Jazz /
A Mountain Sees a Mountain
A Mountain Sees a Mountain, the new duo recording by Hamid Drake and Pat Thomas, captures two master improvisers engaged in an intimate yet expansive dialogue. Released in October 2025 via Old Heaven Books, the album bridges African rhythmic philosophy and European avant-piano traditions, achieving a deep equilibrium between motion, meditation, and melodic abstraction.
Breakthrough
On Breakthrough, Muriel Grossmann envelops her quartet in a vibrant exploration of spiritual jazz, interlacing tradition with fresh, forward momentum. The record distills Grossmann’s lyrical saxophone voice and trademark rhythmic interplay into a rich, organic sound, balancing meditative introspection and eruptive, soulful drive. Each composition furthers her pursuit of transcendence, unfolding as both a deeply personal statement and a communal celebration.
Way To
Way To, the debut album by Eero Savela, released August 2025, marks a persuasive, understated move into the spotlight for the Helsinki trumpeter. Blending the sinuous pulse of '70s jazz-funk with a modern Scandinavian restraint, the album—clocking in at just 37 minutes—opts for dialogue over display, its six tracks assembled as layered conversations between empathetic musicians and understated lyricism.
Tiny Hands Gathering Wonder, The World Becomes Magic
Kadi Vija’s new album, Tiny Hands Gathering Wonder, The World Becomes Magic, is a narrative jazz suite released in October 2025 that explores the tactile, the playful, and the vividly imaginative, blending synth colors, hand claps, and intimate vocals into a singular rainbow-hued sonic journey. The album’s ten tracks move through shifting moods that conjure both childlike awe and jazz sophistication, opting for miniature landscapes over grand statements.
Defiant Jazz: a Joe McPhee Taster
From the viral Severance TV dance party to spiritual jazz explorations, this vinyl compilation spans five decades of the Poughkeepsie legend's most electrifying moments. Funky grooves, cosmic transcendence, and raw improvisation collide.
Rinse Cycle
150 copies only. French saxophonist Sakina Abdou and Philadelphia guitarist Bill Nace present Rinse Cycle, a striking first encounter between two of improvised music's most uncompromising voices. Released October 15, 2025 on Open Mouth Records, this LP captures the duo's incendiary exchange recorded during a U.S. tour that included performances at Philadelphia's legendary Solar Myth. Abdou, whose searing solo work Goodbye Ground (Relative Pitch, 2022) established her as a formidable presence in …
Jazz Frontier
Reissue, originally released in 1963. Lou Blackburn's debut Imperial session has to be considered mostly a bop album, even though traces of contemporary pop culture and soul are clearly an influence. The trombone player is joined by Freddie Hill (trumpet), Horace Tapscott (piano), John Duke (bass), and Leroy Henderson (drums). Blackburn was born in Rankin, Pennsylvania, during the 1950s, he played swing music with Lionel Hampton. In the early 1960s, he began performing with musicians like Cat An…
Perception
Perception is the 1973 second album by Catalyst, the Philadelphia jazz-funk quartet whose blend of soul jazz, fusion, and avant-garde set them apart as a cult phenomenon. Featuring Zuri Tyrone Brown (bass), Onaje Sherman Ferguson (drums, percussion), Nwalinu Odean Pope (tenor saxophone, flute), and Sanifu Eddie Green (electric piano), the album stretches from spacious, electric fusion to driving, groove-forward funk and episodes of free improvisation. Recently reissued to renewed acclaim, Percep…
King Of The Tenors
King Of The Tenors is a landmark album by Ben Webster, recorded in 1953 and initially released as The Consummate Artistry of Ben Webster, then retitled for its classic 1957 Verve Records reissue. Webster is joined by jazz icons including the Oscar Peterson Trio throughout, as well as Benny Carter (alto saxophone) and Harry “Sweets” Edison (trumpet) on select tracks, resulting in ensemble interplay that balances lush ballads and blues with joyous swing. The program includes Webster originals like…
Flight to Jordan
Flight To Jordan is a celebrated hard bop album by Duke Jordan, recorded at Van Gelder Studio in 1960 and released on Blue Note in 1961. Featuring a quintet of Duke Jordan (piano), Dizzy Reece (trumpet), Stanley Turrentine (tenor saxophone), Reggie Workman (bass), and Art Taylor (drums), the album stands out for its memorable melodies and dynamic interplay. With compositions reflecting Jordan’s lyricism and Bud Powell-influenced rhythmic sense, tracks like “Flight to Jordan,” “Star Brite,” and “…
Portrait of Sheila
Portrait Of Sheila is the legendary 1962 debut album by Sheila Jordan, recognized as one of the only vocal jazz albums released by Blue Note in the 1960s. Backed by Barry Galbraith (guitar), Steve Swallow (bass), and Denzil Best (drums), Jordan’s inimitable approach includes stark, intimate renditions of standards, including a celebrated voice-bass duet on Bobby Timmons’ “Dat Dere.” The album’s new Tone Poet Series reissue, shipping in late 2025, brings her singular artistry to new audiences wit…
By All Means
By All Means is the new album from Aaron Parks due for release on November 7, 2025 via Blue Note Records, expanding the acclaimed Parks-Street-Hart jazz trio into a luminous acoustic quartet with the addition of tenor saxophonist Ben Solomon. This set of seven original compositions explores Parks’ signature mix of modern jazz innovation and tradition, highlighted by tender dedications to his wife and son and the sly, swinging lead track “Parks Lope”.
