Jazz & Improvisation / All styles

Limited edition album by Tony Coe’s Axel featuring Tony, Gordon Beck, Phil Lee, Chris Laurence and Bryan Spring. Recorded during the Camden Jazz Festival at the Shaw Theatre in Euston, London in 1977. Featuring wonderful compositions from Tony, Phil Lee and Gordon Beck, who contributed the brilliant title track. The single CD comes in a 4-panel digisleeve, with a 20 page booklet containing notes from Dave Gelly, John Wickes, Chris Laurence and Chris Searle. In 1975, Tony Coe formed a co-operativ…

Hardcover, 297x297mm, 224pp. Over 15 years after the groundbreaking first volume, Soul Jazz Records returns with Freedom, Rhythm & Sound: Chapter Two - a stunning visual documentation of revolutionary jazz artwork from the 1960s-1980s. Originally compiled by Gilles Peterson and Stuart Baker, this expanded second volume dives deeper into the radical graphic universe of independently published jazz records. The story begins with the first generation of African American jazz artists who transformed…

Tip! Space is the place! That classic piece - in a historically early version without lyrics - opens the album Paradiso Amsterdam 1970, which shows how the Netherlands was first introduced to Afrofuturism. A pivotal moment in the Dutch jazz experience. It was always thought that the recordings of the long-awaited first concert that the Sun Ra Arkestra gave in the Netherlands were useless for an album release.After all, the entire Arkestra, booked by Hans Dulfer, marched among the massive crowd a…

The bass, that metronome that marks the time for musicians of every style, of every era, that secluded, silent, but essential character for a band. Without the bass, the music would be deflated, the heart notes would leave a wasteland of rowdy high frequencies without any rules. But bass players who have character can elevate those low frequencies and even make them loud at times. Who knows if free jazz, if we want to call it that, is exalted by the Arabic background, those semitones between the…

*2025 repress* Jorge López Ruiz is one of most versatile of musical talents to emerge from Argentina. As a bass player, composer, performer and arranger he has worked across many genres including jazz, pop as well as stage productions and feature films. BA Jazz was originally released in 1961 on Vik Records as the debut album from Lopez Ruiz featuring a mix of covers and original material. Alongside Ruiz Lopez are Roberto Fernandez on trumpet, Ruben Lopez Furst on piano, Pichi Mazzei on drums an…

"Despite its modest role on the world stage, Belgium has produced a number of internationally renowned musicians and composers. There is the iconic gypsy jazz guitar maestro Django Reinhardt, whose position remains unassailable, and guitarist/harmonica player Toots Thielemans, who became an internationally renowned artist performing and recording with Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Shirley Horn and Quincy Jones. The other key Belgian figure is composer/arranger Francy Bo…

The group's debut album, recorded in May 1963, was to prove a great incentive to many other Chliean jazz acts, not least the Chilean Jazz Messengers and the Village Trio. However, the album proved more that just a motivator and inspiration to others, it stands by itself as a solid, tight jazz album. Recored for the independent label Ediciones LR Ortiz and engineered by Rafael Hidalgo, it was a genuine milestone by being the first full jazz album recorded in Chile by a professional Chilean group.…

Tip! By the 1960s, the popularity of big bands had waned considerably. The heyday of the 30s and 40s big bands had been superseded in the 1950s by smaller modern and traditional jazz units, skif e and, ultimately, rock and roll, and the prominence they once enjoyed were a fading memory. Although there were still several very ne big bands playing and recording during this time, the economics of the big band in the age of the pop group always put it at a disadvantage. There was, of course, the lea…

On the course of our deep research, we sometimes discover a hidden thread that unites musicians, songwriters, artists, and poets linked by music. Mustafa's 'Polygamy' is no exception. Apart from the music - the main reason we decided to work on this first ever re-press, a jewel at the crossroads between jazz funk, spiritual jazz and proto rap - are the many other things that make Mustafa an intriguing and fascinating character. For starters, he was a childhood friend of the Ayler brothers with w…

Clifford Jordan was actually supposed to perform at Paradiso on September 10, 1969, but at that time the stage was facing problems and closed for a month. He diverts to VARA studio 7 in Hilversum with pianist Cees Slinger, bassist Ruud Jacobs, drummer Han Bennink and percussionist Steve Boston. Three of the four pieces Jordan puts on the lectern he recorded in early 1969 for the Strata-East label under the album title In the world.

