Jazz & Improvisation / All styles

In 1980 Bobby Wellins was commissioned to write a suite of music, which he called ‘The Endangered Species’ because, in his words: “Some years ago there was an oil spillage which washed ashore in Bognar Regis where I live. The guillemots were being pulled out in a dreadful state. One reads about such things, but to see for oneself a bird's life being taken away from it is quite horrific. Their lives are short enough anyway. It brought home to me very directly the damage we are inflicting on ourse…

"One of Shorter's best-selling albums from the '70s was Native Dancer, a Brazilian-oriented jazz-fusion masterpiece that boasts Herbie Hancock on acoustic piano and electric keyboards, and employs such Brazilian talent as singer Milton Nascimento (a superstar in Brazil) and percussionist Airto Moreira. Everything on this melodic, consistently lyrical effort is a jewel, and that includes Hancock's "Joanna's Theme," as well as pieces by Nascimento ("From the Lonely Afternoons" and "Ponta de Areia"…

1997 release **

2003 release ** "“The human voice must not be limited only to a conventional language, but is an inexhaustible source of natural musical instruments. If it is coupled with jazz it becomes a double musical instrument”: Mimmo Rotella dixit, and here is a combative group of Italian jazz musicians, stimulated by the maestro in his eighties, puts the theory into practice. The Rotella Variations therefore materialize in nineteen episodes of mostly short duration, often introduced or concluded, contami…

1994 release ** "Everything about this album, from the artist's name and album title to the rather cheesy cover photo of a smiling tuxedo-clad man on a beach surrounded by congas, suggests to a cynical eye that Arriba! Con Montego Joe is kitschy exotica on par with Martin Denny or Les Baxter. And while that style of music has its fizzy charms, it turns out that Arriba! Con Montego Joe is something much meatier. Collecting the entirety of the two albums Montego Joe (born Joseph Sanders) made for …

1992 release ** "A stunning album of duets performed by John Taylor and John Surman composed by the former. This recording documents the longstanding musical relationship between the two Johns captured by Jan Erik Kongshaug at Rainbow Studios in Oslo. Some of the most beautiful music you will ever hear."

2012 release ** "Ndikho Xaba left South Africa in 1964, an exile from his homeland who eventually found his place in San Francisco’s vibrant spiritual jazz scene of the late 60s. A songwriter, bandleader, pianist, and inventor of percussion and woodwind instruments, Xaba played alongside contemporaries like Pharoah Sanders, Alice Coltrane, and Sun Ra.."

1993 release ** "This aggressive trio of improvisers is unified by one idea throughout this session: that none of them gives a damn what the other thinks. It's a liberating notion and one not often seen on the other side of the Atlantic. In this set of tracks, the ancient drummer of British free jazz, Tony Marsh, is pitted in with the ever-youthful Paul Rogers and the energetic youngster Simon Picard on tenor. Marsh is the key to the communication as well. His swooping cymbal work and shifting f…

Tip! An orchestra that played for Nazis. A silence that lasted for generations. A work that lets this silence speak, sing, and scream. Motvind Records presents John Andrew Wilhite’s monumental piece, Bristol Silence, written for the Motvind Festival and premiered at Hotel Bristol in Oslo in the summer of 2023. In this work Bristol Silence, the double bassist and composer brings to light a chapter of Norwegian music history that has remained in the shadows. Wilhite writes: "Having known that Nazi…

*2025 stock* A beautifully recorded session at Germany's Club Lila Eule for Radio Bremen from 1969 by the Marion Brown Quartet, his touring band at the time with AACM legendary drummer Steve McCall and German double bassist Siggi Busch and trombonist Ed Kröger, performing eight solid free jazz pieces including "Ode to Coltrane" and "Juba Lee"; a spectacular addition to Brown's discography.

Sitting in a darkened room in Dalston, London… the music pushes across a very nicely tuned sound system, (a la Cafe Oto). The crowd is captivated by this multi-instrumentalist maestro Jimi Tenor. He plays smoky sax, juxtaposes it with some crazy Moog, all the while underlaid by a funky electronic looping groove. It's a conversation piece! At the end, Jimi says "I'm not quite sure what to do with this track, or what to call it"…. In a moment of 'bravado' one shouts out in reply "Release Me!", the…

"First visit to the audio equivalent of a graphic novel. Follow A Very Heavy Person is more than an album—it is an experience, an inquiry, an adventure into the unknown, defying easy categorization and existing in the liminal space between music, poetry, and philosophy. Armaroli and his quintet have crafted something truly singular—a journey through sound that is both timeless and profoundly rooted in the ephemeral beauty of the present moment." - Mark Corroto

Reissue of Hiroshi Suzuki’s glorious jazz-fusion-funk Holy Grail Cat. Cat was recorded in October 1975 at at Nippon Columbia Studio, while Hiroshi Suzuki was visiting his home country of Japan after moving to Las Vegas in 1971 to play with Buddy Rich and perfect his craft. Back on his old stomping grounds, the man known as Neko (Cat) immediately reunited with his dear friends for an epic two day session of groove magic. The chemistry was still intact. The skills and style had grown. The result, …

