Jazz & Improvisation / All styles

In improvised music, double bass and drums have a very different role to that in rock or jazz. Freed of the duties of “the rhythm section,” they are featured as much as any other instrument, without having to wait in line for their turn to solo. They are equal partners in the collective enterprise of music making. Bassists or drummers who have arrived at improv via rock or jazz often seem to relish the freedom they are afforded and become more extroverted. One need look no further than Ha…

Grey-area exact LP repro edition, originally released on Fahey's Takoma label in 1967. Charlie Nothing was the fractured-psyche pseudonym of author, organic farmer, beekeeper and philosopher/clown Charles Martin Simon, inventor of the dingulator (guitar sculptures made out the metal from American cars). The Psychedelic Saxophone Of Charlie Nothing made a minor splash in the European free jazz melting pot upon its initial release, but the album's non-dingulating psych sax improvisation, acc…

In view of the band's assertion that this is a program designed to be listened to in one sitting, it seems a little impertinent to discuss highlights. The seven tracks that make up "Throat" seem a little arbitrary in view of the overall discontinuity of the release, but in as much as this is music which has no time for a lot of preconceptions, that might be an inherent part of the band's intentions. The opening is where the Brotzmann reference comes into its own, but before the piece is o…

The first song on side A, Brainville, is such a great start, a walk down a busy street full of fascinating people all going somewhere. Everyone's in a good mood. You are among an intelligent group of people with senses of humor. They like to laugh at situations they find themselves in, and at themselves, sometimes. What a great introduction. You want to stay among these people, keep listening to them, keep watching them.The second song, Call For All Demons, has a catchy main phrase going …

Die Schachtel is proud to present a recording that embodies the virtuosity of Thollem McDonas and Stefano Scodanibbio in the spirit of Claude Debussy's rebellious creativity.  As Terry Riley wrote: “Anyone who has heard Thollem or Scodanibbio as a soloist might well imagine what a combination of their unique genius could produce.  Awesome, well matched virtuosos in an ocean of sound." During the listening of this CD, you will witness the renowned talent of Scodanibbio, a 21st ce…

Awesome analog recordings from this quintet of European Free Improvisers taken from their 1975 Incus LP, and a previously unissued recording live at London's Little Theatre Club, 1973. 'The 1975 release of the Teatime LP introduced the outside world to five of the 'second generation' London-based improvisers: Steve Beresford (piano & toys), Nigel Coombes (violin & low grade electronics), John Russell (electric guitar), Dave Solomon (percussion) & Garry Todd (tenor saxophone). The main contents a…

RESTOCKED: 2-CD collection of the ex-leader of legendary Afro-spiritual/deep funk/free jazz group from 1970s Ohio (later in SF), The Pyramids. Their music is one of the most deep attempts by African-Americans, deep sounds like Strata-East, aggressive performances like Tribe or Black Jazz, every free jazz/funk collectors should agree on it. Featuring 10 pieces of The Pyramids taken from their 3 albums and unreleased (!) recordings (included first live recording in Holland!). Notably The Pyramids …

Determined to continue collaborating with revolutionary blitzkrieg musicians in perpetuity, Talibam! Matt Mottel and Kevin Shea were set up on a blind date with Alan Wilkinson by Bo' Weavil Recordings for a London basement show in May '08. Like a late '60's Sadean love-in ripe with Joycean epiphanies, Talibam! heard in Wilkinson's tone the strength and grit of a fine british pint served cool and fresh…a perfect energy to swing-bounce their rolly polly hieroglyphic dance mayhem. A second gig happ…

A monographic box-set collection aimed at recounting the most beautiful chapters that revolutionised the history of jazz. This new series was launched in March 2010 with the simultaneous release of four box-sets, including albums by some of the artists who participated in the success of the outstanding labels. A philological work, beginning with the original recordings on multi-track master tapes, patiently integrally remastered paying strict attention to the sound quality. Bill Dixon organized …

A special project fully produced by William Parker for his own Centering Records imprint and dedicated to his Aunt Carrie Lee & Uncle Joe (who is pictured on the album cover) – they celebrate their 65th wedding anniversary on August 6th, 2010. William really wanted to get this done in time for this auspicious date and he did. Seven of the songs on this CD were written in December 2009 especially for this recording session which took place on January 22, 2010; Ennio's Tag and Oasis were p…

