Jazz & Improvisation / Avant-Garde Jazz

Orfeo 5 formed in 2002 out of a series of text/music projects curated by The Word Hoard artists’ co-op. They’ve composed and toured a number of commissions in different line-ups, and released two CDs, a year on the ice from The Word Hoard in 2009, and in the green castle from Discus in 2017. The core of the group’s sound comes from longstanding members Shaun Blezard on electronics and Keith Jafrate on saxophones, with other players from an extended family of musicians and poets joining them from…

*2022 stock* Futura Marge presents Live At The Sunset by Other Dimensions In Music (Roy Campbell trumpet, pocket trumpet, flugelhorn, flute, recorder & double flageolet, Daniel Carter alto saxophone, flute, trumpet & voice, William Parker double bass & musette & Hamid Drake drums & skin drum).Recorded in Paris at the Sunset on October 17th & 18th, 2006

I have wanted to make a trio recording – that simplest and yet most demanding configuration for any saxophone player – for many years, but had been unable to decide who the other players should be. It was only when I heard Michael’s solo work that I realised that his approach to the bass, combined with Walt’s textural playing, would make the foundation which I was looking for. I wanted a trio sound where the saxophone could inhabit the music from within - as opposed to riding upfront in the role…

TAO Forms is rather stoked to present this astonishing new work from the fertile creative mind of tenor saxophonist–composer James Brandon Lewis. Performed by the Red Lily Quintet, an exceptional & singular inter-generational ensemble, this album speaks to the forever-evolving continuum of the jazz tradition.

*2022 stock* Futura Marge presents Septentrion by Arnaud Sacase (saxophone alto), Jobic Le Masson (piano), Benjamin Duboc (contrabass) & Antoine Paganotti (drums). Recorded on 15 et 16 december 2003 at Gaël Mevel's à Abbeville-la-Rivière (France)

Tashi Dorji (electric guitar) and Tyler Damon (drums/percussion) have developed a musical language that is not only shaped by original forms as free jazz, metal, rock and Buddhist monastic music. Their sound merges passion and emotions of literature, art, cultural movements, politics - flashes of ecstatic intensity, blurred timbral lines, fractal repetition, noir-ish, cinematic mystery and inclinations toward free play hint that the two are pleased to follow a winding path to destinations yet un…

Outernational Sounds present a reissue of Jeff Resnick's SAC ("School Of American Craftsman"), originally released in 1978. Organically funky, laced with avant-garde synth textures, and studded with breakbeats, the second release on Outernational Sounds is Jeff Resnick's unique, ultra-rare, 1978 promotional recording for the School for American Craftsmen, at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Five tracks of soul jazz and modal fusion -- re-modeling Trane, and opening with a variation of "Nor…

Tip! *300 copies limited edition* Recorded in Stockholm in 1962, and originally released on Sonet Records, these sessions stand as Ayler's first step into a new sonic world. This was when Ayler was still dealing with classic Jazz standards such as "I'll remember April", M Davis's "Tune Up" and "Rollins Tune", a declared tribute to the older master Sonny Rollins. His already super-strong tenor sax voice dominates a quiet, almost shy, local rhythm section featuring Torbjorn Hultcrant on bass and S…

Live DVD of Trio PAJ, formed in 2007 by percussionist Roland Auzet, Pierre Jodlowski and Michel Portal, recorded at the Grenoble Jazz Festival in 2010 and exploring jazz, improvisation and electronic music.

Christmas album by The Respect Sextet, with pieces by Misha Mengelberg, Thelonious Monk, Sun Ra, Frank Loesser, Robbie Robertson and Loudon Wainwright III, and guests JACK String Quartet, Ensemble Signal and guitarist Marco Cappelli.

Italian guitarist Marco Cappelli's take on Spaghetti Western music and 1960s surf sound as the Italian Surf Academy, with Luca Lo Bianco on bass, Francesco Cusa on drums and guest voice Gaia Mattiuzzi, plus a cover of Secret Agent Man.

