Jazz & Improvisation / All styles

Reese and the Smooth Ones was captured during the same revolutionary Paris session as Message to Our Folks, but stands apart as a two-part, 40-minute odyssey of unchained invention.

Kaze and Koichi Makigami Unleash Musical Mayhem on New Album Shishiodoshi.

Repressed for the first time in Limited edition. Licensed by Nippon Columbia. Issued with an obi strip.

2025 stock Happy Moods is a celebrated jazz album by pianist Ahmad Jamal, originally recorded in Chicago in January 1960 and reissued on vinyl by Waxtime. The album features Jamal’s renowned trio, with Israel Crosby on bass and Vernell Fournier on drums, and is widely recognized for its sophisticated blend of elegance, subtlety, and rhythmic inventiveness

2025 stock The overlooked pianist/composer Cedar Walton (1934-2013) recorded this marvelous debut album with his band Eastern Rebellion in New York City on December 10, 1975. The currently hard-to-find ‘Eastern Rebellion’ contains some inventive playing from every member of the quartet and this inspired modern jazz session is a fitting memorial to Cedar Walton. With Walton (piano) were George Coleman (tenor sax), Sam Jones (bass) & Billy Higgins (drums) playing four band originals and one John C…

Massacre's only album from their first period, recorded in 1981 by Fred Frith, Bill Laswell and Fred Maher. This reissue plays at the correct pitch, after decades in which it circulated at the wrong one, with six bonus tracks.

CD deluxe, gatefold mini LP replica with obi & Japanese insert. Pianist-composer Joachim Kühn has been a force on the international jazz scene for half a century. Trained as a classical pianist, Kühn migrated to jazz, playing fusion with Alphonse Mouzon, free jazz with Ornette Coleman, and modern jazz in his iconic group with bassist JF Jenny-Clarke and drummer Daniel Humair. Here he teams up with acclaimed German electric guitarist Toto Blanke, the eclectic Afro-American bassist John Lee, and L…

CD deluxe, gatefold mini LP replica with obi & Japanese insert. Fantastic work from avant saxophonist Hans Koller – rare material that stands with the best Free Sound albums he released for MPS in the 70s! By this point in his career, Koller was really exploding with talent – a sax player who first begun in the postwar years with modes that were more California modern, but expanded and changed throughout the 60s – to the point where Hans was one of the most open-minded, freely-creative musicians…

2025 stock Jan Erik Vold and Jan Garbarek, two of Norway's most prominent jazz figures, teamed up with bassist Arild Andersen, drummer Jon Christensen, guitarist Terje Rypdal and Bobo Stenson on keyboards on those two September days in 1970 to create a formidable jazz album that sells for thousands on the second-hand vinyl market. Two poems from Vold (‘Det alle vet’ from the poetry collection Mor Godhjertas glade version. Ja (1968) and ‘Dikt’ from Kykelipi (1969)) and long, slow instrumental sec…

Max Roach wasn't just one of the greatest drummers and percussionists in jazz history; he was also one of the greatest bandleaders in all of jazz, able to adapt his playing to an innumerable array of styles, from bop to free, and blessed with a keen eye and ear for talent. And he always, always kept pushing himself and his bandmates to find new modes of musical expression throughout his six-decade career. Speaking of modes, this 1968 release on the Atlantic label is one of his finest albums, a m…

They say you can't judge a book by its cover, and going by 'Jazz Rock’, nor a record by its title. Though entering into jazz territory and featuring some distorted guitar, 'Jazz Rock' is more a beautiful marriage of funky breakbeat drumming and spiritual jazz instrumentation, combined with traditional Min'yō music performed on the koto and shakuhachi. Originally released in 1973, the record sounds simultaneously vintage and contemporary. It is akin to something Madlib might dream up whilst lost …

Their self-titled debut album in 1971. The young musicians created an original and fluid record, which would define the state of the jazz rock by that time. Wayne Shorter's (1960s Miles Davis ensemble) soprano sax shines and reveals with full force the extraordinary rapport the members of the group established from the start. The music consist of subtle melody lines and is mostly an atmospheric adventurous journey. Influences from Mile Davis' "In A Silent Way" / "Bitches Brew" sessions can be he…

