Jazz & Improvisation / All styles

This book is a historical and interpretive study of the movement of jazz experimentalism in West and East Germany between the years 1950 and 1975. It complicates the narratives advanced by previous scholars by arguing that engagement with black musical methods, concepts, and practices remained significant for the emergence of the German jazz experimentalism movement. In a seemingly paradoxical fashion, this engagement with black musical knowledge enabled the formation of more self-reliant musica…

Tip! **50 numbered copies** "Kyle Quass is a composer, trumpet player and sound artist based in Bloomington, Indiana. He holds a MM in Jazz Studies from Indiana University. He has studied, played, and/or collaborated with, among many others, David Baker, Joe Henderson, Greg Osby, Mulgrew Miller, Tyshawn Sorey, Thollem, Tim Berne, Tony Malaby, Ralph Alessi and Cory Smythe. He has performed on numerous and varied recordings from David Baker to Amy Stephens to Murder By Death. He has also released …

Jim O'Rourke (of Gastr del Sol and Sonic Youth fame) plays a lot with Japanese Free jazz legend Akira Sakata in various formations. Together with Italian composer and pianist Giovanni di Domenico and the drummer Tatsuhisa Yamamoto they form this powerful band. Their second release combines contemporary Avantgarde and Free Jazz in a beautiful way.Line-up:Akira Sakata - sax, clarinet, voiceJim O’Rourke - double bassGiovanni di Domenico – piano, hohner pianetTatsuhisa Yamamoto - drumsRecorded Jim O…

A fresh new studio album by powerful Russian Free jazz band Brom, now with a fourth player (guitar and electronics). Press about their last album (Sunstroke, Trost): "It is a reverent and thoughtful performance, with powerhouse electric bass at its core, leading to a fast and furious conclusion." - Jazzandbluesblogspot"Moscow based power jazz trio Brom are a group that push against musical boundaries and allow such diverse genres as rock, noise, free jazz and improvisation to leak into their eve…

Tashi Dorji (electric guitar) and Tyler Damon (drums/percussion) have developed a musical language that is not only shaped by original forms as free jazz, metal, rock and Buddhist monastic music. Their sound merges passion and emotions of literature, art, cultural movements, politics - flashes of ecstatic intensity, blurred timbral lines, fractal repetition, noir-ish, cinematic mystery and inclinations toward free play hint that the two are pleased to follow a winding path to destinations yet un…

A true fusional object, Béliz moves us to new horizons, both imaginary and poetic.

Pioneering percussionist Solomon Ilori was one of the first Nigerian artists to record with American jazz musicians, travelling to New York in 1958 to introduce African music to American audiences. After appearing on Art Blakey’s 1962 LP The African Beat for Blue Note; he recorded African High Life with members of Blakey’s ensemble, including guitarist Jay Berliner, bassist Ahmed Abdul Malik, Hosea Taylor on alto sax and flute, and percussionists Montego Joe, Robert Crowder and Garvin Masseaux. …

After playing with Mingus, Coltrane, Lady Day and Abbey Lincoln, inventive jazz pianist Mal Waldron moved to Europe and first reached Japan in 1970, where he met Idaho-born double-bassist Gary Peacock, who had played with Art Pepper, Bud Shank, Bill Evans and free-jazz giant, Albert Ayler before moving to Japan to study zen Buddhism.First Encounter, recorded in Tokyo in 1971 for French producer Herve Bergerat, shows that the intense pairing was quite natural, the harmonic dissonance of Waldron’s…

**300 copies** In its 6th release, Mr. Nakayasi Records treat us with a rich and adventurous recording by The Miracle, a group of musicians with individual and collective links to Belgium’s free-improv music scene. The Miracle is a live capture of the ensemble's epic debut at Studio Grez, Brussels in December 2018. Recalling the spirits of Mirakle, uncompromising Derek Bailey’s album with Jamaaladeen Tacuma and Calvin Weston, this release presents an inspired, innovative and immediate intersecti…

Axis / Another Revolvable Thing is the second installment of Blank Forms’ archival reissues of the music of Japan’s eternal revolutionary Masayuki Takayanagi, following April Is the Cruellest Month, a 1975 studio record by his New Direction Unit.

