Jazz & Improvisation / Jazz-Funk

Akira Ishikawa & Count Buffalos' 1976 direct-to-disc jazz-funk session for Toshiba, rebuilt from the best moments of the original takes.

Seychelles is the debut solo album by Japanese guitarist and composer Masayoshi Takanaka, released on Kitty Records in July 1976. Named after the Indian Ocean archipelago, it introduced the bright, melodic fusion sound that would become his signature. Across eight tracks, Takanaka blends jazz fusion, funk, Latin rhythms, reggae textures, and early Japanese city-pop sensibility. His guitar leads are fluid and sunny, moving from the playful groove of “Oh! Tengo Suerte” and “Tokyo Reggie” to the ex…

An Insatiable High is the third studio album by Japanese jazz-fusion guitarist Masayoshi Takanaka, originally released by Kitty Records in 1977 and reissued in 2024. The album blends polished jazz fusion, disco, city pop, and sun-soaked West Coast funk, showcasing Takanaka’s fluid guitar work and effortlessly breezy production. This edition was released on August 23, 2024, pressed on clear yellow vinyl as a Japanese import. It features contributions from major Los Angeles session musicians of th…

“Hasabe” is a thoughtfully curated collection of Ethio-groove recordings from one of the overlooked pioneers of 1970s Addis Ababa’s vibrant music scene—Ayalew Mesfin and his Black Lion Band. Expect trap drum kits, jazz big-band styled horn sections, funky guitars played through wah wah and fuzz pedals— all seasoned with a unique Ethiopian touch… Reissued once again thanks to our collaboration with Now Again. Pressed on 180g vinyl.

The Rhythm Machine is now available again to the musical public, legitimately reissued in its original packaging. Offering up brilliant soul, haunting ballads and high-energy mid-70s funk, this tasty medley is served best in its entirety. Virtually impossible to find in its original edition, we are now reissuing it once again thanks to a collaboration with Now Again. Pressed on 180g vinyl.

Step into the golden era of soul-jazz with the long-awaited vinyl reissue of “Vibrations” (1976) by Roy Ayers Ubiquity — a record that captures the unmistakable warmth, groove, and sophistication that defined Roy Ayers’ sound at its peak. Beyond its original impact, “Vibrations” has taken on a second life through hip-hop. Its grooves, breaks, and melodies have been extensively sampled by generations of producers and artists, becoming a foundational source for crate diggers and beatmakers alike. …

Original Swedish edition on Four Leaf Clover Records of the 1979 jazz/funk fusion album by the influential eclectic guitarist featuring Pekka Pohjola and Wlodek Gulgowski.

Original Italian edition on Arista of the irresistible 1976 jazz/funk/disco album by the Polish fusion pioneer featuring Urszula Dudziak.

Original US edition with die-cut sleeve on Embryo Records of the live free jazz fusion album by the American saxophonist's quartet with European musicians.

Jazz recordings by the Malaysian trumpeter and composer Johari Salleh from the 1970s: modal grooves and jazz funk with Malay folk themes, until now available only on a few dozen locally pressed copies.

George Adams' first record under his own name for a US audience, cut in one day in New York, 21 December 1979, with Ron Burton, Don Pate, Al Foster and Azzedin Weston. Hard bop, a Sondheim ballad, a Mingus tribute, and the fourteen-minute Funk-a-Roonie Peacock with Adams on flute and voice.

Lonnie Liston Smith's second Flying Dutchman album, April 1974, and the first with the Cosmic Echoes and his brother Donald's voice. Produced by Bob Thiele. Electric piano funk on the title track, Shorter's Footprints, Mtume's Sais, and a sung version of Coltrane's Naima to close.

Three long tracks, thirty-six minutes, cut live in front of a Montreux crowd. Are You Ready? is Harold Alexander's second and last record for Bob Thiele's Flying Dutchman, released in 1972. Alexander, from Charlotte, North Carolina, had played with Big John Patton and with Elvin Jones before Thiele signed him. His flute is the main voice here, with soprano saxophone in reserve, and the band around him is the New York session pool of the period: Neal Creque on piano, Cornell Dupree on guitar, Vic…

Two days in May 1971, produced by Bob Thiele for Flying Dutchman. Harold Alexander on flute and soprano over Neal Creque's electric piano, Richard Davis's bass, Pretty Purdie's drums and Richard Landrum's congas. Contains Mama Soul, the scat-flute track that got him into DJ sets decades later.

Cologne, Cornet Studios, January 1975. Rolf Kühn on clarinet with a band that reads like a German jazz roll call: his brother Joachim Kühn on piano and electric piano, Philip Catherine on guitar, Gerd Dudek on tenor and soprano, Albert Mangelsdorff on trombone, Bo Stief on bass, and two drummers, Daniel Humair and Kasper Winding. Kühn chose not to record in the MPS studio in the Black Forest and brought in the engineer Wolfgang Hirschmann instead. In his own account, quoted in MPS's reissue note…

Ahmad Jamal's 1973 album for 20th Century, his first on electric piano, with an orchestra arranged by Richard Evans and versions of Superstition and The World Is A Ghetto. Verve Vault reissue, all-analog, 180 gram.

Live double album from Perujazz's 2023 European tour, with concerts in Norway, Austria, Germany, the UK, Spain and France: the Lima group founded in 1984 mixing cajón, Afro-Peruvian and Andean sounds with jazz, rock and funk.

Obscure 1979 album of excellent fusion, jazz-funk and easy listening on Pathos, previously released in 1975 as Evolution Now by Ector Davis. Never re-issued on either LP or CD.

On October 15th and 16th, 2020, drummer Daniel Villarreal was joined by guitarist Jeff Parker and bassist Anna Butterss for two afternoons of recording in the backyard of Chicali Outpost in Los Angeles. For all three musicians, it was the first ensemble recording session they’d done in-person since the pandemic locked the world down just seven months prior. Some choice moments from these sessions made it onto Villarreal’s critically-acclaimed 2022 album Panamá 77, but most of the music remained …

*220 copies limited edition* Lucien's music is inspired by Caribbean rhythms (biguines, mazurka, zouk), Caribbean rhythms (calypso), and Latin American rhythms (bossa nova, salsa), and is strongly influenced by modal jazz, jazz-fusion, and American funk. Laura Laura, Mim, Herbie — titles that showcase the musicians' creativity and the harmonic elegance of the compositions, making jazz both accessible and sophisticated.  Lucien Joly’s talent is evident not only in his compositions but also in his…