*Listed as one of the four most influential Jazz albums that happened to be released in 1959 (Dave Brubeck -Time Out & Charles Mingus -Ah Um among them), so much has been said and written about Miles Davis'Kind Of Blue, it's virtually impossible to summarize all the necessary info to the length of this page. We could simply list some facts (best sold Jazz album ever worldwide). We could try to explain why it's the best Jazz album ever made, but the music itself will do that to you. As Bill Evans…

Let us take you back. Waaay back. According to early Greek mythology, the three powerful sons of the god Kronos divided up the cosmos after overthrowing their father: Poseidon ruled the sea, Zeus commanded the heavens, and Hades reigned over the underworld. Conversely, this latest offering from the Atlantis Jazz Ensemble completes the group's corresponding trilogy - Oceanic Suite (2016), Celestial Suite (2023), and now Mystic Suite (2026). As you might expect, this Mystic Suite, inspired by Hade…

On Celestial Suite, Atlantis Jazz Ensemble stretch their spiritual soul-jazz into a full skyward arc, an unbroken studio suite where modal grooves, Afro-Latin currents and meditative codas move like one long, rising breath.

On Oceanic Suite, Atlantis Jazz Ensemble ride a warm, late‑night current of modal grooves and spiritual inflections, with trumpet, alto, Rhodes, bass and drums flowing together in live‑off‑the‑floor conversations that feel both loose and meticulously steered.

"Of all the American jazz artists who relocated to Europe and Scandinavia in the 1950s and 1960s, Sahib Shihab remains one of the most highly regarded and versatile, yet least celebrated. Although mostly known as a key member of the Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band, Europe's leading big band of the 1960s, Shihab had a career that lasted 40 years characterised by an adaptability and individuality that marked him out as a player of exceptional skill on the baritone, alto and soprano saxophones …

This is a hitherto unknown recording of the influential Danish composer, pianist, and bandleader Jeppe Zeeberg, dated November 9, 1963. On this recording, Zeeberg is accompanied by a band comprised of several of his generation’s finest musicians. Inspired by the Ellington/Mingus traditions and the new sounds of free jazz emerging from overseas, Zeeberg was the rare individual who could straddle different styles in one performance – even within a single composition. This concert, recorded at Havn…

** 2021 Stock ** Centifuga Records presents Melt, the first LP from Nicolai Kaas Claesson's Melt Quartet. 70's Free Jazz style, inspired by Ahmad Jahmal, Keith Jarrett, Sun Ra etc. Nicolai Kaas Claesson‘s quartet generates some serious intensity with the most casual delivery.  It’s free jazz that’s laid back and cool, and yet hits like a right cross thrown by a pro.  It’s got an old-school feel that brings out the nostalgia for the avant-garde 70s, when that particular phase of jazz’s evolution …

Centrifuga Records presents Floating Islands by Lotte Anker, Gerald Cleaver and Craig Taborn. The album is a live performance recorded during CPH jazz festival in 2008. Floating Islands was issued on CD in 2009 on ILK music, and finally we are able to make this superb recording available on vinyl in a collaboration between ILK, Insula Music and Centrifuga. Saxophones – Lotte AnkerDrums – Gerald CleaverPiano – Craig TabornMixed and Mastered By – John FomsgaardRecorded live at Borups Concert Hall

** Limited Edition of 250. To be released between April and May 2021 ** Centrifuga Records presents the first vinyl issue ever of Tom Prehn Kvartets "Centrifuga" tape from 1964. Remastered by Sigurd Djurhuus. Only a handful (4-5 copies) of this tape are known to exist, and luckily Centrifuga Records have managed to restore this music and release it on vinyl now in 2021.

