Jazz & Improvisation / Free Improvisation

** Edition of 300 copies. Hard cardboard gatefold cover ** To Keith... “You were so afraid of death, you spoke about it often… often with lucidity, with reason, but this fear disappeared very quickly when you sat down at the piano… There, the demons vanished, The ghosts disappeared, the beauty s 'installed… Your piano, you caressed it for so long, barely out of adolescence. In 1975, in Nancy, you deployed nearly a hundred feet to play your music, this "Septober Energy", the energy that one has a…

Strut present the first ever compilation bringing together classics and rarities from the seminal spiritual jazz and conscious soul label Black Fire, spanning 1975 to 1993. Formed by DJ and record producer Jimmy Gray in Richmond, Virginia, and following in the footsteps of other influential black-owned independent labels like Strata-East and Tribe, the foundation of Black Fire coincided with saxophonist James “Plunky” Branch returning to Richmond from New York to form Oneness Of Juju. The band’s…

"From A Love Supreme to The Sex Machine!" The personal musical mantra of the late Philadelphia reedman Byard Lancaster informed an open-minded and varied lifetime in jazz. Strut presents one of Lancaster’s lesser known classics, ‘My Pure Joy’, recorded in 1992 for Black Fire. Lancaster had initially cut his musical teeth with the avant-garde on New York’s Lower East Side in the 1960s (famously on sessions with pianist Dave Burrell and drummer Sunny Murray) and in Paris during the ‘70s after an a…

Strut continue their in-depth archive reissues from the Black Fire label with a definitive edition of JuJu’s ‘Live At 131 Prince Street’, recorded in 1973 at Ornette Coleman’s gallery in New York and featuring a previously unheard recording of the Pharoah Sanders composition "Thembi". After forming in San Francisco while working on the Marvin X theatre piece ‘The Resurrection of the Dead’, JuJu began to hone their uncompromising fusion of Afro-Latin rhythms with free and spiritual jazz before si…

Temporary Super Offer!  Musicians as different as Bill Dixon, Wadada Leo Smith, Axel Dörner, Susana Santos Silva have experimented with the lonely, no-safety-net discipline of solo trumpet playing. It is one of the hardest avocations in music: no harmony instrument, no pedal notes, no supportive pick-up if things go wrong. Schmid seems to follow in that line and yet the solo performances on Augmented Space, for all the extreme discipline of his technique, seems very different to the artists abov…

John Coltrane played the long game. Longevity in life wasn’t his lot; his fortieth year being his final bow. That circumscribed career, particularly in its final decade, evinced a trajectory of creative ascendancy that was as indelible to improvised music as it was omnipresent in impact. Charlie Parker arguably wears the posthumous mantle of most influential saxophonist, but Coltrane suggests a close contender in terms of ineluctable clout on those who play the instrument. Practice and the pursu…

The third instalment of Trevor’s accounts of the seeds and growth of free improvisation in the UK, The London Musicians’ Collective (LMC), spans a 30 + year period and tells the story of one of the most celebrated of all British organisations for the experimentally inclined. With many illustrations of LMC festivals, adverts, fliers, posters, etc, the book follows the twists and turns of this most polymorphic of collectives, interleaving these with contemporaneous societal, cultural and political…

**In process of stocking** Following on from the welcome revival of Lyman Woodard’s classic ‘Saturday Night Special‘ and drummer, Bert Myrick’s ‘Live ’n Well’ – which features the epic ‘Scorpio’s Child’ – BBE Records continue to dig deeper into the vaults of Detroit’s Strata label with The Contemporary Jazz Quintet album ‘Location’. Working in conjunction with 180 Proof’s Amir Abdullah BBE are poised to unearth a steady flow of hard to find or previously unheard gems from the short-lived but con…

**In process of stocking** Rescued from relative obscurity by DJ Amir’s 180 Proof Records, BBE is delighted to present a gem from the tiny yet highly influential catalogue of Strata Records. Preceding New York’s Strata East, Detroit’s original Strata label issued only a handful of underground titles in the early 70’s, making it a ‘holy grail’ imprint among jazz lovers and record collectors the world over. Released by Strata in 1974, Bert Myrick’s ‘Live ‘n Well’ was originally recorded by Strata …

Unearthed by The Mighty Zaf for BBE Music, Into A New Journey by Ambiance is an impossibly rare and sought-after private label spiritual jazz masterpiece from 1982 with Latin, Brazilian and Afro overtones. Ambiance was the ‘nom de guerre’ of an ever-shifting jazz collective headed up by Nigeria-born, LA-tutored multi- instrumentalist, arranger, producer and photographer Daoud Abubakar Balewa. Balewa studied composition and jazz improvisation at the feet of innovators such as Frank Mitchell (Art …

