Jazz & Improvisation / All styles

Matsuli Music is proud is announce the re-issue of African Songbird, the masterpiece from South Africa's greatest jazz singer, Sathima Bea Benjamin. Originally released in 1976, African Songbird was a debut long overdue. The splendid vinyl reissue of African Songbird opens with a cavernous, spacious, enormous sound, Bea Benjamin’s voice is introduced by Dollar Brand’s plangent, lingering electric keyboards before the ensemble joins in like rolling thunder. The vibrant plucked bass (provided b…

CD. Ken Vandermark, tenor sax, Paal Nilssen-Love, drums, Lasse Marhaug, electronics. Recorded live November 23rd 2011 at the Vortex, London UK by Mick Ritchie. Mixed by Lasse Marhaug. Produced by Fire Room. Artwork by Naiel Ibarrola.

Western Front New Music is proud to announceÊEvan Parker's return to the Western Front to celebrate our 40th anniversary with a live performance and the release ofÊVaincu.Va! Live at the Western Front 1978. Restored and mastered from the original archived quarter-inch tape that captured his dynamic, innovative performance 34 years ago, Parker'sÊVaincu.Va!Êremains well ahead of its time. His work is unconventional and unpredictable, and this album, to be issued on limited-edition LP, with n…

In a fair and reasonable world, Roland Haynes would have compelled more attention than he did when his jazz-funk record 2nd Wave appeared on Black Jazz in the mid-1970s. Not to say the keyboardist was totally neglected back then, but he and other plugged-in pianists of his stylistic inclination (such as label-mate Doug Carn, Hampton Hawes, Don Grolnick, Larry Willis, and Gordon Beck) existed in the deep shadow cast by jazzman-turned-jazz-funk powerhouse Herbie Hancock, whose records with the H…

Whereas the earlier black jazz album Shawn-Neeq had its share of riff-based funk, Calvin Keys' second outing Proceed with Caution! (1974) sticks close to straight-ahead jazz verities with the 30-something guitarist in the studio with seven similarly young, on-the-rise musicians including Charles Owens (saxophones, flute), Oscar Brashear (trumpet), Al Hall Jr. (trombone), Kirk Lightsey (electric piano), Henry Franklin (bass), and Leon "Ndugu" Chancler (drums). Keys can really play the guitar, e…

Jazz-man Henry Franklin, widely respected for his service to the finest jazz players, brought that ineffable quality called soulfulness into play when he made his first record for producer George Porter at Black Jazz, The Skipper. Not unexpectedly, his follow-up affair titled The Skipper at Home teems with the same jaunty uplift. In sync with Franklin's musical spirit on the second recording are returnees Charles Owens on saxophone, Oscar Brashear on trumpet and Kenny Climax on guitar along wi…

Tracklisting: Space Towers, Cogitation, Skylight, The Alter Destiny, Easy Street, Blue Differentials, Monorails and Satellites, The Galaxy Way. Recorded at Sun Studios, New York 1966 (a home recording).

The third CD by the trio of Rex Casswell (electric guitar), Phillip Marks (percussion) and Paul Obermayer (samples), creating beautiful jagged, sharp edged textures propelled by some of their tightest, strangest, most powerful rhythmic designs yet. The third CD by the trio of Rex Casswell (electric guitar), Phillip Marks (percussion) and Paul Obermayer (samples). Bark! again take their group virtuosity to new areas, creating beautiful jagged, sharp edged textures propelled by some of their …

Saxophonist Gerd Dudek's 2012 concert in London at the Vortex in a quartet with Hans Koller (piano), Oli Hayhurst (bass) and Gene Calderazzo (drums), with Dudek and Koller picking some of their favorite jazz tunes including works by Nichols, Shorter, Coleman, Wheeler, &c. Gerd Dudek (soprano & tenor saxophones), Hans Koller (piano), Oli Hayhurst (double bass), Gene Calderazzo (drums). Gerd Dudek came to London early in 2012 to give a concert at the Vortex. The next day the quartet went to…

Three open improvisations recorded in concert at Kunstencentrum Belgie Hasselt, Belgium in 2010 by sub-groups from the Electrocacoustic Ensemble, plus an extended performance by the whole ensemble: Richard Barrett, Peter van Bergen, Lawrence Casserley, Peter Evans, Agusti Fernandez, Barry Guy, Ishikawa Ko, Paul Lytton, Paul Obermayer, Evan Parker, Walter Prati, Ned Rothenberg, Joel Ryan, Marco Vecchi.

