Jazz /
Friedrich Gulda, Ursula Anders, Barre Phillips, John Surman, Cecil Taylor, Stu Martin, Albert Mangelsdorff
Nachricht Vom LandeFriedrich Gulda (16 May 1930 – 27 January 2000) was an Austrian pianist, composer and musical crossover artist. Coming from a classical background, he began playing the piano at the age of seven. At the age of 12, he began his musical education with Bruno Seidlhofer (piano) and Joseph Marx (music theory and composition) at the Vienna Academy of Music, now the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. At the age of 16, he won the Geneva International Music Competition and quickly rose to…
AngelicA 93
1994 release ** Audience, All Dax Band, Han Bennink, Steve Beresford, Lindsay Cooper, Tom Cora, Dietmar Diesner, ensemble Eva Kant, Fred Frith, Gianni Gebbia, Lars Hollmer, Catherine Jauniaux, Peter Kowald, Ikue Mori, Butch Morris, Hans Reichel, Riciclo delle Quinte, Wolter Wierbos.
Our Thing To In ’N Out
Joe Henderson Our Thing To In ’N Out Revisited notes: The Blue Note label in the early and mid 1960s was a haven for musicians engaged in the process of expanding the jazz vocabulary with unconventional harmonic strategies and new compositional infrastructures that elicited equally exploratory improvisational responses. And it was an ongoing process, benefiting from the sporadic, albeit calculated, interaction of different perspectives and methods of creative inspiration. Established or working g…
Die Unwucht
Big Tip! As poets from Shakespeare to Heine have recognised, “the forest” is not just about grandeur and most expansive of gestures; it is also about intimacy and there is a remarkable intimacy to Christopher Kunz’s and Florian Fischer’s music. The forest is both inhuman, wild, and, because it houses us and to a degree depends on us, profoundly humane. You’ll find these qualities here as well. Focus, breathe and listen. (Brian Morton)
In The Shadow
Joe Maneri’s last Microtonal recordings from the year 2002. These are not typically arranged songs, but asymmetrical, asynchronous constructs that develop from simultaneous, complimentary but peripheral gestures of the mind and heart. The harmonic contrasts that result from Joe Maneri’s breathy microtones; the fixed pitches, inclining towards atonality, of Tyson Rogers’ piano; and Jacob Braverman’s ambiguously scored percussion color their contrapuntal angles and parallel lines. Layers of energy…
Live
1991 release ** "Jon Rose, Peter Hollinger, Johannes Bauer & Dietmar Diesner live in Victoriaville in 1990."
Tales Of A Voice
1991 release ** "The singer's vocal style is characterized by an enormous vocal range and a particularly accentuated use of the voice as an instrument (cf. Scat or Bop vocals). The constant change of intonations and phrasing as well as different timbres, the mixture of cantilènes and squeaking or cooing noises with overtone singing creates a confusingly diverse sound world of strong tension, which always comes into its own not only in solo performances, but also in ensemble playing, without domi…
No Train
1998 release ** "This is a change of pace for West Coast musician Steuart Leibig, who is joined here by saxophonist Vinny Golia and drummer Billy Mintz for a mix of Leibig compositions and thoroughly improvised numbers. Leibig leaves his violin at home, instead focusing on contrabass guitars, while Golia muscles his way on baritone and soprano saxophones. The composed pieces are loose constructs; a different course from the leader's earlier penchant for densely layered colors. If the disc has a …
Procession Of The Great Ancestry
1989 release (RARE) ** "Recorded in 1983 in Nessa's Acme studio in Chicago, Procession of the Great Ancestry is among Wadada Leo Smith's most obscure, but ultimately most satisfying, recordings. Featuring Kahil El'Zabar, Louis Myers, Joe Fonda, John Powell, Mchaka Uba, and Bobby Naughton, this was the first album to showcase Smith's expansive vision, which included all forms of black music -- from the myriad languages of jazz to gutbucket blues, reggae, and various African folk musics as well as…
This Is Our Lunch
1996 release ** "The recording debut of Affinity finds the quartet (Joe Rosenberg on soprano, tenor saxophonist Rob Sudduth, bassist Michael Silverman and drummer Bobby Lurie) exploring nine Rosenberg originals and Eric Dolphy's "Hat & Beard." The music is essentially free bop, with strong solos from the two saxophonists, alert interplay from Silverman and Lurie, and an attractive group sound. This music rewards repeated listenings and acts as a strong beginning to this important if underrated b…
