Columbia
Columbia Records is the oldest surviving brand name in recorded sound, dating back to 1888, and was the first record company to produce pre-recorded records as opposed to blank cylinders. Today it is a premier subsidiary label of Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Inc.
Kind of Blue
*Listed as one of the four most influential Jazz albums that happened to be released in 1959 (Dave Brubeck -Time Out & Charles Mingus -Ah Um among them), so much has been said and written about Miles Davis'Kind Of Blue, it's virtually impossible to summarize all the necessary info to the length of this page. We could simply list some facts (best sold Jazz album ever worldwide). We could try to explain why it's the best Jazz album ever made, but the music itself will do that to you.
As Bill Evans…
Exciting Drums African Rock Party
An early masterpiece under the name of Count Buffalo – this is legendary drummer Akira Ishikawa’s first record, from 1969! Genuine jazz, rock and African groovy sound. A rare groove album with a soulful arrangement throughout, with Kozaburo Yamaki and Hiroshi Takami as arrangers. Essential!
Back To Rhythm
Akira Ishikawa is renowned as a super funky drummer in Japan, earning praise for his ability to freely explore and blend jazz, rock, and African music into a unique musicality. Throughout his career, which spans from jazz rock to rare groove, this particular work stands out for its exceptional song selection and exhilarating musicality. "Let's Start" delivers a tight cover of Fela Kuti's Afro-funk, "Bongo Rock" presents a dynamic song with drum breaks, and "Pick Up The Pieces" offers a jazz-funk…
Woman!!
Mysterious erotic Wamono record from the Nippon Columbia vaults, by Monica Lassen & The Sounds aka John Hennessy aka Japanese jazz musicians Kosuke Ichihara, Masami Kawahara and Masaoki Terakawa. Includes the killer track “Incitation” with its monstrous drum break, as featured in our Wamono A to Z Volume I.
La Jouissance
Mysterious erotic Wamono record from the Nippon Columbia vaults, by Monica Lassen & The Sounds aka John Hennessy aka Japanese jazz musicians Kosuke Ichihara, Masami Kawahara and Masaoki Terakawa. The sequel to “Woman!!” released a year earlier, in 1970
Nio & Pigeon
"New Hard, led by Toshiyuki Miyama, is one of Japan's leading big bands. Since the release of their seminal work Perspective in 1969, they've opened up new horizons in big band jazz with their cutting-edge sound. This work, Niou to Hato, is one such representative work of the new hard movement, which reached its zenith in 1972. Bandleader Kozaburo Yamaki was then in charge of the entire composition and arrangement, and deeply pursued one of his long-standing themes: Japan, the nation in and of i…
In The Groove
*2024 repress* Since it's formation in 1969, Soul Media had been advocating a fusion of jazz and rock. The next step along that line was this album, In the Groove, recorded in 1973. The sharpness of jazz is brought to the forefront, with rock melting in to give it an edge, and funk injected to imbue it with power and resilience. The result was a strong, sophisticated, and simply "cool music" that could not be categorized within existing genres such as jazz rock, jazz funk, or fusion. This work i…
Funky Stuff
Fresh reissued magic of Funky Stuff, formerly a rare exquisite by jazzmaster Jiro Inagaki, originally released in 1975. An enduring, pioneering fusion of jazz, funk, soul and rock - the album features some of the best and most acclaimed Japanese musicians of the time, enlisting the talent-wares of Hiromasa Suzuki on keyboards, Akira Ishikawa on drums and Takeru Muraoka on sax.
Mother 2 (ギーグの逆襲)
One of the most beloved Video Game Soundtracks of all time Sequel to the popular MOTHER (Earthbound) Limited edition Pressed on red vinylShip to Shore PhonoCo., in conjunction with Sony Music Entertainment, is proud to present Hirokazu Tanaka & Keiichi Suzuki’s original soundtrack to the 1994 Super Famicom classic MOTHER 2: ギーグの逆襲 (MOTHER 2: Gyiyg Strikes Back!). MOTHER 2, released as EarthBound in the West, is revered as one of the most offbeat and memorable RPGs. Citing influence from artists …
Shakuhachi: The Ballads Of The Village
*2023 stock* "A great blend of funky jazz and wooden flute – the Japanese shakuhachi reed instrument, blown by Kifu Mitsuhashi here – then mixed with some larger backings that almost have a CTI Records sort of groove! The approach is similar to some of the best 70s projects from Hozan Yamamoto – and like those, updates older Japanese styles with just the right dose of jazz – never getting in the way of the soulful lines from the lead instrument, but also really warming things up nicely with Fend…
Soundtrack From The Film "More"
Commissioned as a soundtrack to the seldom-seen French hippie movie of the same name, More was a Pink Floyd album in its own right, reaching the Top Ten in Britain. The group's atmospheric music was a natural for movies, but when assembled for record, these pieces were unavoidably a bit patchwork, ranging from folky ballads to fierce electronic instrumentals to incidental mood music.
