Jazz & Improvisation / All styles

Note from Barry Guy: Zlatko Kaučič invited Maya Homburger and myself to perform a concert in Ljubljana. This meeting (2016) proved to be convivial and communicative on many levels. Other than making music we discussed our individual situations and general views including the many pressing events that continue to accumulate in the world. Zlatko himself lives close to one of the “corridors” where displaced refugees make their agonisingly slow walk to a more hopeful future.  It is to these people t…

The concert and Agustí Fernández’s 60th birthday, celebrated in a quite extraordinary way, was possible due the generous support of the 2015 GREC Festival de Barcelona. The personnel is completely different from the Polish recording, and so is the music. Despite the presence of the explosive Mats and super-abstract Joe, Agustí’s music carries certain "kindness", lyricism and melancholy in the freely improvised parts. Despite the truly abstract nature, there are also certain similarities (in the …

"On June 15th 2016 the website jazzarium.pl celebrated its fifth anniversary. It wasn't turning 18, but in the virtual reality time flows a bit differently, you count it not the same way as outside the Internet. On such occasion we wanted to hear music that was unheard before. Music, that gives you no chance to prepare for or to anticipate its perception; music that is full of risk on one hand, and that can open new horizons for both listeners and musicians on the other.Therefore, we decided to …

The DKV Trio is one of the most exciting ensembles working in contemporary improvised music. Featuring Hamid Drake (drums), Kent Kessler (bass), and Ken Vandermark, the band has been active since the mid 1990s and has released eleven recordings, including their most recent album, which came out in the autumn of 2016: Collider (that features the trio paired with the Scandinavian group, The Thing).2017 promises to be an exceptional year for the band: they will be releasing a new album on the label…

"If ever a group deserved the title of “free jazz power trio”, it would be this one. Legendary reedist Brötzmann, American trombonist Steve Swell and the mighty Nilssen-Love have been playing together since early 2015, and have two masterful live sets under their belt, Krakow Nights and Live in Copenhagen.Live in Tel Aviv, which documents an October ‘16 performance by the trio, is the perfect entry-point for those who might be intimidated by the relatively long lengths of those prior albums - at…

"The Liquid Trio Plays Bernoulli is the new album which was released on October 23 by Fundacja Sluchaj. The album was recorded by Liquid Trio – it’s Agusti Fernandez (piano), Albert Cirera (saxophones) and Ramon Prats (drums). The musicians iquid Trio are playing together for a long time now. Through the years of their musical career they had formed, created and masterfully improved their own playing style and manner. Energetic and active collective improvisations are full of strong, powerful an…

Sundogs are the international improvising trio of Mateusz Rybicki, Samuel Hall and Zbigniew Kozera. The group explores a deep sonic universe through interactive music making that draws from the collective life of its three members. With Influences ranging from Free Jazz, Minimalism and the Berlin Echtzeitmusik Scene, Sundogs approach their music with open ears and a search for deeply connected music.Since 2015 Sundogs have been collaborating and performing their music. A regular feature of the J…

CD version. Listening to the music of Al Doum & The Faryds is always like staying in the pristine nature of an exotic island, in the sacred harmony of a new organic society; imaging all brothers and sisters singing and dancing in the unity of the brotherhood. This is the message of love and joy that pervade this fourth album, Spirit Rejoin. Moving towards accents of jazz ancestry, the Faryds absorb and re-elaborate -- with remarkable insights -- disparate elements and influences of electric jazz…

Vasco Trilla is a Catalan citizen of the world. He performs and records on every continent: in the course of almost three weeks between September and October 2016, Vasco Trilla toured in Poland, in Hungary, he appeared on several concerts in Serbia, followed by Bulgaria. In fact, in each of these concerts Vasco performed with different musicians.  If the imagination of the improvising musician – undeniable in the case of Trilla – is a derivative of musical experiences of a nearly 40-year-old mus…

"The title for the CD and compositions were inspired by a desire that Veryan Weston & I had, which was to open up our regular duo's musical improvisational interactions and incorporate other musicians within them, and thereby expand the scope of what we do after many years of playing together. We'd already done a performance with the addition of Violinist and well known Folk Musician Peter Knight at Café Oto which was filmed by Mark French. Alison had recently asked me to play with her and Hanna…

Two great musicians. Two musical Words. First time on CD. Full Circle – new live CD from legendary drummer Hamid Drake and one of the most important American improviser Ned Rothengerg.

