Jazz & Improvisation / All styles

Musician Paul Flaherty believes that the difference between pre-composed music and free-form improvisational music is a bifurcation of the mind, “The logical mind is reduced to a witness during free playing and the emotional mind is fully released.” …

*100 copies limited edition CD* Federico Ughi, New York drummer, improviser and producer releases a new studio recording to celebrate the 20 year anniversary of his very first album, recorded when he resided in London, UK. The theme of the album is U…

"Prophecies Come to Pass is the debut recording of Sabir Mateen's compositions by his group The Shapes, Textures, and Sound Ensemble. Recorded live in Brooklyn in September 2005, the CD was edited by Mateen and Swell and mastered under Mateen's direc…

Legendary downtown music master Daniel Carter meets Tobias Wilner from world-renowned electronic band Blue Foundation. Featuring Wu-Tang Clan bass player Djibril Toure & drum wiz Federico Ughi. As a band, they have played a number of concerts in NYC,…

September 2003 marked the 50th birthday of John Zorn, and to celebrate, Tonic hosted a month-long celebration of Zorn's various musical groups and projects. The shows were recorded, and the best of them are being released as a new series on Zorn's "T…

Masada 10th Anniversary Edition Vol. 4. Performed by: Mark Feldman (violin), Sylvie Courvoisier (piano). Virtuosic fireworks and heartfelt lyricism from two of the most amazing musicians in new music. Performing a dozen compositions from the vast Mas…

Brian Marsella’s dynamic trio steps out for another exciting outing performing a new collection of Zorn compositions inspired by the mysterious and occult cards of the Tarot. This beautiful and varied followup to the popular and critically acclaimed …

As John Zorn’s most popular project reaches its tenth year, Tzadik celebrates the Masada songbook with a series of all-star tributes. Following Masada Guitars, Volume 2 is an eclectic and powerful collection of almost two dozen Masada classics artful…

A longtime dream project of Wadada Leo Smith, one of creative music’s most original voices, Tzadik is proud to present the first recording by a modern jazz supergroup. The four instrumental giants that comprise the Golden Quartet are veterans of some…

Produced and arranged by enigmatic mystical traveller Eyvind Kang, Blue Marble is a CD of surreal folk songs by singer/songwriter Aiko Shimada. Born in Japan and now based in Seattle, Aiko’s music is fresh, original and heartfelt. For this latest rel…

Zorn and Laswell have been friends and musical compatriots since they first met in 1978, and have been responsible for some of the most intense and memorable music in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Recorded in early 2021, near the end of the…

Yes there is life after Baphomet! "Nostradamus: The Death of Satan", the ninth release by Zorn’s most intense 21st century ensemble, is a triumph. In this wildly varied program ranging from the softest sacred whisper to the most heretical hysteria, Z…

Mind altering quartertone trumpet experiments from one of the world's most highly regarded and idiosyncratic players.

'The initial idea behind Ensemble E was to combine traditions of Contemporary Music, Noise, Improvised music, Free Jazz and other experimental music fields and traditions with the deeper music traditions. This is deeper research of traditional and no…

Joe McPhee and Raymond Boni at Hulsey Recital Hall on the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) campus on April 20, 1985. Joe McPhee - soprano saxophone, electronics and voice; Raymond Boni - electric guitar and electronics. The complete was conc…

Concert film by Pavel Borodin featuring the Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet benefit concert at the Music Unlimited festival in Wels. Guests: Toshinori Kondo, Michiyo Yagi, Yoshihide Otomo and Akira Sakata It was a special wish of the curator of the…

The documentary feature Sunny’s time now explores the life and work of the avant-garde drummer Sunny Murray, one of the most influential figures of the Free Jazz revolution. Through a series of interviews with key time witnesses as well as historic a…

On their new album "Kammin Jaaretti," the renowned jazz trio Hot Heros craft mesmerizing forest jazz. Saxophonist Sami Sippola and double bassist Ville Rauhala have been navigating the depths of jazz together for over two decades. Originally part of …

* Dead stock copy coming  from the artist's archive. Possible wear due to the long storage * On the same trip to the United States that produced  “U.S.A. Concerts” and “Environment for Sextet”, Andrea Centazzo also connected with the San Francisco-ba…

South Africa’s lost jazz history contains many an overlooked classic. But even within that hidden tradition, there are few albums that suffered such an unlucky fate as Spring, the monumental 1968 debut album by pianist Ibrahim Khalil Shihab, formerly…

Super Tip! *Cover design B* Tribe’s inaugural release in 1972 would see three editions released in as many years. 1972’s first edition featured a photo of the ocean on the front, the following year’s second edition had a drawing of the Earth, while 1…

