Jazz & Improvisation / All styles

Early work by Ra and the Arkestra, recorded in 1958 in Chicago, but not issued until the end of 60s, as one of the best rare sides on Saturn Records! The material's fairly straight, but with a cool off-kilter groove, and some very nice arrangements. The lineup's as classic as can be, and include Gilmore, Pat Patrick, James Spaulding, Marshall Allen, and Hobart Dotson. Hattie Randolph sings on 2 tracks, and Ra plays a bit of celeste. Titles are mostly all standards, given the Ra twist -- and titl…

Originally titled Rocket Number Nine. Tracklisting: Onward, Somewhere in Space, Interplanetary Music, Interstellar Low Ways, Space Loneliness, Space Aura, Rocket Number Nine Take off for the Planet Venus. Recorded at various locations, Chicago, late 1960.

For the recording, Henrik Rylander and Joachim Nordwall of drone operators The Skull Defekts got together with the performance and noise duo The Sons Of God - consisting of conceptual artist and self-proclaimed king of the Kingdoms of Elgaland-Vargaland Leif Elggren and electro-acoustic sound artist Kent Tankred. The place for the meeting was Rylander's Studio Dental and the album was received in one night. the process developed immediately and there was no struggle to find a common idea of soun…

'Architeuthis rex. Leviathan. King. Magnificent sea dweller and haunter of the dreams of Italian artist Antonio Gallucci.  Dark of the Sea is that dream, each of the seven recordings an aperture into a horrific underwater world filled with the fear of what lies outside. Together, the album is a kaleidoscope of Don Cherry's Brown Rice, backward masked King Tubby acetates, strange strings, outer space broadcasts of unholy funeral rites, Native American percussion and metaphysical drone. Illustrati…

Ural Umbo is Reto Mder (Sum of R, RM74) and Steven Hess (Fessenden, Haptic) electrifying internal music through a broad spectrum of instrumentation. Horns, piano, organ, harmonium, bass guitar, strings, electronics, drums and percussion guide the formation of black, subliminal melodies and slow feedback accompaniments. Each piece consumes the organic and dynamically balanced process that created it. With a nod to 1960s horror movie scoring Mder and Hess displace sound from the veil of the supern…

Franz Hautzinger (quartertone trumpet), Masahiko Okura (reeds) and Tetuzi Akiyama (tape delayed electric guitar). Recorded in Tokyo, 2004.A rebus is "a representation of a word or phrase by pictures or symbols", as you probably all know. Just wondering what the words might be then, on listening to this remarkably active (in its discreet lowercase way) trio outing from trumpeter Hautzinger, saxophonist Okura and guitarist Akiyama. EAI is, after all, supposed to be slow and spacious (think Hautzin…

Ground breaking reissue: numbered and limited lavishly packaged 2 X LP + 18 Page Booklet + Hand Written Liner Notes from Bobby Beausoleil + Unreleased Material. "The tales of Charles Manson and his family have been recounted from those who lived it, those who witnessed it, and those who were victimized by it. Deep within the sociopathic tendencies of a man who was abandoned by his blood family and left to rot on the streets and within the U.S. prison system during his youth, there laid a child f…

LP version, ultralimited: For a band with only two members, this group gets an impressive variety of sounds. Rob Mazurek on cornet and Chad Taylor drummer also use the studio as an instrument, alternating between post bop jazz and near ambient soundscapes. Taylor's rhythmic sense is unerring throughout the album, whatever the tempo. Electronics are added at times, and add effect, especially at slower tempos making for spooky music along with slurred horn. "Green Ants" has sputtering …

with Steve Swell: trombone Jemeel Moondoc: alto saxophoneWilliam Parker: double bass Hamid Drake: drum set - This is an album to be cherished, because it reaches back and incorporates styles from swing to post-modern free jazz; and because the playing of Steve Swell and the members of his quartet are as near-perfect as you are likely to find; and because the melodies capture the imagination with a complex beauty that hooks into the inner being of soulfulness. It encompasses a unity of elements…

CONTACT  is made of a DVD filmed during the October 20th 2004 concert at IRCAM (Paris, France) and of a CD recorded in Berkeley (California, USA) on October 13th and 14th 2002. "David Wessel, despite whatever label on can attach to his music, is very familiar with the musical object commonly called jazz (never mind the name we give to this music which is both one and multiple, pushing the limits of its frontiers, the importance being that it exists, whatever the label). He has also played with G…

