Jazz /
Djanger Bali
Indonesia and jazz? Not so far-fetched! Improvisation is a part of traditional gamelan, and modal playing goes back 1000 years; jazz began seriously delving into modes with Miles Davis in the 1950’s. Clarinet icon Tony Scott proselytized jazz during his six-year sojourn in Asia, and in so doing brought Asian music masters, including players on this album, into the jazz world. Down Beat called pianist Bubi Chen “The Art Tatum of Asia”, and saxophonist Marjono, whose influences include John Coltra…
Total Space
Although MPS was known for his studio and brilliant recording technique, Rolf Kühn decided not to record his albums in the studio in the Black Forest. At MPS, Rolf Kühn was allowed free rein to choose the team for the recordings and so he decided to get Wolfgang Hirschmann on board, one of the most interesting sound engineers in jazz at that time. Together with him and seven other musicians, “Total Space” was recorded in January 1975 in the Cornet Studios in the south of Cologne, Germany. Having…
Poder Del Alma
Psychedelic Latin-funk holy grail from Nicaragua, 1974!! First ever reissue!! Poder del Alma (“Soul Power”) was a supergroup formed by some of the best musicians from the Nica scene. This all-star band of nine members was assembled to play at the famous free concert of Santana in Managua in benefit for the 1972 earthquake. After that successful gig supporting the Latin-Rock superstar, what was to be a one-night stand became the seed of the most loved Nicaraguan act from the 70s. All the members …
Poder Del Alma II
Impossible to find second album by this band from Nicaragua, 1975. A cool mix of Latin funk, jazz, salsa and psychedelic grooves. Including some of their most sought after tracks like “Bacanal’ 76”, “Mimo” or the antiracist statement “La Conga de las Dos Razas”. After recording their first LP in Guatemala, Nica supergroup Poder del Alma travelled to Costa Rica to register their second album. This time the recording studio and equipment (including Mini-Moog) were better and the band featured a ne…
Caravan
Orrin Keepnews produced Art Blakey's 1963 debut for Riverside Records, a hard-bop triumph featuring an all-aces band: Curtis Fuller, Freddie Hubbard, Wayne Shorter, Cedar Walton and Reggie Workman. Blakey drives them with power and passion as they play Caravan: Sweet 'n' Sour: In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning: This Is for Albert: Skylark, and Thermo. Back on vinyl again!
New York United
2024 stock. Legendary downtown music master Daniel Carter meets Tobias Wilner from world-renowned electronic band Blue Foundation. Featuring Wu-Tang Clan bass player Djibril Toure & drum wiz Federico Ughi. As a band, they have played a number of concerts in NYC, including the Forward Festival 2016 and 2018, and are currently promoting their debut album. This group is the ultimate mix between the classic New York sound of the avant-garde (i.e., John Coltrane & Albert Ayler) combined with electron…
Prophecies Come To Pass
*2024 stock* "Prophecies Come to Pass is the debut recording of Sabir Mateen's compositions by his group The Shapes, Textures, and Sound Ensemble. Recorded live in Brooklyn in September 2005, the CD was edited by Mateen and Swell and mastered under Mateen's direction. It's dedicated to the late great Raphe Malik, who at one time played with the group. The ensemble is composed of an impressive roster of creative musicians: Mateen on saxophones, flute, and clarinets; Matt Lavelle on trumpet, fluge…
Survival Situation
2024 stock. Iconic downtown sax player Sabir Mateen, together with up-and-coming Texan clarinetist Patrick Holmes and drum wiz Federico Ughi, celebrate the cosmic dimensions of creative music via their new album Survival Situation.The three musicians have collaborated in the past, in New York, in different projects but never as a trio. This time they met in a recording studio in Tuscany, Italy, not far from where Sabir Mateen has been living for the last few years. They freely improvised, then t…
Shifa - Live At Cafe Oto
2024 stock. Shifa, from the Arabic word for healing, is a new trio born out of old musical partnerships from the ever-shifting sands of the UK improvised music scene. Pat Thomas, pianist extraordinaire whose eclectic motherboard pushes the music in unexpected twists and turns, suggested the name. The healing, in this case, is a raw, unfettered musical space where he, saxophonist Rachel Musson and drummer Mark Sanders meet and make music in the moment, of the moment. Each player values the others…
BleySchool
2024 stock. The trio pays homage to legendary pianist Paul Bley, drawing on both his tunes and improvisational approach. Bley’s music encompassed latin-inspired grooves, deceptively simple and catchy melodies, as well as freer improvisations. His willingness to collaborate openly with European improvisers as well as being part of the American tradition was an attractive template to follow.Pat Thomas, Dominic Lash and Tony Orrell grew up in the UK with the children’s tv series Play School and whe…
