Jazz & Improvisation / Contemporary

'Formed in Bristol back in 2014 Tezeta were an experimental 8 piece instrumental group effortlessly combining Ethiopian jazz, Afrobeat, prog and improvisation. The band spawned out of the much loved Bloom Collective - a collective of musicians and friends from an experimental corner of the city’s buzzing music scene. Led by composer, pianist and bandleader Daniel Inzani (Spindle Ensemble, Cosmo Sheldrake) the band also featured tenor saxophonists Andrew Neil Hayes (Run Logan Run) and Lorenzo Pra…

1996 release (RARE) **  Music conceived and performed by Hon ShonTim Wilson: Chinese and Westem Flutes, Saxophone, MelodicaSimon Hiu: Double Bass, Ghatam, Ocarina, PercussionLung Heung Wing: Vibrophone and Percussion

*In process of stocking. 2022 stock* The Brooklyn-based noise-jazz violinist Sana Nagano often finds herself at the center of the storm. As other instruments crash and careen around her, her assuredly melodic violin works to ground and stabilize the overall sound. And nowhere is this better heard than on Smashing Humans, her new quintet album coming March 19th on 577 Records. Featuring Peter Apfelbaum on sax, Keisuke Matsuno on guitar, Ken Filiano on bass, and Joe Hertenstein on drums, it’s an L…

A collaboration between saxophonist Ilhan Ersahin and São Paulo's finest musicians Guizado, Ze Nigro, Samuel Fraga, Chicao, and Tony Gordin. This dynamic fusion showcases the rich talents behind Céu, Otto, Curumin, Tulipa Ruiz, and the legendary Gal Costa. Born from Ilhan Ersahin's deep ties to São Paulo, cultivated through the annual Nublu Jazz Fest, this record embodies the city's vibrant spirit.

Ladies and Gentlemen, meet Jogo Duro, a collaboration between Ilhan Ersahin and some outstanding São Paulo musicians Guizado, Ze Nigro, Samuel Fraga, Chicao & Tony Gordin who also happen to be great friends. These are players who will be familiar to those following the careers of Céu, Otto, Curumin, Tulipa Ruiz and the late, great Gal Costa. This record is the result of the amount of time Ilhan has spent in São Paulo over the last decade due to putting on the Nublu Jazz Fest there every year. Wi…

Drummer Joey Baron has played with such unorthodox types as John Zorn, Wayne Horvitz, and Tim Berne, so it's not surprising that his own sessions are equally diverse and ambitious. This date presents an unusual instrumental lineup and a freewheeling, constantly changing musical menu. Baron heads a trio with saxophone and trombone; the absence of bass, keyboards, or guitar results in intriguing voicings and the pieces are solely dependent on the interaction of his drumming with Ellery Eskelin’s s…

This is not a recording for the fainthearted, the straitlaced, or the stylistically correct. Bass trombonist David Taylor has assembled a multi-faceted self-portrait out of pieces he selected, inspired, and composed. His eclecticism demonstrates how meaningless the old stylistic boundaries are for a contemporary artist. Taylor is known for his work with such artists as Duke Ellington, Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, The Rolling Stones, and Quincy Jones. He also premiered compos…

Joona Toivanen Trio returns to We Jazz Records with their new album "Gravity", out 31 January 2025. A landmark work for the long standing group, the album showcases the forward-looking sound of the band, moving way beyond the basic scope of the "piano trio". There’s a startling sense of telepathy and intimacy at work in the music of the Joona Toivanen Trio, something you can glean from the opening moments of their latest album, Gravity. It’s that rare synergy that can only come with years of tim…

Chicago-based saxophonist and clarinetist Ken Vandermark was invited to arrange a set of seventies music for a concert in 2019, and among the pieces he chose were tracks by funk legends Parliament and post-punk iconoclasts DNA. On this 12-inch 45rpm EP, Vandermark's band Marker presents a unique take on "Night of the Thumpasorus Peoples," drawn from Parliament's 1975 LP Mothership Connection, and DNA's "Egomaniac's Kiss," which first appeared on the classic 1978 Brian Eno-produced collection No …

