Jazz & Improvisation / All styles

Two related classic Saturn LP reissues on a single CD, both recorded at the Detroit Jazz Centre - in 1980 and 1981 respectively. They share an excellent sound quality and great playing - there's a classic version of Rocket No.9 and plenty of otherworldly Moog and electronic keyboards - up there with Ra's best on record. Rocket excepted, all the pieces are original to these LPs and don't appear elsewhere (though the first track of Purple is heard again at the end, with another name (exactl…

Recorded in 1984, this issue on vinyl of a performance by German bass clarinetist Michel Pilz and French drummer Jean-Noël Cognard is everything my heart needs today, bringing raw but lyrical improvisations on two short album sides (really too short). Both musicians are absolutely great to hear. Pilz's tone on the bass clarinet is excellent, and so are his improvisations. He did not release much under his own name, but performed amonst others with the Globe Unity Orchestra, Peter Kowald and Manf…

“A 4000 year old rock band" W. S. Burroughs. Recognised internationally, Jajouka goes back up to the late Rolling Stone Brian Jones, across his collaboration of 1968, but also to Paul Bowles, Brion Gysin, and William S.Burroughs which had already established their residences for some years together with these musicians of the mountains of Rif. "The Source" is the new record of The "true" Master Musicians of Jajouka and it goes back to the origins of their sacred music. Bachir Attar, last …

Howard Riley : piano. CD 1 was recorded on 23rd July 1998. CD 2 was recorded on 11th April, 1999. CD 3 was recorded on 29th June 2004. CD 4 was recorded on 2nd August 2006. CD 5 was recorded on 27th June 2008. CD 6 was recorded on 22nd April 2010. All compositions by Howard Riley (PRS MCPS). Mastered by Ar nas Zujus at MAMAstudios. Design by Oskaras Anosovas. Producer Ð Danas Mikailionis. Co-producer : Valerij Anosov.' label info. 'The beauty of a short story, of course, is that it can be taken …

arthur doyle- tenor sax, voice; vin paternostro- roland 505; ed wilcox- percussions; leslie q- bass ;rec. march 26 & 27, 2004 at springwater tavern & artswatch...the final available rec. i have left of Arthur, unfortunatly ?! i kept it for the last since i find it a really special goody: a more intimate 4et live dates from 2004

Moody, open, and airy – not really a jazz record, but one that feels quite improvisational in nature – although more in the ways you might get from an extended minimalist jam at start of the 70s! Instrumentation here includes synth, music box, violins, guitar, kalimba, and toy keyboard – but often used in these really abstracted ways, so that the sounds float out in the air, and are circled back a bit – and getting nice and noisy by the end! (Limited edition.)

Bertrand Denzler tenor saxophone. Recorded by Christophe Hauser on february 21st, 2010. 'As well as being part of such improvisation ensembles as Hubbub, Trio Sowari and Propagations Sax Quartet, Bertrand Denzler, who plays the tenor saxophone, also records solo music. Each of the three lengthy pieces on Tenor use a single note which are subsequently layered. Not by repeating them on the computer, like say Phill Niblock would do this, but by adding small variations in how he plays them. In Filte…

"the coming together of this quartet on "paper of pins" has resulted in mature, yet unforced sounding compositions. the touching number "brown reduse" wins you over with its catchy piano sounds and subtle trumpet which is rounded off by the electronica. it's a small orchestral gem in the jazz style which is still edgy despite its perfection. this is highlighted, for example, by the fact that you can hear the brass player drawing breath on some tracks. certainly, the scottish composer is no perfe…

Surprisingly, this remarkable and magnificently captured performance has never been issued on LP (or CD) before. Sun Ra and his larger than usual Arkestra are caught live here – dancers and all – sometime during 1971 at the Théâter du Châtelet in Paris, France for what is surely one of the Arkestra's finest concert happenings – particularly during this period.While Ra's Arkestra was recorded live several times during 1971, the personnel and the instrumentation presented here are closest to a Oct…

