Jazz & Improvisation / All styles

This 1967 recording was always the best of Lou Donaldson's funky albums. It's just amazing that Blue Note put this back into circulation on 180 gram vinyl. Mr. Shing-A-Ling is worth the investment for the ultra-funking Peepin' alone. Composer and organist Lonnie Smith lays down a basic fatback groove and manages to glean a funk anthem that set the foundation for a whole decade worth of Lou Donaldson LPs (Midnight Creeper is a mere rewrite of this classic). Among Donaldson's big funk classics - t…

Empty Editions presents Palina’tufa, the newest work from saxophonist Seymour Wright and percussionist Paul Abbott’s long-running duo XT. Wright and Abbot’s respective practices have been marked by a simultaneous engagement (with) and desire to challenge the limitations (of) the British tradition of improvised music - represented by groups such as AMM and John Stevens’ Spontaneous Music Ensemble. This album charts a new trajectory for Wright and Abbott, as they draw on recent live collaborations…

“Stop here!” exclaimed Robert Oumaou as we passed a mango tree on the side of the road just outside of Point-a-Pitre, the balmy capital of Guadeloupe. He filled a plastic bag with ripe fruit, and we set off on our journey across the small Caribbean island in search of musicians he hadn’t seen in years. On the way, we shared stories in broken French and English, stopping at truck stops to eat delicious fried fish. Robert took me to his hometown, and placed a mango and a flower on the grave of his…

Live / Shapeshifter is the exemplary new double-album from one of master bassist - composer - improviser William Parker's eternal flagship groups, recorded live and presenting all-new compositions, including the extended suite Eternal Is the Voice of Love, along with a new iteration of the band's theme. Featuring pianist Cooper-Moore, alto saxophonist Rob Brown and (since 2012) drummer Hamid Drake, In Order To Survive is one of the great jazz groups of the past quarter century. Launched in 1993,…

A tremendous pair of brand new studio albums created by drummer-leader Whit Dickey together with two distinct yet interrelated Quartets. All involved here have long been deep seekers of truth through sound, and between them is a luminous web of deeply affecting work, which now spans decades. This Yin & Yang pair presents their very latest work together. Peace Planet features Matthew Shipp - piano, Rob Brown - alto sax, William Parker - bass. Box of Light features Rob Brown - alto sax, Steve Swel…

The Guitar Player was Davy Graham's first full-length LP, after releasing his EP 3/4 A.D. two years earlier. This unique album combines his interesting and virtuoso guitar play with some excellent arrangements. With his guitar style he contributed to the musical changes in the early 1960s, where blues, rock and folk started to play a more prominent role in the music scene. The man crosses into blues, jazz, folk, Arabic music and more, often in the same song. It's an essential album and one of th…

Julio "Chocolate" Algendones is one of the essential percussionists in the great tradition of Afro-Peruvian music. Peru's Master Percussionist collects recordings made in 1990 in Las Vegas, during a trip that the artist made as a member of Peruvian jazz group Perujazz. The album was produced by the Englishman J. Blue Sheppard and released in 1991 by the New York-based label Lyrichord. It also includes a track originally recorded and published in Lima, in 1984. This reissue on Buh Records present…

Based in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sales de Baño is a group that brings together musicians of different nationalities. Led by Colombian composer and bassist Carlos Quebrada, their sound explorations have led them to expand the languages of jazz, and incorporate elements of experimental rock, contemporary music, and free improvisation. Geometría del vínculo (Geometry of the Bond) is Sales de Baño's third album, can be understood as an avant-garde jazz album which is also connected with…

**500 copies** This latest album is an exciting new statement from the duo, featuring long-form compositions for the first time, written specifically for the LP format and developed while touring in North America during 2017. Nate Wooley's piece, Deeply Discounted II, is inspired by John Cage's Cheap Imitation which, in turn, was inspired by Erik Satie's, Socrate. Ken Vandermark's composition, Sequences of Snow, is dedicated to the visual artist and musician, Michael Snow, and was influenced by …

**700 copies** Since childhood Serge Fabriano bathed in music, to-ing and fro-ing between his native Guadeloupe and Paris where he grew up. He attended the music conservatory, learnt how to play bass, played with many musicians and was ultimately angling for a career as a music teacher. During the mid-70's, he alternated between teaching classes and live gigs, and performed in Germany with a funk band comprised of ex-GIs from the US Army. He also met the members of Return to Forever, and especia…