Suite by guitarist Marco Cappelli inspired by the characters of Fred Vargas's detective novels, played by the Marco Cappelli Acoustic Trio with Ken Filiano on double bass and Satoshi Takeishi on percussion.

The Respect Sextet, a young New York jazz group, plays music by Sun Ra and Karlheinz Stockhausen, drawing comparisons between the two composers and asking how the idea of space shaped their work.

Ten improvised duets recorded in June 2006 by Joe McPhee on pocket trumpet and alto saxophone and Montreal drummer and painter John Heward on drums, kalimba and percussion.

* 2022 stock * Sunny Murray's Aigu-Grave, a nominal quintet date with percussionist Pablo Sauvage appearing on two of the five tracks; the rest of the group features French tenor saxophonist Richard Raux, Bobby Few and Alan Silva. Its two leading tracks, “Happiness Tears” and “Tree Tops,” are memorable Murray compositions which are given free and satisfying treatments. The theme of “Happiness Tears” searches through some minor intervals before resolving in a cheerful major chord. “Tree Tops” is …

*2022 stock* Futura Records presents Dizzy Reece quintet's From in to out. Dizzy Reece (trompette), John Gilmore (saxophone ténor), Siegfried Kessler (piano), Patrice Caratini (contrebasse) & Art Taylor (batterie)  Recorded on 23th octobre 1970 at la Salle des fêtes de Créteil (France)

*2022 stock* French avant-garde pianist François Tuskques's solo work released in 1970 is now available on CD for the first time with additional bonus tracks. This is a high quality work that c an be said to be the flowering of his creative and original sound world, which he has penetrated through repeated trial and error in various styles, further sharpened in the form of home recording and solo.

* Pressed as a heavy weight single 70g with a picture sleeve. Edition of 750 * Angels and Demons at Play featuring Marshall Allen. Tracks include "Angels and Demons at Play" recorded in 1960, "Between Two Worlds" recorded in 1960. "Spontaneous Simplicity" recorded in 1966. Pressed as a heavy weight single 70g with a picture sleeve. The album Angels And Demons At Play was compiled from two different sessions, recorded four years apart (1956 and 1960), that reflect Sun Ra's evolution from hard Chi…

**CD version** Kasper Skullerud Værnes and Andreas Wildhagen has played together for ten years as of 2018. They formed a duo shortly after meeting, and quickly realized that the power and subtleness of the sax and drums duo format was worth further explorations. Through the years and in various ensembles and projects such as KNYST! (trio with bassist and Nakama founder Christian Meaas Svendsen,) and Paal Nilssen-Love Large Unit, the duo has grown and developed a highly flexible and telepathic in…

A breathtaking self-conscious free-jazz masterwork, 'Rise Vision Comin'' summarizes more than 30 years of musical and theoretical/political expression from renowned activist/scholar/free-jazz pioneer Haki R. Standing on the verge of spiritual jazz aesthetic, his music remains timeless & unforgettable after it's longstanding creation. The first album by the group Rise Vision Comin was released in 1976, and features among others Wallace Roney on trumpet, Clarence Seay on bass and Agyei Akoto on sa…

Phil Minton is a jazz/free-improvising vocalist and trumpeter. He is a highly dramatic baritone who tends to specialize in literary texts: he has sung lyrics by William Blake with Mike Westbrook's group, Daniil Kharms and Joseph Brodsky with Simon Nabatov, and extracts from James Joyce's Finnegans Wake with his own ensemble. Minton is perhaps best known, however, for his completely free-form work, which involves "extended techniques" that can be as unsettling as they can be mesmerising. His voca…

"The Mafioso expression 'cement shoes' describes a method of execution or body disposal – wrapping the victim or body in concrete and pushing into deep water. This expression has become a tongue-in-cheek death threat by criminals, despite no real evidence of using this method of execution. Now this American expression also graces the name of a new pan-European trio, featuring Italian, Brussels-based Fender Rhodes and electronics player Giovanni di Domenico, Portuguese, Rotterdam-based electric b…

