Jazz & Improvisation / All styles

With this album , the return of the Third Ear Band became reality mostly though the realization of an italian producer and label owner of Materiali Sonori and longtime fan. Two of the four original members regrouped and added Mick Carter on guitar which was to remain for many years to come and Alan Samuel on Violin but the fourth member will often change for future albums . But the music has not change after a 15 year stop, and we are right away plunged through the usual and quasi dronal music T…

Leo Cuypers, pianist and composer from southern Holland, is one of the great unsung heroes of Dutch creative music -- as a bandleader, solo pianist and member of the first incarnation of the Willem Breuker Kollektief. Heavy Days Are Here Again was a project that brought Bennink and Breuker (who made the first ICP record, New Acoustic Swing Duo together as a twosome back in the 60s) back together after a somewhat fractious split, and reunited Buypers with Breuker as well. Cuypers named the group …

Now here's an oddity, an album of compositions for and by a pair of accordionists; and, with the exception of a forte-piano here and a bayan or melodica there, accordions are all you hear. Guy Klucevsek is the man who single-handedly brought the accordion into the jazz underground. He is also a composer of note having his works performed by many ensembles around the world, including the Kronos Quartet and the Arditti String Quartet. Alan Bern is well-known as the musical director of Brave Old Wo…

2024 Stock. Minor signs of wear from long-time storage. A new side of ever surprising master composer/musician Anthony Braxton. A world premier performance by the Arizona State University Percussion Ensemble directed by Dr. J. B. Smith. Recorded Feb 6, 1994 in the Music Theatre at the Arizona State University School of Music, Temple, Arizona. The CD is accompanied by an 8-page booklet to lead you throught the labyrinth of Braxton's thinking.

Anthony Braxton plays piano. Two discs, 10 jazz standards, over 75 minutes each disc. (Incidentally this is the first piece by Lennie Tristano on Disc 1). Marty Ehrlich on reeds, Joe Fonda on bass, Pheeroan AkLaff on drums.

Recorded in 1981 by a 37-piece orchestra & dedicated to the master composer Karlheinz Stockhausen, this album is a key work in Braxton's music's evolution both on the structural & spiritual levels; features extensive notes by Graham Lock.

A double CD documenting a complete concert at Wesleyan University in front of an appreciative audience. A 100-minute dialoge between a master percussionist And an amazing saxophonist who plays hos whole arsenal of saxophones And clarinet. Sit And watch how ideas are being born developed And brought to a close just to be started all over again.

How will Anthony Braxton be regarded 50 years from now, after the polemicists of today are dead and/or no longer interested, when something like an objective and knowledgeable evaluation of his work becomes possible? For all his undeniable brilliance as a composer, Braxton's seeming indifference toward the craft of composition will undermine his reputation to a significant degree. Which might not be fair, actually. Perhaps Braxton's problem is that he suffers from a condition virtually unprecede…

Anthony Braxton opens this one with a blues on alto. And does he play the blues. Not the neat, buttoned-down, arrogantly self-possessed kind of blues that epitomized jazz in the '90s, but the dirty, lowdown, heavily expressionistic blues that hearkens back to the music's beginning -- a blues that communicates something more than just an attitude. It's not slick, it's not pretty, but it's eminently real. This double-disc set, recorded live at Wesleyan University with the quite capable straightahe…

Here is another example of the remarkable versatility of Anthony Braxton. For this series of nearly eighty minutes of carefully arranged duets, Braxton performs on flute; contra-alto, contrabass, Bb, and soprano clarinets; and sopranino, alto, and F saxophones. Brett Larner joins him on traditional 13-string koto and 17-string bass koto. The combinations of sounds are utterly fascinating; the duo allures with deceptive simplicity. While some of the compositions lean toward familiar abstraction, …