John Stevens, batterie et voix. Paul Rutherford, trombone et euphonium. Evan Parker, saxophones ténor et soprano. Barry Guy, contrebasse et électroniques. Londres, août 1978. Un quartet initialement sorti en vinyl chez View en 1980 et en CD chez Konnex en 1994. En bonus, Paul Rutherford, trombone et électroniques et Barry Guy, contrebasse à Milan en 1979. John Stevens, batterie et voix et Evan Parker, saxophone soprano à Londres en 1992. Free et historique!

 After ten years from the date of its recording (2003), this surreal jam  between kaleidoscopic Stuttgart's collective Metabolismus and evergreen American improviser Eugene Chadbourne, is finally turning into a wax. You'll have the cheerful feeling of listening to Sun Ra jamming with Stockhausen while together on a trip to Stonedland! What's on this record is basically high lysergic psychedelia meeting crazy free jazz,  with some spared funky grooves and fragmented tapes manipulations. You'll be…

Dutch sax/drums duo Dead Neanderthals aims directly for the jugular with their new album Polaris, an all-acoustic tour de force mastered by the king of noise: Lasse Marhaug. This abrasive duo ventures into more abstract territory, where they firmly uncouple their music from structure, leaving behind any restrictions that the seemingly reasonable combination of sound and rhythm might bring and which results in an unhealthy dose of acoustic noise

Decades before the advent of 'world music', bassist-composer Ahmed Abdul-Malik introduced Arabic music into jazz, creating a distinct, unique sound that was far beyond its time. Best known in jazz circles for his solid work with Randy Weston and Thelonious Monk, Abdul-Malik, who is of Sudanese descent, was also the first to use the oud, a pear-shaped, traditional Middle Eastern stringed instrument similar to a lute, as a jazz instrument. Recorded in 1958, with tenor saxophonist Johnny Gri…

As a duo Tim Catlin and David Brown aka Candlesnuffer come together as 'Helium Clench' and boast long histories in the Melbourne and international avant-garde music world. Both have independently developed a fascination with microtonal sound, in particular through Catlin's construction of harmonic overtone guitars and metal rod instruments tuned in just intonation, and in Brown's case through his explorations using the quartertone bass guitar. 'Sieve', their first duo recording is a stud…

The HBE family are in full effect on this 6-track mini-album. Forming like a brass-plated Voltron, they spin from swaggering Hip-Hop funk on 'Starfighter' to sparky, feel-good breakbeat funk on 'Touch The Sky' and more sultry, jazzed up styles for the Sun-Ra sampling 'Pluto' on the A-side. Flip it for the more brooding, cinematic themes of 'Kyptonite' feat Crow, and the record's highlight 'Black Boy' easing off the punchy percussion for a more spiritual vibe with spoken words by their pat…

Triumphal new CD, the first new recordings in an age, from one of the greatest bands on the goddamn planet, the trio of saxophonists Jim Sauter and Don Dietrich and guitarist Donald Miller aka Borbetomagus: this is a roof-raising performance, recorded live at Instants Chavires, France, 19th December 2009. Borbetomagus combine the elevated amplifier violence of Jimi Hendrix at his most combustible with the spontaneous free music polyphony of Ascension-era Coltrane and the ‘guitar smashing’ h…

Hard-grooving Ethiopiques killers from the "Ethiopian Elvis". This eponymous collection gathers some of his finest moments from 45's recorded between 1967 and 1974, nine total, mixing R&B, soul, rock'n'roll with that magically mystical blend of modern flair and traditional groove that makes the Ethiopiques series such a treasure trove. You could imagine each of these being classics in their own right way back when, from the soulful organ burn and infectious breaks of 'Kenoru Lebetchahe' w…

Recorded at Soopa studio and featuring Arthur Doyle (sax, flutes and voice), Jonathan Saldanha, Gustavo Costa and Filipe Silva (assorted percussions and electronics), this is a beautiful, wild, cut, with Doyle's touch being so deep, rough and gentle at the same time, while his band gives him plenty of room to spread out through minimal rythm patterns and a hypnotic work on bells and cymbals. Closing with an anthem that will give you shivers down your spine, this recording will bring you to an an…

