Jazz /
Tenor
There are lots of outstanding Joe McPhee LPs. Nation Time being chief among them, but there's also Pieces Of Light, Oleo and Topology. The Poughkeepsie, New York-based multi-instrumentalist, by now an international star of free music, has amassed a daunting discography, no doubt. If you want to peer deeply into the soul of Joe McPhee, however, there's no way around it, you need to spend some quality time with Tenor.
" Tenor is McPhee's first solo record. He did not set out to make it. It was an …
The Willisau Concert
Joe McPhee's first international release, Black Magic Man, was issued on the newly formed Hat Hut imprint in 1975. It was a watershed moment for the 35-year-old musician. Based in Poughkeepsie, New York, he was too far away from Manhattan to have participated extensively in the Loft Jazz happenings of the decade. European exposure, however, would give McPhee an alternative circuit, something of an escape route from the trappings of American cultural myopia.
" In support of the new record for thi…
Black Magic Man
Black Magic Man is arguably the pivotal Joe McPhee release. It bridged the span between the regional and the international, bypassing the national altogether. "Recorded in the same sessions that produced Nation Time, Black Magic Man consists of music not chosen for that LP. Like its much-feted sister, technically it falls under the domain of CjR, Craig Johnson's herculean effort in support of McPhee. An erstwhile painter, Johnson became a self-taught audio engineer, acquiring equipment expressly…
Soweto To Harlem
When the U.S. State Department announced in the mid-1970s that they were sponsoring a South African tour for the Oklahoma-born, Paris-based saxophonist Hal Singer, producer Rashid Vally took note. Even though his nascent record label As-Shams/The Sun (established in 1974) was making waves on the local scene, the idea of commissioning a recording from an international artist was a ballsy idea. With a discography that stretched back to the 1950s, Hal Singer was already somewhat of a legacy artist …
The Death Of Kalypso
After eleven albums with a varying ensemble size, Martin Küchen’s Angles returns with The Death of Kalypso, its most ambitious statement to date: a jazz opera for our times. Joining forces with vocalist Elle-Kari and Angles pianist Alexander Zethson, who wrote the string arrangements and band notations, Küchen adds another volume to the band’s sizeable, yet coherent catalog, which merges infectious free jazz grooves with tumultuous emotional cadences that reflect both human and political concern…
The Night is the Night
Nelly Klayman-Cohen is a singer, pianist, composer, and lyricist performing under the moniker Rotem Geffen. The album The Night is the Night consists of eight newly written songs and follows her critically acclaimed debut album, You Guard the Key (Zeon Light 2021). The lyrics, written in German, English, and Hebrew, delve into memory, love, sorrow, and the poetics of the night. The "I" and the "You" merge as relational organisms, their boundaries continuously shifting, blurring, and being redefi…
Plays Carter, Plays Mitchell, Plays Shepp
Founded by saxophonist and composer Johan Jutterström, the Swedish septet STHLM svaga has emerged as one of the most intriguing and distinctive jazz ensembles of the 2000s. Their expertise lies in crafting jazz with remarkably soft dynamics, resulting in a wholly distinctive and captivating ensemble sound. Plays Carter, Plays Mitchell, Plays Shepp is their new release and features specially composed pieces by three iconic figures in jazz history: Ron Carter, Roscoe Mitchell, and Archie Shepp, pe…
The Act Of Noticing
The Act Of Noticing is an invitation to enter a sound world rich in sonic imagery, evocative atmosphere, and finely wrought detail. This album takes listeners on a journey, at one moment guiding them through changing musical landscapes at high speed, at another inviting them to simply stop and stare. Espial emerged from a discussion between David Beebee and myself about how to develop and extend the musical language we had established on our duo album for Discus, “Ripples”. David felt that expan…
Codona Live Willisau, Switzerland September 1, 1978
The magical encounter of three skillful players, right before their self titled debut on ECM. On September 1, 1978, the musical trio Codona performed live in Willisau, Switzerland. This Swiss FM broadcast captured Codona in full flight, with Collin Walcott on sitar, Don Cherry on trumpet, and Nana Vasconcelos on percussion. Their performance weaved a magical web of sound. The opening track, “New Light,” is a 16-minute journey of pure joy
High In The Sky
Big tip! Leading a dynamic trio with virtuoso bass player Leroy Vinnegar and drummer Donald Bailey, piano player Hampton Hawes released one of his best effort in 1970, focusing on an original blend of post-bop and rare groove. The record opens with a rendition of Bacharach "The Look Of Love" and offers a deep soulful voyage with the 11 minutes title track. Hampton Hawes was one of the finest jazz pianists of the 1950s, a fixture on the Los Angeles scene who brought his own interpretations to the…
Black Classical Music
*2024 stock* Celebrated multi-instrumentalist and visionary artist Yussef Dayes announces his highly anticipated debut solo studio album ‘Black Classical Music’, released on September 8th via the revered Brownswood Recordings, Warners and Cashmere Thoughts Recordings. Alongside this, Dayes shares a first taster of the record, the title track “Black Classical Music” featuring Venna & Charlie Stacey. First single “Black Classical Music” is an incredible opening statement and entry point to this ne…
Bright Sparkling Light
Originally conceived as a tour only exclusive, Bright Sparkling Light was recorded alongside, 2023's expansive beguiling long-player An Ever Changing View and draws on the same trademark blend of jazz, electronica, global and spiritual jazz influences. The original pressing sold-out on Matthew Halsall' EU and UK tour last October and November and so many people got in touch with us here at Gondwana asking how they could get a copy that we decided to make a further 2000 copies available.
