Jazz /
Hyperituals Vol. 2 - Black Saint
Drawing to light rhythms, grooves and Afrocentric traditions, Hyperjazz Records takes an unprecedented dive into the incredible back catalog of the seminal Italian imprint, Soul Note, with “Hyperituals Vol. 2”. Gathering an astounding group of recordings by Sun Ra Arkestra, Archie Shepp, Karl Berger, Muhal Richard Abrams, Lester Bowie, Cecil McBee, John Carter, Joseph Jarman, Don Moye, Johnny Dyani, Don Pullen, World Saxophone Quartet, and others - many of which have never before appeared on vin…
The African OmniDevelopment Space Complex (Book)
Bassist Ubadah McConner recounts the evolution and history of this home based cultural, educational, and music center in Pontiac, Michigan that embraced the revolutionary spirit of the 60s and 70s Black artistic renaissance through all night sessions of fire music, mutual support and conversation.
McConner’s weekend sessions lasted thirty years, until 2002, and were open to everyone so there is name-dropping galore, but the reader may not be familiar with many of the names. As patrick brennan n…
A Spirit Speaks
** Limited edition LP with an iconic Japanese obi strip attached ** One of the most unique albums on the Strata East label – and that's saying a heck of a lot, given the creative energies flowing through that legendary jazz outlet! Descendents Of Mike & Phoebe is a righteous little project put together by Spike Lee's father, Bill Lee, and his brothers and sisters (Cliff Lee, Grace Lee Mims, and Consuela Lee Moorhead) – working here in a group named after their slave ancestors, who are paid tribu…
Nation Time
2022 Repress. "Joe McPhee's solo album, Tenor literally changed my life. The recording (one of his first for Hat Hut, in September 1976) displayed his unique ability to integrate unconventional sounds and extended techniques with pure melodicism, and it permanently altered my perspective on what the saxophone could do and what music could be. Nation Time was recorded six years earlier, but ideas regarding the integration of means and methods were already at the forefront of McPhee's approach to …
Erotica Suite
Nice, and official reissue of the rarest LP at cult Strata East label! John Gordon’s ‘Erotica Suite’ is one of the holy grail for deep and spiritual jazz fans, check the superb ‘Neleh’! A great later label effort under the leadership of trombonist John Gordon, with work by James Spaulding on alto and flute, John Miller on piano and keyboards, Waymond Reed on trumpet, Lyle Atkinson on bass, and Frank Derrick on drums and bells
Medasi
If being the founder and chairman of Third World Press Organisation - the largest independent black-owned publishers - wasn't enough for activist and poet Haki R Madhubuti, he is also credited with a lesser-known yet remarkable music career. As the bandleader of Haki R. Madhubuti and Nation: Afrikan Liberation Arts Ensemble, Madhubuti combined his razor-sharp spoken-word poetry with a band of incredible musicians to create an unforgettable experience of avant-garde and spiritual jazz.
The second…
Full Force
The previous Art Ensemble of Chicago ECM album Nice Guys vaulted them to the top of improvised music groups in the U.S. and worldwide, paving the way for similar bands to be more accepted into the mainstream of modern music. Where "Full Force" generally lives up to the title, there's also a palpable diverse approach, producing more than enough potent music brimming from the sinews of these brilliant musicians to uphold their burgeoning cache. The crown jewel of this effort is "Charlie M," a blue…
Hyperituals Vol. 1 - Soul Note
Drawing to light rhythms, grooves and Afrocentric traditions, Hyperjazz Records takes an unprecedented dive into the incredible back catalog of the seminal Italian imprint, Soul Note, with “Hyperituals Vol. 1”. Gathering an astounding group of recordings by Billy Bang, Hamiet Bluiett, Beaver Harris, Paul Motian, Tony Scott, George Russell, Andrew Cyrill, Max Roach, Nanà Vasconcelos, and others - many of which have never before appeared on vinyl - across a beautifully produced double LP, the albu…
Now
** 2022 stock. Limited Edition* 140-gram color vinyl LP inside a reverse-board jacket (artwork by Damon Locks), with Eastside IARC obi strip, 17"x22" folded broadsheet insert (with liner notes, photos, and illustrations), and dome patterned inner-sleeve ** Damon Locks & Black Monument Ensemble’s new album "Now" was created in the final throes of Summer 2020, following months of pandemic-induced fear & isolation, the explosion of social unrest, struggle & violence in the streets, and as the cert…
The Cricket: Black Music in Evolution, 1968–69
A rare document of the 1960s Black Arts Movement featuring Albert Ayler, Amiri Baraka, Milford Graves, Sun Ra, Cecil Taylor, and many more, The Cricket fostered critical and political dialogue for Black musicians and writers. Edited by poets and writers Amiri Baraka, A.B. Spellman, and Larry Neal between 1968 and 1969 and published by Baraka's New Jersey–based Jihad productions shortly after the time of the Newark Riots, this experimental music magazine ran poetry, position papers, and gossip al…
Farewell To The Welfare (LP)
The Tribe Records co-founder’s lost album, recorded in 1975, rumored to exist no more. Mastered from the original tapes!