Pianist and composer Mary Lou Williams played with nearly every major jazz performer during her long, illustrious and varied career, in addition to recording many solo works. Born Mary Winn in Atlanta in 1910 and raised in a 'shotgun shack', where local musicians gathered to jam, she played by ear from a tender age and learned the boogie-woogie style upon moving to Pittsburgh with her older sister Mamie. While still in high school, Williams toured with the Theatre Owners’ Booking Association, br…

The gifted American pianist Keith Jarrett is one of the jazz world’s greatest musicians. Born in suburban Allentown, Pennsylvania in 1948 with a mixed European cultural heritage, Jarrett was a child prodigy that played piano at the age of two, appeared on television, aged five, and gave his first classical recital, aged seven. After studying at the prestigious Berklee College of Music, he moved to New York in 1964 to perform at the Village Vanguard and then joined Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. D…

The short-lived quintet known as The New York Contemporary Five had a lasting impact on the free jazz movement. It was formed in 1962 with trumpeter Don Cherry, who had been working with free jazz pioneer Ornette Coleman; tenor saxophonist Archie Shepp, Danish alto saxophonist John Tchicai (whose father was Congolese), a former member of the quintet assembled by the poet and filmmaker Jorgen Leth, who moved to New York shortly before the Contemporary Five’s formation; acoustic bassist Don Moore,…

**500 copies, strictly no repress** Smalltown Supersound are going hard on the free jazz this year - so much so that they've set up new sub-label Actions For Free Jazz to accommodate the load. This was the slogan for Smalltown Superjazzz and was borrowed at the time from Don Cherry and Krystzof Penderecki’s The New Eternal Rhythm Orchestra track Actions For Free Jazz Orchestra from the 1971 album Actions. The inspiration for the label is BYG Actuel, Incus, Freedom and ESP-Disk. AFJ's latest fora…

Joan Bibiloni's Born is widely considered as one of the highlights of modern ambient music. Ever since it was first released in 1989 on Bibiloni's 'Blau' imprint, Born has been a sought after item by collectors of different backgrounds.The eight compositions that Bibiloni wrote, and then recorded with several gifted musicians, share the same vivid ethereal quality. From the emotive latin of El Sur, to the heart wrenching tones of Ballad For an Empty Street, Born is one of the pinnacles of the ba…

**1000 numbered copies** Jazzman Records presents a reissue of Steamheat's album of the same name, originally issued in 1975 and presented here as Number 30 in the Jazzman Holy Grail Series. Fable is a small independent record label started in Austin, Texas in the early 1970s by a young trombone player named Michael Mordecai. In autumn 1975 he debuted a trio of albums by Austin bands; with only 1000 of each pressed, and each carrying a different emphasis on soul, funk or jazz, all three have gon…

**1000 numbered copies** Jazzman Records presents a reissue of Steamheat's Austin Funk, originally issued in 1975 and presented here as Number 29 in the Jazzman Holy Grail Series. Fable is a small independent record label started in Austin, Texas in the early 1970s by a young trombone player named Michael Mordecai. In autumn 1975 he debuted a trio of albums by Austin bands; with only 1000 of each pressed, and each carrying a different emphasis on soul, funk or jazz, all three have gone on to bec…

**1000 numbered copies** Jazzman Records presents a reissue of Forty Times Its Own Weight's Cumulo Nimbus, originally issued in 1975 and presented here as Number 28 in the Jazzman Holy Grail Series. Fable is a small independent record label started in Austin, Texas in the early 1970s by a young trombone player named Michael Mordecai. In autumn 1975 he debuted a trio of albums by Austin bands; with only 1000 of each pressed, and each carrying a different emphasis on soul, funk or jazz, all three …

The Blue Note record label needs little introduction. Musically, graphically and sonically iconic, the label created and defined the golden age of modern jazz on record. Founded in 1939 by German émigré Alfred Lion, the label's roster of artists is a litany of giants - Thelonious Monk, Sonny Rollins, Horace Silver, Lee Morgan, Art Blakey, Lee Morgan, Herbie Hancock, and many more. With peerless musicians in the grooves, the legendary Rudy Van Gelder behind the boards, and graphic design genius R…

The Blue Note record label needs little introduction. Musically, graphically and sonically iconic, the label created and defined the golden age of modern jazz on record. Founded in 1939 by German émigré Alfred Lion, the label's roster of artists is a litany of giants - Thelonious Monk, Sonny Rollins, Horace Silver, Lee Morgan, Art Blakey, Lee Morgan, Herbie Hancock, and many more. With peerless musicians in the grooves, the legendary Rudy Van Gelder behind the boards, and graphic design genius R…