Recorded mostly in the early'60s with Ra, Marshall Allen, John Gilmore, James Jacson, Nimrod Hunt and Thea Barbara, Space Probe explores stripped back forms and colour combinations that are far from jazz Ð or that attempt, very successfully, to take jazz into wholly new territories. Especially notable is the extraordinary Conversation Of J.P. for piano and percussion which, along with the opening track - an 18-minute Moog solo, probably recorded in 1970, just after Ra had newly acquired the…

restocked, 2010 repress. Exact repro, originally released in 1973 on the Strata-East affiliated Black Fire label. This is the first LP from this classic Afro free jazz group. Very much in the spirit of the Art Ensemble of Chicago, but with more spiritual/soul jazz stylings tempering the pure free jazz fire music vibe. The group would shortly hereafter change their name to Oneness of Juju.

"The boundaries in jazz have now become smoother, the horizon is expanding. Dauner, Mariano and Saluzzi anticipated these developments back in the eighties. You can hear it immediately: three world class musicians get together. Wolfgang Dauner is one of the pioneers of German jazz and is one of the first avant-garde players; he also explores classical territory on the piano. Charlie Mariano showed for decades that he had an open ear for world music influences. And the virtuoso on the bandoneon, …

"Best known for his collaborations with people like Paul Flaherty, Michael Flower and Thurston Moore as well as a year-and-a-half stint as the drummer for Björk's Volta tour, Chris Corsano is widely considered to be one of the best and most adaptive drummers of his generation. Equally adaptive is UK saxophone giant, Paul Dunmall, who has worked disparately with jazz greats like Alice Coltrane and Evan Parker as well as funk and folk acts like Johnny Guitar Watson and Dando Shaft. After a…

"Our third volume of Sun Ra spoken word opens with a rare space story that I discovered on an unmarked five inch reel of tape. When I played the recording, I discovered an incredible story recited by an unknown artist, with Sun Ra going beyond the call of duty on keyboard. Included are two complete lengthy performances from this 1967 session.... The group recitation, 'The Outer Darkness,' is a reworking of the poem 'I Seek A Better World' originally recited by Ray Stubbs on the first volume.... …

2011 release (light storage wear) ** Limited edition of 150 copies. 'Carl Fredrik Reuterswrd is an artist known for his dadaistic works and Ulf Linde is not only an art professor, he was one of the leading Swedish jazzmen in the early 50s. Usually playing vibraharp. But together with Carl Fredrik on drums they played in small clubs for a while in the late 50s a kind of jazz that is free jazz before it was named that. It is an utterly rare example of free European jazz. Linde plays piano and Reut…

'When dealing with female interpreters of the art of advanced vocalism, four personal favourites come to mind : Diamanda Galàs, Meredith Monk, Shelley Hirsch and - more recently - Non Credo's Kira Vollman. I'm afraid that I'll have to add a fifth chair at the table. I had already met Ute Wassermann in a great CD on Creative Sources, Kunststoff, a duo with trumpet player Birgit Ulher; yet, Birdtalking is one of those records that immediately raise all aerials, a top-rank effort in which a single …

"The second installment in Atavistic's Out Trios series features three highly regarded Chicago-based artists: guitarist Jeff Parker (Tortoise / Isotope), electronics savant Kevin Drumm (drag city solo / vandermark territory band) and Chicago free jazz titan Michael Zerang (solistice w/hamid drake). Check." (Boomkat)

On Vintage Duets, Anderson is joined by Steve McCall, a drummer who touched many listeners with his style and sensitivity, especially as a member of the group Air. McCall worked with Anderson at various points from early in his career. Recorded on 11 January 1980 at Soto Studios. (label)

Sun Ra's second album was a Delmark release, although it was originally intended for the Transition label, which did not survive long enough to release it. Recorded in 1957. Personnel: Sun Ra, piano, electric piano; Art Hoyle & Dave Young, trumpets; John Gilmore, tenor sax; Pat Patrick, alto & baritone sax; Jim Herndon, tympani, timbali; Julian Priester, trombone; Charles Davis, baritone sax; Victor Sproles, bass; William Cochran, drums; Clyde Williams, vocals. (label)

