Jazz & Improvisation / All styles

*In process of stocking. 2022 stock.* “This album has everything. Which is why it’s not for everyone.” The statement belongs to Øyvind Skarbø; bandleader, drummer and composer. His ensemble Skarbø Skulekorps released their highly praised debut album on Hubro in 2019, universally hailed for being both catchy and unpredictable at the same time. Dugnad does the same thing, but amplified to the extreme. It marks a deeper and even more radical exploration completely outside normal paths of genre and …

*In process of stocking. 2022 stock. Limited edition of 500 copies.* The opening track of ‘Avant Folk’ is like a dream of what contemporary experimental folk-meets-jazz-meets-chamber-music might be. Composed by Frode Haltli, ‘Hug’ begins with a galumphing off-centre rhythm that could be an accompaniment to elephants waltzing before the wheezing bellows-breath of Haltli’s accordion creates delightfully airy whispers of noise that drift across the other instruments like wisps of cloud across the s…

**Last Copies, sold out at source**  A brand new 4LP box set bringing together the incredible 1970s recordings of Afrofuturism pioneers The Pyramids, led by saxophonist Idris Ackamoor. The set features the remastered LPs Lalibela, King Of Kings and Birth / Speed / Merging alongside the first ever vinyl issue of their live session for KQED TV in 1975. The accompanying 12-page 12”-sized booklet features extended interviews with The Pyramids by Francis Gooding and a host of unseen photos.

*Official remastered reissue* We Are Busy Bodies presents Drive Live. A live performance by South African group The Drive, founded in 1971 by Adolphus "Bunny" Luthuli and Henry Sithole.

This compilation comes as a perfect introduction to vintage Italian Jazz. A fine selection of some of the best Italian mainstream jazz masters of the sixties and seventies such as the young trumpet genius of Enrico Rava, or maverick film music composer Piero Umiliani, whose jazz influence is well known worldwide. Throughout this record you will bump into both famous and obscure swing / bop stylists of the likes of bass player, Giorgio Azzolini, trombonist Dino Piana, tenor saxophonist Gianni Bas…

The great Malcolm Earl "Mal" Waldron makes his debut on Naked Lunch with a collection of his own compositions recorded in New York City during the early '60s in a trio formation with George Tucker on bass and Al Dreares on the drums. The composing skills of Waldron as a post-bop key figure are here on full display on both sides, although pieces like "Modal-Air," "Summerday," "Ollie's Caravan," and "Quiet Temple" really demonstrate the creativity of the trio's playing, with Tucker and Dreares lay…

** Limited Edition of 300 Clear Vinyl ** This is Jack Wilson's debut album as a bandleader, originally released in 1963 for Atlantic label, featuring a young Roy Ayers on vibraphone, bassist Al McKibbons and drummer Nick Martinis. Jack Wilson was a fine and often underrated pianist and composer who played with many great names such as Gene Ammons, Jacki Mclean, Esther Phillips, Lou Rawls, Johnny Griffin, Ertha Kitt, Lambert Hendricks & Ross, Antonio Carlos Jobim... This is a lively studio sessio…

*2022 stock.* Hot, hot and even hotter! Thrilling big-band recordings from the 1960s, made with the Polish Radio Dance Orchestra… The music is full of energy and swing, and is an evidence of Jerzy Milian’s artistry as an arranger, and above all, as a great vibraphone player. After Edward Czerny took over the leadership of the Polish Radio Dance Orchestra in 1959, he took it to a level unattainable to his predecessors. Until 1974 he regularly performed with the Orchestra in Poland and in other Ea…

What is the most successful marriage of Fender and Moog in the history of music? "Živí se Diví. Live in Bratislava 1975” is a unique live album from Jazz Q, the legends of Czechoslovakian jazz-rock. The material presents a group in one of its best incarnations, from time of cult compilation "Jazzrocková Dílna” (1975). This dynamic material in excellent radio quality comes from the private archives of Martin Kratochvíl, who entrusted GAD Records with the rights to his music legacy. First released…