Now Jazz Now 100 Essential Free Jazz & Improvisation Recordings 1960-80 (Book)
277 pages. 196 x 268 mm. Open NOW JAZZ NOW and you're not just looking at a book - you're entering the minds of three lifelong obsessives. Byron Coley (music writer and critic), Mats Gustafsson (saxophonist, The Thing, Fire!), and Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth founder, solo artist) have spent decades accumulating, discussing, debating, and above all listening to free jazz and free improvisation. This book is the result of that shared mania. What they've created isn't a conventional history or a ra…
Skyways
Misha Panfilov Septet is an Estonian ensemble led by composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Misha Panfilov. Known for their evocative blend of psychedelic jazz, electronic lounge, and ambient exotica, the septet features a rich palette of timbres and improvisational interplay, distinctively shaped by Panfilov's lap steel guitar and space-conscious compositions. The group includes Artur Leppik (alto/baritone sax, percussion), Sasha Petrov (tenor sax, percussion), Ilja Gussarov (flute, perc…
Green Is Beautiful
Green Is Beautiful by Grant Green is a lively jazz-funk album recorded in 1970 at Van Gelder Studio and released on the Blue Note label. Marking a shift from his hard bop and soul jazz roots, Green embraces energetic funk grooves, supported by a stellar lineup including Blue Mitchell, Claude Bartee, Jimmy Lewis, Idris Muhammad, and organists Neal Creque and Emmanuel Riggins. The album’s five tracks, including covers of James Brown and The Beatles, showcase Green’s distinctive, melodic approach a…
Pay Now, Live Later
Limited edition CD & download retrospective of the pianist Gordon Beck’s musical journey from the 1960s to 1985 from a trio and quintet of Beck, Dave Green and Spike Wells plus Ray Warleigh and Iain Ballamy. The single CD comes in a 6-panel digisleeve, with a 20 page booklet written by Simon Spillett, incorporating memories provided by Iain Ballamy, Dave Green, Liam Noble. The cover art for both sleeve and booklet are original drawings from the brilliant Alban Low.
Joshua Sithole's Africa
The album delivers masterful arrangements, inventive rhythms, rich harmonies, and a perfect balance of flute and saxophone interplay. Funk, Jazz, Gospel, Afro, and traditional elements all merge seamlessly into something unique and timeless.Joshua Sithole (1947–1999) was a self-taught multi-instrumentalist and vocalist from South Africa who first started busking with the Kwela kids in 1959 and then went solo in 1978. He became popular in the 80’s, performing widely in Durban and Cape Town.
Origi…
Live at Widney High December 26th, 1971
On a Sunday in the early 70s in South LA, you could easily find yourself standing in a high school auditorium, watching Horace Tapscott conduct the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra as they poured out music like a benediction. No tickets, no VIP list—just the community, gathered. This was music as civic duty, as spiritual practice, as revolution by other means. Live at Widney High December 26th, 1971 captures one such afternoon, previously unreleased and now arriving like a dispatch from a parallel u…
It’s Always About Love
Ancient Infinity Orchestra’s It’s Always About Love is a lush outpouring of melodic, communal jazz, where improvisational freedom and thoughtful orchestration balance earthiness with cosmic ambition. Led by double-bassist Ozzy Moysey, the album draws inspiration from spiritual jazz icons and blends folk, jazz, and classical leanings within a 15-member ensemble, presenting a heartfelt meditation on connection and celebration.
Tezeta
The debut albumo of Tasmin is a journey through layers of influences connected by the band members bringing the sound of Ethio-Jazz, Afrobeat, Percussion, Dub and Tribal Music with an electronica sauce are interwoven, all mixed together in a delicate balance that creates a cinematic soulful and one-of a kind aesthetic blend from the connection of several worlds.The name "Tezeta" is taken from the well-known Ethiopian musical scale, which served as a major inspiration for the writing.
This scale…