The lesser-spotted jazz atoms that formed the fusion of Futurist Flanders! It might sound like an ambitious claim but having been a firm fixture at the top of many European jazz collector want lists over the past decade Finders Keepers wouldn't be alone when proclaiming this extremely rare, lesser-known two-track 7" from 1969 as one of the best jazz 45s of all time! Alongside Polish pianist Krzysztof Komeda's soundtrack 7" for the film Cul-De-Sac and ranking closely with François Tusques' commem…

**500 copies** In the beginning there was John Coltrane. Teodross Avery experienced an epiphany at 13 when he first heard Trane’s Giant Steps. He emerged in the mid-1990s with two critically hailed releases for GRP / Impulse! Avery’s long and productive journey has taken him down many musical paths, from gigs with jazz legends and hip hop stars to sessions with NEA Jazz Masters and platinum pop albums. With his Tompkins Square label debut After the Rain: A Night For Coltrane, Avery has found his…

Legitimately available again on vinyl for the first time since its original release in 1983, Outernational Sounds proudly presents a major statement from a crucial figure on the Los Angeles jazz underground – pianist Nate Morgan’s spiritualised deep jazz classic, Journey Into Nigritia. How many 16 year olds would have the confidence to walk up to a revered bandleader at a gig, and inform him that one day they’d be playing together? As improbable as it sounds, this is how pianist Nate Morgan intr…

Le Très Jazz Club present the first reissue of Naosuke Miyamoto Sextet's Step!, originally released in 1973. A fantastic modal jazz LP, led by Naosuke Myamoto on bass, with Masayoshi Yoneda on the piano and Takashi Goto on saxophone. On One For Trane, the group delivers a strong and amazing moment of spiritual jazz. Also features Kunji Shigi (trumpet), Takashi Furuya and Shoji Nakayama (drums). Produced by Takeshi Jujii. Recorded on August 25, 1973. Le Très Jazz Club keeps on exploring the Three…

Le Très Jazz Club keeps on exploring Japanese jazz and the Three Blind Mice catalog with the reissue of this amazing 1976 record by drummer George Otsuka. Unavailable for more than forty years, the album is released for the first time outside of Japan. Physical Structure is an amazing jazz-fusion record featuring Fumio Karashima on piano and Fender Rhodes and Shozo Sasaki on tenor sax. Check the surprising and sublime cover of Naima which alone justifies to get this record! Personell list: Georg…

Earthly Delights is a forgotten 1978 free-jazz masterpiece by bass player, composer and improviser David Wertman, alongside his Sun Ensemble. Born in 1952 and raised in Queens NY, Wertman’s distinctive upright playing style was entirely self-taught. He cut his teeth in the notorious New York Jazz lofts, jamming for hours and hours with the likes of Billy Bang, Arthur Blythe, Marion Brown, Steve Reid, Dave Pike, William Parker, Brandon Ross and Charles Tyler to name but a few. Earthly Delights is…

Following hard on the heels of BBE delving into the archives of Detroit’s Strata Records and delivering their widely acclaimed and hugely in-demand exploration of J Jazz, comes another crate digger’s delight - Ralph Thomas' Eastern Standard Time, which dropped in the USA back in 1980, on the obscure Zebra Jazz imprint. LA based DJ, producer and music supervisor Mathieu Schreyer discovered this gem for BBE. This is the is the kind of “spiritual’ jazz gem that appears on YouTube and upon checking …

In the years following World War Two, Japan developed one of the most insatiable, dynamic and diverse markets for jazz. For a crucial period of little over a decade – from the late 1960s to the early 1980s – Japanese jazz culture progressed at an astonishing rate, producing an extraordinary array of artists, recordings and record labels that created some of the most forward thinking and impressive jazz to be committed to tape. This amazing journey is explored on J Jazz: Deep Modern Jazz from Jap…

Along with the due reissue of the Baroque Jazz Trio homonymous album, Souffle Continu Records present a reissue of the group's one and only single which has reached a cult status among the Jazz connoisseurs and collectors. Alongside Alfred Panou & the Art Ensemble of Chicago's Je Suis Un Sauvage (FFL 055EP), Baroque Jazz Trio's Orientasie / Largo is probably one of the hardest-to-find EPs on Saravah. Hitting #2 on Jazzman Records European Jazz 45s top 10 list, this is the finest fusion between f…

After the stunning success of last year's New American Songbooks, Volume 1, Sound American is proud to present another chapter in their attempt to find new points of view on the concept of the American Songbook. Last year's release found three distinctive voices--Mary Halvorson, Ron Miles, and Greg Saunier--working together to arrange works from mass media. Their collaboration, only a few days in total, culminated in a recording that felt equal parts wild and warm; intimate and revolutiona…

