Jazz & Improvisation / All styles

This album, originally released in 1978, was re-mastered and repackaged in Digifile cardboard format. It includes the original full-color booklet.  "Shadowgraph and the duos with Douglas Ewart are characteristic of the free abstract jazz that emerged out of AACM's explorations in the '60s and early '70s. Listening to them, one is aware how little this music has been assimilated into the mainstream of either jazz or improvisation."

**CD Edition** A post-free masterwork, recorded in Milan in 1978. This is an extraordinary encounter between George Lewis's electronically modified trombone and the flute, alto sax and bass clarinet played by Douglas Ewart, a giant of impro jazz, often at Lewis's side. Both George Lewis and Douglas Ewart create arresting, complex music here, in ways that powerfully contrast and powerfully pull together. The two are prodigious musicians, their understanding is perfect and you can only admire the …

This is a reissue of a now out-of-print album from live trio date by the legendary LA-based pianist, composer and multi-bandleader, Horace Tapscott. Pianist Horace Tapscott is always at his best when he is leading a trio. Born in 1934 in Houston, Texas, Horace came from a musical family centered around his mother, Mary Malone Tapscott, who worked professionally as a singer and pianist. When Horace was nine, the family moved to Los Angeles. As a teenager in the late 1940's, Horace was surrounded …

Pianist Satoko Fujii and trumpeter Natsuka Tamura performing in the studio in Krakow, Poland, for a duo of sublime power and great dynamic, modern jazz with a wealth of influence and performed with technical prowess.

** Remastered. Housed in Gatefold Sleeve with 20 Page Booklet ** Deluxe reissue of Frank Foster's The Loud Minority LP for RSD. Released on Bob Shad's Mainstream Records in 1972, it's a landmark album and one of the key political works of the 70s. Featuring an all-star cast of superb musicians including Elvin Jones, Stanley Clarke, Airto, Cecil Bridgewater and Marvin 'Hannibal' Peterson, it is also Dee Dee Bridgewater's earliest full recordings. This special edition includes a 20-page booklet fe…

** LP version. 180 gram vinyl; Half speed mastered; Heavy sleeve and obi ** 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 Studi…

** Limited Edition* 140-gram "Shades of Night in Gold" color vinyl LP inside a reverse-board jacket (artwork by Damon Locks), with Eastside IARC obi strip, 17"x22" folded broadsheet insert (with liner notes, photos, and illustrations), and dome patterned inner-sleeve **  Damon Locks & Black Monument Ensemble’s new album "Now" was created in the final throes of Summer 2020, following months of pandemic-induced fear & isolation, the explosion of social unrest, struggle & violence in the streets, a…

LP version. "Every now and then I meet a bull who announces itself with its horns ('Le Corna'). But it doesn't scare me, it moves and dances, it runs away. Archery ('Tiro') is its favourite ('Rito') hobby, and my bull likes tea. It always eats round roti ('Chapati') together with its bull ('tori') friends who all have bristling hair like hedgehogs and succulent plants. My bull keeps different things in the vegetable gardens ('Orti') and in the wineskins ('Otri'). Then there is the tail ('la coda…

Remastered, Mono, 180 gram. Released in the late fifties, A Night In Tunisia is a Jazz milestone and prime example of Blakey's exceptional rhythmic prowess. This album is not all about drumming though; it leaves much space for great melodical interplay by fellow musicians Sam Dockery on piano, John Griffin and Ferris Benda on saxophone, Bill Hardman on trumpet and Jimmy De Brest on double bass. Art Blakey is one of the inventors of the modern bebop style of drumming. Known as a powerful musician…

Tony Scott (born Anthony Joseph Sciacca June 17, 1921 – March 28, 2007) was an American jazz clarinetist and arranger with an interest in folk music around the world. For most of his career he was held in high esteem in new-age music circles because of his involvement in music linked to Asian cultures and to meditation. Tony performed with many star as Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan and Harry Belafonte and before moving to Italy in the early ‘70’s he just cut two sought after masterpiece moving f…

** 2021 Stock ** Reissued by Fledg'ling in 2007, this is a classic title from 1971 by Chris McGregor's magnificent big band -- Brotherhood Of Breath. Arguably one of the most influential albums to emerge from the London jazz scene of the early 1970s, the Brotherhood of Breath was an exuberant big-band created by South African-born pianist and composer, Chris McGregor. In South Africa, McGregor had formed the racially mixed Blue Notes in the early 1960s. By 1964, finding it very difficult to work…