"The controversial and influential Naked City Black Box couples two of Zorn's most extreme and violent creations. Torture Garden (1991) presents Naked City's intense and groundbreaking music combining free jazz, bebop, r&b, country, funk, rockabilly, surf, metal and grindcore—usually in the same song! The rare, seldom heard Leng Tch'e (1992), released only in Japan and long out-of-print features Naked City in an agonizingly slow, brutal 32-minute assault. This special 20th anniversary ed…

10 CDs documenting three full concerts from March, September & November 1978 at the Horseshoe Tavern; 8 hours of excellent music, well recorded and available here for the first time (none have been on bootleg lists) and a long radio interview with Sun Ra. This is a chance to experience the flexibility and vast repertoire of the arkestra and the way sets were organised and constantly changed. This is a numbered limited edition of 500 copies, officially released

UK free jazz guitar icon in unreleased solo material remastered from the original reel-to-reel recordings recorded in London, 1974, Bailey playing mostly electric guitar.  Previously unreleased recordings, remastered from original reel-to-reel tapes. The music on this CD came to light when, during preparations for the reissue of Derek Bailey's Lot 74 - Solo improvisations (incusCD57), Karen Brookman discovered tow reel-to-reel tapes stored along with the original album masters. They turn out to …

restocked, very last copies : awesome LP reissue on Qbico's new label Sagittarius A-Star, unreleased before and limited to 200 copies only "one day i was reading a book about the Milky Way... the name for the black hole at the center of our galaxy was called Sagittarius A-Star... ding ! it just sounded perfect ! later on i was checking out Father Yod wonderful book to find out the right pic for the cover... could i have ever envisioned something better for the front cover of the A-Star rocket #0…

The release of this, our fifth album, coincides with the tenth anniversary of our first concert together, in Philadephia in 2000. Thanks to all the friends, fans, promoters, and producers who have made it possible for us to continue playing, recording, and touring together all these years. It’s a privilege and pleasure for us and we look forward to sharing the next decade with all of you.

This is a great live performance of the best Lithuanian contemporary jazz musicians played live at the small punk club in Vilnius. That was a hot night. Liudas Mockunas - tenor, baritone and soprano saxophonesEugenijus Kanevicius - bass and electronicsDalius Naujokaitis – drums

On Journey, violinist India Cooke and bassist Joelle Leandre improvise in that exalted state of grace that every improviser hopes to attain. It’s a state in which everything they play just works. It’s as if they can’t play a bad note or make a sound that doesn’t advance the music. In this state, the music unfolds without prior arrangement and at speeds too fast for conscious control, yet it’s development and intent is always clear. That deep communication between two or more people is exactly wh…

 'It could be a walrus. Some very large, ungainly, semi-aquatic creature expelling air through a hole layered with tissue and fat and hairs. But then multiple apertures open at once and the creature just spouts information, chaotic from one angle, streamlined from another. Effluvia momentarily expelled, the beast lies down and breathes in short, percolating gasps, quiet but insistent. The pressure builds, however, surging in near-regular waves, causing the organ-walls to quiver, liquid to shudde…

The Respect Sextet, a young New York jazz group, plays music by Sun Ra and Karlheinz Stockhausen, drawing comparisons between the two composers and asking how the idea of space shaped their work.

Norton recently took a rocket ride into the vaults of El Saturn Research and arrived back on Earth with a motherlode of unissued early R&B, doo wop, soul and general weirdness featuring Sun Ra and his Arkestra backing a variety of artists. This series consists of two albums of Doo Wop from Saturn and Beyond entitled Interplanetary Melodies and The Second Stop Is Jupiter plus a set of totally twisted sides called Rocket Ship Rock featuring Yochanan 'The Outer Space Vocalist' (with his demented Sa…

nterstellar vocal group numbers and doo wop from the Sun Ra vaults – a couple rare release and a bunch of previously unissued numbers featuring The Cosmic Rays, Crystals, Nu Sounds and Juanita Rogers – teenage vocal group numbers, bits of bebop and spacey doo wop released for the first time ever! The Second Stop Is Jupiter is Volume 2 in Norton's compilations of early, vocals centered Sun Ra material – beautifully done, and worthy for more than just Ra completists – it's a treasure trove…

