Reissues
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 …
Lunar
Lunar is a journey into the magical freedom of Lorenzo Tucci and Luca Mannutza. Hardly ever happens in jazz music to be caught by a charming madness, a folly vein whose effect is so attractive as disarming. It’s not about listening to an improvvisation, which is something unexpected by its nature. It’s about the true freedom of expression of a journey into sound whose route is shaped by this madness, something that can be unleashed without fear only by someone with strong skills and total contro…
Metamorphosis
I think that the title of this album is perfectly congenial – ”Metamorphosis” as for “profound transformation in form and structure”. I have known and listened to Guido, born in 1935, for more than 40 years and consider myself as an expert of his impressive musical production since his debut in 1966. Guido is a full-blooded swinger and his playing is firmly rooted in the tradition. Surprisingly, after listening to this record I hear and find a pianist astonishingly original and dynamic playing w…
The Round About
In today’s jazz scene it’s pretty much common knowledge that maintaining a stable group of working musicians is no small task. All too often economics dictate that in order to survive in the creative jungle, a working musician must keep his options open. So with this in mind one can take heart when many such in-demand musicians through their own desire make time in their very busy lives to return to a project that they hold close to their creative souls. It is precisely this center of gravity th…
Strong Place
“Antonio knows how to exploit the dynamic qualities of the piano, and he honours the spaces between the notes. He’s achieved a truly timeless trio sound that really gives your imagination space to wander. His trio both play with empathy and unleash the fire when necessary, and the high production values on this record also make it a real aural treat”- Soweto Kinch
“Strong Place”, out in January 2010, features the Afro-American rhythm section of Herbie Hancock, one of the most famous in the New Y…
The Golden Eight - Encore!
*2022 stock* This reissue is great news for the jazz-loving community. The multi-national Golden Eight ensemble assembled by Gigi Campi featured Kenny Clarke and Jimmy Woode (USA), Francy Boland and Chris Kellens (Belgium), Dusko Gojkovic (Yugoslavia), Raymond Droz (Switzerland), Derek Humble (UK) and Karl Drevo (Austria). And it was the forerunner of the legendary Clarke-Boland Big Band. Seven of the eleven pieces in the album are distinctive originals by Boland, the remaining four tracks being…
The Virtuoso of Sitar Vol. II
First vinyl reissue of this Indian classical masterpiece recorded by Shrimati Kalyani Roy in the late 1960s. Undoubtedly one of the most talented sitar players in the history of the instrument. She is considered as one the finest female players in a field that was dominated by her male counterparts. On these recordings, a two-volume set, she is accompanied by Manick Das (tabla) and Namita Chatterjee (tambura). Recorded in Japan on September 20th, 1974. Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 (V 2011LP) come as two se…
The Virtuoso of Sitar Vol. I
First vinyl reissue of this Indian classical masterpiece recorded by Shrimati Kalyani Roy in the late 1960s. Undoubtedly one of the most talented sitar players in the history of the instrument. She is considered as one the finest female players in a field that was dominated by her male counterparts. On these recordings, a two-volume set, she is accompanied by Manick Das (tabla) and Namita Chatterjee (tambura). Recorded in Japan on September 20th, 1974. Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 (V 2011LP) come as two se…
Sitar & Electronics
This work was originally released in 1971 by Okko Bekker, a Dutch sitar player, keyboardist, and producer who has worked with the likes of Brian Eno, Conny Plank, Asmus Tietchens, and Moebius. As the title suggests, this is a sitar and synthesizer dominated trip through six groovy and jazzy originals and two covers. Featuring help from jazz legend Herb Geller on flute, 'Sitar & Electronics' is a funky and rare piece of European exotica that finally returns to vinyl again.
Miscellanea
**150 copies, black vinyl** Miscellanea – originally released in 1969 on cult italian label Sermi SR Records (home of famous composer such as Bruno Nicolai, Francesco De Masi, I Marc 4 and more) – is the debut of composer Luigi Zito, an in-demand session player and music director throughout all the seventies. An extremely brilliant music library with lots of jazz licks, descriptive and improvisational themes composed with a multitude of instruments, including the famous whistle by the one and on…
Playing With The Trio
*2022 stock* “There is a two-fold pleasure in listening to the leader of a big band play in a trio setting. First, there is the satisfaction of hearing a voice that is normally in the background being brought to centre stage. As a composer and arranger, Francy Boland typically spoke with many tongues. Like Ellington, he wrote with specific players in mind and so, as with a playwright, we usually hear his thoughts interpreted and given utterance by others. The big band format allows the band-lead…