Dorgon Y Su Grupo
2025 stock ** "Released not recently for the underground 'Jumbo' Dorgon y su grupo will make us discover and feel no longer a solitary and difficult Dorgon or immersed in impromptu and meticulous 'two-up' experiences. Accompanied and supported for the occasion by Curtis Hasselber (guitar and trombone), Ted Reichman (accordion), his partner Laura Cromwell (drums) and Matt Moran (vibes), this phantasmagoric figure of 'metropolitan minstrel' will confirm his multifaceted soul and desire to push him…
Sustain
2002 release ** "It is difficult to think of this as anything but pure joy, although in some ways it is less intense than other releases led by the remarkable violist Mat Maneri and it is stamped with a cerebral quality from the start. There is a surprisingly charming density, too, that comes through on most tracks, though as with most of his work, there are few if any melodic references but instead a focus on color and sound. Maneri carefully paces himself and the quintet so that every note cou…
Kouartéto
"We recorded this CD in May 2023 on the magical Greek island of Hydra in the Old Carpet Factory Studio. The title Kouartéto emanates from the cover image by the artist William Pownall who in the true spirit of Hydra has for many years been an important focus for visitors seeking original artistic creations. And so, in this spirit. The music on this CD reflects a multifaceted response to a multicultural and open understanding of how artists can work together.
Every project involving these four cr…
A Sea of Faces
2025 stock ** Recorded in Milan (Italy) and originally released in 1975, Sea of Faces stands as one of Archie Shepp's strongest recordings of the Seventies. A highly varied program, covering Shepp's entire spectrum and performed by an all-star line-up featuring Archie Shepp - tenor & soprano sax, piano, vocals, Charles Greenlee - trombone, tambourine, vocals, Dave Burrell - piano, Cameron Brown - bass, Beaver Harris - drums, tambourine, vocals, Rafi Taha - vocals, Bunny Foy - vocals, maracas, pe…
Sidereus Nuncius – The Starry Messenger
*2025 stock* "It was at Ramón’s suggestion that we record as a duo in the downtime of another studio session, and perhaps it was his constellation of drums and cymbals that prompted the thought of a metaphorical planetary system. So Sidereus Nuncius - The Starry Messenger the title of Galileo Galilei’s short astronomical treatise published in early 1610, did not necessarily stretch the imagination unduly – there it was in front of me!
Galilei’s telescopic observations of the moon and other celes…
So It Goes...
*2025 stock* "Barry Guy and I first met and played together in a version of the Spontaneous Music Ensemble in the days of the legendary Little Theatre Club. The late John Stevens, visionary prophet of the coming music was the key figure at the centre of things who brought us together. “So it goes“ – John often used this figure of speech.
I was reminded of this when I was looking through Samuel Beckett’s Collected Letters, hoping to glean some titles, knowing that Barry would be happy with a Beck…
Syllogistic Moments
*2025 stock* "Peter Evans and I have occasionally met in larger ensembles for special projects. This particular concert in Uster (Switzerland) within the PAM festival on 18. November 2016, allowed us to delve into the minutiae of duo performance where intense listening and decoding of intentions kept our minds and bodies in high alert. This occasion had us playing somewhat athletically, pushing and pulling ideas around, and to be honest, we both felt exhausted after the concert but also exhilara…
A Moment's Liberty
*2025 stock* Free jazz trio made up of leading improvisers pianist Agusti Fernandez, bassist Barry Guy and drummer/percussionist Ramon Lopez, recorded live in Cologne in 2013. Agusti Fernandez gives some insight into the music, “I believe that the essential thing for us is our shared desire to create an extraordinary, unexpected and unusual moment through music. A moment that cannot, perhaps, be described in words, but which can be perceived perfectly, as one of those fantastic occasions when mu…
Fish That Sparkling Bubble
2025 stock Fish That Sparkling Bubble is a collaborative studio album by Borbetomagus and Voice Crack, released in 1988 by Agaric Records.