Jazz & Improvisation / All styles

Melodic folk trio jazz by legendary Norwegian pianist and composer Christian Reim, featuring two different sessions with bass/drums combination: Ingebrigt Håker Flaten , Håkon Mjåset Johansen  & Harald Johnsen / Jarle Vespestad.

** Limited LP sealed w/hype sticker ** Afro7 Records presents Let's Go by The Scorpios. Everyone’s favourite Sudanese collective from London is back with another full album! Traditional meets today and everything in-between - future classic!

**180 gram LP x 2 gatefold sleeve Hi Res remastring** Fifth part of the Strata-East Dolphy Series, Glass Bead Games is arguably the crown jewel of the Strata East movement, an amorphous genre that treads an unusual path between post-bop, 70’s avant-garde and spiritual jazz, with a groove.  Glass Bead Games is full of revelations at many levels. First, the decade of the 1970s did produce genuinely creative, "human" new music flowing from the jazz mainstream; second, Bill Lee was more than Spike's…

Capra Black remains one of the seminal recordings of jazz's black consciousness movement. A profoundly spiritual effort that channels both the intellectual complexity of the avant-garde as well as the emotional potency of gospel, its focus and assurance belie Billy Harper's inexperience as a leader. Backed by an all-star supporting unit including trombonist Julian Priester and drummer Billy Cobham, Harper's tenor summons the brute force and mystical resolve of John Coltrane but transcends its in…

Reissue of 'Step By Step' by trombonist John Gordon - a deep jazz classic on the legendary Strata-East label! Features the likes of Charles Tolliver on trumpet and Stanley Cowell on piano! John Gordon, a trombone master, brings us another gem from that most renowned of 70’s record labels, Strata-East. The trombone is a difficult instrument. In the hands of an artist like John Gordon, however, it can create vivid images and conjure up beautiful music.

After two visionary LPs for his own tiny Nodlew label, Weldon Irvine signed to RCA for "Cosmic Vortex (Justice Divine)", exploring the deeply spiritual and political terrain of his previous efforts on the kind of grand musical scale that major-label funding accommodates. This is a big, bold record by any measure, with a startlingly pronounced focus on lyrics and vocals. At the same time, however, the melodies spread out like tentacles, informed by the improvisational sensibilities of jazz …

This jazz recording is considered as the 'magnum opus' of master "drummer extraordinaire'', composer, arranger, producer, and leader Norman Connor's in a career that has spanned 4 decades. This recording is what many will consider the debut of the legendary vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater who has since gone on to a brilliant career. Connor's put together an all-star group with Herbie Hancock and Onaje Allan Gumbs on piano and Fender Rhodes, Dr. Eddie Henderson on trumpet/flugelhorn, Carlos Garnett …

*2022 stock* Futura Marge presents Down With It by James Spaulding (saxophone alto & flute), Pierre Christophe (piano), Raphaël Dever (contrabass) & Mourad Benhammou (drums). Recorded live in Paris at the Sunside on July 22nd, 2006. ℗ & © 2006 Terronès

*2022 stock* Futura Marge presents Septentrion by Arnaud Sacase (saxophone alto), Jobic Le Masson (piano), Benjamin Duboc (contrabass) & Antoine Paganotti (drums). Recorded on 15 et 16 december 2003 at Gaël Mevel's à Abbeville-la-Rivière (France)

Absolutely Stellar jazz from Sun Ra alongside Luqman Ali (Drums) John Gilmore (Tenor Saxophone, Percussion) and Michael Ray (Trumpet, Percussion). This quartet version of the title song appeared on 1978's 'New Steps' LP. Over on the flip is the 'Alien vocal version' of Somewhere In Space, recorded in 1957.Two expertly plucked out (fully licensed) Sun Ra essentials, presented on a heavyweight (70gram) Art Yard styled 7". Don't be sleeping..!