The Belgian jazz orchestra run by BRT radio was one of Europe's most interesting workshops, allowing composers to experiment at will with the sound or structure of works. Jerzy Milian exploited the possibilities of this composition to its absolute limits, and "Optima Fide," the eleventh installment in the "Jerzy Milian Tapes" series, chronicles this turbulent period in his career. Beginning in the mid-1960s, Milian regularly wrote large forms bordering on jazz and avant-garde for Belgian radio. …

*In process of stocking. 2022 stock.* Fred Frith is one of the world’s greatest originals on the guitar, a composer/performer who has been at the forefront of avant garde music since the early ’70s. Clearing is his first solo guitar recording in over twenty years (since his classic Live In Japan of 1981) and his first solo studio recording since his groundbreaking Guitar Solos of 1974. Of the three existing solo recordings by this quirky musical master, Clearing is undoubtedly the most dynamic, …

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 collaboration between a young Japanese jazz pianist and an elder American statesman of jazz.Reissued by BBE Music for the first time since original release 36 years ago, Topology showcases the extraordinary compositional and playing skill of Makoto T…

Previously only available on tape cassette in 1975, now remastered and available as a download and on limited edition CD for the first time. Released with the cooperation of Chris Laurence, Stan Sulzmann, Chris Bolton Levin, Mark Wheeler, Norma Winstone and John Taylor’s sons.  This is John Taylor’s third album as leader. John’s first was ‘Pause, And Think Again’, released on Turtle Records in 1971. Stan Sulzmann, Kenny Wheeler, Chris Pyne, Chris Laurence and Tony Levin make up the sextet on bot…

Recorded live in-studio, London, on the 26th October 1970. All tracks previously unreleased. Ian Carr, Harold Beckett - trumpet/flugelhorn Brian Smith - tenor/soprano sax Tony Roberts - tenor sax/bass clarinet Karl Jenkins - electric piano/oboe Chris Spedding - guitar Ron Matthewson - bass guitar Jeff Clyne - bass John Marshall - drums Chris Karan - congas Keith Winter - VCS3

Jazz In Britain presents Revisiting Tanglewood 63: The Early Tapes by Mike Gibbs, entirely recorded in two sessions, back in 1970. Brit-jazz composer and arranger Michael Gibbs was born in 1937 in Zimbabwe. Starting in 1959, he studied in Boston at the Berklee College of Music, the Boston Conservatory , Tanglewood and the Lenox School of Music, where he studied with a who's who of contemporary jazz and modern composition: George Russell, Gunther Schuller, Iannis Xenakis, Aaron Copland, Lukas Fos…

*In process of stocking. Limited edition of 60 copies.* A New Wave Of Jazz is entering the realm of cassette albums again. Consider it a side series for the more abstract, electric and noisy in free improvisation and avant-garde. That label curator and guitarst Dirk Serries has a knack for the abstract and wilful isn't a secret and it was only a matter of time when he would hook up with French soundartist Anton Mobin (France) either.  So here he's teaming up with Anton, using his impressive prep…

*In process of stocking. Limited edition of 60 copies.* A New Wave Of Jazz is entering the realm of cassette albums again. Consider it a side series for the more abstract, electric and noisy in free improvisation and avant-garde. Saxophonist Colin Webster (London) and electric guitarist Matthew Grigg (Bristol) hooked up for a relentless session that is equally abstract, full-on in your face and interactive. Their duo is the other side of the coin, both artists with their four feet in free impro …

Limited edition of 100 copies.* Cellist Guilherme Rodrigues (Portugal, residing in Berlin) and guitarist Dirk Serries teamed up for a chamber music-esque session at the Sunny Side Inc. Studio (Anderlecht, Belgium). The Sage Flower is that collection of detailed interaction, acoustic outbursts and linear minimalisme.

