Jazz & Improvisation / Free Jazz

1989 release ** "The Nichols program, recorded in 1984, was by a band with Sean Bergin (alto sax), Michael Moore (alto sax), Maurice Horsthuis (viola), Toon de Gouw (trumpet), Han Bennink (drums), Ernst Reijseger (cello), Paul Thermos (alto sax), Steve Lacy (soprano sax), Larry Fishkind (tuba), Misha Mengelberg (piano), Wolter Wierbos (trombone), and Garret List (trombone). The Monk program, from 1986, consisted of Ab Baars (soprano and tenor sax, clarinet), Michael Moore (alto sax and clarinet)…

1993 release ** "No matter how many albums David Murray issues, he never coasts or goes through the motions. This is mainly a quartet date, although Murray shows on the title track his ability to back a singer as Taana Running gives a moving vocal, complete with her original lyrics. Otherwise, these are either spirited uptempo numbers or equally energized ballads. Murray's sweeping tenor sound remains a marvel, and few can match him in controlling drive, pitch and volume. Drummer Rashied Ali has…

The heart sits and takes in all wakes of the universe. A blessing to discover sound and how it enters the body and is shared to all. I feel the sound wraps in and out of my heart and pours through the saxophone. Searching, discovering the Creator. I pray this music reaches into your heart, goes all the way to the deepest place and blossoms up the most beautiful gardens of joy and love, curiosity. I am forever grateful to meet souls such as Lex, Miguel, and Caroline. Through these recordings I po…

2013 release ** "“Two for Joyce – Live in Trieste”, a new cd from Long Song Records/Audioglobe is the successful account of their performance. 50 minutes of improvised music, a long track of music that shows the vast range of their abilities wonderfully. According to some, Tippett gives his best both alone and in a duo, which is not to diminish his excellent work to date in many ensembles. He is a profound and inventive pianist, austere and grandiose at the same time, as when there’s a waterfall…

Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre - tenor saxophone, clarinetMalachi Thompson - trumpetMilton Suggs - electric bassAlvin Fielder - drums Recorded July 12, 1975 at Studio Rivbea, 24 Bond Street, NYCRemastered by Arūnas Zujus at MAMAstudios, Vilnius, LithuaniaPhotos by Thierry TrombertCover art and design by Jeff DiPernaLiner notes by Ed Hazell

An extraordinary, previously unheard session by alto saxophonist Arthur Blythe originally recorded on July 6, 1976 in New York City, and performed in the expansive, unconfined environment of the loft jazz movement, delivering remarkable extended solos on alto saxophone. The minimalist ensemble comprises Juni Booth on bass, Steve Reid on drums, and Muhammad Abdullah on conga, devoid of piano or additional horns, allowing Blythe ample opportunity to showcase his improvisational skills. The initial…

1993 release ** "The leading New York avant jazz harpist has appeared on hundreds of free improvisation recordings in collaboration with artists such as Fred Frith, John Zorn, Elliott Sharp, Lee Ranaldo, and Ikue Mori, among many others. During the '80s and '90s, she pioneered the electric harp of her own design, an instrument which thrives on the rich tonalities of the traditional harp matched with the flexibility of an electric guitar. The instrument was so unique that it shaped and influenced…

2003 release **

Temporary Super Offer! "For the followers of Ornette Coleman’s music, 1963 and 1964 were the lost years. His final session for Atlantic Records, Ornette on Tenor, was in March 1961, and though he played sporadic club dates in ’62, his self-produced Town Hall concert in December was to be his last significant appearance until he accepted a Village Vanguard gig in January 1965. The reasons for this hiatus, apparently, were personal, economic, philosophical, pragmatic, and artistic, all at the same…