2025 stock The Danny Thompson Trio, with John McLaughlin, live in session November 1967. The Danny Thompson Trio existed briefly inside of 1967 and by that time, it recalled a much earlier time and place. The trio came together from numerous jazz/R&B avenues featuring now iconic names in Graham Bond, Alexis Korner, Brian Auger, Duffy Power, Georgie Fame, Herbie Goins, and many more. Their combined journeys to this point in November 1967 reveal a who's who of British blues, R&B, and jazz icons, b…

Black Beauty, Miles Davis At Fillmore West, was recorded on April 10, 1970 at Fillmore West, San Francisco, when Davis performed as the opening act for the Grateful Dead. The recording took place shortly after the release of Miles' classic album Bitches Brew. The album was released in 1973, originally in Japan only. Black Beauty, a true jazz-rock album, captured one of Davis' first performances at a rock venue during the early stages of his electric period. At the concert, he led his band (saxop…

2025 stock In the ever-evolving landscape of European improvised music, Groet stands as a testament to the restless creativity and sly wit of pianist Guus Janssen and drummer Han Bennink. Released on the Dutch label Data in 2005, this album captures two of the Netherlands’ most idiosyncratic voices in a dialogue that is as unpredictable as it is deeply musical. Janssen and Bennink, both veterans of the Dutch avant-garde, approach the piano-drum duo format with a sense of play that borders on the…

2025 stock In the ever-evolving landscape of European improvisation, Apa Ini stands as a testament to the restless creativity of saxophonist Tobias Delius and his ensemble. Released on the Dutch label Data Records in 2003, the album brings together a formidable quartet: Delius on tenor saxophone, Hilary Jeffery on trombone, Wilbert de Joode on double bass, and Serigne C.M. Gueye on percussion Apa Ini is not an album that seeks easy answers or comfortable resolutions. Instead, it thrives on the t…

2025 stock In the early 1980s, the Dutch improvisation scene was a crucible of restless invention, and Cellotape & Scotchtape stands as a quietly radical document from its margins. Released on the small but influential Data label, this collaboration between cellist Ernst Reijseger and Scottish percussionist Alan "Gunga" Purves is a study in playful, tactile exploration—music that feels as if it’s being assembled in real time from the detritus of the everyday. Reijseger, already known for his uno…

2025 stock In the late 1970s, Amsterdam was a crucible for radical improvisation, and Mistakes—the collaboration between South African saxophonist Sean Bergin and Dutch cellist Ernst Reijseger—stands as a vivid document of that era’s restless energy. Released on the Data label, the album captures two musicians at the threshold of their creative powers, forging a dialogue that is as unpredictable as it is intimate. Bergin, who had recently relocated from Durban, brings a raw, searching lyricism t…

2025 stock Elastic Jargon is an album by Dutch composer and violist Maurice Horsthuis, released in 2007 on the Data label. The project brings together a unique ensemble of string players, with Horsthuis as the sole composer, exploring the boundaries of what can be achieved with string instruments alone.

2025 stock In the ever-mutable landscape of Dutch jazz, Joost Buis’s Astronotes stands as a testament to the playful collision of composition and improvisation. Released on the Data label in 2004, the album finds Buis—trombonist, composer, and bandleader—at the helm of a vibrant ensemble drawn from the heart of Amsterdam’s creative music scene. From the opening bars of “The Eggs,” it’s clear that Buis is less interested in adhering to tradition than in subverting it with wit and invention. The b…

2025 stock In the shadowy interstices of contemporary jazz and free improvisation, Slang by Elastic Jargon emerges as a document of restless inquiry and coded communication. Released on the Dutch label Data in 2010, the album is a cryptic dispatch from the margins, where genre boundaries are not so much blurred as actively subverted Elastic Jargon—true to their name—stretch the language of jazz until it snaps, then reassemble the fragments into something at once familiar and alien. The group’s a…