We're delighted to announce the reissue one the most sought-after European private press spiritual jazz albums: The Magnetic Atmospher by Clarence Peters Quartet. Never reissued in its entirety before, The Magnetic Atmosphere is a solid album of deep, post modal spiritual jazz that will appeal to fans of the Strata East, Tribe, and Black Jazz labels. Resident in France since the 1970s, drummer Peters recorded the album with a French rhythm section: Patrick Gauthier on piano, and Jean-Jacques Ave…

Black vinyl / 505mcn paper / Hand Plasticization / PVC outers / original artwork / 250 copies edition. 1970 freeform jazz rarity. Noah Howard was born in 1943 in New Orleans and, like many of his contemporaries, first played music in church as a child. In his 2010 book, 'Music in My Soul', Howard reflected upon his childhood in New Orleans and the influence the city had on him: “Growing up in New Orleans was like receiving a steady diet of music, and my taste in music became increasingly more so…

**2021 stock. In process of stocking** Ltd vinyl pressing. “3D” shaped cubic sleeve / Heavyweight Vinyl, 300 Gram White-White Double Coated Paper. Originally released in tiny numbers in Chile in 1974. The album’s opening track, ‘Alba’, bathes the listener in a warm glow of vibes and electric piano with a groove evoking the laid back soul jazz of classic Ramsey Lewis Trio. Horns build up as the track lopes along, adding a punchy rawness to the languid head nodding slo-mo funk. A change of gear as…

**2021 stock. In process of stocking** Jazz trios have an economy that makes them risky. Yet it’s that risk that makes them exciting; how to get the most out of three musicians. Trios made up of rhythm instruments – piano, drums and bass – are particularly special. In the case of Ruben ‘Baby’ López Furst, the Argentinian pianist, and the trio session for ‘Jazz en la Universidad’, that special feeling is abundant. The balance of lightness and air with muscularity and drive makes the album worthy …

**2021 stock. In process of stocking** Heavyweight Vinyl, Original Glued Prints on Thick Cardboard 700 gram / 2 Separated parts handily gluing, PVC Outersleeve. Originally released in tiny numbers in Israel in 1977. The fascinating thing about jazz is not so much where it came from, but where it went, how it changed and how it seemed to effortlessly mix with local styles and traditions. In some ways, it’s no surprise that jazz found a fertile home in Israel. Much has been written about the conne…

**2021 stock. In process of stocking** Heavyweight Vinyl, 300 Gram White-White Double Coated Paper, Handily Gluing, PVC Outersleeve. Originally released in tiny numbers in 1975 on the Promusica label, ‘Pelo de Rata’ was the debut outing for a considerable talent in South American jazz, Matias Pizarro. A pianist and composer of some skill and flair, his output sadly falls far short for someone who exhibits such a natural ability to conjure up such an idiosyncratic style of jazz, replete with thou…

Among the fiercest and greatest documents of Free Jazz is a lone LP - Al-Fatihah - self-released in Ohio by Black Unity Trio in 1969, the official reissue of which stands before us now. A hard cut diamond of pure fire and artistry, it’s a good as improvised music from this era gets and absolutely not to be missed

Welcome to the second release in the Black Dot LP series. Black Dot albums are all recorded live at the White Spot performance space in beautiful downtown Nanaimo BC, a venue which Mats Gustafsson visited on June 23, 2019. Mats is many things to many people -- a doting father, a fancier of fine bourbons, an enthusiastic sport fisherman and a record collector of unparalleled passion. But he is probably best known as a musical performer/composer/explorer with world-gobbling intentions. On this eve…

"Gorgeous live debut LP by an extremely flexible quartet put together by Vancouver based string-monster, Gordon Grdina. Grdina plays both electric guitar and oud. His guitar work here recalls a couple of very different players -- the clean angular scramble of Boston's Joe Morris, and also the more lyrical passages played by the master of power-distortion, Sonny Sharrock. On oud (an instrument most often associated with traditional music of Northern African and Western Asia) he creates a new appr…

**Numbered edition of 100. 2021 Stock** Silent Water presents November 16, 2014, a live performance by Manuel Mota: electric guitar, Giovanni Di Domenico: Fender Rhodes, and Tatsuhisa Yamamoto: drums. Recorded at Zuiderpershuis, Antwerp, on november 16th, 2014. Recorded by Koen Vandenhoudt. Mixed by Giovanni Di Domenico. Mastered by Frederic Alstadt.

