Jazz /
Kaleidoscope Of Rainbows
Tip! *Limited edition of 500 copies.* 1976 Kaleidoscope of Rainbows in unmistakably a trait d'union between the british (orchestral) jazz-rock heritage and a more confident way of writing. Heading clearly to different directions, the album showcase the talent of the main composer with the singular talent of trumpet player Ian Carr (Nucleus), cello player Paul Buckmaster (otherwise known for his collaboration with David Bowie and Miles Davis) and master clarinet player Tony Coe. This is the final…
Hamburg 1968
*All tracks previously unreleased. Stereophonic sound. In process of stocking* Composer/bassist, Graham Collier’s career was littered with “firsts” – Britain’s first jazz graduate, first jazz musician to be awarded an Arts Council grant, founder of the first full-time jazz degree in the UK. More to the point for our purposes here, he was the first British musician to perform his own music at the Hamburg Jazz Workshop. Collier opened doors to opportunities for himself and other British musicians …
Unreleased 1974 - 2016
Available for the first time on CD, this is another collection of essential pieces from one of the originators and masters of this style. These recordings were selected from the personal collection of Tony Oxley and were mastered for this release with superb sound by Karsten Lehl under Tony’s supervision. Some of the pieces were edited into their final composed form many years after the original recording was made. Performed by a who’s who of European improvised music, this new release is an e…
Quincicasm (LP)
Saved from the dust of time, here is a truly rare and obscure piece of vinyl by one of the most enigmatic bands in the whole history of British Progressive Jazz. Originally released in 200 copies in 1973 and reissued here for the first time, Quincicasm's only release stands as a brilliant document of the 70's British underground electric jazz scene. Somewhere at the crossing of open form jazz and art rock explorations.
Ken Eley - saxophone, Dick Pearce - flugelhorn, Julian Marshall -vibraphone. …
Sapana
Big Tip! It is widely accepted that the recorded musical output of Indian-born British guitarist Amancio D'Silva came to a premature closure with the landmark 1972 albums, Cosmic Eye and the unreleased masterpiece Konkan Dance. The Roundtable are here to prove otherwise, announcing the discovery of an extraordinary lost recording. Forty years after it was recorded we proudly present Sapana, the forgotten piece of a remarkable musical legacy, the final recording from one the most singular artists…
Music Outside (Book)
*2022 stock. Hardcover edition* This is the republication of a book first published in 1973, and as such—and without the benefit of rose-tinted nostalgia—it offers a snapshot of a British jazz scene that was extraordinarily vibrant and diverse. Trumpeter, bandleader and author Ian Carr was ideally placed to chronicle the events and personalities of the era, and his story reveals a scene that was creative despite, rather than because of, the artistic establishment of the day. Discussion of that b…
Dream Sequence
** 2022 much needed repress ** Milestone! Recorded in 1972 at the legendary Landsdowne Studios in London, Cosmic Eye is an extraordinary piece of recorded music. Led by Indian born guitarist Amancio D’Silva, Cosmic Eye was a highly innovative studio experiment in which ‘Jazz Meets World’. Following in the footsteps of other pioneering Landsdowne jazz recordings such as Joe Harriott & John Mayer’s Indo Jazz sessions, Cosmic Eye is modal, but is also under-pinned with traditional Indian instrument…
Chronology (Live 1968-69)
Unreleased work from alto genius Joe Harriott – two different slices of material from a very under-recorded point in his career! The first five tracks feature Joe in that back to basics mode he was hitting at the time – working in a unique group that features Kenny Wheeler on trumpet and flugelhorn, Pat Smythe on piano, Ron Mathewson on bass, and Bill Eyden on drums – all players who are very open to modern ideas, but who also keep things on more of a groove here – with only a bit of the freedom…
Formation: Live '61
Recorded live in London before a studio audience on the 24th August 1961. Previously unissued. By the time this EP is released 60 years will have elapsed since the recordings contained within it were made, and nearly 50 years since the untimely death of pioneering West Indian free jazz altoist Joe Harriott on the 2nd January 1973, aged 42. Only in the very recent past has Harriott started to receive anything approaching the accolades he undoubtedly deserved during his lifetime. For those new to …
Mike Taylor Remembered
‘The Syd Barrett of the avant-jazz scene’ British jazz composer, pianist, songwriter, Mike Taylor died tragically young, leaving just two albums as well as co-writes with Ginger Baker for Cream’s Wheels Of Fire album to his name. In 1973, under the direction of Neil Ardley, several of the performers who had worked with him recorded an album of Taylor’s surviving orchestral music, jazz tunes and songs as a memorial to him and to preserve his work as a composer and song writer for posterity. Taken…
Modes and Blues - 8th February 1964
This is a previously unreleased mono recording of Modes and Blues from the Tubby Hayes Quintet’s weekly Ronnie Scott’s residency on 8th February 1964. Regarded as one of the masterworks of British modern jazz, Modes and Blues shows the Quintet at the very height of its powers, channelling the new musical flavours and inspiration that Tubby Hayes had absorbed from the cutting edge of jazz and the new directions of John Coltrane. Recorded with Hayes’ approval by Les Tomkins on his Ferrograph tape…
The Complete Hopbine '69
Previously only issued in fragmented form and long out of print, these recordings catch Tubby Hayes in transition. Less than a month after they were taped just before Christmas 1969, he was to collapse on a gig, signaling the beginning of the final phase of his tragically foreshortened career.