* 2020 Stock * Jinya Disc presents a double live album initially recorded to cassette tape by Yoshihiro Tanabe, a student of Takayanagi Juku on November 25, 1979 at jazz club Taro, Tokyo. The album includes 12 tracks performed by Masayuki Takayanagi - Guitar, Kenji Kosei - Electric Piano, Hiroshi Yamazaki - Drums, and Yasuhito Mori - Bass. Initial copies came with a limited edition bonus disk by a trio version of the group containing a mono version of "Froggy Day" recorded on May 27, 1979.  The …

Jinya Disc presents Dislocation (断層) by Masayuki Takayanagi. Recorded at Aketa no Mise, December 26, 1983. Produced by Jinya Disc. Artwork – Yoko Hase, Artwork, Design – Studio Zap Inc., Drums – Hiroshi Yamazaki, Guitar – Masayuki Takayanagi, Liner Notes – 斉藤安則, Mastered By – ALM Records, Piano – Fumio Yasuda.

Jinya Disc presents Live at freedom by New Directions, recorded live on 25 April 1981 at Takasaki. The album includes 4 tracks performed by Masayuki Takayanagi - Guitar, and Hiroshi Yamazaki on drums. Masayuki 'Jojo' Takayanagi was a Japanese jazz / free improvisational musician. He was active in the Japanese jazz scene from the late 1950s. Was one of the earliest noise guitar improvisers, and the first (with Keith Rowe) to use the table-top guitar. Was a leading member of every avant-garde move…

Masayuki Takayanagi's live solo performances recorded from 1984 Hokkaido Tour, selected and edited by Otomo Yoshihide; incredible electronics and guitar work from the pre-Action Direct freestyle improviser... "This is Takayanagi's live solo performances recorded from 1984 Hokkaido Tour. tunes were selected and edited by Otomo Yoshihide. those takayanagi solo performances were cued himself to organize "Action Direct" right after. So "Meta Improvisation" is the pre-"Action Direct", that is to say:…

Jinya Disc presents Three Improvised Variations On a Theme of Qadhafi. A live recording board that includes live performances of improvisation by Action Direct, which was performed on the theme of "personal image" of Muanmar al-Gaddafi rather than ideology or political position. Jim O'Rourke refers to Three Improvised Variations On a Theme of Qadhafi as "a constellation of moving celestial bodies, expanding gas, exploding stars densely packed" and "a corridor of endless possibilities and discove…

"What we have here is a result of an idea ignited almost 15 years ago with its roots deep in the era of subculture 1990s, when its teenage protagonists started listening to records. But the comradeship between the three of us started in the early 2000 when I was pursuing my first Utopian idea of an art commune in the form of a counter-festival in the Southeastern Slovenian countryside on the border with Croatia. An idea from which, years later, another Utopian project was born - an international…

Acclaimed Belgian duo Poor Isa (banjoists Ruben Machtelinckx and Frederik Leroux) present their third album, evolving their minimalist style by collaborating with saxophonist Evan Parker and percussionist Ingar Zach. The result is a rich blend of introspective textures and dynamic improvisation.

Huge Tip! Commemoration Songs is a soundtrack diary from the past few years, inspired by a world where everything is being commodified at the expense of human rights and making money has become the be-all and end-all of human existence. Amidst all of this, we still commemorate the people who were instrumental in building a system that can only survive by projecting violence on us. The album consists of 8 pieces, where free jazz saxophones meet warm analog synth sequences, compelling basslines an…

*2025 stock* 'From the early years of Norwegian jazz, few albums have stood the test of time as well as the venturesome and subtly psychedelic Plastic Sun. It was the Svein Finnerud's second disc, and was released on Sonet in 1970. Inexplicably for an album of such beauty, it has been a hard-to-find collector's item for decades, having only been reissued once before, in 1998, as a CD on the Norwegian Jazz Federation's Odin label. In April 2018, Odin have reissued it again, this time on CD and in…