Adyton presents At Mu, a live performance by Peter Brötzmann: tenor saxophone, b-flat clarinet, tárogató, and Miklós Szilveszter: drums. Recorded live at 12. újbuda jazz festival at mu theatre, budapest on 2 september 2016. Dedicated to the memory of Johannes Bauer.

In winter 1976, a few years before Olexandr Shapoval headed up the well-known band Vodogray, a jazz band called Shapoval Sextet recorded three pieces "Kobzareva Duma" in live at the Donetsk Jazz Festival. The tape has been lost for almost 45 years, until now. The most radical, experimental and psych jazz recording from the Ukrainian Soviet-era found to date. Composed and arranged by, flutes, saxophone: Oleksandr ShapovalTrumpet: Oleg AnapolskyElectric organ, piano: Oleg KoskoGuitar, spoken words…

In the fall of 1966, Albert Ayler embarked on a European tour with his current quintet. For the first time, the four recorded concerts previously issued by Hat are presented here in one package, in chronological order. The group included his brother, trumpeter Donald Ayler, with whom he worked for years but the other three members were relative newcomers to the ensemble. Beaver Harris, who had played and recorded with Archie Shepp and Marion Brown, took over the drum duties from Ronald Shannon J…

Debut from this Polish group, whose name means Old Tapes and whose members have an impressive background in punk, improv, experimental and even classical music. They have come together here to let out a loud shriek of angry disbelief triggered by the general shape of contemporary Polish society and the concomitant public discourse. The album, whose title approximately translates to Literacy Crisis, consists of six punk, jazz and religious chants, all worked together to form a powerful and specif…

From 1963 to 2014: "Peace Chant - raw deep and spiritual jazz" exhibits 51 years of music. A well matched anthology with sounds to dive into, hard rhythms to dance to and vocals to meditate on. The Tramp Records crew has compiled 9 tracks in nice order and dramaturgy. Some tunes you might have never heard before unless you own one of the rare original vintage vinyl records. Peace Chant is released on two separate LPs with own catalogue numbers and on one CD. Some songs I can't get out of my mind…

From 1963 to 2014: "Peace Chant - raw deep and spiritual jazz" exhibits 51 years of music. A well matched anthology with sounds to dive into, hard rhythms to dance to and vocals to meditate on. The Tramp Records crew has compiled 8 tracks in nice order and dramaturgy. Some tunes you might have never heard before unless you own one of the rare original vintage vinyl records. Peace Chant is released on two separate LPs with own catalogue numbers and on one CD. Some songs I can't get out of my mind…

Building on the back of the previous 2 volumes of their Peace Chant series, Tramp Records takes another deep dive into the world of obscure jazz gems, this time compiling artists that use their medium to welcome the return of the sacred feminine. Resting at the nucleus of post-bop, modal jazz, avant-garde, transcendental, spiritual, ethnic, and freedom music, it’s a wild ride through a thrilling world of sound.

Building on the back of the previous 3 volumes of their Peace Chant series, Tramp Records takes another deep dive into a world of obscure gems from the soulful shadows of historic and contemporary jazz with Peace Chant - Raw, Deep and Spiritual Jazz Vol. 4. Drawing on artefacts culled from various corners of the globe, and threaded with heavy grooves at the borders of spiritual jazz, prog, and funk, every track feels as fresh today as the day it was laid to tape.

Newly unearthed, never before issued jazz funk hailing from Columbus, Ohio, recorded in 1982 by the short-lived project, Seeds of Fulfillment, Live from Studio 1 drowns the ear in the deep grooves, hair raising tonal interplay, and complex polyrhythms rising from African American communities at the dawn of the 80s.

In response to the arguably self-righteous pronouncements made in the 1990s as to what jazz is and isn’t, Julius Hemphill (1938–1995) spoke up as he had done throughout his career. “Well, you often hear people nowadays talking about the tradition, tradition, tradition. But they have tunnel vision in this tradition. Because tradition in African-American music is wide as all outdoors.” This collection of music, this celebration of artistic collaborations that engaged Julius Hemphill throughout his…

* 2xLP on black vinyl, pressed at RTI and housed in a heavy-duty tip-on gatefold Stoughton jacket. * In the late 1960s, the American trumpet player and free jazz pioneer Don Cherry (1936–1995) and the Swedish visual artist and designer Moki Cherry (1943–2009) began a collaboration that imagined an alternative space for creative music, most succinctly expressed in Moki’s aphorism “the stage is home and home is a stage.” By 1972, they had given name to a concept that united Don’s music, Moki’s art…

