Jazz & Improvisation / All styles

Bordeaux Concert is a special document from Keith Jarrett’s last European tour. Each of Jarrett’s 2016 solo piano concerts had its own strikingly distinct character, and in Bordeaux the lyrical impulse is to the fore. In the course of this improvised suite, many quiet discoveries are made, and there is a touching freshness to the music as a whole, a feeling of intimate communication. Reviewing the July 2016 performance, the French press spoke of hints of the Köln Concert and Bremen-Lausanne in t…

One of the critical figures in Chicago's creative music scene, alto saxophonist Nick Mazzarella has been a mainstay for over 25 years as a leader, composer, and player. This gorgeous recording was made at Shape Shoppe Paradiso, the Italian studio of former Chicagoan Griffin Rodriguez. Mazzarella was introduced to bassist Silvia Bolognesi by cellist Tomeka Reid, and he began informally playing with Silvia and drummer Cristiano Calcangile in 2016. Seven years later, Bolognesi invited Mazzarella to…

Ralph Alessi’s fourth appearance as a leader for the label follows a singular album run that’s been met with nothing but praise from The New York Times to The Guardian. The latter lauded Ralph’s previous recording Imaginary Friends (2019) for its “elegant balance of poignant, playful original compositions and gracefully probing improv” and declared it “his best album yet”. It’s Always Now however brims with arguments that there is a new contender for that title. On his new album, Alessi’s unique…

One of the most distinctive and influential instrumental ensembles of the 1980s, Steps Ahead injected urgently needed vitality into a stagnating fusion landscape with their own brand of intelligent, living jazz. With N.Y.C., their debut for Intuition, the group returned in an electrifying new incarnation and with a dynamically reimagined sound. Co-founder Mike Mainieri assembled a constellation of seasoned virtuosos for this session: drummer Steve Smith (known for his work with Journey and his o…

Neil S. Kvern’s Doctor Dancing Mask: Pianoisms is a near mythical marker on the map of late 20th century experimentalism transpiring in America’s Pacific Northwest. A sublime, spacious effort of left field DIY minimalism constructed from recurring piano pieces, hypnotic percussion, and a peppering of diverse instrumentation, vocals, and invisible effects, Doctor Dancing Mask illuminates a hidden but remarkable legacy of a young composer at the height of his creativity and consciousness. Original…

Big tip! This is it! Chicago spiritual jazz master Kahil El'Zabar delivers one of the most powerful live recordings in recent memory! Captured over two unforgettable nights at "mu" in London - July 15th & 16th, 2024 - this is music as ancient ritual, as communion, as healing force. El'Zabar created new material specifically for these performances, alongside reimagined arrangements of classics like Wayne Shorter's "Footprints", Gershwin's "Summertime", and Duke Ellington & Juan Tizol's "Caravan".…

Friends and colleagues since the late 1970s, Evan Parker and John Zorn are two of contemporary music’s most uncompromising saxophone innovators, and here they collaborate on a surprising and long overdue studio project. Recorded in New York and Britain from 2025 to 2026 Those Landings is an achingly beautiful exploration of modern reed music with an ambient touch from two radical musical philosophers who use the saxophone as a sound source. Astonishing!

Tzadik is proud to present a new solo piano CD by the legendary pianist and edu-cator Ran Blake. Now in his 90s, Ran has been associated with New England Conservatory since 1967 and is one of America’s greatest cultural treasures. Here he performs an eclectic program of jazz, folk, gospel, film noir, and Christmas Music in his inimitable deconstructuralist style. Produced by Ran’s longtime friend and colleague Hankus Netsky, “Voices” is a seductive and dreamy exploration of piano music at its mo…

In As Serious As Your Life, photographer and historian Val Wilmer chronicles the free jazz revolution as a Black cultural vanguard, situating Ayler, Coltrane, Coleman, Sun Ra and others within the struggles, hopes and solidarities of 1960s–70s America.

