Jazz & Improvisation / All styles

Edition of 400, on black vinyl. This is pure gold for the electro-Miles Davis’s lovers.  The great saxophonist Gugliemo Pagnozzi directs his band in compositions built on improvisation flows that unfold starting from a minimally organized accompanying rhythmic cell in continuous transformation and in the making, which in turn is developed and modified during the executive-improvisation flow chasing instant dialling. Pressed at Optimal Media.

Originally from Kingsport, Tennessee, New York-based Zoh Amba is a notable rising star in the avant-garde music scene. Growing up in the Appalachian mountains, Amba practiced saxophone to the forest that surrounded her home before she later traveled to study with David Murray in New York, and also at the San Francisco Conservatory Of Music & New England Conservatory in Boston. Today, her music is full of folk melodies, mesmerizing refrains, repeated incantations and powerfully executed Free Jazz…

New York-based Zoh Amba first cultivated her musical passion in the lush forests of the Appalachian mountains, playing to the woods around her home, before she studied at classical conservatories. Her music honors her roots, full of folk melodies, mesmerizing refrains, repeated incantations and powerfully-executed Free Jazz. Her sound is courageous and bold, soaring from muted hums to squeaky trebles, producing a confident sound imbued with an innate spirituality. On this project, Zoh Amba is jo…

In December 1977, at the tail end of a decade he had helped to electrify, Bill Connors brought a nylon-string guitar into Oslo's Talent Studio. Three years earlier, he had walked away from Chick Corea's Return to Forever at the height of its commercial ascent, trading a 200-watt Marshall stack for the spruce-and-cedar intimacy of the classical guitar - a decision that stunned his fusion-era following and quietly redirected the course of his work. Of Mist And Melting, his second leader date for E…

Masterful trio interplay reliant on deeply honed three-way communication and a refined sense of understatement make Fred Hersch’s third recording for ECM an essential entry into the piano trio canon. Hersch tackles a handful of 20th century compositions – spanning from standards to less frequented jazz tunes – as well as three originals, with Drew Gress on bass and Joey Baron on drums – two longstanding companions of Fred’s who have played with him on and off since the late 80s and early 90s res…

Guitarist John Abercrombie – who has recorded as a leader for ECM since 1974 – returns with a second album by his quartet featuring Marc Copland on piano, along with longtime rhythm partners Drew Gress and Joey Baron. Extolling 39 Steps, the group’s 2013 album, the Financial Times said: “The emphasis is on subtle intrigue, flowing lyricism and the interplay between the leader’s warm, cleanly articulated guitar and Copland’s piano… with bassist Gress and drummer Baron equally supple and sinewy co…

Double LP, Gatefold edition. This landmark compilation continues the unfoldment of diabolically obscure yet culturally and artistically essential recordings that have been hidden and precariously balanced on the precipice of obsolescence. For the first time ever, Tramp Records is proud to present an "all German" artists version of the Peace Chant series, including liner notes printed in German exclusively with an English translation downloadable. Focused on rare recordings from German musicians …

*2026 repress* The soundtrack to Jim Jarmusch's 1986 film Down By Law is composed and performed by John Lurie, who also plays the pimp Jack in the movie. His world-weary avant-jazz pieces like "Please Come to My House," "What Do You Know About Music, You're Not a Lawyer," "Strangers in the Day," and "Fork in the Road" convey the film's seedy but humorous crime story.

2025 repress. Originally released in 2019, this essential 4CD box set documenting one of the rarest trio meetings in the history of European free improvisation is finally available again. Eleven years after the legendary The Topography of the Lungs (Incus, 1970) - one of the landmark early albums of English free improvisation, co-founded the Incus label itself - the trio reunites at 28 rue Dunois in Paris. Almost three and a half hours of non-idiomatic free improvisation captured by Jean-Marc Fo…

Harold Ousley’s The Kid! is a superb example of early-1970s soul-jazz and jazz-funk, putting the spotlight on the saxophonist’s distinctive tone and commanding presence. From the first notes, the album radiates energy and character, marrying dynamic phrasing with a deeply confident sense of swing. The record thrives on infectious grooves, a tightly locked rhythm section, and spirited improvisation that keeps the music moving at every turn. Seamlessly blending the worlds of jazz, funk, and soul, …

