Jazz /
Morning Glory
At the time of its original release in 1973, Morning Glory, seemed a surprising departure for saxophonist John Surman. It seemed to owe more to the music being made by Miles Davis, Weather Report andTony Williams' Lifetime in the USA or Ian Carr's Nucleus and Soft Machine in the UK than it did to the often abstract, free but determinedly acoustic music that Surman had pioneered up to that point. Hindsight tells another story. Morning Glory stands as both a consolidation of his work to date and, …
Westering Home
Fledg'ling are very proud to bring Westering Home to CD. Westering Homewas originally released in 1972. John Surman plays everything on the album, drawing together many of the threads of his earlier recordings with the possibilities offered by technology (and his own prodigious musicality). "I took a break from being on the road. This was just around the time when mono had become stereo, and then - in a flash - multi-track recording became possible. I was fascinated by the possibilities of, say,…
Forgiveness Suite
Composed by Arthur Williams. Recorded on December 19, 1978 at WKCR, New York. Forgiveness Suite is another worthy rediscovery by NoBusiness Records, focusing this time on trumpeter Arthur Williams, an almost forgotten figure of the free jazz scene of the late Seventies. Williams participated in some interesting recording sessions of the period, like First Feeding by Jemeel Moondoc’s Muntu Ensemble, Lowe And Behold by the Frank Lowe Orchestra and most significantly Peter Kuhn’s Livin' Right, tha…
Live at the Open gate
Amid the structural redefinition of jazz music, which is continually ongoing and, as of late, has placed an emphasis on the merger between free improvisation, arch composition and pulsative, rock-based rhythms, there is still much conversation to be had on the relevance of tradition. Musicians are still reckoning with the world opened up by Ornette Coleman, an alto saxophonist (later violinist and trumpeter) and composer whose 1959 stand at New York’s Five Spot and subsequent LPs took the music …
Purple Patio
All music by Nate Wooley, Hugo Antunes, Jorge Queijo, Mário Costa, Chris Corsano. Recorded on 12th May 2012 at Sá Da Bandeira Studio, Portugal. Mixed by Manuel Reis. If I had to do it all over again, I would not have judged Purple Patio as soon as I dropped the needle onto the LP. Yes, this is a vinyl-only release, and yes, it is only an edition of 300 copies. Instead, I should have listened to both sides all the way through. But that would have required getting up to turn over the disc.
So, I …
OWT
All music by Marcelo dos Reis, Luís Vicente, José Miguel Pereira, João Pais Filipe and João Guimarães. Recorded Live by José Martins on 26th April 2014 at Salão Brazil in Coimbra.
The Other Shore
"Livin' Right is a product of the amazing NYC loft scene of the 1970s, where players from around the world gathered in a rare period of community, harmony, and creativity, a time when a relative unknown from California could meet and play with the great musicians on this disc. William Parker was already a phenomenon at the time, but there was no way to predict the depth of his amazing ultimate contribution to music. Denis Charles had already been on pivotal albums with Sonny Rollins, Cecil Taylo…
Shipwreck 4
All music by Bennett – Johnston – Mezzacappa – Rosaly. Recorded 10th January, 2015 by Myles Boisen and Jonah Strauss at Shipwreck Studios, Oakland, CA. Mixed by John Finkbeiner at New, Improved Recording, Oakland, CA
Cinema Spiral
Musicians: Greg Ward - alto saxophone; Keefe Jackson - tenor saxophone, sopranino saxophone, contrabass clarinet; Jason Stein - bass clarinet; Josh Berman - trumpet; Jeb Bishop - trombone; Jason Adasiewicz - vibraphone; Jason Roebke - bass; Mike Reed - drums
The diversity of Jason Roebke’s musical associations make him one of the most sought after bassists in Chicago and beyond. He composes music for two ensembles, Jason Roebke Combination and the Jason Roebke Octet. Solo performance and a duo w…
Beauty Is A Rare Thing: The Complete Atlantic Recordings
Ornette Coleman has been a leading force in jazz since his startling debut in the late '50s, Coleman's emotive alto saxophone style relies on melodic improvisation unbound by chord changes. This style (and philosophy) was dubbed by Ornette 'harmelodics' and reached its peak in a small combo whose virtuoso playing had the power of the blues and the multi-rhythmic sophistication of Monk, Mingus, or Coltrane. The landmark series of albums Coleman released in the late '50s and early '60s still defin…
Live
Mats Gustafsson, baritone saxophone. Ingebrigt HŒker Flaten, electric bass. Paal Nilssen-Love, drums. Thurston Moore, electric guitar. On their tour for their recent album 'Boot' the scandinavian freejazz monsters teamed up with ThurstonMoore of Sonic Youth fame at London's Cafe Oto to produce some heavy improvised thunder! Recorded live in concert by John Chantler and Jonathan McHugh at Cafe Oto, London, 10th february 2013. Mixed July 2014 by Martin Siewert and Mats Gustafsson at Garnison7, Vie…
Shake
Mats Gustafsson, tenor & baritone saxophones. Ingebrigt HŒker Flaten, electric & double bass. Paal Nilssen-Love, drums, percussion. Additional guests on one track, Anna Högberg: alto saxophone, Goran Kajfes: cornet. Recorded June 1st and 2nd 2015 by J¿rgen Træen at Duper studio, Bergen, Norway.Two years after their The Thing Records label-debut with the legendary Boot album, the Scandinavian freejazz vikings release another heavy and wonderful monster of a studio-album! Intense, passionate and a…
Signals
LP version. Alexander von Schlippenbach: piano; Aki Takase: piano; DJ Illvibe: turntables; Paul Lovens: drums. Recorded by Rainer Robben at AudioCue, Berlin. Lovens joins the Lok 03 trio of Schlippenbach, Takase, and DJ Illvibe for the follow-up to their 2005 debut. Mastered by Beat Halberschmidt. Artwork by Philip Hillers. Liner notes by Yoko Tawada.