Long lost 1968 album from visionary South African jazz composer incorporating traditional African music sources and instruments. Officially licensed from the Nxumalo family and reissued with inner sleeve containing archival photographs and new liner notes by Francis Gooding. Gideon Nxumalo’s Gideon Plays might just be the most mythologised and sought-after LP in the whole South African canon. A sophisticated bop excursion with a distinctive African edge, it was only Nxumalo’s second LP as leader…

The first Wandering The Sound album in 2018 was the trio of Argentinian reedist Guillermo Gregorio, Spanish drummer Ramón López and Polish bassist Rafał Mazur, here extended to a quintet with pianist Satoko Fujii and trumpeter Natsuki Tamura for a 2019 concert at Alchemia in Poland, a masterful example of free improv based on a poem by Ikkyu Sojun, a Zen master from the 15th century.

Taking its album title and the titles for three compositions from poems by Laura Winter, the German jazz quartet led by clarinetist Theo Jörgensmann with Christopher Dell on vibes, Christian Ramond on double bass and Klaus Kugel on drums present an advanced example of modern creative, chamber-oriented collective free jazz with a stunning level of communication.

A really great trio set from drummer Barry Altschul – a record that easily swings between freer moments and straighter swing – thanks to the help of bassist Joe Fonda, and saxophonist Jon Irabagon – who blows tenor, soprillo sax, and alto clarinet! Fonda's bass may well be the rock of the set – a he's always a bit understated, but finds a way to bridge the space between Altschul's loose work on the kit, and the more soulfully cohesive lines of Irabagon's reeds. The tunes all have a loose structu…

** 2CD version is housed in foil digipak** Strut present the definitive edition of Sun Ra’s classic ‘Lanquidity’ album from 1978 . Recorded overnight at Bob Bank’s Blank Tapes on 17th July 1978 after the Arkestra had appeared on Saturday Night Live, the album is unique in the Ra catalogue. “Most critics felt that it was more of a fusion-inspired record,” explains Michael Ray. “As the name suggests, the album is liquid and languid.” Bob Blank continues, “Musically, it was very ad hoc and freeform…

** Original 1984 copies ** GRRR presents L'Homme à la Caméra by Un Drame Musical Instantané. Un Drame Musical Instantané is a collective of French composers led by Jean-Jacques Birgé. The French group, founded in 1976 presents original, unclassifiable, inventive music, which drifts from jazz to electronic music and contemporary music. In 1984, they composed their own score to Dziga Vertov’s groundbreaking 1929 film The Man with a Movie Camera.

** Original 1984 copies ** GRRR presents La Mise En Plis by Michele Buirette. Artwork – Patrice Roger. Recorded By, Mixed By – Jean-Jacques Birgé. Michele Buirette - accorden. Helene Sage - flute. Bernard Vitat - trumpet. Didier Petit - violancello. Ge Cabannes - contrabass.

NoBusiness Records presents Live at Little John, Yokohama 1999 by Mototeru Takagi Quartet. Improvised & composed by Mototeru Takagi, Susumu Kongo, Nao Takeuchi and Shota Koyama. Recorded live on the 25th September, 1999 at Little John, Yokohama, Japan by Susumu Kongo and Nao Takeuchi. Mastered by Arūnas Zujus at MAMAstudios. Design by Oskaras Anosovas. Cover photo by Mitsuo Jofu 上不三雄. Booklet photos - Shota Koyama by Yutaka Narasaki 楢崎 豊 / Nao Takeuchi courtesy of Papillon / Mototeru Takagi by M…

NoBusiness Records presents Live at Jazz Spot Combo 1975 by Itaru Oki Quartet. Improvised and composed by Itaru Oki, Yoshiaki Fujikawa, Keiki Midorikawa and Hozumi Tanaka. "Although arriving from a dissimilar tradition, free-form experiments were common in 1960s Japan with several avant-garde ensembles throughout the country. One player who tried for more international renown was trumpeter Itaru Oki (1941-2020). He relocated to France in 1974 and was soon playing with locals. Occasionally he ret…

Lol Coxhill was an English saxophone player, largely known for playing soprano and sopranino saxophones. He began playing aged 15 in 1947 and later in that decade, organised club sessions where he introduced music from the jazz coming from the US. He later toured with musicians in America. Back in the UK, he played with Otis Spann, Jack Dupree and many other musicians. Coxhill was unconventional in so many ways. Rather than a permanent trio, quartet or collaborator, he played with a host of diff…

