Jazz /
Saxophones
2004 release ** "The percussionist as poet, the drummer as sound painter, the composer as storyteller, and the improviser as artist of survival. What Pierre Favre writes for the Arte Quartet is like a choral fantasy, a suite for individualists with a strong collective spirit. Four singers, each with their own utterly unique timbre, a chamber choir with a highly developed sonic sensuality. The percussionist runs his threads between the voices, becomes one himself, creates space, provides the beat…
Electronics
One of the most electrifying records we've ever encountered from the power of the Nobuo Tsukahara's Sharps & Flats – a collection that infuses fantastic keyboards into the group's signature horn-heavy sound! The set features an incredible mix of Fender Rhodes and organ, frequently taking the spotlight as the lead solo instrument over the rich backings, creating a particularly delightful experience on the tracks with Rhodes! The tunes are absolutely fantastic, bringing a fresh and funky vibe that…
Inside: Missing Link
A 20th Century Renaissance man, cartoonist, film director, author, radio personality, record company owner, German guitarist Volker Kriegel played an important role in the European jazz-rock and fusion movements. Co-founder of the United Jazz and Rock Ensemble, Kriegel’s own groups and collaborations with American vibraphonist Dave Pike gained him a world-wide audience, as his 14 albums for MPS as leader and 15 as sideman can attest.
Volker Kriegel assembled a band of some of the leading musical…
Black Rhythm Revolution!
Black Rhythm Revolution! Is the first solo album from the jazz-funk legend Idris Muhammad, a New Orleans-bred rhythm king who successfully made the leap from the finest soulful jazz records of the ’60s to the nastiest fusion funk of the ’70s. Here we catch him literally on the cusp of the two in 1970, with one good foot in the get-down of “Express Yourself” and “Super Bad,” and the other in his own heady excursions into modal rhythm and melody, accompanied by virtuosos Kenny Barron, Ron Carter, …
Infra-Red
American Vibraphonist Dave Pike may not be as well-known as contemporaries Gary Burton and Bobby Hutcherson, but recordings with Bill Evans, Herbie Mann, and Paul Bley evince Pike’s pedigree. His MPS albums from 1969 through the early 70s have become minor classics.
Underpinned by funk and fusion, Infra-Red ventures into country rock on Suspicious Child and trips through fractured iridescent landscapes on Attack of the Green Misers. Raga Jeeva Swara is a rock meditation and Send Me the Yellow Gu…
Flowers Are Blooming In Antarctica
Delivering a career-defining statement from the Italian electroacoustic composer and saxophone player, Laura Agnusdei, Maple Death returns with “Flowers are Blooming in Antarctica” - a startling, multifaceted journey through imagistic sonorous worlds resting at the juncture of spiritual jazz, fourth-world minimalism, tropical electronics, tribal futurism, and rigorous electroacoustic experimentalism - rooted in thrilling ecological ideas, that marks the launch of Opale, a new suite of releases c…
The Buds of Time
This is the first ‘lost’ album Jazz In Britain has discovered. We’ve released albums that were only previously released on vinyl, or even cassette tape, ie never on CD, or albums produced from sessions by groups that never made a record, or we’ve included unreleased tracks that never made it only albums… but this is a real first for us. In 1979 Tony Coe and Bob Cornford composed pieces for an unusual, and unrepeated, combination of a six-piece jazz ensemble (two reeds, bass trombone, piano, perc…
Open, To Love
After Chick Corea’s Piano Improvisations, and Keith Jarrett’s Facing You, Paul Bley’s Open, To Love was the third fabulous chapter in ECM’s quietly revolutionary solo piano manifesto, whose impact endures and continues to influence improvisers today. In the liner notes to this Luminessence vinyl edition, Bley biographer Greg Buium writes, “After more than fifty years, Open, To Love remains an imperishable gem, lodged forever in the present tense, and among the great masterpieces in ECM’s vast c…
Lullaby
For Lullaby, Norwegian trumpeter Mathias Eick draws on the quartet formation in a programme that includes some of his most exploratory and improvisatory qualities, with a cast of ECM familiars Kristjan Randalu and Ole Morten Vågan on piano and bass, and new arrival Hans Hulbækmo on drums. There’s a sense of abandon within these melodic songs, as the musicians flow smoothly between harmonies, collectively building momentum from within the forms. Eick’s immediately recognizable and soothing tone i…
Under The Surface