*100 copies limited edition* There is a strange form of clairvoyance that does not look to the future, but digs back into the earth, into the ground itself. Etruscan mythology tells that the small Tages who emerged from the furrow of a plowed field at Tarquinia was not an ordinary child, but memory itself—coming from the earth’s innards—to dictate its divinatory secrets. For the seventh installment of the Drove catalog, the ensemble Oracle Column turns this myth into sound material, treating mag…

Once again studio master / composer / bassist Guy Segers assembles a huge cast of progressive musicians to perform / improvise 8 new pieces. Guy's methods of composition and collage remain as before, but each new Eclectic Maybe Band release brings a new perspective to the music. This time round harder, more brittle sounds emerge from an album with a very punchy attitude. A mixture of avant pop and progressive complexity.

A fourth collection of Keith Jafrate's soulful music and poetry in the grand lineage of spiritual jazz, performed once more by a team of top drawer northern UK players who can interpret this music with power and sensitivity. With their fourth album on discus Uroboro continue to expand composition into improvisation, or perhaps set it free to become improvisation, or perhaps sabotage it with improvisation. by way of explanation, they offer an absorbing set of eight new pieces, four vocal and four…

*2026 stock. 500 copies limited edition* Lynx started in 2004 and is a doubledrumleadrhythmsectionpowerband. Based on Antonis’ compositions the music is developing in collective improvisations. Combination of arithmetical structures and spontaneous decisions. Hypnotic melodies, ecstatic drumming and extended sound trips. Studio prize 2005 of the Culture Senat in Berlin! Cool dark sounds in Jazzy and Latin ways!

'Tapestry: Koto' is a 3-album series produced by Nippon Columbia in the mid-1970s dedicated to one of the main instruments of Japanese traditional music: Koto. The beauty of the trilogy curated by composer Kiyoshi Yamaya, whose chapters are respectively dedicated to Sea, Hillside and Country, lies in the fact that they are a modern translation of tradition using newer and more avant-garde sound idioms, integrating the koto with jazz musicians. An original mix, a 'crossover’ that allows for the a…

The Köln Concert (50th Anniversary Edition) by Keith Jarrett celebrates one of the most legendary solo piano performances in jazz history. The 2025 special release includes remastered audio on double LP, newly curated liner notes, archival and contemporary photos, and exclusive bonus materials. Marking half a century since its epochal live recording in Cologne, the edition underscores the enduring impact and emotional allure of Jarrett’s improvisatory genius.​​

Moses Yoofee Trio, the Berlin group of pianist Moses Yoofee, drummer Noah Fürbringer and bassist Roman Klobe, came up through clips of their jams posted online, which drew a following and led to the 2023 mini-album Ocean on LEITER and a German Jazz Prize for live act of the year. Their 2025 debut album proper, MYT, expanded the improvised concept with fuller arrangements, landed on year-end lists and a German Jazz Award nomination, and sent them touring through Asia, the US and Europe. Chasing L…

This is not a Ben Vida, Booker Stardrum, and Will Epstein record; it’s a Play Time record. That’s a subtle but important distinction, for a couple reasons. One, the sound of Magic Object—a polymetric blend of improv and pulse minimalism for saxophone, drums, and Moog—doesn’t really sound anything like any of their many other ensembles or respective solo projects. And two, it was only while making Magic Object, their debut album, that Play Time realized they were a band at all. Let’s back up. The…

** Black Vinyl edition **  Original masters licensed by King Records Japan. Includes OBI and insert. 'Innocent Canon' is one of the hopelessly obscure Japanese underground albums that few people know about. It is a kind of unreleased delirious groovadelic soundtrack played by an acid-soaked Japanese big band with powerful drumming, heavy jazz fumes and delirious organ/guitar lines and luminary narration.Inomata was a well-known jazz musician at the time, but like many of his contemporaries, he w…

Soundway collects ten rare sides from Trinidad's revolutionary decade, when calypso, jazz and heavy percussion carried the charge of the Black Power years. Kaiso Power assembles music made for the dancehall and the steelband yard, its politics built into the rhythm rather than spelled out.