Axis / Another Revolvable Thing is the second installment of Blank Forms’ archival reissues of the music of Japan’s eternal revolutionary Masayuki Takayanagi, following April Is the Cruellest Month, a 1975 studio record by his New Direction Unit.

Axis / Another Revolvable Thing is the second installment of Blank Forms’ archival reissues of the music of Japan’s eternal revolutionary Masayuki Takayanagi, following April Is the Cruellest Month, a 1975 studio record by his New Direction Unit.

Tip! **350 copies, to be released on 30.05.2020** Second release from Finland’s finest underground jazz collective, four new tracks in the same spiritual-energetic playful bag we dig! Limited edition 10", comes numbered and with download code insert.

**250 copies, to be released on 30.05.2020** Unique duo live recording from 2016 with Finnish drummer Ilmari Heikinheimo and multi-instrumentalist Jimi Tenor, free-floating grooves in an organic / electric mash-up! Limited 250 copy LP with 6 tracks, comes numbered with download code and info on A4 insert."The existence of harmonic resonance will be proved when the minds of these amazing talents speak to each other thru aether."

**300 copies** Cuneo´s band oAxAcA brings us the second 2 Headed Deer reference. From the Italian Piedmont, this 'hard to define' collective delivers a sound that fluctuates between a free and experimental jazz reminiscent of the AACM spirit, to a very personal and reworked vision of the most electric jazz-rock."oAxAcA come back with a new record, they called it Onde di Sabbia (Waves of Sand), and they couldn’t find a more evocative title. As a matter of fact here we feel overwhelmed by a tempes…

Tip! **200 copies** "We feel very lucky to have Antonio Marini on board for our first release , the Italian producer known as Healing Force Project has already a long history that has led him to publish his music on labels as Acido, Firecracker recs. Berceuse Heroique, Bedouin Records among others.
 In this first release ,coming in a 7" format, HFP delivers two tracks developing one of the most recognized musical aspects in his productions, creating sonic structures where the electronic sound co…

A special bundle that includes the latest 8 CD releases published in late April 2020 by Belgian label A New Wave of Jazz. Includes works by Dirk Serries, Martina Verhoeven, Colin Webster, Daniel Thompson, Benedict Taylor, Tom Malmendier, Jürg Frey, Andrew Cheetham, Alan Wilkinson, and John Edwards.

**300 copies** "Colin Webster and Dirk Serries are skilled improvisers you can’t pin down on a single outlet. They remain restless seekers, never content with merely repeating themselves, not even within the same project. Compare Gargoyles to Light Industry. They are totally different." - Guy Peters"Serries and Webster meet again at their favorite studio, Sunny Side in Anderlecht, Belgium, in September 2019 for an intimate duo where Serries plays only acoustic guitars. They already recorded a du…

**300 copies** "It’s the classic 'the journey, not the destination' attitude. Dealing with the moment. Dirk Serries, Martina Verhoeven and Colin Webster have a refreshing take on that. They use instruments, but it feels as if they are playing with wood and metal. With breath and touch. They caress, pluck, sigh, thump, blow, push, creak, sputter. There is no obvious order to what they are doing, yet you are aware of a certain concord, an understanding below the surface of what’s there. The openne…

**300 copies** "To fully grasp the range of extended techniques, you should be able to see them in action, but it is also perfectly possible to listen to this music and focus on elements such as flow, density and responsiveness." - Guy Peters"SETT is a an acoustic strings quartet, featuring British most prolific double bass player John Edwards, Dirk Serries and Daniel Thompson on acoustic guitars and violist Benedict Taylor, recorded at the Dave Hunt studio, London in November 2019. SETT does no…

**300 copies** "The British tradition of guitar improvisation includes some game changers like the Derek Bailey, but also John Russell, Keith Rowe and Fred Frith. Yet it doesn’t prevent Daniel Thompson from carving out his own little corner. Finch proves that even in the most demanding and intimidating of circumstances, Thompson has a sharp, creative mind. Surely, there will be more to follow. There should be." - Guy Peters"Daniel Thompson's Finch contains music recorded in a studio called the S…