Founded 40 years ago in 1972, The Pyramids released three albums before splitting up in 1977: Lalibela (1973), King of Kings (1974), and the seminal Birth/Speed/Merging LP (1976). Three albums that made them one of the most mysterious and legendary of all the spiritual cosmic jazz collectives of the early '70s, like the Art Ensemble of Chicago and Sun Ra. "We were way ahead of our time, so we decided to let time catch up." -- Idris Ackamoor. After a highly energetic reunion of the group in 200…

Special art box in 26 copies only, also including one-sided LP with hand-made labeel (photo of Sangomas) and totally unreleased music from the Sangoma drums session (this particular track was not even on the original cassette release)

Restocked, very last copies around: Doyle is another matter. This man is dangerous - he never plays anything you could recognize, just furious blasts of rage. His solo on "Domiabra" couldn't be written down, or even sorted out. It sounds more like raw energy than anything I've ever heard. He's nasty, man." These liner notes to the original issue of Noah Howard's 'The Black Ark' may define perfectly also this new, incredible album by Arthur Doyle, this time 'in solo' for sax, flutes and voi…

Diverse musical elements - coruscating cymbal scrapes, shimmering amplifier hum, melancholy saxophone circlings, sharp hits of snare, string and reed, slow motion guitar riffs, deep tam-tam surges and floor tom rasps, hypnotic prepared piano figures, and hovering fragments of song-like melodies - fracture and coalesce in this single intense improvisation. Featuring two of the foundational figures of free improvisation alongside a younger arrival, this recording captures the first meeting …

A serie of duet with André Jaume and another musician, recorded in 1980 and 1983 by Jean Roché, Jean-Marc Foussat, Daniel Deshays. Raymond Boni, electric guitar. Hervé Bourde, flute. André Jaume, saxophones, bass clarinet. Jean-Marc Montera, acoustic guitare. François Mechali, doublebass. Fred Ramanonjiarisoa, piano. Gérard Siracusa, percussions.

Already sold out at source ! Ltd edition of 350 LP. 'Wound response' is the third solo harp release by improviser and harpist Rhodri Davies following his albums 'Trem' (2003) and 'Over Shadows' (2007) on the Confront Label. Moved by the diverse and vital music scene in the North East of England this is a weighty departure for Davies. wound response is loud, distorted and forms an attempt to work with rhythm and pitches in an open and fluid way. The album comes pressed on heavyweight transl…

Michael Wintsch, piano, synthesizer. Christian Weber, bass. Christian Wolfarth, drums. Ten years ago Michel Witsch (piano, synthesizer), Christian Weber (bass) and Christian Wolfarth (drums) met - 3 musicians who have not only shaped the European scene of improvisation in the most different formations but who also catch an ear with the maybe most relevant aspect in music whatsoever: SOUND. Wintsch, Weber and Wolfrath make music with a breathtaking mental vigor. The long time working band has…

Mats Gustafsson is perhaps the pre-eminent saxophonist of this post-free jazz/improv era. A perfect combination of Peter Brotzmann's fiery passion, Evan Parker's extended technique and Ken Vandermark's willingness to explode genre boundaries, Gustafsson's discography spans over two decades and sports numerous must-hear recordings with a long laundry list of collaborators, including such luminaries as Brotzmann, Vandermark, Joe McPhee, Jim O'Rourke, Derek Bailey, Sonic Youth and The Ex. Illustrio…

After meeting for the first time in Beirut during the Irtijal Festival 2006, Axel Dörner and Jassem Hindi had their first musical collaborationin Switzerland two years later in 2008. From that time on they have regularly performed as a duo on different occasions.The music of the duo is electroacoustic music with trumpet and electronics, both musicians using their musical equipment and systems in an unusual way, developing their own techniques of sound creation.They are interested in explorin…

restocked, sold out at source....Astonishing debut LP by percussionist Ben Hall (Graveyards/Broken Research) and violinist Mike Khoury (Graveyards, Faruq Z. Bey Northwood Improvisers). 'It's not a fear of falling, it's a fear of landing' is simply one of the wildest works of free music we got the chance to experience in recent times.Khoury emits ribbons of lyrical, stream of-consciousness violin playing, alternately letting his notes really hang, or focusing on small, scratchy sounds or di…