 "The recording and release of Onecept celebrates David S. Ware's 50th year of singular and profound saxophone artistry; a studio session specifically arranged for same featuring Ware on three saxophones - saxello, stritch, tenor - along with fellow musical masters William Parker (stalwart fellow prophet) on bass and Warren Smith (also featured on Ware's album Shakti) on drums and tympani. Unlike almost every previous album Ware has made in the past 20 years (Corridors & Parallels being another …

In some ways, Commitment was typical of many bands of their time. Between 1978 and 1984, they enjoyed a modest success by the subterranean standards of the Lower East Side. They struggled for gigs during the waning years of the New York loft scene, enjoyed higher profile gigs at several Kool Jazz Festivals, made one short European tour, and recorded one LP. But their music is more significant than this story might indicate. Hwang was among the first improvisers to emerge out of the Asian …

“Prism” is the result of the collaboration between upright bassist William Parker and Italian guitarist Ninni Morgia. William Parker needs no introduction; a master player of his instrument, Derek Bailey described him as “one of the few ones left who play pure Free Jazz”. Ninni Morgia, after proving his talent and versatility on his previous works (Control Unit with Daniel Carter, The Right Moves, Quivers…) here reaches the top-level of avant guitar, his sounds ranging from Stockhausen’s ta…

lucky restock, VERY few copies left...A special friend said to me that he waited a while before unhidden the most precious gem from his vast Sun Ra's archive... Big bang!" Recorded August 11, 1986. Sun Ra- piano, synth, voice, Tyrone Hill- trombone, Marshall Allen- alto sax, flute, percussion, John Gilmore- tenor sax, clarinet, Ronald Wilson- tenor sax, Eloe Omoe- alto sax, bass clarinet, James Jacson- Infinity drum, Pat Patrick-alto sax, electric bass, Billy Bang- violin, percussion, Bruce…

Phil Musra, Micheal Cosmic, Hüseyin Ertunç; Intex/Cosmic labels... these are LEGENDARY names from the US underground jazz music scene of the 70's... They released one LP under each name and if you got one of those rare gems, you'd easily feel LUCKY! Musra album came out back in 1974, more then 35 years ago... so we're really pleased here at Sagittarius A-Star to be able to present the come back of such an underrated musician, who got style, a unique one for sure! His compositions are reall…

Michel Doneda (saxophone soprano) and Taavi Kerikme (piano). Recorded in april 2008 in the studio of Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre by Tammo Sumera and in december 2009 in Kanuti Gildi AAL by Ats Treimaa. Mastered by Margo Kolar. Design by Raul Keller. Original artwork by Michel Doneda

Limited to 500 copies, groundbreaking reissue for one of the best Sun Ra album... In the winter months of 1977-1978, philosopher, pianist and bandleader Sun Ra was in Italy. The Italian tour resulted in releases on Sun Ra's own Saturn label, all of which have long been out of print and all but impossible to find. This re-release capture a side of Sun Ra's work - small ensemble, close form, original composition, rather minimal - that is otherwise under-represented. Depending heavily on Ra's elect…

Drivan is a new band project from Norwegian electronica star and graphic designer, Kim Hiorthoy, featuring a line-up of pan-Scandinavian pals: Swedes Lisa Ostberg and Louise Peterhoff and Kristiina Viiala of Finland. The group met while working on a dance piece titled The Potato Country in 2007, and the three girls in the band all come from different corners of the performing arts spectrum, yet everyone involved in Drivan contributed lyrics and melodies for the album, working off the bac…

Bassist Kent Carter chose the ensemble of two string and two wind players from amongst the most experienced musicians in Europe to record the studio and live compositions in this exceptional 3 CD set. "The meeting of four of the most experienced musicians in Europe, all of whom have worked with each other in various groups, except that this was the first time that Jorgensmann and Rolin had met. The totally improvised music shows their individual strengths as well as their ability to work …

