Jazz & Improvisation / All styles

2010 release. Recorded May 1, 1966 at the Frankfurt Jazz Festival. Personnel: Peter Brötzmann - alto/baritone saxophone; Peter Kowald - contrabass; Pierre Courbois - drums.

ESP-Disk' present a CD reissue of Peter Lemer Quintet's Local Colour, originally released in 1968. British pianist Peter Lemer studied with Jaki Byard, Paul Bley, and Bill Dixon. His lengthy and distinguished career has found him in a wide variety of settings. As an avant-garde jazz pianist, he recorded with Spontaneous Music Ensemble; in the jazz fusion realm, he was a member of Gilgamesh and Paraphernalia; as a progressive rock keyboardist, he played with Gong, Baker Gurvitz Army, the Mike Old…

** Red vinyl, inside out sleeve, 12"x12" insert with artwork, liner notes & lyrics, black polylined inner sleeve. ** Amirtha Kidambi’s Elder Ones join We Jazz Records for their third LP New Monuments. Amirtha Kidambi has long affirmed that the role of sound in the act of protest is pivotal. In the summer of 2020, the Brooklyn-based vocalist and composer was immersed in mass demonstrations across New York City in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, organizing bands to counter the violent pres…

Trost present Schraubenlieder, unreleased songs by Sven-Ake Johansson and Alexander von Schlippenbach from 1988, recorded by Radio DRS Bern. Personnel: Sven-Ake Johansson - vocals; Alexander von Schlippenbach - piano.

Black LP edition. The Swedish quartet Goran Kajfeš Tropiques share their new music We Jazz Records on May 3rd. Tell Us, an album consisting of three long pieces composed by the group, is "slow music" to the bone, a deep body of work utilising the language of jazz as its core mode of communication but echoing way beyond. The quartet is expanded with strings, adding wings to the music and helping it lift off the ground in a personal, highly engaging manner. The Tropiques quartet consists of Goran …

Not Two Records presents a live concert by Jubileum Quartet recorded at the 23rd Cekno Jazz Festival, in Cerkno, Slovenia, on May 18th, 2108, by Borut Celik. The album includes four tracks performed by Joëlle Léandre - acoustic bass, Evan Parker - tenor sax, Agustí Fernández - piano and Zlatko Kaučič - drums and objects.

A really great trio set from drummer Barry Altschul – a record that easily swings between freer moments and straighter swing – thanks to the help of bassist Joe Fonda, and saxophonist Jon Irabagon – who blows tenor, soprillo sax, and alto clarinet! Fonda's bass may well be the rock of the set – a he's always a bit understated, but finds a way to bridge the space between Altschul's loose work on the kit, and the more soulfully cohesive lines of Irabagon's reeds. The tunes all have a loose structu…

Combining the beauty of art, poetry and music this beautiful package (available as compact disc or LP) makes for a fitting send off for the great bassist Sirone who passed away not long after this recording was completed. Along with Sirone’s deep and resonant bass, the musicians in this collective performance include Oluyemi Thomas on bass clarinet, flute, soprano, musette and percussion (he also composed the music) and Michael Wimberly on drums and percussion. Like the meditative poem that is i…

*In process of stocking* "In order to bear witness one must believe what one sees and belief, of course, is subjective. Knowledge is essentially faith. And the flexibility of human memory, our blind spots (whether empathetic or optic) and our great imaginations don’t make truth any easier to contain. This becomes more evident over time as the pages of history weather and the cataracts of progress cloud our collective “knowledge”. Humans love to forget and to repeat. We fall subject to confirmati…

"More Touch is a courageous step and important record from Patricia Brennan, a wonderful vibraphonist who is rapidly becoming one of the most innovative on today’s contemporary jazz scene. The nature of her compositions gives the quartet the chance to stretch and test boundaries, and the musicians respond by adding a unique dimension to her creative vein. Brennan is seen shoulder to shoulder with a talented rhythm team: bassist Kim Cass, who is an expert in form, texture and groove; the skillful…

Recorded by Nick Symons at Summer Bummer Festival, DE Studio, Antwerp, August 26th, 2018. Rodrigo Amado - tenor saxophone, Gonçalo Almeida - double bass, Onno Govaert - drums. Festival curated by Koen Vandenhoudt & Christel Kumpen with production by Sound in Motion.