Slam Productions presents Loveland Concert of free improvisation with British George Haslam, Italian Stefano Pastor, Czechs Jan Faix and Jan Šikl plus Slovak Jozef Láska (resident in Prague, Czech Republic, for many years). This recording is taken from a live concert, held in 2010 in Prague in the Czech Republic. George Haslam on baritone sax and tarogato has been playing since 2002 with local musicians, here he is on a short tour with Stefano Pastor on violin and rhythm. consisting of Jan Faix …

** Edition of 400 ** NoBusiness Records presents Creation Series by Joel Futterman. All compositions by Joel Futterman. Recording engineer Dr. Benjamin Tomassetti. Recorded at the Paradise Studio, Virginia Beach, Virginia. Each track is complete unedited first-take and is in the orderi n which it was recorded. Photos by Michael Wilderman. Mastered by Arūnas Zujus at MAMAstudios. Design by Oskaras Anosovas. Producer - Danas Mikailionis. Co-producer - Valerij Anosov. CD 1 - Recorded 16th June, 200…

NoBusiness Records presents Undulation, the fifth release of the Archive Series dedicated to Sam Rivers. Recorded May 17, 1981, Florence, Italy. Re-mastered by Arūnas Zujus at MAMAstudios. Photos (cover and pages 2, 7, 9): Courtesy of Monique Rivers Williams. Cover and Booklet Design: Jeff DiPerna. Liner Notes: Bill Shoemaker. Produced by Danas Mikailionis and Ed Hazell. Co-producer: Valerij Anosov. Sam Rivers - tenor saxophone, flute, pianoJerry Byrd - guitarRael-Wesley Grant - electric bass gu…

NoBusiness Records presents Rested Turquoise by Szilard Mezei Tubass Quintet. Recorded on 21-22nd August, 2018, KCNS, Novi Sad, Serbia. Recording engineer - Lazar Živanac. Mixed and mastered by Szilárd Mezei & Lazar Živanac. Liner notes by Alexander Hawkins. Cover graphic by Erzsébet Mezei. Photo by Aleksandar Stojković. Design by Oskaras Anosovas. Produced by Danas Mikailionis. Co-producer - Valerij Anosov.Ervin Malina - double bass (right)Ernő Hock - double bass (left)Kornél Pápista - tuba (ce…

NoBusiness Records presents The Field by Rodrigo Amado Motion trio with Alexander von Schlippenbach. Recorded by Valdas Karpuška at the Vilnius Jazz Festival, Vilnius, October 18th, 2019. Mixed by Joaquim Monte and Rodrigo Amado. Mastered by David Zuchowski. Produced by Rodrigo Amado and Danas Mikailionis. Co-producer - Valerij Anosov. Cover photo by Rodrigo Amado. Inlay photo by Vytautas Suslavičius. Design by Rodrigo Amado. Rodrigo Amado - tenor saxophoneAlexander von Schlippenbach - pianoMigu…

NoBusiness Records presents Walpurgisnacht by Total Music Association. Transferred and remastered from the original tape. Tape transfer by Wolfgang Obrecht at Tonstudio RichArt, Munich. Original Cover Design by Manfred Vogel. Design by Oskaras Anosovas. Remastered by Arūnas Zujus at MAMAstudios. Photography of the musicians by Konstanze Vollmer. Produced by Danas Mikailionis and Ernst Nebhuth. Co-producer - Valerij Anosov. Liner Notes by Hans-Jörg Hussong / Liner Notes (translation) - Ernst Nebh…

Where have you gone, Charles Tolliver? There was such promise in the concept of Music Inc., and in Strata East, but evidently the music world's attention was elsewhere and this tremendous live set was probably heard by only a few hundred sets of ears. On the back of the record sleeve, Tolliver undersigned his mission statement: "Music Inc. was created out of the desire to assemble men able to see the necessity for survival of a heritage and an Art in the hopes that the sacrifices and high level …

Owning both this disc and Live at Slugs', Volume 1 is essential for hardcore Jazz fans. Part two of the Slugs' date is just as impressive and again feature three originals all penned by the group. Here we get a better example of Charles Tolliver's compositional work with the touching John Coltrane tribute Our Second Father. Again Tolliver's trumpet is simply stunning. The rhythm section of Cecil McBee and Jimmy Hopps also deserve mention as these two really drive the quartet along in a similar f…

Decca presents Journeys In Modern Jazz: Britain 1961-1973. The rediscovery of British jazz of the 60s & 70s is a phenomenon of our days. Some time ago this music seemed forgotten, today it is cult and artists like Shabaka Hutchings and Kamasi Washington call it a formative influence on their own music. British Jazz is cool again! Now, under the title British Jazz Explosion, Universal Music is diving deep into its jazz archives and reissuing the most sought-after, hip and collector-market pricele…

