Jazz & Improvisation / Duo

Improvised duo of saxophonist Isaiah Collier and drummer Tim Regis, recorded direct to tape on 30 January 2025 in Devon Turnbull's Listening Room at 180 Studios, London, with live Space Echo by producer Sonny Daze.

Julius Hemphill was a visionary saxophonist and composer whose music fused avant-garde exploration with deep blues and gospel roots. Marty Ehrlich, one of Hemphill’s close collaborators and protégés, is a multi-reedist and composer known for his lyrical improvisation and commitment to extending Hemphill’s legacy through performance, composition, and curation. This archival release of the duo from Julius Hemphill and Marty Ehrlich offers a rare, deep-listening window into their long-standing crea…

** In Process of Stocking ** Saxophonist Dave Rempis and percussionist Frank Rosaly share a musical relationship of the once-in-a-generation variety. These two improvisers have worked together for almost twenty years, beginning in 2001 when they met in the basement of the Nervous Center, a divey Lincoln Square café that served as a crucial breeding ground for young improvising musicians in Chicago at that time. From the spark of that first musical encounter, the two went on to work together in c…

Reissue of Zo, the first duo album by Matthew Shipp and William Parker, recorded in 1993, with an epic Summertime, on ESP-Disk'.

Radu Malfatti on trombone and Stephan Wittwer on guitar in Innsbruck, February 1977: the duo LP Und? plus Untitled?, a fourteen-minute piece from the same tapes released here for the first time.

Cellist Tristan Honsinger and guitarist Olaf Rupp in their first recorded duo, Berlin, March 2010: one hour-long improvisation, Can You Imagine a Conversation Between a Table and a Chair?, in eight parts.

Celebrated Italian saxophonist Roberto Ottaviano collaborated with Martin Phillips on his recent biography of Keith Tippett which was published by Jazz In Britain. During that process he also sent us the recordings that make up this new release. Recorded live in Geneva, Switzerland in February 1991, this 2 CD set is taken from two performances of extraordinary dexterity and beauty that feature Tippett on piano plus his usual array of objects and toys alongside Ottaviano’s virtuoso soprano saxoph…

These are a small set of sound conversations - based on soil that is nearing 30 years worth of riches, stories and spirit. The fuel is made of components from the realms of rhythmic obsession, texture, melodic seeds and waves of harmonic interest in brief holding patterns. These are meeting present day explorations of the vibraphone and piano - via conventional and extended techniques: those from the classroom and those personal expressions based of a myriad of experiences with different instrum…

Alexander von Schlippenbach on piano and Sven-Åke Johansson on voice, accordion and drums, live at Onkel Pö in Hamburg in March 1978: a free improvised take on the German Lied, recorded by NDR.

Satoko Fujii on piano and Tatsuya Yoshida of Ruins on drums, live at Victoriaville on 18 May 2002: a fast, loud and funny duo with voices, jumping from free improvisation to metal, boogie-woogie and tango.

*200 copies limited edition* "This record is the crystallization of a friendship and musical partnership that started when Sonelius and I first met in 2012, when I was making my documentary on Rahsaan Roland Kirk – The Case of the Three Sided Dream. Sonelius appears only briefly in the film, and that’s mainly because of his ethereal approach to conversation, answering questions, and life, really. He doesn’t so much answer a question, rather, his responses usually generate more questions and are …

Akira Sakata and drummer Jun Inui in duo, recorded at the Shibata Etsuko Gallery in Ginza on April 7, 2024. The first of their Gallery series on Sister Records.

"How magical that in an improvisation recorded in a former hospital funeral chapel, we hear the sounds of life. We hear the sounds of breath. Not only the gentle sibilance of the air spilling from the edges of the mouthpiece, as it escapes life as a note; not only the airiness of those low drums: but also the sound of the music being allowed to breathe within the space’s very special acoustic. We hear the sounds of the heartbeat in Cornelia Nilsson’s low drums, now urgent, now reassuring. And we…

“The Dialogues” recalls the early jazz journeys of its creators, blending decades of musical growth into intimate conversations between violin and double bass. Drawing from jazz, classical, and contemporary influences, the album captures pure, wordless musical dialogue.