** 2021 Stock ** For nearly two decades Griot Galaxy was at the vanguard of the Detroit Music scene. Members of the band performed and recorded with Roscoe Mitchell, Sun Ra, Abdullah Ibrahim and Phil Cohran. The fact that there were only two releases of the band under their own name during this period seems criminal. Entropy Stereo is pleased to present this complete concert performance at the Detroit Institute of Arts from 1983. Beautifully recorded, this is Griot Galaxy at their peak. Griot Ga…

** 2021 Stock ** This disc represents the first American release for Dutch saxophonist Luc Houtkamp. Here, he appears with Chicago stalwarts Kent Kessler (double bass) and Michael Zerang (drums) in a 1997 studio date. Liner notes by Ken Vandermark, and artwork by Northwoods' Mike Johnston. "Houtkamp often showcases an aural dictionary of multiphonics complete with echoing tongue slaps, colored hissing and speedy key pops, adding the coagulated vibrato of every bar-walking saxophonist's nightmare…

*200 copies edition* The debut release from the trio of Chris Abrahams (piano), Clayton Thomas (bass & preparations), & Miles Thomas (drums & percussion), Words Fail is an intergenerational meeting of the minds. Despite the quintessential trio format, the sound world subverts the instrumentation across four expansive improvisations. Beginning with a lone piano note, repeating like droplets of water on a glassy lake, the interwoven textures of Clayton Thomas’ prepared double-bass & Miles Thomas’ …

"Few vocalists have the sheer boldness – the outright fearlessness – of Fay Victor as an improviser. The New York native has long been a creative force on the avant-jazz scene, as a singer, bandleader, composer, arranger, and teacher. She has worked on both sides of the Atlantic with the likes of Misha Mengelberg, Roswell Rudd, and Anthony Braxton, along with recording several distinctive albums as a leader. Reviewing her recent disc Absinthe & Vermouth, NPR declared evocatively that Fay’s origi…

“Pieces Of Apparatus severs up five examples of extremely sparse and often spaced-out improv for guitar- with all the tracks unfolding in both a jaggedly wondering, dartingly inventive, and largely rewarding manner. Here on the New Wave Of Jazz label is CD release, presented in the labels house style packaging of a white and grey box gatefold, that features a worthy write-up about both Gérard work in general and the pieces offered up here. Pierre Gérard is based in  Liège, Belgium- and has been …

Skeleton Crew was founded in the early 1980s by Fred Frith and Tom Cora. The original idea was to create a new group out of the ashes of Massacre. Hey started experimenting with what they could achieve by themselves, recorded the fantastic debut album Learn to Talk and finally decided to take the new project out on the road. After several years of searching for recordings, mixing and mastering, and held up by the global pandemic, we are proud to finally offer you this double CD of live recording…

The furious double LP "Al Azraqayn" documents Karkhana (with members of Konstrukt, The Dwarfs of East Agouza, Land of Kush, Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet, "A" Trio) at their very best and intense: live on stage. Consisting of seven of the most adventurous and innovative artists from the Middle Eastern experimental scene (and a veteran jazz Percussionist from Chicago), Karkhana are surely among the most unique and interesting ensembles around. When Maurice Louca (The Dwarfs oF East Agouza), Sam …

Raposa Velha was a notable Bahian jazz group, which was part of the wave of great musicians and bands from Bahia during the 1980s, such as Sexteto do Beco, Saul Barbosa and Andréa Daltro. Thus, Raposa Velha released only this album, independently in 1981. Outlined between jazz-fusion and avant-garde jazz, this LP has become a very obscure piece within the Brazilian jazz universe.

** Purple Vinyl ** Recorded in New York in 1979 and released that year on Sun Ra's Saturn label, this is a solid, overlooked set in the vast Ra canon. The tracks aren't so much compositions as excursions, pure jazz, lots of reflective piano in trio, quartet, and sextet settings. Features cover art interpreted from a favorite Arkestra hand drawn cover, and liner notes from Irwin Chusid.

