Jazz & Improvisation / All styles

Cosmic Ear is a new group bringing together Christer Bothén, Mats Gustafsson, Goran Kajfeš, Kansan Zetterberg and Juan Romero. Their debut album Traces is released by We Jazz Records on 23rd of May, 2025. Including 6 deep cuts, Traces is an album that sees Cosmic Ear tracking down the "traces" of the legendary Don Cherry's legacy while paving their own way in contemporary creative music expression. Christer Bothén, a collaborator with Don Cherry during his Swedish period in the 1970s, brings dep…

Yowzers is a new album by Chicago composer, improvisor, instrumentalist and musical folklorist Ben LaMar Gay. The twelve track collection is a leap forward in the lexicon of Gay’s recorded output, and a veritable masterwork of ancient inner-body rhythms and intuitive melodic storytelling. It’s worth mentioning that a leap forward for Gay is no small feat. The musical ground he has covered in the last decade, both as a bandleader and collaborator, is immense. His de facto debut album—the 2018 com…

Repressed! Black recycled vinyl with offset-printed covers.  'This recording was done on a four track tape recorder. Meaning the process of recording was a bit different this time around. Most of the tracks had to be recorded more or less in one take all the way through which means more room for mistakes. As I didn't have the ctrl-z option of the computer I had to try and fix my mistakes by turning them into features. This problem solving on the fly approach is why I'm calling the record ad hoc'…

With Bamboo Noodles, Organic Pulse Ensemble (the one-man project of Gustav Horneij) serves up four deep, groove-laden tracks built around bamboo flute improvisations, blending spiritual jazz, Eastern flavors, and infectious rhythms

2014 release ** "Recorded at the Écouter pour l’Instant Festival in the summer of 2013, Sens Radiants showcases an hour-long performance of Lazro on baritone saxophone, Duboc on bass, and Lasserre on a stripped-down drum kit. In true European tradition, the trio has always presented a music that seems completely divorced from any of free improvisation’s jazz heritage. Like Portant Les Cimes Des Arbres, Sens Radiants is steeped in rhythm, though not of the toe-tapping, beat-counting sort. There’s…

1995 release (no OBI) ** "A stellar trio of free improvisers, each respective kings of the avant-garde jazz scene in different capacities. British improvisation legend Derek Bailey has played with practically every musician of note in the European improvised music community from the early '60s through to the end of the century and is arguably one of the single most important practitioners in the genre. John Zorn is similarly an extraordinarily influential figure in the American avant-garde music…

Recorded in Japan during a tour in 1970. Featuring famous French musicians Eddie Louiss on organ and Daniel Humair on drums. A classy trio album with Louiss’ superb Hammond organ play front and center and a glimmering of the Caribbean dancing in the shadows.

NoBusiness Records presents Live at Little John, Yokohama 1999 by Mototeru Takagi Quartet. Improvised & composed by Mototeru Takagi, Susumu Kongo, Nao Takeuchi and Shota Koyama. Recorded live on the 25th September, 1999 at Little John, Yokohama, Japan by Susumu Kongo and Nao Takeuchi. Mastered by Arūnas Zujus at MAMAstudios. Design by Oskaras Anosovas. Cover photo by Mitsuo Jofu 上不三雄. Booklet photos - Shota Koyama by Yutaka Narasaki 楢崎 豊 / Nao Takeuchi courtesy of Papillon / Mototeru Takagi by M…

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 Slavic lyricism.…

*30 copies limited edition* Physical is excited to announce the release of (music for) A Thousand Ways to Run. This sonic journey brings together the eclectic talents of pianist Ben Kujawski, drummer Abigail Smith, and guitarist/harmonicist Justin Rhody, whose collaborations coalesce in a collection that blurs the lines between avant-jazz, experimental soundscapes, and evocative improvisation. Recorded in the intimate setting of Kujawski’s home studio in 2023, the album is an invitation to liste…

From the enigmatic fringes of experimental sound comes an extraordinary split release between K/S/R and The Tulsa Ball Room Singers—a bold document of two singular live performances where music and moving image intertwine.

