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Otoliths is the second album by the transatlantic quartet Earscratcher, which brings together Austrian pianist Elisabeth Harnik with three of her US-based cohorts – Dave Rempis on saxophones, Fred Lonberg-Holm on cello, and Tim Daisy on drums. Recorded live on tour in the US in December of 2024 - no small feat in an era when the longstanding xenophobic and insular tendencies of the country dominate more than ever - this sophomore outing finds a band whose roots have spread deep and wide. While t…
Stephen McCraven's Wooley The Newt was his first album under his own name, released on Marion Browns own Sweet Earth record label in 1979 (orignal copies are rare and go for $500). Working with Stephen and the carvery we have remastering the audio and restored the original artwork. Stephen is a master drumer and composer and has worked with Archie Shepp for many years,he has also played & recorded with many; Marion Brown, Mal Waldron, Reggie Wokman and Stanley Cowell to mention just a few. Steph…
Frode Gjerstad, Alexander von Schlippenbach, and Dag Magnus Narvesen's first trio recording is powerful convergence of avant-garde improvisation and deep jazz sensibilities. Gjerstad’s fearless saxophone work, Schlippenbach’s adventurous piano explorations and Narvesen’s dynamic drumming create spontaneous compositions that betray a deep mutual respect.
Hyperboreal Trio’s debut album unites the distinct voices of Signe Emmeluth, Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, and Axel Filip—three seasoned improvisers bridging the musical extremes of the north and south through raw, yet meticulously crafted pieces.
"I grew up in a literary household with parents who paid close attention to the written word. My father was a Goethe scholar, and my mother often read to us, pointing out the beauty of the sound of words. I have always felt an affinity for poetry. I appreciate its emotional power to move us and to make us think less literally. Miles Davis stressed the importance of knowing the lyrics to standards, and I’ve always believed that understanding the meaning of the words provides an added dimension wh…
Biggest Tip! Limited edition 2-CD Digipak. Includes a 12-page booklet with rare photos from the actual performance by Christian Rose, and an exclusive essay by longtime Down Beat contributorKevin Whitehead. Transcendence Sounds - the groundbreaking new archival imprint from Elemental Music - makes its stunning debut with the complete, previously unreleased concert recording of spiritual jazz titan Pharoah Sanders captured live at Paris's legendary Studio 104 on November 17th, 1975. This extraor…
Feelings marks Jake Henry’s long-awaited return as a leader, more than a decade after his debut with Sweet Talk Glitterbomb. This album is a deeply personal exploration of the intricate harmonic language and angular counterpoint Henry developed during his formative years as a guitarist. Drawing on the frenetic energy of math rock, raw intensity of metal, and chaotic textures of noise, Henry recontextualizes common song form into a bold, genre-defying soundscape.
The quartet—featuring Brian Krock…
First meetings are always a risk, but if the vibrations are right and the doors are open, magic will be made. When the members of Look Both Days (brought together by Chicago pianist Erez Dessel) took the stage on the opening night of the 2023 Catalytic Sound Festival, nobody knew quite what to expect. With Marvin Tate on the mic, Mai Sugimoto and Fred Jackson Jr. both on alto saxophone, Erez Dessel on piano, and Ben Hall on drums, these stalwarts of the midwestern improvised music scene were poi…
*2025 stock* Emerging from the fertile ground where language meets rhythm, Groppler Zorn proudly announces the release of their highly anticipated debut album. Conceived in the transition from spoken word to music, the project embodies the belief that the urge to speak and the impulse to dance spring from the same source. Far from being a singular vision, the album is the result of a series of creative dialogues — conversations between musicians and artists from diverse, and at times opposing, a…
For their second album Hi Res Heart expand from being a trio to a performing quintet with the addition of the two string players. In contrast to the first album - a very carefully conceived studio construct - Move Fast And Mend Things finds the group in live performance mode, recorded the day after their first gig as a five piece. As before, spaciousness and fire co-exist. Even when the music is at its most abstract, the spirit of the blues is never too far away. The music is direct and melodic …
Long hidden from the world, the extraordinary sound of Baobab finally emerges. Recordings made in the late 1970s by the Stuttgart-based group—once described as "one of the most interesting rock-jazz groups on the Stuttgart scene"—are being unveiled to listeners for the very first time after more than 45 years in the vaults.
