Jazz & Improvisation / All styles

"The music in this album is a result of our belief in a continuum that links the present with the past. Our spontaneous improvisations are true to those well defined principles basic to African American culture. Thank you for listening." - Max Roach / Anthony Braxton. This recording was the first to document their collaboration. All of the tracks are improvisations and it appears that the younger Braxton was the one taking the lead. If he keeps himself a bit restrained, steering clear of the ext…

Raw and angular as they sound, these nine pieces are utterly compelling. Without supporting bass and drums, Monk draws on his early influences to lay down left-hand rhythm patterns, including a kind of off-centre boogie-woogie. But it’s the authority and completeness of each performance that is so impressive, not to mention the considerable technique involved. An excellent booklet provides the background

At long last, after remaining out of print for decades, the Milan based imprint, Dialogo, dives into the legendary catalog of Cramps, bringing forth the first ever vinyl reissue of Steve Lacy’s LP, "Straws", issued as the sixth instalment of the label’s DIVerso series in 1977. Truly singular in the legendary American saxophonist’s discography - featuring stunning solo excursions and dialogs with himself - it remains one of the great documents of 1970s improvisation, and is as engrossing, creativ…

* 45th Timeless Records anniversary edition of 1000 individually numbered copies* To celebrate the legacy of Wim Wigt’s Timeless Records, Music On Vinyl is releasing a 45th anniversary jazz series. The series features albums that are part of the Timeless Records legacy and will be released throughout 2021/2022. To kick off this series, Pharoah Sanders’ Africa is released on the 19th of November 2021.Pharoah Sanders possesses one of the most distinctive tenor saxophone sounds in jazz, which has e…

"It's almost a given that any new release on the Lithuanian No Business label is going to be a bit out of the ordinary. As the catalogue grows, so does its depth and breadth. Turbina Anthem vouchsafes that proposition, comprising an unusual guitar and trumpet duet by two Portuguese improvisers who deserve a wider audience. Trumpeter Sei Miguel boasts a discography stretching back to 1998 in the company of compatriots, but in recent years has made a number of appearances with American free guitar…

“The debut record of Luft (the duo comprised of Mats Gustafsson and Erwan Keravec) - is a two volume album of exceptional explorations within the bagpipe and reed universe ——unknown music of poetic beauty and high energy cascades. Fast moving changes in texture and layers vs static repetitions and alternatives densities and melody treatments! Vol 1 - is focusing on the interaction between the two persons/ instruments - with a huge variety in extended techniques and various ways of treating the i…

What would it sound like if Miles Davis and Radiohead had a baby? Released February 5, 2010.  Greg Spero - keyboards Corey Wilkes - trumpet Makaya McCraven - drums Junius Paul - bass uartet – Radio Over Miles

Grill by Gbubemi Amas is as smooth as the red cardigan artfully slung around his shoulders on the cover. Whether he is running through the scales on a cover version of ‘Fire and Rain’, or trying on his calypso highlife moves on ‘Ereyon’, you know Amas is a man with a smooth line for every occasion. He is also a man with impeccable enunciation. Listen to ‘Slow Down’. It features one of the most cultured sound checks you will ever hear in your life – “Willy, keep the bass a little bit tighter”. Th…

Aurora present a reissue of Manu Dibango's Africadelic, originally released in 1972. The strange and majestic musical beast that is Africadelic was Dibango's follow-up to Soul Makossa (1972), but it was initially released on Louis Delacour's library music label, Mondiaphone, before Soul Makossa became an international phenomenon. As a Mondiaphone release, it was aimed at television and film producers seeking atmospheric background music, so the original titles are simply "Theme No 1," "Theme No …

This project was inspired by « La pensée sauvage » de Claude Levi-Strauss. « On the 29th of September, a concert took place at the Manufacture Atlantique in Bordeaux with a piece I designed for the ensemble « UN » with Benjamin Bondonneau’s artistic collaboration. Earlier, 24 solos that were induced as an independant series of events in various places in Bordeaux at different times of the day, chosen by the musicians and programmed from June to August 2017. Successive events gave birth to in sit…

Three young musicians team up to form this exciting trio. Personnel: Mette Rasmussen - alto saxophone; Tashi Dorji - guitar; Tyler Damon - drums.

