Jazz & Improvisation / All styles

"It's a generalisation, but Sylvia Hallett scrapes and Clive Bell blows. Bell specialises in reed or pipe instruments from exotic locations, principally South East Asia. Hallett bought a saw for £2.49, mounted a bicycle wheel on a spindle and also plays the more frequently-sighted viola. Bell studied the shakuhachi flute in Tokyo, then lived in Thailand, where he familiarised himself with the brittle vibrations of the khene reed-pipes. This was the beginning of his love for blown instruments tha…

"Given the number of musicians involved listeners will be surprised at the coherence and delicacy of much of the music here. As is so often, the pieces mainly consist of 'conductions' wherein one musician directs the orchestra, giving an overall form and structure to each piece - at least, that is the intention. So, Philipp Wachsmann's On the point of influence closes with a long restrained duo for cello and bass, while Ashley Wales' Study for Oppy Wood is an atmospheric tone poem. In addition t…

Milestones is an album that needs no introduction. Often overshadowed by its younger sibling Kind of Blue in the rankings of greatest jazz records, it nonetheless holds a pivotal place in the history of modern jazz. Critics and devoted listeners alike recognize its importance: an early – and outstanding – example of modal jazz, recorded by Miles Davis’ so-called “first great quintet” (actually sextet, this time), featuring legends like John Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers, Philly Joe Jones,…

** 2021 Stock ** Sploosh Records presents Chop Party by Martín Escalante and Matt Mottel. Mixed by Matt Mottel. Mastered by Lasse Marhaug. Design by Erick Baltodano. Photography by Syeus Mottel, Rome 1969. Recorded by Chris Schla. b @ Big Ego Studios. Thanks to Andrew Choate. Martín Escalante - SaxMatt Mottel - Synth

Tip! *2022 stock* Sploosh Records presents Soto by Otomo Yoshihide and Martín Escalante. Recorded by Kota Uematsu at Soto, Kyoto on 05/30/19. Mixed and mastered by Lasse Marhaug. Thanks to Kukangendai, Miho, Jonas. Artwork by Ron Regé Jr.Otomo Yoshihide - GuitarMartín Escalante - Sax

4CD + 40 pages booklet with photos and an essay in english and Italian by Mario Gamba

This time we are presenting another great collaborator that has been a part of our community for many years. Marina Džukljev, pianist from Novi Sad, Serbia. She joined the trio TiTiTi a few years ago as a guest, on their debut record Štafelaj out on Zavod Sploh, and then later she performed with them on many occasions including the Jazz Festival in Cerkno, Ring Ring Festival etc. TiTiTi started as a trio of the Slovenian most prominent brotherly connection, a fiery free rhythm section – Vid and …

A new voice in contemporary improvisation emerges with the Trio of Bloom, uniting three visionary artists at the forefront of modern music: Craig Taborn (piano, electronics), Nels Cline (guitar, effects), and Marcus Gilmore (drums, percussion).   This ensemble is less a meeting of individual virtuosos than the flowering of a shared soundworld—an immersive space where texture, rhythm, and resonance intertwine in real time. Each musician brings a singular language: Taborn’s kaleidoscopic harmonic …

Sylvie Courvoisier & Mary Halvorson Present Bone Bells on Pyroclastic Records. Two visionary voices of contemporary music explore new dimensions of resonance, texture, and interplay.

"I grew up in a literary household with parents who paid close attention to the written word. My father was a Goethe scholar, and my mother often read to us, pointing out the beauty of the sound of words. I have always felt an affinity for poetry. I appreciate its emotional power to move us and to make us think less literally. Miles Davis stressed the importance of knowing the lyrics to standards, and I’ve always believed that understanding the meaning of the words provides an added dimension wh…

"I’ve always been captivated by the night sky, endlessly wondering about what lies beyond. Amidst the vast expanse of stars, there is a sense of balance and symmetry that fascinates me—an order within the chaos. The innate patterns of the constellations sparked my curiosity, prompting me to explore how these celestial forms might be translated musically. In the summer of 2024, I developed a process that allowed me to collect pitch and numerical data from constellations. I overlaid the shapes of …