* LP on black vinyl, pressed at RTI and housed in a heavy-duty tip-on Stoughton jacket, with insert. * In 1968, Don Cherry had already established himself as one of the leading voices of the avant-garde. Having pioneered free jazz as a member of Ornette Coleman’s classic quartet, and with a high profile collaboration with John Coltrane under his belt, the globetrotting jazz trumpeter settled in Sweden with his partner Moki and her daughter Neneh. There, he assembled a group of Swedish musicians …

* Restocked, reduced price. Last copies * "Soundmagnificat“ is the successor to "Soundnitia“ (GorBra Records F 665 532), the first release from the Talismen, an international group with Jamaican Tenor saxophonist Fitz Gore (born1935) as founder, spiritual and musical leader, main soloist. "Soundnitia“ contained concert performances of June, 1975, including compositions by John Coltrane, Horace Silver and one by Gérard "Prof. Dr. Splüm“ Ebbo, bassist of the Talismen. This second offering from the…

Symphonic Jazz at its finest and a rare musical find from post-war Berlin. Unknown performances of the orchestra under the direction of Werner Müller, recorded September 1961 at the studio of Hochschule für Musik. Excellent crossover of Westcoast, Hard Bop, Modern Classical and Blues. Most of the tracks composed for the occasion, such as “Jazz Suite” (Robert Farnon), “Jazzific 59/16” (Julien Francois Zbinden) or “Jazz Mutations” (Helmut Brandt). They open up an exciting new chapter of Progressiv…

Symphonic Jazz at its finest and a rare musical find from post-war Berlin. Unknown performances of the orchestra under the direction of Werner Müller, recorded April 1960 and September 1961. Excellent crossover of Westcoast, Hard Bop, Modern Classical, and Blues. Most of the tracks composed exclusively for the occasion, such as “Blues In Studio 7” (Helmut Brandt), “Ouverture in Jazz” (Klaus Wüsthoff) and “Feuilleton in Jazz” (Peter Sandloff). Another exciting new chapter of Progressive Jazz in G…

A compilation of lost tracks by the Zurich based Sextet “Jazz Community”. One of the most important Post-Bop and Modal Jazz bands from Europe, that featured the exceptional brass section of Hans Kennel (tp, flh), Paul Haag (tb) and Heiner Althaus (ts). Their most celebrated tracks from the rare LP’s "Jazz Community" and "Il Topo" are on one album. All recordings produced in 1979 at the studio of Bruno Spoerri and in 1983 in concert at The Club in Rubigen, Bern. Lovingly restored and remastered i…

Originally recorded and released in 1980, "Six of One" beautifully captures the detail in Evan Parker's high frequency split tones for which he is now perhaps better known. Five years on from "Saxophone Solos" and with circular breathing and polyphonics well worn into his live performances, Parker's experimentations here produce sustained passages of brilliant flight. Set into the echoes and resonances of a St Judes On The Hill church, the results are stunning.   "The recital commences with a sp…

Reissue Evan Parker's first solo LP Saxophone Solos. Recorded by Martin Davidson in 1975 at the Unity Theatre in London, at that time the preferred concert venue of the Musicians' Co-operative, Parker's densely woven and often cyclical style has yet to form; instead throaty murmurs appear under rough-hewn whistles and calls -- the wildly energetic beginnings of an extraordinary career. Reissued with liner notes from Seymour Wright in an edition of 500. "The four pieces across the two sides of Sa…

Milestone reissue, one of the greatest singular sonic gestures of the 20th century.. Soprano saxophone solos recorded in 1986 in St. Paul's Church, Oxford by the late Michael Gerzon. One of the final Incus releases and one that was written up in The Penguin Guide to Jazz as ‘an essential document of modern music’. Otoroku is proud to release the first ever vinyl re-issue of Evan Parker’s legendary recording The Snake Decides. Featuring 4  solos recorded in 1986 in St. Paul's Church, Oxford by th…

Instant Composers Pool presents East Of The Sun, a series of live sessions performed ICP Orchestra. Recorded March 18th, 19th, 20th 2014 by Kasper Frenkel, Electric Monkey Studio, Amsterdam. Mastered by Frank van der Weij. Artwork by Han Bennink. Photographs by Francesca Patella. Graphic design by Piet Gerards Ontwerpers. Thanks to: Cherry Duyns, Emma Fischer, Huub van Riel. Michael Moore clarinet, alto sax; Ab Baars clarinet tenor sax; Tobias Delius clarinet tenor sax; Wolter Wierbos trombone; …