With mystery and drama the duo of clarinetist Sylvain Kassap and double bassist Benjamin Duboc start their performance with whisperings, Kassap's expanded range and vocabulary on the clarinet evocative against Duboc's strong bowing and plucking, as they both take their listeners across a tightrope of carefully balanced, masterfully evolving free conversation.

Recorded in October 1997.

As in Benjamin Jephta words: ss musicians coming from different training institutions, we are taught a variety of concepts and are exposed to various styles and genres of music. We are taught what is ‘hip’ and what is not. I assimilated what was trendy and emulated the people I looked up to. In the processes, I lost track of the real spirit of my music. The reason I play music, the essence of what first inspired me to compose a melody. It’s that spirit I wanted to capture by calling this album ‘…

"Never Let Me Go" is the follow up to Tammy McCann's Katalyst debut "Classic." Produced by the legendary Henry Johnson, who has worked with Nancy Wilson and Joe Williams, among others, this is a vocal masterpiece that explores new approaches to standards while remaining traditionally creative with new material and songs that were not really considered jazz until now. With a selection of powerhouse musicians in Chicago (Ari Brown, Harrison Bankhead, Ernie Adams, Mike Logan, and Henry Johnson hims…

Alika Rising is a precious, 1989 recording from what may not necessarily be the “best” version of Kahil El’Zabar’s Ritual Trio, if such a thing could be said to exist. This is, after all, art. Yet, this may be the most iconic, or at least formative version. Kahil, with Ari Brown and the late, great Malachi Favors. Over 50 minutes, for three extended improvisations in which the artists with deep understandings of each other reached for that moment. That transcendent moment in which all three find…

Avery, currently head of Jazz Studies at the California State University Dominguez Hills, has played with everyone from Art Farmer, Hank Jones, Roy Ayers and Roy Hargrove to Lauryn Hill and Amy Winehouse.  Post Modern Trap Music is a collaboration with drummer Marvin "Bugalu" Smith (Sun Ra, Archie Shepp, Chet Baker) in the spirit of duo albums of the 1960’s and 70’s such as John Coltrane’s Interstellar Space and Frank Lowe & Rashied Ali’s Duo Exchange

This is a recording of a live February 2006 performance by the Chicago-based Ethnic Heritage Ensemble (EHE). To say that this band, who through 35 years has had many incarnations, is tied to anything earthly is a misstatement, however. Ever since Kahil El'Zabar returned to Chicago from Ghana and formed the band whose intention was to combine African American music with traditional African music, the EHE has sought to transcend walls that would box music in. Joining the multi-percussionist, vocal…

** CD digipack ** We Release Jazz is ecstatic to announce the official reissue of Hiroshi Suzuki’s glorious jazz-fusion-funk Holy Grail Cat (originally released in 1976), sourced from the original masters and available on limited edition 180 gram vinyl mastered at half speed for full audiophile sound, as well as on digipack CD. Both versions come with liner notes by Teruo Isono. Cat was recorded in October 1975 at at Nippon Columbia Studio, while Hiroshi Suzuki was visiting his home country of J…

From March 8th-14th, 2020, Kuzu was on a seven-concert tour of the United States in the South and Midwest. During that week it became apparent in this country that the world was on the brink of a crisis unknown to humanity for almost exactly a century. In those seven days, the feeling on the street changed from one of anxiety to one of impending doom. By the time the band arrived at Elastic Arts on Thursday, March 12th, their home base in Chicago, it was clear that these would be the last concer…

Super Tip! * Originally recorded in 1983. A never before released Studio album featuring Horace Tapscott with flautist Aubrey Hart and saxophonist Kafi Roberts. Direct From the 1/4” Master Tapes (All Analog Cut), Tip-On Sleeve Insert with Liner Notes by Mark Weber *

Super Tip! * First official and the absolute definitive version of the album. Originally recorded in 1986, featuring Nate Morgan and Horace Tapscott. Finally on LP as originally intended: straight from the 1/2” Master Tapes (All Analog Cut). With Unseen Photos from the recording session Tip-On Sleeve. Insert with Liner Notes by Mark Weber *

