Jazz /
Gigs: Introducing Michael Garrick
Gigs: Introducing Michael Garrick catches Michael Garrick on the bandstand rather than in the chapel, a pianist still forming his voice through standards, ballads, and early originals. This live-feeling 2008 release frames him with a tight trio setting, revealing a restless, harmonically alert player already bending the jazz canon toward his own lyric intensity.
Yet Another Spring
On Yet Another Spring, Michael Garrick enlarges his sacred-jazz universe into a full-scale orchestral meditation on birth, loss, and renewal. Scored for the Michael Garrick Jazz Orchestra with recurring features for Norma Winstone, the 2006 suite moves from intimate prayer to blazing big-band catharsis, treating the life cycle as both liturgy and drama.
Inspirations
Inspirations finds Michael Garrick turning inward with his New Quartet, distilling a lifetime of big ideas into melodic, small-group conversation. Recorded in 2006, it honours John Coltrane’s legacy without mimicry, letting Garrick, Martin Hathaway, Paul Moylan, and Alan Jackson reimagine spiritual intensity as supple, lyrical post-bop.
Children of Time
On Children of Time, Michael Garrick stretches his sacred-jazz imagination into cosmic scale, writing for the Jazz Britannia Orchestra and reuniting with vocalist Norma Winstone to explore creation myths, Eucharistic ritual, and his own visionary texts. The result is a 2006 suite that feels like a liturgy drifting through deep space, turning theology into glowing, unsettled sound.
Jazz Praises at St. Paul's
With Jazz Praises at St. Paul's, Michael Garrick welds liturgical grandeur to jazz improvisation, conjuring an atmosphere as reverent as it is free. Featuring the Michael Garrick Sextet, John Marshall, and the St. Paul’s Cathedral Choir, this 2005 release radiates both spiritual inquiry and creative boldness, transcending boundary with every motif.
Big Band Harriott
Big Band Harriott finds Michael Garrick scaling Joe Harriott’s music up to a roaring jazz orchestra, preserving the original’s sharp lines and Caribbean-inflected bite while opening them into rich new voicings, long arcs of tension and release, and solos that underline just how modern this repertoire still feels.
Down Another Road
Down Another Road @ Stockholm Jazz Days '69 catches Graham Collier’s sextet in full flight, turning a cornerstone studio album into a raw, expansive live ritual where luminous themes, tough grooves and free-leaning episodes collide, sketching British jazz at the cusp of its most exploratory moment.
Seven for Lee / Green and Orange Night Park
On Seven for Lee / Green and Orange Night Park, Kevin Figes & You Are Here treat the 7-inch as a miniature universe, squaring up to Lee Konitz and Keith Tippett with wiry lyricism, nervy swing and a slightly spectral warmth that makes homage feel like the start of another story rather than the end of one.
Peace Chant Vol. 8 (More Private Jazz From Germany 1974-1986)
The term “private” is used quite liberally in the promotion of rare groove compilations these days. The team at Tramp Records tends to be rather defensive when it comes to such terms. Although, and this should not be misunderstood as arrogance, label boss Tobias Kirmayer & his crew have been doing nothing else for 22 years, strictly speaking. Every compilation series from the Upper Bavarian label, be it the “Movements,” “Feeling Nice,” “Praise Poems,” or “Can You Feel It” series, specializes in …
At The Montreux Jazz Festival
This live jazz album, recorded on June 15, 1968, at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, showcases the extraordinary artistry of Bill Evans on piano, accompanied by Eddie Gómez on bass and Jack DeJohnette on drums. Capturing the trio at a peak of creative interplay, the album presents a captivating blend of original compositions and classic standards.
