Jazz & Improvisation / All styles

Limited edition first press 300 copies only in audiophile gold cd. "Luca Formentini and Markus Stockhausen began playing together in 2005, when Markus formed an international ensemble to play at the Suoni delle Dolomiti festival. One year later they performed as a quintet in St. Maternus in Cologne, Germany, where they recorded a live album, which initiated the project called “Flowers of Now”. (Intuitive Music in Cologne, Horus Label, 2008). Later on Markus played on two tracks of Luca’s Tacet (…

"We are very proud of adding to our artists log such a great musician, immense composer, poet: Michael Mantler. I always admired his work since I was a kid and I think all of his records are in my collection. In a way it was quite natural for two other great artists to be involved in this brilliant project: long time Mantler collaborator John Greaves and the amazing Annie Barbazza. I hope you enjoy this live recording as much as I do and appreciate the care we all put in making this stunning alb…

John Zorn and Bill Laswell are two of the Downtown scene’s most consistently intrepid musical explorers, and PainKiller, formed in 1991 is their longest running project together. “The Prophecy,” the first official PainKiller release in over ten years, was recorded live in Europe in 2004–5 and pulls together music from several concerts into a powerful and mind blowing suite unlike anything the group has ever released before. Featuring master drummer Yoshida Tatsuya (Ruins, Korekyojin) the music t…

Although introduced as a protégé of John Coltrane and touted by many as his heir apparent, reedman Pharoah Sanders quickly proved his own man. His shared interest in the "cosmic" music of Coltrane's final period belies the fact that Sanders frequently plays with an unhurried sense of peace and satisfaction rarely found in his mentor's music. His use of space, African and Asian motifs and instruments, and simple, repetitive melodies also pointed the way for jazz, rock, and new age musicians in th…

Ahmad Jamal is a jazz giant and The Awakening is his iconic masterpiece. The landmark deep trio session - recorded in NYC and released on Impulse! in 1970 - is an essential album and perennially sought-after on vinyl, so Be With Records are delighted to make it available again. As a “Zen master of jazz piano” and one of its greatest innovators, Jamal evolved his elegant sound with this adventurous record. The Awakening showcased his fast, richly melodic chops in remarkable variation. A consummat…

*50 copies limited edition* On a quiet Tuesday night in April, three musicians—Max Ridley, Eleanor Elektra, and Nat Mugavero—gathered at The Lilypad in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for an evening of deep improvisation. What unfolded was Playing, Praying—an intimate, continuous recording that captures the trio’s shared devotion to sound, silence, and spirit. The album was recorded live as the trio improvised from the heart, pausing only for moments of silence—now preserved as their own tracks. These…

The long-awaited debut album from bassist-composer Thomas Morgan is a lush, layered journey through ambient textures and open improvisation. Featuring an all-star cast—Bill Frisell, Craig Taborn, Ambrose Akinmusire, Immanuel Wilkins, Henry Threadgill, Dan Weiss, and Gerald Cleaver—the record is both spacious and intricate, with Morgan’s own virtual instrument woods shaping its organic feel. The inclusion of poet Gary Snyder’s voice adds another dimension to this environmental soundscape. Around …

A powerful intergenerational trio emerges on Murasaki, featuring Wadada Leo Smith on trumpet, Marcus Gilmore on drums, and Jakob Bro on guitar. Recorded at Power Station (formerly Avatar Studios) in New York, this exploratory session unfolded spontaneously—no retakes, no discussions, just a shared musical language rooted in intuition and trust. “It felt as though this music already existed before we started playing,” Bro reflects. Murasaki captures the creative summit of three visionary artists,…

Collective interplay is essentially about listening and giving space. If ever there was a credo for this ensemble recording, this would be it. Sometimes the soloist or a small group steps forward, other times they play as a large unit. This collective of musicians are connected through old and new friendships, a set of relations that has been formed through two decades of co-creation on stage and in the studio, and their new recording is a reaffirmation of that with an A-side of free improvisati…

In a new duo collaboration that defies conventions and background, Midori Takada and Jakob Bro took up residence in Tokyo’s Avaco Studios to record their first album, あなたに出会うまで / Until I Met You. The title, taken from a Midori Takada composition, refers to the spiritual bond that arises in every new friendship, whether in music or in life. Until I Met You is pure acoustic music, a tapestry of dreamlike compositions with beautiful melodies that sees ambient music icon Midori Takada on grand piano…