Whenever the term “Free Jazz” gets mentioned, the same questions more or less present themselves: “Is this easy to listen to?” “Is there structure, or is this just a few friends playing over each other?” “Is this another Coleman/Taylor/Dolphy homage?” Yes; yes; maybe—who cares? Free Jazz is (in my definite opinion) the last bastion of music (and maybe even art as a whole) where true innovation is not only still possible but also extremely well-executed—if done right. Enter “Second Sight” by Oslo…

*2024 stock* New York city based bassist and visual artist Josh Werner was awarded an artist in residence from The Cell Gallery located in New York NY. As a part of this residency which occurred in the month of July 2020, Josh presented various works in different mediums from visual art to music. In lue of the 2020 pandemic Josh was unable to present music to a live audience and instead offered a pre-recorded live performance to be aired at a later date. Werner was able to put together an ensemb…

*2024 stock* "Muriel Grossmann's music had an immediate impact on me from the moment I first heard it. It was music with dedication, speaking from the heart. I felt it speaks of past and present, with joy and happiness. Ten seconds into listening and I was hooked. I was all over the web trying to find a vinyl copy, but strangely enough there wasn't any available. Without a second thought we decided to get in touch with Muriel and ask how that is possible. And behold, before long, we were listeni…

At first glance, the idea that McCoy Tyner and the Grateful Dead might share musical DNA seems like a stretch. One built frameworks to support Coltrane’s spiritual flights—rewriting the jazz harmony playbook while turning chords into flexible architecture. The others were a San Francisco circus of psychedelic chaos and Americana grooves, an improvising rock band whose mythology often overshadowed their musicianship. On the surface, Tyner and the Dead appear to come from different galaxies. But l…

From the same producer who brought you Brahja, Kadef, EEG Coherence, Watermelancholia and Nebulizer, Infinity Zero offers yet another journey through shimmering soundscapes, soulful expression and rhythmical trance. “Modern jazz multi-instrumentalist, Devin Brahja Waldman, is an underrated force to be reckoned with, within the international alternative jazz scene. Brahja (the band) is an exemplary collective of musicians, all who fall in-line with modern jazz philosophy and have reflected it wit…

Vladislav Delay, primarily known as a highly regarded electronic music innovator, steps ahead with his acoustic jazz quintet. Echoing the forward-looking vd musical vision always ahead of the curve, the new album does not fit into any specific category, forging a path of its own across the 10 tracks. Recorded at Candybomber Studio in Berlin, the album brings vd together with Maria Bertel, Lucio Capece, Derek Shirley and Max Loderbauer. This is shape-shifting, elastic music that exists left of an…

2026 stock  The sources of jazz are to be found in Africa, as any encyclopedia of music will tell you. The polyrhythms, syncopation and improvisation that are integral to jazz all stem from the musical traditions of Africa. These distinct aspects of African music travelled to the Americas with the slave-trade and, intersecting in New Orleans with European instrumentation and arrangement, created the foundations of a new sound. Through the twentieth century Africa continued its influence, as free…

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.​

Mysterious quartet Oaagaada has for some years been one of the best-kept secrets in the vibrant Finnish scene. Now, the band is ready to share their eagerly-awaited debut album on We Jazz Records, 15 November, just ahead of their performance at Helsinki's We Jazz Festival. Oaagaada's music is "togetherness music" in the lineage and spirit of the great acoustic free jazz innovators, but always moving forward and developing on its own path. This music is far-removed from the sterile "contemporary …

Koma Saxo, the explosive quintet led by Berlin-based Swedish bassist/producer Petter Eldh, returns on We Jazz Records with their new album, cut live at We Jazz Festival in Helsinki, December 2019. Whereas their lauded debut was a triumph of remapping the goal posts for an acoustic jazz combo for the 2020's, "LIVE" takes you right to the heart of the actual ensemble sound, with 5 musicians tearing the place down, no post production. From the fiery opening sequence kicking off with "Euro Koma", on…

Jonathan Bäckström Quartet is an acoustic improvising quartet based in Helsinki with members from Finland and Sweden. Bassist/composer Jonathan Bäckström leads the quartet and they are set on a mission to navigate and discover the music that is being created in the moment. The quartet's expression consists of minimalistic landscapes and explosive, multi-layered free improvisation and is the result of each musician bringing their individual voices to create a strong, collective statement. The gro…

