Jazz & Improvisation / Contemporary

George Otsuka, sadly passed away in March 2020, was one of Japan’s most renowned jazz drummers. After three records with the George Otsuka Trio in the late part of the 60’s, “Sea Breeze” was released in 1971 on the Union label, his first record in quintet formation and a superb album which showcases the thrilling talent of this band. Included the brilliant jazz-funk track “Sea Breeze” and the astonishing cover of “Fool on the Hill”.

*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

*2022 stock* Futura Marge presents Wha's Nine by Trio 3 (Oliver Lake alto saxophone, Reggie Workman doublebass & Andrew Cyrille drums). Recorded in Paris on October 28th 2007, live at the Sunset.

*2022 stock* Futura Marge presents Shape by Alexandra Grimal (tenor & soprano saxophones ), Antonin Rayon (Hammond & Clavinet) & Emmanuel Scarpa (drums) . Recorded on June 30th 2008 at the Sunset, Paris. Digipak.

*2022 stock* Futura Marge presents A Night In Paris / Live at the Sunset by FAB Trio (Joe Fonda doublebass, Barry Altschul drums & Billy Bang violin). Recorded on April 19th 2008 at The Sunset, Paris.   Recorded live in Paris at the Sunside on July 22nd, 2006. ℗ & © 2006 Terronès

*2022 stock* Futura Marge presents Existences by Trio Passeurs (Véronique Magdelenat alto and soprano sax, Bernard Santacruz doublebass & Christian Rollet drums). Recorded live 15th november 2008 at l'AJMI - La Manutention in Avignon (France)

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…

Melodic folk trio jazz by legendary Norwegian pianist and composer Christian Reim, featuring two different sessions with bass/drums combination: Ingebrigt Håker Flaten , Håkon Mjåset Johansen  & Harald Johnsen / Jarle Vespestad.

*2022 stock* Futura Marge presents Down With It by James Spaulding (saxophone alto & flute), Pierre Christophe (piano), Raphaël Dever (contrabass) & Mourad Benhammou (drums). Recorded live in Paris at the Sunside on July 22nd, 2006. ℗ & © 2006 Terronès

*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)

* 2022 stock * Recorded at the Studio Jazz Unité in Paris, France, on June 19, 1981, Filet de Sole / Philly of Soul was the only recording made by brilliant drummer Philly Joe Jones with this exact octet formation.The group plays a variety of tunes, including well-known pieces by Tadd Dameron, Benny Golson, Randy Weston, and the tandem of John Lewis & Dizzy Gillespie, plus an homage to Tadd Dameron composed by the group's tenor saxophonist Charles Davis (a regular with Archie Shepp and Sun Ra), …

Taking cues from Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane at their most delicate, renowned Welsh harpist Amanda Whiting's mesmerizing Jazzman full-length After Dark arrives as soft as moonlight to gladden the soul and delight the ear -- without forgetting to bring the swing. Summoning the nocturnal mood suggested by the album's title, Whiting's harp flows and cascades, dances and alights, broods and haunts, informed by a deep understanding of both classical and jazz music, ultimately revealing a top-dra…

Sending My Love (2008) and Colour Yes (2009) were his first releases and document Halsall’s first great bands featuring the likes of flautist Chip Wickham, saxophonist Nat Birchall, harpist Rachael Gladwin, bassist Gavin Barras and drummer Gaz Hughes. Joyful, life-enhancing albums, drawing on UK jazz and spiritual jazz influences but with a decidedly modern bounce, they introduced Halsall’s music to the world gathering support from the likes of Gilles Peterson and Jamie Cullum, Mojo, Straight No…

Salute to the Sun features lush wholly improvised tunes inspired by ambient rainforest and jungle field recordings, deeply soulful tunes built around hypnotic harp and kalimba patterns, deep Strata-East inspired spiritual jazz grooves and some of Halsall’s most beautiful playing and inspiring healing melodies yet recorded. The album was recorded at the band’s weekly sessions, using Halsall’s own recording set-up, giving the recordings a relaxed vibe and unforced energy that really lets the music…

