Jazz & Improvisation / All styles

Privately released 1982 album of lovely free-flowing piano music by the French musician who had previously released the fantastic electronic Images LP on Pôle and on the NWW list.

*2026 stock. 300 copies limited edition* Since their formation in 2009, the Samuel Blaser Trio has been captivating audiences with their innovative sound and dynamic performances. Blaser Music is thrilled to present their second official release, a limited edition 10-inch blue vinyl that captures the essence of their artistry. This album was recorded during their recent tour in the UK, with a special stop at the renowned Steve Winwood Studio. The recording sessions were beautifully captured by J…

Trombonist-composer Samuel Blaser is one of jazz's most prolific voices, with 34 recordings as a leader or co-leader since 2008. On Rosina, he delivers his most personal album yet — eight originals drawing on Italian folk melodies and a deep reconnection with his family roots in Emilia-Romagna. The album takes its name from his maternal grandmother, Rosina Pierina Scarpioni — a wartime Resistance fighter who later moved to Switzerland, and a woman he never had the chance to meet. Reconnecting wi…

*2026 stock* Recorded in January/February 2013 by Martin Ruch at Funkhaus Nalepastrasse, Berlin, Germany with two Schoeps mk4 microphones on a boom, in ORTF or XY con guration, and Sound Devices – 702T or Zoom H4N recorder

Recorded live at Radio Studio Zurich on February 19, 1968, nearly seven months before Santana, previously considered the trio's debut , Bird Food is the earliest known document of the Pierre Favre Trio. The tape lay dormant in the drummer's personal archive for over half a century, until Pierre Favre and trombonist Samuel Blaser uncovered it while sorting through old recordings. The trio brings together Pierre Favre on drums, Irène Schweizer on piano, and Jiří Mráz on bass, who would later becom…

*2026 stock* Following his recent debut on Songs with Inventions (SONGS002CD), Russ Lossing continues his creative journey with Proximity Alert, a compelling new trio recording. This album exemplifies Lossing’s mastery of spontaneous improvisation within the classic piano-bass-drum format, inviting listeners into a space of sonic exploration and emotional connection. Lossing has long championed the trio for its virtues: spaciousness, flexibility, sonic clarity, and the interplay of three minds. …

*2026 stock* A fully improvised suite of piano solos by master improviser Russ Lossing. Nothing written, nothing preconceived. Pure improvisation. Recorded on his own Steinway grand piano "Lossing recorded it on his own piano, in his living room, at night. The setting enables Lossing to access the mindset necessary to spontaneously conceive and articulate this complex but logically organized music" - Bill Meyer

*2026 stock* This intergenerational jazz trio—drummer Daniel Humair (85), bassist Heiri Kanzig (66) and trombonist Samuel Blaser (42)—who meet as equals in a dialogue blending tradition and modernity, lyricism and humor. All three are respected bandleaders, composers, and sought-after sidemen. Their first album, 1291 (named after Switzerland’s Federal Charter), debuted in 2020; their follow-up, Our Way, builds on that concept with original compositions, jazz standards and Swiss folk-song arrange…

"In the beginning, the legend goes, it was Miles Davis’ electrifying jazz on In A Silent Way and Bitches Brew – modernizing the ensemble sound as well as reconfiguring compositional flow with repetition and  variation – that begat what was to become known as fusion, exemplified by the subsequent spinoffs Weather Report (Wayne Shorter and Joe Zawinul), Mahavishnu Orchestra (John McLaughlin), Headhunters (Herbie Hancock), and Return to Forever (Chick Corea), all of which emerged after 1970 and con…

"It was, all things considered, just an unexceptional whistle stop on a wearying circuit of dance halls and theaters – the night before they had played in Winnipeg, Manitoba and, conveyed by train the 200 miles to this evening’s North Dakota gig, would immediately afterwards find themselves en route to Duluth,  Minnesota for their next show. There was certainly no expectation that the on-site recording, made by two South Dakota fans, Jack H. Towers and Dick Burris, on a single acetate disc recor…