2007 release ** "Founded by Village Voice icon Greg Tate and co-led with Dayton Ohio monster bassist Jared Michael Nickerson since 1999, Burnt Sugar the Arkestra Chamber is a sprawling band of musicians whose prodigious personnel allows them to freely juggle a wide swath of the experimental soul-jazz-hip hop spectrum. Burnt Sugar was originally conceived as a forum for the New York area improvisational musician to compose, record and perform material which reflects the breadth and depth of Ameri…

How Many Clouds Can You See? is the second album by English saxophonist John Surman featuring  Alto Saxophone – Mike Osborne; Baritone Saxophone, Flute – John Warren; Baritone Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Bass Clarinet – John Surman; Bass – Barre Phillips, Harry Miller; Drums – Alan Jackson, Tony Oxley; Piano – John Taylor; Tenor Saxophone, Flute – Alan Skidmore; Trombone – Chris Pyne, Malcolm Griffiths; Trumpet – Dave Holdsworth; Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Harold Beckett; Tuba – George Smith. John …

1989 release ** "It is one of the finest of Zusaan Kali Fasteau's albums from a solo perspective, she contributes very characteristic cosmic tones on sanza, soprano, vocals, piano, ney, shakuhachi, kaval, mizmar and berimbau. She is most notably and effectively joined by the great Rashied Ali on drums, Bob Cunningham on contrabass, Elizabeth Panzer, harp, James C. Jamison, guitar, David Cornick, percussion, and Paul Leake on tabla. The group members come in and out as needed, with Kali being the…

Fall Into a Rabbit Hole of Delicious Sound with New Trio Album from Up-And-Coming Saxist Eric Shorter & 577 Records

A New Quartet Has Been Born from the Souls of Daniel Carter, Ayumi Ishito, George Draguns, and Ed Wilcox, and Their Debut Album Stands to Redefine Experimental Music Entirely

Brooklyn’s 577 Records is ecstatic to introduce you to a soaring trio making a name for itself in the global experimental community.  Their debut album, Siesta, delivers blissful, organized chaos bolstered by these artists' seemingly limitless imaginations.  Expect the unexpected.  Forged from a 2024 chance meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the Wallace, Vazquez, and von Schultz project came together as quickly as it did naturally.  Their “big bang” moment of origination occurred at the suggest…

Rising UK Trio Sveið Unleashes Human-AI Improv Collaboration That Will Blow Your Mind Wide Open

2024 stock. With her new album, I Went This Way, (due October 23, 2020), Rachel Musson debuts her own ambitious compositions, incorporating spoken word text and daring instrumental experimentation, alongside eight other accomplished musicians. The ensemble was built around the close working relationship between saxophonist Rachel Musson and drummer Mark Sanders. The music, a blend of compositions and improvisation designed to highlight all of the different musical voices in the ensemble, is susp…

2024 stock. That’s right, Carter plays piano on this date! It’s the first thing heard as this disc kicks immediately into definite but mature overdrive. It’s a blast to hear William Parker, bassist for Cecil Taylor’s much-lauded Feel Trio, free-walking under Carter’s percussive attacks, certainly indebted to Taylor but even more pointalistic. The case is made on “Zero Softly”, a spare minimalist musing where notes hang in the air like galaxies only to fade beneath Federico Ughi’s carpet of brush…

Federico Ughi Together with Leo Genovese and Brandon Lopez Explores the Spaceways in the New Multidimensional LP ‘Infinite Cosmos Calling You You You, Vol. 1’

2018 release ** “Towers of Silence features Malaysian master saxophonist Yong Yandsen and Singapore-based Australian drum virtuoso Darren Moore. Recorded at Tokyo's legendary GOK Sound studio in October 2017, Towers of Silence is a distillation of Yong and Moore's approach to acoustic improvisation. The amalgam of their sounds at times creates ghost tones where apparitions of unknown origins create rarefied space.”