Julia Hülsmann’s quartet resurfaces with a fresh Norwegian voice on horn in tow and presents an attractive batch of originals that finds the group thoughtfully exploring common ground with a knack for adventure. As on past outings, each quartet member contributes music to the session, the leader herself being responsible for half the programme. Saxophonist Uli Kempendorff’s introduction to Julia’s trio on 2019’s Not Far From Here already brought a new dimension to the group’s interplay – this se…
After the Last Sky
Eight years after Blue Maqams, Anouar Brahem returns with a poignant project, titled after a line of verse by poet Mahmoud Darwish, which asks “Where should the birds fly, after the last sky?” Graceful chamber pieces for oud, cello, piano and bass subtly address the metaphysical question and its broad resonances in a troubled time. While drawing upon the traditional modes of Arab music, Brahem has consistently sought to engage with the wider world, too, and found inspiration in many sources from…
Walks The Blue Circle
*200 copies limited edition* Technicolor Band is a revolving-cast, cross-genre improv unit based in Bloomington, IN. The group, initially instigated by multi-instrumentalists David Brown and Caleb Hickman as a regular gathering to explore improvisation behind closed doors, eventually made its way into public via a residency at a 50 cap bar called Orbit Room. Over the next two years a core lineup formed around the quintet of Brown (keys, percussion, tape manipulation), Hickman (alto sax, electron…
Vienna Suite
2025 stock We would like to introduce a new Polish- Austrian quartet led by the trumpeter and composer Piotr Damasiewicz and his Viennese connections- the meticulously passionate saxophonist Krzysztof Kasprzyk, Viennese-to-the-bone, versatile bassist Thomas Stempkowski, and the jazz and electronica drummer Alex Yannilos.The music of the quartet is best described as “(…) expressive, free though very rhythmic and melodic, manic at times, always lovingly passionate.” It goes back to dear to our hea…
Live
2002 release ** "Long before the Italian Instabile Orchestra, Andrea Centazzo was organizing and leading his Mitteleuropa Orchestra that focused on free improvisation, complex arrangements, and outstanding soloists. Most, although not all, of the musicians of the orchestra were Italians, and the all-star nature of the groups on this live recording make this a must-have for anyone immersed in its genre. The first four tracks -- with Enrico Rava, Franz Koglmann, Giancarlo Trovesi, and Carlos Zinga…
Threads
2003 release ** "Since the beginning of the 21st century, David S. Ware's recordings have moved more toward the notion of composition than free-blowing improvisation. The album Threads is the most fully realized of his scoring attempts yet, and stands out from his catalog as a work of great innovation and emotional power. The David S. Ware String Ensemble is comprised of his quartet with William Parker, Guillermo Brown, and Matthew Shipp, and is augmented by microtonal violist Mat Maneri and cla…
Directions + Destinations
And just like that, you’ll never think of improvisation the same way again. GPS is the emerging trio raising the bar for improvised music, and 577 Records is elated to present its debut album, Directions + Destinations. The group includes clarinet wizard Guillermo Gregorio, Yamaha Performance Artist Charley Sabatino on the double bass, and flourishing saxophonist Jeff Pearring. What they make isn’t just music; it’s an unforgettable experience. Recorded in two sessions a year apart, Directions +…
After Long Silence
*2025 stock* The first release in 24 year from Korea's foremost artist in jazz-tinged experimental / ambient music, Kim Byoung Duk!’
Kim Byong-duk is a Korean experimental / ambient musician who has paved his own artistic path by drawing on various musical styles as well as his roots in jazz and modern music. The 2018 anthology, "Experiment No. X", reaffirmed Kim’s status as one of the most progressive and unique musicians in Korea’s experimental music scene. After 24 since his 4th album "New T…
The Great Root
*2025 stock* The carrot root of the live music world, Sometimes a health food that young children reject,The peak of live music that becomes sweeter the more you chew, Kim Oki's [Giant Root]. Kim Okie's new album, ‘Giant Root,’ is a story of human love beyond struggle, revolution and freedom.
Kim Oki is a South Korean saxophonist, and former breakdancer. He debuted in 2013 with his studio album Cherubim's Wrath (천사의 분노), and has since released numerous projects and albums. He collaborated with v…
의례 Ritual
*2025 stock* Kim Sung-bae is a jazz bassist and the leader of Ilil Sound, a collective of jazz experimentalists. In addition to his activities with the free jazz ensemble, the Avant Trio, and as a member of saxophonist Kim Oki’s group, he has also pursued his solo work. "Ritual", recorded in 2016, is Kim Sung-bae’s second solo effort. After encountering a gut ritual performed by the manshin Kim Geum-hwa, he stayed with her in Incheon for six months preparing for this album. Recorded with a six-…