Jazz & Improvisation / Free Improvisation

2006 release ** Oversize cardboard sleeve.

2016 release ** Cardboard sleeve. "Guitarist and improviser Riuchi Daijo holds the bi-monthly live performance series "Shield Reflection" at Ftarri, Tokyo. In this series, Daijo usually performs with the same guest musicians three times in a row. In …

2010 release ** Cardboard sleeve.  Pal Toth aka én: electronic devices, objects, contact mics, voiceQuentin Rollet aka Q.: alto sax, mic, feedback, voiceZsolt Söres aka Ahad: viola, analogue synth, objects, contact mics, feedback, voice+Jozef Cseres …

"Samādhi,- a Sanskrit word meaning “concentration,” can refer to both the activity of Buddhist meditation and the absorbed state of mind of a meditating person. Wherever I’ve known the improvisatory gesture to manifest – whether in experimental music…

From 1971-1979 Wadada Leo Smith released four albums on his own, privately pressed label Kabell. Under the supervision of the composer, this material has now been collected, remastered and coupled with over two hours of unreleased bonus tracks, inclu…

Philadelphia vibraphonist Khan Jamal's 1974 Palm masterpiece receives its first proper reissue. Recorded during Parisian exile, this exploratory album showcases revolutionary vibraphone techniques across four essential tracks - a crucial document of …

Tip! *2025 stock* Reissue of the landmark free jazz album "Overhang-Party (A Memorial To Kaoru Abe)" by the visionary Abe-Toyozumi Duo. Originally recorded in Tokyo in August 1978 and released in 1979, this historic release stands as a breathtaking t…

*2025 stock* In essence, group improvisation is a conversation. It relates to a certain point in time, its current surroundings, personal expression and the stories each performer choses to tell from their musical paths. On Sound Flower three masters…

Tip! "I stood on top of the mountain and looked out over the landscape. It was so beautiful that my chest hurt. The light vibrated, time stood still, and the contours dissolved for a moment. Everything had changed; I felt it then. I took their little…

2011 release ** Oversize folded cardstock sleeve "This disc is the most sublime treatment of minimalist form. Dominique Lash performs brackets of beauty on his wary, droning double bass while Patrick Farmer teases possibility out from hidden silent e…

2017 release ** "Three top-class international sound adventurers set out the connection of electronics and acoustic sound generators. Experience is the shaping of ephemeral, extreme, genreference and cliché-free sound adventures – a meeting of improv…

This is the debut album from that modern free jazz impro trio. Hypomaniac recorded on March 15th 2025 at Thessaloniki-Greece during ''Take 2'' festival organized by defkaz records and Mikri Skini venue. The end result is absolutely fascinating, bring…

Hyperentasis is a double LP celebrating the unique connection between legendary saxophonist Akira Sakata and the city of Thessaloniki. Home to Defkaz Records and the birthplace of the Damianidis brothers, Thessaloniki has welcomed Sakata countless ti…

Bomb! The debut recording by The Ancients, the intergenerational coalition of Isaiah Collier, William Hooker and William Parker formed by Parker to play concerts in conjunction with the Milford Graves' “A Mind-Body Deal” exhibition at the Institute o…

2025 stock. The question is simple, but the answer remains an enigma: "What is Nublu?" The legendary Avenue C club and label exists as a force seemingly without definition, where Forro in the Dark delivers hard-charging Brazilian folk one night, and …

Verve By Request continues its essential reissue series with Chico Hamilton's "The Dealer", a previously overlooked 1966 gem that captures one of jazz's most innovative drummers at a pivotal creative moment – and marks the recording debut of future f…

Jazz drumming legend Chico Hamilton fundamentally reimagined his sound in 1961, assembling a groundbreaking quintet that would define a new chapter in modern jazz. WaxTime now presents "Drumfusion", the inaugural album from this revolutionary lineup,…

Creative Sources Recordings proudly presents The Dew That Flies, an evocative new work from German multi-instrumentalist Udo Schindler and Catalan pianist Jordina Milla. This album captures the essence of improvisation, offering listeners a journey t…

2008 release ** Oversize card sleeve.

