Jazz /
Moon Child
Recorded in France in 1989, Sanders plays here with an all-star line-up consisting of Stafford James on bass, William Henderson on piano and Eddie Moore on drums. Great percussion work from Cheikh Tidiane Fall, particularly on “Moon Rays”, and as always Sanders’ sax work is rich, full and throaty. On this album, the legendary saxophonist clearly reinvented himself as a more traditional improviser, capable of thoughtful and pensive deliberations. Catchy mystical New Age vocals and astrological re…
Africa
On this 1987 album Pharoah Sanders is accompanied by the great Idris Muhammad on drums, John Hicks on piano and Curtis Lundy on bass. Five of the eight compositions are by Sanders, one track by pianist Hicks, Coltrane’s “Naima” is a tribute to Trane and “Speak Low” is a beautiful standard from Kurt Weill and Ogden Nash. A real smoky slower number “Heart To Heart” shows Sanders can be subdued and romantic and John Hicks plays some beautiful jazz piano. The whole album exudes energy and joy. On “D…
Shifa - Live In Oslo
*2024 stock* ‘Live in Oslo’ is the sophomore album from Shifa, the outstanding UK trio featuring pianist extraordinaire Pat Thomas, celebrated saxophonist Rachel Musson, and sonic transcendent drummer Mark Sanders. The group derives its name from the Arabic word for healing and the music they make aspires to do just that.
This album follows their acclaimed, Downbeat 4-star debut ‘Shifa Live at Cafe Oto’. Listen to ‘Shifa Live in Oslo’ and discover contemporary master musicians celebrating the mo…
Houseplant
Jim Black may be one of the most respected avant jazz drummers on the planet, but when leading his AlasNoAxis quartet, jazz often seems to be the farthest thing from his mind. Perhaps one need only consider the title of the fifth AlasNoAxis CD, 2009’s Houseplant, to realize there’s probably not a lot of jazz here; the title itself doesn’t exactly suggest swinging exuberance or, given the history of Black’s “jazz” output, even crisp and incisive grooves. After all, when contemplating the nearest …
The Ancients
Bomb! The debut recording by The Ancients, the intergenerational coalition of Isaiah Collier, William Hooker and William Parker formed by Parker to play concerts in conjunction with the Milford Graves' “A Mind-Body Deal” exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and now a working group. Across 2LPs of side-length long-form improvised sets recorded at 2220 Arts & Archives in LA and The Chapel in San Francisco, The Ancients bring the free jazz trio languages first explored by t…
Ballet Etudes
*CD Version* Recorded at the 1962 Jazz Jamboree festival in Warsaw and originally released in 1963 on Danish Metronome label, here's a true gem from one of the most important figures in Polish music and a founding father of European Jazz. "Ballet Etudes" was one of the three full LPs released during Komeda' short lifetime. His fluent modern jazz conception was a perfect synthesis between the American influence and the European harmonic complexity, a unique kind of marriage colored by a clear Sla…
Possibility and prejudices from within a cup
The essence of conviviality. You take a punch, soft as a sock at the end of a jog, but that isn’t the real point here. Even poorly brewed fuel can become a cherished experience when shared in good company, highlighting that at its core, the communal experience lies not in the quality of the beverage, but in the connections it fosters. And so, by evidence of this striking piece of truth, even the occasional misstep in the infusion process can't diminish the warmth and camaraderie that fills the m…
The Zebra Paradox
*2025 stock* Setting the stage for The Zebra Paradox requires building anticipation and intrigue on the inside of the listener before they even hear the first notes. To accomplish this an imagined transference of information must bloom like a deep inhalation of sonic spores. If categories can be applied to explore how concepts are played out in this music and throughout the album, perhaps think of displacement, confusion, time distortion and derangement. Otherwise the listener might choose to tr…
The Equinox
The Equinox is PainKiller's much anticipated sequel to their critically praised 2024 album Samsara, and it has a more varied and adaptable style than their previous work.
