Jazz & Improvisation / All styles

*2023 repress* Sun Ra inspired Space Jazz. Nat Birchall plays all the instruments - Tenor & soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, Korg Minilogue synth, bass, drums, hand drums, bells, shaker.

A private press rarity that few know of, ‘Song of Island’ was the third album from pianist Yasuhiro Kohno’s trio, recorded live at the jazz club and live house (gig venue) ‘Again’ in August 1985. Pressed up in small numbers, ‘Song for Island’ was issued on the private ASCAP Records, set up by pianist and band leader Yasuhiro Kohno. The album is a follow up to Kohno-san’s previous two albums, ‘Peace’ and ‘Roma in the Rain’, released on the cult Aketa’s Disk label. However, unlike the ‘Peace’ and …

The desire to discover and delve into new and unexplored areas of music has turned attention on the Japanese jazz scene of the 1970s, often regarded as its gilded age. The recent ground-breaking sell-out BBE compilation J Jazz: Deep Modern Jazz from Japan 1969-1984 threw much needed light on this fascinating era and presented a range of artists and music that surprised and delighted all who heard it. A key track on the compilation was one of the rarest and least known: Dead Letter by the Tohru A…

*2023 stock* The fifth release in the BBE Music J Jazz Masterclass Series has the perfect combination of rarity and exceptional musicality that inspires seasoned collectors to break out in a sweat. Animals Garden by Miyasaka + 5 was originally issued in 1979 on the cult private Japanese label ALM and is reissued for the first time in a 180Gram 2LP edition.Animals Garden was a one-off project led by master drummer Takashi ‘Bear’ Miyasaka and features a powerful and progressive jazz group includin…

BBE Music continues its highly acclaimed J Jazz Masterclass Series with Kemo Sabe, the debut album from pianist Masao Nakajima. Recorded in 1979 on Yupiteru Records, it’s an elusive beast in the field of J Jazz and balances delicate and refined playing with power and vigour. The Kemo Sabe album features bassist Osamu Kawakami, who has performed and recorded with such J Jazz figureheads as Sadao Watanabe, Isao Suzuki, and Kunihiko Sugano. Sax duty is by Toshiyuki Honda, leader of the popular fusi…

The ninth album in BBE Music's J Jazz Masterclass Series presents ‘At the Room 427’ by Koichi Matsukaze Trio Featuring Ryojiro Furusawa, a rarely heard exemplar of post-modal power bop and free jazz. Delivered by a trio playing with an intensity and energy that draws on classic Eric Dolphy and mid-era Coltrane but definitely with its own particular vibe, At the Room 427 is an exemplar of febrile improvised jazz that could only come from Japan. This deluxe reissue sees a welcome return to the J J…

Since 2018, BBE Music has been leading the field in reissuing rare modern jazz from Japan’s golden period spanning the late 60s to the early 80s. The J Jazz Masterclass Series continues to present the finest in Japanese jazz with 'Planets' by Masaru Imada Trio + 1. Originally released in 1977 as a private press album, 'Planets' showcases the refined playing and sophisticated compositions of one of Japan’s leading pianists, Masaru Imada. In a fifty- plus year career he has released over 40 albums…

As part of its continuing exploration of Detroit’s Strata label with DJ Amir’s 180 Proof Records, BBE Music reissues the 1974 rare jazz classic ‘Inside Ourselves’ by Sphere. Recorded live on June 28th, 1970 at the Detroit Institute of Arts, ‘Inside Ourselves’ features John Dana on bass, Jimmy Peluso on Drums, Keith Vreeland on, Electric Piano, Eddie Nuccilli on Trumpet and Flügelhorn, plus bandleader Larry Nozero on tenor and soprano Saxophone. The album comprises seven captivating original comp…

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 series. Regarded as one of the most sought-after yet elusive albums from a pivotal era in Japanese jazz, Earth Mother was originally issued in 1978 on ALM, a private label home to some of the most innovative jazz, contemporary classical and free improvisational music relea…

British Progressive Jazz releases a 5 track avant garde jazz album by Elton Dean Quartet. It contains previously unreleased live recordings from 25th February 1979, Teatro Cristallo, Milan, Italy. This is the first official release for what many fans consider to be the 'ultimate' lineup of Elton's Quartet. Booklet includes dozens of previously unseen images of the quartet by Sergio Balletti and Carlo Verri with extensive liner notes by Riccardo Bergerone and Roberto Ottoviano.