Trumpet superstar Chet Baker recorded a session with Archie Shepp in 1988, an unexpected collaboration given their different styles. At the time of the event, Shepp had adopted a more traditional approach, yet still retained an appreciation for the contemporary elements that characterized his earlier creations. Meanwhile, Chet had embraced a more modern style in his music, which differed significantly from Archie's direction, partly due to the physical transformations Baker had experienced. The …

The second in the Masaru Imada reissue series that jazz collectors all over the world have been eagerly awaiting! This is a tour de force of Imada's hard bop style, featuring Shigeharu Mukai on trombone and Seiichi Nakamura on saxophone. All songs are Imada's own original numbers, and he also demonstrates his true potential as a melody-maker.

*2024 stock* Enja has released the live recordings of Masahiko Sato, one of the most famous pianists in Japan, at a broadcasting station in Germany in 1971, and this is a rare item that has only been released on CD once in the past in 1992.The performance by Sato, who came to Munich in 1971 at the invitation of Horst Weber of Enja, Peter Warren on bass, and Pierre Fabre on drums is truly a triumvirate of greatness!

*2023 repress* Tremendous early work from German saxophonist Joki Freund a player who would go onto much greater fame in the progressive years at the end of the 60s, but who already sounds plenty darn great on this early combo side from 1963! The style of the work is incredibly hip with a definite John Coltrane modal groove in place, but also a sense of globally conscious jazz that's very much in the spirit of classic Saba/MPS work, but which predates most of that by a number of years! Freund pl…

An incredible early German bop session! In the 1950s, pianist Jutta Hipp recorded straighter sides for Blue Note in the US, but this first album features her with German contemporaries Joki Freund on tenor sax and Emil Mangelsdorff on alto, creating a dark, sharper sound than expected! Hipp leads, but Mangelsdorff and Freund's horn interaction on several song intros, slashing back and forth like a double-edged blade and then bursting forth into lovely compact solos, makes the record sparkle.

Reissue of Masaru Imada Trio's Blue Eyes. Originally issued on Yupiteru Records YJ25-7029. Recorded on June 25 and 27, 1979. Comes in mini LP replica with obi, four page booklet in Japanese

The second in the Masaru Imada reissue series that jazz collectors all over the world have been eagerly awaiting! A solo piano album that allows you to fully enjoy the beautiful tone and fluid touch of jazz piano poet Masaru Imada. The album features Imada's signature tune 'Pico', as well as 'Sum Time A Go', which was also performed by Chick Corea.

"Mal Waldron's piano, exotic ensemble and sweltering pets. This is the definitive melancholy jazz album! Long-awaited reissue at mid-price of this masterpiece from the peak of Balkan treasure Dusko Goykovich's career! This is an unquestionably treasured album full of great songs and performances, including Nicolas Conte's cover of 1 and 9 from "Tatsuo Sunaga's Night Jazz", and it has been restored in its original German Philips jacket! It is no exaggeration to say that "Swingin' Macedonia" is th…

One Line, Two Views features seven compositions for nine-piece ensemble by Muhal Richard Abrams. Works range from the subtle textural and tonal explorations of “"Textures,”" “"Hydepth,"” and the title track to the hard bop revisitations of “"11 over 4"” and “"The Prism 3."” The disc is rounded out by an ebullient, joyous, and celebratory “"Tribute to Julius Hemphill and Don Pullen"” and the blues-tinged "“Ensemble Song." Abrams opts for unique instrumentation including violin, harp, and accordio…

