Jazz /
Hard Vibe
2025 stock Talibam! delights in creating music that cannot be pinned down within the safe-spaces of existing genres. With each new album, Talibam! reinvent their methodological palette in order to bolster a fresh clarity of joyous auditory surprise, something their fans have come to depend on. Talibam! focus on compositional clarity, with reverence for their diverse interest in genre. On Hard Vibe, they push the pulse of motorik rhythm through a psychedelic jazz filter. This time out, they have …
For Sepp (Selections From The Edgar Allan Poe Suite)
Over the course of five decades, the legendary Austrian free jazz collective Reform Art Unit (and their offshoot groups) have collaborated with countless musicians, including Don Cherry, Carla Bley, Evan Parker, and Jim Pepper. Documented collaborations with free jazz notables include Impressions (Kovarik's Musikothek, 1978) with Anthony Braxton and Clifford Thornton; Subway Performances (Granit, 1994) and Illumination (InRespect, 1995) with Sunny Murray; and With Milo Fine (Granit, 1999). Milo …
Electric Esoterica
A punk trio that is influenced by middle eastern psych, free jazz, and improvisation. While not recorded in a traditional studio, these recordings represent the first studio-produced sounds from this group. The group is built around Joel Robinson and has had as many as eight to ten members in recordings and live performances, but more recently has been focused on a trio that composes music that challenges every notion of what rock, punk, or psych can be; however, at the same time, the music is c…
Descension
2025 stock A harrowing layered work of solo saxophone and electronics, Descension is at once beautifully elegiac and unflinchingly primal. Patrick Shiroishi is one of the key artists to emerge from the current L.A. free improvisation avant-underground; his first vinyl release is a spiritual journey that reveals his deeply reflective and unique musical vision. Descension is a sonic meditation on the legacy of a dark history and its echoing relevance in the present era.
The Meters
Debut 1969 album by New Orleans’ The Meters. Led by organist Art Neville, the quartet was rounded out by jazz-influenced guitarist Leo Nocentelli, along with the bubbling rhythm section of bassist George Porter, Jr. and drummer Joseph "Zigaboo” Modeliste.
Their regional influences were a smashing together of rock n’ roll, syncopated ‘second line’ rhythms from Mardi Gras parades, and jazz improvisations that only could have come from the New Orleans music scene.
The Meters helped move R&B music t…
Look-Ka Py Py
1970 seminal second album by New Orleans’ The Meters is one of their most beloved releases. Produced by one of New Orleans’s preeminent musicians, Allen Toussaint. Between backing such names as Lee Dorsey and Betty Harris, The Meters cranked out a follow-up that was even funkier than its debut.
The Bottle Tapes
Selections from the Empty Bottle Jazz and Improvised Music Series (1996-2005) is a six-CD anthology that captures the vibrant, unpredictable pulse of Chicago’s improvisational scene. Meticulously compiled from over 500 performances curated by John Corbett and Ken Vandermark, this box set chronicles a crucial era with recordings from nearly 100 international artists, immersing listeners in the fearless experimentation that defined the Empty Bottle’s celebrated Wednesday nights.
Obliquity
2025 stock Obliquity is a free jazz record, if you'll forgive the use of such a hoary, old fashioned phrase. Its scorching, heads-down momentum, rhythm and drive places it in direct line of descent from the fierce originators of the genre: Ayler, Sanders, Graves, Frank Wright. It also swings. At times it dances.