"Blue Notes for Mongezi", one of the most passionate celebrations of a life in music ever laid to tape. Recorded in late 1975 by Blue Notes, then reduced to a quartet - Dudu Pukwana on  alto sax, whistle, percussion, and vocals; Johnny Dyani on bass, bells, and vocals; Louis Moholo-Moholo on drums, percussion, and vocals; and Chris McGregor on piano, and percussion - and issued the following year by Ogun, the album is a kairos; the first commercial release by one of free jazz’s seminal ensembles…

As with Directstep (recorded one week previously), this album was recorded, and originally only released, in Japan. It was one of Hancock's most successful albums in Japan, perhaps because it was entirely solo piano. Hancock tackles jazz standards such as "My Funny Valentine", "On Green Dolphin Street" and "Some Day My Prince Will Come" while also performing four original compositions.

Unrelease befor recordings dated 1972 and 1980. The London Jazz Composers Orchestra began back in 1970. The idea of a composers' orchestra, a large formation equally defined by the concepts of composition or intervention and by the improvised creative genius of the participating musicians, developed an amazing self-impetus. It was this energy, which proved to be greater than the arithmetic sum of the participants, that encouraged Barry Guy and the orchestra to drive idea and practice even furthe…

Recorded at Metallurgov House Of Culture in the Ukraine as the 2nd concert of their tour, the trio of Joe McPhee (trumpet, alto saxophone), John Edwards (double bass), and Klaus Kugel (drums) present a masterful concert that includes a 29-minute "Re-Hairing In Zaporozhye" a 19-minute "To Rush At The Wind", and a wonderfully unconventional tribute to Cecil Taylor

The 3rd album from the touring trio of Joe McPhee on trumpet & tenor sax, John Edwards on double bass and Klaus Kugel on drums, following their previous NotTwo releases A Night In Alchemia and Journey To Parazzar, here captured live at FreeJazzSaar 2019, in Saarbrucken, Germany for a boisterously exciting set of three collective improvisations, including a tip of the hat to Charles Gayle.

Uniquely orchestrated with all three members bringing a trove of objects & percussion, the trio of Martin Küchen on saxophones, Agustí Fernández on piano and Zlatko Kaučič on drums are heard in this two-part live concert at BUMF festival in Smartno, Slovenia, for a superb example of intent listening and use of space around confident, stunningly creative & virtuosic playing.

Those lucky enough to have been exposed to Dudu Pukwana's music will forever be in the grip of of a rare and beautiful musical spirit. More than 20 years after his death, his uniquely original music lives in a powerful and inspirational way. This album is a tribute to Dudu helmed by American musician/producer Andrew Scott, who first heard the Blue Notes in 1966 at Leeds University - the genesis of a personal musical journey leading up to this special project. Duduvudu has been a family affair - …

** 2LP exclusive 25th Anniversary release **  Finally this day has come - Not Two Records together with Wschodnie Triady and No Earplugs proudly present you special edition of Ground Zero Plays Standards 2-LPs exclusive 25th Anniversary release! Legendary Ground Zero Plays Standards has been released in 1997 for Nani Records, then reissued for DIW (2000) and ReR (2002). So far it has only been released on CD, until this day. Vinyl edition is available now in limited copies. The vinyl master was …

"Blue Notes for Johnny" - a defining statement by one of the greatest ensembles in the history of jazz. Recorded in mid-1987 by Blue Notes - then reduced to the trio of Dudu Pukwana on alto sax, Louis Moholo-Moholo on drums and Chris McGregor on piano - it encounters the band 25 years after their founding embarking on an inward meditation through collective music making dedicated to Johnny Dyani, their former bandmate and friend.  Blue Notes were founded in Cape Town in 1962, and stand among the…

Written and recorded with the goal of creating a one-movement suite in the least amount of time possible, "Succo di formiche" reflects the archetypal joy of music making, the spontaneous impulses underlying its formation, and a love of the record album form.