Tip! *Japan import with Obi Strip* In 1967, drummer Takeo Moriyama joined pianist Yosuke Yamashita’s group, later forming a legendary trio together with saxophonist Seiichi Nakamura in 1969. This group consisting of Moriyama, Yamashita, and Nakamura became known worldwide as one of Japan's leading free jazz combos. Moriyama left the group in 1975 and later returned to the scene in 1977 with the Flush Up live album, where he evolved and deepened his musicality in a more melodic and rhythmic direc…

Tip! *Japan import with Obi Strip* Hiromasa Suzuki is a legendary composer and arranger, and a key player who has been active in the Japanese music world, including jazz as well as movies, television and commercials. In the late ‘60s and mid-’70s, he was deeply involved in the works of Terumasa Hino, Akira Ishikawa and Jiro Inagaki in their most radical times. The album “High-Flying,” recorded in 1976, showed his innovativeness, which was always one step ahead of the times. This is an essential …

Tip! *Japan import with Obi Strip* This is the first and long-awaited vinyl reissue of this Jiro Inagaki & Soul Media jazz rock masterpiece! With vocals by Sammy and Yasushi Sawada. Backed by Masahiko Sato, Kimio Mizutani, Hiro Yanagida. Essential!

Tip! *Japan import with Obi Strip* From the opening tune “The Vamp” to the final “Head Rock”, this album is a dazzling jazz rock showcase with dreadnought songs that are filled with ideas and passion. This is a masterpiece that has an overwhelming presence in the history of jazz in Japan, as an heresy left on the prestigious jazz label Takt.

Eero Koivistoinen Quartet's rare live album from 1978 reissued for the first time in nearly half a century via Svart Records.

When a limited edition 45 single landed on the desk of Jazz Room Head Honcho Paul Murphy he contacted the guys straight away. "Do you want a 45 piece of wax released on Jazz Room Records?" Bells were ringing! The A Side is a Latin Afrosound version of the Sun Ra Classic "Watusa". Featuring members of the Los Angleles based Afro Latin Beat Collective "Jungle Fire". You might have noticed this getting quite a few spins on the Gilles Peterson show on BBC 6 Music. The B Side is a funky version of th…

2010 release ** "One of the most hypnotic current albums comes from Switzerland: No wonder, given that so many exciting niches live here, where culture and mentality stand for free spirit, which is evident time and again in the music created there. Ruedi Häusermann, Marco Käppeli, and Claude Meier form what we might call a chamber music, folkloristic, and imaginary trio. In the broadest sense... Ruedi Häusermann, the initiator and creator of the Ume songs, uses various flutes, clarinets, bariton…

2006 release ** "Janna is the recording on which the extraordinary improvising cellist Ernst Reijseger collaborates with Senegalese poet and instrumentalist Mola Sylla and percussionist Serigne C.M. Gueye on a program of songs and poetry that erases the borders between European and African traditions and creates something entirely new from the ruins. This could only be accomplished if each member of this trio brought the entirety of his musical heritage with him to the table and placed it there …

2009 release ** Rhodri Davies: Harp, electronics - Stéphane Rives: Soprano Saxophone - Ernesto Rodrigues: Viola - Guilherme Rodrigues: Cello - Carlos Santos: computer, electronics.

1991 release ** "Combining rhythic rock strength with the unrestrainable consequence of free improvisation. In the course of playing, amazingly sharp contours arise. There is no expression for style that can describe this audacious mixture of precision and imagination. Music as a celebration of the moment with the undertone of euphoria, reflection, pure desire and wild anger. Mobile architecture, movable sounds, moving and hair-raisingly beautiful. Jon Rose: Cello, Violin, Keyboards - Peter Holl…

"Here, after Schindler+Richter and Schindler/Holzbauer/Lillmeyer, multi-reed player and flautist Udo Schindler meets an old companion from the 90s. Hubert Bergmann, a Fernando Pessoa-adoring and Tai Chi & Qi Gong-inspired jack-of-all-trades from Überlingen on Lake Constance, has already played piano in Schindler Interferenz.3 and with Trio BGS. Now a master craftsman in his own workshop for improvised and new music and, as such, also a duo partner with guitarist Mary Halvorson, Bergmann proves h…

1996 release ** ""The final in a series of three CDs that feature the idiosyncratic Moscow Composer's Orchestra led by the incomparable Vladimir Miller and featuring ex-Ganelin Trio drummer Vladimir Tarasov and, of course, Tuvan vocalist Sainkho Namchylak. The reason for the title of the album is that it was recorded live at the Bolzano Jazz Festival. Unlike the other discs in this series, this one features long versions of two previously released compositions -- "Two Tone Tuva" and "March of th…

1995 release ** "Prague saxophonist and composer Jirí Stivín had a grand vision working when he assembled the elements for this recording. His intention was to take the great madrigals and villanelles from the 16th century in his own culture, and add a string quartet and a choir to his own jazz trio and try to bridge the span of centuries. Not only this, of course, but to do so with the mischievous grin of the '60s free jazz continuum that preferred improvisation to taking a shower most of the t…

