Jazz & Improvisation / Contemporary

" Here we have the tasty combination of two blog favorites, finding China-native Lao Dan joining forces with the visiting Jooklo Duo for a set of cosmic vibrations (and a little bit of free funk) at Old Heaven Books during 2018's LOFT Festival. Here Vanzan takes up his usual percussion duties while Lao Dan and Genta load up on various reeds and flutes which Genta supplements with a generous sidecar of vintage keyboard. This rowdy little number has a little bit of everything and once the trio get…

*2024 stock* Swedish pianist Karin Johansson has set music to some of Tomas Tranströmer’s poems for her band ORD. Vocals, horns, and bass converse freely around the piano. Some parts are free improvisations, often with a prepared piano.

*2024 stock* First release of the Swedish duo Karin Johansson / Lisen Rylander Löve. Fine-veined Crinkle Weed, Wentletrap and The Two Lipped Door Snail are some of the poetically resonating titles on the pianist Karin Johansson and saxophonist Lisen Rylander Löve’s new album Arter (Species). The song titles are also names of plants and animals from the SLU Artdatabanken’s red list of threatened species. The reality that many species disappear completely from our planet yearly is what the duo sh…

Outerdisk is very pleased to present Rosanna Gunnarson's and Karin Johansson's dizzying (sound) work, which was composed in 2021/22. Their piece "I grunda vikar är bottnarna mjuka" is inspired by August Strindberg's classic short story about a fortepiano being dropped into deep waters off an archipelago island, Stora grusharpan. The musical content is based partly on secret underwater recordings during a summer, autumn and winter, as well as audio recordings of a piano being lowered into the wat…

*2024 stock* "Quagmire on “Creative Sources Records”. Album was recorded by Nina de Heney (double bass), Karin Johansson (piano) and Henrik Wartel (drums). All three musicians are interesting and talented improvisers. They’re the central figures of avant-garde jazz scene. Nina de Heney is a famous bassist. The improvisations are filled with drive, passion and expression and are based on the main elements of experimental jazz innovations and the roots of avant-garde jazz. Improviser is getting on…

One of the rarest Georgian [Soviet] releases ever. Previously unreleased song "Borjomi Valley", new Georgian Reissue label TBILISI Records from Vodkast.

Featuring Mike Taylor (piano), Dave Tomlin (soprano saxophone), Tony Reeves (double bass) and Jon Hiseman (drums), this is the first ever release of a newly discovered tape of this legendary British jazz quartet’s final rehearsal before going into the studio to make their fabled Pendulum album in October 1965. Recorded in Taylor’s grandparents’ London living room by Reeves, it’s has striking presence and immediacy, and will fascinate all admirers of this most enigmatic of composers and musicians…

*2022 stock* Futura Marge presents Chloé by Ray Mauger trio. Ray Mauger (guitar), Alain Raman (electric bass) & Chris Dailey McCraven (drums) - guest on two tracks: Félix Perron (curved soprano saxophone). Recorded in Paris on 12 January 2007 at Studio Mesa, and on 8 June and 16 July 2007 at Studio Border.

*2022 stock.* Futura Marge presents Casa-Port/Rabat-City by Dar Jazz: Michel Fernandez (tenor & soprano saxophones), Adil Riski (guitar), Abdou Beckouri (electric bass) & Marc Chambon (drums)Recorded in April and May 2008 at Studio 75 in Rabat (Morocco)

The grand old man of Finnish Jazz, Eero Koivistoinen, has not kept still in his old age. Far from it, he's played with rappers from the younger generation, Argentinian tango singers, you name it. The Eero Koivistoinen Quartet, onto its 10th year in existence, is his outlet for what he knows by heart like no one else - cool quartet jazz in which Eero is aided by younger luminaries from the scene. Alexi Tuomarila is on the grand piano, Jori Huhtala on bass and Jussi Lehtonen on drums.  Diversity p…

