Jazz & Improvisation / All styles

Steve Lacy in Berlin: the 1975 solo soprano recordings of the Stabs LP, plus the 1977 quintet with Steve Potts, Irène Aebi, Kent Carter and Oliver Johnson playing Esteem and Follies at the Workshop Freie Musik.

The Globe Unity Orchestra at ten years old, recorded in Baden-Baden in November 1975 with Braxton, Rava, Wheeler, Brötzmann, Parker, Mangelsdorff and Lovens: five pieces from inside the orchestra, nearly all unreleased until this CD.

Drawn from two September 1964 sessions at Rudy Van Gelder’s studio with producer Bob Thiele, The Voice That Is! features vocalist Johnny Hartman in his third and final album for Impulse! following a celebrated collaboration with John Coltrane. The album blends two sessions arranged by Bob Hammer: one pairing Hartman with pianist Hank Jones, bassist Richard Davis, and drummer Osie Johnson, and another for octet, with English horn, flute, marimba and Latin percussion flourishes throughout. The rep…

Best known for his association with Charles Mingus, the Texas-born tenor saxophonist Booker Ervin was a distinctive soloist with an assertive and immediately recognizable sound. One of Ervin’s pinnacle statements as a leader was the first of his two Pacific Jazz albums, Structurally Sound, which he cut in 1966 shortly after returning to the U.S. from a two-year period of living in Barcelona and working across Europe. Featuring Ervin fronting a top-shelf quintet with Charles Tolliver on trumpet, …

Trumpeter Freddie Hubbard burst out of the gates taking the jazz world by storm with his Blue Note debut Open Sesame in 1960. Within 14 months he had recorded three more hard bop classics—Goin’ Up, Hub Cap, and Ready For Freddie—each one a showcase for his dynamic playing. Recorded in April 1961, Hub Cap was the first of his Blue Note dates that also highlighted Hubbard’s growing skill as a composer, with four of the album’s six pieces coming from his pen including the hard-charging title track,…

Cut on February 23 and 25, 1965, at Rudy Van Gelder’s studio and released later that year on Impulse!, Dear John C. marks drummer Elvin Jones’s first album for the label as a full-fledged leader, boldly looking forward while honoring his transformative contributions with the John Coltrane Quartet since the beginning of the decade. Produced by Bob Thiele, the sessions feature alto saxophonist Charlie Mariano, pianists Roland Hanna and Elvin’s brother Hank Jones, bassist Richard Davis, and Jones o…

Following the genre-redefining revelations of A Love Supreme in 1965, John Coltrane began a dramatic shift toward spiritual free jazz, abandoning familiar forms in favor of a more abstract sonic palette and bold questions he'd spend the rest of his life and career pursuing. Meditations, released by Impulse! in 1966, continues that emotional throughline while retaining, for the last time in full, the classic quartet that propelled Trane to greatness: pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison an…

A saxophonist of striking originality, Sam Rivers’ music had a strong avant-garde undercurrent though he kept a foot planted firmly in post-bop and the blues, a sound heard to great effect on his masterful 1964 debut Fuchsia Swing Song. The last of Rivers’ four highly-distinctive Blue Note albums, 1967’s Dimensions & Extensions, is fascinating for the presence of trumpeter Donald Byrd who makes a rare foray into the avant-garde alongside Rivers on tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, and flute, J…

“Hasabe” is a thoughtfully curated collection of Ethio-groove recordings from one of the overlooked pioneers of 1970s Addis Ababa’s vibrant music scene—Ayalew Mesfin and his Black Lion Band. Expect trap drum kits, jazz big-band styled horn sections, funky guitars played through wah wah and fuzz pedals— all seasoned with a unique Ethiopian touch… Reissued once again thanks to our collaboration with Now Again. Pressed on 180g vinyl.

Marcos Valle is one of the few artists you cannot miss if you have the slightest interest in Brazilian music. Whether your taste is focused on bossa jazz, samba, psych folk or soul, Valle has surely recorded a great album for you. “Garra” was originally released in 1971 and brought us Valle’s classics such as ‘Com Mais De 30’, ‘O Cafona’, ‘Vinte E Seis Anos De Vida Normal’ and the rare groove classic ‘Wanda Vidal.’ Remastered from the original tapes and pressed on 180g vinyl. This release is par…

Celebrated Italian saxophonist Roberto Ottaviano collaborated with Martin Phillips on his recent biography of Keith Tippett which was published by Jazz In Britain. During that process he also sent us the recordings that make up this new release. Recorded live in Geneva, Switzerland in February 1991, this 2 CD set is taken from two performances of extraordinary dexterity and beauty that feature Tippett on piano plus his usual array of objects and toys alongside Ottaviano’s virtuoso soprano saxoph…

A powerful "electric Miles" sounding band reinterprets a couple of classics  - In A Silent Way and Freedom Jazz Dance - and adds some wholly contemporary improvisation to the mix."2026 Is Miles and Coltrane's Centenary year and if Jazz music needs any Gods then surely they fit the bill without question. When I heard In a Silent Way for the first time back in 1970 when I was 17 (incidentally that was the first year I heard Coltrane as well) it truly was music like nothing I had ever heard before.…

The Rhythm Machine is now available again to the musical public, legitimately reissued in its original packaging. Offering up brilliant soul, haunting ballads and high-energy mid-70s funk, this tasty medley is served best in its entirety. Virtually impossible to find in its original edition, we are now reissuing it once again thanks to a collaboration with Now Again. Pressed on 180g vinyl.

Step into the golden era of soul-jazz with the long-awaited vinyl reissue of “Vibrations” (1976) by Roy Ayers Ubiquity — a record that captures the unmistakable warmth, groove, and sophistication that defined Roy Ayers’ sound at its peak. Beyond its original impact, “Vibrations” has taken on a second life through hip-hop. Its grooves, breaks, and melodies have been extensively sampled by generations of producers and artists, becoming a foundational source for crate diggers and beatmakers alike. …

Box with both Caprice albums by Sevda, Maffy Falay’s Turkish folk and jazz group with Okay Temiz and Salih Baysal: the 1972 Jazz i Sverige record and the Montmartre live set, plus a DVD of the Swedish TV programmes.

Chapter Seven, Bengt Berger’s Swedish supergroup of three saxophones, two basses and two drummers, on its 1988 Jazz in Sweden album: West African and Indian accents, with tunes by Ornette Coleman and Offenbach.

Second album by Fredrik Ljungkvist’s Yun Kan 5, recorded in May 2006: seven of his compositions for saxophone, clarinet, piano, tuba, bass and drums, by the Atomic reedman and Swedish jazz musician of the year 2005.

Debut of Fredrik Ljungkvist’s Yun Kan 5, recorded for his 2004 Jazz in Sweden award: ten tunes balanced between composition and freedom, with Klas Nevrin, Mattias Welin, Jon Fält and Per-Åke Holmlander.

Solo piano by Per Henrik Wallin: eight pieces from his 1982 Caprice LP One Knife Is Enough and eight recorded in spring 2003, abrupt shifts between free and fettered playing from one of Sweden’s most individual jazz pianists.

First vinyl edition of Jazz Furniture’s sole album, the 1994 Jazz i Sverige recording with Esbjörn Svensson, Dan Berglund and Magnus Öström, curated by Jonas Kullhammar as a 180g double LP.