Bomb! Danish pianist Tom Prehn was one of the first Europeans to deeply explore free music. With his quartet featuring Fritz Krogh on tenor saxophone, Poul Ehlers on bass, and Finn Slumstrup on drums, Prehn recorded Axiom in October, 1963, for Sonet, though it went unreleased until 2015 because the band felt that their music had moved beyond it already. To hear the music they were talking about, one could only turn to two privately-made reel-to-reel tapes, Centrifuga and Sohlverv, recorded in Au…

** 2021 Stock ** Actions 1966 67, is a selection of recordings by TCJQ. The music is truly unique an is among the absolute best from the Scandinavian avantgarde jazz scene at that time. We are proud to make this recording available on vinyl for the first time, and to be able to tell the full story of TCJQ on a 4 pages insert. Enjoy!. Liner Notes – Tim Thorlund Boisen. Painting – Franz Beckerlee. Photography By – Jan Persson, Ole Henning Hansen. Remastering– Joachim Michaelis. Cover design – KLD …

Few copies back in stock, sold out at source! ‘Står op med solen’ (Rising with the sun) is the second album by Amalie Dahl’s Dafnie. With this album, the band continues the exploration of their collective sound. We hear influences from both old school free jazz, and contemporary Scandinavian jazz like Fire! Orchestra and Christian Wallumrød Ensemble, as well as clear connection to the Trondheim milieu, where the group was founded in 2020. The energetic and expressive band explores their more sub…

After Sunny’s time now, his authoritative portrait of the American Free jazz drumming legend Sunny Murray, Luxembourg filmmaker Antoine Prum turns his attention to the British Free Improvised Music scene in this new feature-length music documentary. Branching out from a three-day festival in Berlin conceived and organised for the purpose of the film, Taking the Dog for a Walk maps the scene of British Improvisers, past and present, retracing the road that led from its emergence and emancipation …

Blue for a Moment retraces the artistic career of the Berlin-based Swedish jazz musician, avant-garde composer, poet and visual artist Sven-Åke Johansson, one of the most singular and exciting figures in European improvised music. Johansson (born 1943 in Mariestad) moved to Berlin in the late 1960s, where he has since been active in a variety of music and artistic contexts. His first performances took place in the context of the Zodiak Free Arts Lab on Hallesches Ufer, where young musicians and …

*2024 repress! LP version* "Sadly, many will hear Chris Corsano & Bill Orcutt's latest LP, Made Out of Sound, as 'not-jazz,' though it would be more aptly described as 'not-not-jazz.' In a better world, it would warrant above-the-fold reviews in Downbeat, or an appearance on David Sanborn's late-night show (if someone would only give it back to him). More likely, we can hope for a haiku review on Byron Coley's Twitter timeline to sufficiently connect the various improvised terrains trodden by th…

Originally released in 2019. Taking influences from Ethiopiques Ethiojazz as well as the soundtracks to the European horror films of the '60s and '70s, The Sorcerers seamlessly blend these disparate elements into one cohesive package. Based in ATA Records' home of Leeds, The Sorcerers are made up of the cream of the city's jazz and world scene. Forming the backbone of the ATA Records house band they incorporate bass clarinets, flutes, and vibraphone alongside bass, guitar organ and drums, provid…

I Too Am A Stranger was recorded at ATA Studios by the core Sorcerers trio, featuring the compositional vision and timeless lines of bassist Neil Innes, truly rare grooves from drummer JoostHendrickx (Gott Street Park, Eddie Chacon)and a little cosmos of tones and melodies from reed/flute/vibes/keyboard player Richard Ormrod. Up-and-coming Leeds trumpeter Olivia Cuthill was chosen to augment the brass sections, and regular collaborator Danny Templeman fills out the percussion palette. As ever, t…

*2025 stock* The Sorcerers began working on the new album during the winter of 2018 and it was during the writing sessions for this album that the concept for the LP began to take shape. The name for the album was taken from the title of a National Geographic article read by Bassist Neil Innes and was used as the starting point for the entire concept. The library music scene of the 60s and 70s has always been an intrinsic part of the sound of ATA Records and so it made perfect sense to envisage …

*2025 stock* The spirit of KPM, DeWolfe & I Marc 4 distilled in a lockup garage in Leeds returns for a second helping. The funky, atmospheric, evocative and sometimes downright weird output of companies such as DeWolfe, Cavendish, Burton and the ubiquitous KPM have always been a guiding inspiration for ATA Records, as evidenced in the spooky soundtrack works of The Sorcerers, the big band brass of The Yorkshire Film & Television Orchestra and even in the soul-jazz of The Lewis Express ('Theme Fr…