*2023 stock* The Orange Blue Green band improvises freely in the true sense of the word. An improvisation initiating from the very first sound produced without any prior coordination regarding the style, structure or anything relating to the overall musical form. An acoustic, almost classical trio that has embraced the fundamental features of the sound of chamber music, along with the various musical idioms and experiences of the members’ multi-dimensional course. Their music features a primal e…

Heaven and earth are in motion with the debut album from composer and saxophonist Gisle Røen Johansen (b. 1968) an active voice on the Norwegian jazz scene since the mid-nineties. Known for his expressive tone in groups like Element and Jazzmob, Kveldsragg is the first release under his own name. The album features top players from the nordic jazz currents including members from Bushman’s Revenge and Element; Even Hermansen on guitars, Rune Nergaard on Electric Bass and Ingebrigt Håker Flaten on…

**100 copies** Tsss Tapes is a new tape label from Italy and this is their first release. Snares, bells, sticks, cymbals, pinecones, rattles, brushes, bass drums, mallets and other objects that make a sound if you hit them, stroke them, let them bounce. A compilation of improvisations by twelve percussionists from different parts of the world mastered by Nacho García. Includes tracks by Claire Rousay, Rie Nakajima, Chris Dadge, Håkon Berre, Ted Byrnes, Tim Daisy, Will Guthrie, Simon Camatta, Kev…

*2024 repress* Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio's new project is a reunion session with engineer Yoshihiko Kannari, who revolutionized the jazz sound as the exclusive engineer for the legendary Japanese jazz label Three Blind Mice in the 1970s!

*2024 repress* Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio's new project is a reunion session with engineer Yoshihiko Kannari, who revolutionized the jazz sound as the exclusive engineer for the legendary Japanese jazz label Three Blind Mice in the 1970s!

The legendary TBM tag team, Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio and Yoshihiko Kannari, have revived and newly recorded this superb Erroll Garner album.

It’s not often that Aerophonic Records has put out recordings by bands that are first-time groupings. There are a few notable ones, including AR024 and 026 – Of Things Beyond Thule Volume 1 and 2 featuring Joe McPhee, Tomeka Reid, Brandon Lopez, and Paal Nilssen-Love. Another one was AR029 Stringers and Struts with Jeff Parker, Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, and Jeremy Cunningham. Those lineups and performances were just too stellar to let them pass without being documented (and those records are all l…

Trio with Daunik Lazro on tenor sax, Benjamin Duboc on bass and Mathieu Bec on drums. The album is entitled Standards Combustion, 9 tracks, mostly jazz standards, 2 Ayler compositions, 2 by Coltrane, 1 by Lacy and 1 by Shorter… Recorded at Les Instants Chavirés, Montreuil, France on November 17 and 18, 2022.

Saxophonist Omicil builds atmospheres then upends expectations in this free-jazz homage to Haiti’s successful 18th-century slave insurrection - The Guardian

2024 stock. Famous as an improviser and a rock guitarist (Henry Cow, Art Bears, Residents, Massacre, Skeleton Crew, French/Frith/Kaiser/Thompson), Fred Frith is still highly under-rated as a composer. Since relocating to Germany in the early '90s, Frith has composed soundtracks for a number of films and has chosen his finest for his first Tzadik release, Eye To Ear.

**250 copies** Three additional songs from the celebrated debut session, limited 10 inch! The talented drummer continues to explore the hard-bop sound of today with three more tracks; Bouncing at the S.U.P., Chasing the Spirit – two songs composed by the drummer and the quintet’s own hip rendition of Book’s Bossa by Walter Booker.“Heinola skilfully demonstrates the full range of his arsenal, skipping through his cherished hard bop style of jazz while interweaving subtle nods to Latin and Afro st…

Much has happened to Tomeka Reid, who was already one of jazz's definitive figures in the 21st century, in the 4½ years since her last album by this all-star quintet. Most notably, she was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 2022, one of the most prestigious awards in the creative arts field in the USA. The same year, she also won the DownBeat Critics Poll for miscellaneous instrument (despite many deserving talents emerging on the instrument, the jazz polls don't have cello as a category for reco…