Following three studio albums (Stoa, 2006; Holon, 2008; and Lyria, 2010) plus a double live album (2012) with his electric band Ronin, Swiss pianist and composer Nik Bärtsch now unveils a new release with his original ensemble, Mobile – whose lineup partially overlaps with the current Ronin formation. Originally formed in 1997, Mobile (here enhanced on three tracks by a string quintet) represents the foundation of Bärtsch's ritualistic approach to music-making. This distinctive style has been sh…

Joining their newly launched Luminessence audiophile vinyl-reissue series, the legendary imprint, ECM, digs deep into their own vaults and comes up with an absolute gem: the guitarist John Abercrombie, the bassist Dave Holland, and the drummer Jack DeJohnette’s groundbreaking 1975 LP “Gateway”. Rooted in approaches drawn from free jazz and unquestionably springing from both Holland and DeJohnette’s time working in Miles Davis’ electric fusion band at the end of the 1960s and early '70s, it’s a r…

We are excited to announce the first reissue of Tony Scott's iconic “Manteca” album originally released in 1973. This 180-gram vinyl audiophile edition captures the essence of a true master of contaminated jazz, allowing listeners to experience Tony Scott's vibrant artistry like never before. Originally described in the album’s liner notes by Sam Charters, "Manteca" embodies the spirit of the jazz musician’s journey—a testament to durability, warmth, and exuberance. Charters notes, “You have to …

Reissue of the Japanese group Air featuring percussionist Yuji Imamura. Seems like half split between moderate Jazz Rock with monster improvised parts and outlandish Avant Jazz with strong percussion minimalism and tribal rhythms, the instrumental arsenal is huge and promising (various strings, winds, keyboards, electronic equipements). Two side long instrumental tracks, the material is mostly based on individual soloing depending on each musician.

*2022 stock* Recorded in 1973, “Morning Flight” by trombonist Hiroshi Fukumura is a stunning modal and spiritual jazz album! Genius work from Japanese trombonist Hiroshi Fukumura – working here at the helm of a twin-trombone group that also features the talents of Shigeharu Mukai – in a style that's filled with soul and free-thinking imagination! The two players work together beautifully here – avoiding any of the cliches of trombone-heavy groups from the past – and instead, using the open-ended…

*2022 stock* "A beautifully spare session from the mid 70s – one that features bass and cello from Isao Suzuki – stretching out here in a sound that's totally unique! The trio's a great one – with Donald Bailey on drums and Tsuyoshi Yamamoto on both acoustic piano and Fender Rhodes – the latter of which sounds amazing next to Suzuki mellow-stepping lines. If you've heard any of Suzuki's other albums from the period, the style is somewhat similar – quite soulful throughout, but with an easygoing,…

“Spanish Flower” by Tee & Company, an all-star band assembled by producer Takeshi “Tee” Fujii, is an extended (nearly 19 minutes) modal workout very much in the mode of Coltrane or McCoy Tyner‘s 1970s solo work, but the tasteful guitar solo that appears at the 11:30 mark, right after the flute fanfare, is by none other than Masayuki Takayanagi!

Classic Japanese free jazz monster, originally released in 1972. Recorded live at Aoi Studio, Tokyo on 19 May 1972. The late 60s and early 70s was the time that Japanese free jazz began to lift off (see We Now Create LP of Togashi Masahiko with Takayanagi, Motoharu and other heavyweights releasing the 1st free jazz LP in Japan) and blossom into a fierce musical power to be reckoned with. Legendary combos such as Masayuki Takayanagi New Direction were soon responsible to be the originators of thi…

*2022 stock* Few, if any, international audiophile jazz recordings have maintained the kind of deep and profound influence over techniques and even entire label repretoire as Three Blind Mice's Blow Up, Midnight Sugar and Misty. Originally recorded in Tokyo in 1974, this Piano Trio release from TBM features Tsuyoshi Yamamoto on piano, Isoo Fukui on bass and Tetsujiro Obara on drums. The of-the-moment realism of Yoshihiko Kannari's recordings and production aesthetic of producer and label head Ta…

*2022 stock* Amazing 1976 record by drummer George Otsuka, Physical Structure is an amazing jazz-fusion record featuring Fumio Karashima on piano and Fender Rhodes and Shozo Sasaki on tenor sax. Check the surprising and sublime cover of Naima which alone justifies to get this record! Personell list: George Ostuka (drums), Shozo Sasaki (tenor and soprano sax), Fumio Karashima (piano, electric piano and synthesizer), Mitsuako Furuno (bass), Norio Ohno (percussion).