Tapestries for Small Orchestra, eminent trumpeter/composer Bill Dixon's new multi-disc set, includes two audio CDs of specially commissioned original music plus a documentary film featuring exclusive interviews and session footage (DVD available only with physical release). Made possible in part by a grant from the LEF Foundation's Contemporary Work Fund and the support of the Festival of New Trumpet Music, this project thoroughly documents the three-day recording session at Firehouse 12's stat…

amazing 3xLP set: "Memorable and probably unrepeatable two qbico u-nites rec. in Detroit & Buffalo in 2006. worths mentioning: Perry Robinson jamming with Faruq Z. Bey and Northwoods Improvisors, Muruga Free Funk Band in full glory with the lovely Belita Woods and members of P-Funk, like Louie "Babblin" Kabbabie from Lebanon or Treylewd, Perry too (audience got carried away and i saw people dancing on top of other people shoulders ?!) ! Odu Afrobeat Orchestra led by Fela's alumni Adeboye Adegben…

Again, ultralimet release on qbico, the original music was rec. @ the qbico u-nite XIII which took place @ Issue Project Room in NYC back in Feb. 2009. for sure the opening set by Atiba & Dave Nuss was one of the most original live set i had the pleasure to... see i remember talking with Dave, trying to set up this gig... he came out with this duo, saying that Atiba is the best well kept secret in the NYC... he spotted him playing in Harlem Clubs... nobody knows him, Andrew Barker or Steve... no…

Great album by this Detroit group. The songs range from sticky amoeba-like free ooze to stuff of some international album Folkways suppressed because it was too fucked up for public consumption. Pretty fantastic sleeve. 500 made.

Alto completes a discrete trilogy within JOE MCPHEE’s catalog of unaccompanied waxings (Tenor, 1977, and Soprano, 2007). Recorded live at a Lower East Side bar in 2009, McPhee's explorations on alto saxophone and clarinet are alternately fiery and contemplative, imbued with the masterful intelligence that's marked his work for over forty years. This is a limited edition of 525 copies on 180-gram vinyl, with a JUDITH LINDBLOOM silkscreen print on rice paper and liner notes by HANK SHTEAMER. Digit…

The late Paul Rutherford (trombone), Harrison Smith (saxophones, bass clarinet), Tony Moore (cello) and Eddie Prevost (drums); this is a newly discovered recording of a concert given in Bristol in 1986.' The late Paul Rutherford (trombone), Harrison Smith (saxophones, bass clarinet), Tony Moore (cello) and Eddie Prevost (drums); this is a newly discovered recording of a concert given in Bristol in 1986.' 'A lazier title would have been Memories Of The Future, a predictable contradiction that suc…

Otomo Yoshihide (turntable), Ozeki Mikito (kirie), Mats Gustafsson (baritone saxophone from Mats Gustafsson's solo LP 'It Is All About' on Tyyfus label). Mastered by Jun Numata. Released to commemorate the exhibition Ensembles '09: With Records at Gallery 45-8, Tokyo, October 11-November 8, 2009. No cover, limited 800 copies, serial numbers. Otomo Yoshihide (turntables), Ozeki Mikito (cutout art) and Mats Gustafsson (baritone sax).

Our Swedish hero of sublime saxophones, Mats Gustafsson, performs in three different duo constellations, spanning over three 7″ singles, all collected in a limited 99 copies box of wonder, on Kning Disk KD003-005. Mats collaborates with Fred Lonberg-Holm, Luca Tommaso-Mai and Leif Elggren, resulting in both electric, eclectic and sensational sounds; spanning over one 7″ single per collaboration. Two of the three singles has been previously released on Kning Disk in limited editions. The third co…

Recorded live in June of this year at PIANO.LT in Vilnius, Lithuania, this new limited edition LP on the NoBusiness label will surely please the fans of Charles Gayle, who has now completely switched to alto. Dominic Duval plays bass and Arkadijus Gotesmanas drums, the latter one having taken the initiative for this session that is dedicated to the late Rashied Ali with whom Gayle performed a lot."Hearts Cry", the long first piece has Gayle on alto, playing quite intensely around a limited tonal…