*2026 repress* Souffle Continu records is thrilled to present Byard Lancaster – Funny Funky Rib Crib, one of his 4 legendary albums released on Jef Gilson’s Palm Records in the 1970s. At the beginning of the 1960s, at the Berklee College of Music, Byard Lancaster met some feisty friends: Sonny Sharrock, Dave Burrell and Ted Daniel. It is easy to see why he rapidly became involved in free jazz. Once he was settled in New York, he appeared on Sunny Murray Quintet, recorded under the leadership of …

*2026 repress* Souffle Continu records is thrilled to present Byard Lancaster – Exactement, one of his 4 legendary albums released on Jef Gilson’s Palm Records in the 1970s. At the beginning of the 1960s, at the Berklee College of Music, Byard Lancaster met some feisty friends: Sonny Sharrock, Dave Burrell and Ted Daniel. It is easy to see why he rapidly became involved in free jazz. Once he was settled in New York, he appeared on Sunny Murray Quintet, recorded under the leadership of the drum c…

The treasure of Japan’s jazz scene and its most formidable drummer, Takeo Moriyama, drives out a powerful, intense beat. This important work — recorded in April 1994 and the catalyst for Moriyama’s comeback — is being released on vinyl for the first time. Backed by a rock-solid lineup of players — Fumio Itabashi (piano), Toshihiko Inoue (S. Sax & T. Sax), Eiichi Hayashi (A. Sax), and Hiroshi Yoshino (bass) — the recording delivers a ferocious performance that condenses the universe of Moriyama’s…

Jazz saxophonist Akira Miyazawa was known for his unparalleled love of fishing, and here he gives a masterful performance that conjures the image of silvery fish scales reflecting light through the cold and clear water of a small mountain stream. “Yamame” (the Japanese name for a kind of freshwater salmon) was recorded in 1962 and was Miyazawa’s first album, but the sharpness and avant-garde modernity of the music creates a completely timeless quality. Miyazawa is one of a group of musicians who…

'May Spring Last a Lifetime’ is the first duo release from improvising tenor saxophonists Tom Challenger and Evan Parker. The album emerged after years of informal practice sessions; then, following two live performances, the duo recorded this session at Arco Barco in Ramsgate. The album is Evan Parker’s fifth appearance on the False Walls label. Evan: “Duo is the simplest form of group playing. And so it’s the simplest, the purest in a certain sense, and the most challenging. There’s nowhere to…

*250 copies limited edition* Three singular voices in contemporary music come together for a recording that moves beyond genre, structure, and expectation. Triacontagon, the collaboration between saxophonist Ivo Perelman, multi-instrumentalist Elliott Sharp, and percussionist Cyro Baptista, is an immersive exploration of layered sound worlds, ritual energy, and spontaneous composition. Named after the 30-sided geometric figure, Triacontagon reflects the album’s constantly shifting musical dimens…

Strut Records proudly presents the first definitive expanded reissue of Somewhere Over The Rainbow, Sun Ra’s 1977 session recorded at the Bluebird in Bloomington, Indiana, presented across three Vinyl LPs or as a two-CD set. Please note the differing tracklist between the CD & LP.

Here comes an incredible Fusion Jazz-Funk discovery on vinyl for the first time. From the vaults of mastermind Günther Fischer came this unreleased outstanding Rare Groove material with breathtaking international high class Jazz from 1974. It bears no comparison with absolute international most wanted sounds from Marc Moulin's Placebo, Masaru Imada´s Green Caterpillar, the german ensemble Catch up, UK´s Nucleus or the US jazz milesstones from Catalyst. It is unbelievable that an East German band…

In December 1977, at the tail end of a decade he had helped to electrify, Bill Connors brought a nylon-string guitar into Oslo's Talent Studio. Three years earlier, he had walked away from Chick Corea's Return to Forever at the height of its commercial ascent, trading a 200-watt Marshall stack for the spruce-and-cedar intimacy of the classical guitar - a decision that stunned his fusion-era following and quietly redirected the course of his work. Of Mist And Melting, his second leader date for E…