Imada's last album for TBM. The lyrical and flowing solo opening "Maki" is a reprise of the title track from his first solo album (JVC), the title track from TBM5003 (2), a reprise of TBM14 with electric piano (3) (2), a reprise of the title track from TBM5003; (3), a reprise of TBM14 with electric piano; and (4), an ethereal synth piece." - Koki Hanawa

*2022 stock* "Hidehiko Matsumoto Quartet – Sleepy released by Three Blind Mice. Album recorded in 1976  and it was DSD mastering from the original analogue master tapes. This record, made in 1976 in a one-horn quartet setting, showcases Matsumoto’s brilliant playing on both tenor saxophone and flute. He is a true master of both instruments and it is a great pleasure to hear him beautifully recorded by the people of Three Blind Mice. A masterpiece, with great sound." - Audiophile Music

*2022 stock* "This is a live recording of "5 Days in Jazz 1976". The album features the seventh release of TBM's "5 Days in Jazz 1976," which concentrates the charm of Tsuyoshi Yamamoto, including his signature tune "Misty," "Summertime," featuring Oyui, and "Cookin' the Blues", which shows off his signature blues feeling to the fullest." - Koki Hanawa

*2022 stock* "Mindblowing sounds from Japanese bassist Isoo Fukui – one of a handful of 70s players on that scene who really helped reinvent the sound of his instrument in jazz! Isoo really drives the group here up from the bottom – by playing both bass and cello with these well-inflected notes that are heavy on soul and rhythm, and which often enforce a modal sensibility that's carried out perfectly by the vibes of Kazuhiro Matsuishi and piano of Hideo Ichikawa! A few numbers feature guitar fro…

"This is a live recording of "Shuko Mizuno's World Evening" on the fourth day of "5 Days In Jazz 1976", which made the genius Shuko Mizuno known to the world. The massive, fast-paced jazz-rock piece "Concentration" and "Jazz Orchestra '75 Part II" are breathtaking performances. Katsumi Watanabe's superb solo is also noteworthy!" - Koki Hanawa

"Five of Japan's most famous arrangers (Miki, Yamaya, Takahashi, Ueda, Maeda) have come together to create a rare big band work. Highlights include the title track with its electric sound arranged by Miki and the dynamic "Giant Steps" arranged by Maeda. "Koki Hanawa

*2022 stock* Naosuke Miyamoto Sextet's Step!, originally released in 1973. A fantastic modal jazz album, led by Naosuke Myamoto on bass, with Masayoshi Yoneda on the piano and Takashi Goto on saxophone. On One For Trane, the group delivers a strong and amazing moment of spiritual jazz. Also features Kunji Shigi (trumpet), Takashi Furuya and Shoji Nakayama (drums). Produced by Takeshi Jujii. Recorded on August 25, 1973.

Kaoru Abe's duo with legendary free bassist Motoharu Yoshizawa, nord, stands as a critical summit between two of the major forces in japanese jazz at the time. recorded in december 1975 and released in 1981 by Kojima, it reveals a different side to Abe.the two had apparently been playing together since the late '60s - Yoshizawa had, for various reasons, and it's probably due to yoshizawa's undeniable heavyweight status that this dialogue is conducted largely on his terms, with abe toning down hi…

Tip! *2025 stock* Reissue of the landmark free jazz album "Overhang-Party (A Memorial To Kaoru Abe)" by the visionary Abe-Toyozumi Duo. Originally recorded in Tokyo in August 1978 and released in 1979, this historic release stands as a breathtaking testament to the artistry and legacy of legendary Japanese saxophonist Kaoru Abe, with dynamic support from renowned percussionist Sabu (Yoshisaburo) Toyozumi. "Overhang-Party" captures the electrifying chemistry between Abe and Toyozumi, two leading …

Mort à Credit shows Kaoru Abe in a fascinating period of transition, moving forth to something complexly and identifiably new, yet intransigently rooted in what had come before. It consists of two alto improvs from a show on October 18, 1975, and five more (three on alto, two on sopranino) from another performance a couple of days earlier. Released by Kojima on 2LP in 1976, it can be said to mark a significant change in Abe's style. Abe is here a little soften from his usual urgency - this can p…