Doubtmusic has discovered a previously unreleased Kaoru Abe alto saxophone solo improvisation! This CD features a complete 30 minutes performance held in summer 1977 at a jazz cafe in Sapporo which was called "Ayler" and no longer exists since long time. We no longer talk about Abe's voice ranging by ready-made musical concept. Even his silence has persuasiveness. His voice has an ubiquity which transcend new or old musical trends. We would like young music fans who have never heard of Kaoru Abe…

** 2021 Stock ** Inscribe is the third release by this group. The self titled disc includes pieces and improvisations by all the members. The instrumentation includes guitar, cheng, violin, bass, tabla, percussion, bowed banjo and cello. With elements of indigenous music, jazz and the avant garde, natural reference points are Don Cherry, Ahmed Abdul-Malik, The Art Ensemble of Chicago and early ECM records. Includes member of the Northwoods Improvisers. The first release on the label in nearly 10…

Composer, clarinetist, singer and spiritual jazz soothsayer Angel Bat Dawid descended on Chicago's jazz and improvised music scene just a few years ago. In very short time, the potency, prowess, spirit and charisma of her cosmic musical proselytizing has taken her from relatively unknown improviser to borderline ubiquitous performer in Chicago's avant-garde. On any given night you can find Angel adding aura to ensembles led by Ben LaMar Gay, or Damon Locks, or Jaimie Branch, or Matthew Lux, or e…

Essential jazz album among the influences of the future-jazz quartet Sleep Walker by trombonist Hiroshi Suzuki. "Variation" is a joint project including the legendary jazz drummer Masahiko Togashi featurig pianist Yuji Ohno, saxophonist Jun Suzuki and trumpeter Tetsuo Fushimi. Masahiko Togashi was a major figure alongside Masahiko Sato, Masayuki Takayanagi and Yosuke Yamashita in the blooming of free jazz in Japan in the late sixties whose "Variation" is one of the iconic masterpiece.

* Originally Recorded at Chalk Farm Studio 12 March 1974. First ever reissue on CD * It’s been a real Joy to bring this long-lost classic back to life. There’s not much more can be said about Harry Beckett’s beautiful talent. He lifted the atmosphere wherever he played and was a gentleman, always softly spoken, but a presence in the room. I remember, as a callow youth, interviewing him for a sleeve note in the basement of Mole Jazz. He was thoughtful, listened to my questions and answered with a…

Tip! **300 copies, with Obi and translucent insert** Diving forward into a mind-blowing, contemporary expressions of improvisation, the next offering in Holidays’ latest batch of releases, And Life Also Same, captures a recent collaborative artefact from the long-standing, prolific partnership between the seminal Japanese saxophonist, Akira Sakata, and the Italian pianist and composer Giovanni Di Domenico.Born in 1945 and trained as a marine biologist, for decades Akira Sakata has stood at the f…

**250 copies, one-time press** "Pantufa Alcalina" is the third LP of Oba Loba, the six piece band created by Norberto Lobo and João Lobo in 2014. This is the third collaboration (this time in exclusivity) with record label Silent Water and yet another gem of unclassifiable songs. Alongside the two Lobo's compositions, this album also features one title by keyboard wizard Giovanni Di Domenico and another by the refined reed player Jordi Grognard. The magic of Ananta Roosens's violin and trumpet a…

Gowanus Session II was seven years in the planning. Thollem McDonas, Nels Cline, and William Parker convened at Peter Karl Studios in Brooklyn on January 3rd, 2012 and recorded two complete albums. The first was Gowanus Session I, released by Porter Records in April of 2012. GS II was put aside to eventually complete the five-album palindromic cycle of trio albums Nels and Thollem ambitiously set out to realize. The albums in between include Radical Empathy with Michael Wimberly (Relative Pitch,…

**Strictly limited to 300 copies. Clear Vinyl** Finally available again on vinyl! Don Cherry's Relativity Suite, recorded with the Jazz Composer's Orchestra in 1973. At this time, Cherry was becoming increasingly interested in Middle Eastern and traditional African and Indian music, having traveled extensively and studied with Indian musician Vasant Rai. This suite of songs was particularly influenced by the Indian karnatic singing tradition, as can be heard from the very opening moments of the …