It is a monumental task to interpret the music of Jimi Hendrix on the flute. The incredible flute virtuoso Robert Dick has managed to do it with ease, finesse, and soul. There is almost no sound that he cannot create on the flute with his amazing technique. Chords, slides, colors, drum and bass sounds, all had to be created acoustically. There are no electronically altered flute sounds on this recording.  This recording represents a statement that Robert Dick has long dreamed of making. Like man…

The spontaneous exploration of musical ideas can be exciting, rewarding, and challenging for both the performer and the audience; jazz musicians demonstrate this constantly. Most of the participants in this recording project have had extensive experience in jazz. In their work here, they are exploring the conceptual similarities and connections between improvised music and concert music, an extension and development of both European and American traditions. Each of the written compositions (Some…

When it came time to prepare for this recording, I was intrigued by the possibilities of a quintet consisting of three winds, bass, and drums. My earlier projects had been either in the trio, quartet, or traditional jazz quintet format－now I wanted to write for a group that could play expressive chamber music, swing hard, and improvise on a high level. As envisioned, the compositions would combine inspiration from numerous sources to create something relevant to the present, reflecting today's c…

2004 release ** "Most RPI and jazz fusion fans will remember Italy's Dedalus for their acclaimed 1973 self-titled debut featuring the people with "clock faces" on the cover. They would record some lesser-acclaimed works before a return in 2004 by the slightly altered moniker of Bonansone Dedalus, perhaps letting us know that the vision of the group was now that of multi-instrumentalist Fiorenzo Bonansone first and foremost, while still maintaining the fiercely independent and experimental nature…

1991 release **

"Moonflower, by the legendary Finnish pianist Heikki Sarmanto and his quartet, is the first "new" album on Luke Mosling's Porter label; the other two projects that make up his opening salvo are reissues of private-press recordings done by Mait Edey's Seeds imprint in the early '70s. Sarmanto is best known to American audiences for his work with Sonny Rollins and Art Farmer. He's recorded 25 albums as a leader, including New Hope Jazz Mass for jazz ensemble, orchestra, soprano, and choir (conduct…

Tip! In the first years of its existence, starting in 1997, the Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet worked as a collective, inviting all and any of its participants to contribute compositions to the band's repertoire.  Eventually, the Tentet would jettison scores and pre-planned structures altogether, opting for free improvisation, but on their early tours and initial recordings they played pieces written by the various band members.  A marathon set of summer studio sessions in 2002, just off a U.S. …

Recorded on March 14th, 2024 by Mikko Innanen in Hietsun Paviljonki, Helsinki Maria Faust- alto saxophone Mikko Innanen - alto, sopranino and baritone saxophones Fredrik Ljungkvist - soprano and tenor saxophones Liudas Mockūnas - sopranino, soprano and bass saxophones

2025 stock Originally released in 2019. "A classic big-band album and one of the first-ever releases on the Impulse! Label, this 1961 recording features a superb line-up including Jimmy Knepper on trombone, Ron Carter, on bass and a fiery Elvin Jones on drums."

*100 copies limited edition* The sixth issue in the U Jazz Me catalog is an album by the jazz super group Late Night Poems, which has already appeared on wax with the U Know Me Records logo in 2022. Imagine a jazz club straight out of New York in the 1990s. Imagine a jazz club in one of Poland's medium-sized working-class cities, which has been operating continuously for 45 years, driven and run by one tireless man. The greatest from the country and the world have played there. They stare at you…

Limited edition compact disc of a previously unreleased recording made at a rare 1971 studio performance by a Karl Jenkins-led nine piece group of stellar musicians.   “At the time, I had taken Karl’s answer to mean that Penumbra II contained no material exclusive to it, possibly consisting of different arrangements of music previously recorded by Nucleus or recycled later in Soft Machine. At it turns out, I was both right and wrong: Penumbra II is previously unheard but does include some famili…

Wolfgang Muthspiel and his trio with Scott Colley on bass and Brian Blade on drums reaches a new creative peak on Dance of the Elders – the group’s follow-up up to the much lauded Angular Blues, which The Times called a “quietly impressive album”. Here Wolfgang’s successful stride continues, with his unique compositional signature on the one hand and the particularly vibrant interchanges with his trio colleagues on the other. The guitarist’s writing and approach to jazz is heavily folk-induced b…