Drummer, composer and poet William Hooker has been a tireless force in free improvised music for over 40 years. He emerged from New York's loft jazz scene in the mid-'70s, part of a generation of artists fueled by the social, political and cultural frustrations of their era. This second wave of American free jazz would push relentlessly into new territories – collaborating in a variety of non-traditional settings, establishing their own labels, venues, etc. – all in an effort at creative self-de…

Re-mastered edition of the 1971 album performed by the legendary enterprise consisting of John McLaughlin on guitars, John Surman on reeds, Karl Berger on vibes, Stu Martin on drums, and Dave Holland on bass. Recorded at the end of May 1970 at the Apostolic Studios in New York, “Fortune Smiles” is a jazz fusion LP that sees all five musicians experimenting equally with their outstanding music qualities. Released here as a picture disc and featuring the original Dawn Records folded insert, the al…

Double LP version. Black Vinyl. Their first two albums, Exit and Enter, were presented with sizable and ambitious line-ups of 28 musicians. Ritual saw it reduced to 21 and with Arrival it's been trimmed down to a "mere" 14, with the core trio of Fire! (Mats Gustafsson, Johan Berthling, and Andreas Werliin) and the two singers Mariam Wallentin and Sofia Jernberg being the only constant members since the beginning. Apart from this reduction, the main line-up difference is the introduction of a str…

Miles Davis' often overlooked masterpiece Miles in the Sky is his venture into the jazz-rock, which later became known as fusion. While working together with his second great quintet his interest in the usage of electric instruments was increasing every day. The first album from his “Electric” period is one big grooving adventure, in which he gets the support of the stellar line-up of Wayne Shorter, Tony Williams, Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock, and George Benson. It's a ground-breaking record from …

CD Edition. **Legendary "lost" album originally due to be released on the ESP-Disk, but the label folded before its release. Limited Edition** Masayuki "Jojo" Takayanagi (1932 - 1991) was a maverick Japanese guitarist, a revolutionary spirit whose oeuvre embodied the radical political movements of late '60s Japan. Having cut his teeth as an accomplished Lennie Tristano disciple playing cool jazz in the late '50s, Takayanagi had his mind blown by the Chicago Transit Authority's "free form guitar…

CD Edition. Number 27 in the Jazzman Holy Grail Series. With a price of well over $1000 on the few occasions the original LP has hit the market, Infinite Spirit Music's 'Live Without Fear' is a beautiful album of humble purity and peaceful spiritual jazz vibes that lives up to the hype. With the blessing of creator Soji Ade and colleague Kahil El Zabar, we're delighted to be able to finally share their music with you, 40 years since it was recorded. As so often with private pressings, few copies…

CD Edition. Jazzman presents the definitive anthology of pioneering ethno-musicologist, mystical adventurer and real life jazz guru Dr Lloyd Miller. This album tells the fascinating life story of one man and his journey through Europe and the Middle East, living off nothing but his wits, talent and an open-minded attitude towards music and jazz.Master of dozens of languages and hundreds of instruments, Miller has spent fifty years immersed in the music of Europe, Asia and the Middle East.Featuri…

** Edition of 300 copies ** We consider ourselves extremely fortunate having met Hüseyin Ęrtunc during his terrestrial transit. After we reissued his wonderful album Musikî (privately released on Intex Sound in 1974) and a few collaborative albums with the Konstrukt collective, in 2017 we finally managed to invite him, Doğan Doğusel, Cem Tan and Umut Çağlar to play some shows in Italy as a quartet. Things got really complicated when their visas got rejected - only one week before their plane was…

Prepare yourself for the first ever vinyl pressing of legendary free jazz guitarist Sonny Sharrock's seminal final album Ask the Ages, in a strictly limited edition 45rpm double 12” edition. Sonny's classic final album swings between deep, lyrical melodicism and passages of pure fire music and features jazz legends Pharoah Sanders on tenor saxophone and Elvin Jones, member of the John Coltrane Quartet, on drums. The album was produced by Bill Laswell and originally released in 1991 on his Axiom …

**Edition of 300, gatefold cover, newly remastered from the original tapes for optimal sound** What can be said about Don Cherry that hasn’t been said? He was musical bridge between countless cultures - a titan of the avant-garde and jazz - one of the great, visionary voices of 20th century music for whom there was, and remains, no equivalent. A giant. Like Miles, Ayler, Mingus, Bird, Dizzy, Trane, Ornette, and Pharaoh, the power of his voice carved such a deep path that, more than half a centur…