In The Moment
Makaya McCraven’s International Anthem debut 'In The Moment' is the album that properly introduced the then-burgeoning drummer/producer to the world. In many ways, it also laid the groundwork for a working method that both McCraven and the label have returned to again and again over the years: nearly 48 hours of live improvised performance recorded by IARC house engineer Dave Vettraino at 1 venue over 12 months and 28 shows - culled, cut, rendered, and remixed into 19 potent pieces of organic be…
Zlatko Kaučič @ 70 Inklings
If it can be said of someone that he is more than a musician, more than an improviser, more than an artist then it can certainly be said of Slovenian drummer Zlatko Kaucic. Zlatko is a good spirit, he is a man who not only goes down in musical history as a partner of the greatest artists of improvised music, but also as a good spirit. As someone who, when he plays and when he enters a room, the world becomes brighter, wiser and arranged as it should be. This year Zlatko Kaucic turned 70 and his …
Furthered
"Furthered" is the new album by Alex Ward Item 4. The quartet's music is the fullest realization of Ward's long-standing desire to create a context where his compositional concerns can coexist with improvisation of the most unfettered stripe. Given a line-up which would be perfectly capable of creating compelling music without recourse to pre-written elements at all, Ward's compositions aim to function as another "personality" within the overall mix, subject to the same spontaneous interrogation…
Radical Invisibility
This is the debut album of a group dedicated to the invisible world. Some people operate invisibly by choice, some are invisible because of the nature of events in their life, some remain invisible and unknown against their will.
Il Giro Del Giorno In 80 Mondi
Originally issued on Fonit Cetra label in 1972, and then re-released on Black Saint in 1976, this is Enrico Rava's legendary first album. An eclectic yet organic mix of open lyricism and NYC funk groove. Backed up by Bruce Johnson on electric guitar, Chip White on drums and Marcello Melis on double bass (one of the true unsung heroes in Italian creative jazz), Rava shines throughout the whole album with his very distinctive sound and his deep sense of melody. After more than 40 years this marvel…
The Stone
Mega Tip! Purple Trap, the powerful trio of Keiji Haino (voice, guitar), Bill Laswell on bass, and Rashied Ali (drums), recorded live on stage at The Stone. Recorded in December 2005, this furious live album by what can easily be called a super group remained unreleased till in 2023 Bill Laswell made it accessible in a rough-mixed digital version for his bandcamp subscribers program exclusively. For this vinyl version, the music has been newly mixed by Dirk Dresselhaus (SchneiderTM) and mastered…
The Dennis Egberth Dynasty
Respected Swedish Drummer and Composer Dennis Egberth Introduces New Sextet in His First Album with 577 Records. If you love the era in which electronic elements began to enter contemporary jazz, you’ll LOVE what Sweden’s Dennis Egberth has been creating. The esteemed drummer/composer introduces us to his hand-chosen ensemble, The Dennis Egberth Dynasty, in the artist’s first album with 577 Records. The self-titled release highlights his creativity, painting a hypnotic soundscape that soothes th…
Atlantic Puffin
"This, it seems to me, is the great strength of Sophie Lüssi’s music here on Atlantic Puffin. It is clearly skilled and doesn't deal in casual approximations. It is built on solid technique, a brilliant appropriation of classical violin methods in the interests of improvisation. But her music, which draws on folk as well as canonical forms, is one that emanates from and addresses the whole person. It's generous music, kindly and open, and in its gentle humour it engages a part of the spirit that…
Synergetic Matches
Elisabeth Harnik, an Austrian based pianist and composer has created a multi-faceted body of work by blurring genre boundaries through various collaborations in the field of improvised music, interdisciplinary projects and contemporary compositional works. She studied classical piano and later – with Beat Furrer – composition at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Graz. As an improviser she works within an electro-acoustic inspired sound-world, using specific preparations and extended t…
Colla Voce
What if the blue that I see is different from the blue that you see? This question is an infrastructure for my Afro-Surrealist Anti-Opera, Colla Voce. Often, when we think of Surrealism, we think of subconscious mental states, dreams, nightmares-those unexplored corners of our psyche. But Afro-Surrealism protests: what if that which one calls a ‘dream' is a nightmare to another? What if that which one calls ‘rational' is completely baseless to another? And surely, we must have varying ideas of w…
Polska
*2025 stock* A musical visionary, some outstanding instrumentalists, the 10th anniversary of the collective’s founding, a reflection on Polishness, and finally – a 4,000 km-long walking pilgrimage of 100 solo concerts in 100 temples. These events, symbols, experiences and facts have somehow been combined into one coherent whole – the Polska LP, the first release by Piotr Damasiewicz & Power of the Horns Ensemble since 2013.“Power of the Horns have the ability to captivate audiences of any festiv…