The repertoire features Evans originals such as “One for Helen” and “Nardis”, alongside his masterful interpretations of timeless pieces lik…
Karel Velebny SHQ (PF 69)
In February, 1968, as the false Spring of hope was rising in occupied Czechoslovakia, ESP instructed Karl Velebny to record his group of improvisers during their upcoming tour of Germany. In April, 1968, the clandestine project was completed. Karel survived a terrible auto crash and sent photographs to ESP, which were utilized on the LP cover as a symbolic reference to the plight of the Czech people. A must for anyone interested in European jazz and the history of its relationship with the '60s …
The Fantastic Jazz Harp Of Dorothy Ashby
This is the sixth album by Dorothy Ashby, a Detroit born jazz harpist who passed away in her early 50s in 1986 way before her time. She left us a rich legacy of music with this 1965 release being one of her milestones. The music is pure bright and swinging with a joyful mood. Dorothy Ashby performs her lines big time with her harp and captures your soul with the melodies she picks from its strings. She is always there upfront while the brass section mostly fills the background with colour if the…
Late Autumn Sunshine
Late Autumn Sunshine by Michael Garrick, released by My Only Desire Records, gathers two rare BBC Maida Vale sessions from 1973 and 1978. With Norma Winstone’s ethereal voice and Henry Lowther’s lyrical trumpet, Garrick’s compositions glow with his characteristic blend of English pastoralism and modal jazz introspection - a rediscovery of autumnal warmth and luminous craft.
Breakthrough
On Breakthrough, Muriel Grossmann envelops her quartet in a vibrant exploration of spiritual jazz, interlacing tradition with fresh, forward momentum. The record distills Grossmann’s lyrical saxophone voice and trademark rhythmic interplay into a rich, organic sound, balancing meditative introspection and eruptive, soulful drive. Each composition furthers her pursuit of transcendence, unfolding as both a deeply personal statement and a communal celebration.
Skyways
Misha Panfilov Septet is an Estonian ensemble led by composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Misha Panfilov. Known for their evocative blend of psychedelic jazz, electronic lounge, and ambient exotica, the septet features a rich palette of timbres and improvisational interplay, distinctively shaped by Panfilov's lap steel guitar and space-conscious compositions. The group includes Artur Leppik (alto/baritone sax, percussion), Sasha Petrov (tenor sax, percussion), Ilja Gussarov (flute, perc…
Into Something
Originally recorded in 1961 and released on the New Jazz label, 'Into Something' showcases Yusef Lateef's innovative fusion of hard bop with Eastern musical influences. Accompanied by pianist Barry Harris, bassist Herman Wright, and drummer Elvin Jones, Lateef delivers a compelling set that balances lyrical standards with adventurous originals. This limited edition reissue includes two bonus tracks and is pressed on 180-gram vinyl, offering enhanced sound quality for audiophiles and jazz enthusi…
Eastern Sounds
2025 stock Originally released in 1962, jazz multi-instrumentalist Yusef Lateef’s “Eastern Sounds” fuses hard bop with middle eastern music as he is joined by Barry Harris on piano alongside Ernie Farrow (double bass, rabaab) and Lex Humphries (drums). This new edition of the album is released as part of the Original Jazz Classics Series and is pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI with all-analogue mastering from the original tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio and presented in a Tip-On Jacket.
Counterbalance
Heikki Sarmanto Quintet’s Counterbalance reissued on vinyl for the first time ever! The pioneer of Finnish Modern Jazz, Heikki Sarmanto together with his brother Pekka Sarmanto, Juhani Aaltonen, Lance Gunderson, and Craig Herndon released the album Counterbalance in 1971 under the name Heikki Sarmanto Quintet. Originally released on vinyl and later reissued on CD, Svart Records finally brings Counterbalance back on the market as it was originally intended, on wax.
Heikki Sarmanto studied music a…
Bill Evans Trio with Symphony Orchestra
Legendary 1966 collaboration with Claus Ogerman and 48-piece orchestra represents peak of jazz sophistication
The Eternal Now
Saxophonist, flautist, and composer Chip Wickham releases The Eternal Now, his most progressive recording to date and a heartfelt meditation on artistic practice and creative freedom. Co-produced with longtime collaborator Matthew Halsall, the album represents an expansive journey that pushes Wickham's sound into exciting new territories while maintaining the soulful grooves and heartfelt melodies that have defined his acclaimed catalog.
Chip Wickham casts a formidable shadow across the UK jazz …