**300 copies** "Another special such place, situated in Holland, but only a few hundred meters from the Belgian border, is JazzBlazzt. It is as homely as can get - basically a garage turned into a small concert venue - but at the same time a miraculous place, where many artists that have appeared on this label have performed." - Guy Peters"Dirk Serries, still on acoustic guitar, meets again violist Benedict Taylor, and pianist Martina Verhoeven (she plays only on the second set) in a live perfor…

**300 copies** "As Derek Bailey once argued, the term ‘improvisation’ is loaded with such widespread connotations (the music is unprepared, flippant, without depth) that you’d almost hesitate to use it. However, no better alternative has become available and moreover: one close listen to Vanguard lets you know that you are dealing with skilled and inspired improvisers adding a worthwhile chapter to a 50-plus years legacy." - Guy PetersPerformed, recorded, mixed and mastered at the Sunny Side Inc…

**300 copies** "And there is an abundance of material displayed here, as Andrew Cheetham and Alan Wilkinson combine impressive technical prowess, dynamics and imagination into a whole that combines physicality with thoughtfulness, tumult with intimacy. A musical performance remains the ideal way to deal with the impermanence of everything, and this album makes an excellent case." Guy Peters"Percussionist Cheetham and reedist Wilkinson, veteran improvisers of the UK scene, collaborate here on fou…

Perhaps Larry Nozero's single most-recognizable contribution to popular music is the soprano sax solo on Marvin Gaye's seminal, What's Going On, the title track and tone-setter for one of soul music's most successful, not to mention conceptual, recordings. Like so many talented reedmen before him, Nozero received instruction from Detroit's Teal School of Music, creating common ground with Yusef Lateef, Joe Henderson, and Benny Maupin.Although Nozero flirted with the Strata groundlings briefly in…

"Some albums show you right away what kind of spirit backs them. Ronald Snijders solo debut from 1977, Natural Sources, is one of these. It begins with a free improvised, sometimes scatting flute and while the flute goes more and more crazy some scat vocals join in to make this first track a kinda strange affair. Jazz, free and spirited, seems the way but Ronald Snijders, son of Surinamese composer Eddy Snijders, outwits us in all our tiny minded expectations with the next song already. An everg…

"This obscure and difficult to find LP is the Heath Brothers' debut album and is considered to be their best. Marchin' On! is unquestionably a masterpiece and is a much sought-after release. With its wealth of riffs, it is much appreciated by beatmakers and has been sampled by various contemporary artists. It was originally released in 1976 on Strata-East, a label at the time co-owned by Stanley Cowell, who joined as pianist on the album.The album flows fluidly, meticulously in a warm rich blend…

Finnish vinyl nerds, Svart Records, dig obsessively into the vaults of international music history to uncover rare gems. “Mondo Svart” can be defined as “exceptionally Svart.” This is the core of the Svart Records exploration for gold at the back of the record crate. Those rare, undiscovered, and sometimes secret, albums only talked about in hushed voices between collectors in the know. Priceless and out of touch for the general masses, until now.One of the rarest albums on the infamous Jazz lab…

It was 1969, and Miles Davis, prince of cool, was on the edge of being left behind by a dynamic generation of young musicians, an important handful of whom had been in his band. Rock music was flying off in every direction, just as America itself seemed about to split at its seams. Following the circumscribed grooves and ambiance of In a Silent Way; coming off a tour with a burning new quintet-called 'The Lost Band'- with Wayne Shorter, Chick Corea, Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette; he went into…

**CD version** "A primal force of something... real. I have listened back and forth to the new album of Anna Högberg's “Attack” numerous times now and it hit me like a split axe in a split second: this music is for real! Wham Bam! This is liberating music. Allowing music. It hits me just as the split axe hits the wood. Without hesitation, but still very sensitive. Pure power does not cut the wood automatically. No fancy flirts with post-this and post-that. Just the force. Of itself. This music i…