Tip! Edition of 66 numbered copies. Straight outta Jutland comes the new album by Denmark’s Lenny Kalimba. Set your ears adrift in warm scenic sounds, and watch them dance blissfully spasmodic. Homemade flutes, carved from a sacred bamboo bush burning with playful awe, float across the sonic spheres to mind-melt with protofunkoid kalimbas. Electronic beats and acoustic drums swing each other to a higher level of groove. Recorded on tape for a warm listening pleasure, and hereby presented as a ta…

2010 release ** Montréal-based trio Pink Saliva produce music that’s at once intensely deep and readily accessible. Accessible because drummer Michel F Côté lays down earthy rhythmic patterns that sound beamed to the planet through a reverb-y, distant mix. Intensely deep because trumpeter Elwood Epps (aka Gordon Allen) puts so much passion and focus into each and every sound, from kissing lip smacks to achingly beautiful single notes, suspended over the insistent thrumming of Alexandre St-Onge o…

2010 release ** A long-standing member of Montréal’s extremely fertile experimental music scene, Jean René has lent his skills to many of his contemporaries. (...) Fammi comes across as a daring, idiosyncratic album. It's the 8th publication - out of 24, one for each hour of a day - produced by &records (Michel F. Côté & Fabrizio Gilardino).

Gustav Horneij’s Organic Pulse Ensemble blends jazz tradition with modern groove, inspiring unity & protest, uplifting listeners in the fight for freedom and justice for all.

*2024 stock* The compelling sense of vulnerability you get from walking barefoot on the grass connecting with the earth is аn immersive experience. It opens you to the energy within, walking at your own pace, appreciating where you are, comprehending the impenetrable mystery of life within and around you. It settles you into a restful state of mind and expands your awareness. Recorded live on all analog tape in Hämeenlinna, Walking On The Grass is the first album by Mush Tone Ensemble. There is …

RR Gems brings to you EEG Coherence. An album consisting of Devin Brahja Waldman - saxophone and keyboards, Sam Shalabi - guitar, Liam O’Neill - drums, Morgan Moore - bass, Janice Lowe - flute and voice, and Ala Dehghan - voice; with woodblock artwork by Ryock. For reference, EEG means electroencephalogram: a scientific test that measures electrical activity in the brain. When our right brain and left brain hook up, coherence is born. The third eye pops out. The mind and heart become one. As int…

Tip on sleeves with matte varnish finish. Branches captures the electrifying first meeting of two uncompromising improvisers: Evan Parker, the legendary UK saxophonist and pioneer of multiphonic, trance-state improvisation, and Bill Nace, the American experimentalist known for his radical guitar and taishōgoto explorations. Recorded live at London’s Café OTO on May 25, 2024, this set documents the instant chemistry between two artists who had never played-or even met-before that night. Nace, clo…

From the original "Theme" to a series of beautifully reimagined standards by Duke Ellington, Benny Golson, and Isham Jones, The Original Quintet (First Recording) captures a seminal moment in jazz history. Released in 1956 on Prestige and engineered by the legendary Rudy Van Gelder, this album perfectly synthesizes Miles Davis’s evolving artistic vision, marking a landmark in the bop revolution. Featuring an extraordinary ensemble including John Coltrane on tenor saxophone, Philly Joe Jones on d…

Ramsey Lewis' album Mother Nature's Son, consists exclusively of instrumental versions of songs by The Beatles, featuring ten of the songs from the band's White Album. Recorded in December of 1968, shortly after the November 22, 1968 release of The Beatles' album, it showcases Lewis on piano and keyboards playing with members from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. According to producer and arranger Charles Stepney, Lewis had expressed his admiration for the sounds achieved by The Beatles' producer…

*2024 stock* A group of musicians invited by Devin Brahja Waldman and Ziad Qoulaii for a recording session in Montreal, QC. This music speaks about freedom and evolution of consciousness. The album could be categorized as improvised Gnawa Jazz Krautrock: a combination of sounds we are able to discover for the first time thanks to the artists involved.