*100 copies limited edition* "Like the early work of fellow Midwestern experimentalists Raccoo-oo-oon, there's a calming franticness in the work of (D)(B)(H), an ever-changing group whose sound is constantly evolving. (D)(B)(H)'s "Bad For Business," captured live summer 2010, features a quartet taking the entire 21-minute side to sculpt a piece that rests somewhere between free jazz and non-idiomatic improv. The result is not unlike what the AACM captured in its 1966 'Little Suite' or what The B…

1998 release **  "This big band, led by T.S. Heg (alto sax & keyboards) is nominally a 'jazz outfit', but since in addition to lots of reeds, brass, bass and drums, they work with guitars, synths, sampling, etc., it's a fairly safe bet that this isn't 'just' a jazz album. Mostly structured with some very crazed, free parts, I guess you could compare them to Doctor Nerve in that regard, even though they sound nothing like Nerve."

Jinya Disc presents an essential collection celebrating the multifaceted genius of Masayuki Takayanagi, featuring three pivotal recordings that span different periods and approaches in his revolutionary career. Holy Holly Holly captures Takayanagi's final "Angry Wave's" project in a vital 1985 live recording, featuring twin double basses creating oceanic depths beneath his razor-sharp guitar work. Stardust reunites three Japanese jazz pioneers in an intimate 1979 session, showcasing rare warmth …

Released in 1969, 'Hum Dono' is a legendary 'lost' British jazz plate, described by Trunk as the best modern British jazz LP of all time that will set you back a good £2000 second hand - if you're lucky enough to find a copy. Its beguiling mix of East meets West rhythms, ideas and joy pits Jamaican free jazz virtuoso Joe Harriott and Indian guitarist Amancio D'Silva against some of the UK jazz elite's most essential players. Blending library-style exotica with tabla rhythms, cascading vocals and…

1985 super rare tape, original copies ** The legendary ICP Orchestra (Instant Composers Pool) pushes sonic boundaries with their super rare tape-only release, Extension Red, White & Blue. A vibrant fusion of free jazz, avant-garde experimentation, and razor-sharp improvisation, this album captures the ensemble’s signature irreverence and mastery in a format as raw and immediate as their live performances. Extension Red, White & Blue is a riot of color and sound—a testament to ICP’s half-century …

In the late '50s, Sun Ra emerged from big band to modern/progressive big band status, began to employ electronics, and used a more Afro-Centric percussive focus. This recording perfecly demonstrates those qualities, and more. There are several definitive themes from The Arkestra included, such as "Plutonian Nights," "Nubia," "Africa," "Watusa" and "Aethiopia." Dig for this one on vinyl if you can (the cover art is stunning,) but it is nigh impossible to find on Saturn Research. (AMG)

According to many enthusiasts and scholars, this album is among Sun Ra's most definitive studio recordings. The Magic City contains just four tracks, with the title- theme taking up the whole of the A side at a little over 27 minutes. Then on the B side comes The Shadow World, followed by Abstract Eye and Abstract I, which are two variants of the same composition. These pieces are essentially ensemble improvisations recorded live.

American pianist and composer Joanne Brackeen has been called the "Picasso of jazz piano" for her unique style and complex improvisations. Her work is at the forefront of what avant-garde jazz can be and she has long been one of the giants of modal, post-pop piano. Snooze from 1975 is Brackeen's extraordinary debut album. Featuring four outstanding Brackeen compositions, along with her take on Wayne Shorter's "Nefertiti," Miles Davis' "Circles," and the standard "Old Devil Moon." A child prodigy…

