Jazz /
Collected Works
*2025 stock* PainKiller's Collected Works presents the complete documentation of one of experimental music's most brutal and boundary-pushing collaborations. This four-CD compilation gathers all studio recordings and essential live performances from the trio of John Zorn (saxophone, vocals), Bill Laswell (bass), and Mick Harris (drums, vocals), documenting their three-year assault on the boundaries between avant-garde jazz and extreme metal. PainKiller was formed in 1991 when NYC downtown giants…
Reflectativity
Reflectativity, first released on Leo Smith's own label in the early 1970s is one of the most important extended compositions blending improvisation and composition, and one of Leo Smith's masterpieces. This exciting new version features the brilliant pianist/composer Anthony Davis (who performed on the original recording) and longtime friend and colleague Malachi Favors—the legendary monster bass player from the Art Ensemble of Chicago. Coupled with several new compositions, this CD brings toge…
New Africa
** Comes in a deluxe matte laminate digi sleeve and printed inner wallet + 16-page booklet featuring archival photos & exclusive essay by jazz ** A vital document of artistic resistance and spiritual searching, New Africa captures a transformative moment in jazz and global Black consciousness. Recorded in Paris in 1969, the album stands as a deeply personal and boldly experimental statement from American trombonist and composer Grachan Moncur III — one of the most compelling figures of the avan…
To Blue From Grey in May
Misha Panfilov, the Estonian composer whose name has become synonymous with space-age exotica and cinematic soundscapes, withdraws once more into the solitude of his studio and emerges with To Blue From Grey In May – a profound meditation on sound, time, and seasonal transformation. Recorded amid the ever-changing light and shadows of Tallinn between March and May 2025, this new album stands as a testament to complete immersion in the creative process. Here, Panfilov threads himself into the ver…
Tokyo
Wolfgang Muthspiel and his trio with Scott Colley on bass and Brian Blade on drums (“Together they have something of the empathy of the Bill Evans trio” – Downbeat) goes into its third recording-venture swinging, setting the stage for what may be the group’s most adventurous trio recording with a delicate reading of Keith Jarrett’s “Lisbon Stomp”. Throughout the album however, the Austrian guitarist and his American cohorts turn the spotlight towards Wolfgang’s captivating originals, touching on…
Tramonto
Recorded live in Birmingham during a Contemporary Music Network tour in 2002, Tramonto finds UK pianist John Taylor (1942-2015) in celebratory, outgoing mood, fronting one of his most dynamic and quick-witted groups, with US musicians Marc Johnson and Joey Baron – the energetic team that would later collaborate on the critically-lauded ECM recording Rosslyn. Here the repertoire features the well-known Taylor tunes “Pure and Simple”, “Between Moons” and “Ambleside” (heard in an epic 15 minute…
PorchBone
*2025 stock* Driff Records proudly announces the release of PorchBone, the latest project from Dutch saxophonist and composer Jorrit Dijkstra, leading an adventurous ensemble that brings new colors and textures to contemporary improvised music.
On PorchBone, Dijkstra assembles a singular front line that sets alto saxophone and lyricon alongside the rich, brassy voice of the trombone. This unusual pairing creates a wide palette of timbres—by turns muscular, playful, and surprisingly intimate. Th…
Out From Athens
*2025 stock* A cross-generation and cross-genre collaboration bringing together two musicians who share a common city of origin and who find a common music thread in their distinct backgrounds. This beautifully recorded set of piano and bass duets and solos from the summer of 2023 in Athens, Greece, features a mix of original compositions and improvisations.