MG 50 - Peace & Fire
In October 2015, a three-day was held at Porgy & Bess in Vienna for the 50th birthday of Mats Gustafsson, saxophone player extraordinaire in contemporary (free) jazz with The Thing, Fire!, and various duo/trio/ensemble formations. Many collaborators of Gustafsson's were invited to join in various formations. The first three discs of the four-CD set were recorded October 26-28, 2014 at Porgy & Bess in Vienna byMikael Werliin. The fouth disc was recorded October 26-28th, 2014 at "Strenge Kammer," …
The Tale Of The Heike
Akira Sakata, a legendary Japanese jazz musician active since the early '70s (Yosuke Yamashita Trio,Akira Sakata Trio) and a marine biologist, has toured and recorded with The Thing, Jim O'Rourke, Bill Laswell, Merzbow, Chikamorachi, et al. The Tale of the Heike is an intense solo performance originally released on CD in 2011, and now available on vinyl for the first time. This edition is expanded to include four pieces from the 2013 DVD release of a live ensemble performance of the piece. Akira…
Via Combusta
Massimo Pupillo, of Italian jazz-noise monsters ZU, and Chris Corsano, drummer of Rangda (with Sir Richard Bishop), Chikamorachi (withAkira Sakata & Darin Gray), and in kicking projects with Joe McPhee,Evan Parker, Okkyung Lee, Bill Orcutt, team up for an overwhelming heavy drum and bass improv studio-session. Chris Corsano: drums and percussion. Massimo Pupillo: electric bass. Recorded, mixed and mastered by Bruno Germano on April 2015 at Vacuum Studio, Bologna, Italy. Artwork by Lasse Marhaug.
Ears Are Filled With Wonder
Ears Are Filled With Wonder, the debut release from the duo of pedal steel player Heather Leigh and reedist Peter Brötzmann, blows the old adage about improvised music somehow not being best appreciated via the recordings to beautiful pieces. This is a music that demands re-visiting, that seems to alter, slightly, every time it is played, with new details emerging, new relationships of tone and style, new romance, even. Recorded during a mammoth stint in Kraków, Poland, where Brötzmann and…
Risc
With all the projects Peter Brötzmann is currently working on, Full Blast -- with the precise and dynamic Swiss rhythm section of Marino Pliakas and Michael Wertmüller -- is the most consistent and the longest-running. Their fifth album finds the band in a studio again, with time and the desire to try something new. Seven compositions in the distinctive, strong Full Blast nature get an exciting electronic treatment by Michael Wertmüller (with electronics by Gerd Rische, recorded months before hi…
Every Day In The Week, vol. 1
First release on the Dutch Hidden Charms Records label. This LP merely brings together a group of damn fine jazz and blues recordings that make for a musically diverse and interesting listening experience. The 14 superb songs presented were recorded between 1927-1933 and feature the cream of the crop of Barrelhouse Piano, Country Blues, Jug Bands, Hokum Groups, Hot Jazz Orchestras and Medicine Show Songsters. Yes people, all the good stuff!!! Many of the more obscure tracks featured are hard to …
Café des Pyrénnées
Beautiful work from Joe Haider – a lesser-known pianist on these shores, but an important force in the German scene – best remembered for some wonderful music on the Ego Records label! This set captures Joe in a very similar setting – working on both acoustic piano and Fender Rhodes – in a trio with Allen Blairman on drums, and the mighty Isla Eckinger on bass. If you don't know Eckinger, you're really in for a treat – as he's a tremendous talent who has this way of shaping notes and rhythms tha…