Jazz /
Of the Essence
"In the early 1990s, trombonist Jeb Bishop became an essential part of Chicago’s musically and geographically outward-looking jazz community. His mastery of the full spectrum of trombone language, from earthy melody to abstract sound effects, made him indispensable in every band he joined—including the Vandermark 5, Peter Brötzmann’s Chicago Tentet, School Days, and Engines—and the indelible quality of his compositions made his recordings with his own bands landmarks of the era. Bishop left Chic…
Look Both Days
First meetings are always a risk, but if the vibrations are right and the doors are open, magic will be made. When the members of Look Both Days (brought together by Chicago pianist Erez Dessel) took the stage on the opening night of the 2023 Catalytic Sound Festival, nobody knew quite what to expect. With Marvin Tate on the mic, Mai Sugimoto and Fred Jackson Jr. both on alto saxophone, Erez Dessel on piano, and Ben Hall on drums, these stalwarts of the midwestern improvised music scene were poi…
Groppler Zorn
*2025 stock* Emerging from the fertile ground where language meets rhythm, Groppler Zorn proudly announces the release of their highly anticipated debut album. Conceived in the transition from spoken word to music, the project embodies the belief that the urge to speak and the impulse to dance spring from the same source. Far from being a singular vision, the album is the result of a series of creative dialogues — conversations between musicians and artists from diverse, and at times opposing, a…
Double Helix Quartet
*2025 stock* The acclaimed ensemble Double Helix Quartet proudly announces the release of their highly anticipated new album, an adventurous collection that redefines the boundaries between contemporary classical music, improvisation, and experimental soundscapes. With this bold statement, the quartet reaffirms its role as one of the most forward-thinking voices in today’s chamber music scene.
Fusing tradition with innovation, the album showcases the group’s signature interplay of precision an…
Fear is Heavy, I've Got Plans ...
*2025 stock* Fear is Heavy, I've Got Plans ... is the debut recording by Turtle Boat, a free-jazz outfit led by Abhilasha Chebolu (Null Copula, Princsex, Gault, Ryan Jewell Quintet) featuring her compositions with additional contributions from saxophonist Alex Burgoyne (Small Songs, Alex Burgoyne Quartet, Gault, Liver Quiver, Ryan Jewell Quintet). Joined by Dan DiPiero (Small Songs, Alex Burgoyne Quartet, Common Things), the trio first assembled in 2015 after a decade of playing together in vari…
Ism
*2025 stock* Ism highlights the distinct qualities of each member. Fred's methodical approach to melody, Ed Wilkerson’s relentless dynamism, Jim’s uncanny ability to subvert expectations, and Avreeayl's inescapable rhythm, which weaves through the music—shaping everything from textured explorations to intense grooves to wild improvisations.
Ensamseglaren
Tip! "I stood on top of the mountain and looked out over the landscape. It was so beautiful that my chest hurt. The light vibrated, time stood still, and the contours dissolved for a moment. Everything had changed; I felt it then. I took their little hands so as not to lose contact with the ground. Then we ran down the mountain, scraping our knees. Still, we didn't make it. You had already put away all the nautical charts, loosened the moorings and steered out among the skerries. Mum stood wavin…
Hyperglyph
Chicago Underground Duo is the long-running collaborative project of composer/trumpeter/electronicist Rob Mazurek (Exploding Star Orchestra, Isotope 217, New Future City Radio with Damon Locks) and composer/drummer/mbiraist Chad Taylor (jaimie branch’s Fly or Die, Marshall Allen’s Ghost Horizons, Luke Stewart’s Silt Trio). Hyperglyph is their first album in 11 years, and 8th in the absolute cabinet of wonders that is the Chicago Underground Duo. The pair have played music together in a multitude…
A Modicum of Blues
Polish label Fundacja Słuchaj is thrilled to announce the release of "A Modicum Of Blues," an electrifying new album by five powerhouse improvisers: Ivo Perelman (tenor sax), Nate Wooley (trumpet), Matt Moran (vibraphone), Mark Helias (bass), and Tom Rainey (drums).
