★Astral Spirits
At Earth School
*300 copies limited edition*
Recorded live 2nd October 2022 at Café OTO, London by Pedro SubtilMixed December 2022 by Alex BonneyMastered by Mikey Young
All compositions by Nicole Mitchell (Wheatgoddess Creations ASCAP) and Alexander Hawkins (PRS), except "There is a Balm in Gilead" (traditional, arr. Mitchell/Hawkins)
Arrival
*200 copies limited release* Following his duo with Jeff Tobias (Tributaries), Jack Cooper’s latest foray into experimental composition—Arrival—is a stunning new piece showcasing Cooper's mastery of patience and restraint. Delicate harmonic textures that recall the work of composers such as Michael Pisaro, Jürg Frey and Antoine Beuger, it features three extraordinary players from the experimental scene: pianist Alexander Hawkins, alongside Anton Lukoszevieze (cello) and Heather Roche (clarinet) …
Several
*200 copies limited release* "Needless to say, anything new from saxophonist / composer Anna Webber raises an eyebrow or two. Her works for large and small ensembles exhibit a knotty sophistication that can be compared to that of Anthony Braxton. Here, she teams with experimental multi-instrumentalist Weston Olencki for just over 32 minutes of sax / trombone outside improv.
Several comes across more in the established style of Olencki than that of Webber. While there are a number of contrapuntal…
Ngayon
In the Filipino language Tagalog, Ngayon translates to “now.” Appropriately, this sophomore effort from Karl Evangelista’s Apura is intended to capture the feeling of an abstract and transcendent present - a moment apart from the desperation and uncertainty that afflicted the past several years of human life. What began as an indictment of fascism vis-à-vis Apartheid South Africa, Trump’s America, and the long lineage of Filipino political corruption slowly morphed into a story about how battli…
Vertical Motion
"In 2018, I had the good fortune to organize a session with two absolute heroes of music: Anthony Davis, and Kjell Nordeson. I'd been playing with Kjell in various groups for a few years, and had been studying with Anthony at UC San Diego; the three of us had played as a trio a handful of times. For the session, we played some of Anthony's older works, including some which referenced The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin. With that idea of literature and music in mind, I brought some mi…
The Return
*First pressing of 200 copies* Drew Gardner - Drums, John Tchicai - tenor & soprano sax (1, 4), Marco Eneidi - alto sax (3), Roberto De Haven - alto sax, Vytas Nagisetty - bass. Recorded by Myles Boisen at Guerilla Euphonics Studio, Oakland, CA 1995. All compositions by Drew Gardner (Elklag Music) ASCAP
Singing Icons
*First pressing of 150 copies* "Singing Icons brings together – though remotely – two highly exceptional and innovative, and, obviously, in-demand drummers-percussionists – Spanish, Barcelona-based Vasco Trilla, known for his bands Phicus, Fish Wool, Nobject and his duo with Portuguese trumpeter Luís Vicente, and his hero, American poet-dancer-nature mystic Ra Kalam Bob Moses, known for his collaborations with such legends as Charles Mingus, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Keith Jarrett, Pat Metheny and Pa…
A Sublime Madness
Psychic Ills keyboardist, Brent Cordero and Sunwatchers bassist, Peter Kerlin’s, first full length collab A Sublime Madness is the culmination of decades of circling each other's creative orbits. After years of casual jamming, numerous fledgling one offs, and touring sideman gigs (ibrighden addition to Sunwatchers, Kerlin was also Chris Forsyth’s long time bass player and in the John Dwyer helmed improv project, Bent Arcana. Cordero worked for years with Psychic Ills and Mike Wexler among others…
Forest Standards Vol. 3
What is a standard to a forest? What makes that different to what’s a standard, in that jazz classic compositional sense, to a desert? To a city? To a suburb? To a plain? A wetland? A grove? The only thing standard in a forest, like any other environment, is the search for balance. Nature seeks an equilibrium and, given enough time, it finds it. It’s the only way to ensure survival and growth. For three albums, David Lord has been exploring this idea, seeking out some sense of the ethereal, with…
III