One of the most outstanding Bossa Jazz productions from West Germany at the beginning of the 80s! These masterpieces captivate with their stylistic perfection and journey from Bossa Nova to Jazz to slight Disco´n Boogie influence. Its still on of the most DJ spinned Bossa tunes from W.-Germany in the last 30 years! The two highly talented, creative and sensitive artists Judy (Jude Enxuto) and Ximo (Ximo Gregorio) had lived in Germany since 1980 and performing in several clubs, small art stages a…

Sound Essence is more than proud to presents a very special production from East Germany of the early 70s! One of the TOP Soul-Jazz & Beat combos in the country led by bassist and singer Horst Kruger, recorded two previously unreleased, outrageously good titles here in the newly formed septet format. "Ich will die Zeit nicht bereuen" ("I don't want to regret the time") is probably by far one of the most crispy produced German-language soul beats numbers that existed in the GDR at that time! From…

Here comes a true South American Latin JazzFunk treasure from Argentina!!!  Sound Essence is more than proud to present these lost recordings from 1974 to music lovers again in all their glory. Carlos Franzetti, who has once again been in the spotlight in recent years thanks to the re-release of his strong late 70s JazzFusion record "Graffiti", was also in charge of this record called Dedos. The story behind: In 1974, after Carlos Franzetti was living in Mexico and worked as the musical director…

Here comes one of the most exclusive and sought-after recordings of a hotel band from the Caribbean Antilles. The resident and highly talented soul singer Lloyd Baptiste played there during the 70s with his group "The Joys" in the popular hotel called Divi Divi on the then Dutch island of Aruba. The finest soul, funk and disco filled the repertoire of this outstanding formation. This led to the hotel management sending them to the Pyramid Sound Studio, New York in 1976 for advertising purposes a…

Taken from Abdullah Ibrahim’s summer 2023 sold-out headline date at London’s Barbican Centre, the new album “3” follows suit and is spread across two performances – the first is recorded without an audience ahead of the concert straight to analogue on a 1” Scully tape machine, which had previously been used by Elvis at the famous Memphis-based Sun Studios. The second recording is taken from the evening’s performance itself with Ibrahim performing in a unique trio which includes Cleave Guyton (fl…

"This album is the most personal I’ve made to date. Named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon poem from the 9th century AD about the former glory of an unnamed ruined city, “The Ruin” is inspired by the feeling of living in England (“a country that feels like a living ruin”), the bleak landscape of where I grew up (Medway towns), and a kind of self-portrait reflecting how we all live amongst the ruins of our past selves both collectively and individually. All the musical material on “The Ruin” is taken…

This recording is an experiment in composing from percussion first. To feel movement in harmony and arrangement through the improvising senses of a percussionist. The melodic and harmonic elements appeared instantly after recording the percussion with Rama Parwata. The additional Tenor Saxophone of Cheryl Durongpisitkul (Sola) and Bass Clarinet of Flora Carbo (Sfondo and Mondo) were the final touches to bring life into the music. The result is a through-composed work, a narrative starting inside…

2025, 180gram vinyl. The Ethio Jazz album by Mulatu Astatatke is a jewel of the modern Ethiopian music.  Essential. An incredibly groovy Ethiopian record, originally from 1969-1972. Amazing orchestral 'Ethio-groove' filled with US soul, jazz, sometimes Latin and the deepest Eastern rhythms, even including some great nasty and dirty fuzz guitars. A true gem of Ethiopian modern instrumental music, which illustrates perfectly this symbiosis of strong rhythms and quality arrangements of subtle yet d…

The re-release series of original Ethiopian classic vinyl continues -- the finest Ethio jazz by Mahmoud Ahmed and his band from 1975 plus two tracks from 1978.

Two legendary souls, one timeless rhythm—Just Us celebrates the enduring bond between Heikki Sarmanto and Juhani Aaltonen. Born from spontaneous sessions and inspired compositions, these eleven tracks capture their unmatched musical chemistry. A testament to six decades of creative mastery.