In process of stocking. The Dwarfs of East Agouza are back with The Green Dogs of Dashur! Once again, the prolific American-Egyptian trio composed of Alan Bishop (Acoustic Guitar-Bass/Alto Sax), Sam Shalabi (Electric Guitar) and Maurice Louca (Organ/Synthesizers/Beats) breaks off all constraints and reveals a resolutely free album offering the listener variations of seductive melodies and unhinged improvised trance. The hot embossed metallic double-headed dog designed by the Lebanese artist Lynn…

Klondike's respectfully packaged edition of Sun Ra's legendary appearance at the Chicago Free Jazz Festival in 1988 pays homage to Ra's exuberant torment combined with the flamboyant weight of the Solar Arkestra and performing some of his most impressionist and avant-garde works

**200 copies, transparent red vinyl** "Let’s celebrate Aut Records' 50th release and the comeback of the reed trio Kongrosian! For this special occasion we wanted to create a fruitful clash between improvisation, techno and noise. The album is, in fact, the result of a partnership with our friends of Oltrarno Recordings, in the spirit of collaboration that always distinguished the trio’s musical view. If in the A side of the album you will find four tracks that are composed and improvised by Kong…

Doubtmusic has discovered a previously unreleased Kaoru Abe alto saxophone solo improvisation! This CD features a complete 30 minutes performance held in summer 1977 at a jazz cafe in Sapporo which was called "Ayler" and no longer exists since long time. We no longer talk about Abe's voice ranging by ready-made musical concept. Even his silence has persuasiveness. His voice has an ubiquity which transcend new or old musical trends. We would like young music fans who have never heard of Kaoru Abe…

**CD version, to be released on 29.05.2020** "WRWTFWW Records is proud to announce the official reissue of Motohiko Hamase’s extremely rare live album Anecdote (recorded in 1987). The album is sourced from original masters and available on vinyl (double LP) for the first time ever as well as on CD. It comes with liner notes from the artist. This marks the sixth release from the Esplanade Series which focuses on the works of Yoshio Ojima, Motohiko Hamase and Satsuki Shibano.Anecdote was recorded …

For the first time since its inception 36 years ago, Steve Hiett’s elusive "Down On the Road By the Beach" is finally made available outside of Japan. Now widely celebrated as a desert island disc, this definitive reissue is restored from original masters with vivid reproductions of the "Down On the Road By the Beach" exhibition catalogue, intended to accompany its original release, and extensive liner notes penned by fellow Steve Hiett obsessive Mikey IQ Jones.

"Pianist / composer Giovanni Di Domenico formed this trio because of the extremely special quality of the sound he wanted to achieve within a musical group, and the choice of the musicians involved in it is extremely related to that special quality. Clinamen, in ancient roman philosopher Lucretius’s 'De Rerum Natura’, is the magic force that makes an atom to change direction during it’s fall and thus be able to hit other atoms and ‘create’ Energy and Life. It’s not a law, it happens by ‘chance’……

"The either/OAR series of and/OAR continues to take unexpected twists and turns while slowly but surely unveiling the intended perimeter of it's conceptual focus - this time a magic realism trip via the world of atmospheric avant-jazz. Distare Sonanti is the second album by the highly synergistic Di Domenico / Henriksen / Yamamoto trio whose first CD titled Clinamen was released in 2010 by the Off label based in Belgium. Now, in 2012 and/OAR is very pleased and honored to present this second mas…

"The Mafioso expression 'cement shoes' describes a method of execution or body disposal – wrapping the victim or body in concrete and pushing into deep water. This expression has become a tongue-in-cheek death threat by criminals, despite no real evidence of using this method of execution. Now this American expression also graces the name of a new pan-European trio, featuring Italian, Brussels-based Fender Rhodes and electronics player Giovanni di Domenico, Portuguese, Rotterdam-based electric b…

**Super reissue of this classic Afro-Jazz gem by Ray Stephen Oche. Recorded in Paris. LP 180g with printed innersleeve** Ray Stephen Oche is a singer, drummer, flutist and mainly trumpet player from Nigeria. From the late 50s he spent time in Ghana, meeting famous drummer Guy Warren « who is supposed to have deliver him the secret of the authentic african rythms », toured in Sierra Leone with « Outer Space » band, went to Senegal and Gambia.Matumbo, name of his band on this record means in Angol…