The album, simply titled Baobab, showcases the fearless creativity and genre-blurring spirit of a band who were decades ahead of their time. Fusing the improvisational energy…
*2025 stock* Founded in the Winter of 2017 Adam Shead’s Adiaphora Orchestra is a large mixed chamber orchestra performing the compositions and conductions of percussionist composer, and educator Adam Shead. The Adiaphora Orchestra, located in Chicago, IL, is comprised of the cities finest rising star improvisers from a variety of performance idioms and practices. Including a full string, brass, woodwind, auxillary, and rhythm section the ensemble performs what Shead calls “indifference music”. A…
*2025 stock* Balance Point Acoustics proudly presents Volumes & Surfaces, a bold new statement in contemporary free jazz from the extraordinary trio of Jason Stein (bass clarinet), Damon Smith (double bass), and Adam Shead (drums). Recorded in Chicago at Elastic Arts and The Hungry Brain, this album showcases three of creative music’s most distinctive voices in full flight.
Volumes & Surfaces reveals the trio’s uncanny synergy, adventurous spirit, and unyielding commitment to improvisational exp…
*30 copies limited edition* Physical is excited to announce the release of (music for) A Thousand Ways to Run. This sonic journey brings together the eclectic talents of pianist Ben Kujawski, drummer Abigail Smith, and guitarist/harmonicist Justin Rhody, whose collaborations coalesce in a collection that blurs the lines between avant-jazz, experimental soundscapes, and evocative improvisation. Recorded in the intimate setting of Kujawski’s home studio in 2023, the album is an invitation to liste…
From the enigmatic fringes of experimental sound comes an extraordinary split release between K/S/R and The Tulsa Ball Room Singers—a bold document of two singular live performances where music and moving image intertwine.
Cush is a raw, genre-blurring journey of drums, trumpet & baritone sax — where musique concrète meets groove-jazz. A sonic rebellion echoing Corto Maltese’s mythos. For fans of Pierre Henry & wild improvisation.
Recorded live at Chicago’s renowned listening rooms, Constellation in February 2023, and Hungry Brain in July 2023, Stinger captures an exhilarating blend of precision and spontaneity. This album showcases a band that has fine-tuned its sound while embracing the thrill of unpredictability. At the forefront of this musical conversation is Keefe Jackson, a saxophonist whose deep and resonant tones on the tenor saxophone reflect his artistry as both composer and performer. Celebrated for his abilit…
2025 stock Are you ready for magic? The master musicians Daniel Carter, Matthew Shipp, William Parker and Gerald Cleaver will provide access with this album, the first they have released after playing together for decades.
Daniel Carter has been collaborating with William Parker since the early 70s and with Matthew Shipp starting in the mid 80s. This trio has played together on many recordings but by adding legendary drummer Gerald Cleaver to the mix they have created a masterpiece combination; …
Cruelty Bacchanal, the second release from guitarist Matt Hollenberg’s group Shardik, is a ferocious statement of intent. Years in the making and issued on John Zorn’s Tzadik label, the album presents a volatile and politically charged fusion of modern classical structure, metal intensity, and free jazz unpredictability. Hollenberg’s compositions are marked by intricate rhythmic architecture and an uncompromising sonic vision, alternating between explosive virtuosity and dark, layered atmosphere…
The third volume of duos between indefatigable tenorsaxophonist Ivo Perelman and adventurous trumpeter NateWooley is their most intimate encounter to date. Beginningwith mournful, almost undersea drones, it moves through avariety of subtly shifting moods, combining old-school jazzromanticism with the kind of nearly telepathic interaction thatonly a long-term creative relationship can inspire. Anyonewho’s enjoyed the first two volumes of this brilliant series willfind this latest dispatch to be a…