★Audio Clarity
Karma
Karma is Pharoah Sanders' third recording as a leader, and is among a number of spiritually themed albums the Impulse! Record label released in the late 1960s/early 1970s. Although it is followed by the brief "Colors", the album's main piece is the 32-minute-long "The Creator Has a Master Plan", co-composed by Sanders with vocalist Leon Thomas. Some see this piece as a kind of sequel to Sanders' mentor John Coltrane's legendary 1964 recording A Love Supreme (whose opening it echoes in a muscular…
Thembi
Pharoah Sanders recorded the songs that comprise Thembi in the winter of ’70/’71, in between sessions with Alice Coltrane that would eventually become her masterpiece Journey In Satchidananda LP. The same compelling spirituality that embued Coltrane’s masterpiece with a mood of stately calm and grace pervades Thembi. ‘On Thembi, that was the first time that I ever touched a Fender Rhodes electric piano. We got to the studio in California — Cecil McBee had to unpack his bass, the drummer had to …
Indo-Jazz Suite
The magnificent Indo-Jazz suite by The Joe Harriott Double Quintet Under The Direction Of John Mayer. Features Kenny Wheeler on trumpet, band leader Joe Harriott on alto saxophone, sitar player Diwan Motihar and more. On Indo-Jazz Suite's release in 1966 its four tracks – ‘Overture’, ‘Contrasts’, ‘Raga Megha’ and ‘Raga Gaud-Saranga’ – freeze-framed something in Indo-jazz fusion that was unique to Britain. The States may have had ‘happening’ notables like Don Ellis but never a John Mayer or a Jo…
Music Of Nubia
Hamza El Din (July 10, 1929 – May 22, 2006) was an Egyptian composer, oud player, tar player, and vocalist. Performing on the oud (the Arabian short-necked lute) and the tar (the ancient single-skinned frame drum of the upper Nile), along with his gentle voice and original compositions, Hamza combines the subtleties of Arabic music with the indigenous music of his native Nubia. He has single-handedly forged a new music, essentially a Nubian/ Arabic fusion, but one in line with both traditions an…
Al Oud
Hamza El Din's second album is similar in tone to his debut, featuring original compositions based on Nubian folk traditions, masterful oud playing, and soothing vocals. Serene and haunting, this was among the first world music recordings to make an international impact.
A Música Livre De Hermeto Paschoal
Hermeto's first album recorded in Brazil, and his second solo album (the first one was recorded and released in the USA). Performs as composer of "Bebê" "Plin" and "Serearei", arranger, conductor and instrumentalist. The most experimental record of the master where he shows from beautiful themes like the choro Bebê, which is already a classic of his authorship to deconstructions of well-known themes like Asa branca and Carinhoso. On the track Sereiarei you can even hear an "orchestra" of pigs, g…
Ben
*2023 reissue* The long unavailable ninth album by Brazilian star Jorge Ben. Released in 1972, "Ben" comes from one of Jorge Ben’s most artistically important phases, the early 70s. The album has some of Ben’s most famous songs, “Taj Mahal” (plagiarized by Rod Stewart on his song “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?”, as the British singer admitted himself in 2012), and “Fio Maravilha”, paying homage to Flamengo’s iconic football player Fio Maravilha.
Meditations
2023 small repress. The year 1965 was a turning point in the life of John Coltrane. It was at this point that he crossed the line into the free jazz arena that he had been approaching since the early '60s. Besides his landmark Ascension, no album better illustrates this than the awe-inspiring Meditations. Coltrane's regular quartet -- McCoy Tyner (piano), Jimmy Garrison (bass), and Elvin Jones (drums) -- is expanded here with second drummer Rashied Ali (who assumed Jones' spot after this album) …
Negro É Lindo
*In process of stocking* "Negro é Lindo is a worthy successor for the great album he had released in the previous year. Jorge Ben now takes his sound further toward a tropical Soul, a style that was his unique invention. But there are also still those hypnotic Samba grooves. Clearly, Negro é Lindo belongs to those master albums Jorge Ben bestowed to the world. With a good handful of records, Jorge Ben enriched Brazilian Pop and beyond, international Pop music. Negro é Lindo is one of them.
While…
Tauhid
Recorded November 15, 1966 at Van Gelder Studios, Englewood Cliffs - New Jersey, Tauhid is one of the most iconic album recorded by the tenor saxophonist Pharoah Sanders. On his debut for Impulse ! the leader assembled an extraordinary line-up, defining the boundaries of the so-called spiritual jazz movement. Henry Grimes (bass) Roger Blank (drums), Sonny Sharrock (guitar), Nat Bettis (percussion) and Dave Burrell (piano)Pharoah, (born Farrell Sanders of Little Rock, Arkansas on October 13, 1940…
"O Bidu" Silencio No Brooklyn
*2022 repress* O Bidú: Silêncio no Brooklin is the fifth studio album by Brazilian singer-songwriter and guitarist Jorge Ben. It was recorded with Brazilian rock band The Fevers as Ben's backing musicians and released in 1967 by Artistas Unidos, a small-market record label based in São Paulo.
The album was recorded while Ben was living in Brooklin, a neighborhood of São Paulo with Erasmo Carlos. Its title is a reference to a car that Ben owned at the time and the subtitle is a joke on a neighbor…
A Monastic Trio
A Monastic Trio is the first solo album by Alice Coltrane. Recorded in 1968, she intended it to be a tribute to her husband, John Coltrane, who had died the year before. It originally featured the message: "This music is dedicated to the mystic, Ohnedaruth, known as John Coltrane during the period from September 23, 1926 to July 17, 1967Alice Coltrane - harp, pianoPharoah Sanders - flute, bass clarinet, tenor saxophoneJimmy Garrison - bassRashied Ali - drumsBen Riley – drumsWhile John's spirit c…
Danger: Diabolik
Iconic film composer Ennio Morricone made an incredible contribution to popular music. Coming to prominence through his scoring of Sergio Leone’s Westerns, there followed work for directing legends such as Bernardo Bertolucci, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Roland Joffè, Brian De Palma and many more, since Morricone was responsible for more than 400 film scores in his lifetime. The 1968 oddity Danger: Diabolik! is one of his rarest, since the score was lost in a fire, and one of his most celebrated, since…