Jazz /
Woodstock Generation
Black Vinyl. For more than 20 years, Cinedelic has gained a remarkable reputation for illuminating unexpected trajectories within the world of avant-garde sound. While the primary body of their efforts has been dedicated to reissuing unconventional soundtracks and Italian library music, increasingly they’ve been casting their eye abroad. This was partially noteworthy with the launch of their Orient Series in 2021, which endeavors to make seminal gestures of historic Japanese music available to a…
Maskerade
*2022 reissue.* "Maskerade“ is among the most fascinating fusion and spiritual jazz LPs from West Germany. The sought after album was originally released in 1974 on the tiny label "Creative Music Records“, with only a few hundred copies known to exist. Leader Dieter Bihlmaier stands out as a fantastic flute player, recalling some of the best moments of icons like Eric Dolphy, Sahib Shihab or Jeremy Steig. Bassist Jan Jankeje, percussionist Gerhart Ziegler and vibraphonist Gerhard Dietz form his …
The Uplifting Abyss
CD edition, 6-sided digipak with booklet. What would you do if a never before released jazz funk album from 70s Yugoslavia had dropped suddenly into your arms? An album which sounds like a crate diggers holy grail!? Album full of heavy drum breaks, repetitive bass grooves, superb sax solos and world class jazz arrangements finely intertwined with Yugoslavian folk music elements?! – “Press it!” ~ That’s what we said always striving to present the future of unheard sound of Yugoslavia! With the he…
The Sojourner
Japanese label P-Vine sure know how to pick out the essential spiritual jazz reissues. This is another gold standard that came originally on Strata East in 1974. Vocals feature throughout and often soar to the highest of heights and make it a charismatic album. Sample hounds and hip hop lovers might well recognise the track 'Optimystical' which has been pillaged by Detroit great Andres before now. Elsewhere there is real freeform magic on 'Music Is Nothing But A Prayer', cosmic exploration on 'T…
De Repente
In 1970, the Virgilio Armas Trio released De Repente on the tiny Discos A&B label, very likely a one-off, self-financed project. Virgilio Armas recalls: “The nightlife in Caracas of the 1950’s and 1960’s inspired me to record an album in 1970, with songs influenced by the Jazz, Bossa and Latin genres. De Repente was created with my beloved Piano, and my long-time musical partners Rodolfo Buenaño (bass) and Guillermo Tariba (drums).”
The style is very much influenced by the harder post-Bossa Nova…
Espejismo
We Are Busy Bodies announces the reissue of the rare and sought-after 1973 Venezuelan jazz album Espejismo ('Mirage') by Virgilio Armas Y Su Grupo, offering a fascinating snapshot of the thriving music scene in early 1970's Caracas, until now largely undocumented because of the musical dominance of Venezuela’s far larger southern neighbour, Brazil. Pianist and bandleader Virgilio Armas skilfully combined Latin Jazz, post-bossa swing (Balanço), with home-grown variants of Son Cubano, Montuno, Mer…
Like A Child
We Are Busy Bodies reissues Sadayasu Fujii Trio's 1977 album, Like A Child. Led by pianist, Sadayasu Fujii, the album includes jazz standards "A Sleepin' Bee" and "If I Should Lose You", along with original compositions.
Wamono A To Z Vol. III (Japanese Light Mellow Funk, Disco & Boogie 1978-1988)
Tip! Active as a professional DJ in Japan since the late eighties, DJ Yoshizawa Dynamite is also a renowned remixer, compiler and producer. An avid record collector and an expert of the Wamono style, Yoshizawa published the Wamono A to Z records guide book in 2015 which instantly sold-out. The book unveiled a myriad of beautiful and rare records from a highly prolific, but still then unknown, Japanese groove scene. After many years working as a record buyer for several stores, DJ Chintam open…
Penumbra II
Limited edition compact disc of a previously unreleased recording made at a rare 1971 studio performance by a Karl Jenkins-led nine piece group of stellar musicians.
“At the time, I had taken Karl’s answer to mean that Penumbra II contained no material exclusive to it, possibly consisting of different arrangements of music previously recorded by Nucleus or recycled later in Soft Machine. At it turns out, I was both right and wrong: Penumbra II is previously unheard but does include some famili…
1976
Never broadcasted and unreleased sessions by Dutch keyboard players Rob Franken and Jan Huydts alongside Scope drummer H. Zomer. Session which took place in Feb. 1976 and were stored in VPRO archives untill discovered by journalist Frank Jochemsen who searched for material to use for a radio special about Rob Franken..Check soundbites and discover these unheard and never broadcasted dope jazz funk sessions which will in particulary appeal to fans of the Fender Rhodes piano.