A pivotal masterpiece by Masahiko Togashi, Masayuki Takayanagi, Mototeru Takagi, and Motoharu Yoshizawa is set to be reissued as the eighth release in the Spin This Now! series

*250 copies limited edition* The quartet of Ivo Perelman, Matthew Shipp, William Parker and Bobby Kapp returns with Synesthesia, a new recording that captures their deep connection and evolving voice in contemporary free jazz. Following the acclaimed Ineffable Joy and Heptagon, the group continues to explore spontaneous composition, open form, and strong collective interplay. This time, the music leans further into a modern jazz language, with sharper focus, clearer shapes, and a refined sense o…

*100 copies limited edition* Five Nights in the Midwest is a new three-CD release from the improvising trio of bass clarinetist Jason Stein, double bassist Damon Smith, and drummer Adam Shead. Recorded during a December 2025 tour across the American Midwest, the album presents seven extended performances exactly as they occurred—without edits or cuts—allowing listeners to experience the full arc of the tour as it unfolded night by night. The December 2025 run marked the trio’s first tour since 2…

*200 copies limited edition* On Many Roads, their second full-length album, microplastique expands its playful yet rigorous commitment to instant composition, deepening an ethos that treats sound itself as both material and meeting ground. Recorded live across the ensemble’s 15-concert June 2025 U.S. tour, the album functions less as a polished artifact than as a document of encounter—capturing how place, audience, and momentary circumstance all shape what this quartet becomes onstage. Seven tra…

*2005 release. 2026 stock* Kahimi Karie and Mariko Hamada guest as two vocalists on this orchestral work, which marks a dramatic advance from ONJQ. Its many scenes—sometimes hushed, sometimes intense—integrate (and disperse) every sonic possibility—jazz, ambient, rock, voice, noise, etc.—bringing new discoveries to every listener’s ear. Delicate sounds that can be heard if you listen closely. Even accidental onstage noises are intentionally included (you can hear them if you listen carefully), p…

*2006 release, 2026 stock* This is a work that proves the worth of the trio that kept the group alive for 16 years, and at the same time captures a miraculous performance that’s hard to believe was entirely improvised — they went into the studio with no plan and made everything on the spot. Of course there were no overdubs or edits. It might convey the nuance better to call it composition while playing rather than pure improvisation. A series of acoustic treatments by ZAK fully preserves the stu…

*2026 stock* Very special quartet of Kazuhisa Uchihashi, Keisuke Ohta, Shinobu Kawai, Akira Sotoyama. This is real free music from Japan.

*2026 stock* The first duo work by Koichi Makigami and Masataka Fujikake. It contains 9 songs recorded live, all improvised. An improvised sound scroll made up of titles full of mysterious sounds with fantastical and unique ideas. The title song, "Meteor Driver", begins with a reading of a poem from Koichi Makigami's poetry collection "Suprematism" (2019).

On his new album, Micha Acher opens his „Songbook“ under the alias Henry and the Ghost – with compositions for bands such as Tied & Tickled Trio and Ms. John Soda from previous years.

German saxophonist Luise Volkmann and Brazilian guitarist / vocalist Kiko Dinucci return with intimate, devotional new album Canto de Olho.

*2026 stock. 200 copies limited edition* As the title of the album suggests, the new album by spiritual jazz legend Muriel Grossmann, MGQ live im King Georg, Köln, is a live recording of a concert at King Georg Jazz Club in Cologne. Recorded on November 11, 2022, the symbolic start of the Cologne carnival season, the album will be released three years later, at the end of the carnival season on Ash Wednesday, March 5. 2025. If by chance a concert in Cologne takes place on the November 11, it's o…

*2026 stock* This is the Big Band version by Otomo Yoshihide Special Big Band (OSBB) of the 48-minute suite "Sora to Mirai to," written entirely for this performance. "Sora to Mirai to" was originally composed at the request of conductor Yutaka Sado and premiered by the Hyogo Performing Arts Center Orchestra on January 17, 2025, the 30th anniversary of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. Although it is an orchestral work, it includes elements of improvisation; soon after its premiere, Otomo imme…