This recording happened during a two gig tour with Leo Genovese and Drew Gress. We had a day off and since I had written new music for the occasion, I thought it would be a good opportunity to record it. I've known Leo for almost 20 years and we've played together many times ever since, and I've been a huge fan of Drew since I remember and it was a blast to play for the first time and share these musical moments with him. Over the years I've recorded different formats of my bands, from trios to …

Common Ground explores new sonic possibilities in a quintet format. There is dialogue and interaction in a searching mode, as the musicians are looking to find unity in language and sound within their different approaches and backgrounds. Intense and soft music at the same time. Contemporary, abstract, but also free and groovy.Emotions delivered with honesty and passion by José Lencastre on alto sax, Carlos Zíngaro on violin, Clara Lai on piano, Gonçalo Almeida on double bass, and Joāo Sousa on …

"Hit Parade of Tears" is an album inspired by the short stories of Japanese author Izumi Suzuki, married to musician Kaoru Abe, who tragically ended her life at the age of 36. Suzuki's wholly original short stories paved the way for the science fiction genre and in many ways predicted the cyberpunk movement. Ikue Mori and Zeena Parkins have created a beautiful and mysterious collection of musical miniatures that reference Suzuki's sensibility with remarkable feeling and compassion. A touching tr…

"Drummer/composer Federico Ughi presents a collection of songs dedicated to four cities in which he has lived and that have made an impact on his music. His gentle and beautiful approach bridges European and American jazz, but mostly it filters the current New York scene through a silky translucent gauze. This album of music (explain to your kids that, at one time, artists recorded collections of music and not just singles) maintains a consistent dialogue between the players, the melodies, and t…

On October 15th and 16th, 2020, drummer Daniel Villarreal was joined by guitarist Jeff Parker and bassist Anna Butterss for two afternoons of recording in the backyard of Chicali Outpost in Los Angeles. For all three musicians, it was the first ensemble recording session they’d done in-person since the pandemic locked the world down just seven months prior. Some choice moments from these sessions made it onto Villarreal’s critically-acclaimed 2022 album Panamá 77, but most of the music remained …

"Resavoir - the collaborative project led by Chicago producer/composer Will Miller - presents their second self-titled album. The new 'Resavoir' is a subtly radiant symphony interweaving modern-day soul-jazz with bedroom beats, synth serenades and twilight sonatas. It represents Miller’s most assured and refined work to date. Imagined, instigated and produced by Miller, who ties the diverse sounds into an expansive, coherent whole, 'Resavoir' features a wide and vibrant cast of collaborators, in…

On July 16 and 17 2021, Shiver met up with Pianist Matthew Bourne at his house in Airedale, Yorkshire. Hungry to make music following various lockdowns, cancellations and disappointments, the quartet embarked on a ferocious two-day journey of exploratory music-making. The weather was good, the connection was immediate. There was much laughing, tea-drinking and storytelling. In the evening, the stove was lit and we listened to music: Stanley Clarke, Paul Simon, Sarah Vaughan, Scott Walker, Eugene…

Temporary Super Offer! The trio of Jimmy Giuffre, pianist Paul Bley, and Steve Swallow on acoustic bass, through their previous recordings and live concerts in Europe, had reached the precipice of complete improvisational freedom. The leap came with Free Fall. What I feel to be the more revealing and revolutionary aspects of this album, however, are to be found in the five unaccompanied clarinet pieces. – Art Lange With this release we like to celebrate Jimmy Giuffre at 100. (26. April 1921 – 24…

“Exposição Popular” is the new album from Rio de Janeiro based producer and composer Guerrinha, sonically orbits 80´s new wave & fusion jazz, imagine a lost ECM gem, layered in low-fi subterranean exoticism, that somehow conjures the soundtracks of Angelo Badalamenti. Here we find Guerrinha loosened up, the rhythm spilling out, playfully impossible to grasp as it floats over space-age ambient synth and organ work that takes references from Pat Metheny, John Scofield and Rita Lee.   “The last LP,…

