Jazz /
Gnu High
A vinyl reissue, in Ecm new audiophile Luminessence series, for Kenny Wheeler’s sensational ECM leader debut. Recorded in New York in 1975, and produced by Manfred Eicher, Gnu High brought Canadian trumpeter Wheeler to a new level of international acclaim, for both his impassioned playing and his profoundly lyrical writing. Here Kenny is fronting an extraordinary quartet, with Keith Jarrett, Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette, all masterful improvisers who had shaped their intuitive collective und…
Old And New Dreams
Hot on the heels of Old Friends, New Friends comes Old And New Dreams, an operation meant as a new flagship for Ornette Coleman, whose lack of enthusiasm for the project left a gap duly filled by Dewey Redman. The result is this delightful excursion into post-bop outlands that sounds as alive as ever. Two Coleman pieces comprise nearly half of its duration—which is saying much, for like many of ECM’s joints of the 70s, this one breezes by in under 50 minutes. The first Coleman piece, “Lonely Wom…
Big Moon
*2023 stock* Over 60 releases and 44 years into his career as a jazz drummer and composer, William Hooker has made (arguably) his best album yet during the pandemic in 2020, a follow up to his critically acclaimed 2019 album “Symphonie of Flowers". Clocking in at 83 minutes in total (depending on the format you’re listening to), “Big Moon” is as expansive as it is groundbreaking. With a reputation as one of the most innovative composers and drummers of his generation, for those in the know, Hook…
Symphonie Of Flowers
*2023 stock* William Hooker has been recognized as one of the most innovative musicians and drummers of his generation, leading a variety of ensembles within the worlds of free jazz, experimental, and new music. Hooker's prior collaborators range from avant garde jazz musicians to indie rock legends like Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth. On his latest work, “Symphonie of Flowers”, Hooker weaves three sections into a whole, or a “symphonie” of sorts. As he says, “the piece begins and…
Shamballa
Shamballa is the 1993 collaboration from jazz drummer William Hooker, Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth), and composer Elliott Sharp. The release features Hooker performing duets with each musician. Hooker and Moore’s performance is littered with bursts of feedback and distortion, while the collaboration with Sharp is characterized by a more electronic sound, building a sense of technology. The pieces were released on vinyl for the first time as a double LP for Record Store Day 2023, limited to 1,500 …
Le Sud
Le Sud trio works from the concept of lower-case free music, which has been a common European currency since the mid-1970s. Despite Brexit, violist Benedict Taylor asserts himself during this continental concert by sawing, sweeping and stretching distinctive patterns from his strings. During the two over half-hour each improvisations however there’s no lead instrument. Positioned power strokes, steel string plinks and diverted chords from Dirk Serries plus Friso Van Wyck hollow pops, metal casca…
Four Spheres
On this maiden recording, Chicago-based bassist Jason Roebke leads a new quartet, featuring his original compositions and a stellar lineup. The music, which was brilliantly recorded at Steve Albini's legendary Electrical Audio and expertly mixed and mastered by Alex Inglizian at Experimental Sound Studio, is performed by veteran reed player Edward Wilkerson Jr., whose own bands Eight Bold Souls and Shadow Vignettes were among the great ensembles of eighties/nineties Chicago, extending the AACM t…
Mongrels
Mongrels—Buck Nauseef—two creatures with no pedigree or particular style who have absorbed, mixed and amalgamated numerous pedigrees and styles during long careers working closely with leading musicians of diverse genres including: orchestral, Javanese gamelan, jazz, Ghanaian music and dance, r&b, Hindustani classical music, free improvisation, Balinese gamelan, Turkish classical Sufi music…
Recordings and performances have been with, amongst many others, The Necks, Evan Parker, Jack Bruce, Bill…
Live In Paris, 1970
*2024 reissue* Transversales Disques proudly presents Rahsaan Roland Kirk - Live in Paris (1970). Gifted multi-instrumentalist Rahsaan Roland Kirk at the height of his powers, backed by his Vibration Society, including long-term cohorts pianist Ron Burton, powerhouse percussionist Joe Habao Texidor, Dick Griffin on trombone, drummer Jerome Cooper and Vernon Martin on Double Bass. First ever official reissue of this rare ORTF recording performed live at studio 104, Maison de la Radio Paris, with …
Dripping
Tip! When Dirk Serries travelled last May to Portugal for a series of concerts with José Lencastre, he didn't know he was going to be invited to record some amazing sessions with several key players from the Portuguese impro scene. This is one. Lively session recorded at the studio of João Madeira in Lisbon on May 7th, 2023. A blast it was.