*In process of stocking* Swedish saxophonist Mats Gustafsson might have a separate discography for his solo records. He's investigated the possibilities of unaccompanied reed music from almost every angle. Presented with the opportunity to make a new solo record under the isolation of the pandemic, Gustafsson returned to a project he'd conceptualized but never realized: the playing-card pieces of Peter Brötzmann. Although these Fluxus-like prompts are better known through the two card sets the G…

Temporary Super Offer! The music on this CD is an impressive document of such a search for meaning and artistic legitimacy. It doesn’t want to add something even louder to the supposedly spectacular. On the contrary: Here, it is about the subtle intimacy and emotionality of human relationships, about breathing as one. It is about being interested in each other beyond ever new superlatives. This is where the unobtrusive authenticity of this music comes from, what makes it special and thoughtful. …

2008 release ** "For fans of Lounge Lizards this is a must-have, as we have two of the main musicians of this legendary band, tuba player Marcus Rojas and trumpeter Steven Bernstein. The line-up is completed by the excellent Danish drummer Kresten Osgood. The album begins with a moving howl from Marcus Rojas on the tuba, but this is just an introduction to Charles Brackeen's prayerful composition 'Prince of Night'. Then we have songs by the band members and Thelonius Monk, Charles Mingus, Hank W…

Recorded on 21st October, 2000 at Aoshima Hall, Shizuoka City, Japan Misha Mengelberg - pianoSabu Toyozumi - drums

Finnish bassist Antti Lötjönen returns in February 2023 with his second Quintet East album on We Jazz Records. With Verneri Pohjola on trumpet, Mikko Innanen and Jussi Kannaste on saxes, and Joonas Riippa on drums, Quintet East is a hard-hitting ensemble of Helsinki scene A-listers. The new release sees the quintet work with Lötjönen's inspired new music with remarkable spirit, spreading out on a quest for new sounds and ideas, and returning to base with a fresh batch of acoustic creative music,…

Steve Beresford, a central figure on the British and international music scene for over forty years, meets the Tilli/Tramontana duo. The friction between the British aplomb with the multifaceted Italic personality and the underlying love and seriousness towards music give us a trio full of verve, gimmicks, and profound lightness.

Jeff Parker’s 2016 album The New Breed was a turning point for both Parker and International Anthem, changing the trajectory of his solo career as well as drawing an abundance of attention to our fresh imprint despite our then very limited catalog. Most importantly though, the album is the first to give voice to Parker’s wholly unique take on sample-based beat construction augmented by improvisation and live instrumentation (performed in this case by the high-level crew of Paul Bryan on bass, Jo…

A joint release from US label Astral Spirits (Austin, Texas) and Thanatosis Produktion (Stockholm), It could / If I is the first album from Stockholm-based, longstanding duo Johan Jutterström (saxophone) and Alex Zethson (piano). In addition to the duo’s own reimaginations of a few so-called jazz standards, it contains songs by artists such as Leonard Cohen, Pet Shop Boys, John Lurie, and German 19th century composer Alexander Fesca. "On this record what tunes are played somehow matters less tha…

First analog reissue of Masayuki Takayanagi's modern jazz works based on the Tristano-Konitz technique! First analog reissue of this extremely rare modern jazz work originally recorded in 1970! "Although Takayanagi was already devoted to free jazz at this time, this work is a modern jazz piece based on the Tristano-Konitz technique. Familiar numbers are transformed into Takayanagi's unique sense of time, and then pass through Takeshi Shibuya's filter. The sound thus unleashed seems to wander sof…

Yowzers is a new album by Chicago composer, improvisor, instrumentalist and musical folklorist Ben LaMar Gay. The twelve track collection is a leap forward in the lexicon of Gay’s recorded output, and a veritable masterwork of ancient inner-body rhythms and intuitive melodic storytelling. It’s worth mentioning that a leap forward for Gay is no small feat. The musical ground he has covered in the last decade, both as a bandleader and collaborator, is immense. His de facto debut album—the 2018 com…