After two years of preparation, we are thrilled to announce the reissue of the most precious hidden gems of Soul Jazz / Spoken Word albums from a key era. Originally released in 1974 as a private pressing of fewer that 100 copies, Touching Your Feelings by Jim Marks is a crucial missing piece of the proto-rap era lying firmly between Gil Scott Heron and Amiri Baraka, with whom he made a strong friendship. Jym Marks' mix of deep, expressive poetry and solid jazz sits on the edge of works by The L…

* Pressed as a heavy weight single 70g with a picture sleeve. Edition of 750 * Angels and Demons at Play featuring Marshall Allen. Tracks include "Angels and Demons at Play" recorded in 1960, "Between Two Worlds" recorded in 1960. "Spontaneous Simplicity" recorded in 1966. Pressed as a heavy weight single 70g with a picture sleeve. The album Angels And Demons At Play was compiled from two different sessions, recorded four years apart (1956 and 1960), that reflect Sun Ra's evolution from hard Chi…

A grand reunion of sorts in Berlin on the first day of November, 1996. Under the auspices of Free Music Production, Cecil Taylor, the great pianist and one of the premier musical minds of the 20th century, joined forces with his early comrade, drummer Sunny Murray, for a set of improvised duets. Murray was part of Taylor's important groups starting in 1959, including the trio with alto saxophonist Jimmy Lyons, with which Taylor toured Europe in 1962 and 1963, recording the seminal Nefertiti, the…

Danish pianist Tom Prehn was one of the first Europeans to deeply explore free music. With his quartet featuring Fritz Krogh on tenor saxophone, Poul Ehlers on bass, and Finn Slumstrup on drums, Prehn recorded Axiom in October, 1963, for Sonet, though it went unreleased until 2015 because the band felt that their music had moved beyond it already. To hear the music they were talking about, one could only turn to two privately-made reel-to-reel tapes, Centrifuga and Sohlverv, recorded in August, …

Temporary Super Offer! Don Cherry cornet, Gato Barbieri tenors saxophone, Pharoah Sanders, tenor saxophone  & piccolo, Karl Berger vibes & piano, Henry Grimes & J.-F. Jenny-Clark double bass, Edward Blackwell drums. Following a 1964 Albert Ayler tour, trumpeter Don Cherry remained in Europe, working on new concepts of improvising based on form itself, developing his concepts with saxophonist Gato Barbieri, vibraphonist Karl Berger & bassist J.F. Jenny Clark, composing two brilliant albums: 1966'…

This date by the Globe Unity Orchestra featured pianist Alexander Von Schlippenbach, guitarist Derek Bailey, drummers Paul Lovens and Han Bennink, saxophonists Peter Brötzmann, Evan Parker, Rüdiger Carl, Gerd Dudek, and Michel Piz, bassist Peter Kowald, trumpeters Kenny Wheeler and Manfred Schoof , and trombonists Paul Rutherford and Günter Christmann -- a completely gone lineup at the height of Euro free jazz in 1974. To add to the drama, the band is joined by the Choir of the NDR Broadcast und…

**First time Officially reissue. Sourced from the original master tapes and housed in a deluxe gatefold cover. Edition of 500 copies** The Milan based imprint, Dialogo, returns with the first ever vinyl reissue of Spirale’s lone, 1974 self-titled LP. Resting at a fascinating juncture between progressive and free jazz, it was years ahead of its time when it first appeared, rendering it to the shadows for decades, before its ultimate ascent to becoming one of the great holy grails of Italian Jazz …

This is the first ever reissue of the lost debut LP by Jamaican tenor saxophone player Fitz Gore and his experimental group The Talismen from 1975. The work was originally released on Gore’s GorBra label and delivers an introspective, sensitive form of Spiritual Jazz. "Soundnitia" is the cipher under which the experimental group "The Talismen" constituted in 1974 and made its presence known on the Jazz scene with the first LP. The initiator and spiritus rector of the avant-garde ensemble is the …