*2026 stock* A precious documentary capturing Otomo Yoshihide Special Big Band’s (OSBB) first European tour. It’s their first live release in ten years. Formed in 2013, OSBB has performed concerts and live shows, contributed scores for productions including Ama-chan and Idaten, and taken part in many unique and demanding projects—most notably the Bon Odori that began in Fukushima. For this tour they undertook 12 performances across seven European countries. Prior to the tour, the band changed th…

"Ramune and the Power Plant" is the first duo album by Otomo Yoshihide and Ruike Shinpei, who have performed together many times in groups such as ONJQ. This recording captures almost the entire completely improvised live set held in October 2024 at the café-music gallery Kakululu in Ikebukuro. In this project Otomo primarily uses turntables as his main instrument and, on some tracks, electric guitar; Ruike plays trumpet as his primary instrument and employs electronics on certain pieces. Record…

*2026 stock* The third album of the quartet "Akira Sakata x Triple Edge," in which Masayasu Tsuboguchi, Takeharu Hayakawa, and Masataka Fujikake gather to create a rare improvised world with dynamism as if diverse organisms were wriggling under Akira Sakata, a giant tree several thousand years old.

Tippin' On Through, by tenor saxophonist Curtis Amy, stands as a defining statement from one of West Coast jazz’s most eloquent voices. Recorded and released in 1965, the album pairs Amy’s warm, hard‑bop tenor with soulful grooves, crisp arrangements, and sympathetic ensemble interplay, creating a record that is both accessible and richly musical. Tippin' On Through showcases Amy’s robust tone, lyrical phrasing, and rhythmic agility. Across the program he moves effortlessly between blues‑inflect…

Components documents vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson’s early emergence as a vital voice in modern jazz. Recorded and issued in 1965, the album presents Hutcherson’s distinctive mallet work and original compositions that bridge post‑bop lyricism and mid‑60s harmonic exploration. Components balances melodic clarity with adventurous harmony, moving between contemplative ballads, driving post‑bop pieces, and modal excursions that highlight the vibraphone’s textural range within a small‑combo setting. …

*2026 stock* The title says it: a deliberate, joyful return to bebop fundamentals from the Kenji Mori quintet, recorded at a moment when the language could already feel like a stylistic choice rather than a default. By 1982 the Japanese jazz scene had moved through its modal, free and fusion phases, and Be-Bop '82 is in part a record about choosing to stand somewhere: a claim that the bebop vocabulary still had real things to say. Mori plays with the kind of warmth and confidence that comes from…

*2026 stock* Toshiyuki Miyama led The New Herd for decades, one of the most important and most adventurous Japanese big bands of the post-war period, and the working ensemble through which a remarkable number of Japanese composers and arrangers found a sympathetic home. Gallery shows the band in mature form, working through a programme that uses the full resources of the ensemble: brass-heavy passages giving way to chamber-sized features, dense ensemble writing setting up patches of open improvi…

*2026 stock* Another date from Toshiyuki Miyama's New Herd for Three Blind Mice, and a strong candidate for the band's most accessible single record. Sunday Thing leans into the warmer, more groove-conscious end of the New Herd's repertoire: there are still the harmonic ambitions and ensemble dynamics that made the band more than a swing-era throwback, but the rhythmic feel runs closer to the soul-jazz and groove-oriented big-band writing that was current at the time. Long-form arrangements give…

*2026 stock* The third album from singer Mari Nakamoto for Three Blind Mice, and the one that pushes hardest at the conventions of mainstream vocal jazz. The line-up is the giveaway: alongside Nakamoto's voice, the record places bassist Isao Suzuki at the centre of the rhythm section and brings in Kazumi Watanabe on guitar, the same Watanabe who would shortly become one of the major figures in Japanese fusion and progressive jazz. The result is a vocal record where the accompaniment is unmistaka…