Percussionist Jamie Muir was a member of King Crimson during the recording of Larks’ Tongues In Aspic, in 1973. Staying less than a year with Robert Fripp, the Scot had already cut his teeth with another master guitarist, Derek Bailey, as part of the Music Improvisation Company, along with Evan Parker, Hugh Davies and Christine Jeffrey, whose eponymous 1970 album was one of the first releases on ECM. Muir and Bailey recorded Dart Drug eleven years later, in 1981.There’s no shortage of great perc…

"The very first idea that came to my mind was, obviously, to record an album with my own music only. Soon enough I abandoned this idea having realized that a wider context, some clash, would work better. Even more importantly, it should be emphasized that the place of this instrument is here, amongst others. Alone, but simultaneously surrounded by a full orchestra of references and contexts.Therefore, it was my intention to turn to an artist who combines the two fascinations - different varietie…

2016 release ** Established in 2013 and currently having over 50 floating members, the Warsaw Improvisers Orchestra acts as a resource for musicians to meet and work in a large improvising ensemble, or in smaller units within a larger context. Spontaneous music making is our remit, but on occasion, scores both regular and graphic may be used as well as visual cues presented by visual artists.  The orchestra is a chance for people to develop a deeper understanding of the relationship of sound and…

Lifeblood of the cultural diaspora of Apartheid, Dyani left South Africa with the Blue Notes in 1964. His amazing discography includes crucial collaborations with Don Cherry, Steve Lacy, Dollar Brand, the Brotherhood Of Breath and Derek Bailey.Here he is performing solo at a jazz festival in Switzerland in 1978, testing the compositions which would comprise his monumental LP African Bass, out two years later. Double bass, gongs, piano and singing. Knockabout, mystical roots — spell-binding and e…

Edition of 300 copies, newly remastered for optimal sound.The meeting of Masahiko Sato with Albert Mangelsdorff in a recording studio was planned in summer ‘71. Sato, Japan’s leading pianist, had recorded with Wolfgang Dauner, Attila Zoller, Jean-Luc Ponty, Gary Peacock and Charles Mingus. He wanted to play on a record with Albert Mangelsdorff and as both were invited for the Berlin Jazz Festival 1971 there was a good opportunity to record them there. This – first released as an original ENJA pr…

For a label that wasn't around long, Strata East achieved the same sort of label recognition that Impulse! or Blue Note managed to build. In other words, you knew what you were getting when you bought a record on the label, even if you didn't know the names on the outside of the cover. "Don't Look Back" is an album led by American saxophonist Harold Vick recorded in 1974 and released in the wake of Harold Vick's recovery from a heart attack, which may partially explain the passion with which he …

2017 release. Most of the musicians who gathered to record this fantastic spiritual jazz record for the Strata-East label on May 24th, 1974 had crossed each other's paths in various musical pairings over the preceding few years. Husband and wife team Dee Dee Bridgewater (vocals) and Cecil Bridgewater (trumpet) had been working together on albums like Frank Foster's "Loud Minority", and Roy Ayers' "Coffy" and "Virgo Red". Ten weeks before the "Freedom Of Speech" session, the couple had been joine…

One of the most unique albums on the Strata East label – and that's saying a heck of a lot, given the creative energies flowing through that legendary jazz outlet! Descendents Of Mike & Phoebe is a righteous little project put together by Spike Lee's father, Bill Lee, and his brothers and sisters (Cliff Lee, Grace Lee Mims, and Consuela Lee Moorhead) – working here in a group named after their slave ancestors, who are paid tribute in a beautifully flowing batch of tunes! Lee's round, warm bass t…

Recorded in Liverpool back in 2003, this improvised performance unites two of the UK's foremost improv exponents (Tony Bevan and Paul Hession) with two pioneers of modern free music, the multi-talented guitarist, turntablist and noise artist Otomo Yoshihide and the late, great Derek Bailey.The performance shuffles into first gear during the speculative, tentative first throes of "No Hiding Place/Softly Softly", establishing a ruthlessly abstract sound world from the outset, only to tighten up sl…

The Pipeline group begins as a trio, with Gianmaria Aprile and Simone Fratti. After a short period of free improvisation I suggested to face some compositions of mine, following a path that I’d been testing here and there for a while. In spite of the pieces being written quite traditionally, with a bass line, internal voices and in some cases even chord guidelines, I didn’t give Gianmaria and Simone the full score but I just played each piece repeatedly, leaving them free to improvise and slowly…