This recording captures the quintet in their purest element—live in the studio, free of plans or constraints, driven only by their joy of spontaneous creation. Renowned for his visionary approach, saxophonist Ivo Perelman assembles a…
Tell them it´s the sound of freedom
Almost two decades have passed since Martin Kuchen, one of the brightest figures in European improvised music, founded the band Angles. Over the years, the band has evolved in terms of its membership and personnel. The Portuguese label Clean Feed has released the vast majority of the group's albums. Now it is time for the latest incarnation of Angles, this time Angles 11, featuring musicians from the core line-up and the oldest companions of musical journeys, as well as ‘fresh blood’. Those we a…
The Cliffhanger Session
Tip! This new acoustic trio is consisting of three of the most iconic players of todays European jazz, improvisation and experimental music scene. This line-up took a long birth phase, but was a logical step and basically came out of juggling the possibilities and attempts of combining the effort of two high energy noise + electro-acoustic duos: Ignaz Schick/Oliver Steidle (Ilog) and Ingebrigt-Håker-Flaten/Ignaz Schick. Both duos started in 2013 (Ilog) and 2015 (Håker Flaten/schick) and have a l…
Extrapolation
“Extrapolation,” the debut solo album by visionary guitarist John McLaughlin, continues to stand as a landmark in the evolution of jazz fusion. Recorded in London before McLaughlin’s legendary collaborations with Miles Davis and the formation of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, this 1969 classic exemplifies a bold new direction for British jazz.
A pioneering force in modern music, McLaughlin brought together an extraordinary group of musicians for “Extrapolation”: John Surman (baritone and soprano saxo…
Move Fast And Mend Things
For their second album Hi Res Heart expand from being a trio to a performing quintet with the addition of the two string players. In contrast to the first album - a very carefully conceived studio construct - Move Fast And Mend Things finds the group in live performance mode, recorded the day after their first gig as a five piece. As before, spaciousness and fire co-exist. Even when the music is at its most abstract, the spirit of the blues is never too far away. The music is direct and melodic …
Away With Troubles And Anxieties!
A senior figure on the scene whose output shows no sign of letting up as he enters his eighth decade. As well as groups alongside his established peers, he increasingly provides great experience and opportunity for his younger colleagues.
Paul Dunmall and Discus Music are clearly on a roll together as the veteran composer and improviser delivers his sixth album in two years to the label. And what is especially interesting is how each of them sits well outside Paul's free blowing music, concentra…
Extraordinary Popular Delusions
Two decades ago, an all-star assembly of Chicago improvisers started a new band, drawing its name from an 1841 book by Charles Mackay: Extraordinary Popular Delusions. With weekly gigs at a spot in Chicago called Hotti Biscotti, Jim Baker, Mars Williams, Brian Sandstrom, and Steve Hunt honed their sound, which could be ferocious or nerdy or diffuse, as they moment required. After a couple years, the quartet moved to a regular Monday session at Beat Kitchen, where they have maintained their weekl…
Kaleidoscopic Visions
Kaleidoscopic Visions showcases Tom Skinner drawing together the many threads of his career as one of the UK’s most versatile and free-thinking contemporary musicians. Performing and recording with Sons of Kemet, The Smile, David Byrne, Meshell Ndegeocello, Alabaster DePlume, Floating Points and Peter Zummo as well as a wide range of collaborations across London’s vibrant improvised and electronic scene, Skinner’s diverse touchpoints are brought together in an album of quiet power and profound t…
Mwandishi
This album is one of Hancock's first departures from the traditional idioms of jazz, as well as the beginning of an original and creative style which eventually appealed to a wider audience. In addition, Mwandishi was Hancock's attempt at continuing the musical principles and styles he explored in his previous experiences with Miles Davis. Mwandishi was recorded at Wally Heider Studios Studio C, in San Francisco, California in January 1971, by Hancock's Mwandishi Sextet. The recording incorporat…
Live Spirit I
“Kalaczakra” marks the powerful return of Wojtek Mazolewski Quintet, one of Europe’s leading jazz ensembles. The new single offers the first glimpse of their upcoming album Live Spirit I. Built around a catchy horn motif, a distinctive bass line, and a free-flowing, pulsing drum rhythm, the track brilliantly blends Polish and spiritual jazz traditions with a raw, modern edge—bold, uplifting, and unmistakably fresh. The forthcoming album Live Spirit I, recorded live at Warsaw’s iconic Witold Luto…
Baobab
Long hidden from the world, the extraordinary sound of Baobab finally emerges. Recordings made in the late 1970s by the Stuttgart-based group—once described as "one of the most interesting rock-jazz groups on the Stuttgart scene"—are being unveiled to listeners for the very first time after more than 45 years in the vaults.
The album, simply titled Baobab, showcases the fearless creativity and genre-blurring spirit of a band who were decades ahead of their time. Fusing the improvisational energy…
Two Felt-Tip Pens: Live At Moers
Balance Point Acoustics proudly announces the release of "Two Felt-Tip Pens: Live At Moers," a strikingly original album recorded live at the renowned Moers Festival in Germany and dedicated to the late Hans Schneider (1951–2024). The release features the adventurous trio of German saxophonist Stefan Keune, American guitarist Sandy Ewen, and acclaimed bassist and label curator Damon Smith, three master improvisers converging in an equilateral triangle of spontaneous sonic exploration.
"Two Felt-…