Jazz & Improvisation / All styles

Legendary 1966 collaboration with Claus Ogerman and 48-piece orchestra represents peak of jazz sophistication

One of spiritual jazz's most treasured artifacts receives the audiophile treatment it deserves. Prince Billy Marge Wright's legendary "You Got That Right", originally self-released in 1980 on the saxophonist/flautist's own label, now returns as a lim…

Jazz drumming legend Chico Hamilton fundamentally reimagined his sound in 1961, assembling a groundbreaking quintet that would define a new chapter in modern jazz. WaxTime now presents "Drumfusion", the inaugural album from this revolutionary lineup,…

Creative Sources Recordings proudly presents The Dew That Flies, an evocative new work from German multi-instrumentalist Udo Schindler and Catalan pianist Jordina Milla. This album captures the essence of improvisation, offering listeners a journey t…

Thereupon is the long-anticipated return of the all-star collaborative trio Fieldwork, which has been described by NPR as a “power trio for the new century.” This long-standing collective comprises three internationally revered innovators of contempo…

Listen Ship is the latest masterpiece in the ever-expanding sound world of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Henry Threadgill, whom The New York Review of Books recently described as “one of American music’s great Romantics and a lifelong seeker of the…

Unclassified Affections is the entrancing new release from drummer and composer Dan Weiss that features the convergence of some of the most intriguing musicians on the scene: Peter Evans on trumpet, Patricia Brennan on vibraphone, and Miles Okazaki o…

* First ever reissues of this iconic demonic slice of Saturnian splendor, one of the most coveted releases in the Ra canon! Features the emblematic “Nuclear War” anthem, earmarked to be played like an air raid siren when we as a society decide to pac…

Kim Oki is a South Korean saxophonist, and former breakdancer. He debuted in 2013 with his studio album Cherubim's Wrath (천사의 분노), and has since released numerous projects and albums. He collaborated with various artists including Park Jiha, Lowdown …

"Recorded live at a UCLA concert hall in April 1978 and released on Warner Bros, Coltrane plays piano and organ accompanied by Roy Haynes on drums and Reggie Workman on bass. The trio conjures both a universe and a universal consciousness; Coltrane h…

A forward thinking collaboration between electronic music pioneer Jon Appleton and trumpet great Don Cherry, that explores the relationship between the humanity and the manufactured robotic future. Using the techniques associated with Musique Concret…

Re-mastered edition of the 1971 album performed by the legendary enterprise consisting of John McLaughlin on guitars, John Surman on reeds, Karl Berger on vibes, Stu Martin on drums, and Dave Holland on bass. Recorded at the end of May 1970 at the Ap…

**300 copies** "Arrington de Dionyso first made his name with the crazed Olympia-based art rock unit, Old Time Relijun. And I guess they still technically exist, but he has lately been more involved with Indonesian musical investigations, and lots of…

"The music of this trio, with its emphasis on phrasing, space and dialog, evokes for me the sensation of watching vapor rise and dissolve. That’s why I named the group and the album Atmos, after the Greek word for vapor. The trio has been active sinc…

"Ultimately, the best free improvisation performances—and the best films—are those that refuse to be bound by rigid formulas yet still adhere to a fundamental sense of logic and cohesion. They remind us that while structure is important, the real mag…

The Alabama born saxophonist/clarinetist Marzette Watts had a short lived career as a member of the sixties avant-garde, but achieved legendary status for the company he kept in his Cooper Square loft where the likes of Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor,…

First release of this 1966 recording from the ESP-Disk vaults; featuring: Don Cherry (trumpet); Gato Barbieri (tenor saxophone); Bo Stief (bass); Karl Berger (vibraphone); Aldo Romano (drums). Live performance from the legendary Café Montmartre in Co…

Recorded on December 22, 1973 in New York City at the famous Town Hall, this eclectic ESPDisk-sponsored celebration of the Comet Kohoutek featured a fire eater, talking drums, and dancers in platform shoes, in addition to Sun Ra's Arkestra. After tak…

Live At Café Montmartre Volume Three features more great music from the Don Cherry Quintet. Recorded in March 1966, Don Cherry joins forces with Gato Barbieri, Karl Berger, Bo Stief and Aldo Romano for two exciting, extended performances of "Complete…

"In 1966, the late Steve Lacy visited the new ESP-DISK office at 156 Fifth Avenue with a master tape of his concert in Buenos Aires with his quartet... He offered to sell the master for what I thought was an exorbitant price. I bought it. ... In 1992…

The noted west coast composer makes his ESP debut accompanied by his then wife, Barbara Donald, on trumpet, Teddy Smith on bass, John Hicks on piano and Marvin Pattillo on percussion. Recorded August 1966, Staying on the Watch is an important infusio…

2008 release ** Oversize card sleeve.