Outstanding freeform blow-out by Free jazz percussionist, experimental composer, and all-round awesome dude Cristiano Calcagnile. The album features Calcagnile’s technically-brilliant drumming accompanied by a menagerie of found objects, glockenspiel, aerophone instruments and electrified metal sheet. The resultant is utterly unique. A vibrant album that blazes a trail of rhythmic intensity taking in many styles on his journey, also incorporating combustible electronics and effects in complex bu…

CD Version. Limited, exclusive, extended reissue of Hot Lotta, one of the rarest items in Peter Brötzmann’s oeuvre. Hot Lotta was a special cultural event, the meeting of the brightest free jazz talent from Germany and Finland. Peter Brötzmann and Peter Kowald were joined by Edward Vesala and Juhani Aaltonen for the studio session that resulted in the album but also toured Finland and recorded a radio session. That radio session has now been unearthed and is presented as an added bonus in this o…

LP version. Mastered at half speed. 180 gram vinyl; Stoughton tip-on sleeve. We Release Jazz (WRWTFWW Records' new sister-label) presents its first release, the official reissue of Ryo Fukui's highly sought-after masterpiece Scenery, originally released in 1976. Unquestionably one of the most important Japanese jazz albums ever recorded, Scenery reveals Ryo Fukui as a miraculously brilliant self-taught pianist fusing modal, bop, and cool jazz influences for a very personal, dexterous, and g…

2018 repress. Landmark work from the Finnish scene of the 60s – one of those ultra-rare European jazz records that collectors have dug for decades! The set's got a stark, modern sort of feel – but also a nice soulful swing, too – a balance that few of the other Scandinavians hit so well at the time – as they were either hanging between farther-out progressions, or more inside, tightly arranged jazz! Drummer Christian Schwindt's vision here is exceptional – full of rich feeling, deep tone, and ca…

Hot Chip frontman Alexis Taylor originally presented these recordings on Treader in 2008- his debut solo recording. Finally available on LP, this set of intimately recorded, bespoke songs and instrumentals is dedicated to his partner, Keri Darn. Charming and Disarming.The very latest release on the beautifully presented Treader label comes Hot Chip frontman/vocalist and possible Gerry Anderson marionette Alexis Taylor, who threads together a series of instrumentals and pop songs with a little he…

2018 small repress. Honest Jon's Records present a reissue of Derek Bailey and Anthony Braxton's Royal, expanded to include both intended volumes. Volume 1 was originally released in 1984; the second volume was never issued. The second release in a series of collaborations between Honest Jon's Records and Incus: three double-LPs of the legendary free-improvising guitarist Derek Bailey, solo (HJR 200LP) and in duos with Anthony Braxton and Han Bennink (HJR 202LP), augmenting the original releases…

Corbett Vs. Dempsey present a reissue of Steve Lacy's Stamps, originally released in 1979 as a double-LP on Hat Hut. Stamps was Steve Lacy's first for the legendary Swiss label, and it remains one of the strongest statements of what he termed the "scratchy seventies". With the classic lineup of Lacy's soprano saxophone, Steve Potts on soprano and alto sax, Irene Aebi on cello (and singing on one track), Kent Carter on bass, and Oliver Johnson on drums, the recording catches the band live, perfor…

Corbett Vs. Dempsey present the first CD reissue of Beaver Harris and Don Pullen 360º Experience's A Well-Kept Secret, originally released on Shemp Records in 1984. Of all the never-issued-on-CD items in history's dustbin, A Well-Kept Secret is perhaps the most egregious. The beautiful studio recording, made under the watchful ear of überproducer Hal Willner, was first issued on LP in 1985 on Willner's own Shemp label. With its unconventional lineup featuring steel drums, Latin percussion, and F…

Never one to shy away from unusual projects, cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm set out into the mosquito-infested swamps of Florida's Everglades in search of a host of amphibious collaborators. In the night air, he bowed and plucked in conversation with the environment, especially the vocalizing frogs, which seemed to take him on as an exotic member of their own. Impeccably documented by the experienced soundscape artist and field recordist Gustavo Matamoros, working like a perverse herpetologist, Lonbe…