*In process of stocking.* Next Festival Records is thrilled to announce that the new album 'Prosperity' from Mats Gustafsson & Christof Kurzmann, has been added to the catalogue. Mats Gustafsson is a Swedish saxophone player, composer, and improviser. Gustafsson works on the boundaries of noise, electronica, contemporary rock, and free jazz, as well as contemporary dance and theatre production. He performs solo and in various all-star impro projects. He has gone on international tours with artis…

*In process of stocking* Anna and Jan first met in 2004 when they started playing together in different combinations as the Kaluza Quartet (with trombonist Christof Thewes and drummer Kay Lübke), trios with pianst Niko Meinhold or with drummer Michael Griener and various others. In 2020 they played their first duo concert on a boat in Berlin (Hosek Contemporary) and decided to continue with their work as duo. The same year they went to Christian Betz’ studio in Friedrichshain to record their mus…

Aaron Burnett is “a standout new voice on the saxophone. In a very short time, the young musician has already lent his personal and unhindered approach to a breadth of bandleaders including Esperanza Spalding, Wynton Marsalis, Anti-Pop Consortium‘s HPRIZM, and Weasel Walter. He also toured with three time Grammy winner, Esperanza Spalding in her 2012 world tour with Radio Music Society. Aaron has the also retained the true nature of jazz in his music and his playing, constantly searching for new…

Matthew Bourne is a renowned pianist with a reputation as a fearlessly unpredictable improviser. Emil Karlsen is an independently minded drummer who plays with power and delicacy. The Embalmer documents one of Karlsen and Bourne’s first meetings. Recorded in a single session in 2020, The Embalmer sees a wide-ranging musical discourse between the two musicians unfold in its most lean form across the six improvised tracks.

*In process of stocking* Freely improvised music for baritone saxophone and double bass. Cath Roberts and Olie Brice found an escape from the musical isolation of lockdown with the amazing discovery that it was possible to play (and record) online in almost real time - these are the results.

Tip!  *In process of stocking* ‘Alone at night. Large church room. Lots of air. Stone. Wood. Glass. Quietness. Stillness. The dead and the alive. Surroundedness. ‘Existentialistic matters spinning. Peaceful state of mind. The dialectic equilibrium of complete stillness and deeper thoughts on contra-resistance on local and global levels. Fighting (y)our stupidities. Contra. I have never ever before gotten myself into such an unusual setting for a recording project. And yet, so simple. So naked. S…

*In process of stocking* The sublime first solo saxophone release of Masayo Koketsu is deeply steeped in the free jazz tradition of Japan. From Coltrane's visit to Japan in 1966 to the free jazz exploits of Kaoru Abe, Masayo Koketsu's astonishing solo session marks her as a force to be reckoned with. A single 46 minute piece of achingly beautiful wails and declarations punctuate the bedrock of silence then retreat back. A singular effort.

*In process of stocking. 2022 stock.* Next Festival Records presents free improvisation band Stavros Papadopulos, recorded live at Next Festival in Bratislava. Next Festival is an annual celebration of exploratory music and sound art: from electronic experimentation and free­form improvisation to audio­visual projects, it brings together artists who push the boundaries of music. On the occasion of its 20th anniversary, the Next Festival in Bratislava has started a new edition of releases recorde…

Moskus conveys their perspective of the world with vivid improvisation in a genre-free universe.   In their In their most recent release, “Papirfuglen”, the ensemble further solidifies their position as one of the most cutting-edge and transfixing voices in the newest generation of both Norwegian and international jazz. They have a unique musical approach, with a combination of infectious playfulness and a headstrong penchant for experimentation. And with these tools Moskus takes yet another ste…

Gatefold double LP version. Includes CD. Fire! Orchestra follow their acclaimed 2014 album Enter (RCD 2158CD/RLP 3158LP) with Ritual, slimming the ensemble down from 28 of northern Europe's finest jazz and improvisational musicians to a mere 21. Since the release of Enter, this energetic and dynamic mass ensemble has gone from intimate jazz settings to the main hall at the Molde International Jazz Festival and a major stage at the prestigious Roskilde Festival. As brilliant as Enter is, with Rit…

A collective trio of vanguard improvisers and frequent New York collaborators, Daniel Levin on cello, Chris Pitsiokos on alto saxophone, and Brandon Seabrook on electric guitar, a working band captured here in the studio at Firehouse 12 for a powerful set of idiosyncratic and exhilarating improvisations with tracks and the title named for a family of deep sea fish.

