Jazz & Improvisation / All styles

"Hit Parade of Tears" is an album inspired by the short stories of Japanese author Izumi Suzuki, married to musician Kaoru Abe, who tragically ended her life at the age of 36. Suzuki's wholly original short stories paved the way for the science fiction genre and in many ways predicted the cyberpunk movement. Ikue Mori and Zeena Parkins have created a beautiful and mysterious collection of musical miniatures that reference Suzuki's sensibility with remarkable feeling and compassion. A touching tr…

*2024 stock* Kirk Knuffke: trumpetFederico Ughi: drums, percussion, fluteChris Welcome: guitar Recorded in Brooklyn, New York

*2024 stock* Piano-drums duo, recorded in Shanghai.

"Drummer/composer Federico Ughi presents a collection of songs dedicated to four cities in which he has lived and that have made an impact on his music. His gentle and beautiful approach bridges European and American jazz, but mostly it filters the current New York scene through a silky translucent gauze. This album of music (explain to your kids that, at one time, artists recorded collections of music and not just singles) maintains a consistent dialogue between the players, the melodies, and t…

*2024 stock* Daniel Carter: alto and tenor sax, flute and clarinetSteve Swell: tromboneFederico Ughi: drums Recorded in Brooklyn, New York

*2024 stock* Matt Glassmeyer: tenor saxophone, misc. soundsNathan Hanson: tenor saxophone, electronicsSean Moran: guitarDan Fabricatore: acoustic bassFederico Ughi: drumsDaniel Carter: alto saxophone on tracks 6-7-8-9 All music by Federico Ughi Recorded at Lunchbox Studios, Brooklyn, New York, on January 4th, 2003 Mastered at Bang Zoom Mastering, NY

An excerpt from Edward George's 10,000+word liner-note 8 page booklet that comes with the أحمد [Ahmed]'s double LP:  They are, Seymour said, in movement, and in keeping with their claim, their music is, like a Brownian bridge, an A&J Tranean train, a Byrdian plane, or a Blountian space-time myth-machine, a way of playing themselves into the historio-graphical hands, or better yet, the loving arms, or perhaps, to be precise, the metaphysical embrace, of ‘a new creative space’, and playing is a wa…

CD version. In 1972, trumpeter Baikida Carroll and some of his colleagues from the Black Artists Group (more precisely saxophonist/flutist Oliver Lake, trombonist Joseph Bowie, drummer Charles "Bobo" Shaw and trumpeter Floyd LeFlore) took the advice of their friends in the Art Ensemble Of Chicago and left their native Missouri to come and discover the bright lights of Paris for themselves. The following year they would even get the chance to record their only album which would rapidly attain myt…

On October 15th and 16th, 2020, drummer Daniel Villarreal was joined by guitarist Jeff Parker and bassist Anna Butterss for two afternoons of recording in the backyard of Chicali Outpost in Los Angeles. For all three musicians, it was the first ensemble recording session they’d done in-person since the pandemic locked the world down just seven months prior. Some choice moments from these sessions made it onto Villarreal’s critically-acclaimed 2022 album Panamá 77, but most of the music remained …

"Resavoir - the collaborative project led by Chicago producer/composer Will Miller - presents their second self-titled album. The new 'Resavoir' is a subtly radiant symphony interweaving modern-day soul-jazz with bedroom beats, synth serenades and twilight sonatas. It represents Miller’s most assured and refined work to date. Imagined, instigated and produced by Miller, who ties the diverse sounds into an expansive, coherent whole, 'Resavoir' features a wide and vibrant cast of collaborators, in…

On July 16 and 17 2021, Shiver met up with Pianist Matthew Bourne at his house in Airedale, Yorkshire. Hungry to make music following various lockdowns, cancellations and disappointments, the quartet embarked on a ferocious two-day journey of exploratory music-making. The weather was good, the connection was immediate. There was much laughing, tea-drinking and storytelling. In the evening, the stove was lit and we listened to music: Stanley Clarke, Paul Simon, Sarah Vaughan, Scott Walker, Eugene…