Discussing this impending studio date, the indefatigable saxophonist Mats Gustafsson and intrepid vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz decided to compose new pieces for one another. The resulting tracks -- which also include a hallucinogenic arrangement of "Timeless", dedicated to its composer, the recently deceased guitarist John Abercrombie -- show a markedly different side of both musicians. Quiet, at times tender, this meeting of like-minded musicians evoked a new kind of tension, not one birthed o…

Strictly limited to 550 hand-numbered copies, this deluxe 2-LP edition presents the complete recordings by the hitherto invisible 1974 quartet of Frank Lowe, Joe Bowie, William Parker, and Steve Reid. For what would have been his second album as leader, Frank Lowe captured this cataclysmic quartet in-studio at Survival and in performance at Studio Rivbea. Lowe called it "Logical Extensions". These 1974 tapes went unreleased and are heard only now in this rediscovered and expanded volume. Out Lou…

"More than a decade since their first (and last) trio album, Dim Bulb (2005), 'Buffalo Steve,' Chris Corsano and Paul Flaherty are back on the attack. The three recorded as part of a larger ensemble on the Open Mouth LP, Wrong Number (2014), but they have a certain way of creating focused trio dynamics that makes babies talk in tongues and old men drool. The line-up is a bit unorthodox -- two saxes (one a goddamn baritone) and drums. You might almost be tempted to call the format European. B…

* Repress! Includes printed inner sleeves * Double LP version with printed inner sleeve. Born Bad Records presents the music of Cameroonian musician Francis Bebey, circa 1982-1984. "The first time I saw a sanza (a type of African 'thumb piano'), it was just sitting there on a piece of furniture in my family's living room/dining room -- a space that our father also transformed into a recording studio every day. It seemed more like a box than a musical instrument: a mysterious instrument, which ar…

**A labor of love, this marvelous self-produced six-disc set collects trumpeter Bill Dixon's previously unreleased solo recordings since the 1970s.** 2001 release. Odyssey is the definitive compendium of solo trumpet music by Bill Dixon, as compiled by the artist. Dixon (1925-2010) was known primarily for his small and large ensemble masterpieces of the decades between Intents and Purposes (1967) and Tapestries (2009). While he appeared infrequently in solo performances, he was continually evolv…

Braz Gonsalves was an Indian jazz musician (soprano and alto saxophone, clarinet). He is considered one of the great saxophonists of India and one of the outstanding musicians of contemporary jazz in Goa. He first worked as an entertainment musician, before he became one of the pioneers of Indo jazz rock and 1970 recorded the album 'Raga Rock' in Calcutta. After Ananda Shankar there are very few other Indian jazzmen that can be named to have spanned the continental musical barriers of East and W…

** Edition of 300 copies ** Istanbul based multi-instrumentalist Umut Çağlar founded the Turkish free jazz band Konstrukt at the beginning of 2008. Since then the band went through many line-up changes and collaborated with with the likes of Peter Brötzmann, Joe McPhee, William Parker and Keiji Haino, continuosly evolving its sound. The band is currently formed by Çağlar, Korhan Futacı, Apostolos Sideris, Erdem Göymen and Berkan Tilavel and this EP - recorded at Hayyam Studio in Istanbul in 2017…

**edition of 200 copies** To be considered a twin release of the previous For Ornette 7". The single consists of two more short tracks - taken from the same Hayyam session - where the five-piece goes bebop, building some rhythmic and harmonic complexity filled by solo virtuosisms of core-members Korhan Futacı (saxophone) and Umut Çağlar (electric guitar).

**Completely sold-out at source, few copies avaialble** Cymbals has finally landed… and brought a 2nd saucer with it! Originally recorded for the Impulse! jazz label in ’73, Cymbals makes its first legitimate release on vinyl, paired with a second LP of unheard material from the same sessions. Hear Sun Ra’s Baroque soundscapes, electrolytic clusters and dithering Moogs catalyze images of monoliths, space stations, computers malfunctioning and galaxies imploding on pristine red and green vinyl wi…

More unearthed tape from a jazz icon! This second volume of Jazz Mill recordings shows Barney firmly at the top of his game. Once again, Barney Kessel and the Jazz Millers (pianist Pete Jolly, drummer Art Kile, and bassist Gene Stoffell) interpret a variety of standards from The Great American Songbook and each arrangement serves to demonstrate the group’s superb chops and collective creativity. In “Mean to Me,” a vintage standard from 1929, a high velocity rendition of Harold Arlen’s “Let’s Fal…