Truss
*2025 stock* It’s not often that Aerophonic Records has put out recordings by bands that are first-time groupings. There are a few notable ones, including AR024 and 026 – Of Things Beyond Thule Volume 1 and 2 featuring Joe McPhee, Tomeka Reid, Brandon Lopez, and Paal Nilssen-Love. Another one was AR029 Stringers and Struts with Jeff Parker, Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, and Jeremy Cunningham. Those lineups and performances were just too stellar to let them pass without being documented (and those reco…
The Hasaan, Hope & Monk Project
*2025 stock* The spark for this project was the release of the newly discovered 1965 Hasaan recording Metaphysics (Omnivore, 2021). Upon hearing these beautiful compositions by Hasaan, I immediately felt the need to transcribe and understand them. For the recording I felt compelled to present them alongside pieces by Monk and Hope, who, like Hasaan, stood out for their brilliant—yet unorthodox—writing and their highly personal approach to playing the piano. The two elder pianists also had a clos…
Wooley The Newt
Stephen McCraven's Wooley The Newt was his first album under his own name, released on Marion Browns own Sweet Earth record label in 1979 (orignal copies are rare and go for $500). Working with Stephen and the carvery we have remastering the audio and restored the original artwork. Stephen is a master drumer and composer and has worked with Archie Shepp for many years,he has also played & recorded with many; Marion Brown, Mal Waldron, Reggie Wokman and Stanley Cowell to mention just a few. Steph…
Jazz Report From The Hood
Over the past few months, five young musicians performing under the name Omasta have taken the Polish and European jazz scenes by storm. Having gained recognition for their intense live shows, they are now ready to deliver their debut studio effort. Jazz Report from the Hood a collectively composed album immersed in the textures of city streets and everyday urban life. The name Omasta comes from a regional Krakow dialect word meaning “fat added to food for flavor.” It’s a fitting metaphor: the g…
Tracks
Frode Gjerstad, Alexander von Schlippenbach, and Dag Magnus Narvesen's first trio recording is powerful convergence of avant-garde improvisation and deep jazz sensibilities. Gjerstad’s fearless saxophone work, Schlippenbach’s adventurous piano explorations and Narvesen’s dynamic drumming create spontaneous compositions that betray a deep mutual respect.
Remember Still
“Looking back I remember still” is a graffito I saw on an electrical box near my house and as I prepared for this recording I reflected on my time living in New York and my involvement in the improvised music scene there. My decision to include the standard tune Just Friends is part of looking forward with the hope of highlighting the connections between the practice of free improvisation and the creative tradition of “Great Black Music” sometimes called jazz.
Exhaust
The music of Exhaust unfolds through real-time exploration, where quick reflexes and deep listening shape each performance. Nebbia’s powerful saxophone voice drives the ensemble with intensity, while Downes reveals a side of his playing that leans into raw immediacy and unrestrained expression. Lisle acts as both a catalyst and anchor, crafting fluid rhythmic structures that support and propel the trio’s intricate interplay. Their album moves through a vast spectrum of sound, shifting between me…
Shamanism
This is free improvised music with two saxophones and two drum sets. The theme of the music is about identity that is linked to the region and culture, especially a specific folksy and indigenous characteristic in the Korean peninsula from long ago. The whole album describes a ceremony and its atmosphere and each track follows each step that is named by an ideogram.
Hyperboreal Trio
Hyperboreal Trio’s debut album unites the distinct voices of Signe Emmeluth, Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, and Axel Filip—three seasoned improvisers bridging the musical extremes of the north and south through raw, yet meticulously crafted pieces.
Réimsí Géara
Listening closely to the duo of Elliott Sharp and Scott Fields one can hear a compact history of modern composition and improvisation. Although the duo has a sound all its own, under the surface you can sense traces of “New Music,” minimalism, free jazz, and blues.
Poiēsis
In a spontaneous studio session, alto saxophonist Tim Berne met fellow saxophonist Masayo Koketsu and percussionist Nava Dunkelman for the first time, setting the stage for an improvisational encounter full of contrasts and surprising cohesion. Berne’s rich, dynamic tone, provided a grounded foundation, while Koketsu's innovative use of extended techniques and breathy, ethereal sounds—challenged the space with a more experimental edge.
Dunkelman, with her textural percussion, wove between the tw…
A Willing Passenger
Saxophonist Paul Flaherty is New England's purveyor of the ecstatic jazz pulse. Through the years, Flaherty remained unshakable in the pursuit of soul healing and demon dashing through freedom music. Six pieces of alto and tenor saxophone steeped in the theme of loss and channeled through blasting improvisations that showcase his fabulous wailing and inferno of sound to stark bluesy melodies.
"January 20, 2005 was a cold night in Washington D.C. A dozen bands would perform at the Black Cat venue…