Esmeralda Sella is a young pianist from Ravenna, Italy. “Magma” is her debut album, and also a turning point. It’s the culmination of a journey that was «essential for understanding myself and the world around me» as she describes it. Sella recorded …

RogueArt proudly presents A Near Permanent State of Wonder, the first duo recording by pianist Alexander Hawkins and cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum. Two of the most distinctive and restlessly inventive voices in contemporary creative music meet in an inti…

The Otomo Yoshihide New Jazz Quintet (ONJQ), one of the most daring and influential ensembles in contemporary avant-garde jazz, proudly announces the release of El Derecho de Vivir en Paz. This new album embodies the group’s uncompromising vision: a …

*2025 stock* Silkheart Records is proud to present 5 x Monk, 5 x Lacy, a striking document from one of the most visionary voices in modern jazz, soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy. This album is both a heartfelt homage to Thelonious Monk, one of Lacy’s l…

For whom you play, for yourselves, for the departed who live within you, for all the dilettantes who listen to you, for the young and the old, for the joyful and the sad, the melancholic of all stripes, for the innumerable, unnamed crowd that flits a…

Almost four generations of musicians; four very strong musical personalities, four very rich musical careers and, above all, four musicians who know how much the confrontation of different ideas pushes music forward; and it is exactly what we had hop…

*2025 stock* First released in 1991, Great Bliss Vol. 1 captures saxophonist David S. Ware at a pivotal moment, crystallizing his towering sound and visionary approach to ensemble improvisation. Joined by pianist Matthew Shipp, bassist William Parker…

Silkheart Records is proud to announce the release of Joy (Within)!, a historic duo recording by drummer William Hooker and violinist Billy Bang. Two uncompromising innovators of the New York avant‑garde scene come together in a meeting of fire, visi…

*2025 stock* Silkheart Records proudly presents Naked Colours, a landmark release from the Hal Russell – Joel Futterman Quartet, bringing together four uncompromising voices in avant-garde jazz for a session that is as fearless as it is deeply human.…

Silkheart Records is proud to announce the release of Lifeline, the latest recording from visionary drummer, composer, and bandleader William Hooker, performed with his dynamic quartet. Lifeline captures the fierce urgency and expansive imagination t…

Silkheart Records proudly presents Raining Fire, a searing new statement from the legendary Charles Gayle Quartet, capturing the uncompromising spirit and transcendent intensity that define Gayle’s artistry. Known worldwide as one of the most powerfu…

"In the quarter century since the members of AALY Trio were last in the studio together there have been countless performances and albums made by the core members of the band. The remarkable parallels that existed between the improvised music scenes …

Sweden's late '60s creative explosion saw Roland Keijser's quartet forge unprecedented music, bridging American free jazz, minimal composition, and Swedish folk heritage. These lost Öppet Tre recordings capture a pivotal moment when Swedish musicians…

Reflectativity, first released on Leo Smith's own label in the early 1970s is one of the most important extended compositions blending improvisation and composition, and one of Leo Smith's masterpieces. This exciting new version features the brillian…

Limited to 450 copies. Includes two-sided postcard insert. A much needed reissue of drummer Stephen McCraven's astounding 1979 debut as a leader, originally issued on Marion Brown's Sweet Earth label. A holy grail of private press loft-jazz, bleeding…

This is free improvised music with two saxophones and two drum sets. The theme of the music is about identity that is linked to the region and culture, especially a specific folksy and indigenous characteristic in the Korean peninsula from long ago. …

Hyperboreal Trio’s debut album unites the distinct voices of Signe Emmeluth, Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, and Axel Filip—three seasoned improvisers bridging the musical extremes of the north and south through raw, yet meticulously crafted pieces.

Listening closely to the duo of Elliott Sharp and Scott Fields one can hear a compact history of modern composition and improvisation. Although the duo has a sound all its own, under the surface you can sense traces of “New Music,” minimalism, free j…

Saxophonist Paul Flaherty is New England's purveyor of the ecstatic jazz pulse. Through the years, Flaherty remained unshakable in the pursuit of soul healing and demon dashing through freedom music. Six pieces of alto and tenor saxophone steeped in …

This album was recorded in Brno, Czech Republic when these five masterful musicians were invited to perform together at a festival. Quentin Rollet started playing the alto saxophone at the age of 11 and the sopranino saxophone at 37. After a few year…

A sensational quartet that was created by Free Music Forum in Austria. Joe McPhee is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, improviser, conceptualist and theoretician. He is currently the member of Trio X, Survival Unit III and has collaborated with Paul…