Tashi Dorji (electric guitar) and Tyler Damon (drums/percussion) have developed a musical language that is not only shaped by original forms as free jazz, metal, rock and Buddhist monastic music. Their sound merges passion and emotions of literature, art, cultural movements, politics - flashes of ecstatic intensity, blurred timbral lines, fractal repetition, noir-ish, cinematic mystery and inclinations toward free play hint that the two are pleased to follow a winding path to destinations yet un…

* 2022 stock * Recorded at the Studio Jazz Unité in Paris, France, on June 19, 1981, Filet de Sole / Philly of Soul was the only recording made by brilliant drummer Philly Joe Jones with this exact octet formation.The group plays a variety of tunes, including well-known pieces by Tadd Dameron, Benny Golson, Randy Weston, and the tandem of John Lewis & Dizzy Gillespie, plus an homage to Tadd Dameron composed by the group's tenor saxophonist Charles Davis (a regular with Archie Shepp and Sun Ra), …

Taking cues from Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane at their most delicate, renowned Welsh harpist Amanda Whiting's mesmerizing Jazzman full-length After Dark arrives as soft as moonlight to gladden the soul and delight the ear -- without forgetting to bring the swing. Summoning the nocturnal mood suggested by the album's title, Whiting's harp flows and cascades, dances and alights, broods and haunts, informed by a deep understanding of both classical and jazz music, ultimately revealing a top-dra…

Sending My Love (2008) and Colour Yes (2009) were his first releases and document Halsall’s first great bands featuring the likes of flautist Chip Wickham, saxophonist Nat Birchall, harpist Rachael Gladwin, bassist Gavin Barras and drummer Gaz Hughes. Joyful, life-enhancing albums, drawing on UK jazz and spiritual jazz influences but with a decidedly modern bounce, they introduced Halsall’s music to the world gathering support from the likes of Gilles Peterson and Jamie Cullum, Mojo, Straight No…

Salute to the Sun features lush wholly improvised tunes inspired by ambient rainforest and jungle field recordings, deeply soulful tunes built around hypnotic harp and kalimba patterns, deep Strata-East inspired spiritual jazz grooves and some of Halsall’s most beautiful playing and inspiring healing melodies yet recorded. The album was recorded at the band’s weekly sessions, using Halsall’s own recording set-up, giving the recordings a relaxed vibe and unforced energy that really lets the music…

Outernational Sounds present a reissue of Jeff Resnick's SAC ("School Of American Craftsman"), originally released in 1978. Organically funky, laced with avant-garde synth textures, and studded with breakbeats, the second release on Outernational Sounds is Jeff Resnick's unique, ultra-rare, 1978 promotional recording for the School for American Craftsmen, at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Five tracks of soul jazz and modal fusion -- re-modeling Trane, and opening with a variation of "Nor…

Tip! *300 copies limited edition* Recorded in Stockholm in 1962, and originally released on Sonet Records, these sessions stand as Ayler's first step into a new sonic world. This was when Ayler was still dealing with classic Jazz standards such as "I'll remember April", M Davis's "Tune Up" and "Rollins Tune", a declared tribute to the older master Sonny Rollins. His already super-strong tenor sax voice dominates a quiet, almost shy, local rhythm section featuring Torbjorn Hultcrant on bass and S…

Cosmic righteousness from Brother Ahh – aka Robert Northern – best known for his work with Sun Ra, but a force behind some wonderfully soulful records of his own! This album's one of Ahh's later works – self-released in 1983, with a conception that's fuller than his earlier works – almost in an Alice Coltrane spiritual mode, with tracks that emphasize consciousness, healing, well being, and awareness. Ahh plays flute and French horn on the album – and other instrumentation includes percussion by…

This debut release by the regular working trio of Dave Rempis, Joshua Abrams, and Avreeayl Ra is a perfect example of what makes Chicago such a fertile breeding ground for improvised music; three musicians of widely varying ages, backgrounds, playing experiences, and musical interests join forces to deliver moments of both sublime beauty and volcanic energy, continually tempered by the seamless narrative momentum that they weave together in a seemingly effortless way. Although the trio has only …