This is Anthony Braxton doing what he does best — playing and improvising on his own idiosyncratic small-group compositions, this time in duet with bassist Joe Fonda. The two also have a go at a pair of standards, which come off as well as one might expect — you either love or hate the way Braxton interprets traditional material — but they are heard to best advantage on the several originals written by each. Fonda's tunes are very much in a similar vein as Braxton's — unstable or nonexistent ton…

Tony Oxley, percussion; Matt Wand, drum machines & tape switchboard; Pat Thomas, electronics & keyboard; Derek Bailey, electric guitar. Quartet 1 (16.00), Duo MP (05.03), Duo TD (13.06), Quartet 2 (04.49), Duo TM (08.41), Duo TP (04.49), Trio PMD (10.14), Quartet 3 (05.40). Recording by WDR Cologne, 8 April 1992. Cover painting (reproduced above) The singer by Tony Oxley, photographed by Max Lautenschlager.

Don't call it a comeback. Bridge Out!, the first release in almost a decade by the duo of saxophonist Paul Flaherty and percussionist Randall Colbourne, is better thought of as a renewal, a reawakening of a collaboration which has lain dormant for too long. Joining forces in the late 1980s, these two New Englanders released over a dozen uncompromising and outlaw styled albums of avant garde jazz on their own and other labels that have since vanished into legend. Since then, Flaherty has expanded…

1991 collaboration between Shaking Ray Levis and Borbetomagus in an exquisite mix of over-amplified and otherwise bewilderingly fierce free improv - three pieces of reed-drone/squawk, percussion & electronics.

The book explains who Sun Ra was and what he was doing. This is no mean feat. Sun Ra was a man of many interests and beliefs, of whom many misconceptions exist. Even most of his fans will probably learn much and gain tremendous perspective on him from this book. The book's story is one of a man with artistic genius within him, who probably could have been a millionaire and musical "star" - who chose to do other things instead. Here is the unusual story of what he did and why he did it. There is …

Recorded on December 22, 1973 in New York City at the famous Town Hall, this eclectic ESPDisk-sponsored celebration of the Comet Kohoutek featured a fire eater, talking drums, and dancers in platform shoes, in addition to Sun Ra's Arkestra. After taking the stage ninety minutes late, the band expertly navigates its way through cosmic free playing, big-band romps, and didactic vocal numbers. Compared to the original pressing, this re-issue is digitally remastered by Joe Phillips and includes brie…

 Recorded during the 1966 tour of New York State colleges by celebrated classical engineer David Jones, this version of Nothing Is... contains over 20 minutes of newly-discovered material from the same date as the original album. Live set recorded during what many consider to be Sun Ra's most interesting period.

The second deluxe Ra reissue in the new o-card format from the UMS, released in conjunction with El Saturn Records is here: Sun Ra rocks out on his ultra-rare 'Roksichord' record, a small group outing from 1970 with an alternate take PLUS three mind-bending, never issued Wurlitzer solos from '64. Long-awaited & available on CD for the first time!" "The Night of the Purple Moon is Sun Ra's great 'Roksichord record.' It's also one of his most delightful, upbeat, and accessible outings -- full of b…

Soundtrack to a film that doesn't exist, recorded in 1966! Reissued for the first time. The complete album Abstractions Of The Industrial North is on this recording, and we have added a selection of recordings from other rare Kirchin, Jack Nathan and John Coleman productions, including 'The Wild One', 'Don't Lose Your Cool', 'Town Beat' and finally 'Mind On The Run'. These are all ten inch De Wolfe releases, are exceptionally rare and includes some incredible session musicians, including Jimmy P…

John Stevens (percussion, cornet, voice), Nigel Coombes (violin), Roger Smith (guitar). The 1981 London concert features two of John Stevens didactic pieces performed by nine or ten Musicians, plus a Trio improvisation. Another (previously unissued) Trio set can also be heard - the excitement of the music overcomes the imperfections of the recording on this half hour from 1978. Reissue of SFA LP 092 with extra Trio material. "Sometime in 1976 the SME became a trio made up of John Stevens, Nigel …

Veryan Weston (piano), Hannah Marshall (cello) & Satoko Fukuda (violin). A leading member of the London improvising scene teams up with two very talented newer members, both of whom come from 'classical' backgrounds. The result is improvised chamber music of the highest order, with no sign of any uncertainty. Recorded March 13th, 2007.

