacques Thollot "Watch Devil Go" (LP, 1975)* Deluxe reissue, with obi strip + 8 page booklet, 180g vinyl *To write these few lines, we spoke to saxophonist François Jeanneau, an old friend of Jacques Thollot who also played on several of…

Essential jazz album among the influences of the future-jazz quartet Sleep Walker by trombonist Hiroshi Suzuki. "Variation" is a joint project including the legendary jazz drummer Masahiko Togashi featurig pianist Yuji Ohno, saxophonist Jun Suzuki and trumpeter Tetsuo Fushimi. Masahiko Togashi was a major figure alongside Masahiko Sato, Masayuki Takayanagi and Yosuke Yamashita in the blooming of free jazz in Japan in the late sixties whose "Variation" is one of the iconic masterpiece.

This compilation comes as a perfect introduction to vintage Italian Jazz. A fine selection of some of the best Italian mainstream jazz masters of the sixties and seventies such as the young trumpet genius of Enrico Rava, or maverick film music composer Piero Umiliani, whose jazz influence is well known worldwide. Throughout this record you will bump into both famous and obscure swing / bop stylists of the likes of bass player, Giorgio Azzolini, trombonist Dino Piana, tenor saxophonist Gianni Bas…

* 2021 stock * It was in 1973, on the 14th of October, late in the afternoon; on a pretty Sunday under the Big Top in the heart of the “Parc de la Pépinière”, in Nancy; it was the “premiere”, the world first hearing, and it has so far remained the only one commissioned by composer and trumpet player lvan Jullien, for the first international Nancy Jazz Pulsations festival.In order to complete this work of composition and orchestration, Ivan asked the great Eddie Louiss on organ, and chose to do w…

* 2021 Stock *  The Super Biton has existed since the 60s, like Ségou, its orchestra, the Super Biton has always remained behind what was done in Bamako and in the big cities of Africa. The Ségou orchestra developed and incorporated amplified instruments that mingle with brass, in particular electric guitars, symbols of modernity at the time. It opens up to Cuban music, and congas and bongos complement the sound of the orchestra. The group drew a unique sound from it, a perfect balance between t…

* 2021 Stock * Amazing Afro-beat album from a Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s disciple. A sublime spiritual & political session recorded at Phonogram studio (Lagos, Nigeria) in 1979, on a 16 tracks.  After the critically acclaimed second album we're very proud to present the first and really hard to find vinyl reissue of Kingsley Bucknor. Also know as "King Bucknor" the famous Nigerian producer, arranger and singer delivered two brilliant, hypnotic and long traditional afro-beat tracks .All the ingredient…

Tip! " Individually numbered to 350 copies. Silk pressed artwork on reused sleeves, comes with insert in sealed bag with hype sticker “Latest album from Oiro Pena, one of the few contemporary bands that are in the forefront of the current Spiritual Jazz wave. Instrumentalist Pentti Oironen at the controls of his musical universe playing a variety of instruments but with guests appearances throughout the 5 tracks offered.  The album comes with a insert and digital download.

"Individually numbered to 250 copies. A3 artwork glued on reused sleeves, with dl code in sealed bag with hype sticker.“ First album from this Finnish jazz sextet collective, no limits is their slogan but categorize it as energetic free that branch out in modal/spiritual territory.Featuring two members from Oiro Pena. All music by Uusijazziklubi collective: Drums: Aleksi Tannhuala, vibes: Ilkka Uksila, bass: Markus Kankkonen, keys: Joona Hulmi, alto Sax/flutes: Johannes Sarjasto, soprano Sax/flu…

*  Specialist Japanese Edition Vinyl LP with Obi strip Mono * Never-issued work from Don Cherry – and a really key piece of the puzzle in the career of this legendary trumpeter! The recordings were done for Swedish Radio, with great fidelity – more than just live tracks captured in a club, and instead some really thoughtful material that marks an early pairing of Cherry's talents with the Swedish scene that he would soon call home! Don plays cornet, and the music is maybe a bit inside compared t…

* 50th anniversary edition of 1971's London Scene, pressed on limited edition white, red, blue splatter vinyl. Complete with a collector's gold OBI strip *Fela Kuti (1938-1997) was a Nigerian musician, producer, arranger, political radical and outlaw, and the originator of Afrobeat. A titanic musical and sociopolitical voice, Fela’s legacy spans decades and genres, touching on jazz, pop, funk, hip-hop, rock and beyond. After graduating from Trinity College of Music (now Trinity Laban Conservatoi…