Black Editions presents “Historic Music Past Tense Future”, the first ever album to feature the meeting of Peter Brötzmann, Milford Graves and William Parker. Three of the towering figures in the history of Free Jazz forge an incredibly vital free music born from lifetimes of uncompromising, ceaseless artistry. “Historic Music Past Tense Future” is the inaugural release by Black Editions Archive and the first in a series of records that will present previously unreleased works featuring Milford …

Rashied Ali stood as a magnetic force for the musical environment around him. In his last decades he sponsored rehearsal opportunities for young musicians, tightened up neighborhood street-corner drum circles he happened to pass, and for years would pull promising young talents into his orbit. One unique group that Ali led at the 2002 Vision Festival in NYC, along with with Frank Lowe, he also took into the studio—and the moment you hear on Sidewalks in Motion features Ali and Lowe along with yo…

This isn’t your grandfather’s free jazz. Hell, it probably isn’t free jazz at all, but you have to call it something. “Katyusha” is ballistic fire music that starts where the most berserk, intense free music begins and then sustains that, then pushes it further. Blood vessel bursting intensity, stamina, speed, and momentum is here in blinding quantities, all the while retaining lightning fast interaction. No dull roar, the densities and dynamics do vary, but there is never a dull moment or coast…

For the first time, a compact version of Rob Mazurek's magisterial Exploding Star Orchestra – Exploding Star Orchestra/Small Unit – commits its music to CD.  Recorded live at Corbett vs. Dempsey's Chicago gallery space in March, 2023, the six-piece band featured Mazurek on trumpet, Tomeka Reid on cello, Damon Locks on voice and electronics, Angélica Sánchez on Wurlitzer, Ingebrigt Håker Flaten on bass, and Chad Taylor on drums. Spectral Fiction consists of two tracks, the deeply exploratory "Equ…

From a night of music in Holland that's become legendary among NRG Ensemble enthusiasts, Hold That Thought presents a blazing concert of the quintet's unique sound. With Mars Williams and Ken Vandermark on reeds, Kent Kessler and Brian Sandstrom on basses (the latter doubling on trumpet and electric guitar), and Steve Hunt on drums, this incarnation of the band was arguably its tightest and mightiest, taking the inspiration of founder Hal Russell (1926-1992) and running with it. All the way. The…

"Mystiphonic" is the third release from Roland P. Young on EM, following "Isophonic Boogie Woogie" [EM1045CD/LP] which was originally released in 1980 and re-issued by EM in 2005, and the 2009 "Istet Serenade" [EM1087CD/LP]. "Mystiphonic" is the fruit of two years of recordings at Young's Isophonic Sound Laboratory in Brooklyn, "comprovisations" which are more electronic than the previous EM releases, and yet this new CD retains Young's emotional life-long horn playing, a romance which began in …

Top notch jazz-rock-fusion with funk and Latin touches from Catalonia, 1975. Featuring Lucky Guri on electric piano (Rhodes) & Mini Moog, Jordi Clua on bass and Francis Rabassa on drums. Original artwork in gatefold sleeve and insert with liner notes by Àlex Gómez-Font & photos. RIYL: Placebo, Soft Machine, Egg, Return To Forever, Weather Report…“After recording in 1972 the cult album "We Are Digging The Beatles" with ex-Màquina! sax player Peter Rohr, innovative pianist Lucky Guri decided to fo…

2025 stock The reissue of Rolf & Joachim Kühn Quartet’s "Re-Union In Berlin" on b.free is a welcome resurrection of a historic German jazz masterpiece. This album, first recorded in 1965, captures the Kühn brothers at a creative peak, blending modal jazz with free improvisation in ways that still sound fresh and daring today. "Re-Union In Berlin" showcases Rolf Kühn’s virtuosic clarinet lines and Joachim Kühn’s exploratory piano, supported by Klaus Koch on bass and Reinhard Schwartz on drums. Ea…

CD Edition. Grey-area reissue of this legendary 1968 avantgarde jazz classic. Fiercely beautiful Danish jazz from 1968, sworn body-and-soul to the legacy of John Coltrane, and the raw sense of music as a healing force, tearing through the cosmos — but with its own intensely compelling voice, on the line from Copenhagen, to you. So a searching, hurting version of Naima gives way to Meinert’s terrific, succinct, Lateef-flavoured tribute to Alice Coltrane  and a thrilling set of modal origina…

