★Lantern Heights
High In The Sky
Big tip! Hampton Hawes - one of the finest jazz pianists of the 1950s, a fixture on the Los Angeles scene who had brought his own interpretations to the dominant Bud Powell style - was rebuilding his career after five years in prison on heroin possession charges. Pardoned by President Kennedy in 1963, he'd spent the late '60s finding his way back, relearning how to navigate a jazz scene that had changed dramatically in his absence. High in the Sky, leading a dynamic trio with virtuoso bass playe…
Toverbal Sweet
Big Tip! *Limited edition of 500 copies.* The cultish London-based Mushroom label - already known for releasing some of the most uncompromising British improvised music - brought together three musicians whose approaches seemed fundamentally incompatible. Lol Coxhill, the anarchic genius of British free saxophone, meeting the pure magic of a Dutch rhythm section: Pierre Courbois on drums and Jasper Van't Hof on keyboards. The result was Toverbal Sweet - a clash of titans that somehow worked pre…
And Then There Were Three
*Limited edition of 500 copies.* Michael Chapman - a hero in his own right, a "Fully Qualified Survivor" (to borrow the title of one of his most successful creations). For over five decades, the guitarist, singer, and songwriter carved his own path through British folk, blues, jazz, and avant-garde territories, refusing easy categorization and outlasting countless trends. And Then There Were Three captures him at a pivotal moment: 1977, stripped down to essential elements, backed by a powerhouse…
Kaleidoscope of Rainbows
Neil Ardley's visionary bridge: 1976's Kaleidoscope of Rainbows fuses British jazz-rock with Balinese gamelan scales. Seven Rainbow compositions built on pelog and slendro patterns, featuring Ian Carr, Paul Buckmaster, Tony Coe. Final part of Ardley's trilogy, pointing toward 1979's Harmony of the Spheres. Minimalist counterpoint meets exotic structures.
Mike Taylor Remembered
"The Syd Barrett of the avant-jazz scene" - the comparison is inevitable, tragic, and apt. Mike Taylor, British jazz composer, pianist, songwriter, died tragically young, leaving just two albums and co-writes with Ginger Baker for Cream's Wheels of Fire to his name. A talent that burned bright and brief, gone before most people realized what they'd lost. Under the direction of Neil Ardley - himself a significant figure in British jazz composition - several performers who had worked with Taylor g…