Temporary Super Offer! The trio of Jimmy Giuffre, pianist Paul Bley, and Steve Swallow on acoustic bass, through their previous recordings and live concerts in Europe, had reached the precipice of complete improvisational freedom. The leap came with Free Fall. What I feel to be the more revealing and revolutionary aspects of this album, however, are to be found in the five unaccompanied clarinet pieces. – Art Lange With this release we like to celebrate Jimmy Giuffre at 100. (26. April 1921 – 24…

"The almost five year span bookended in this particular Ayler revisitation marks, in a certain sense,  the beginning and end points of the most lasting and creative portion of his remarkable, though  sadly brief, career." – Brian Olewnick

“Exposição Popular” is the new album from Rio de Janeiro based producer and composer Guerrinha, sonically orbits 80´s new wave & fusion jazz, imagine a lost ECM gem, layered in low-fi subterranean exoticism, that somehow conjures the soundtracks of Angelo Badalamenti. Here we find Guerrinha loosened up, the rhythm spilling out, playfully impossible to grasp as it floats over space-age ambient synth and organ work that takes references from Pat Metheny, John Scofield and Rita Lee.   “The last LP,…

Packaged 132 page 5" x 10" paperback book which includes writings, photos, vintage label scans etc Monumental 14-CD Boxed Set subtitles "The Story Of A Universal Being and his Music, Vol. 1: Covering 1933-1959". Contains thirteen hours of unreleased and ultra-rare music plus 5" x 10" paperback book of the definitive Sun Ra Autobiographical commentary. The first box set collaboration between Transparency and Michael D. Anderson of The Sun Ra Music Archive features nearly 17 hours of unreleased an…

One of the best of vibraphonist Khan Jamal's SteepleChase albums, this set matches Jamal with the great South African bassist Johnny Dyani, and drummer Leroy Lowe. Together they interpret five of Jamal's originals (plus John Coltrane's "Equinox"), performing colorful inside/outside music full of surprises and variety. Out of the 70s and 80s’ super creative Philadelphia jazz scene emerged Khan Jamal (b. 1946) the vibraphonist to grab the attention of world jazz audiences. He was a key figure in S…

*200 copies limited edition* Truly an honor to have these 4 exceptional artists on our label. Hugo Costa already graced our label with his outstanding duo album with Philipp Ernsting but here with Garuda Trio he's in company of some of the top players from the Portuguese free jazz scene : Hernãni Faustino on the bass, João Valinho on drums and the fantastic Rodrigo Pinheiro on piano. "Listen how these four move around each other, and work with volume, density, textures, iridescent atmospheres an…

* 2021 Repress. Remastered. 180 gram LP * One of the rarest albums on the infamous Jazz label Strata-East from 1977 and it’s a spiritual soul jazz masterpiece. Sonelius Smith’s free piano comes together with Shamek Farrah’s heartfelt saxophone for a totally unforgettable journey into the meaning of sacred jazz. Fresh and imaginative, but not too improvisational. Rhapsodic but never over-indulgent and with a raucous, bold groove that’s in the real classic Strata East mold.Playful and wild but bea…

Tip! "This album features Pharoah Sanders playing some no-nonsense tenor in a quartet with pianist John Hicks, bassist Walter Booker, and drummer Idris Muhammad. Sanders performs "It's Easy to Remember" (in a style very reminiscent of early-'60s John Coltrane), an original blues, and two of his compositions, including the passionate "You've Got to Have Freedom." The musicianship is at a high level and, although Sanders does not shriek as much as one might hope (the Trane-ish influence was partic…

“He said ‘who the fuck are you?” so I said, “I’m the bass player”. And all he said was “Well, we’ll see about that, won’t we?” When Tubby Hayes arrived at the Hopbine, Wembley’s popular jazz pub, one evening in the spring of 1965, his career was in a state of flux; still topping polls and casting an impressive shadow over the British jazz scene, he nevertheless remained frustrated. The elongated free-flights of John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins now held his fascination and although actively search…