A cornerstone of avant-garde jazz, B-X0 NO-47A captures Anthony Braxton at a pivotal moment in his career and in the history of the Association For The Advancement Of Creative Musicians (AACM). Recorded in Paris in 1969 and newly restored from the original master tapes, this classic session finds Braxton leading a quartet of fellow AACM visionaries: trumpeter Leo Smith (before adopting the name Wadada), violinist Leroy Jenkins, and drummer Steve McCall. The group’s instrumentation is strikingly …

Tip! Archie Shepp has many made many Afrocentric statements in his long distinguished career but this meeting with Algerian and Touareg musicians in 1969 ranks among his greatest artistic achievements. The backdrop was the inaugural Pan African Festival Of Culture that took place in Algiers in July 1969 in order to promote solidarity among African nations at a time when many were emerging from the yoke of colonialism and some were still fighting for freedom. Their struggle chimed with the Black …

"Livin' Right is a product of the amazing NYC loft scene of the 1970s, where players from around the world gathered in a rare period of community, harmony, and creativity, a time when a relative unknown from California could meet and play with the great musicians on this disc. William Parker was already a phenomenon at the time, but there was no way to predict the depth of his amazing ultimate contribution to music. Denis Charles had already been on pivotal albums with Sonny Rollins, Cecil Taylo…

**300 copies** NoBusiness Records delivers the newest Albert Beger album recorded on May 31st and June 1st, 2017 at Alt Studio, Afula, Israel. Beger is a veteran of the Israeli impro scene; on this release he plays saxophones and shakuhachi and his Quartet includes Milton Michaeli - piano, Shay Hazan - bass, Ofer Bymel - drums.All compositions by Albert Beger. Recorded and mixed by Yoram Lev and Itay Alter, mastered by Arūnas Zujus at MAMAstudios. Cover art by Anat Beger, back cover photo by Ita…

Four extended compositions from the Tubass Quintet led by Szilard Mezei (performing on double bass instead of his usual viola) performing with a heavy group of 4 double bassists and tuba. An unusual configuration playing unusually named tracks (HEP 15, HEP 16, HEP 17 B, HEP 58/2), but clearly playing a unique rendering of jazz, swinging music from the lower end of the spectrum, with an open and accessible nature.

On Journey, violinist India Cooke and bassist Joelle Leandre improvise in that exalted state of grace that every improviser hopes to attain. It’s a state in which everything they play just works. It’s as if they can’t play a bad note or make a sound that doesn’t advance the music. In this state, the music unfolds without prior arrangement and at speeds too fast for conscious control, yet it’s development and intent is always clear. That deep communication between two or more people is exactly wh…

William Hooker is an artistic whole, a vast circle of vision and execution. A body of uninterrupted work beginning in the mid-seventies defines him as one of the most important composers and players in jazz. As bandleader, Hooker has fielded ensembles in an incredibly diverse array of configurations. Each collaboration has brought a serious investigation of his compositional agenda and the science of the modern drum kit. In this limited edition double vinyl he is joined by two groups of great co…

Killer! Limited edition of 400 records. Recorded on 15th October, 1974 at WKCR, from the quintet of Charles Brackeen (flute & sax), Ahmed Abdullah (trumpet), William Parker (bass), Roger Blank (drums) and Tony Waters (percussion), beautifully recorded and essential free improvisation. "The dominant influences at this time were John Coltrane and Albert Ayler (both of whom had passed away relatively recently); and Ornette Coleman (who had not yet gone Harmolodic). Although some musicians had sough…

Composed by Arthur Williams. Recorded on December 19, 1978 at WKCR, New York. Forgiveness Suite is another worthy rediscovery by NoBusiness Records, focusing this time on trumpeter Arthur Williams, an almost forgotten figure of the free jazz scene of the late Seventies. Williams participated in some interesting recording sessions of the period, like First Feeding by Jemeel Moondoc’s Muntu Ensemble, Lowe And Behold by the Frank Lowe Orchestra and most significantly ‎Peter Kuhn’s Livin' Right, tha…