Spirits Rejoice! Albert Ayler and his message (Book)
No music swung as erratically between extremes as his: folk song, march or acoustic apocalypse – anything was possible in the cosmos of Albert Ayler’s soundscapes. With his furious instrumental glossolalia and his pathos-laden ballads, the musician from Cleveland, Ohio quickly became the most radical of the Sixties free jazz expressionists. In his hands the saxophone became a different instrument and even John Coltrane’s late work was unmistakably shaped by the influence of his younger colleague…
Fly Or Die Live
Capturing a pre-Covid performance (just weeks before the pandemic really hit) in Switzerland, composer, trumpeter and singer Jaimie Branch has just released an incredible live album via International Anthem. Recorded in January 2020 at Moods in Zurich, and features live versions of tracks from Branch’s Fly Or Die Live I and II, compounded & flawlessly communicated in a singular epic of raw cosmic brilliance. It sees Branch on trumpet and vocals, Chad Taylor on drums and mbira, Lester St. Louis …
Birth And Rebirth (LP + CD)
"The music in this album is a result of our belief in a continuum that links the present with the past. Our spontaneous improvisations are true to those well defined principles basic to African American culture. Thank you for listening." - Max Roach / Anthony Braxton. This recording was the first to document their collaboration. All of the tracks are improvisations and it appears that the younger Braxton was the one taking the lead. If he keeps himself a bit restrained, steering clear of the ext…
Touching Your Feelings (LP)
After two years of preparation, we are thrilled to announce the reissue of the most precious hidden gems of Soul Jazz / Spoken Word albums from a key era. Originally released in 1974 as a private pressing of fewer that 100 copies, Touching Your Feelings by Jim Marks is a crucial missing piece of the proto-rap era lying firmly between Gil Scott Heron and Amiri Baraka, with whom he made a strong friendship. Jym Marks' mix of deep, expressive poetry and solid jazz sits on the edge of works by The L…
Chapter Two: Nia
2021 repress. "Essential spiritual jazz originally issued on the lauded Strata-East label. Magical, mystical, Afrocentric, progressive -- words that could be used to describe any number of musical compositions by Sun Ra or his cosmic brothers and sisters, from John to Alice Coltrane, early '70s projects on record labels like Detroit's Tribe or Houston's Lightin' or the interests of one Washington, DC native named Jimmy Gray that centered under one, perfect moniker: Black Fire. Gray spent nearly …
Step by Step
Reissue of 'Step By Step' by trombonist John Gordon - a deep jazz classic on the legendary Strata-East label! Features the likes of Charles Tolliver on trumpet and Stanley Cowell on piano! John Gordon, a trombone master, brings us another gem from that most renowned of 70’s record labels, Strata-East. The trombone is a difficult instrument. In the hands of an artist like John Gordon, however, it can create vivid images and conjure up beautiful music.
Old And New Dreams
*2021 stock* This album, originally released in 1977, was re-mastered and repackaged in Digifile cardboard format. It includes the original full-color booklet. Old and New Dreams was a jazz group that existed from 1976 to 1987, and was composed of tenor saxophone player Dewey Redman, bassist Charlie Haden, trumpet player Don Cherry and drummer Ed Blackwell. A virtual reincarnation of Ornette Coleman's first ensembles, the cooperative Old and New Dreams brought together trumpeter Don Cherry, te…
The Complete Remastered Recordings On Black Saint & Soul Note
Amazing music from trombonist George Lewis – five different albums that each show a different side of his talents! First up is Shadowgraph 5 – a great early Black Saint, and a key example of the way the AACM spirit thrived overseas, thanks to the efforts of labels like this! The work is quite serious and experimental – almost compositional in nature, and definitely heading towards the AACM promise of "Great Black Music" – and other players include Roscoe Mitchell on saxes, Leroy Jenkins on violi…
Shadowgraph, 5 (Sextet)
This album, originally released in 1978, was re-mastered and repackaged in Digifile cardboard format. It includes the original full-color booklet. "Shadowgraph and the duos with Douglas Ewart are characteristic of the free abstract jazz that emerged out of AACM's explorations in the '60s and early '70s. Listening to them, one is aware how little this music has been assimilated into the mainstream of either jazz or improvisation."