Above all, COBRA is a musical experience. Words cannot convey. Listen, just listen, and you're liable to find yourself lost in the magic of the game, and the music. Cobra is an unpublished but recorded and frequently performed musical composition by John Zorn that was conceived as a loosely structured system, or game piece, for a group of musical improvisors and a prompter.Zorn completed Cobra on October 9, 1984. The composition consists of a set of cues notated on cards, and rules corresponding…

an AWESOME album by A Sprirale, consistin in Massimo Spezzaferro (drums) Maurizio Argenziano (guitars) Mario Gabola (alto, ten.) Tonino Taiuti (voice, objects) The entire album moves forward in a complicated, constantly mutating web of stylistic references to musical precedents within jazz and twentieth century music, overlapped in a restless search for new textures, moods, dramatic interludes, and possible resolutions

The Los Angeles Free Music Society (LAFMS), Poo-Bah Records, and The Pasadena Arts & Culture Commission brings you an homage and exploration of the 78RPM vinyl medium in true 78 phonic quality. The proposal was to make a mysterious object out its time -- a conundrum. Something technologically obsolete, by the most standards. It is an homage to the beginnings of recording technology by combining current methodologies with older mediums of sound reproduction. The compositions derive its sounds fro…

Saxophonist Paul Flaherty is New England's purveyor of the ecstatic jazz pulse. Even before his 1978 debut, Flaherty remained unshakable in the pursuit of soul healing and demon dashing through freedom music. Whirl of Nothingness, Flaherty's second solo album, is eight pieces of alto and soprano saxophone steeped in the theme of loss channeled through blasting improvisations that showcase his fabulous wailing and inferno of sound to stark bluesy melodies. Even without drum buddies Chris Corsano …

PhonoMetak Series is a collaboration with PhonoMetak Labs, the discographic division of the music store SoundMetak di Xabier Iriondo. This series is strictly in 10" vinyls, as the early century 78 rpm.

A very nice production coming from Italy, that can be defined as a perfect meeting point for the experimental and explorative tensions of different musicians, whose background range from classical music to contemporary, from jazz to the extreme boundaries of rock" EAQuartett fall in the realm of Supersilent with an obvious appreciation towards the kraut and free jazz scenes of the late '60s and '70s. A fellow RYMer described this album along the lines of being the perfect exploration of the luci…

Rhodri Davies solo recording for harp and ebows. Recorded January 2004 at the Old School, Bracon Ash, Norfolk. Digipack. "Over shadows" - title courtesy Redell Olsen's "Secure portable space" book - is a single track, 36 minutes long, for harp and eBow. The chief reference name in this composition would obviously appear to be Alvin Lucier, as Davies' subtle juxtaposition of resonant overtones elicits the typical effects of beating between frequencies on the one hand, of marvellous saturati…

Recorded a year after his acclaimed masterpiece, The gentle harm of the bourgeoisie, these three festival sets are at least as good. They find Rutherford at his most original and inventive, making wild music by enhancing his trombone with his voice, with mutes and other objects, as well as using his awesome speed and stunning range. No-one else has made the trombone sound like this, before or since. Five minutes originally on an FMP sampler - the rest is previously unissued."

rare original copy of this landmark record. Recorded with a whiff of revolution in the air back in May '68, this landmark Brotzmann LP taps into the spirit of its time with a robust garage rock sensibility, lending a considerable urgency to the session, with the highest volume passages taking up far more airspace than the Lila Eule club in Bremen (where the original recordings took place) could accommodate. clean condition, unplayedPeter Brötzmann - tenor-/bariton saxPeter Kowald - bassSven Ake …