*Comes in a CD-sized papersleeve album replica (gatefold), with obi-strip and insert of notes mostly in Japanese..2024 stock* The classic restored. No extra tracks, just this legendary release as it was originally conceived. Kew Rhone was made soon after Peter and John left Henry Cow, at Carla Bley and Mike Mantler’s Grog Kill studio in New York (they both appear on the CD). Fellow conspirators included singer Lisa Herman and drummer Andrew Cyrille. It’s one of those records which sums up a mome…

“Spirale”, initially released in 1976, is one of the essential recordings of Eastern European modal Jazz. The masterpiece recorded by Paul Weiner, a pianist from Timisoara, a city in Romania, has been transformed into a cult LP and not just because it is a source of samples.

One of the rarest albums ever from the mighty Masahiko Satoh, a composer and arranger,as well as a key figure in the avantgarde music from Japan. Originally issued on Japan Columbia in 1970, the two sides of very free piano show a sensitivity that's really amazing – still moments of freedom that reflect Satoh's connection to the avant garde of the time, interwoven with his own sense of cosmic creation, in ways that are similar to his later projects. Born in Tokyo, in 1941, Masahiko Satoh's ear…

"Berlin Box vol. 1 " is a musical journey divided into three splendid volumes that give the listener the best of recordings made by the label Jazzwerkstatt in Berlin. The first cd "Live in Berlin" (JW 22) proposes the fabulous duo of Steve Lacy (soprano sax) and Mal Waldron (piano), immortalized on stage when creating a harmonious interpretation of "A Flower is a Lovesome Thing" by Billy Strayhorn and "Epistrophy" Thelonious Monk together with their own original pieces. The second album "Live in…

CD edition, remastered with Bonus Tracks, liner notes by Irwin Chusid, and an expanded essay by David Toop. Packed in tip-on Stoughton gatefold jacket, and includes a printed insert card of the original cover art. Fans of Sun Ra's Space Bop and genre-bending jazz were in for a shock with Strange Strings. Even in the eclectic and sometimes baffling Sun Ra catalog, Strange Strings, first issued in 1967, is an outlier. Is it music, or just noise? Or noise as music? John Cage could not be reached fo…

2024 stock. The Coliseum and the New Jazz Orchestra led by Neil Ardlay originally had John Heisman and Dick Hextall Smith in the NJO, and the NJO participated in the ‘Valentine Suite’, but this album was released the year after the ‘Valentine Suite’, in ‘ This is a rare live album from when they toured as a combined band in 1970, the year after ‘Valentine Suite’. The album features songs from the Coliseum and NJO albums, as well as songs by Jack Bruce and John Coltrane, and is a rare live record…

“Members of the dispossessed, won’t you lend me your ears!”

A live recording from a piece premiered at the 2023 Cheltenham Jazz Festival, and later recorded at The Vortex. Laura Jurd was commissioned to write this piece for scored ensemble plus improvising quartet, and the resulting piece balances the composed and improvised elements beautifully in the fast moving 45 minute work which is very much in the tradition of the best British jazz. Laura writes - "I don’t think I’ll ever forget hearing Paul Dunmall play for the first time. Whilst aware of his gra…

Braz Gonsalves was an Indian jazz musician (soprano and alto saxophone, clarinet). He is considered one of the great saxophonists of India and one of the outstanding musicians of contemporary jazz in Goa. He first worked as an entertainment musician, before he became one of the pioneers of Indo jazz rock and 1970 recorded the album 'Raga Rock' in Calcutta. After Ananda Shankar there are very few other Indian jazzmen that can be named to have spanned the continental musical barriers of East and W…

Extremely personal and passionate, cellist Okkyung Lee recorded this album after separation from her instrument for months; the 9 pieces are layered with strings, instrument sounds, voice and with profound timing, creating an intensely beautiful album reflecting the anguish and loss of the time.

