Jazz /
Universal Tonality
William Parker’s Universal Tonality documents an epic performance which brings his titular concept to full, vibrant life. An exquisite example of this system in practice, it features a truly once-in-a-lifetime assembly of creative music luminaries and legends. Clocking in at nearly two hours and featuring six extended pieces flowing across two discs, this Universal Tonality happening took place in December 2002. Parker invited 16 musicians of various ages, cultures and musical backgrounds – to j…
Wesen
*In process of stocking. Limited edition of 200 copies.* Imagined (?) dreams of being chased, false awakenings, etc. analyzed through a lens of the gestaltpsychologic understanding. Perceptions containing qualities that do not result from the arrangement of simple sensory qualities. An example of Gestalt-qualität, as Christian von Ehrenfels writes, is a melody that may consist of individual tones, but is much more than just the sum of these tones. Individual tones could combine to form completel…
I'm Here
*Limited edition of 500 copies* Drummer and composer Edward Vesala, the most internationally renowned jazz musician from Finland, was very keen on percussion instruments. Oddly enough, this broad and enduring interest is hardly evident on his albums.Whether playing on his own albums or contributing to other musicians’ work, Vesala played a standard drum kit most of the time. He hardly used external percussionists on his own albums either. And most of all: his music was almost never percussive, a…
Penumbra II
Limited edition compact disc of a previously unreleased recording made at a rare 1971 studio performance by a Karl Jenkins-led nine piece group of stellar musicians.
“At the time, I had taken Karl’s answer to mean that Penumbra II contained no material exclusive to it, possibly consisting of different arrangements of music previously recorded by Nucleus or recycled later in Soft Machine. At it turns out, I was both right and wrong: Penumbra II is previously unheard but does include some famili…
Globe Unity
*Limited edition of 500 copies.* In 1966, pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach assembled his first large ensemble to play his compositions “Globe Unity” and “Sun.” This 14-piece band, which brought together some of the leading figures in European improvised music, would eventually expand – incorporating not only Europeans but also American and Asian musicians – and assume its rightful name: Globe Unity Orchestra. In its nascent outing, beautifully recorded at Ariola Studio in Cologne, Schlippenba…
Graceful Collision
*Limited edition of 600 copies.* The Bi Ba Doom trio, featuring saxophonist Chris Pitsiokos, bassist Luke Stewart and drummer Jason Nazary, will release their debut album Graceful Collision in the coming months. The trio Bi Ba Doom, in their recording debut with the album Graceful Collision, delivers five collective compositions (Skeletal Representation, Invisible Maze, Caught The Flicker, Graceful Collision and Limitless Fascination) in which free improvisation, ambient jazz, electronic music a…
In Search of Our Father's Gardens
*Limited edition of 500 copies.* Absolutely thrilled to present the debut release from the duo of RA Washington (from Mourning [A] BLKstar, Vernacular - our recent amazing Astral Spirits reissue of their only recorded album) and Jah Nada (from Bloody Show, Obnox, JZNZ and more).
In Search For Our Father's Gardens is a sprawling double LP that features a large 14 piece ensemble cast, including members of Mourning [A] BLKstar, Oneida, and more. The album runs the gamut of sounds from the reverent …
New Hope Jazz Mass
The definitive Jazz Mass! Never before heard second day takes, includes alternate version of Duke & Trane!
Second day take of the acclaimed 1978 New Hope Jazz Mass recording from Helsinki Finland, newly remastered and never before released, features different soloist and a performance believed to be better than the original release. Featuring Heikki Sarmanto, Seppo Paakkunainen, Pekka Pöyry, Esko Rosnell, Pekka Sarmanto, Maija Hapuoja, Gregg Smith Vocal Quartet and Long Island Symphonic Choral A…
The Sage Flower
Limited edition of 100 copies.* Cellist Guilherme Rodrigues (Portugal, residing in Berlin) and guitarist Dirk Serries teamed up for a chamber music-esque session at the Sunny Side Inc. Studio (Anderlecht, Belgium). The Sage Flower is that collection of detailed interaction, acoustic outbursts and linear minimalisme.
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Tip! *In process of stocking. 2022 stock. Limited edition of 300 copies.* ‘The demands from users have often contradicted engineering possibilities. However, once the targets became clear, we, Shibuya, have made every effort to knuckle down to achieve them. The keyword is “No Compromise” believing that we can overcome the difficulties without sacrificing anything.’