* 2022 stock * "The main point of interest of this album is its session date. Recorded in 1982, this is one of the very few documents of the late Sonny Sharrock's playing between his classic work with Pharoah Sanders and Don Cherry as well as on his own and his re-emergence with Last Exit in 1985. Bill Laswell had already utilized his talents on Material's Memory Serves release from the prior year, but here is Sharrock in a simple trio, playing several of the pieces that would become part of his…

* 2022 stock * Recorded in 2001 and originally released by Marge in France. Sonny Simmons (born in 1933 on Sicily Island, Louisiana), who has shown his vitality in recent years by releasing new works on QWest and CIMP, is an excellent free alto player with a hard-edged and profound spiritual style. This time, the quintet with Eddie Henderson and John Hicks is more into the new mainstream hard bop style. The quintet's music is a well-balanced mixture of the bright, crisp, Dolphy-like new jazz wor…

Jazz settings of Langston Hughes's poems, including The Weary Blues, The Dream Keeper and Daybreak in Alabama, with Eric Mingus on voice, David Amram on piano and Larry Simon with Groove Bacteria. Avant series.

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.

* 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 …

Tip! * 2022 stock * This 1979 date by tenor saxophonist Billy Harper is one of his most transcendent. Rife with his deep study of Coltrane's modalism, and his own deep knowledge of the blues and Eastern music, Harper and his quintet take on three extended pieces: "Soran Bushi-B.H." comes in at over 12 minutes, while "Cry Of Hunger," is over 20; both work out of extended harmonic architectures to place improvisation as a new element (remember, this was 1979), as an extension of the jazz "song." T…

* 2022 stock * This new trio proposes a gritty and daring jazz, around the melancholy and the evil of homo urbanus... The singer Caroline Faber, known for her rhythmic energy and her contagious good mood (with DeNduM, BA-YA), explores here a blues space: She interprets her texts "written from the tip of her soul" (Pierre Gros, Culture Jazz) on compositions by Richard Bonnet (recently acclaimed for his work with Hasse Poulsen and Tony Mallaby) or great classics borrowed from Afro-American music. …

* 2022 stock * Jade is an ambitious blend of jazz, abstract improvisation, and classical sacred music. Recorded at the Organ Studio at Sweden’s University of Gothenburg, the album features sax and trombone echoing regally against a backdrop of honest-to-goodness choral hymns, performed by a church organ and the 10-woman Volcanic Choir, led by mezzo-soprano Maria Forsström. In slow movements, as if to cherish the sounds and moods being created, the album blends its influences beautifully, conveyi…

* 2022 stock * Futura Records presents On the New Jersey Road: Dany Doriz (vibraphone), Philippe Duchemin (piano) & Patricia Lebeugle (contrebasse) – Invité sur trois titres : Enrico Granafei (harmonica) Paterson (New Jersey – USA) Recorded on 26th and 27th september 2005 at Bioya Recording Studios, Paterson (New Jersey - USA)

CD version.  Original score by Krzysztof Penderecki. New reading and conduction by Mats Gustafsson. The first (and until now only?) recorded interpretation of Krzysztof Penderecki's Actions For Free Jazz Orchestra took place in 1971 at Donaueschingen and featured the New Eternal Rhythm Orchestra, assembled by Don Cherry for the occasion and conducted by the great Polish composer. That orchestra also consisted of 14 musicians, including international jazz heavyweights such as Kenny Wheeler, Peter…

Futura Records presents For (and More): Daniel Beaussier & Manu Pékar with Jean-Lou Descamps & Pierre Marcault.Daniel Beaussier (saxophones, hautbois, cor anglais, clarinette, clarinette basse, flûtes en ut & sol), Manu Pékar (guitares), Jean-Lou Descamps (violon & objets sonores) & Pierre Marcault (percussion).Recorded 10th jan, 2nd jul & 20th nov 2016 at studio EDIM, Cachan (France).

**This version also includes the bonus disc JDR-0011 Endless Final featuring the last recording of Takayanagi** Jinya Disc presents a live concert by New Direction. The album includes the last performance of Action Direct and the last performance of Takayanagi's life. In other words, it is Masayuki Takayanagi's "remaining work".  An astounding force set free upon the world, heaving with life and fire, bound to stop even the most seasoned listener dead in their tracks It’s hard to offer a better …

The title to be taken literally, these two solo concerts recorded in Canada by French-based US bassist Barre Phillips, the first recorded at Vancouver Western Front in 1989, the 2nd from the 35th International Festival Music Festival of Victoriaville in 2019, both exemplary concerts showing his masterful skills and ability to captivate then and now.