Composer, clarinetist, singer and spiritual jazz soothsayer Angel Bat Dawid descended on Chicago's jazz and improvised music scene just a few years ago. In very short time, the potency, prowess, spirit and charisma of her cosmic musical proselytizing has taken her from relatively unknown improviser to borderline ubiquitous performer in Chicago's avant-garde. On any given night you can find Angel adding aura to ensembles led by Ben LaMar Gay, or Damon Locks, or Jaimie Branch, or Matthew Lux, or e…

This music was written in a period of intense emotions, as the grief and pain of losing my father tangled and fused with horror and despair at the genocide in Palestine – but life is complicated, and the music also comes from joy and love “Listening intently to raptors” is dedicated to the great bassist John Lindberg, and the title comes from an email correspondence we had during covid lockdown. “After a break” appeared fully formed after quite a long period of composer’s block, while listening …

Tip! "Frequency • the rate at which a vibration occurs that constitutes a wave, either in a material (as in sound waves), or in an electromagnetic field (as in radio waves and light). Equilibrium • a state in which opposing forces or influences are balanced: a calm state of mind. Koan • a paradoxical anecdote or riddle, used in Zen Buddhism to demonstrate the inadequacy of logical reasoning and to provoke enlightenment. Many, many, years ago in a once enchanted place they called The Big Apple, N…

Derek Bailey and Han Bennink in London, 1972, a blueprint for generations of free improvisers, paired with an equally combative session from the year after. Mal Dean's sketch of tussling vegetables is on the cover.

Derek Bailey's first solo album, recorded in 1971 for Incus, expanded with extra tracks from earlier reissues and a 1972 performance at York University. The cover montage was shot in the guitar shop where he worked.

Occasionally, you find music outside the commercial mainstream, outside of everything – the music of visionaries, eccentrics, inventors, loners. Moondog, Daphne Oram, Harry Partch are from this mould. And so too is Lori Vambe.

Occasionally, you find music outside the commercial mainstream, outside of everything – the music of visionaries, eccentrics, inventors, loners. Moondog, Daphne Oram, Harry Partch are from this mould. And so too is Lori Vambe.

Trost Records returns with a blasting gut-punch of an LP, with “Live at SuperDeluxe - Volume 1”, a full throttle body of improvisations from the all-star quartet of Akira Sakata, Jim O'Rourke, Mette Rasmussen, and Chris Corsano - never before captured on tape - live at legendary Tokyo venue, SuperDeluxe. Riding the wire between free jazz and noise, it's nothing short of powerful, real-time advocation of socio-political importance of free improvisation that leaves you on the edge of your seat fro…

The Burning Bright Light is a mind-meld between improvisation trio Dromedaries (saxophonist Keir Neuringer of Irreversible Entanglements, Shayna Dulberger on double bass and percussionist Julius Masri) and sci-fi writer/vocalist Alexoteric (Alex Smith), evoking epic sci-fi cinemascapes, vocabulary- and reference-rich underground writing, the liberatory jazz tradition, and playful avant-garde experimentation. Recorded in a single high voltage burst of cosmic collaboration on an October afternoon …

*2025 repress* World Galaxy is the sixth solo album by Alice Coltrane recorded in November 1971 in New York City, and released in 1972 by Impulse! Records. On the album, Coltrane appears on piano, organ, harp, tamboura, and percussion, and is joined by saxophonist Frank Lowe, bassist Reggie Workman, drummer Ben Riley, timpanist Elayne Jones, and a string ensemble led by David Sackson. Violinist Leroy Jenkins also appears on soloist on one track, and Swami Satchidananda provides narration. World …

1992 release ** Misha Mengelberg's large ensemble, the ICP Orchestra, wends its way here through a program in three parts. Following the brief, whimsical title piece (helpfully translated as "Forest Path Rabbithole I"), the band launches into a series of loose, decidedly off-liter takes on Ellington, generally tackling the real war-horses. Mengelberg's approach is always oblique at best, however, so even as the band sounds semi-traditional in one respect, the harmonies and written elaborations o…

1992 release **