"The second album by Matt Ulery’s Loom fulfills the desire of its leader to front a “band with a sound not only determined by the compositions and the instrumentation, but with the actual players who perform the music.” Ulery, a Chicago-based bassist and composer, adds, “This is why Loom has had an immediately identifiable sound, striving for maximum range of emotional depth while appealing far beyond strictly jazz listeners.” Loom projects a sonically rich, expansive sound on Flora. Fauna. Ferv…

"Not since Albert Ayler stalked the hamnar of Stockholm and reverberated his fire music off the walls of LES tenements has there been an avant-garde jazz saxophonist who can all out wail like Virginia Genta can.  Don’t let her calm presence fool you.  Nor should David Vanzan’s taller stature lead to believe this is not an equal opportunity free jazz freak-out.  From when their poles first were converged by the Cosmic Force in 1999, Italy’s (with Finnish godparents) Jooklo Duo has been winning he…

In this incredible big band-style ensemble you'll find the likes of Rob Mazurek and Jeff Parker supporting trumpeter and composer Bill Dixon. Spread across three long-form orchestral narratives, featuring various horns and woodwinds, guitar, piano, vibraphone, timpanis and voice. Far from being the muddled affair it could have become, the musicians each somehow find their own space to cut loose a little within the composition, with an accommodating, airy production to match. Of the three pieces,…

Limited LP edition...MINDBLOWING! a unique and incredible orchestra of acoustic & electronic improvisation. "Jazz cornetist Rob Mazurek has created a sound world that is uniquely his own, sculpting a TOTAL sound environment, by fully utilizing the beautiful instrumentation of the Exploding Star Orchestra and sounds from a variety of sources, including: rain from the Brazilian Amazon, insects at the turn of an eclipse, the hammering overdrive of bicycles in Copenhagen, stacked muted cornets run t…

Aspec(t) are SEC_ and Mario Gabola from Naples, Italy. SEC_ plays electronics through laptop, processed tapes, and analog synthesizer. Mario plays saxophone and feedbacks through a system of resonant drums and small speakers. Their music shares the timbrical research and the execution control typical of some radical impro music (Pateras/Baxter/Brown, John Butcher, Jim Denley, Bruce Russell,..), but meets the visceral intensity and the obscure poetic of the new aktionsm and of noise music (Rudolf…

"Two concert recordings -- never before released, mastered from original radio master tapes-by larger groups led by the German saxophone legend Peter Brötzmann. Both recorded by the esteemed Hessischer Rundfunk organization at the Frankfurt Jazz Festival, in 1968 and 1970. Two of the most explosive, rivetting pieces of music ever to come out of the European vaults. First: an unheard alternate version of Brötzmann's groundbreaking Machine Gun, this time with a nine piece group (same as the LP, ad…

This is the first-ever release of not ONE but TWO classic Basil Kirchin soundtracks, one from 1965, the other 1971. It's music for strippers, wife-swapping, death, birth, crime and chicken factories. Basil Kirchin is a legendary jazz drummer and grandfather of ambient music. He started his jazz career drumming in his father's jazz band. In the war years, he took over the band and post-war travelled to the East, hung out with the Maharishi, found himself, moved to Australia and finally returned h…

Exact repro of this 1980 album, the second Sun Ra album to be released on Philly Jazz following Lanquidity. Undated live recording, not previously reissued on either LP or CD! "Sun Ra's music is equational. It is based on a system and philosophy as old as the most ancient of civilizations, and it points the way of the future as well. Music is not seen as merely entertainment. Ra has oftentimes mentioned the potentials of music to change the social order. In fact, the highlight of many of his per…

Repress, originally released in 2000. Surprise reissue of the most infamous and difficult to procure Sun Ra artifact; originally issued on Amiri Baraka (then LeRoi Jones)'s Jihad label (home of the original Sunny's Time Now by Sunny Murray as well). This is the first release on the DC-based Sonboy label officially sanctioned by Baraka (and mastered from the original tapes that have been sitting in his basement all along). Other unreleased sessions from the Jihad library of tapes are still rumore…

The third album by the established and highly respected Greek/Swedish/Norwegian trio Looper: Nikos Veliotis (cello), Martin Küchen (saxophone) and Ingar Zach (percussion). Recorded at GMEA auditorium in Albi, France, by Benjamin Maumus, January 2010. Music by Looper. Edited, mixed by Nikos Veliotis. Mastered by Coti K. Co-release Cathnor recordings.