* 2022 stock * Recorded at the Studio Jazz Unité in Paris, France, on June 19, 1981, Filet de Sole / Philly of Soul was the only recording made by brilliant drummer Philly Joe Jones with this exact octet formation.The group plays a variety of tunes, including well-known pieces by Tadd Dameron, Benny Golson, Randy Weston, and the tandem of John Lewis & Dizzy Gillespie, plus an homage to Tadd Dameron composed by the group's tenor saxophonist Charles Davis (a regular with Archie Shepp and Sun Ra), …

* 2022 stock * "The main point of interest of this album is its session date. Recorded in 1982, this is one of the very few documents of the late Sonny Sharrock's playing between his classic work with Pharoah Sanders and Don Cherry as well as on his own and his re-emergence with Last Exit in 1985. Bill Laswell had already utilized his talents on Material's Memory Serves release from the prior year, but here is Sharrock in a simple trio, playing several of the pieces that would become part of his…

* 2022 stock * "Drake and Tsahar were in Paris as guests at a friend’s wedding. Turning the celebration into a busman’s holiday, the two subsequently went into a studio with veteran German bassist Peter Kowald and American trumpeter Hugh Ragin, who were specifically invited to take part, and produced Open Systems. It’s more than 72½ minutes spread among seven compositions that relate as much to hard core energy music of the late 1960s as the former disc does to spirituality...... Take the saxman…

* 2022 stock * Rob Brown's Big Picture Quartet includes William Parker, Hamid Drake, and Roy Campbell, the band responsible for the sublime Raining on the Moon with Lena Conquest, recorded as the William Parker Quartet, as well as playing together in different configurations yielding some of the most vital and essential recordings of the last decade. In the grand jazz band tradition (think Sonny Greer and his Memphis Men), the music's flavor and quality maintains whoever's name shuffles forward.…

* 2022 stock * Recorded in 2001 and originally released by Marge in France. Sonny Simmons (born in 1933 on Sicily Island, Louisiana), who has shown his vitality in recent years by releasing new works on QWest and CIMP, is an excellent free alto player with a hard-edged and profound spiritual style. This time, the quintet with Eddie Henderson and John Hicks is more into the new mainstream hard bop style. The quintet's music is a well-balanced mixture of the bright, crisp, Dolphy-like new jazz wor…

Jazz settings of Langston Hughes's poems, including The Weary Blues, The Dream Keeper and Daybreak in Alabama, with Eric Mingus on voice, David Amram on piano and Larry Simon with Groove Bacteria. Avant series.

Live DVD of Trio PAJ, formed in 2007 by percussionist Roland Auzet, Pierre Jodlowski and Michel Portal, recorded at the Grenoble Jazz Festival in 2010 and exploring jazz, improvisation and electronic music.

Christmas album by The Respect Sextet, with pieces by Misha Mengelberg, Thelonious Monk, Sun Ra, Frank Loesser, Robbie Robertson and Loudon Wainwright III, and guests JACK String Quartet, Ensemble Signal and guitarist Marco Cappelli.

Italian guitarist Marco Cappelli's take on Spaghetti Western music and 1960s surf sound as the Italian Surf Academy, with Luca Lo Bianco on bass, Francesco Cusa on drums and guest voice Gaia Mattiuzzi, plus a cover of Secret Agent Man.

Suite by guitarist Marco Cappelli inspired by the characters of Fred Vargas's detective novels, played by the Marco Cappelli Acoustic Trio with Ken Filiano on double bass and Satoshi Takeishi on percussion.

The Respect Sextet, a young New York jazz group, plays music by Sun Ra and Karlheinz Stockhausen, drawing comparisons between the two composers and asking how the idea of space shaped their work.

Ten improvised duets recorded in June 2006 by Joe McPhee on pocket trumpet and alto saxophone and Montreal drummer and painter John Heward on drums, kalimba and percussion.