Rob Franken was a tal…
At Her Majesty's Pleasure
*2022 stock.* Inspiration in jazz has many sources. Who would have thought that British prisons could have inspired a Belgian-born composer, arranger, co-leader of a truly international band? The fact is that when the Clarke-Boland band came to this country at the beginning of 1969 for their memorable booking at the Ronnie Scott Club tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin was, to quote the sleeve “whisked off to Pentonville”. It was nothing worse than a question of outstanding income tax from a previo…
Searching in Grenoble : The 1978 Solo Piano Concert
Searching In Grenoble: The 1978 Solo Piano Concert is a previously unissued recording of jazz icon Mal Waldron's mesmerizing performance at the "Five Days of Jazz" series in Grenoble, France on March 23, 1978. Waldron was Billie Holiday’s final accompanist, played on classic sessions with John Coltrane, Charles Mingus and Jackie McLean among others, and recorded dozens of solo albums as a leader before his passing in 2002. Originally produced by the legendary André Francís and transferred from t…
Jazzberry Patch
Originally released as an obscure private-press LP by the Florida trio of Ben Champion, Ken Burkhart and Danny Burger. Special guest on this super rare funky jazz outing is Mike Longo who says a few words on behalf of the group on the back cover, and sure enough he contributes scorching Rhodes in the style of his early 70s Greasy Groove sides for Groove Merchant and Mainstream. Also on board are Kelton Champion on guitar, Gary Champion on Bass, Mickey McGann on keys and David Winters on Congas a…
Viaje A Prantía
*2022 stock.* You know you're into something good when you open the album you just bought and find a lyrics sheet, then play it and quickly realise the record is actually instrumental. The unruliness that defined Costa Blanca's short-lived career resulted in such nonsensical contradictions, and helps understand why one of Spain's best jazz-rock bands of the 70s never had a proper breakthrough. Hailing from sun-bathed Alicante in the Spanish Levantine coast, Costa Blanca shared the stage with som…
Africadelic
Diggers Factory present a reissue of Manu Dibango's Africadelic, originally released in 1972. The strange and majestic musical beast that is Africadelic was Dibango's follow-up to Soul Makossa (1972), but it was initially released on Louis Delacour's library music label, Mondiaphone, before Soul Makossa became an international phenomenon.
As a Mondiaphone release, it was aimed at television and film producers seeking atmospheric background music, so the original titles are simply "Theme No 1," "…
One Night in Pelican
A night-time haunt in the backstreets of Soweto run by a well-known bootlegger should have been a prime zone for nefarious underworld activities. Instead, it nurtured an underground of a different kind. Soon after its opening in 1973, Club Pelican became a spot where musicians steeped in the tradition of South African jazz began to cook up experimental sounds inspired by communion, competition and the movements in funk and soul blowing in from the West. Located in an industrial park on the weste…
Ethnic Expressions
Tip! Groovy, spiritual, and oh so, rare, this live album by drummer Roy Brooks is one of the best to ever come out of the spiritual jazz scene. With a career spanning over 50 years and collaborations with artists like Horace Silver, Stanley Turrentine, Yusef Lateef, and Charles Mingus, Roy Brooks was a foundation and leading force of the jazz scene throughout his entire storied life. As one of the most talented drummers of any generation, Brooks would lead his own group, the Artistic Truth, and …
It's Up To You
** Limited to 300 double vinyl copies, two inlays with photos and liner notes. Originally released in 1974 on Preiser Records** »It’s Up to You« is a free sound art and performance project by sound artist and singer Limpe Fuchs, sculptor and sound artist Paul Fuchs, and pianist and recorder player Friedrich Gulda, who formed the trio Anima at the time of the recordings in 1974. As musical guests they were able to enlist the trombonist Albert Mangelsdorff, the bassist Barre Phillips, the oud play…
Funky Africa
*In process of stocking* We Are Busy Bodies is proud to present a reissue of composer, guitarist, and later producer, Almon Memela’s ultra rare 1975 album, Funky Africa. From the original liner notes: 'Africa has always been many things to many people. To some, Africa is the Dark Continent, a mysterious, romantic and vast expanse of unexplored territory. To others, again, Africa is the ultimate symbol of man's triumph over his environment: a wakening giant destined to play a significant role in …
Deeper Roots
*In process of stocking* Second, and long out of print album by South Africa's Roots. Remastered from original audio tapes. Artwork completely restored by Steve Lewin.