** Deluxe Vinyl Version Vinyl 180 gr. remastered from original analogue tapes. Single cover with 30cm 8-page booklet. **  From Gleam Records, one of Italy's most engaging imprints dedicated to the outer reaches of jazz - comes a true marvel: the first ever vinyl reissue of Modern Art Trio's lone self-titled LP, originally released by Vedette in 1971. A rare and thrilling artifact that utilizes serialism and 12 tone technique within the idiom of freely improvised jazz and hard bop, its absolute s…

For the first time ever, the Bobby Wellins Quartet albums – Jubilation and Dreams Are Free - expanded with bonus tracks. The original albums, and the extra tracks, were all recorded by the same quartet in 1978 or 1979. Released in partnership with Spike Wells, the drummer in the quartet, who provided the extra recordings from his own tape archive, and wrote the booklet notes as well as providing many previously unseen photographs, Fiona Wellins, Bobby’s daughter, and the bassist in the quartet A…

This album is the sonic representation of diverse episodes experienced by a being called Sameer during their life. Chronologically, the music heard in this work was created before such events, without conscious awareness of those who produced it. This is also the recording of the first time Felice Furioso, Jorge Nuno and Felipe Zenicola played together. All tracks were arranged and produced by the 3 musicians.

"Cloud at rest" is the long-awaited debut record from the trio formed in 2016 by Pedro Alves Sousa on tenor saxophone, Rodrigo Pinheiro on piano and Gabriel Ferrandini on drums and percussion. The music is the result of a five days residency at the Goethe-Institut Lisbon in 2019,  where the band tried to find a different approach to its playing in order to distance themselves from the fast and highly energetic music normally associated with them. This record shows a different perspective of thei…

Hyper.object was formed in 2019 by three veterans from the Lisboa free improvised scene (Rodrigo Pinheiro on the piano, Hernâni Faustino on the double bass and Carlos Santos on the electronics) and by two young musicians (João Almeida on trumpet and João Valinho on drums). Since its beginnings. the group had frequently joined for rehearsals but as soon the pandemic hit, the gatherings were restricted to only when there was an opening on the frequent lockdowns. During one of these openings "inter…

*2022 stock. In process of stocking* One of the few albums ever cut as a leader by pianist Ronnell Bright – a player best known for his accompaniment behind famous vocalists, like Sarah Vaughan and Nancy Wilson! This rare date was cut in Paris – at a time when Bright was visiting the city with Vaughan – and it's a stripped-down trio date with a nicely relaxed feel – one that has Bright really opening up on the keys, in ways you don't always hear on his material with singers. Other players in the…

"corpos" is the first album by the Barcelona-based trio, formed by pianist Clara Lai, double bassist Àlex Reviriego and drummer Oriol Roca. Recorded at Rosazul Studio in Barcelona on April, 2022. The music of this album explores collective construction in trio format, visiting different sound zones, compositional possibilities and improvisational languages. Music that is energetic but also contemplative, aleatoric, some noise and silence, coexist with melodic sketches. Pieces as sound bodies tha…

*2024 stock* Made of Bones was formed in 2020 with: Duarte Fonseca on drums, João Clemente on guitar, Nuno Santos Dias on waldorf, and Ricardo Sousa on double bass. Drawing from rock, experimental, and noise influences, their music captivates listeners with its unique blend of genres. The members of Made of Bones have been playing together for over 15 years in various bands, including Slow is Possible and Cat in a Bag (both released on Clean Feed), Salad Ensemble, Sideways, TMR & The Sea Wolves,…

"Two" is the first and smallest even prime number, signifying divisibility by both one and itself. It is a fundamental concept in mathematics. It´s associated with duality, symmetry and balance, providing an advantage in problem solving, as it allows comparison, choice and contrast. With two alternatives, decisions can be made, dilemmas can be solved and paths can be chosen.  Bruno Parrinha - Alto saxophone (on the right channel)João Gato - Alto saxophone (on the left channel)

Reissued by Fledg'ling in 2007. The long-overdue release on CD of Brotherhood -- a classic title from 1972 by Chris McGregor's magnificent big band Brotherhood Of Breath. Never before officially reissued, this wonderful album continues the ground-breaking music of their debut album. Mighty music for the head, the heart and the feet. "The Brotherhood of Breath is the kind of band you want to tell people about. It's not for private enjoyment, or for worship by a elitist cult. The Brotherhood'…