*2025 stock* Since 2013 label founders and musicians Neil Innes & Pete Williams have been tirelessly fulfilling their shared dream of making the records they weren’t hearing. Having spent years working in various bands both players felt the desire to break free of the constraints of working within another band and started on the slow path to creative autonomy by starting to work on the 12 tracks presented on this compilation. While deliberating their next steps they were approached by Here & Now…

*2025 stock* 2020 was a time of fear as Covid blew through the world, shutting countries down and isolating friends and family alike. In a space of a few short months the world seemed a scarier and smaller place as many experienced isolation and a diffuse uncertainty for the first time. For those lucky enough not to be touched by tragedy during the pandemic, or having to battle the illness personally, the lockdown certainly created a space and time to crack open a book, get square eyed over a bo…

Deluxe reissue edition. Restoration and digital transfer from original analogue tapes. Reissue of a 1979 duo recording of legendary South African bassist Johnny Dyani (of The Blue Notes) and drummer Clifford Jarvis (who played with Sun Ra for over two decades). 180g vinyl presented in a deluxe gatefold sleeve - limited edition manufactured by German audiophile specialist, Pallas Group. Johnny 'Mbizo' Dyani was a jazz musician who performed during the apartheid era. He played for almost his entir…

Deluxe reissue edition. Restoration and digital transfer from original analogue tapes.. The Ethnic Heritage Ensemble was founded in 1973 by percussionist Kahil El'Zabar and had a huge impact on jazz. They have put out several sublime and hotly in demand albums over the years since - the excellent Be Known: Ancient Future Music being one of them - and are rooted in free-jazz improvisations and inspired workouts. Their second album Impressions came in 1982 and is now remastered and reissued for t…

Special session in january 2013 for Recordstoreday 2013. Recorded at Martin Siewert‘s studio Garnison 7 in Vienna. First and final pressing of 400.

This 7" vinyl split showcases experimental jazz outfit Sunn Trio, led by multi-instrumentalist Joel Robinson from Arizona's desert scene, alongside his solo work. On the A-side, Sunn Trio delivers "Touch Seang Tana," a hypnotic fusion of modal jazz, Eastern ragas, and desert-inspired improvisation featuring dilruba, tabla, tanpura, guitar, cello, and percussion for a hazy, cosmic vibe. The B-side features Joel Robinson's "Taqasim For Asmahan," a poignant taqasim—a traditional Arabic improvisatio…

**Original, still sealed copies of this rare album! Few available** Likely one of the most underrated Nimbus albums. Horace Tapscott & Everett Brown Jr.'s piano and drums avant-guard jazz outing 'At The Crossroads'. Piano and Drums : raw, uncut, brilliant

Super Tip! * Originally recorded in 1983. A never before released Studio album featuring Horace Tapscott with flautist Aubrey Hart and saxophonist Kafi Roberts. Direct From the 1/4” Master Tapes (All Analog Cut), Tip-On Sleeve Insert with Liner Notes by Mark Weber *

When Ballister hit the stage at the Catalytic Sound Festival in Chicago in December 2022, no one in the band was quite sure what to expect. Although they’d done a two-week tour of the US in April of that year, their first reunion following an almost three-year break due to the pandemic, you never know what might happen after several months apart. Sometimes that first gig is magic. And sometimes it swims around searching for a center. That’s just a danger of the art form. But drummer Paal Nilssen…

Empty Castles is the third document of Spectral, a working horn trio split between the cities of San Francisco and Chicago that’s been active since 2012. As with their previous two releases, 2014’s self-titled debut, and 2016’s digital-only Neutral Nation, this new recording showcases a free improvising band that fully embraces the term “instant composition.” While their performances are known for thoughtful pacing and development, methodically spinning off complex structures from scratch with a…

Propulsion is the debut album by a stellar quartet of journeymen Chicago improvisers assembled by saxophonist and Aerophonic Records founder Dave Rempis. Vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz is known for his extensive work with the late Peter Brötzmann, Hamid Drake, Mike Reed, and his own trio Sun Rooms. Bassist Joshua Abrams is the leader of Natural Information Society, perhaps the best-known group internationally to emerge from Chicago over the last decade. He also maintains longstanding relationship…