A set of  high intensity free jazz interactions captured live at The Vortex, London in early 2024. Brackenbury and Bianco have worked together as a duo for a number of years and this is their third Discus Music release, following their opening fire music statement Rising Up (112CD) and the mystical Hildegard von Bingen + Coltrane inspired Wayward Mystic (140CD). The addition of Pope and O’Gallagher expands the duo into a formidable improvising quartet. Tony Bianco writes: “In this world overwhel…

The hard-swinging Three Out were attracting large and enthusiastic crowds in Sydney and shared the bill with such names as Dizzy Gillespie, Coleman Hawkins, Teddy Wilson and Sarah Vaughan. Here we find them continuing in the same exciting manner as their first album, 'Move'. The Three Out are joined by four horns on the second half of this album from 1960. The session has the flavour of the hard jazz of the American Masters of the sixties, particularly the "Big Soul Band" type from Chicago and N…

Back in stock ! The piano trio material included in this reissue, constitutes a body of work which was never released in LP format during Sonny Clark's tragically short life. Clark was an underrated master of the hard bop genre who had a very subtle, artful touch. On this date, he exhibits the influence of Ahmad Jamal and Red Garland (a lighter sound) and less of the Bud Powell-inspired, hard-driving bebop lines. The arrangements are simple and concise; the tunes are all well-known standards. So…

*2024 stock* Official Reissue in collaboration with Impulse Records! Special gate-fold edition. Recorded on January 20, 1963, by an eleven-piece band and released in July of that year by Impulse!, The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady consists of a single continuous composition partially written as a ballet divided into four tracks and six movements. Charles Mingus defined the album's orchestral style as "ethnic folk dance music", and it blends jazz and classical, while also integrating elements o…

** High Quality reissue. Gatefold Edition ** One of Yusef Lateef’s best albums from one of the finest periods of his esteemed career, the 1964 LP Live at Pep’s showcases the reedman backed by trumpeter Richard Williams, pianist Mike Nock, bassist Ernie Farrow, and drummer James Black. Taped at a live performance at Pep’s Lounge in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the album was so successful that a full second LP was culled from the same sets. The program alternates between hard bop originals and cove…

Unearthed in 2005 by staff at the Library of Congress, At Carnegie Hall is an incredible performance delivered on 29 November 1957 by jazz giants Monk and Coltrane, together with bassist Ahmed Abdul-Malik and drummer Shadow Wilson. Far superior to that captured at the Five Spot five months earlier, At Carnegie Hall shows Coltrane finding his own sax sphere as Monk explores the limits of experimental excursions on the keyboard; Monk is in his element on ‘Crepuscule With Nellie’ and Trane shows hi…

**300 copies** In its 6th release, Mr. Nakayasi Records treat us with a rich and adventurous recording by The Miracle, a group of musicians with individual and collective links to Belgium’s free-improv music scene. The Miracle is a live capture of the ensemble's epic debut at Studio Grez, Brussels in December 2018. Recalling the spirits of Mirakle, uncompromising Derek Bailey’s album with Jamaaladeen Tacuma and Calvin Weston, this release presents an inspired, innovative and immediate intersecti…

*2024 stock* "Vibraphonist, singer and producer Roy Ayers is a master of many musical styles and genres, from acid-jazz, jazz-funk to romantic ballads and dance tracks. While many of his contemporaries seemed to fail when they tried different sounds, Ayers always made sure a certain of musicality and identity was apparent in all of his work. In 1970 Ayers signed Polydor Records and released Ubiquity which had Ayers in a looser and a less formal atmosphere. Even at its loosest, Atlantic still had…

Al Doum and the Faryds continue their journey toward a New Direction. Now, they live in a futuristic Garden of Delights, inhabited by strange bright bubbles, golden wheels, water secrets and mysterious plants. From their home of Love & Nature, they set out to travel the Universe to forge a new Being together. Their typical blend of Spiritual-Jazz, Psychedelia and Afro-Latin Rock remains on the same wave, accentuating the collective rite of liberation and expansion of the spirit. There's certainl…