A never-heard live session from the great Eje Thelin – a mid 70s set that has the trombonist working with a cool quartet that includes some Fender Rhodes from Harald Svensson – who makes a wonderful partner for Thelin's long-blown lines! Eje had already grown tremendously as a musician in the 60s – from bop to modern to avant in the space of a few short years – and here, he moves back into more soulful territory which opens up perfectly next to the Rhodes – with these very fluid, open solos that…

*CD Version* Recorded at the 1962 Jazz Jamboree festival in Warsaw and originally released in 1963 on Danish Metronome label, here's a true gem from one of the most important figures in Polish music and a founding father of European Jazz. "Ballet Etudes" was one of the three full LPs released during Komeda' short lifetime. His fluent modern jazz conception was a perfect synthesis between the American influence and the European harmonic complexity, a unique kind of marriage colored by a clear Sla…

Unreleased live recordings - featuring the pioneers from the Euro-pean New Jazz scene! This is the third in our series of exciting jazz albums with beautiful unreleased live recordings from the German Jazz Festival 1966! Please check the whos's who of the European jazz scene in the tracklisting.This 2-CD set comes in a SABA-style packaging. We had the impression that those recordings could easily have been part of the SABA/MPS catalogue back in 1966 - that's why we decided to design the co…

**2020 stock** A fantastic electric session from the 70s Polish scene – a record that not only features freewheeling trumpet from Tomasz Stanko, and sweet Fender Rhodes from Adam Mackowicz, but also includes some very inventive work on drums and percussion from the great Czelaw Bartkowski! All three players are at the top of their game here – artists who have a strong knowledge of the outside territory of jazz, but also often work a bit more inside – so that their music here can be open and expl…

CD version. “Divine music is a curative virtue; it is a gift from God that brings healing and comfort to the soul. This music can uplift one’s spirit up to a higher dimension of being that is filled with peace and joy. Divine music is the sound of true life, wisdom, and bliss. This music transcends geographical boundaries, language barriers, age factors; and whether educated or uneducated, it reaches deep into the heart and soul, sacred and holy, like an Infinite sound of glory entering the Lord…

Marion Brown (1931 – 2010) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and ethnomusicologist. He is most well known as a member of the 1960s avantgarde jazz scene in New York City, playing alongside musicians such as John Coltrane, Archie Shepp, and John Tchicai. He performed on Coltrane’s landmark 1965 album “Ascension”, and around 1970, he provided the soundtrack for Marcel Camus’ film “Le temps fou”, featuring Steve McCall, Barre Phillips, Ambrose Jackson and Gunter Hampel. In 1976 he played alto s…

2018 repress. Landmark work from the Finnish scene of the 60s – one of those ultra-rare European jazz records that collectors have dug for decades! The set's got a stark, modern sort of feel – but also a nice soulful swing, too – a balance that few of the other Scandinavians hit so well at the time – as they were either hanging between farther-out progressions, or more inside, tightly arranged jazz! Drummer Christian Schwindt's vision here is exceptional – full of rich feeling, deep tone, and ca…

Tip**Remastered reissue, released in conjunction with the artist**  James Tatum's stunning, spiritualised Contemporary Jazz Mass is one of the only true jazz masses ever released. Inspired by Duke Ellington's Sacred Concerts, Tatum's masterwork was recorded on its first ever performance at St Cecilia Church in Detroit, and released on his own private label in 1974. At the time Ellington’s Concerts were quite controversial. Whilst they contained scriptural references they did not follow liturgica…

Box Set with 8 CDs of exciting and adventurous New Jazz recorded live at the Altena New Jazz Meetings from 1972 and 1973. More than 8 hours of music recorded live at the Altena Castle, West Germany. Two 28-page booklets with concert pictures, flyers and newspaper clippings (in German and English). Includes complete performances and improvisations by Chris McGregor’s Brotherhood Of Breath, Michal Urbaniak Group, Phil Woods, Wolfgang Dauner’s Et Cetera and many more! Read more at: https://www.bear…

Outstanding!!! A huge document of this incredible year in jazz in Germany – a time when free styles were breaking out all over, alongside some of the groovier styles of the MPS scene as well! This beautiful box documents the 12th German Jazz Festival in three different concerts – amazing music that really shows the transformation that was taking place at the time – and which is still revolutionary all these many years later – making for a listening experience that makes us feel like we're hearin…