1991 release ** "During the late '80s and early '90s, the Art Ensemble of Chicago recorded a number of albums for the Japanese DIW label. While a couple of these releases were fine additions to their catalog (notably, Dreaming of the Masters, Vol. 1 and The Art Ensemble of Soweto), the majority found the band treading water, breezing through tunes and structures long a staple of their repertoire but rarely either breaking new ground or playing with inspiration. Dreaming of the Masters Suite is a…

1993 release (RARE) ** "Based in Chicago but originally from Japan, Tatsu Aoki is an acoustic bassist who recorded mostly avant-garde jazz in the '90s but can also handle straight-ahead post bop and traditional Japanese music. At times, he has combined jazz with elements of Asian music. Aoki was born and raised in Tokyo but moved to Chicago in 1978, when he was 19. Much of Aoki's music owes a strong debt to the AACM school of "outside" improvisation; often favoring space and silence over density…

Bomb! *100 copies limited edition* Aftershock marks the fierce vinyl debut of Finnish trio The Fuckings, a privately issued LP (edition of 100) capturing four slabs of unrelenting, high-intensity free improvisation. Recorded in Helsinki in November 2024 and released in April 2025, the album is a visceral tribute to the legacy of boundary-pushing sonic violence. Composed of Janne Martinkauppi (saxophone), Ilkka Vekka (guitar), and Petri Pirtilä (drums), the group channels a storm of raw interplay…

1989 release ** "The Nichols program, recorded in 1984, was by a band with Sean Bergin (alto sax), Michael Moore (alto sax), Maurice Horsthuis (viola), Toon de Gouw (trumpet), Han Bennink (drums), Ernst Reijseger (cello), Paul Thermos (alto sax), Steve Lacy (soprano sax), Larry Fishkind (tuba), Misha Mengelberg (piano), Wolter Wierbos (trombone), and Garret List (trombone). The Monk program, from 1986, consisted of Ab Baars (soprano and tenor sax, clarinet), Michael Moore (alto sax and clarinet)…

1990 release ** "...melodic compositions in artistic arrangements for four wind instruments."

1993 release ** "No matter how many albums David Murray issues, he never coasts or goes through the motions. This is mainly a quartet date, although Murray shows on the title track his ability to back a singer as Taana Running gives a moving vocal, complete with her original lyrics. Otherwise, these are either spirited uptempo numbers or equally energized ballads. Murray's sweeping tenor sound remains a marvel, and few can match him in controlling drive, pitch and volume. Drummer Rashied Ali has…

1989 release **

2012 release ** "Dutch duo’s one and only release, from 2012.  And quite a good album too! Henk Bakker (bass clarinet and electronic treatments) and Jelmer Cnossen (percussion, Ableton Live) somehow created a subterrestrial sonorous organism with a logic of its own. "

The heart sits and takes in all wakes of the universe. A blessing to discover sound and how it enters the body and is shared to all. I feel the sound wraps in and out of my heart and pours through the saxophone. Searching, discovering the Creator. I pray this music reaches into your heart, goes all the way to the deepest place and blossoms up the most beautiful gardens of joy and love, curiosity. I am forever grateful to meet souls such as Lex, Miguel, and Caroline. Through these recordings I po…

2013 release ** "“Two for Joyce – Live in Trieste”, a new cd from Long Song Records/Audioglobe is the successful account of their performance. 50 minutes of improvised music, a long track of music that shows the vast range of their abilities wonderfully. According to some, Tippett gives his best both alone and in a duo, which is not to diminish his excellent work to date in many ensembles. He is a profound and inventive pianist, austere and grandiose at the same time, as when there’s a waterfall…

2025 stock 2013 repress, black vinyl. "1968 debut album from the king of the psychedelic bayou -- the hypnotic, mystical and powerful sound of the swamp coming to life. As he became Dr. John (real name Mac Rebennack), it was his LA session work with musicians like Sonny & Cher, Canned Heat, and Zappa that allowed him to start conjuring up his visions of guitar psych-pop to walk alongside his authentic New Orleans upbringing. While Gris Gris contains moments that make it a type stamped symbol of …

1996 release **

2016 release ** "After the highly praised trio CDs, Odyssey and ITHAKA, the composer and bassist Barry Guy presents a new CD – Deep Memory – with the same trio members, pianist Marilyn Crispell and percussionist Paul Lytton. For his new compositions, Barry Guy was inspired by Irish painter Hughie O’ Donoghue - all titles on Deep Memory courtesy of the Irish painter Hughie O’ Donoghue’s Berlin exhibition (2007) entitled “Last Poems”. A music has emerged of a tense and lacerating beauty. Tonal pai…

1993 release ** "The leading New York avant jazz harpist has appeared on hundreds of free improvisation recordings in collaboration with artists such as Fred Frith, John Zorn, Elliott Sharp, Lee Ranaldo, and Ikue Mori, among many others. During the '80s and '90s, she pioneered the electric harp of her own design, an instrument which thrives on the rich tonalities of the traditional harp matched with the flexibility of an electric guitar. The instrument was so unique that it shaped and influenced…