** First pressing of 200 **  Astral Spirits presents Traantjes by Orquesta del Tiempo Perdido. All music composed and produced by Jeroen Kimman. Mixed and mastered by Sandor Caron at Poesco Studio. Initial rhythm section recording on March 10 2020 at Studio De Zoete Inval by Jasper Schonewille. Editing and additional recording at Nananananineteen Studios. Further additional recording all over the place, corona-proof, emailed. Thank you Marksk, Nate, Sambo, Sjeng, Oona, LoÏe, Hilly. With support …

Complete rendition of the saxophonist’s famed divinely inspired suite was recorded at Seattle’s Penthouse in 1965. Despite being John Coltrane’s most celebrated album, and one of the most beloved jazz albums of all time, A Love Supreme wasn’t a record that the saxophonist touched on much in the live setting. Up until now, most Coltrane enthusiasts have only ever heard a single live performance of the literally divinely inspired four-movement suite that makes up the LP. That will change in Octobe…

* CD packaged in 'mini-LP' gatefold sleeve with insert and sleeve notes by Graham Collier biographer Duncan Heining * To commemorate the 10th year since the passing of esteemed British jazz composer, bassist and bandleader Graham Collier, My Only Desire Records presents this 1975 recording of his previously unreleased suite 'British Conversations'.The recording features lead soloists trumpeter Harry Beckett and guitarist Ed Speight, alongside The Swedish Radio Jazz Group - made up of the hottest…

* CD packaged in 'mini-LP' gatefold sleeve with folded insert and additional photos * The debut performance of esteemed pianist/composer Mike Westbrook's cult 70s jazz masterpiece 'Citadel/Room 315', recorded live in 1974. Featured soloists throughout the album are the iconic ECM recording artist John Surman plus a crack team of top Scandi jazzers. Remastered by Caspar @ Gearbox Records from the original master tapes, 'Love and Understanding' is available on limited edition 2LP gatefold vinyl (5…

Music by four strong individual players with room for eruptive solo-parts, but always held together by intense communication and beautiful interwoven melodies. The quartet's second album A History Of Nothing  got a huge number of excited reviews: "A superb quartet outing. The music is all improvised, but it's firmly rooted in jazz, with superb interaction between all of the players, both on ripping, high-velocity blowouts and more delicate forays." --Peter Margasak (Chicago Reader) "Freedom is c…

Music by four strong individual players with room for eruptive solo-parts, but always held together by intense communication and beautiful interwoven melodies. The quartet's second album A History Of Nothing (TROST 170CD/LP) got a huge number of excited reviews: "A superb quartet outing. The music is all improvised, but it's firmly rooted in jazz, with superb interaction between all of the players, both on ripping, high-velocity blowouts and more delicate forays." --Peter Margasak (Chicago Reade…

*  CD version includes one additional track * Extended instrumental tracks from the nocturnal studio session of director and musician Jim Jarmusch, Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo, Balázs Pándi (Keiji Haino, Venetian Snares, Merzbow) and producer Marc Urselli (John Zorn, Mike Patton, Laurie Anderson, a.o). All was recorded live and analog, and in the moment. Mixed, mastered, recorded and produced by Marc Urselli at EastSide Sound Studios, NYC, 2019. Artwork by Italian artist Sara D'Uva. Press quotes f…

A grand meeting of three luminaries in the fields of improvisation, avantgarde and experimental music -- live recorded by the national Czech radio station, as part of the festival VS. Interpretation 2014 in Prague. Personal notes from Joëlle Léandre and liner notes by Tracy McMullen, 2021. Mastering: Martin Siewert. Artwork: Lasse Marhaug. Personnel: Pauline Oliveros - el. accordion; Joëlle Léandre - contrabass, voice; George Lewis - trombone, laptop electronics.

* 350 copies *  Introducing a brand new label of mutant, fusioneering styles from Edinburgh's Firecracker Recordings.  The maiden voyage by Healing Force Project traverses further into the wormhole first explored in his Gravitational Lensing EP on Firecracker.  A full panoply of bubbling, semi-submerged, electro-acoustic abstraction, lysergic drones and oblique, polymetric time signatures recalling the work of Italian avant-jazz outfit Gruppo d’Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza while simultaneous…