Awesome 3 x LP box (plus a 7" and a t-shirt): Two Lp’s of the box with Diez Años double cassette ( a collection of unreleased tracks of the eighties with some tracks of  compilations.) The third Vinyl will include: AVANCE RAPIDO (from La Zona Compilation) FUNGUS CEREBRI (from Sinn und Form) RASKIN (from 80´s Tracks) MAXIMO RENDIMIENTO(from 80´Tracks) PRIMERA TUNDRA (from 80´Tracks)TRANS UNMMA (from 80´sTracks) and the superb Live Performance of 87 from the special Bruitiste Box-Set. The 7“ conta…

Written by one of the founding members of AMM, the book is divided into three sections: AMM and the practice of self-invention; Meta-musical narratives; and Essays. The book is a bringing together of connected and unconnected writings on a wide range of parameters that have a bearing on the making of music and particularly those issues that come into play in (and sometimes before and after) improvisation. Prévost points out that 'The meta-musical narratives were constructed, as an act of writing…

fantastico documentario sulla storia della label discografica MPS > A brief history of a pioneering jazz label MPS (for Musik- Produktion Schwarzwald) is known as the German „Blue Note“. The label was established by producer and music enthusiast Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer (also named HGBS) from 1968 in Villingen. After he left the SABA enterprise, he made high class jazz productions in a wide variety. Till the 1980s, over 600 jazz vinyls were released in the whole spectrum from traditional Jazz t…

Limited edition of 600 numbered copies. The 5-Lp-Box contains all officially unreleased material on Vinyl.The tracks are re-mastered and digitally transferred from the following tapes: Mectpyo/Blut 1 & Mectpyo Blut 2 (1979/80) Atomique/Murder (1980) Gene-P (1980) Nervo/Hydra (1980) Technology 2 (1980)    

Martin Küchen: prepared and non prepared alto saxophone. David Stackens: guitar, low-budget electronics. Recorded at Fylkingen, Stockholm by Andreas Berthling, 16th of May 2004. Mastered by Andreas Berthling, David Stackens and Martin Küchen.

Compilation containing six lengthy solo tracks by some of the most fascinating improvising musicians currently active in Japan. The CD documents a series of lecture-concerts, exploring the meanings, methods and implications of free music, which took place between September 2003 and February 2004 at Mesar Haus in Tokyo.

The great improvising guitarist, Joe Morris, returns with Luther Gray on drums and adds the masterful string section of Katt Hernandez on violin and Junko Fujiwara Simons on cello for his follow up to 2009's Colorfield . Drawing inspiration from the assembly of tones in film and photography, Morris leads his quartet in stopping time to highlight the value and unpredictable sensation that each moment offers and the pleasure in exploring the layers of experience and form contained within them.

Following up the critically acclaimed 2008 release, Stéphane Furic Leibovici and Chris Cheek return for this second volume, produced by Jim Black and featuring the alto saxophone giant Lee Konitz. An achievement in balance and taste, the resulting music is so thoughtful, intent and vibrant that it need not be forced upon you. The music unfolds for the listener in the subtlest of ways, as if the composer is challenging our very notion of what will come next. Like a mediation on color and space, y…

ESP-Disk is proud to announce its newest artist, Tsigoti, an international band combining revolutionary politics and intelligent semi-acoustic avant-punk fervor. Private Poverty Speaks To The People Of The Party was recorded with a group of players that have run the gauntlet of life experience and musical explorations and you can hear it in the vitality and urgency of the music. Private Poverty Speaks To The People Of The Party still holds the same raw improvisational qualities of their debut re…

In Search of the Mystery, Gato Barbieri’s debut album as leader, was recorded March 15, 1967, on the heels of his work on Don Cherry’s famed Blue Note recordings: Complete Communion and Symphony for Improvisers. This avant-jazz masterpiece from the Argentine tenor saxophonist shows off his volatile, shrieking sound to full and unrelenting affect, fueled by the twin interweaving strings of cellist Calo Scott and bassist Norris Jones (Sirone) and Bobby Kapp’s impressionistic drum splatter. Recorde…