The titl…
Exciting Drums African Rock Party
An early masterpiece under the name of Count Buffalo – this is legendary drummer Akira Ishikawa’s first record, from 1969! Genuine jazz, rock and African groovy sound. A rare groove album with a soulful arrangement throughout, with Kozaburo Yamaki and Hiroshi Takami as arrangers. Essential!
Back To Rhythm
Akira Ishikawa is renowned as a super funky drummer in Japan, earning praise for his ability to freely explore and blend jazz, rock, and African music into a unique musicality. Throughout his career, which spans from jazz rock to rare groove, this particular work stands out for its exceptional song selection and exhilarating musicality. "Let's Start" delivers a tight cover of Fela Kuti's Afro-funk, "Bongo Rock" presents a dynamic song with drum breaks, and "Pick Up The Pieces" offers a jazz-funk…
Bitter Balls
Bitter Balls – the second full length studio album from mostly Middle Eastern supergroup Karkhana, features members of Dwarfs of East Agouza, „A“Trio, Konstrukt, Chicago Tentet, Land of Kush among others – shows the ongoing incredible progression and artistic flow the group is currently working under. Four new fine tuned compositions of crystal clear and deep, dark, distorted unrock – electric and acoustic. The cross between old school and contemporary oriental free-jazz sounds and western impro…
Spirit Gatherer • Tribute To Don Cherry
Tip! Visionary percussionist and veteran bandleader Kahil El’Zabar leads his Ethnic Heritage Ensemble in celebration of the legendary jazz pioneer Don Cherry and releases new album Spirit Gatherer and previews the first track ‘Don Cherry’. The fifth of a series of Spiritmuse recordings that began with 2019’s Be Known: Ancient/Future Music [Spiritmuse KEZ001], Spirit Gatherer finds the three-person Ethnic Heritage Ensemble joined by two storied guest artists: Dwight Trible, vocalist with the Pan-…
Chitinous
Big Big Tip! Certainly one of the most obscure and perhaps one of the most fascinating work of the English jazz revolution. Master of ceremonies is cellist Paul Buckmaster, known for his work with the Third Ear Band and for his (later) collaborations with Miles Davis, David Bowie and Elton John. Chitinous is his the only album as leader and it was recorded between 31 March and 13 April 1970, by an orchestra of no less than 51 players, with violins, violas and cellos. In this enormous line-up we …
Wisdom Of Elders
*2024 stock* Wisdom of the Elders was recorded in Johannesburg in 2015 on one of many trips Shabaka Hutchings took there to immerse himself in the country’s rich musical heritage. The album is a psalm in nine parts. An episodic unfurling of a sonic journey across the Atlantic. “The grand scheme of this album is to present the musical language that I normally associate with my UK bands in the context of SA musicians and musical sensibilities,” explains Shabaka Hutchings. 8 men in a studio in Joha…
Jazz Jamboree 63
2024 reissue This is the legendary Krzystof Komeda Quintet caught live at the Jazz Jamboree Festival in Warsaw in 1963. A marvelous combo featuring some of the greatest Polish jazz musicians, such as Tomasz Stanko (trumpet), Michal Urbaniak (tenor sax), Maciej Suzin (bass), and Czeslaw Bartowski (drums). Komeda, Stanko, and Urbaniak were sort of pioneers who effectively opened up a way for jazz in Poland. Komeda's fluent modern jazz conception was a perfect synthesis between the American influen…
Solo Bern 1984, First Visit
"In its entirety, the concert is lively and penetrating evidence of Braxton’s remarkable facility, powers of invention, and commitment to his principles at this point in time, with special emphasis on saxophone techniques energizing variables of tone color, texture, and timbre to affect separate phrases, extended lines, and sectional contrasts." – Art Lange
Producer’s note: "I experienced over many years Anthony Braxton different performances. His solo performance 1984 in Bern belongs into the …