**300 copies** "Colin Webster and Dirk Serries are skilled improvisers you can’t pin down on a single outlet. They remain restless seekers, never content with merely repeating themselves, not even within the same project. Compare Gargoyles to Light Industry. They are totally different." - Guy Peters"Serries and Webster meet again at their favorite studio, Sunny Side in Anderlecht, Belgium, in September 2019 for an intimate duo where Serries plays only acoustic guitars. They already recorded a du…

Bomb! ** Sourced from the master tapes. First-time vinyl reissue ** Groundbreaking early work from drummer Milford Graves and pianist Don Pullen – a set of long, free improvisations that were originally issued on Graves' Self-Reliance Productions label! The music is even more striking than sounds from the time on the ESP label – and also really predates some of the freer work of this type from the European scene – as Graves is a monster on the drum kit and a range of percussion, reaching out wit…

A never earlier released duo recording that was played back in 1987 at Kassiopeia, Wuppertal brings these two great musicians and composers together for this unique and unforgettable session. There are times when one fantasises about the possible collaborations that might have been: Hendrix with Miles Davis, Jeffrey Lee Pierce with R.L Burnside, Capt. Beefheart with Sun Ra ― imagination is a wonderful thing. But when a vault somewhere pops open and a collaboration of two of improvised music's ti…

Derek Bailey - guitarSabu Toyozumi - drums Recorded live on November 2nd, 1987 at IMAI-Tei, Fukuoka City, Japan by Hidenobu EharaConcert produced by Masahiro TomiokaMastered by Arūnas Zujus at MAMAstudiosDesign by Oskaras AnosovasPhoto by Yumi Mochizuki at Taruho Jazz, Yamato CityCover art by Sabu Toyozumi

NoBusiness presents Hokusai, a new set of recordings by Sabu Toyozumi and Mats Gustafsson, recorded live on 11th and 12th June, 2018 at Jazz Spot Candy, Chiba, Japan by Kunimitsu Tsuburai / 粒来国充. Concert produced by Miyoko Hayashi / 林美葉子Jazz Spot Candy. Mastered by Arūnas Zujus at MAMAstudios. Sabu Toyozumi 豊住芳三郎 - drumsMats Gustafsson - baritone saxophone, fluteophone, flute

Double CD of saxophone and percussion duets by Evan Parker and Eddie Prévost, nine pieces titled after Francis Bacon, recorded at Gateway Studios, Kingston, on 23 February and 13 April 1997.

Tip! *2025 stock* Reissue of the landmark free jazz album "Overhang-Party (A Memorial To Kaoru Abe)" by the visionary Abe-Toyozumi Duo. Originally recorded in Tokyo in August 1978 and released in 1979, this historic release stands as a breathtaking testament to the artistry and legacy of legendary Japanese saxophonist Kaoru Abe, with dynamic support from renowned percussionist Sabu (Yoshisaburo) Toyozumi. "Overhang-Party" captures the electrifying chemistry between Abe and Toyozumi, two leading …

Detroit saxophonist Skeeter Shelton and Chicago percussionist Hamid Drake didn’t know each other before Skeeter was subbed into a duo gig at Trinosophes (Detroit) after Hamid’s partner fell ill. Shortly before the performance, it was discovered that Skeeter’s father, Ajaramu Shelton, was Hamid’s drum teacher and mentor at Chicago’s Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. There was an instant bond. The set that night was fire. This should be no surprise, as keeter, through his fath…

The third volume of duos between indefatigable tenorsaxophonist Ivo Perelman and adventurous trumpeter NateWooley is their most intimate encounter to date. Beginningwith mournful, almost undersea drones, it moves through avariety of subtly shifting moods, combining old-school jazzromanticism with the kind of nearly telepathic interaction thatonly a long-term creative relationship can inspire. Anyonewho’s enjoyed the first two volumes of this brilliant series willfind this latest dispatch to be a…

Claire Rousay completes her trilogy with A Little Death, where field recordings intertwine with strings and piano like voices in a chamber ensemble. A return to her core practice after sentiment's pop forms, the album transforms tactile samples into emotional archaeology—fragile, honest, vital.

Despite a 40-year age gap and the vast distance between Japan and Greece, pianist Masahiko Sato and guitarist Giotis Damianidis reveal themselves as kindred spirits on Thousand Leaves. Capturing their very first meeting—recorded live on February 2, 2024, at Jazz Spot Candy in Chiba, Japan—this album is a testament to the power of improvised music to dissolve boundaries of geography and generation. The rapport between Sato and Damianidis is so immediate and intuitive that one might imagine a much…

2nd Volume of the perfect pairing Brötzmann & Nilssen-Love!  Recorded at Zuiderpershuis in Antwerp, August 2015.  Liner notes-transcription of an interview with Peter Brötzmann.

Tip! First vinyl re-issue of Evan Parker’s duo with George Lewis. Transferred from the original masters, we discovered that the original Incus LP was cut at the wrong speed - and so, we present the first vinyl issue of the correct masters, or ‘mastas’ as Adam Skeaping, legendary engineer who is also responsible for Six of One and Compatibles, fondly calls them.  Skeaping, always working with the latest in recording technology for the time, has a knack for gaining access to remarkable spaces. Goo…

German saxophonist Luise Volkmann and Brazilian guitarist / vocalist Kiko Dinucci return with intimate, devotional new album Canto de Olho.

