Jazz /
The Chisa Years
Tip! **2025 Stock** The Chisa Years: 1965–1975 (Rare and Unreleased) gathers the most exploratory moments from a vital era in Hugh Masekela’s career, collected on BBE as part of the label’s Masterclass Series. As co-founder of Chisa Records with Stewart Levine, Masekela set out to document the crossflow between African musical idioms and the currents of soul, jazz, and R&B pulsing through the United States and beyond. The result is an archive alive with the friction and joy of experimentation—a …
Ajomasé
Ajomasé marks the influential debut of Gasper Lawal, legendary Nigerian percussionist, now presented in a vibrant reissue by Strut Records. Originally released in 1980, the album bridges Yoruba traditions and Western funk, propelled by layered drumming and energetic ensemble playing. Each track is infused with rhythmic invention and charismatic flair.
Drumland Dreamland
Occasionally, you find music outside the commercial mainstream, outside of everything – the music of visionaries, eccentrics, inventors, loners. Moondog, Daphne Oram, Harry Partch are from this mould. And so too is Lori Vambe.
Drumgita Solo
Occasionally, you find music outside the commercial mainstream, outside of everything – the music of visionaries, eccentrics, inventors, loners. Moondog, Daphne Oram, Harry Partch are from this mould. And so too is Lori Vambe.
Watusa
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…
Janna
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 …
Gris-Gris
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 …
Hard Top
Hard Top assembles the previously unreleased 1975 recordings of legendary South African saxophonist Kippie Moketsi (also spelled Moeketsi). The 2LP vinyl edition is presented in a gatefold sleeve featuring artwork by Mafa Ngwenya and comes from As-Shams Archive on the heels of the Tete Mbambisa's previously unreleased African Day album in 2024.
By 1975, at the age of 50, saxophonist Kippie Moketsi had already earned his stripes as a South African jazz figurehead. His tenure with the Jazz Epistle…
Original Album Series
2025 stock Includes the albums "Gris-Gris," "Babylon," "The Sun Moon & Herbs," "Dr. Johns Gumbo" and "In The Right Place" by Dr. John.
The Atco/Atlantic Singles 1968-1974
2025 stock Dr. John has proven to be one of music’s foremost generalists, a primary-care cat whose practice extends back some 60 years. His expertise encompasses rock ’n’ roll, swamp pop, New Orleans, R&B, funk, jazz, and the Great American Songbook—and he’s made worthy contributions to recordings by the Stones, B.B. King, Van Morrison, Frank Zappa, Buddy Guy & Junior Wells, Buffalo Springfield, Gregg Allman, and others. The awards (six Grammys and counting) and accolades long ago validated the …
Ramblin'
An essential jazz masterpiece from celebrated Canadian pianist Paul Bley, presented in a deluxe edition. Originally released in 1969 as part of the iconic Actuel series, this definitive remastered edition of Ramblin' invites listeners to experience the artistry of Paul Bley’s 1966 Rome session in unprecedented clarity.
Recorded at Studio RCA in the Eternal City on July 1, 1966, Ramblin’ captures Paul Bley alongside the formidable rhythm section of double bassist Mark Levinson and drummer Barry A…
Aktuala
Limited to 500 copies, hand-numbered. Gatefold cover, textured sleeve + printed inner. Red Vinyl. 1973 Aktuala debut, a stunning overall work where you can hear a lot of different musical influences : avant-garde folk, mediterranean blues ,jazz improvisation, minimalism, african percussions, indian ragas all played with a true psychedelic feeling. The album was recorded in a few days in a totally acoustic dimension and the line-up seems to be a quintet of contemporary music more than a progrock …
Stereo Instrumental Music
The Ibex Band, with Giovanni Rico and Selam Woldemariam at the creative helm, provided the musical backbone for legends like Aster Aweke, Girma Beyene, Tilahun Gessesse, Mulatu Astatke, and Mahmoud Ahmed, including the iconic album Ere Mela Mela, shaping modern Ethiopian music as we know it today. This 1976 album (Ge’ez Year 1968) played a pivotal role in that legacy and has now resurfaced to set the record straight.
There’s a tendency to talk about the seventies as a golden age of Ethiopian mus…
The Blue Yusef Lateef
On “The Blue Yusef Lateef” (1968), listeners get an amazing chapter from the late ’60s, an amazing period when everything in the world of Jazz was changing. Yusef Lateef was big on concept recordings. This album examines all the different ranges of emotion contained within the blues genre. With a band that included Detroit Jazz gods Roy Brooks on drums and Kenny Burrell on guitar, Blue Mitchell on trumpet, Hugh Lawson on piano, Sonny Red on alto, Bob Cranshaw on electric bass, and a very young C…
Onilu
Onilu is an all-percussionist trio utilizing the extensive family of drummed and tuned percussion instruments to deliver beautifully composed, arranged and executed small ensemble music. Nothing about this all-percussion band feels rarified, or missing anything musical. To the contrary, Onilu create a soundworld where nothing is missing, and everything is musical -- defying the stereotype of modern percussion ensembles as esoteric or academic pursuits, reaffirming the powerful social and sacred …
Beautiful United Harmony Happening, The Education of an Amphibian
* Edition of 300 copies. High thickness cardboard with opaque laminated cover. Comes with a printed insert. * “Beautiful United Harmony Happening” / “The Education of an Amphibian” - the second release by Alga Marghen’s brand new free jazz imprint, Formalibera - is also dedicated to the output of John Tchicai following his return to Copenhagen during the mid 1960s. Comprising two pieces, remarkably, this single LP effectively bookends a rich period of activity for the saxophonist, capturing one …
Live At The Panafrican Festival
Tip! Archie Shepp has many made many Afrocentric statements in his long distinguished career but this meeting with Algerian and Touareg musicians in 1969 ranks among his greatest artistic achievements. The backdrop was the inaugural Pan African Festival Of Culture that took place in Algiers in July 1969 in order to promote solidarity among African nations at a time when many were emerging from the yoke of colonialism and some were still fighting for freedom. Their struggle chimed with the Black …
Kadef
*2024 stock* A group of musicians invited by Devin Brahja Waldman and Ziad Qoulaii for a recording session in Montreal, QC. This music speaks about freedom and evolution of consciousness. The album could be categorized as improvised Gnawa Jazz Krautrock: a combination of sounds we are able to discover for the first time thanks to the artists involved.
Hooligan
*2024 stock* The Brussels based trio Don Kapot released their first EP on Mr. Nakayasi Records in 2018. They recently teamed up with the Belgian jazz / not jazz label W.E.R.F. records, with whom they released a limited edition cassette "Don Kaset" in October 2020. On March 26th they proudly present the release of a new full album: Hooligan. The album contains seven collectively written songs and takes the listener on an adventurous instrumental journey full of steaming grooves, unbridled joy in …
I love Tempo
Brussels-based power trio Don Kapot release their rousing new album ‘I Love Tempo’ via W.E.R.F. Records – NEWS distribution. A lifeboat of free jazz, afrobeat and krautpunk sailed by Giotis Damianidis (bass), Viktor Perdieus (baritone saxophone) and Jakob Warmenbol (drums), the album follows the release of their critically acclaimed 2022 album ‘Un Peu Live’ recorded with Dutch multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and composer Fulco Ottervanger, and described by Bandcamp Daily as a ‘very fun mix of mo…