Big Fun
** 2023 Repress of this classic. 180 gram audiophile vinyl, gatefold sleeve ** Originally released in 1974, Big Fun presents music from three different phases of Miles Davis's early-seventies "electric" period. Sides one and four ("Great Expectations" and "Lonely Fire") were recorded three months after the Bitches Brew sessions and incorporate sitar, tambura, tabla, and other Indian instruments. "Ife" was recorded after the 1972 On the Corner sessions, and the framework is similar to tracks fro…
Nefertiti
'Nefertiti, the fourth album by Miles Davis' second classic quintet, continues the forward motion of Sorcerer, as the group settles into a low-key, exploratory groove, offering music with recognizable themes -- but themes that were deliberately dissonant, slightly unsettling even as they burrowed their way into the consciousness. In a sense, this is mood music, since, like on much of Sorcerer, the individual parts mesh in unpredictable ways, creating evocative, floating soundscapes. This music a…
Miles Davis Live - What It Is (Montreal 7/7/83)
This double LP release features one of Miles Davis final great bands: John Scofield on guitar, Bill The Other Bill Evans Evans on saxophones, flute and electric piano, Darryl Jones on bass, Al Foster on drums, and percussionist Mino Cinelu. Miles was back in amazing form (incandescent and iridescent as ever, critic Greg Tate noted), when he mounted the stage at the Theatre St-Denis during the Festival International De Jazz De Montreal in July 1983, and this revelatory performance has been loving…
Water Babies
*2023 stock. Blue Transluscent Vinyl* 'Every morning, about an hour before sunrise, the day breaks gradually, with little noticeable fanfare. It’s the best time of day outdoors. The nighttime goblins have gone to their hiding places, loud day creatures have yet to rise, and it’s just us with the cool morning mist and that dim kind of landscape that lets us see only what we want to see.When Water Babies was recorded in 1967 and 1968, Miles Davis had with him one his best working units. His and Wa…
L'Uovo di Colombo
** Transparent Neutral Coloured. Audio remastered directly from Analog Tapes and pressed on 180g Vinyl. Original artwork and personalised Obi Strip. ** L'Uovo Di Colombo is a Roman quartet that recorded a single album of the same name in 1973. The band is formed by Elio Volpini (bass), Ruggero Stefani (drums), Enzo Volpini (guitar and keyboards) and Toni Gionta, alias Toni Tartarini, a singer with a splendid voice. They immediately came to the fore thanks to some live performances, opening for D…
Matching Mole
Recorded in an abandoned CBS studio in the cold winter of 1972, this is the historical first album of Matching Mole, Robert Wyatt's immediate post Soft Machine grouping featuring himself on drums and vocals and three of the most creative musicians from the legendary Canterbury scene. Guitarist Phil Miller (Hatfield & the North, National Health), keyboardist Dave Sinclair (Caravan) and bassist Bill McCormick (Quiet Sun). Matching Mole is the quintessence of Canterbury sound. A visionary mixture o…
The American Metaphysical Circus
2019 Repress. New York avant-garde luminary Joe Byrd had been the leader of pioneering ’60s electronica band The United States of America until given the heave-ho by his own creation. His riposte was to create this in turns beguiling and bizarre album, which if anything is even further out on a limb than his previous band’s sole groundbreaking LP. While obviously a ’60s sounding record, its many unexpected twists and turns along with Byrd’s stunning production leave it sounding undated, existing…
In A Silent Way
"Listening to Miles Davis' originally released version of In a Silent Way in light of the complete sessions released by Sony in 2001 (Columbia Legacy 65362) reveals just how strategic and dramatic a studio construction it was. If one listens to Joe Zawinul's original version of In a Silent Way, it comes across as almost a folk song with a very pronounced melody. The version Miles Davis and Teo Macero assembled from the recording session in July of 1968 is anything but. There is no melody, not ev…
Church Of Anthrax
Replica mini-LP edition. Terry Riley (piano, organ, soprano saxophone) & John Cale (bass, harpsichord, piano, guitar, viola, organ) collaborated on this one-off album, released in 1970. At this time, rock music was a serious movement, removed from the joke it once was, quite unaware of the joke it would eventually become, and things like this sometimes happened. Cale, classically trained on the viola, must have been pretty pleased to get a shot to record with the '60s king of minimalist pu…