Chicken Shit Bingo
Peter Brötzmann collaborated with many artists in his career, regularly adding new compatriots into the fold, and Norwegian drummer Paal Nilssen-Love became one of his staunchest allies after the percussionist joined the Chicago Tentet in 2004. They worked in various contexts, including this inexhaustible, hard-hitting duo. Most of the albums they’ve issued have captured live performances, but in 2015 they made this stunning studio recording. As Nilssen-Love says in the liner notes, “Peter had a…
Afro Blue
Saxophonist Mats Gustafsson is notorious for his prolific nature and constantly expanding circle of collaborators, but few of his partnerships have been as powerful and profound as Gush, the Swedish trio which formed way back in 1988 and celebrates its 36th anniversary in 2024. This performance was captured live at the famous Stockholm jazz venue Fasching on December 17, 1998, and the music excited all three musicians when they revisited it this year. The album is named for the Mongo Santamaria …
Valencia
*Limited Edition* Percussionist Masahiko Togashi collaborates with the exceptional piano accompaniment of Takashi Kako in a unique and captivating musical journey. Kako's piano work, marked by a distinctive sense of touch and tone, complements Togashi's drumming. Kako's ability to extract guitar-like sounds from the piano, characterized by an airy chromatic quality, adds a warm and poetic dimension to the moments of freer improvisation on the record. While the music remains rooted in free jazz, …
fLuXkit Vancouver (i̶t̶s suite but sacred)
Tip! A radiant manifesto of artistic freedom, fLuXkit Vancouver (i̶t̶s suite but sacred) brings together a composition in four movements written and performed by Jones on alto saxophone, long-time collaborator Gerald Cleaver on drums, and four Vancouver-based string musicians: violinists Jesse Zubot and Josh Zubot, cellist Peggy Lee and bassist James Meger; with original artwork by Stan Douglas and liner notes by poet Harmony Holiday. Commissioned by Western Front, an artist-run center for multi…
Live In Masuda
Seikatsu Kōjyō Iinkai (Committee for the Improvement of Life) began its activities in the early 1970s, led by Kazutoki Umezu and Yoshiyuki Harada. Many musicians came and went and engaged in multifaceted activities, but one of the pillars was the so-called Life Improvement Committee (Matsugumi), centered on Koichi Shofaze. This work, recorded live in Masuda City, Shimane Prefecture, is the only work left by Matsugumi with the same members. The saxophone cuts like a knife into the solid trio's pe…
Trio
Jesper Nordberg Trio is a group based in Copenhagen (DK) and Malmö (SE), featuring the double bass player Jesper Nordberg, violinist Stefan Pöntinen and trumpetist Ruhi Erdogan. With Nordberg's compositions as a starting point, the trio's playing can be characterized by close interplay, radical shifts, and having elements ranging from experimental improvisation, Balkan music, Scandinavian folklore, jazz and expressionism. Jesper Nordberg's warm tone and rhythmic displacements meet Ruhi's trumpet…
Circular Temple
"On a good day it is strenuous to stay current with pianist Matthew Shipp's imposing and voluminous output. On an even better day it is a fool's hardy errand to say the least. Now with the planned re-issuing of some of his great early deconstructions of musical thought and theory, starting here with 1990's daringly incongruous yet hypnotically accessible, Circular Temple, keeping up just got a whole lot harder. With William Parker on bass and Whit Dickey on drums, this four-movement suite for pi…
Progressive Jazz From Italy 1977 - 1989
*2023 stock* "I started my musician career in 1970 as devoted jazz fan and hard practicing drummer. But I was also interested in electronics and experimental music, in improvising and composing. My goal was to blend in an unique form of musical expression all my interests, dream that 30 years later, I can happily say that I fully accomplished. Following the previously released Ictus collection in two discs (ICTUS 503) presenting the best of my early music recorded in solo and with my groups, her…
Snowplow
*2023 stock* "hi Andrea - here it's just cold - I'd love to have some real snow here like we used to have in my childhood, even up to the 1980's! My children have never been in snow up to their knees and their knees are not that tall!"
I wrote these words to Andrea as we discussed our upcoming performances and recording during his visit to NYC in February 2009. As they say,"Be careful what you wish for..." So it snowed. Not a blizzard, but it was snow and it came down relentlessly. We play…
The Complete Recording Vol. 1 - Velocities
*2023 stock* Andrea Centazzo, LaDonna Smith and Davey Williams met for the first time in December 1978. They recorded the first part of this album in 1979 and the second in 2010. An exquisite and celebrated example of improvised music.