BeJazz is happy to come up with a limited edition (500 copies) of a true “holy” modern/free jazz gems of the late 1960s. The original double LP was issued by Meno Liechtenstein’s CB Records – he was also the organizer of the “International Holy Hill Jazz Meeting” in Heidelberg/Germany. The sound quality on the original album was not really bad – but it certainly was not really good as well. We spent a lot of work on a proper restoration of the live tapes. The result is truly amazing – after almo…

*2025 stock* Beautiful work from Joe Haider – a lesser-known pianist on these shores, but an important force in the German scene – best remembered for some wonderful music on the Ego Records label! This set captures Joe in a very similar setting – working on both acoustic piano and Fender Rhodes – in a trio with Allen Blairman on drums, and the mighty Isla Eckinger on bass. If you don't know Eckinger, you're really in for a treat – as he's a tremendous talent who has this way of shaping notes an…

* Recorded on May 28th 1972 * Tomasz Stanko was considered the first free-jazz trumpeter in Europe. He debuted at the end of the 1950s in Krakow and in the1960s joined Krzysztof Komeda’s quintet, later recording a masterpiece of European jazz, the album “Astigmatic”. In the early 1970s he was part of the international free jazz sceneand performed at major European festivals with his Tomasz Stanko Quintet. In the 1980s Stanko played with Cecil Taylor, and led his own bands that incorporated regga…

Chefa Alonso performed with numerous musicians during her 2004-8 stay in London. Perhaps the most profound and rewarding musical relationship was the duo with Tony Marsh. This is at least the fifth soprano saxophone and percussion duo on Emanem. While perhaps influenced by the other duos, the strengths of the two participants mean that it is a unique addition to the instrumentation. Besides their contribution to the last night at the Red Rose, there are also appearances at another London venue, …

Wojtek Mazolewski Quintet is returning with a new, refreshed lineup with a new full-length album, Beautiful People, scheduled for release in October 2024. The album will be distributed worldwide in cooperation with K7! The album was recorded in December '23 at Polish Radio's S4 studio after a series of a dozen WMQ concerts last fall. Buoyed by the wonderful reception in many cities and hungry for new sensations and sounds, the Quintet recorded this album while absolutely in full throttle. Beauti…

“Kalaczakra” marks the powerful return of Wojtek Mazolewski Quintet, one of Europe’s leading jazz ensembles. The new single offers the first glimpse of their upcoming album Live Spirit I. Built around a catchy horn motif, a distinctive bass line, and a free-flowing, pulsing drum rhythm, the track brilliantly blends Polish and spiritual jazz traditions with a raw, modern edge—bold, uplifting, and unmistakably fresh. The forthcoming album Live Spirit I, recorded live at Warsaw’s iconic Witold Luto…

The Great Moments With documents the music of Pharoah Sanders from 1983 to 1990, showcasing both the raw energy and tender nature of his music. It contains 12 of his recordings, including "Africa", "Naima", "You've Got To Have Freedom" and also the previously unreleased version of "Central Park West".

Heralded as one of the defining moments in British modern jazz, the Don Rendell Quintet’s 1972 recording Space Walk returns to the spotlight, reaffirming its place as a stunning document of both bold creativity and refined craftsmanship. Saxophonist Don Rendell, already celebrated for his collaborations with Ian Carr in the groundbreaking Rendell/Carr Quintet, took a daring step forward with this album. *Space Walk* captures a group at a creative peak, fusing modal explorations, post-bop energy,…

Creole poetry, folk mysticism and heavy-grooving cosmic synths combine on this unprecedented survey of spiritual Martinique polymath Gratien Midonet’s first four albums. “I always broke free from the rules, from codes being too narrow,” says poet, musician and sonic shaman Gratien Midonet. “I have always had this sense of peaceful knowledge that there is no separation between genres, beings and universal things.” For Midonet, pushing musical boundaries was less a choice than an extension of his …

A vital artefact in the recorded history of the Blue Notes, being a live recording (Durban, 1964) of one the the group's last performances in their homeland prior to flying to France to appear by invitation at the Juan-Les-Pins Jazz Festival and then on to expatriation in England. The album was first released by Ogun in 1995 and then featured as part of the "Blue Notes - The Ogun Collection" box set in 2008, itself now long out of print. At long last this exceptional document is available again