*Warehouse Find !!!* After the space-time experience and the translation into music of the Bible of Japanese civilization, the Fulukotofumi, the following year, in 1973, Hiromasa Suzuki pushes his research and experimentation beyond the borders of his own country by venturing, with the usual companions of adventure (Kunimitsu Inaba, Hideo Sekine, etc.), along the lights and shadows of the Silk Road. A backward journey in search of the musical and cultural sources of mainland Asia, from the gates…

*Warehouse Find !!!* The Fulukotofumi is the most important and ancient historical chronicle of Japan. The content of this work becomes an inspiration for the creation of a sound transposition of the legends and myths that most marked the spirit and inspiration of Hiromasa Suzuki, as a musician and as a high-level composer. The music that is concentrated between these grooves is a representation of the best that moved in the early seventies in the jazz-rock orbit at an international level; in ad…

Tip! *300 copies limited edition* This is a live recording of the Peter Brötzmann Trio (Peter Brötzmann, Sabu Toyozumi, and Jason Adasiewicz) from their performance at the 5th OCT-LOFT Jazz Festival at B10 Live, Shenzhen, in 2015. After the performance, the B10 Live team conducted a warm and friendly interview with the three musicians. The transcribed conversation has been edited and included in the liner notes of this vinyl album. Liu Ying Studio delivered exceptional mixing work, perfectly cap…

*2026 stock* Reed players Mats Gustafsson and Andreas Røysum bonded over common understandings of the physical and political dimensions of music. Across generations and other accountant-like statistics (zzz...), they decided in 2021 to start playing together as a duo, and thus Vindögæ was unleashed on the Norwegian audience. It was on five cold December evenings, during which the country once again was preparing for lockdown, that the sound of Vindögæ opened up to a much-limited club audience. T…

On In Pas(s)ing), Mick Goodrick turns understatement into signature, floating a cool, singing tone across an ECM all-star backdrop. John Surman, Eddie Gomez and Jack DeJohnette move with almost invisible precision around his quietly lyrical themes, creating a session where momentum whispers rather than shouts, and melody lingers long after the notes fade.

*110 copies limited edition* Everyone knows Swedish free jazz legend Sven-Åke Johansson kills it on the dancefloor, making Michael Jackson look petite in his three piece suit and killer moves! Nobody flips a cymbal with more style and patience than Sven-Åke! Whether it's a carboard cymbal, a rumbling tractor, Kippenberger's events, a brassband, a fire extinguisher or a lead pipe, anything turns into a stylish instrument in his hands.We've heard him croon before as well, though never as sugary as…

Karin Krog's own label Meantime Records has given us many rare and legendary recordings, now it presents this much welcomed reissue on vinyl of 'We Could Be Flying', from the original master. First issued on Polydor in 1974, Karin performs alongside a musical dream team, consisting of Jon Christensen on drums, Steve Kuhn on electric and acoustic piano and Steve Swallow bass guitar. The quality of the music is exceptional with the Michel Columbier and Paul Williams' title song headlining the albu…

In 1964, vocalist Karin Krog released Norway's first jazz solo LP, and By Myself has helped shape her career as a singer. In 2026, 62 years after the first release, she releases the LP Tomorrow's Yesterday, and it cannot be ruled out that this may be her last physical album. All the songs are recorded in duo or trio format. The musical sounds are excitingly combined with her voice and Rob Luft on guitar, John Surman on saxophone/bass clarinet on side A. Whilst on side B we hear Karin Krog with E…

Australian progressive fusion-jazz-symphonic rock act Pantha burst from the mid‑1970s with a uniquely spirited record, Doway Do Doway Do !?!!, a thrilling hybrid of rock, jazz, Latin American rhythms, West Indian grooves and occasional Zappa‑styled eccentricity. Originally released in 1975, the album showcases the group’s deft ability to marry virtuosic musicianship with irresistible danceable energy. Doway Do Doway Do !?!! draws on the Santana hallmark of driving rock over Latin beats but expan…