2013 release ** "UK collection that focuses on Flying Dutchman Records, a Jazz label started by Bob Thiele. Liberation Music looks at the label's first five years, through it's Jazz and spoken word releases. This exciting and revolutionary label was launched in 1969 by producer Thiele, after he left the Impulse label where he produced John Coltrane. Featuring: Angela Davis, Gil Scott-Heron, Lonnie Liston Smith, The Esoteric Circle, Black And Blues, Louis Armstrong, Bob Thiele Emergency, Carl B S…

*2025 stock* This eclectic group features the legendary multi instrumentalist Daniel Carter as well as the scientist/pianist Matthew Putman, drum wizard and 577 Records co-founder Federico Ughi, together with the brilliant up-and-coming member of the New York downtown scene, Texas-born clarinet player Patrick Holmes plus veteran bassist Hilliard Greene, a mainstay of the avant-garde for the last 20 years.

Collaborations are unique to their combinations, producing totally original and innovative ideas with the addition of a single factor. In this case, legendary musicians and 577 mainstays join together in this unique arrangement for the first time, allowing for yet another reinvention. Saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist Daniel Carter, pianist Leo Genovese, bassist William Parker (also playing Gralla and Shakuhachi on this album), and drummer and vocalist Francisco Mela, unite for another impro…

Soul Of Africa stands as a cornerstone of the Afro-Parisian jazz scene of the 1970s and 1980s, uniting the expressive tenor sax of Hal Singer with the adventurous piano and arrangements of Jef Gilson. Recently reissued by Endless Happiness on 180g vinyl, this sought-after album brings back a key document in the fusion of African rhythms and Parisian jazz innovation. Recorded in Paris, the album features a stellar lineup: Jacky Samson (bass), Bernard Lubat (vibraphone, piano), and the “Malagasy R…

**2025 Stock. Very last copies** A Monumental 52 CD + 2DVD + photo-book box (Every box is numbered and unique because Han Bennink himself painted each copy by hand! ) to celebrate 45 years of Instant Composers Pool - and worldwide delivery is included! "Improvisation is like daily life... like crossing a street" - says Han Bennink. The ensemble of the Instant Composers Pool, or ICP, improvises for 45 years now on the highest level. "These guys can swing like madmen and then all of a sudden play…

2009 release ** "You like free jazz raw and hard and real and authentic? Well then here's a treat for you: Daniel Carter meets Randall Colbourne meets Paul Flaherty in a free-for-all blowing session."

2025 stock  A cinderblock-sculpting freakout session from Don Dietrich (Borbetomagus/The New Monuments) and Ben Hall (The New Monuments). Highly-touted by Aaron Dilloway, deep sea creatures, and your local tire dealership.

2025 stock Alan Silva's playing and live composition have been a highlight of the avant garde's living history for the past 35+ years. from his work with sun ra's arkestra, through extended relationships with Bill Dixon, Cecil Taylor, and Albert Ayler, on into the celestial communications orchestra and the frank wright center of the world band, silva has been one of the music's most consistently valuable thinkers. A child of alan silva's other-worldly strategies for double bass, William Parker i…

Limited edition compact disc of a previously unreleased recording made at a rare 1971 studio performance by a Karl Jenkins-led nine piece group of stellar musicians.   “At the time, I had taken Karl’s answer to mean that Penumbra II contained no material exclusive to it, possibly consisting of different arrangements of music previously recorded by Nucleus or recycled later in Soft Machine. At it turns out, I was both right and wrong: Penumbra II is previously unheard but does include some famili…

Music Is the Healing Force of the Universe is a powerful and often ignored 1970 recording from the American avant-garde jazz saxophonist, singer and composer Albert Ayler. Apart from the posthumous album The Last Album, this was to be Ayler's last studio album, recorded and released before his death in November 1970. The album was initially judged as too difficult by Down Beat, then recognized by the most as “an important portrait of a man facing a life and death inner struggle beyond the bounda…