This release from composer / saxophonist / poet Keith Jafrate, together with a top flight band of Discus Music regulars, is a powerful and beautiful spiritual work. Never rushing, and always deeply involving, this music creates a peaceful yet mindful vibe in the midst of troubled times. Keith’s liner notes explain how Uroboro’s 2nd double album on discus came into being: “John suggested, during our very first recording session as a quintet, in august 2022, that i should write a pamphlet entitled…

For a few fleeting moments during a sunset, the sky is cast a vivid shade of amber. A dramatic flare of colour, a moment belonging to both the day and the night. It is within this vibrant, ephemeral world, that Mongolian-born, Munich-based Enji has written her new album Sonor. Sonor is a record full of life and optimism, from an artist finding the beauty of existing between two worlds, much as a sunset does. Between the cultures of Mongolia and Germany, tradition and innovation, nostalgia and ex…

Tip! *In process of stocking. 2022 stock* Peter Evans believes that his music is closely related to the philosophical concept of "Wu Wei (literally means "doing nothing" or "inaction")" from China. He has also been studying how it reflects in different academic and cultural contexts. As a composer and improviser, Peter Evans talks about "Wu Wei" with his superb trumpet playing, and named his first album released in China "Into the Silence". It's worth mentioning that the artwork on the front cov…

*In process of stocking. 2022 stock* A great, unprecedented show! Two of the most influential artists in Lithuania, Vladimir Chekasin and Vladimir Tarasov performed as a duet at the 8th OCT-LOFT Jazz Festival. Titled “La Grande Sonata”, it was absolutely a one-of-a-kind performance specially presented to the Chinese audience. As the former members of the legendary Ganelin Trio (GTCh), they shared the glorious years with Vyacheslav (Slava) Ganelin. Together they have nurtured the aesthetics of So…

2025 stock On her second album Ursgal Mongolian singer Enji creates a unique blend of Jazz and Folk with the traditions of Mongolian song. Currently based in Munich, her lyrics tell personal stories about unbearable distances, the oddness of being on earth and the simple truths in life.She’s accompanied by Paul Brändle on guitar and  on double bass. Born in Ulaanbaatar, Enji grew up in a yurt to a working-class family. Having always been drawn to music, dance and literature, she initially wanted…

*Very limited edition* Cosmic Ear is a new group bringing together Christer Bothén, Mats Gustafsson, Goran Kajfeš, Kansan Zetterberg and Juan Romero. Their debut album Traces is released by We Jazz Records on 23rd of May, 2025. Including 6 deep cuts, Traces is an album that sees Cosmic Ear tracking down the "traces" of the legendary Don Cherry's legacy while paving their own way in contemporary creative music expression. Christer Bothén, a collaborator with Don Cherry during his Swedish period i…

Frozen Silence is the third ECM release from alto saxophonist Maciej Obara’s Polish-Norwegian quartet bringing the story forward from Unloved and Three Crowns – and perhaps its strongest musical statement to date. Alert interactivity is the hallmark of the group’s approach in a programme of new Obara compositions inspired by the starkly dramatic landscapes of the mountainous Karkonosze region in south-west Poland. All four players make decisive contributions to the music. The pieces optimally hi…

Pianist-composer Vijay Iyer follows his 2021 ECM disc Uneasy — the first to showcase his trio featuring bassist Linda May Han Oh and drummer Tyshawn Sorey — with Compassion, another album in league with these two gifted partners. The New York Times captured the special qualities of this group, pointing to the trio’s flair for playing “with a lithe range of motion and resplendent clarity… while stoking a kind of writhing internal tension. Crucial to that balance is their ability to connect with e…

With Call on the old Wise Nitai Hershkovits delivers an entrancing solo album. In this largely improvised solo rendering, the pianist draws from broad influences, ranging from his extensive work in jazz contexts and cutting-edge contemporary explorations to his background in classical music. This immaculate balance of idioms gives rise to an abundance of colours and timbres, explored by a pianist, who has successfully forged his very own voice as improviser and shape-designer.   With a soft tou…