It was May 2009 when I first heard Alexander Hawkins play at the Vortex Jazz Club, with the Anthony Braxton s cornet-playing protégé Taylor Ho Bynum, bassist Dominic Lash and drummer Harris Eisenstadt in the Convergence Quartet. The music was an idiomatic white-knuckle ride, and all the players were variously fascinating but the then 28 year-old Hawkins was a revelation, for the audacity of his ideas, the depth of his understanding of both thematic and free-form musics, and for his Cecil Taylor-…

Ogun presents Before the Wind Changes, the quartet of Chris McGregor, Dudu Pukwana, Johnny Dyani and Louis Moholo-Moholo recorded live at Jazzclub De Hoop, Waregem, Belgium on 1st July 1979.

The live performance recorded in the ancient Church of S. Giuliano, in Vercelli, encompasses some of the music conceived and written over the last few years, which Francesco Aroni Vigone spent in Valle d’Aosta. The recording location was chosen for its particular acoustics, perfect for a saxophone ‘solo’ and its aptitude for meditation. The performance took place during worship hours to have an unusual ‘audience’ in an unusual ‘liturgy’. The pieces are monodic songs that can be traced back mainl…

"This is the whole improvisation session we had on the evening of 25 April 2014, after a day spent recording some duets for Enrico’s project “Girotondo”. In the afternoon I had recorded with Mario Arcari “La prostituta e il soldato”, one of his compositions. The next day I was going to record my song “Il soldato e la cameriera” with Alberto Mandarini. So, during the evening break, after years of not playing together anymore, a little bit on my insistence, because Enrico seemed to want it too, we…

Born in 2012 when the three were living in the same apartment building in Cairo's Agouza district, the trio's instrumental improvisation-based explorations are propelled by Louca's North African percussion loops and shimmering keys, Shalabi's West African tinged free jazz guitar and grounded by Bishop's driving Krautrock-style acoustic bass. High Tide in the Lowlands was recorded in Brussels at Les Ateliers Claus on September 5, 2017 and is quite an intense experience. Most performances and reco…

Release on Raw Tonk Records. Colin Webster - alto saxRachel Musson - tenor saxCath Roberts - baritone saxCharlotte Keeffe - trumpet / flugelhornGraham Dunning - electronicsDirk Serries - guitarJohn Edwards - bassAndrew Lisle - drumsRecorded live at Cafe Oto, London on 21st August 2022. Recorded by Pedro Subtil. Mixed and mastered by Dirk SerriesArtwork by Colin Webster. Layout by Rutger Zuydervelt

*300 copies limited edition* With three studio albums, four live releases and a number of tours, the Belgian-British Kodian Trio has built up quite a reputation within the European improvisation scene. The trio unites the attention to texture and detail often associated with the 'English school' with the fierce urgency of the 'fire music' of the sixties and seventies. The result is a wringing cocktail on the seesaw between European free improvisation and witty free jazz. Dirk Serries' disordered…

Next up on Africa Seven is the second edition of our "African Funk Experimentals" LPs. With these we took some of our favourite African artists, choose the most funky we can find and then put together a compilation of their choicest and funkiest tracks. Of course that may not be their most popular or best selling tracks… but that's just fine. We are digging for the funk.

As live albums go, Tashi Dorji and Tyler Damon nail it down. No matter the crowd -- head thrashers, Instagram zombies, shaken jazzniks -- the shadow lines of feedback and bombastic percussive bombs are always at peak intensity. Through telepathic engagement the Bhutanese-born guitarist Dorji and Midwestern drummer Damon act with one-mind destruction as Leave No Trace: Live In St. Louis perfectly captures.  It’s a pure sound for these disruptive, politically tumultuous times. Or Marc Master…

Finish The Sun, the second offering from Shane Cooper & Mabuta, is a glowing and energetic album, rooted in grooves from all over the African continent. The six-piece outfit draws on influences from Mali, Nigeria, the Sahel, Morocco; and the many sounds that make up their native South Africa. This musical trip seamlessly dances through Afrobeat, maskandi, funk and hip hop, to moments of cinematic beauty. All embedded with subtle hints of 70s psychedelia. The core group of Shane Cooper, Bokani Dy…

Following closely on the heels of his ravishing solo album Tomorrow is Too Late, Stockholm-based synthesist and improviser John Chantler switches gears to unleash the stunning second album by his trio with saxophonist Seymour Wright and drummer Steve Noble, Atlantis. Chantler is well-known for his solo electronic work, which frequently explodes richly layered ambient soundscapes into visceral explosions and thrilling physicality, to say nothing of his imaginative experimentation with the organ, …

