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One of the rarest Art Ensemble albums ever -- an obscure recording issued only briefly by the equally obscure Calloway Records in France. The set's got a spare, moody feel to it -- and seems to use a bit more stringed instruments than on some of the group's other recordings -- especially on the longer track "Dance ", which matches the usual basswork of Malachi Favors with some additional violin or cello stylings, possibly performed by the rest of the group -- although the cover's not much on not…
Nord
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…
Overhang Party
Stellar duo head on collision bet ween Kaoru Abe and free hitter/ skin mangler Toyozumi. The interaction between the t wo of them creates fire works of improvisational exquisiteness, free rambling seat sniffing combustion that on some occasions instigated Abe to divert his attention from his beloved sax to wards marimba and piano hammerings joined with harmonica blo w-outs. Ferocious, ghastly and kerosene charged head slamming action bet ween t wo of Japan's first wave free jazz terrorists.. Tak…
Mort a Credit
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…
Conflagration
A well-regarded and influential group with saxophonist John Surman and two expatriate American musicians, bassist Barre Phillips and drummer Stu Martin.
Domino Concept For Orchestra
Eichenberger directs the musicians to change what they are doing, but not what to. The result is an hour-long performance with many changes, and surprises. Marianne Schuppe & Dorothea Schürch (voices), Carlos Baumann (trumpet), Paul Hubweber (trombone), Carl Ludwig Hübsch (tuba), Markus Eichenberger (clarinets), Dirk Marwedel (extended saxophones), Helmut Bieler-Wendt (violin), Charlotte Hug (viola), Peter K Frey & Daniel Studer (double basses), Frank Rühl (electric guitar) & Ivano Torre (percus…
Trio In Concert
Amazing music by one of the French piano legend Georges Arvanitas, in the company of George's fantastic rhythm duo of Charles Saudrais on drums and Jacky Samson on bass
Portraits
Portraits is a sprawling, ambitious work composed by bassist Barry Guy that brings together musicians from across the British jazz/improv spectrum, from free music luminaries Evan Parker, Paul Rutherford, and Phil Wachsmann to somewhat more jazz-based players such as Paul Dunmall and Trevor Watts. The album contains seven main "portraits," each distinct from the next, which are tailored to spotlight the various soloists as well as the different smaller working units contained within the larger 1…
Plie
The problem that besets British jazz - from Ray Noble and Ronnie Scott to Barbara Thompson and Andy Sheppard - is light-music, 'Radio 2' gentility; in Germany it is what Michael Kator (describing the results of the Nazi ban on "hot Jewish music") called "the bane of German jazz, the dreaded 'um-papa' sound". Here, four free music veterans from East Berlin (Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky, alto; Ulrich Gumpert, piano; Connie Bauer, trombone; Günter Sommer, percussion) have decided to ease up, let some 'da…
Presents In The Midst Of Chaos
Recorded in 1978, In The Midst Of Chaos is this western CT free-jazz group's only release. It would become improv jazz sax player Paul Flaherty's 1st record, who, as a youth, was smitten by the world, it's creator and Pharoah Sanders. Chaos is also the only release of legendary guitarist Barry Greika, who, along with bassist Bob Laramie and drummer Glen 'Hobbit' Peterson, remain the most under - recorded trio in history. A screamin', howlin', blisterin', slap of a record that defies categorizati…
Duets 1987
Braxton concentrated heavily on duo performance during this period, and this was one of the happiest of his associations. ...warmly recommended.
Live Ghosts
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…
Heavy Days Are Here Again
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 …
Accordance
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…
Composition No. 174
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.
Knitting Factory (Piano/Quartet) 1994, Vol.1
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.
Composition N.96
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.
Duo (Wesleyan) 1994
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.
2 Compositions (Jarvenpaa) 1988
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…
9 Standards (Quartet) 1993
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…