★Rearward
At Her Majesty's Pleasure
*2022 stock.* Inspiration in jazz has many sources. Who would have thought that British prisons could have inspired a Belgian-born composer, arranger, co-leader of a truly international band? The fact is that when the Clarke-Boland band came to this country at the beginning of 1969 for their memorable booking at the Ronnie Scott Club tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin was, to quote the sleeve “whisked off to Pentonville”. It was nothing worse than a question of outstanding income tax from a previo…
Summer Dawn
*2022 stock.* Here is music for your strange mood. The piano starts the first track, slow tempo beat, a strict beat, a swinging beat. Lillemor—here minor harmonies give the tune a rural, romantic feeling of some place in Spain or France. The tempo changes to medium fast—the flute solos. Light phrasing contrasts beauti¬fully to the earthy, swinging beat of the rhythm section and the repeating piano figures. The trombone adds a new color, a counterpoint of sound and phrasing, backed by the pulsati…
Zamboni 22
*2022 stock* Climate-atmosphere is what we say. Soul with beautiful expression, is what they say in the modern jazz scene in the US. It’s a necessary component for good jazz, as well as for swing. But to achieve an organic atmosphere which is therefore vital and alive, a relationship of intentions and views, and a congeniality of thoughts are needed. When Tommasi was in Rome for a few days and had Santucci and Scoppa listen to the latest pieces he had composed, the three musicians ideas, a…
And All Those Cats
**2020 small repress* This is a terrific-sounding Italian compilation of sounds by Sahib Shihab, the great saxophonist and flutist who is criminally under-recognized for his contribution not only to the language of hard bop, but for his multi-dimensional look at world music and his influence on soul-jazz and the harder swinging big bands that recorded for MPS in the 1960s and '70s. A complete iconoclast, Shihab followed the beat of his own drummer and that is clearly on display here, in recordin…
Companionship
*2022 stock* Jazz music has more than its fair share of overshadowed figures that whilst contributing much to the music have little presence in its collective conscious. One such musician is the talented multi-reedist, Sahib Shihab. Born Edmond Gregory, as he was known before he adopted the Muslim faith in 1946, Sahib Shihab’s music background shows a deep and significant evolution, influenced by Thelonious Monk, Dizzie Gillespie (his experience in Dizzie’s band marked Sahib’s switch to Bariton…
Seeds
Reissue of this classic and extremely sought-after 1969 modal jazz rarity recorded in Europe by ex-pat US saxophonist Sahib Shihab! An original might cost you upwards of a hundred pounds so we're very pleased to be able to offer this rare gem to you.
My Point of View
Rearward presents Eraldo Volonté, “My Point of View” – remastered. All the tracks, recorded - from May to November 1963 - at Durium Studios, Milan are now released with liner notes by Arrigo Polillo.
Fonit H602-H603
** 2020 small repress. 2022 stock** Two obscure albums by Basso Valdambrini Quintet originally released for TV and Radio Shows on Usignolo Series by Fonit Cetra. Now available for the Basso-Valdambrini's lovers. "The small groups co-led by tenor sax player Gianni Basso and trumpeter Oscar Valdambrini were the most celebrated jazz units to emerge from Italy in the late 1950’s and early 60’s. First rising to prominence in Milan, under the name The Italian Sextet, Basso actually came from Asti (whe…
Rue Chaptal
It is a few minutes after ten-thirty on Monday evening, February 17, 1969, in Ronnie Scott’s, 47 Frith Street London W I.
On this particular Monday at Ronnie’s something special is about to happen. A new attraction is to begin a two-week engagement at the club, and this attraction is out of the ordinary. The word has got around, from people who have seen one of the concerts which preceded this opening and others who know the band from records or foreign festivals, that this is a team not to be m…
Volcano
It is a few minutes after ten-thirty on Monday evening, February 17, 1969, in Ronnie Scott’s, 47 Frith Street London W I.