2025 much-needed repress. On May 27th 1983, drummer Masahiko Togashi and guitarist Masayuki Takayanagi, two pivotal figures in the Japanese free jazz scene that had been working together since the 1960's, performed and record this unique set at Zojoji Hall in Tokyo. At the time, Japanese jazz musicians were trying to find their own voice, welcoming creative elements coming in from the USA and Europe. The two musicians were at the fore-front of this generation, with Takayanagi developing his own …

"The music on this recording definitely has a mainly Jazz slant, so I thought it a good idea to dedicate it to other Jazz players (Charlie Parker and Eric Dolphy), that represent the best of that music and were an inspiration to us and many more players. I felt a recording that represented this very important project, and what we achieved together, was long overdue. So here we offer you some music we played in 1989. But still sounds, to me, as fresh as the day we first played it." I felt a recor…

Pianist Joel Futterman and bassist William Parker deliver an epic improvisatory journey on this three-track,  hour-long studio recording. Futterman and Parker have worked together in duo and group contexts since the 1980s, and their deep creative bond is audible in every note of this suite.

* Limited Edition of 300 copies with hand-made artwork. Hand-numbered edition. * Lithuania saxophonist - here on contrabass and prepared clarinet, tenor and soprano saxophones - is a musician with many faces, ranging from the powerful free jazz of "Kablys" over the melodic and sensitive excursion with pianist Petras Geniusas, to the angular free improv with Barry Guy on "Lava". On Pacemaker he demonstrates yet another side of his art, now in the company of Christian Windfeld on prepared drum kit…

Tip!  David Murray - Saxophone  Kahil El'Zabar - Percussion /  Kalimba /  Voice Recorded at the 10th OCT-LOFT International Jazz Festival, B10 Live, Shenzhen October 27th, 2023

Masayo Koketsu and Nava Dunkelman met for the first time in this studio session. Koketsu’s inventive use of extended techniques and breath-infused wails filled the space with an experimental intensity. Dunkelman responded with a finely woven tapestry of percussive textures, her delicate rhythms binding their sounds together. Her sensitivity to nuance allowed Koketsu’s raw cries to blend effortlessly, as if the two had long shared a musical language. Their exchange was both electric and restraine…

Legendary pianist Cecil Taylor enjoyed a month-long residen-cy in Berlin in June and July 1988, during which he began anartistic partnership with drummer Tony Oxley which lasteduntil Taylor’s final public performances in 2016. Recorded at theOutside In Festival in Crawley, UK in September 1988, FlashingSpirits is a high-intensity, extraordinarily beautiful piano-drumsduo, previously unreleased and a revelation even for listenerswho followed Taylor’s long and unceasingly exploratory career.

*100 copies limited edition* Trombe's fourth album, 'Bête Noire' (2026), is a tribute to all those wild boars that tear up the countryside, slaughter sheep, and are chased and killed by bizarrely clad figures in orange vests, armed with rifles... Beware of the line of cars parked in a herd along country roads, because they're there, prowling. Don't meet their gaze, or you'll be petrified... In fact, I know some people who had to change their mode of transport after a collision with the beast... …

The charming, thoughtfoul Oracle conveys the familiarity and empathy of partners who have worked together for years – light touch, intricacy and sensitivity pervade the session. Oracle wins you over with its warmth and melodicism.

*Limited edition of 600 copies* Nomadic spiritual jazz duo The Sea Ensemble embodied the ethos of their era and art to a uniquely poetic degree. Founded in the early 1970’s by ethnomusicologist Zusaan Kali Fasteau and versatile instrumentalist Donald Rafael Garrett (sideman to John Coltrane, Archie Shepp, and Roland Kirk, among others), the couple’s lifestyle mirrored their music: restless, questing, collaborative, and improvised. Their itinerant journeying spanned Senegal, Congo, Morocco, Haiti…

Anchored in the idea that, despite all obstacles, the human experience casts a net of possibilities, Defiant Life – Vijay Iyer and Wadada Leo Smith second duo recording for ECM – proves a profound meditation on the human condition and both the suffering and resilience it entails. An ethereal iridescence glistens between Leo Smith’s unmistakable trumpet wail and Vijay’s textural key strokes on piano and Fender Rhodes, conjuring multi-dimensional spaces of thoughtful musical conversation. “We work…

Acclaimed jazz artists Lao Dan and Vasco Trilla join forces on New Species, an album that pushes the boundaries of modern jazz with inventive compositions and masterful improvisation. Blending elements of traditional jazz with contemporary influences, this collaboration offers a compelling journey through intricate melodies and dynamic rhythms. New Species showcases Dan Lao’s versatility on saxophone and woodwinds, paired with Vasco Trilla’s innovative approach to drums. Together, they create a …