Next Door
Adroit jazz guitar, prog rock fantasia, and Japanese environmental music all rest comfortably behind Leo Takami's Next Door. The follow up to the acclaimed Felis Catus & Silence, Next Door finds Takami ruminating on passages — of time, seasons, consciousness. Through music, Leo contemplates daily events and finds beauty in ordinary moments. He also seems to be questioning the value of being stuck in the world, allowing his mind to wander towards something beyond it. His music is earnest, deeply …
Play
*250 copies limited edition* "Play" is a set of 100 cards with instructions for ensembles of any size and instrumentation. The individual instructions vary from precise (two contrasting sounds, a very long sound) to vague (something funny, thinking of something you smell), sometimes requiring a high degree of interpretation. The release combines two excellent recordings of the piece: one including the composer himself with a group of Israeli musicians, the other introducing an ensemble around th…
Live at Jazz Festival Willisau 2023, First Visit
“We are in the business of transformation, applying our knowledge of improvising together for twenty-five years, interwoven with our resonance with these melodies and forms. We have found our collective way with honouring what these pieces express to us, through our personal language, comments Gerry Hemingway.” He agrees that there's a concept of authenticity”. “The feeling of swing is our own, but shaped by the pieces we are playing”. Authenticity is acquired through assimilating traditions, an…
Wondercult Club
Rising Experimental Sax Player Ayumi Ishito Brings Her Quintet to 577 Records, Releasing First Album with the Label.
Music Frees Our Souls Vol. 2
*2024 stock* Can music liberate us? Francisco Mela, who worked and partnered with the legendary jazz musician McCoy Tyner, believes so. On this album, the second volume of Music Frees Our Souls, Mela collaborates with pianist Cooper-Moore and bassist William Parker to build a 2-part extended track project of advanced dialogue between 3 of the genre's most important instruments. Tyner was well-known for his boundless musical talent, and perhaps best-known for playing in John Coltrane’s quartet, w…
Music Frees Our Souls Vol. 1
*2024 stock* Before any instrumentation, Francisco Mela addresses his fellow musicians, pianist Matthew Shipp and bassist William Parker, with a sense of anticipation and affirmation, “Okay guys, ready? Rolling!” The sense of camaraderie and his artist-focused approach is heard throughout the album’s majestic improvisation—as well as in its inspiration, dedicated to Mela’s longtime musical partner, the legendary jazz musician McCoy Tyner. Tyner was well-known for his boundless musical talent, an…
Causa y Efecto, Vol. 2
The New Album by Francisco Mela and Zoh Amba 'Causa y Efecto, Vol. 2' is a celebration of differences and unity. Creativity in general and experimental music in particular can serve as a conduit to the inner soul of its creators, a kind of spiritual path that goes two ways and allows a deeper understanding also of ourselves. It's a light projecting the humanity of the players that simultaneously reflects the creator and the humanity in all of us. The vulnerability of the artists and what they se…
Summer 2024 "Worldwide" (Magazine)
The twelfth issue of We Jazz Magazine, "Worldwide" for Gilles Peterson. 128 pages, 170 x 240 mm in size and printed on 140g Edixion paper with laminated 300g Invercote covers. All articles presented in English. Includes Gilles Peterson by Anton Spice, Ingrid Laubrock by Stewart Smith, Hannibal Lokumbe by Bret Sjerven, Universal Folks Sounds by Magnus Nygren, Spoken Word / Free Jazz by Alex Coles, Dutch Jazz Archive by Danny Veekens, Takuya Kuroda by Rob Garratt, Jan Roder and Michael Griener of …
Midwest
*2024 stock* Mathias Eick reflects on distances travelled in this intensely melodic set of original compositions, which makes an imaginative journey from Hem, the tiny Norwegian village where the trumpeter grew up, to the vast plains of Dakota in the American Midwest. It was to the Midwest that hundreds of thousands of Norwegians travelled by sea in the 19th and early 20th centuries – and naturally they took their music with them. In similar spirit Eick, a Norwegian improviser-composer strongly…
Gnosis
In this vivid and exciting project, the Santiago-raised and New York-based pianist-composer David Virelles looks towards one melting pot from the vantage point of another. A far-reaching work with deep cultural roots, Gnosis speaks of transculturation and traditions, and of the complex tapestry of Cuba’s music – the sacred, the secular, and the ritualistic – but the work’s shapes and forms could only have been created by a gifted contemporary player thoroughly versed in the art of the improviser…