But on this night, buoyed and stimulated by his regular working quartet of pianist Mike Pyne, bassist Ron Mathewson and drummer Spike Wells, Hayes wasn’t only on form he was on fire! Indeed, coming so clos…
Inclusivity
* In process of stocking * Strictly limited, Deluxe edition 3 CD set housed in 12″x12″ (LP size) with a 34 page hardcover book. Features dozens of previously unseen images from the 100 Club and Grass Roots shows by legendary British jazz photographer Jak Kilby, and an extensive essay on the history of the group by Simon Spillett including interviews with Trevor Watts, Jeff Clyne and Clark Tracey amongst others.
Newly mastered from Trevor Watt’s original tapes. The complete recordings of the orig…
BBC Jazz Club II 1965-1966
The Rendell/Carr Quintet has long been regarded as among the most iconic ensembles in 1960s British jazz, famed for its unique blend of musical personalities and the equally singular ‘style’ which resulted from its blend of experience, youth and creative ambition. This, the second R&B release of previously unissued material by the band, captures a moment of genuine jazz history with its inclusion of Michael Garrick’s debut broadcast with the quintet. Two further radio appearances find the band h…
At The BBC 1967 - There and Then and Sounding Great
Long before he carved his dual legend as both popular jazz-funkster and the ultimate peripatetic guest soloist, beloved by fusion and straight-ahead fans alike, tenor saxophonist Dick Morrissey had been one of the UK’s brightest and best modern jazzmen. During the 1960s his regular quartet explored very nearly every aspect of the jazz genre, from down home blues to the fringes of the avant-garde, as is displayed in these previously unreleased radio recordings from 1967. Over two fascinating sets…
Joy Unlimited
* Originally Recorded at Chalk Farm Studio 12 March 1974. First ever reissue on CD * It’s been a real Joy to bring this long-lost classic back to life. There’s not much more can be said about Harry Beckett’s beautiful talent. He lifted the atmosphere wherever he played and was a gentleman, always softly spoken, but a presence in the room. I remember, as a callow youth, interviewing him for a sleeve note in the basement of Mole Jazz. He was thoughtful, listened to my questions and answered with a…
British Conversations
* CD packaged in 'mini-LP' gatefold sleeve with insert and sleeve notes by Graham Collier biographer Duncan Heining * To commemorate the 10th year since the passing of esteemed British jazz composer, bassist and bandleader Graham Collier, My Only Desire Records presents this 1975 recording of his previously unreleased suite 'British Conversations'.The recording features lead soloists trumpeter Harry Beckett and guitarist Ed Speight, alongside The Swedish Radio Jazz Group - made up of the hottest…
Love And Understanding: Citadel / Room 315 Sweden '74 (LP)
* CD packaged in 'mini-LP' gatefold sleeve with folded insert and additional photos * The debut performance of esteemed pianist/composer Mike Westbrook's cult 70s jazz masterpiece 'Citadel/Room 315', recorded live in 1974. Featured soloists throughout the album are the iconic ECM recording artist John Surman plus a crack team of top Scandi jazzers. Remastered by Caspar @ Gearbox Records from the original master tapes, 'Love and Understanding' is available on limited edition 2LP gatefold vinyl (5…
Free Form & Abstract, Revisited
Unheard music from this key reedman on the British avant scene in the 60s – This double album features Joe Harriott working with a quintet that includes Shake Keane on trumpet, Pat Smythe on piano, Phil Seaman on drums, and Coleridge Goode on bass – playing in territory that's somewhat in the neighborhood of his Abstract and Free Form albums. 'Abstract is split over two dates some months apart, with some change of focus over the set. Free Form has more of the drama of a single creative moment. B…
Coxhill 85
Lol Coxhill was an English saxophone player, largely known for playing soprano and sopranino saxophones. He began playing aged 15 in 1947 and later in that decade, organised club sessions where he introduced music from the jazz coming from the US. He later toured with musicians in America. Back in the UK, he played with Otis Spann, Jack Dupree and many other musicians. Coxhill was unconventional in so many ways. Rather than a permanent trio, quartet or collaborator, he played with a host of diff…