*200 copies limited edition* Truly an honor to have these 4 exceptional artists on our label. Hugo Costa already graced our label with his outstanding duo album with Philipp Ernsting but here with Garuda Trio he's in company of some of the top players from the Portuguese free jazz scene : Hernãni Faustino on the bass, João Valinho on drums and the fantastic Rodrigo Pinheiro on piano. "Listen how these four move around each other, and work with volume, density, textures, iridescent atmospheres an…

This album is the sonic representation of diverse episodes experienced by a being called Sameer during their life. Chronologically, the music heard in this work was created before such events, without conscious awareness of those who produced it. This is also the recording of the first time Felice Furioso, Jorge Nuno and Felipe Zenicola played together. All tracks were arranged and produced by the 3 musicians.

"Cloud at rest" is the long-awaited debut record from the trio formed in 2016 by Pedro Alves Sousa on tenor saxophone, Rodrigo Pinheiro on piano and Gabriel Ferrandini on drums and percussion. The music is the result of a five days residency at the Goethe-Institut Lisbon in 2019,  where the band tried to find a different approach to its playing in order to distance themselves from the fast and highly energetic music normally associated with them. This record shows a different perspective of thei…

Hyper.object was formed in 2019 by three veterans from the Lisboa free improvised scene (Rodrigo Pinheiro on the piano, Hernâni Faustino on the double bass and Carlos Santos on the electronics) and by two young musicians (João Almeida on trumpet and João Valinho on drums). Since its beginnings. the group had frequently joined for rehearsals but as soon the pandemic hit, the gatherings were restricted to only when there was an opening on the frequent lockdowns. During one of these openings "inter…

"corpos" is the first album by the Barcelona-based trio, formed by pianist Clara Lai, double bassist Àlex Reviriego and drummer Oriol Roca. Recorded at Rosazul Studio in Barcelona on April, 2022. The music of this album explores collective construction in trio format, visiting different sound zones, compositional possibilities and improvisational languages. Music that is energetic but also contemplative, aleatoric, some noise and silence, coexist with melodic sketches. Pieces as sound bodies tha…

Live / Shapeshifter is the exemplary new double-album from one of master bassist - composer - improviser William Parker's eternal flagship groups, recorded live and presenting all-new compositions, including the extended suite Eternal Is the Voice of Love, along with a new iteration of the band's theme. Featuring pianist Cooper-Moore, alto saxophonist Rob Brown and (since 2012) drummer Hamid Drake, In Order To Survive is one of the great jazz groups of the past quarter century. Launched in 1993,…

Shinya Lin: Piano, prepared pianoFrancisco Mela: Drums Recorded October 24, 2021 by Yushu Bao and Hao Jen Lam at Berklee College, Boston, MARecording assistants: Qi Wang, Yimu Feng, Ziyan WangMixed and mastered by Yushu Bao

"Teiku arranges our unique family Passover melodies into vehicles for sonic exploration. This ancestral music, much like the tradition of Creative Music through which we interpret it, is liberation music. As its humble stewards we offer it as a call for justice for all oppressed peoples; as Jews, we decry the senseless violence, displacement, and killing perpetrated in our name." - Josh Harlow and Jonathan Barahal Taylor, bandleaders  Teiku’s origin story feels almost pre-ordained. Co-leaders pi…

*2024 stock. Deluxe packaging* "A gentle, introspective, yet adventurous solo work... The entire album is a one-man effort, from the composition to all of the instrumentation, with Surman building strata of sound over keyboard and percussion structures using bass clarinet and the soprano and bass saxophones he is known for. The resulting work communicates a unique vision and mood, unsullied by the conflicting interpretations of other performers." - Stacia Proefrock