On this particular Monday at Ronnie’s something special is about to happen. A new attraction is to begin a two-week engagement at the club, and this attraction is out of the ordinary. The word has got around, from people who have seen one of the concerts which preceded this opening and others who know the band from records or foreign festivals, that this is a team not to be m…
Volcano / Rue Chaptal
*2022 stock* "I remember standing at the bar,' he recalls, 'and seeing Johnny Griffin arrive. He said to me, 'Gigi, you're going to hear some strong shit tonight.' And he wasn't kidding. The band was so powerful and driving, so together, like one tremendous all-purpose instrument." Gigi Campi "It was marvellous. People used to applaud in the middle of the arrangements – showing their appreciation of some of the tutti or soli passages. It was really one of the greatest musical experiences of my l…
Parole e Musica
*2022 stock* Helen Merrill has done something very few others have done in the world of jazz for, just with one record, she has come to be considered one of jazz’s greats. Usually a budding new star has to do quite a bit of waiting before he or she can be acclaimed. It all depends on the public’s opinion of the musician’s merits. Sarah Vaughan—amongst the singers —and Julian “Cannonball” Adderley—among the instrumentalists—have had to take their place in the queue awaiting the people’s favourabl…
Quartetto Di Lucca
*2022 stock* It is quite rare to discover on the Italian Jazz scene a successful ensemble, which passed unscathed through years. Bands are usually weakened or put in crisis, most of the times caused by sudden changes in line-ups.
The “Quartetto di Lucca” is a band of young players which formerly were part of the amateurial “Hot Clubs” and some years ago debuted among the pros.
The quartet of Lucca, however, has a peculiarity of its own, the ability to defend the results and the continuity of a f…
Da Roma a New York
*2022 stock* Remastered from the original master tapes with superior sound quality, replica of the original RCA 10"(with bonus CD) in a limited edition of 500 copies. This is one of the most important albums in Umiliani’s career. There are ten original tracks, an ambitious project that surprises and captures jazz lovers. The reviewer of Musica Jazz magazine, who usually writes about American artists, in the issue no. 11 dated November 1957 writes: “I can’t remember what other ambitious and succe…
Smog (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
*2022 stock* 24 hours in the life of an Italian lawyer in a livid and exhausting Los Angeles. His encounters with his compatriots, the raising consciousness about a society obsessed with the myth of success. More than the action and characters, here are the anguish and troubles of the main character that matter. One of the best scores signed by Piero Umiliani, a unique soundtrack settled in an immense Los Angeles as it has never been shown in an American movie.
Piero Umiliani was contacted in 19…
Jacques Pelzer Quartet
*2022 stock* In every artistic field it is hard to understand how critically important first impressions are. I am talking about those quick and uncontrollable connections, like an electric shock, that originate from the direct proportion between the work of art standing before us (a picture, a poem, a piece of music) and our feelings. The critical judgement as such requires a deep meditation and the artistic work in question should be examined probably in the microscopic detail of the cultural …
Swing im Bahnhof
*2022 stock* The Kenny Clarke-Fancy Boland Ensemble has its headquarter and management in Cologne. Many international recordings and releases presents the lineup of the Clarke-Boland in trio, quartet, sextet and in bands with 13 and 21 musicians from all over Europe. This time, they were a sextet that traveled to Rolandseck, a German ensemble with no Germans.Kenny “Klook” Clarke is one of the heads of the bebop movement. He was also one of the founders of the Modern Jazz Quartet and he is consid…
The Remembering
Luca Mannutza, born in Cagliari, Sardinia, in 1968, has spent more than half of his entire life as a jazz musician, under multiple roles: from being a simple passionate listener and a researcher he soon became interpreter, composer, arranger and producer, everything in the name of a musical genre that since the early ’90s has literally obscured anything else.
Therefore, we find Mannutza debuting alongside big personalities such as Paolo Fresu, Emanuele Cisi, Maurizio Giammarco and Bebo Ferra, an…
Fabrizio Bosso Plays Enchantment – L’incantesimo di Nino Rota
The enchanting atmospheres, the daydreams, the sketches and the caricatures of some other legendary film scenes. This and much more will live in one of the most anticipated records of the year: “Enchantment, the spell of Nino Rota”, the Tribute to Nino Rota, gentle and sweet man, always smiling, as brilliant in writing music as much as modest in all other aspects of life, that Fabrizio Bosso pays to him with the extraordinary participation of the London Symphony Orchestra, on arrangements and di…
Ukitusa
Starring the multi-awarded vocalist Cleveland Watkiss and pianist Antonio Figura, “Ukitusa” was recorded in July 2011 in an open, mountainous region of Northern Italy in a peaceful town in the vicinity of Udine. Five musicians from three different countries came together with open ears and hearts to create a special collection of music. The genesis of the band was interesting. Through Antonio Figura, the nuclear member of the group, each of the musicians had some prior contact with at least one …