*2024 stock* Muriel Grossmann has been living in Ibiza, Spain for about 20 years composing her distinguished brand of soulful spiritual jazz. ‘Universal Code’ is a 80-minute musical journey of modal jazz with influence of African music and soul jazz. It was composed as a natural successor of 2019 record ‘Reverence’. This album was achieved as a part of Muriel Grossmann’s spiritual and musical explorations. "This music on Universal Code is long on contemplative, instrumental dexterity, as well as…

* Edition of 100 copies, silk-screened cover, hand numbered and intended for musicians and their families. High thickness cardboard with opaque laminated cover. Comes with a printed insert. Very Few copies available * Founded in 1969 by the pianist Ole Mathiessen, the bassist Henrik Hove, the saxophonist Jesper Nehammer, and drummer Jon Finsen, Tordenskjolds Soldater was one of the great - albeit short-lived - projects in Copenhagen’s thriving scene of free improvisation and jazz of the late 196…

2005 release ** Cardboard sleeve. "This project is the product of over thirty years of musical collaboration and personal friendships. The three of us met in the San Francisco Bay Area in the early seventies and worked together in many contexts, exploring improvisation and new music. When I moved to New York in 1983, there was a brief hiatus, and then, on hearing a composition of Mel Graves played here, I asked him to write me a piece. This led to my premiering many works of his and making sever…

26 October 2024, an album comprising a live performance by the Creative Unit of Yosaburō Toyozumi, Namchirak Signho, and Masatsugu Harada with Senko Terukina and Kosei Yamamoto at Gallery Mai within the Mōri Residence in Hofu City, alongside recordings from Masatsugu Harada's studio in Kure City. The performance at Gallery Mai could be described as ‘a once-in-a-lifetime resonance carved in Hofu by masters of improvisation.

Huge Tip! Deluxe LP edition, comes with a 8-page insert .This is a live recording of the Peter Brötzmann Trio (Peter Brötzmann, Sabu Toyozumi, and Jason Adasiewicz) from their performance at the 5th OCT-LOFT Jazz Festival at B10 Live, Shenzhen, in 2015. After the performance, the B10 Live team conducted a warm and friendly interview with the three musicians. The transcribed conversation has been edited and included in the liner notes of this vinyl album.Liu Ying Studio delivered exceptional mixi…

Grey-area LP reissue, originally released as Eternal Now on Sonet Records in 1973. Don was living in Sweden at the time and made 2 great spaced-out records (in the freeform "Universal Music" style) for Sonet (Live Ankara being the other) -- the prior CD reissue of this material has seemingly disappeared into the wind. If this album had been made by some Vietnam vet living in a windowless cove in Northern California -- with a picture of leaves on the cover, no less -- it would have made the NWW l…

Temporary offer. "Drummer Roy Haynes was just about everywhere in the golden age of jazz, recording classic albums with some of the most legendary names of the genre. The hard-bop-verging-on-post-bop Out Of The Afternoon is an excellent example of the adventurous spirit that was taking flight in the jazz world in the early 1960s. Haynes swings as the leader of this 1962 Impulse! session, featuring A-list jazzmen Roland Kirk (multiple instruments including stritch and nose flute!), Tommy Flanagan…

Black Rhythm Revolution! Is the first solo album from the jazz-funk legend Idris Muhammad, a New Orleans-bred rhythm king who successfully made the leap from the finest soulful jazz records of the ’60s to the nastiest fusion funk of the ’70s. Here we catch him literally on the cusp of the two in 1970, with one good foot in the get-down of “Express Yourself” and “Super Bad,” and the other in his own heady excursions into modal rhythm and melody, accompanied by virtuosos Kenny Barron, Ron Carter, …

"The outsized sounds emerging from the Excelsior Mill organ captured here constitute a unique chapter in the Sun Ra story, a dizzying phantasmagoria that offers a whole new view on what Ra could do - It might thrill you; it might unnerve you; it might strum your heartstrings; it might spook the living daylights out of you. Most likely you'll experience all of the above before the jolting musical jeremiad is done. Pressed on violet vinyl! When you're Sun Ra, you don't need synthesizers to evoke a…