Pianist-composer Abdullah Ibrahim ( formerly known as “Dollar Brand“) has long ranked among South Africa’s giants alongside Hugh Masekela, Miriam Makeba and the late Kippie Mokoetsi. A master of improvisation with a distinctive African edge, the exiled Cape Town musician has developed a musical style over the past 30 years that defies categorization.Rather, it is a fascinating mosaic of diverse traditions including African rutal and township rhythms, classical jazz, and gospel. South African fol…

Live / Shapeshifter is the exemplary new double-album from one of master bassist - composer - improviser William Parker's eternal flagship groups, recorded live and presenting all-new compositions, including the extended suite Eternal Is the Voice of Love, along with a new iteration of the band's theme. Featuring pianist Cooper-Moore, alto saxophonist Rob Brown and (since 2012) drummer Hamid Drake, In Order To Survive is one of the great jazz groups of the past quarter century. Launched in 1993,…

In the post World War II era, dozens of young African Americans in South Central Los Angeles found their way to careers in music. In a community facing challenging social conditions and with little to no outside support, they would become artists, supported by the best that their community and culture had to offer, from neighborhood and family to schools and churches, private teachers, formal and informal spaces and institutions, and more than a few unsung heroes.  “The neighborhood was tough, b…

Kicking off what will be an Alice Coltrane year with more releases to come in the next 12 months, is a previously unreleased, killer live recording from 1971.  Recorded live, by Impulse! at a charity gala given at Carnegie Hall for the benefit of the Integral Yoga Institute in 1971, this incredible set never saw commercial release until now. The gala concert was one of two halves with the first two transcendental tunes by Alice taken from the album she had just released on Impulse! and then two …

Leo Genovese - Piano, saxWilliam Parker - BassFrancisco Mela - Drums Recorded November 13, 2020 by Jeremy Loucas at Douglass Recording, Brooklyn, New YorkAssistant engineer: Juanma TrujilloMixed and mastered by Jeremy Loucas at Sear Sound, New York City

Shinya Lin: Piano, prepared pianoFrancisco Mela: Drums Recorded October 24, 2021 by Yushu Bao and Hao Jen Lam at Berklee College, Boston, MARecording assistants: Qi Wang, Yimu Feng, Ziyan WangMixed and mastered by Yushu Bao

"Teiku arranges our unique family Passover melodies into vehicles for sonic exploration. This ancestral music, much like the tradition of Creative Music through which we interpret it, is liberation music. As its humble stewards we offer it as a call for justice for all oppressed peoples; as Jews, we decry the senseless violence, displacement, and killing perpetrated in our name." - Josh Harlow and Jonathan Barahal Taylor, bandleaders  Teiku’s origin story feels almost pre-ordained. Co-leaders pi…

LP version. Japanese bluesman Kan Mikami is nothing less than an unalloyed force of nature; a skin-shredding blast of frozen wind from the poor, rural north of Japan that he calls home. In the late 1960s, like thousands of other Japanese young people Mikami made his way to Tokyo in search of a life different from that of his parents. Since then he has forcefully carved out a space for himself in the culture as a modernist poet, a raging folk singer, an author, an actor, an engaging TV per…

Red Vinyl. Milestone! Faithful reproduction of the original release! 1973 Aktuala debut, a stunning overall work where you can hear a lot of different musical influences : avant-garde folk, mediterranean blues ,jazz improvisation, minimalism, african percussions, indian ragas all played with a true psychedelic feeling. The album was recorded in a few days in a totally acoustic dimension and the line-up seems to be a quintet of contemporary music more than a progrock group (although this music is…

*100 copies limited release* Recorded and mixed by Daniel Bengtson at Studio Rymden, Stockholm, Feb 2021Produced by Alex Zethson & Johan BerthlingMastered by Daniel Ögren All music by Johan Berthling except For Turiya by Charlie HadenDedicated to Maria, Arvid & Vidar Produced with support from the Swedish Arts Council