Jazz /
Thrust Too
Thrust barely made a blip in the marketplace; it was mostly available around the Akron area. But Niles was undeterred. He returned the following year with the just-as-good Thrust Too, which is a touch more muscular, more precise — partly due to being recorded in a slightly upgraded studio meant for jingles. What Thrust Too loses in atmosphere, it makes up for in deep grooves, like on “Hang Ten,” “Parrott City,” and “Machelle.” McNeal — the namesake of the latter — appears on the final track, “Su…
Thrust
At the makeshift Man-Ray Studios in Akron, Ohio, where barrels of soap were rolled away to make room for recording, guitarist Wilbur Niles and his then-girlfriend, Machelle McNeal, recorded "Ja Ja." Niles, a history major, titled it after King Jaja, who rose from slavery to become a wildly successful broker of palm oil in the 19th century. The humid tranquil track would lead off the pair's first and only album together, 1979's Thrust. It begins with an elliptical little electric-piano hook by Mc…
Bakishinba: Memories Of Africa
“An ambitious, brand new album has reached the Japanese jazz scene. It is ‘Bakimba – Memories of Africa.’” This is how Akira Ishikawa Count Buffalo Jazz And Rock Band’s album was advertised by the Japanese press in 1970.
The Japanese jazz artists were bravely approaching the rock scene, and their choice became an inspiration to jazz-rock groups like Takeshi Inomata & Sound Limited, Jiro Inagaki and Soul Media, and more. The blending between jazz and rock was born in the United States, thanks to …
18 July 1971 Nice, France
This is tenor sax giant Pharoah Sanders caught live in France in summer 1971, when the man was still in full post-Coltrane mood. At the head of a strong quintet featuring: Lonnie Liston Smith - piano, Cecil McBee - bass, Jimmy Hopps - drums, and Lawrence Killian - congas, Pharoah delivers two very intense yet serene versions of his milestone piece "The Creator Has A Master Plan" and "Let Us Go In The House Of The Lord", a traditional gospel hymn arranged by Lonnie Liston Smith. This is deep spir…
Ethiopian Urban Modern Music Vol. 4
The 2nd volume of Ethiopian hit-parade. The hottest tracks of 1972. Original LP Reissue. The follow up to the highly acclaimed reissue of the first volume, Ethiopian Hit Parade. The track layout is identical to the original record released in 1972. "After releasing around fifty 45 rpm singles and his first 33 rpm album (Ethiopian Modern Instrumental Hits AELP 10, re-released by Heavenly Sweetness HS092VL), Amha Esthèté set about compiling his best 45s on a series of now legendary albums (the or…
Compass Rises
Tip! When artsts self-releases their own recordings, they do so in the hopes that a hit might develop, or even better, a sphere of influence might form. In a lot of cases these records provide a stamp of existence and intent – a sonic business card showing what musicians were made of. Compass Rises (1973), the privately pressed sole LP by Oneonta, New York’s Compass, is both a sampling of versatility and a declaration of straight-ahead purpose.
Regularly active in upstate New York between 1969 …
Live At The Bottom Line, New York - August 20th , 1977
This is the dangerous tandem of Gil Scott Heron and Brian Jackson caught in action at the NYC Bottom Line in hot August 1977, just a week before the release of "Bridges" one of their best and durable efforts of the season. At the head of a super tight line up the two deliver a dense performance of politically conscious music based on unapologetic words and soulful sounds. Not just a stream of hits but dense, expanded renditions full of improvisation including timeless pieces such as "Home Is Whe…
Peace Treaty
*2022 stock. In process of stocking* “One of the first true moments of genius from saxophonist Nathan Davis – originally released in the mid 60s for the tiny SFP label – and a record that’s even rarer than his early classics for MPS! The sound here is similar to the MPS sides – a mixture of soul jazz and modal jazz – served up with a bit more freedoms than Davis might have gotten on the US scene, and featuring a lineup that includes Woody Shaw on trumpet, Jean-Louis Chautemps on baritone sax, Re…
One For The Soul
By the time poet, singer-songwriter, and artist Lizzy Mercier Descloux recorded 1984’s Zulu Rock, she’d marked herself out as both a globe trotter with more passport stamps than Tintin and a musical innovator whose loose, arty spirit could be applied to styles as varied as no wave, Bavarian oompa and Soweto jive. She’d also established a tight-knit threesome with muse/former lover Michel Esteban and producer/on-off lover Adam Kidron, who all reunited to follow Zulu Rock – a surprise hit in her n…
Live (Cookin' with Blue Note at Montreaux)
*Blue vinyl limited edition* In 1973 the Blue Note Records label landed at the Montreux Jazz Festival, showcasing some of the showcasing some of the top artists of those years under the banner of the soulful and muscular jazz of which the blue label was then the standard-bearer. Muscular jazz of which the blue label was then the standard-bearer. This resulted in several albums entitled Live: Cookin' with Blue Note at Montreux (by Bobby Hutcherson, Ronnie Foster, Bobbi Humphrey, Marlena Shaw), bu…