Fundacja Słuchaj! presents Move in Moers by In Moers. Live concert recorded by Moers Festival 8th June 2019. Sound engineer: Thomas Block. Mixing/mastering: Patrick Römer, Unisono Studio – Berlin.  All music by Achim Kaufmann (GEMA), Dag Magnus Narvesen (TONO), Adam Pultz Melbye (KODA), Emilio Gordoa, Harri Sjöström (GEMA). Cover photo: painting by Thomas Nyqvist. Group Photo: Miriam Juschkat. Cover design: Zuza Ustjan. Produced by Harri Sjöström & Maciej Karłowski in co-op. Executive Producer: …

Fundacja Słuchaj! presents Remedy by Thomas Heberer, Joe Fonda and Joe Hertenstein. Recorded August 26, 2020, by Tom Tedesco, Tedesco Studios, Paramus, NJ. Mixed & mastered January 2021 by Jon Rosenberg, Brooklyn, NY. Photo: Kind Bystander. Graphic Design: Semafor. Executive Producer: Maciej Karłowski. Special thanks to Maciej Karłowski, Jon Rosenberg, Tom Tedesco. Extra special thanks to Daisy Payero, Ilse Pfeifer, Robin Rusch. Thomas Heberer - trumpetJoe Fonda - bass, flute (track 7)Joe Herten…

Trevor Watts: a legendary man, an exceptional saxophonist, a forerunner of everything that is really valuable in European improvised music, turned 80 last year. As a still active and extremely creative musician (his latest productions can be found primarily in the Listen Foundation! catalog), his long creative journey took many artistic challenges. So before you reach for the music contained in this box set, here is a brief historical outline. Around the mid-1960s, after sharing their musical ex…

Great Italian trio feat. Marco Colonna this time not only on clarinet but also bass clarinet, alto saxophone and flute and marvelous rhythm section Dario Miranda on bass and Fabrizio Spera on drums on his debut

Do you remember the legendary CD Legba Crossing released on FMP? Of course, you do! Each Cecil Taylor's music fan does it! Two years later Ove Volquartz assembled almost the same line-up and brought Cecil Taylor to Gottingen to work with the legendary artist longer and more intense. Here you have the whole monumental concert they gave on September 15th! What is the difference? Fundamental as always in the case of such great visionaries like Cecil was! Here, additionally, Mr. Taylor performs not …

** 2021 Stock. In process of stocking ** Craftman Records presents All Right! by Isao Suzuki Quartet. Recorded November 18 and 19, 1974. Bass – Osamu Kawakami, Drums – Shinji Mori, Electric Bass – Akira Okazawa, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar – Kazumi Watanabe, Electric Piano, Cello, Bass, Organ [Hammond], Drums, Vocals, Vibraphone [Vibraharp] – Isao Suzuki.

Craftman Records presents Q by Hideto Kanai. Recorded at Aoi Studio, Tokyo on May 9 & 17, 1971. Artwork – Ben Nishizawa, Bass – Hideto Kanai, Engineer – Yoshihiko Kannari, Engineer [Assistant] – Kenji Kurota, Mastered By – Tohru Kotetsu, Producer – Takeshi "Tee" Fujii, Producer [Associate] – Kazumitsu Saga, Yoshiaki Uozu.

** 2021 Stock. In process of stocking ** ** 2021 Stock. In process of stocking ** Unicorn was bassist Teruo Nakamura's first date as a leader. Recorded and issued in Japan on the legendary Three Blind Mice imprint in 1973, Nakamura had been working in New York since 1964. Bass – Teruo Nakamura (tracks: A2, A3, B2, B3), Bass [Electric] – Teruo Nakamura (tracks: A1, B1), Congas – Alvern Bunn (tracks: A1, B2, B3), Drums – Alphonse Mouzon (tracks: A2, A3, B1), Lenny White (tracks: A1, B2, B3), Elect…

** 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…

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…