Unce upon a time… somewhere between free jazz mountains, sea of death metal and islands of live electronics… there were Shibuya Moto…
Pacemaker
* Limited Edition of 300 copies with hand-made artwork. Hand-numbered edition. * Lithuania saxophonist - here on contrabass and prepared clarinet, tenor and soprano saxophones - is a musician with many faces, ranging from the powerful free jazz of "Kablys" over the melodic and sensitive excursion with pianist Petras Geniusas, to the angular free improv with Barry Guy on "Lava". On Pacemaker he demonstrates yet another side of his art, now in the company of Christian Windfeld on prepared drum kit…
Boiling Point
*In process of stocking. Limited edition of 300 copies.* "Boiling Point" is the sophomore release from Gordon Grdina's Nomad Trio featuring Matt Mitchell (piano) and Jim Black (drums) and also follows up on 2021's Astral Spirits Grdina / Black duo release "Martian Kitties." The self-titled 2020 debut of Grdina’s Nomad Trio (Skirl Records) was hailed by PopMatters for setting up “loose structures for wild improvising [while also including] a healthy menu of hot unison licks and fleet melodies.” S…
Palindromes
*2022 stock. In process of stocking.* This is an outstanding hour or so of improvised music that beggars belief that this was only the second performance by this particular line up. The first was on 02/02/2020, and the first palindrome, and this concert 2 days later at Cafe OTO, with the second palindrome, and hence the title of this wonderful set. What is quite amazing is how such a rapport between four musicians can be created and cemented so quickly. Each free to add, comment or step up to le…
Vol. 1 Erie Live!
Daniel Carter, William Parker, and Federico Ughi have been playing together since 2005, the year in which they recorded their first album The Dream. The band has performed regularly in the US and Europe ever since, gaining considerable success, with a 2010 European tour throughout Portugal, Spain, and Italy that resulted in the live album Navajo Sunrise (2012). In 2015 the trio started to rehearse with multi-instrumentalist Watson Jennison (Toronto, CA). As a quartet, the band toured the US and …
Causa y Efecto Vol. 1
The world is more elusive than simple cause and effect imply, more typically, life circumvents causation in favor of an unknowable correlation. It seems like the more we know, the less we know. On this first volume from Zoh Amba and Francisco Mela, the duo brings their regional traditions, from Tennessee and Cuba respectively, and musical inclinations to the cause and effect behind their own life stories. Causa y Efecto, Vol. 1 is an ode to the unknown, transporting audiences between the New Yor…
Invisibility is an Unnatural Disaster
SSWAN presents their first outing "Invisibility is an unnatural disaster" a raucous jaunt of free jazz on the premiere fire music label 577 Records. The music is rooted in the Black American art form of jazz, stemming into the branches of free improvisation, noise and experimentalism while pushing to the edges of each idiom. The idiosyncratic playing of guitarist Jessica Ackerley starts off the album's title track and jumps headfirst into a Hendrix-tinged duo with drummer Jason Nazary. Patrick S…
Volumes II - Fiction Musicale Et Chorégraphique - Création Pour Grand Orchestre Et Corps Actants
*In process of stocking* 'Volumes II—Fiction Musicale et Chorégraphique is an ambitious, large-scale composition by the French double bassist/composer Benjamin Duboc for orchestra, voice, and physical movement. The composition unfolds in a long sequence of highly disparate parts, beginning with ambient noises and a spoken prelude before moving into more overtly musical passages. The orchestra commences with a sustained, droning chord marked by a slowly developing, internally unstable drift of pi…
Rosa Parks: Pure Love.
Acclaimed trumpeter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and educator Wadada Leo Smith has released an oratorio of seven songs inspired by the iconic civil rights leader Rosa Parks. In his own words, Rosa Parks: Pure Love. An Oratorio of Seven Songs is "concerned with ideas of freedom, liberty and justice, a meditation centered around the civil rights movement." Looking at Smith's more than 50 years of creative and artistic vision, this release is yet another inspired organic musical direction that…
The Chicago Symphonies
*Includes a 80 pages booklet.* The trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith from Leland, Mississippi, started his career in the late sixties as a member of the legendary jazz trio Creative Construction Company, which also included Leroy Jenkins and Anthony Braxton, and has since advanced to become one of the most renowned representatives of contemporary (avant-garde) jazz - with more than thirty album releases to date. On the occasion of the 80th birthday of the internationally renowned composer and trumpeter…
Down the Hill
Since their meeting in the Hague in the Netherlands in 2002, Alexandra Grimal and Giovanni di Domenico have been playing together regularly. Since 2011 they have been offering several subtle and inspired tête-à-têtes: Ghibli, Chergui and Down the Hill, which was released on January 19th, 2020. Ghibli, around a repertoire composed by the Italian pianist, released on the Sans Bruit label in 2011, the music navigates on the mineral lines of Alexandra Grimal's saxophones that come to rest and intert…