Summertime
*2022 stock* "This is a live recording of "5 Days in Jazz 1976". The album features the seventh release of TBM's "5 Days in Jazz 1976," which concentrates the charm of Tsuyoshi Yamamoto, including his signature tune "Misty," "Summertime," featuring Oyui, and "Cookin' the Blues", which shows off his signature blues feeling to the fullest." - Koki Hanawa
Black Orpheus
*2022 stock* "A beautifully spare session from the mid 70s – one that features bass and cello from Isao Suzuki – stretching out here in a sound that's totally unique! The trio's a great one – with Donald Bailey on drums and Tsuyoshi Yamamoto on both acoustic piano and Fender Rhodes – the latter of which sounds amazing next to Suzuki mellow-stepping lines. If you've heard any of Suzuki's other albums from the period, the style is somewhat similar – quite soulful throughout, but with an easygoing,…
Watermelancholia
Devin Brahja Waldman is a New York saxophonist, drummer, synthesizer player and composer who leads the group Brahja. Waldman has accompanied his aunt, poet Anne Waldman, since the age of ten. Waldman is a co-founding member of Radical Reversal, Diva of Deva Loka, and Notable Deaths. He has performed with Patti Smith, William Parker, Nadah El Shazly, Malcolm Mooney, Thurston Moore, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Charles Hayward, Luke Stewart and Yoshiko Chuma. Waldman is also a member of NYC’s Hero…
Woodstock Generation
**Clear blue and white marbled vinyl, edition of 200** For more than 20 years, Cinedelic has gained a remarkable reputation for illuminating unexpected trajectories within the world of avant-garde sound. While the primary body of their efforts has been dedicated to reissuing unconventional soundtracks and Italian library music, increasingly they’ve been casting their eye abroad. This was partially noteworthy with the launch of their Orient Series in 2021, which endeavors to make seminal gestures…
Blue Butterfly (Selected Sound)
*2023 re-issue.* Behold! Yes, Blue Butterfly, one of the absolute stunners on the revered Selected Sound, is finally available for all the beat-heads. Heavyweight library funk with a psychedelic touch, the super in-demand Blue Butterfly from *deep breath* Hardy's Jet Band, Orchestra Klaus Wuesthoff, Jan Troysen Band and Orchestra Gary Pacific - was originally released in 1971. Incredibly ahead of its time, it's been rare and sought-after for decades. For many aficionados, this is the best Select…
Dream Queen
First time on vinyl for many years. Reissue of the sought-after deep/spiritual jazz album, the first time it’s been pressed from the master tapes. All analog lacquer by Bernie Grundman. Bobby Hamilton founded the band Anubis in Syracuse, New York, and they put out their awesome ‘Ecology’ single on Charles Bazen’s Salt City imprint. It’s a highlight, something akin to Terry Callier and Gil Scott Heron’s most soulful works. Shortly after issuing that single, Bobby put together the Bobby Hamilton Q…
Steppin' Out!
TIp! *Tone Poet serie. Highly recommended audiophiles new master* Muscular tenorsaxophonist featured several times in recordings for the blue label, Harold Vick signed only one album as leader for Blue Note: here it is, and it is a fine album. The company was of the most inspiring: Blue Mitchell (another underrated...) on trumpet, the tandem of friends Grant Green (on guitar) / John Patton (on Hammond organ) and Ben Dixon on drums. An album to rediscover.
The Gift Of Love
For most though, this Detroit Soul Jazz veteran will likely be unknown, and unfortunately so because not only was Sanders a great saxophonist with his own warm and lyrical post-bop sound, he was an important fixture of historical significance in the Detroit jazz . "Prior to forming Visions, Sanders and trumpeter Marcus Belgrave fronted a band with pianist Harold McKinney called the Creative Profile. Belgrave and Sanders would continue to perform together, often with Sanders' big band, the Pionee…
Voices of Bishara
The title of Tom Skinner’s first release under his own name is a reference to cellist Abdul Wadud’s ultra-rare 1978 solo album ‘By Myself’, which Skinner listened to repeatedly during lockdown. Wadud’s album was privately pressed on his own label, Bisharra, and whilst Skinner’s title uses the more conventional spelling of this common Arabic name, they both have the same intention or meaning: it translates as ‘good news’, or ‘the bringer of good news’. This is a classic-sounding record that conne…
Atalaya
*Limited edition of 555 copies.* Atalaya is new work by bassist Dezron Douglas, and it is alive. That is, ‘alive’ in all the ways that jazz is at its best – as a pure and personal expression of Black Music channeled through time-honored traditions by a group of musicians who practice sonic coherence through musical unity. As Dezron puts it in the opening statement of his liner notes for the album: “Mysticism, Magic, Faith, Love, Power, Discernment! These are words that embody the creative proces…