Live At The Yippie is part of a performance by tenor saxophonist Lorenzo Sanguedolce and bassist Michael Bisio, with two tracks clocking right under 20 minutes each, the regular time constraint of a vinyl LP.  Sanguedolce is possibly best known, if at all, from his Sweetblood Quintet, a name which is the English translation of his Italian family name. The first piece, "'Stract (part 1), brings a lyrical, free boppish improvisation with bluesy inclinations, quite accessible overall, all within th…

* 300 copies * This adventurous new Lithuanian label presents us with what I think is the debut album of trombonist Daniel Blacksberg as a leader, accompanied by Jon Barrios on bass and Mike Szekely on drums. His approach is cautious, free and precise, in the sense that he does go beyond the beaten path, offering new possibilities for the instrument but without going into the wilder areas that George Lewis is known for. The end result is highly listenable avant jazz, with slow and bluesy inflect…

Michael Bullock (contrabass & feedback), Mazen Kerbaj (trumpet), Vic Rawlings (cello & surface electronics). “Mary Staubitz emailed me asking, “do you and Vic want to play with this guy from Lebanon?” Mary was booking a series of noise shows at the Midway Café in Jamaica Plain, MA, and had been contacted, apparently out of the blue, by “this trumpet player from Beirut.” She wanted to help him out but wasn`t sure what to do, since none of us in Boston really knew anything about him. Vic and I hav…

Back in stock. 'It is an album that Otomo Yoshihide arrange & produce the tune of hachidai nakamura who is the great composer (he made the base of popsong of Japan.) The vocalist is Yuki Saga. Backing musicians are the member of the ONJO etc 'All songs composed by Hachidai Nakamura. Lyrics by Rokusuke Ei, Hachidai Nakamura, Naomi Kodaira, Rokuro Yanai, Michio Yamagami and Tokiko Iwatani. Yuki Saga: vocals, mellophone, field recording. Otomo Yoshihide: electric guitar, banjo-guitar, sound collage…

'Featuring Derek Bailey on electric guitar and Steve Noble on drums & cymbals. Recorded in a London studio in February of 1999 and not released until now.'

one breathless long track, where you'd hear a mesmerizing Virginia's solo in a Rolando Kirk style, playing soprano and tenor in unison. back to the roots Recorded in October 2009, ultra limited 99 copies only

"Sonore (Brotzmann/Gustafsson/Vandermark) release their 3rd album, a double cd for Okka. Recorded at the Loft in Cologne both in concert and "in the studio" during December 2008, this album contains 22 pieces of Improvised Music that run the gamut of expressive energy and melodic power, as well as a composition by Brötzmann and Jimmy Giuffre. A thorough and exciting statement about where this trio was then and is heading now."-Ken Vandermark website

"Albert Ayler's Bells is a 20 min revolution in jazz, recorded live at Town Hall NYC, 1965. With Albert and Donald Ayler on sax and trumpet respectfully the brothers are aided by altoist Charles Tyler, Lewis Worrell on bass and Sonny Murray on drums. The ESP label originally released 'Bells' as a one-sided transparent vinyl disc- a move that shocked the jazz avant-garde world at the time and matched the subversive and profound musical statement within. As Dan Morganstein wrote in Downbeat, July …

To achieve the age of 80 is an accomplishment. To achieve the age of 80 as a saxophone player, still at the top of the game, is something else again. In march of 2009, Chicago legend Fred Anderson finished up a week of celebration in honor of his 80th at his own Velvet Lounge with this special quintet, and Delmark records was there to record it. Fred was joined by longtime bassist Harrison Bankhead, Chad Taylor on drums (Hamid Drake was unable to get back to Chicago in time), Jeff Parker on guit…

Restocked. Their first studio CD for three years - named after an industrial suburb in Sydney famous mainly for its correctional facility - Silverwater ranges further and wider than the Necks former releases, exploring a more sectional structure that counterposes extremes and contrasts, and possesses a greater sense of forward motion than we are accustomed to with this most economical of bands though it still retains the long, hypnotic single-track iterative form for which they have been praised…

TRANSATLANTIC VISIONS is the live recording of the Vision Festival XIII concert (New-York, June 2008), which has been awarded "Best Performance of the Year" by the monthly magazine All About Jazz NY. 