Saxophonist, flautist, and composer Chip Wickham releases The Eternal Now, his most progressive recording to date and a heartfelt meditation on artistic practice and creative freedom. Co-produced with longtime collaborator Matthew Halsall, the album …

British South African composer & producer Galina Juritz presents 'One Weird Trick', her debut solo album on London's home for interdisciplinary oddballs, Kit Records.

Black Vinyl. Coming four years after the previous trio album Ding Dong. You're Dead, it´s the longest period ever between Hedvig albums. That, however, is no indication she´s been idle, quite the contrary, actually. There´s been five commissioned wor…

"The history and culture of improvised music have been shaped by manifold concepts of freedom, but one in particular explains Amado’s aesthetic. It is his reference to Sam Rivers’ declaration: “Freedom does not mean unconditional renunciation of melo…

Esmeralda Sella is a young pianist from Ravenna, Italy. “Magma” is her debut album, and also a turning point. It’s the culmination of a journey that was «essential for understanding myself and the world around me» as she describes it. Sella recorded …

RogueArt proudly presents A Near Permanent State of Wonder, the first duo recording by pianist Alexander Hawkins and cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum. Two of the most distinctive and restlessly inventive voices in contemporary creative music meet in an inti…

"From his earliest days as a composer, George Russell has worked from the assumption that if jazz was to grow as an art form it would have to look within itself for the materials of growth. Developing the theoretical ability to abet that process has …

First time officially reissue, sourced from the original master tapes in a new edition, the Milan based imprint Dialogo, returns with this compilation published in Italy by RCA Victor in 1962 - a precious historical document of some important interna…

The Otomo Yoshihide New Jazz Quintet (ONJQ), one of the most daring and influential ensembles in contemporary avant-garde jazz, proudly announces the release of El Derecho de Vivir en Paz. This new album embodies the group’s uncompromising vision: a …

Otoliths is the second album by the transatlantic quartet Earscratcher, which brings together Austrian pianist Elisabeth Harnik with three of her US-based cohorts – Dave Rempis on saxophones, Fred Lonberg-Holm on cello, and Tim Daisy on drums. Record…

Silkheart Records proudly presents Naked Colours, a landmark release from the Hal Russell – Joel Futterman Quartet, bringing together four uncompromising voices in avant-garde jazz for a session that is as fearless as it is deeply human.   This recor…

Silkheart Records is proud to announce the release of Lifeline, the latest recording from visionary drummer, composer, and bandleader William Hooker, performed with his dynamic quartet. Lifeline captures the fierce urgency and expansive imagination t…

Silkheart Records proudly presents Raining Fire, a searing new statement from the legendary Charles Gayle Quartet, capturing the uncompromising spirit and transcendent intensity that define Gayle’s artistry. Known worldwide as one of the most powerfu…

Silkheart Records proudly announces the release of Spirits Before, a powerful and deeply moving new recording from the legendary Charles Gayle Trio. Known for his fearless approach to improvisation and uncompromising spiritual intensity, Charles Gayl…

Silkheart Records proudly presents the reissue of One Fell Swoop, a landmark recording by the legendary Steve Lacy Quartet. Originally released in the mid-1980s, this album captures the essence of Lacy’s uncompromising vision: rigorous, adventurous, …

Silkheart Records proudly announces the reissue of The Gleam, a landmark recording by the visionary soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy and his celebrated Sextet. Originally recorded during one of the ensemble’s most inspired periods, this album stands as…

First released in 1991, Great Bliss Vol. 1 captures saxophonist David S. Ware at a pivotal moment, crystallizing his towering sound and visionary approach to ensemble improvisation. Joined by pianist Matthew Shipp, bassist William Parker, and drummer…

Silkheart Records is proud to announce the release of Joy (Within)!, a historic duo recording by drummer William Hooker and violinist Billy Bang. Two uncompromising innovators of the New York avant‑garde scene come together in a meeting of fire, visi…