22 cardboard boxes in various sized bowed by 22 players with bowing technique that produce a new, almost silent sound in all imaginable nuances. World premiere with the Echtzeitmusikensemble, conducted by Titus Engel with: Alexandre Babel, Burkhard B…

Another highly collectable Nathan Davis release on SABA, also recorded in 1965, ‘Happy Girl’ has remained unissued on vinyl since the 1960s. The date gathers together another top drawer line-up, with Woody Shaw on Trumpet and Larry Young, the Coltran…

Earthly Delights is a forgotten 1978 free-jazz masterpiece by bass player, composer and improviser David Wertman, alongside his Sun Ensemble. Born in 1952 and raised in Queens NY, Wertman’s distinctive upright playing style was entirely self-taught. …

When Ira Gitler, jazz journalist and producer at Prestige, curated this album, the term "collector" was already well-established among music enthusiasts. The pursuit of out-of-print recordings, old 78 rpm discs, and unreleased material had reached an…

"Following the sell-out success of our landmark compilation, J Jazz: Deep Modern Jazz From Japan 1969-1984, BBE Records is thrilled to present another exploration into the very finest Japanese modern jazz.J Jazz Volume 2 builds on the solid foundatio…

BBE Music presents J Jazz volume 3, the latest in its definitive compilation series exploring the finest modern jazz from Japan. Since the first volume in February 2018, the J Jazz compilation series has showcased some of the most creative, inspired,…

** 2021 Repress ** In the years following World War Two, Japan developed one of the most insatiable, dynamic and diverse markets for jazz. For a crucial period of little over a decade – from the late 1960s to the early 1980s – Japanese jazz culture p…

Super tip! Airto Moreira and Flora Purim, the legendary King and Queen of Brazilian Jazz, have captivated audiences for over six decades with their vibrant albums and exhilarating live performances. With a dedicated global fan base including the UK's…

*2023 repress* BBE Music is proud to present another instalment in the J Jazz Masterclass Series: East Plants by Takeo Moriyama, one of Japan’s finest jazz drummers. A genuine ‘under the radar’ album known only to a handful of Japanese jazz collector…

*Much needed repress* BBE Music present the latest in the acclaimed J Jazz Masterclass Series: Kohsuke Mine ‘First’, the debut album by one of the leading artists in the new wave of modern jazz that swept Japan in the late 60s and early 70s. ‘First’ …

*Much needed repress* As part of the widely respected BBE J Jazz Masterclass Series, Koichi Matsukaze‘s incredibly rare and much sought after album Earth Mother sees a deluxe repress on BBE Music. This is the third highly anticipated release in the s…

Paradigmatic yet forward-looking township jazz from 1975. Braiding Wes Montgomery into Marabi, the legendary guitarist leads a stellar line-up of musicians including Kippie Moeketsi, Barney Rachabane, Gilbert Matthews, Dennis Mpale, and Sipho Gumede.…

Peter Brötzmann has always created and still creates the covers of his recordings himself – sometimes also for other musician colleagues – and in the past also often the posters for various FMP projects (Workshop Freie Musik in the Academy of Arts…

BBE Music presents the fourth release in their acclaimed J Jazz Masterclass Series: Topology by Makoto Terashita and Harold Land. Originally released in 1984 on the cult Aketa’s Disk label, Topology captures a surprising yet fascinating and engaging …

Cecil Taylor’s life was a string of mysteries that made a beautiful necklace of precious sounds, dances, and poetry he called music. Philip Freeman’s book In the Brewing Luminous gives us a wonderful glimpse of Cecil’s life and music. Hopefully this …

Big Tip! In 1971, Dr Tree emerged as a highly innovative jazz-fusion ensemble from Auckland, formed by two of New Zealand's most seasoned session musicians, Frank Gibson Jr. and Murray McNabb - the pair had jammed together since grammar school. Drawi…

Derek Bailey's second solo LP on Incus, from 1974, remastered. It includes a side-long piece for his stereo electro-acoustic guitar set-up, recorded on 13 May that year after a first visit without the guitar.

Derek Bailey's 1980 solo acoustic guitar masterwork, reissued on vinyl for the first time. Two unreleased solos recorded for Charles Fox's Jazz in Britain on BBC Radio 3 in the same months are added.

In this quartet Amado gathers three of his strongest longtime influences: German pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach, Norwegian double bass player Ingebrigt Håker Flaten and American drummer Gerry Hemingway. For Amado this band represents a deep dive…