2025 stock “Death Rattle” is the noise of two forces of nature in collision. Like a pair of clashing typhoons, Philadelphia based avant guitarist James Plotkin and Norwegian free jazz drummer Paal Nilssen-Love generate chaos, disturbance and a terrifying beauty in their first ever collaborative recording. Free jazz and metal-edged rock never chimed so exhilaratingly together before. ‘Paal’s precision and constant invention/reinvention is mind-blowing, only matched by its intensity,’ James enthus…

**2026 stock** Noah Howard should need no introduction. The American alto saxophonist was born in1943 in New Orleans, who moved to Europe in 1968, and eventually settled in Brussels after living in Paris and Nairobi. He was a member of the avant-garde jazz movement of the 1960s and, amongst many influential albums, made the seminal Black Ark album with Arthur Doyle in 1969. This album came about as a result of Justin Wiggan’s love of Howard’s music. 5 years after Howard’s death in 2010, Justin w…

Limited vinyl reissue of the 1978 direct-to-disc classic. Isao Suzuki on piccolo bass with Ron Carter, Hank Jones, Roy Haynes, and strings arranged by Masahiko Satoh. A summit of Japanese and American jazz from Tokyo's golden age of audiophile recording, with obi and liner notes.

On My Spare Time, Isao Suzuki steps out front on piccolo bass in a luminous set of standards and ballads, wrapping bossa, Ellington and songbook classics in a warm, conversational post‑bop glow with some of Japan’s finest players.

Italian saxophone, cornettophone, and bansuri flute player Gianni Gebbia makes his debut on Minority Records with Sleep, released on LP and Bandcamp on May 1, 2026, the same day that marks the artist's 65th birthday.Sleep can be considered an introspective and ambient meditative work, whose structure does not correspond to traditional jazz compositions, but rather consists of extensive improvised hypnotic soundscapes without precise boundaries, using soprano saxophone and cornettophone with elec…

Still Life with Lemons began as a ‘Reflex’ commission from the Amsterdam venue Bimhuis. This album is a live recording of that special first performance. Powerful musical characters meet on stage in a spirit of exploration, friendship, and openness, through the energetic and interplay-driven world of Marta Warelis’ compositions, where each musician’s distinct approach shines collectively. They explore the multilayered and the multiphonic, with a special interest in beat frequencies. This collect…

Endless Happiness reissues the 1968 British jazz classic Phase III by The Don Rendell/Ian Carr Quintet, showcasing their creative peak and innovative spirit.

This recording brings together the forty known compositions for Saxophone Quartet by Julius Hemphill (1939-1995). These works were composed between 1978 and 1989 for performances with the World Saxophone Quartet. These compositions are, with the fewest of exceptions, written specifically “on” the saxophone quartet.  He will at times set a piece written for his small-group ensembles onto the saxophone choir, but in the main, this music is created on and through the saxophones. He uses the saxopho…

In March 2022, Joe Fonda and Silke Eberhard met at the Downtown Music Record Store in New York, and just six months later they were on stage together with Austrian drummer Emil Gross in Berlin. The Josilemi Trio was born. The collective trio's compositions and improvisations are powerful, driving, elegant, structured and refined, combining diverse influences with improvisational inspiration. It is music that is completely connected to the moment and yet totally future-oriented. It is Music for h…

* 150 copies Small repress* “Beautiful United Harmony Happening” / “The Education of an Amphibian” - the second release by Alga Marghen’s brand new free jazz imprint, Formalibera - is also dedicated to the output of John Tchicai following his return to Copenhagen during the mid 1960s. Comprising two pieces, remarkably, this single LP effectively bookends a rich period of activity for the saxophonist, capturing one of his earliest group formations as a leader from 1966, as well as one of his last…

Freddie Hubbard’s Goin’ Up brings listeners into motion from the very first notes—an electrifying statement of swing, power, and musical imagination. Brimming with bold improvisations and masterful ensemble interplay, the album captures the spirit of jazz at full throttle, showcasing Hubbard’s unmistakable brilliance and the kind of creative urgency that turns every track into a journey. From its confident opening to its most uplifting moments, Goin’ Up is a celebration of sound and swing: preci…