*2025 reissue* Chris McGregor and his Brotherhood of Breath unleash one of the most essential big band recordings ever committed to vinyl! This is the real deal - South African freedom music meeting British free jazz intensity in an absolute explosion of sound and spirit. Recorded in 1971, this debut captures McGregor's revolutionary vision at its most raw and uncompromising - traditional African rhythms colliding with free jazz ferocity in ways that still sound shocking today. The lineup reads …

Soul Media, led by Jiro Inagaki, played a part in the development of jazz rock in Japan. This work, "Memory Lane" recorded in 1980, was the final work under the same name. Inagaki said about this work, "We tried to create this work while predicting the fate of fusion music" and it is true that the sound is completely different from ordinary fusion. The mellow and emotional "Memory Lane" the stormy and refreshing "I Will Give You Samba" and the groovy and edgy "Take My Hand". The sound that was c…

*In process of stocking. 2022 stock* In October 2018, Steve Holtje, the mastermind of the pioneering American music label ESP, was invited by the 8th OCT-LOFT International Jazz Festival to give a lecture in Shenzhen entitled "55 Years of Pioneering and Non-Mainstream Music: The Continuing Revolution of ESP-DISK", unveiling the label for the first time to Chinese The talk was entitled "55 Years of Pioneering and Non-Mainstream Music: The Continuing Revolution of ESP-DISK", and unveiled the myste…

Biggest Tip!  Limited edition 2-CD Digipak. Includes a 12-page booklet with rare photos from the actual performance by Christian Rose, and an exclusive essay by longtime Down Beat contributorKevin Whitehead. Transcendence Sounds - the groundbreaking new archival imprint from Elemental Music - makes its stunning debut with the complete, previously unreleased concert recording of spiritual jazz titan Pharoah Sanders captured live at Paris's legendary Studio 104 on November 17th, 1975. This extraor…

2025 stock   Bringing together three of the most voracious and energetic musical minds in new music, Painkiller was one of the most intense live bands ever. Here they are captured at their absolute peak. Culminating their legendary 1994 tour of Japan in a masterful set featuring one of their longest and most inspired improvisations, the thirty-five minute Batrachophrenoboocosmomachia. Beautifully recorded by the unsung fourth member of the group sound engineer Oz Frith and packaged in deliriousl…

Cruelty Bacchanal, the second release from guitarist Matt Hollenberg’s group Shardik, is a ferocious statement of intent. Years in the making and issued on John Zorn’s Tzadik label, the album presents a volatile and politically charged fusion of modern classical structure, metal intensity, and free jazz unpredictability. Hollenberg’s compositions are marked by intricate rhythmic architecture and an uncompromising sonic vision, alternating between explosive virtuosity and dark, layered atmosphere…

With “Suite for Piano” in 2022, Zorn began exploring classical forms in the context of the jazz piano trio. The second CD in the series was a beautiful collection of “Ballades,” released in July 2024. This third project presents nine Impromptus—freewheeling forms that unfold like brilliantly imaginative short stories. Brian, Jorge, and Ches outdo themselves here with telepathic interplay, endless creativity, and a courageous ability to go places that have never been discovered before. With each …

Created for a modern Polish stage production of Bram Stoker’s classic vampire tale, John Zorn has created a music filled with nostalgia, tenderness, violent power and a great sense of mystery. Featuring the dark ambient bass tones of Bill Laswell, the sensitive keyboards of Rob Burger, Kevin Norton on drums, vibes and percussion and Zorn on sax, this is a moody and menacing program of music for late night listening. Romantic ballads, ambient soundscapes and hardcore intensity!

From March to May 2015, John Zorn composed 300 new tunes that were eventually collected into a book of music he called The Bagatelles. After five years of performances around the world in venues large and small, the choicest ensembles have gone into the studio and the results are some of the most exciting and varied music Zorn has ever presented. Volume four features the scintillating soundscapes of electronic music wizard Ikue Mori, and she has arranged these pieces with grace, elegance, and a …

A limited edition book of Michael Gregory Jackson's poetry. Limited to 200 copies

Home Thoughts is the late, luminous farewell from Michael Garrick, written for his Lyric Ensemble and recorded in 2011. Working with poetry by Shakespeare, Browning, Blake and others, he fashions 12 song-like pieces where jazz harmony, chamber textures and spoken or sung verse fuse into an intimate, autumnal meditation on memory, love and mortality.​