Cello solo. Recorded on January 15, 1977. Originally released as a limited edition audio cassette (10 copies). Yves Bouliane studied double bass with Roland Desjardins at the Montreal Conservatory in the early 1970s. Not yet twenty, he had been improvising with Robert M. Lepage since 1969. Together, they formed the Trio Expansible, a group that evolved continuously in the early part of the decade (Roger Boudreau, Vincent Dionne and other improvisers succeeded one another during the few years tha…

The edition that marks the start of the brand-new Comets Coming, a label linked to Groovie Records and A Traineira, could not be more suitable: it is that Rodrigo Brandão, like his grandfather Herman Poole Blount, dust of stars that the world knows as Sun Ra, may have his feet on the Earth, but he has definitely a sidereal head.Brandão arrived recently to Portugal, but already left a strong mark in the most adventurous Lisbon scene, having performed several concerts in which his language has bee…

Libido is a noteworthy moment in contemporary Free Improvisation you should not miss. It’s so fragile, yet uncompromising, so sensitive and confrontative at the same time… It’s simply beautifull" Edition of 200 copies on black vinyl. Comes in a cardboard sleeve with inner envelopes and includes a paper inlay. Blemishes are Thomas Lumley (tenor saxophone) Nicola Hein (guitar), Constantin Herzog (bass) and Niklas Wandt (percussions)

Aspec(t) are SEC_ and Mario Gabola from Naples, Italy. SEC_ plays electronics through laptop, processed tapes, and analog synthesizer. Mario plays saxophone and feedbacks through a system of resonant drums and small speakers. Their music shares the timbrical research and the execution control typical of some radical impro music (Pateras/Baxter/Brown, John Butcher, Jim Denley, Bruce Russell,..), but meets the visceral intensity and the obscure poetic of the new aktionsm and of noise music (Rudolf…

*2023 stock* The trio of Kieran Adams (sampler, drum machine, drums), Matthew “Doc” Dunn (keyboards and electronics), and Andy Haas (reeds and electronics) is a subset of Toronto spiritual jazz practitioners The Cosmic Range. Where their parent-group tends to anchor itself with a firm pulse, the trio veers into various flavours of abstraction. Some pieces furnish nervy ambient waft, whereas others are more gestural—sometimes violently so. Meanwhile, on the title track, a synth bass ostinato lays…

First time on vinyl for many years. Reissue of the sought-after deep/spiritual jazz album, the first time it’s been pressed from the master tapes. All analog lacquer by Bernie Grundman. Bobby Hamilton founded the band Anubis in Syracuse, New York, and they put out their awesome ‘Ecology’ single on Charles Bazen’s Salt City imprint. It’s a highlight, something akin to Terry Callier and Gil Scott Heron’s most soulful works. Shortly after issuing that single, Bobby put together the Bobby Hamilton Q…

Jazz Funk Masterpiece reissued for the first time Worldwide. For every celebrated record in jazz, soul, and related music, there are probably thousands more with all the genius for which widespread recognition never came or was delayed. In 1976 Dana Kaproff released one of the most wanted jazz-funk albums recorded in Los Angeles. A jazz fusion record for the discerning connoisseur. Tight drums and well-programmed synths. Excellent production and recording. Fans of 70s Herbie Hancock, George Duke…

Remont Pomp (repair of pumps) is a band playing ethnic, avant-garde and improvised music, which was founded in 2003 at the Polish Association for People with Intellectual Disabilities Koło in Gdańsk, created by the association's charges. The band's inspiration is ethnic music with an emphasis on the richness of African music. Remont Pomp also discovers the space of experimental music by playing unusual instruments and objects not usually associated with music. The band uses a variety of instrume…

3xCD set of Anthropology Band live in 2022 at the Newcastle Festival Of Jazz And Improvised Music and at Café Oto, London. The band's current 8 piece line up was on fiery form for both gigs, playing a mixture of both old and new material to full houses. With the electric 70s music of Miles Davis as its starting point and the improvised abstraction of AACM as its end point, these recording show a band growing out of the studio and going from strength to strength as it hits the stage.