Mats Gustaffson and the Fire! Orchestra return with an album recorded in the company of Jim O'Rourke entitled Echoes and to be released on 14 April 2023 by Rune Grammofon. For the 14th anniversary the Fire! Orchestra presents itself with a gigantic line-up of 43 elements. Within the big band we also find the confirmation of singer Mariam Wallentin, as well as the addition of the voices of David Sandström and Joe McPhee (also present as tenor sax). Echoes is a new chapter within the discography o…

2012 release ** CD packaged in A5 booklet. "Awesome Solar Ipse label debut recordings! “Season Two” is the second work of the duo Ninni Morgia – Marcello Magliocchi after the acclaimed “Sound Gates” (LP Ultramarine, 2011). The new album consists in 8 tracks of elegant improv-free jazz. It seems like a mix of Jimi Hendrix and Sonny Sharrock with the blinded lightness of Keiji Haino, all fused with the personal texture of the drums and the percussions which sound as an extension of human soul’s vi…

2005 release ** "Painter, guitarist, composer, and free author Steffen Basho-Junghans lives in Berlin and Thuringia, Germany. He has been highly influential on the eastern German guitar scene since the late '70s. Largely a self-taught artist and musician, his style is best categorized as eccentric and highly personal. Junghans uses steel-string acoustic guitars, combining archaic sounds with altered tunings and a plethora of divergent connections. Traditional European, American Indian, and Asian…

2004 release ** "If you dig just a little deeper into experimental acoustic guitar music, the name Steffen Basho-Junghans should come up. A German-born guitarist and performer, Basho-Junghans stands out amongst others with his unique guitar style. Implementing elements of American folk with Indian raga for a unique sound, he has created a strong catalog that spans nearly 15 years. On 7Books, Basho-Junghans goes all out with a double-disc collection of extended tracks, in the range of ten to fift…

Track 1 recorded May 21, 1976 at the Wildflowers festival Track 2 recorded June 20, 1974 Jimmy Lyons - alto saxophone Karen Borca - bassoon  Hayes Burnett - bass Henry Letcher - drums Syd Smart - drums

Recorded on 21st October, 2000 at Aoshima Hall, Shizuoka City, Japan Misha Mengelberg - pianoSabu Toyozumi - drums

"Colapesce” is an album that delves into the dark and mysterious depths of the Sicilian legend, reinterpreting it through a contemporary and experimental lens. Colapesce, the legendary man-fish who sacrifices himself to support Sicily, becomes a symbol of resilience, metamorphosis, and sacrifice. The album blends elements of free jazz, musique concrète, electronic music, and radical improvisation to evoke an underwater journey into the unknown, amidst sound waves and unfathomable abysses. This w…

When Michael Bisio heard Korean pianist Eunhye Jeong's ESP-Disk 2021 album NOLDA, he expressed interest in working with her. After a successful and riveting duo concert in Kingston, NY showed what a good match they were, ESP was eager to document their musical affinity. One of the concert attendees was avant-jazz sax icon Joe McPhee, who guested with the duo at their subsequent studio session along with one of ESP's favorite drummers, Jay Rosen. Magical moments abounded, as you can hear on this …

2009 release ** "Try to imagine Kevin Drumm and Bhob Rainey playing rock together, with a drummer that deviate their already deviant music playing something coming from the sixties. The aim is to make music “not playing” (barbarous music, quoting Cornelius Cardew), a torn body that spits blood, whose only movement is generated by spastic contractions due to injuries. Agaspastik represents the “step beyond” of A Spirale, that from electroacoustic destructuration of “Porosità” (cd-r) and “Gariga” …

2011 release (light storage wear) ** Limited edition of 150 copies. 'Carl Fredrik Reuterswrd is an artist known for his dadaistic works and Ulf Linde is not only an art professor, he was one of the leading Swedish jazzmen in the early 50s. Usually playing vibraharp. But together with Carl Fredrik on drums they played in small clubs for a while in the late 50s a kind of jazz that is free jazz before it was named that. It is an utterly rare example of free European jazz. Linde plays piano and Reut…