Jazz /
Nightcap
Tip! *300 copies limited edition* {scope} came to life in 2020, when musicians Laura Agnusdei, Matteo Pennesi and Luca Sguera got selected for Holydays Festival, an artist residency in Scopoli, a small village in Umbria, central Italy. Despite having never played together before, the musicians found a common musical language which emerged in their first album "A week from Monday", recorded during the residency and released by ViaIndustriae and Rous Records. At the start of 2022 a new opportunity…
Ganzfeld
After the resounding success of their last album "Garden Island," released in 2021, the octet hailing from Tenerife is back with a new album titled "Ganzfeld." While "Garden Island" drew inspiration from the philosophy of César Manrique and his groundbreaking ecological work on the island of Lanzarote, for this new album, Gaf & The Love Supreme Arkestra turn their creative gaze to the lowland areas of northern Tenerife aka Isla Baja (the low island). Here, they envision a retro-futuristic soundt…
Towards The Flame, Vol. 2
*50 copies edition* "Three of Europe's most acclimated and proven improvisers—pianist Robert Mitchell (Steve Coleman, Greg Osby), bassist Neil Charles, and drummer/percussionist Mark Sanders (Jah Wobble, Rachel Musson)—band together as The Flame for the first time and emerge from pandemic isolation, and the forever wars and broken civics that accompanied it, with a hypnotic performance captured absolutely live on Towards the Flame.
Recorded at London's Cafe Otto in February of 2022, The Flame co…
Solo Bern 1984, First Visit
"In its entirety, the concert is lively and penetrating evidence of Braxton’s remarkable facility, powers of invention, and commitment to his principles at this point in time, with special emphasis on saxophone techniques energizing variables of tone color, texture, and timbre to affect separate phrases, extended lines, and sectional contrasts." – Art Lange
Producer’s note: "I experienced over many years Anthony Braxton different performances. His solo performance 1984 in Bern belongs into the …
The Human Factor
"It is a message, and you will hear it sounding firmly through the various pieces that make up The Human Factor, that tells us much about how we might live together: sharing, giving way, simple giving, lifting up, helping ... above all, listening ..." - Brian Morton
Inside The Light World: Sun Ra Meets The OVC
Introducing a musical treasure from the enigmatic Sun Ra's expansive discography, Strut Records proudly presents "Inside The Light World: Sun Ra Meets The OVC”. This extraordinary album unveils previously unreleased recordings from the year 1986 for the very first time, showcasing a unique chapter in the Sun Ra catalogue, officially released for Record Store Day 2024.
Introducing the inaugural release of "lost" sessions from 1986, where Sun Ra encountered the OVC. These remarkable recordings wer…
Un Hilo De Luz
Unknown spiritual jazz gem recorded in Argentina in the 80s, under the influence of Pharoah Sanders, Don Cherry, Archie Shepp, and originally released on Litto Nebbia's label Melopea. Already supported by Gilles Peterson on his radio show, this mind-blowing album combines ethno-free jazz passages and deep progressive compositions led by saxophonist Marcelo Peralta resulting a very impressive ode to the legacy of Coltrane. First time reissue. Includes extensive notes and many previously unpublish…
Axes
Axes and layers, but also the axes, for striking and cutting. This work embraces the muscular energy of avant-jazz and delicate and dreamlike introspection. The musical references are to the America of Tim Berne and the Europe of Marc Ducret - the polyphony and rhythmic pulse of the urban environment. But the connections, even if not strictly musical, reach far; "Axis: Bold as Love" by Jimi Hendrix and "AlasNoAxis", Jim Black's debut album. More than one axis: axes.
Monster
*2024 stock* Collaborators for years, here is the first shared record release by two of the leading figures in contemporary improvisation, here grappling with trombone, cello, bass, electronics. A disc for explorers of less frequented and predictable sounds, full of unexpected cues and solutions.