Elijah McLaughlin Ensemble III is an album full of shimmering harmonic atmospheres. It’s emblematic of the Chicago-based ensemble, whose music explores the textures and resonances of their string instruments, namely six and 12-string guitar (Elijah McLaughlin), upright bass (Jason Toth), and hammered dulcimer (Joel Styzens). Throughout Elijah McLaughlin III, they expand their usual palette by including analog synths, field recordings, and melodies from guest musicians cellist Katinka Kleijn and …
Lockdown
Leaney's lyrical and multi-textured tenor and alto saxophone playing is featured throughout, as is his playing on the Zimbabwean mbira and west African flulani flute. The record comprises equally of planned and deeply rehearsed compositions by both Leaney and Thouin, each with their own flavour brewed together to form a uniquely organic music. This is the first documented studio recording of 83 year old Thouin's lifelong exploration in sound and rhythm featuring his folkloric, DIY hybrid setup b…
The Reel
"The multifaceted drummer Chad Taylor, who proves to be as much virtuosic as practical in his chops, returns with his bass-less trio - featuring saxophonist Brian Settles and pianist Neil Podgursky - for a sophomore album whose program is a jewel. As a sideman, the drummer has been contributing to some of the most compelling projects by the Chicago Underground Quartet, saxophonists Avram Fefer and James Brandon Lewis, and bassist Eric Revis, just to name a few. He brings two of his own compositi…
Sans Soleil II
*First pressing of 300 copies* Chris Williams (trumpet, cornet, objects, mutes), Patrick Shiroishi (alto, soprano and tenor saxophones, snare drum).Engineered by Jared Rodriguez, mixed and Mastered by Weston Olencki, remastered and edited by Mikey Young.Layout & Cover art by D. Norsen.Produced for release by Nate Cross & Gabriel Jermaine Vanlandingham-Dunn.
Music Improvised on September 23rd, 2021
*First pressing of 200 copies* Andreas Røysum (clarinet, bass clarinet), Christian Meaas Svendsen (double bass), Kresten Osgood (drums).Art & design by Dylan Marcus McConnell
1996-1997
Mishagas: John Colpitts (drums), Scott Daniel (alto sax), Chris Lee (guitar).As the original CD says, “all music born in Brooklyn”.Remastered by Josh Bonati in 2021-2022Art and design by Dan SchechterOriginal CD was self-released on POE (Proof of Existence) Records in 1998.
First Fire • At Dawn (Tape)
100 copies on Yellow cassette shell. John kolodij - guitar, banjo, etc, anna rg - fiddle, sarah hennies - percussion
Mastered by Stephan MathieuArtwork by Myste FrenchLayout by Tiny Little Hammers
The Little Bird (Tape)
First pressing of 200 on gold foil cassette shells. Tracks A1-B5 recorded July 5th & 6th, 2003 at The Black Eye by Jeff Ottenbacher, and mixed at Funsize Studio by Jeff Ottenbacher. Track B6 is a live improvisation by Vernacular & Black Ox Orkestar at the Grog Shop in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, in the Fall of 2004. J-card text: Thanks to Ed Sotelo, Jason Schafer, Cynthia Piper, Clinton Holley, and Jeff Ottenbacher. Extra special thanks to Amiri Baraka (rest in power), the members of Black Ox Orkes…
Fresh Demons (Tape)
A low-key affiliate of the Chicago jazz scene, guitarist/composer Tim Stine goes out on a limb with his new trio album Fresh Demons. Using the secure foundation established by bassist Anton Hatwich and drummer Frank Rosaly to his own advantage, Stine performs eight originals with the same open-mindedness and unorthodox acoustic approaches that have been allowing him to escape jazz conventionalities. His previous outings include the homonymous trio album, out in 2016 on Astral Spirits, and Knots,…
Jazzpreis
Tip! *In process of stocking. Limited edition of 500 copies.* Dry-sober: The whole thing is not new. Neither the line-up nor the methodology according to which the music on this record is organized. The two have known each other for 40 years, then as now they just met and started playing, without prior arrangements, earlier out of ignorance, today out of the opposite: the results are amazingly similar. Only: the recordings from the last 40 years, made privately with the tape recorder or later by…
Under & Cracked
Limited edition of 200 copies.* Aonghus McEvoy is an Irish, Dublin-based experimental guitarist, who has played with musicians such as Annette Krebs, Ricardo Jacinto, Adam Pultz Melbye and Damo Suzuki. Aonghus’ long-term projects include a duo with chaotic synthesist Tristan Clutterbuck and he is a member of pioneering exploitation folk-rock group Woven Skull and the brutalist punk quintet Worst. Likewise, he counts among his many inspirations Eva-Maria Houben, J.S. Bach, Cornelius Cardew, Rhodr…