Impulse! is releasing a virtually unreleased work by the legendary and late jazz godmother Alice Coltrane, a 1981 recording titled Kirtan: Turiya Sings. The album, to be released on 16 July 2021 as part of the historic label's 60th anniversary celebrations, comprises nine devotional songs originally released in 1982 only on cassette for ashram students. In addition to Alice's voice and instrument, those recordings included parts for synthesizer, strings and effects. In 2004, Alice's son (and pro…

** Vinyl audio remastered & cut from the original master tapes by Gearbox Records. 180grm Optimal Pressing. Flip-back LP sleeves on 380g heavy card, front laminated sleeves with 12 x12 insert with new liner note insert + audio download voucher ** Heavyweight Vinyl / U.S.A. Original Glued Prints on Thick Cardboard / handily gluing / Original Black and White Private Press artwork. Originally issued in 1972, Space Walk was the final album recorded for the famed Lansdowne Studios by iconic British s…

The Northwoods Improvisers return with a new album comprising their first release in 10 years. Raft is the latest effort with an augmented lineup that includes veterans Mike Johnston (bass, bass recorder, wood flutes, percussion) and Nick Ashton (drums, percussion) and unites them with a fierce front line of saxophones with Dominic Berenga (tenor/alto/soprano saxophones, flute, percussion) and Donovan Boxey (alto/soprano saxophone, clarinet, melodica, wood flutes, percussion). The music is all a…

** 2021 Stock ** Inscribe is the third release by this group. The self titled disc includes pieces and improvisations by all the members. The instrumentation includes guitar, cheng, violin, bass, tabla, percussion, bowed banjo and cello. With elements of indigenous music, jazz and the avant garde, natural reference points are Don Cherry, Ahmed Abdul-Malik, The Art Ensemble of Chicago and early ECM records. Includes member of the Northwoods Improvisers. The first release on the label in nearly 10…

** 2021 Stock ** Emerging Field marks the sixth release of Faruq Z. Bey with the Northwoods Improvisers on the Entropy Stereo label. This release finds the group exploring rhythm and space in a broader sense than previous offerings. Faruq Z. Bey, Mike Carey, and Skeeter Shelton create thoughtful space and intricate conversations in their horn lines evoking a relaxed and passionate response with a solid blues focus. Mike Johnston and Nick Ashton root the group with their sound rhythmic foundation…

** 2021 Stock ** A rare recording from an under recorded period of Bobby Bradford's music. This date stems from a California radio broadcast. The line up is Bobby Bradford on trumpet, James Newton (flute), Richard Rehwald (bass) and John Goldsmith (drums). Includes a bonus track duet with Vinny Golia (clarinet) from a 2003 gig.

** 2021 Stock ** "Once a member of Detroit legends Griot Galaxy, Bey's take on jazz is informed by the spectral divinations of Sun Ra, and pieces like "Moors" and "sherrif Sam (Sound By Law)" remind you of prime era Arkestra, floating between beautifully extended melody heads and stretches of languid free blowing, all underpinned by a steady, rolling rhythm section." Jon Dale; Signal To Noise Fall 2008. "If this were merely an audio CD, it would garner excellent reviews. But this set with DVD an…

On Ancestry, Trevor Watts approaches improvisation in a more stripped down approach with percussionist Jamie Harris. Both Watts and Harris combine an incredible sense of rhythm with exploration and subtlety. The recordings were culled from live performances and more intimate settings at Trevor's home studio to give a balance of the high energy of performance and relaxed musical exploration between friends. The end result is a stunning document of duo interplay on various hand percussion and reed…

** 2021 Stock ** A diverse follow up to their 19 Moons release of 2002. The groups has added longtime Bey collaborator Mike Carey (flute/tenor saxophone) to the ensemble. Ashirai Pattern embodies a higher spiritual plane and elements of mysticism in an aural feast. Instrumentation includes vibes, marimba, voice, bass, drums, tenor saxophone, flute, bass clarinet, violin, and percussion. "The Michigan-based Northwoods Improvisers collective meld the largely undefined sounds of world music with ja…

Impulse! presents Black To The Future by Sons Of Kemet. Fire and Fury! We're so hyped to welcome back Sons of Kemet with a whole host of guests too. The follow up to 2018’s Mercury Prize nominated breakout release Your Queen Is A Reptile. This is their 4th record, and 2nd on impulse! Compared with ”Your Queen is a Reptile”, this album has featured vocalists and more of an emphasis on fuller compositions and arrangements. Guest artists include Kojey Radical, Moor Mother, Angel Bat Dawid, Joshua I…