300 copies. Combining the beauty of art, poetry and music this beautiful package (available as compact disc or LP) makes for a fitting send off for the great bassist Sirone who passed away not long after this recording was completed. Along with Sirone’s deep and resonant bass, the musicians in this collective performance include Oluyemi Thomas on bass clarinet, flute, soprano, musette and percussion (he also composed the music) and Michael Wimberly on drums and percussion. Like the meditative po…

Other Planes of There (1964) presents Sun Ra (piano) and his Solar Arkestra once again pushing the boundaries on five Ra originals. The exceedingly experimental works are marked by the performers as much as they are by the compositions. The opening title track is an expansive suite of sounds adhering only to the boundless limits of the combo's sonic canvas. Each soloist is given ample room to propel the piece between the inspired Arkestra interjections, which in turn clears the way for the next …

We Travel the Spaceways was recorded at a handful of sessions in Chicago from 1956-1959, possibly 1960. Although several of the tunes also appear on other '50s era recordings, as usual, personnel and arrangements differ from album to album. Many of the tunes are quite bluesy, with tympani, bells, and percussion adding an exotic flair, but the big event here is the appearance of the "space chant," which would become an Arkestra calling card for decades to come. The band was starting to she…

The first album on Saturn! Despite the futurism that the title of the set might imply, the material on this LP is actually some of Sun Ra's earliest, and dates back to the years when the Arkestra was first beginning to make itself heard in Chicago. That doesn't stop the material from being amazing, though, as these prime early tracks really show how strong Ra's vision was, even when it was being applied to material that might look more simple on the surface.

40th volume in the BYG Actuel series; gatefold sleeve, 180 gram vinyl. "'A wild and passionate interstellar mix of free jazz, solo synthesizer and hard rocking cosmic philosophy specifically commissioned by the BYG/Actuel label (and apparently recorded in New York between 1970 and 1971)... this material 'would prove to be one of the cornerstones of the entire Sun Ra/Arkestra career'... with Kwame Hadi, Akh Tal Ebah, Ali Hassan, Charles Stephens, Marshall Allen, Danny Davis, John Gilmore, Danny R…

Soul Jazz Records are re-issuing this lost classic deep jazz album. This is the only recording of Maulawi Nururdin and his group. Originally recorded in Chicago in Sep 1973, and released by a small independent label in Detroit the following year. The music fell between the gap of the avant-garde and straight-ahead jazz, and had elements of Funk and Latin that were rare at the time that meant that commercially it sank without a trace -- but, thirty years on, we can see that these are exactl…

East New York Ensemble de Music came out of the diverse community of Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, where African, West Indian & black American cultures converged. First and foremost a deep Spiritual Jazz record, At The Helm also incorporates elements of the West Indies, and both the Near and Far East. Originally issued in a very small pressing by Folkway Records in 1974, at a time when the label was doing some great underground recordings! The sound is loose and free – spiritually building in a man…

Trio improv; Yoshizawa playing 5 string bass, Kosugi on violin, and Miyake on piano. A post-Cecil thirdstream air about it that's real avant-classical. Fluxus member Kosugi was also a member of '70s legends Taj Mahal Travellers.

Restocked, few copies left: the privately pressed Cairo Free Jazz Ensemble 1st album had always been considered as a kind of legendary album, difficult to find (Hartmut confirmed to me that it was pressed in Egypt in only 200 copies)... here are available for the 1st time ever the sole other recordings left of this mythical Ensemble ! it all started with Salah Ragab & the Cairo Jazz Band playing jazz standards and new compositions in the end of the 60's... then, with the arrival of Hartmut, they…

Rag captures the best from a series of freely improvised meetings between saxophonist George Cartwright and percussionist Davu Seru, recorded at various Minneapolis venues over the course of 2009. Cartwright – longtime leader of Curlew, and owner of a musical c.v. which includes Ornette Coleman, Half Japanese, Alex Chilton and Loren Mazzacane – can be restlessly melodic or jaggedly guttural on the reeds, although his bedrock lyricism is never far from the surface. Seru’s playing is a tr…