Magnificent Little Dudes Vol. 1
From his first full-length album ‘Minima Moralia’ (“Excellent” 8.1 Pitchfork) in 2006, through the subsequent 70+ albums that followed, Chihei Hatakeyama has created a mighty canon of work. Having collaborated with the likes of Ai Kuwabara, Hiroki Chiba, Kei Matsumaru, Gen Hoshino, Terumasa Hino, Tony Allen, and countless others, Shun Ishiwaka is one of Japan’s most prolific modern jazz drummers. Between them they’ve played across ambient, experimental, electronic, pop, hip-hop, jazz, and metal …
"Mu" First Part
** Deluxe 180gr. Black vinyl edition. Comes in a deluxe matte laminate gatefold sleeve. Original 1969 BYG album. Mastered to vinyl from BYG tapes by Nick Robbins. Exclusive liner notes by author John Masouri ** Don Cherry and Ed Blackwell, graduates of the revolutionary Ornette Coleman quartet, are in perfect accord on this seminal free jazz set, recorded in Paris during the late sixties. The emphasis, as on all Don Cherry releases, is on the life-giving, often magical qualities of pure sound, c…
"Mu" Second Part
** ** Deluxe 180gr. Black vinyl edition. Comes in a deluxe matte laminate gatefold sleeve. Original 1970 BYG album facsimile-edition. Mastered to vinyl from BYG tapes by Nick Robbins. Exclusive liner notes by author John Masouri ** ** Second chapter of Don Cherry’s "Mu" recordings for BYG - a landmark of free jazz improvisation. Don Cherry and drummer Ed Blackwell had both played with Ornette Coleman and contributed to the revolutionary free jazz movement of the late fifties and early sixties. …
"Mu" First Part & "Mu" Second Part
** 2-CD set gathering the seminal albums “Mu” First Part and “Mu” Second Part. Restored & remastered from the original tapes by Nick Robbins. New & insightful essay by author & music journalist John Masouri. 6-panel deluxe digi-sleeve echoes the vibe of the original LPs & includes a 16-page booklet. Two printed inner wallets replicate the original LP covers back and front ** Two historic 1969 recording sessions by Don Cherry and drummer Ed Blackwell now assembled on this deluxe 2-CD set that co…
Message to Our Folks
** Deluxe 180gr. Marbled vinyl edition. Comes in a deluxe matte laminate gatefold sleeve. Original 1969 BYG album facsimile-edition. Mastered to vinyl from BYG tapes by Nick Robbins. Exclusive liner notes by author John Masouri **'A Jackson in Your House' is the first of the Art Ensemble of Chicago’s renowned trio of albums for BYG's Actuel series. This album is The Art Ensemble’s most celebrated release and finds the American avant-garde jazz collective at their most sensational, mocking and st…
A Jackson in Your House
** Deluxe 180gr. Marbled vinyl edition. Comes in a deluxe matte laminate gatefold sleeve. Original 1969 BYG album facsimile-edition. Mastered to vinyl from BYG tapes by Nick Robbins. Exclusive liner notes by author John Masouri ** 'A Jackson in Your House' is the first of the Art Ensemble of Chicago’s renowned trio of albums for BYG's Actuel series. This album is The Art Ensemble’s most celebrated release and finds the American avant-garde jazz collective at their most sensational, mocking and s…
SpiriTuaL HeaLinG: Bwa KaYimaN FreeDoM SuiTe
Saxophonist Omicil builds atmospheres then upends expectations in this free-jazz homage to Haiti’s successful 18th-century slave insurrection - The Guardian
Three For Shepp to Gesprächsfetzen „Revisited“
"Marion Brown was already defying categorisation in 1966 when he recorded Three For Shepp, whose six tracks open Three For Shepp To Gespächsfetzen Revisited. Brown’s opening “New Blues” and Archie Shepp’s closing “Delicado,” though compelling,are relatively orthodox expressions of mid 1960s NewThing. The four tracks they bookend, however, are distinctive even today. Brown’s exquisite “Fortunato,” though it sounds like nothing Pharoah Sanders ever wrote, inhabits similarly pretty terrain as Sand…
I know You Are But What Am I?
At the tail end of 1996, saxophonist Mars Williams and drummer Hamid Drake took the tall corner stage at Chicago's Empty Bottle for two sets of duets. The rock club had just started a weekly Jazz & Improvised Music Series, curated by Ken Vandemark and John Corbett, which would run for nearly a decade. This rare pairing brought together two pivotal figures in the city's creative music scene, both of whom had extensive experience in diverse areas of music, from the free jazz focus of this intimate…
Maua
“A blissfully ecstatic sprawl of spiritual-jazz explorations of the most transcendent order” – Brooklyn Rail
Electric Telepathy Vol. 1
“A blissfully ecstatic sprawl of spiritual-jazz explorations of the most transcendent order” – Brooklyn Rail