For a decade jazz cornetist Josh Berman has been a mainstay of the post-Vandermark generation of Chicago improvisers, a wide circle of ambitious musos who meet up in varied ad hoc or fixed settings: a circle including all the players in Josh's group Old Idea. He's already recorded some--as, say, part of a quartet on Chicago-Luzern Exchange alongside tenor saxophonist Keefe Jackson, with Jackson's big and small bands Project Project and Fast Citizens, wit…

A duo improvisation between French trombonist Mathias Forge and Brussels-based improviser Olivier Toulemonde, recorded live in Sheffield in January 2010, with and without audience. Pie'n'mash – its title playfully referencing the traditional London working-class dish – documents the meeting of two remarkable musicians who were relative unknowns at the time but who have since been recognized as significant voices within post-reductionist improvisation. Forge, a virtuosic young trombonist, demonst…

An improbable yet utterly compelling duo pairing tuba and spinet – two instruments rarely heard together in musical history, brought into dialogue by German tubaist Carl Ludwig Hübsch and Swiss spinet player Christoph Schiller. Recorded in Cologne in November 2009, Giles U. documents seven pieces that explore the sonic possibilities of this unconventional combination, creating what one critic aptly described as "the kind of thing you might hear if a steampunk novel became sound." Hübsch, a major…

A duo encounter between two of the most distinctive voices in European improvised music: Welsh violinist Angharad Davies and German trumpeter Axel Dörner. Recorded in December 2008 at a West London house, A.D. documents an intimate meeting between two musicians who share a profound commitment to extended technique and sonic exploration, creating music that transcends the conventional boundaries of their instruments. Dörner has long been recognized as one of the most consistently innovative trump…

Norway's Smalltown Supersound label is just one of those imprints that you have to keep an eye on, because if not you're sure to miss out on some nugget of psyched avant-metal or North European disco that you'll be kicking yourself over neglecting in 10 years time. 'Smalltown Supersound On Fire' is a very handy and rather essential compendium of forthcoming releases on the label, including tracks from Arp, Meanderthals, Diskjokke and Tussle alongside remixes from the likes of Prins Thomas and Bj…

Legendary recordings by Johansson and friends, precursor of today´s minimalistic impro. Includes 30 minutes solo by sax player Frippe Nordström. CD I recorded at Club Litfass, Berlin, 1968; CD 2, track 1 recorded at SR, Stockholm, 1970; CD 2, tracks 2-4 recorded at Club 7, Oslo, 1972.Sven-Åke Johansson, drums, voice; Norbert Eisbrenner, guitar, alto saxophone, voice; Bengt Nordstöm, tenor saxophone (CD2 track 1); Werner Götz bass (CD 1, CD2 track 1); Peter Dyck, cello (CD2 tracks 2-4).

Four-CD box of duo improvisations for saxophones, drums, percussion and electronics by Anthony Braxton and Gerry Hemingway, their first recorded collaboration in twelve years, made at Wesleyan University in August 2007.

Awesome new LP, just arrived, Referencing the delicate artistic printing method, this nonet recording presented by Harris Eisenstadt on drums and compositions, Michael McGinnis on clarinet, Jason Mears on alto saxophone, Sara Schoenbeck on bassoon, Mark Taylor on french horn, Brian Drye on trombone, Jay Rozen on tuba, Jonathan Goldberger on electric guitar and Garth Stevenson on acoustic bass (with smaller groups frequently breaking out) is a model of artistic restraint. At times sounding like a…

The performance on this LP was recorded live at Roulette in New York last year. I have appreciated Knuffke's playing and music before, and I will do it again here. His tone is always full and warm, and he's a master at taking tough bends easily. The music is jazz in its purest sense : improvisational joy and emotional expressivity in a compact form. There is nothing but pulse in the pieces they play, even if the rhythms are not always explicit or when there are no patterns, the three musici…

restocked, but very few available...LP art edition of 310 numbered copies, recorded on 1973, NEVER previously issued on vinyl, this is a jewel from saturn: try to find it in the cosmo if you can. This  albums originally intended for release by Impulse! in the early 1970s,  Cymbals is very a much a continuation of efforts like The Night of the Purple Moon, with an overall extended sax workouts, and built out with plenty of welcoming grooves.  An highlight from a fertile period when Sun Ra and his…