* 2022 stock * Marge Records presents Live at Dreher by Roy Burrowes Sextet featuring Mal Waldron Roy Burrowes (trompette & bugle), Richard Raux (saxophones ténor et soprano), Mal Waldron (piano), Patrice Caratini (contrebasse) & George Brown (batterie) - On two tracks : Roger Raspail (percussions)  Recorded live on 10th march 1980 at Dreher, Paris.

* 2022 stock * New York-born drummer Stu Martin made a name for himself at the age of sixteen by playing with many of the great bands - those of Billy May, Jimmy Dorsey, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Maynard Ferguson and Quincy Jones, among others. In the 1960s he moved to Europe where he played with the greatest musicians of the time such as Jean-Luc Ponty, the Kühn brothers, Martial Solal or John McLaughlin. A very complete drummer adapting to all forms of jazz, he was part of the John Surman a…

* 2022 stock * Sunny Murray's Aigu-Grave, a nominal quintet date with percussionist Pablo Sauvage appearing on two of the five tracks; the rest of the group features French tenor saxophonist Richard Raux, Bobby Few and Alan Silva. Its two leading tracks, “Happiness Tears” and “Tree Tops,” are memorable Murray compositions which are given free and satisfying treatments. The theme of “Happiness Tears” searches through some minor intervals before resolving in a cheerful major chord. “Tree Tops” is …

Tip! * 2022 stock * This 1979 date by tenor saxophonist Billy Harper is one of his most transcendent. Rife with his deep study of Coltrane's modalism, and his own deep knowledge of the blues and Eastern music, Harper and his quintet take on three extended pieces: "Soran Bushi-B.H." comes in at over 12 minutes, while "Cry Of Hunger," is over 20; both work out of extended harmonic architectures to place improvisation as a new element (remember, this was 1979), as an extension of the jazz "song." T…

* 2022 stock * This new trio proposes a gritty and daring jazz, around the melancholy and the evil of homo urbanus... The singer Caroline Faber, known for her rhythmic energy and her contagious good mood (with DeNduM, BA-YA), explores here a blues space: She interprets her texts "written from the tip of her soul" (Pierre Gros, Culture Jazz) on compositions by Richard Bonnet (recently acclaimed for his work with Hasse Poulsen and Tony Mallaby) or great classics borrowed from Afro-American music. …

* 2022 stock * Jade is an ambitious blend of jazz, abstract improvisation, and classical sacred music. Recorded at the Organ Studio at Sweden’s University of Gothenburg, the album features sax and trombone echoing regally against a backdrop of honest-to-goodness choral hymns, performed by a church organ and the 10-woman Volcanic Choir, led by mezzo-soprano Maria Forsström. In slow movements, as if to cherish the sounds and moods being created, the album blends its influences beautifully, conveyi…

* 2022 stock * Futura Records presents On the New Jersey Road: Dany Doriz (vibraphone), Philippe Duchemin (piano) & Patricia Lebeugle (contrebasse) – Invité sur trois titres : Enrico Granafei (harmonica) Paterson (New Jersey – USA) Recorded on 26th and 27th september 2005 at Bioya Recording Studios, Paterson (New Jersey - USA)

* 2022 stock * Futura Records presents Autumn Leaves: Ben Webster (saxophone ténor), Georges Arvanitas (piano), Jacky Samson (contrebasse) & Charles Saudrais (drums)  Recorded 5th june 1972 at studio Europasonor, Paris

* 2022 stock * This recording of a 1971 date pairs legendary hard bop pianist Freddie Redd with an obscure French rhythm section. Didier Levallet and Didier Carlier on bass and drums, respectively, are certainly good musicians; they comp and center very well around the changes Redd sets out in his original tunes such as "Diane I Love You," "Bleeker Street Blues," "To Bud With Love," "This Heart of Mine," "You," and "My God Is Love." Their backing is tight and organized, and that's the problem. R…