The second album of the Phantom Band is quite different to the predecessor. The line-up features the spoken word performer Sheldon Ancel on the microphone instead of bass player Rosko Gee. Whilst the debut album revealed many Caribbean or African influences and a generally positive frame of mind, "Freedom of Speech" is a somewhat darker avant-garde rock manifesto, interspersed with individual dub or reggae pieces. All they have in common are Jaki Liebezeit's inimitable monotone polyrhythm…

2LP version, featuring one track not on the CD. Rune Grammofon presents the third album from Swedish trio Fire! -- something of a supergroup with members from already well-known projects. And again, it's a collaboration, this time with the extraordinary and prolific guitarist Oren Ambarchi. With their heavy, hypnotic, psychedelic rock'n'jazz explorations, they have carved out a different sound than any of the groups they are normally associated with. Sax player, improviser, composer and fer…

Restocked!! Last copies arounf - recorded on november 2010, 'Ithaca' stands as one of the missing links between the tradition of free jazz and the current explorations in sound art. Bringing together one of the greatest living free jazz saxophonists and a young talented percussionist and sound sculptor, you have a record that sounds like a 'classic' and yet way ahead of its time. McPhee’s playing here is so lucid that it feels like a compendium of all those aspects of his style that have e…

**restocked, few copies left** Almost sold out in pre-sale, act fast! As this album is a treasure, a minblowing reissue (dated 1972) of an intense, spontaneous droney improvisation and the complex Michael Ranta's chiming rhythms interlaced with trance-alike collective passages. It’s a monster! ""...tomorrow i will send you the CD of a very strange anarcho spontaneously improvised sound tableau. it is one of the very first musical projects with Ranta, when we met in Egypt in 1972. i didn't listen…

Black Goddess was written and directed by Ola Balogun (recognized as one of Nigeria's most renowned directors) but shot and cast in Brazil and released in 1978. The soundtrack was composed and produced by one of Nigeria's most successful and original musicians Remi Kabaka (who has played with Steve Winwood, Paul Simon and Ginger Baker, amongst others). The record was originally issued in both Nigeria and Brazil, but recorded in Lagos, using four of the Nigerian music scene's most innovative…

A landmark of Afro-centric jazz in the 70s – and the first album by this famous underground collective! Oneness of Juju were a Washington DC-based group that grew out of the ashes of the Juju avant jazz ensemble "One of the most groundbreaking bands of their time. From early avant-garde jazz work on the Strata East label to their later fusions of Afrobeat, funk and spiritual jazz, Oneness stand as a huge influence for today's jazz scene. Released in 1976, the African Rhythms album is Onen…

"Group ONGAKU, founded mainly by students at Tokyo National University of Fine Art & Music, was the 1st collective musical improvisation group. The group began their activities in 1958, & from the naming of the group in 1960 onward continued until somewhere around 1962. They attempted to create acoustics corresponding to actual time & space by means of collective improvisation. Although methodically different, the music that they pursued incidentally shared common directions with contemporaries …

arthur doyle- tenor sax, voice; vin paternostro- roland 505; ed wilcox- percussions; leslie q- bass ;rec. march 26 & 27, 2004 at springwater tavern & artswatch...the final available rec. i have left of Arthur, unfortunatly ?! i kept it for the last since i find it a really special goody: a more intimate 4et live dates from 2004

restocked, 2010 repress. Exact repro, originally released in 1973 on the Strata-East affiliated Black Fire label. This is the first LP from this classic Afro free jazz group. Very much in the spirit of the Art Ensemble of Chicago, but with more spiritual/soul jazz stylings tempering the pure free jazz fire music vibe. The group would shortly hereafter change their name to Oneness of Juju.

This is the first-ever release of not ONE but TWO classic Basil Kirchin soundtracks, one from 1965, the other 1971. It's music for strippers, wife-swapping, death, birth, crime and chicken factories. Basil Kirchin is a legendary jazz drummer and grandfather of ambient music. He started his jazz career drumming in his father's jazz band. In the war years, he took over the band and post-war travelled to the East, hung out with the Maharishi, found himself, moved to Australia and finally returned h…

East New York Ensemble de Music came out of the diverse community of Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, where African, West Indian & black American cultures converged. First and foremost a deep Spiritual Jazz record, At The Helm also incorporates elements of the West Indies, and both the Near and Far East. Originally issued in a very small pressing by Folkway Records in 1974, at a time when the label was doing some great underground recordings! The sound is loose and free – spiritually building in a man…