Someday someone will write a history of modern music that will free us of the false dichotomies such as high vs. low, improviser vs. composer, classical vs. everything else… …The written materials Joe passed out to the musicians for Red Morocco was minimal, sometimes more visual than musical, but always modest.  Everyone was seated in the same room, in a circle.  The music heard on this recording occurred late in the day, when Joe felt a certain clarity was occurring……The results are an elegant,…

Two behemoths of improvisation go head-to-head in the impressive surrounds of Abbey Road Studios for this eight-piece set. Celebrated Brit avant-garde saxophonist Evan Parker takes the lead here, and he doesn't half throw his entire bag of tricks at this one, firing off a vast repetoire of breath articulations while American free jazz figurehead Matthew Shipp does a tremendous job of matching his every move. The opening suite finds the two maestros sizing one another up, only to launch into full…

Afro-Danish saxophonist John Tchicai spent his youth playing alongside the greats, recording and performing with Albert Ayler, John Coltrane, Archie Shepp and Don Cherry. For this recording, Tchicai is joined by John Coxon, Mark Sanders and Ashley Wales, who between them supply an arsenal of instruments including piano, harpsichord, sampler, steel bowls and bowed percussion. This setup makes for a bewitching backdrop of esoteric sound textures and atmospheric accompaniment, giving an otherworldy…

Another fine disc from the Treader label, this time featuring the marvellous Evan Parker alongside John Coxon (Roland MKS 80, piano and harpsichord), Mark Sanders (Drums and percussion) and Ashley Wales (bass drum, riveted tambour and piano). As the title suggests this collection of improvisations is interspersed with brief interlude tracks, whereby Parker takes a backseat in order for his fellow musicians to plot out some experimental, palate cleansing sonics. During the main body of these piec…

Recorded at The Teatro Cilak, 1/23//1978, Milan Italy - Sun Ra: piano, organ, Moog, Crumar Mainman, vocals - John Gilmore: tenor sax, drums, vocals - Luqman Ali: drums, vocals - Michael Ray: trumpet, vocals. 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. With the re-release of Disco 3000, one of the most celebrat…

Dutch drumming legend Han Bennink teams up with Treader mainstays John Coxon and Ashley Wales for an amplified onslaught of ferocious freeform jazz. For this session Coxon kits himself out with an electric guitar while Wales mans electronics and samples. Between the two of them there's a barrage of flurried sonic ideas ranging from discordant string ensembles and abstract soundscapes to jagged wah-wah abuse. Throughout all this, Bennink's drumming comes across as boundlessly inventive, constantl…

That is one slick title, is it not? Though I must say, I for one would have preferred it had they gone with ShippMan. Oh, perhaps not... Both repeat offenders on the Treader label, Jason Pierce (of Spiritualized and Spacemen 3 notoriety) teams up with modern jazz icon Matthew Shipp, who plays celeste and harmonium over these two extended drone pieces. This collaboration first came about for Patti Smith's Meltdown festival, and this recording represents a studio incarnation of that performance. T…

Recorded February 2008, this album captures a specially organised Treader concert at St Giles-in-the-Fields church in London's West End. A series of duos played at the event, each improvising over the course of a twenty-five minute set. First up, the excellent John Butcher (on tenor and soprano saxophones) pairs with drummer Mark Sanders for 'Tooth Pivot', an incredible opener that stumbles into life through the reverberant performance space, with Butcher at first sounding measured and contempla…

TANKJ is a studio project from the drummer Jean-Noël Cognard. He try to gather musicians from different musical origins. Serge Adam on trumpet. Jérome Noetinger on electroacoustic devices and tape recorder. Titus Oppmann on doublebass. Jean-Noël Cognard on drums. Free, dynamic and full of accidents ! Recorded and mixed by Thierry Müller. Cover art by Jörg Morning. Limited to 300 copies.

Brooklyn-based guitarist Ninni Morgia (Quivers, The Right Moves), in this occasion with multi-instrumentalist Daniel Carter, one of the most active and talented musicians of New York’s free jazz community, who has played, among others, with: Sun Ra, Sunny Murray, Test, Matthew Shipp, Other Dimensions In Music, Plastic Ono Band… and drummer/percussionist Jeff Arnal, create a beautiful mix of psychedelic free jazz and Indian raga with a wide range of instruments like thumb piano, kalimba, bells, g…