*In process of stocking* 'Volumes II—Fiction Musicale et Chorégraphique is an ambitious, large-scale composition by the French double bassist/composer Benjamin Duboc for orchestra, voice, and physical movement. The composition unfolds in a long sequence of highly disparate parts, beginning with ambient noises and a spoken prelude before moving into more overtly musical passages. The orchestra commences with a sustained, droning chord marked by a slowly developing, internally unstable drift of pi…

With mystery and drama the duo of clarinetist Sylvain Kassap and double bassist Benjamin Duboc start their performance with whisperings, Kassap's expanded range and vocabulary on the clarinet evocative against Duboc's strong bowing and plucking, as they both take their listeners across a tightrope of carefully balanced, masterfully evolving free conversation.

The only time that Bradford, Carter, Newton and Horace Tapscott have all played on stage together, along with Robert Miranda! Roberto Miranda's Home Music Ensemble Live at Bing Theatre: Los Angeles, 1985, personnel: Roberto Miranda (bass, congas), Bobby Bradford (cornet, tpt), John Carter (cl), James Newton (fl), Horace Tapscott (p), Thom D. Mason (a and t sax, b cl.), Louis R. Miranda Sr. (voc, perc), Louis R. Miranda, Jr. (drs), David Bottenbley (guitar, elec bass, perc, voc), Elias "Buddy" To…

In 2021, the international contemporary music festival Only Connect commissioned an interpretation from I Like to Sleep of the first movement of Olivier Messiaen’s Turangalila symphony. A project which initially led to a 15-minute piece performed at the festival, with the trio re-writing the music of Messiaen, but also rewriting the music of their own. Messiaen as a reference and compositional tool may be heard in the album for those really listening for references. With “Sleeping Beauty” the tr…

The first Freddie Hubbard album released on Creed Taylor CTI label marked a shift away from Hubbard's recording with Blue Note Records. It was the album that established Taylor's vision for the music that was to appear on his labels in the coming decade. "Red Clay" is Freddie Hubbard's seventeenth overall album.

Like the flower from which he takes his name, which is very rare and only grows once a year in one region of the world, the music of Rose Noir cultivates a form of dark and fascinating elegance. Traces of its genesis can be found in the sampling practice of the golden age of hip hop dear to the musician, but it also manages to retranscribe the total aesthetics of the culture of the 60s and 70s, when the stars aligned to give birth to a music bathed in cinematographic influences in the wake of Ma…

Never released outside South Africa, and out of print since 1974, Outernational Sounds presents two long-lost Johannesburg sessions from the Mallory-Hall Band -- an all-star review of West Coast jazz stars who toured apartheid South Africa in the mid-1970s. During a storied career stretching across six decades, Sanifu Al Hall, Jnr. has recorded with the greats of the music including Freddie Hubbard, Doug Carn, and Johnny Hammond, and leads his own Cosmos Dwellerz Arkestra. But until recent years…

*In process of stocking* Second, and long out of print album by South Africa's Roots. Remastered from original audio tapes. Artwork completely restored by Steve Lewin.

*Limited edition of 400 copies.* Attitudes of Preparation (Mountains, Oceans, Trees) is a collaboration between XT (the duo of Paul Abbott and Seymour Wright) and pianist Pat Thomas.  Across the two LP sides (80 minutes), and four gatefold panels (13,331 words) together they reflect on, and take inspiration from, the late pianist, composer, poet Cecil Taylor. On 12 August 2018, as part of a Cafe OTO tribute to the recently deceased Taylor, the trio perform live a 'version' of The Cecil Taylor Un…

Sploosh Records presents Destroyed on Every Level by Martin Escalante. Recorded and produced by Lasse Marhaug at the best studio in Oslo, February 2016. Thanks to Guro, Håvard, Linda, Amat, Fernanda, Oscar, Gabo and Rorigo. Photo by Yumnia Duarte. "Saxnoise in a way I haven't heard before, the energy and flow is amazing. This record is fuckin' EVIL!!!" - Mats Gustafsson

Born in Queenstown in South Africa's Eastern Cape province in 1938, Patrick Vuyo Matshikiza was raised in a musical family. His uncle Todd Matshikiza was a jazz columnist for Drum Magazine in the 1950s and composed the music for King Kong - the all-black musical from 1958 that played in London's West End and launched the career of singer Mariam Makeba. Pat was educated at St. Mathews, an historic mission school in Keiskammahoek, where he played organ and graduated with a teacher's diploma. He mi…