Obliquity is a free jazz record through the prism of the improvisational movement in Europe, though. This is no attempt at polite revivalism or looking back/up to the 1960s. Wilkinson/Ed…
3 Of A Kind (Live At Iklectik)
2025 stock The trio of Wilkinson, Edwards and Noble continue to plot their course ever outward and ever upward. These new songs, recorded in South London at that wonderful performance space - at the heart of the improve scene here at this moment - Iklectik , are the very beating heart of improvised music. It’s not that they are good, or even representative – such relative terms fail to express the continuum of which these sounds are a key part. This is music that evades the strictures of scienti…
Free Mammals
2025 stock Reissue of an exceptional album of improvisations, recorded when percussionist Charles K. Noyes was lured to the Bay Area in the summer of 1979 by Henry Kaiser. Noyes and Maercks had played regularly as a duo when Owen was still based in Worcester, MA. But he'd shifted his ass westward in the wake of the Teenage Sex Therapist session (FTR 153-2LP), which had been organized by Kaiser following their collaborations in the band, Monster Island. Half of the album was recorded live at Woo…
Alone We Are Alone As Far Down As the Sediment
2025 stock Originally released February 12, 2022. MANAS -- otherwise known as the duo of iconoclastic guitarist Tashi Dorji and drummer extraordinaire Thom Nguyen -- have made tsunami-sized waves in the free jazz and improv scene with their numerous tape and LP releases (drawing praise and support from such luminaries and fellow-travelers as Bill Nace and Ben Chasny) and their face-melting live shows, including high profile touring with Godspeed! You Black Emperor. Back in the summer of 2019 the…
Astaganaga
Massada is a dynamic Dutch Latin band with deep roots in the Moluccan community, renowned for their unique blend of African, Brazilian, and Balearic grooves fused with soulful world music styles. Their music is a rich tapestry of rhythms and melodies that seamlessly cross cultural boundaries, captivating audiences with its infectious energy and heartfelt emotion. Since their formation, Massada has been celebrated for their ability to innovate within the Latin and world music genres, creating sou…
Mama Too Tight
Originally released in 1967, Mama Too Tight stands as one of the most daring and structurally innovative albums from Archie Shepp, a pivotal figure in the free jazz movement and African-American cultural protest of the 1960s. Distinct from his more explosive works, this album showcases a refined compositional complexity, featuring avant-garde marching-band-style arrangements, masterful horn orchestrations, and a unique blend of humor and improvisational tension.
The title track, Mama Too Tight, …
Ball of Eyes
Placebo's debut LP "Ball of Eyes" is a remarkably focused Soul Jazz record, without the experimentation or Free Jazz moments which were still in vogue during the first half of the '70s. Excellent covers of Marvin Gaye's "Inner City Blues" and Sam & Dave's "You Got Me Hummin'" as well as his own compositions make "Ball of Eyes" a perfect example of the genius of Marc Moulin and his incredible band.
Jacknife
Recorded at the legendary Van Gelder Studio in September 1965 and released on the prestigious Blue Note label, this remarkable album spotlights alto saxophone virtuoso Jackie McLean leading a powerhouse quintet through five original compositions. This recording captures a pivotal moment in post-bop jazz, highlighting McLean’s bold, expressive style and his commitment to pushing the boundaries of the genre.
Joining McLean are two celebrated trumpeters, Charles Tolliver and Lee Morgan, each bringi…
1960 Sessions
The killer tandem of Lee Morgan and Clifford Jordan takes center stage in these exhilarating 1960 studio sessions, delivering an unforgettable Hard Bop experience. Known for their fiery improvisations and melodic mastery, Morgan on trumpet and Jordan on tenor saxophone demonstrate their exceptional chemistry and technical brilliance throughout the recordings.
These sessions are enhanced by a rotating lineup of jazz heavyweights, featuring the elegant piano stylings of Barry Harris or Wynton Kell…
Wranglin'
First released in 1964 under the expert production of Blackwell for Island Records, this remarkable album captures the essence of Jamaican soulful jazz through the extraordinary talent of Ernest Ranglin. As a pioneering guitarist and composer, Ranglin delivers an impeccable performance that blends the rich traditions of jazz with the vibrant rhythms of Jamaica.
Accompanied by a highly swinging rhythm section, featuring Malcolm Cecil on bass and Alan Ganley on drums, the album explores a captivat…
Guitar In Ernest
Born in 1932, Ernest Ranglin stands as one of the most influential session guitarists in the history of Jamaican music. His iconic playing features on countless recordings by legends such as Alton Ellis, Jimmy Cliff, Bunny Wailer, Max Romeo, the Skatalites, the Heptones, and the Congos, among many others.
Produced by Chris Blackwell and originally released in 1961 on Island Records, "Guitar in Ernest" showcases the sophisticated jazz side of Ranglin’s artistry. This exceptional album highlights …
Let the Spirit Out/Live at 'Mu' London
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".…
West and East Baying
West and East Baying by Oakland Reductionist Orchestra investigates the porous boundaries between acoustic improvisation and electronic sound, favoring the subtle friction and microdynamics of “lowercase” performance practice. Across two extended pieces—one live, one studio-crafted—this Bay Area supergroup reveals the intricate textures, restrained intensity and deep listening that define the West Coast reductionist scene.