Jazz /
Antibes '75
Two days after recording the first album ever issued on the Black Saint label, Billy Harper and his quintet were onstage at the Antibes Juan-Les-Pins jazz festival. Though Black Saint is a phenomenal album and is rightfully considered as one of the finest jazz releases of the period, Antibes ’75 shows that Billy and his men gathered momentum to push the boundaries of their studio effort even further. That night, surrounded by stars, pine woods and a captivated audience, the quintet delivered a …
Free Form Suite
Temporary super offer! Masayuki 'Jojo' Takayanagi (1932 - 1991) was a Japanese jazz / free improvisational musician. He was active in the Japanese jazz scene from the late 1950s. He was one of the earliest noise guitar improvisers, and the first (with Keith Rowe) to use the table-top guitar.
Greek Variations & Other Aegean Exercises
Recorded in '69, Greek Variations & Other Aegean Exercises is irresistible on two counts. First, for its daringly conceived and brilliantly performed music, inspired by Greek folk songs and instrumental textures and deep enough to reveal all its treasures only after many repeated listenings. Second, for being recorded at the moment when the Don Rendell/Ian Carr Quintet, a major force in British straight-ahead jazz since '62, had broken up and Carr's equally influential jazz-rock band Nucleus was…
Cassiopeia
"Ville Vannemaa Cassiopeia is an exciting quintet project led by reed player Ville Vannemaa, a key player in UMO Jazz Orchestra and known for his engagement in several other Finnish jazz constellations. With him on this date is vibraphonist Panu Savolainen, Kasperi Sarikoski on trombone, Heikko Remmel on bass and Jaska Lukkarinen on drums. Six sublime songs penned by Ville himself, plenty of detail and swinging from joy to melancholy in a melodic sense aimed for repeated listening. Future classi…
Now Jazz Ramwong
2024 Repress. Eastern-infused outstanding album by German trombonist Albert Mangelsdorff – recording here in 1964, but sounding years ahead of his time, with an amazing a blend of jazz and Asian styles! The album's one of Mangelsdorff's best ever – a set of rhythmic tunes that seem clearly informed by the work of Ornette and Joe Harriott, but also based along eastern themes picked up by the group on a tour of the Orient – and performed by a sharp-edged quintet that includes Heinz Sauer on tenor …
Yogi Jazz
Temporary Offer. 2024 Repress. After the excellent New Jazz Ramwong (TB6171), Tiger Bay is back with another almost overlooked gem from the German jazz scene of the 60s. Joki Freund, the composer and multi-instrumentalist is one of its most dazzling figures and Yogi Jazz is without a doubt his masterpiece.The influence of John and Alice Coltrane is clear throughout the album and the sextet, for which he gathered together a group of young European musicians who later would achieve great notoriety…
Tension
This rare 1963 recording showcases the incredible early work of German trombonist Albert Mangelsdorff and his quintet. Featuring Heinz Sauer on tenor saxophone, Gunter Kronberg on alto saxophone, Gunter Lenz on bass, and Ralf Hubner on drums, the ensemble creates a groundbreaking modernist groove comparable to the innovations of Ornette Coleman and Joe Harriott. The absence of piano and the three-horn frontline contribute to a bracing and powerful sound, striking a dynamic balance between freedo…
A Part
*Limited Edition* Embark on a captivating collaboration between Japanese trumpeter Terumasa Hino and avant-garde bassist Reggie Workman. This partnership, from the early 70s, marked a spiritual awakening in Hino's music. The tracks, expansive and expressive, feature a primarily Japanese ensemble, showcasing a departure from Hino's earlier hardbop recordings.
Matrix
Esteemed pianist Masabumi Kikuchi enjoyed a long and illustrious career in jazz that encompassed many forms. After playing in Lionel Hampton’s Japanese touring band, he played on five Sadao Watanabe albums in mid-1960s and backed Sonny Rollins before studying at the Berklee College of Music. Matrix was the first of five albums recorded with his Sextet and is rightly rated one of the greatest of his entire career, the album mixing well-executed covers of songs by Chick Corea, Miles Davis, Watanab…
Flying To The Sky
*2023 stock* Collaboration between Japanese pianist Takehiro Honda and German saxophonist Gerd Dudek. Recorded March 1, 1971
Farewell My Johnny
*2023 stock* The first album by the Teru Sakamoto Trio, whose beautifully lyrical piano music has enjoyed exceptionally long sales. This is a new standard work of Japanese jazz that is highly acclaimed even overseas.
Evolution
*2024 stock* "This release Shintaro Quintet’s private press release ‘Evolution’. It’s another well-chosen release that comes with superb packaging, high sound quality and some interesting sleeve notes which give a fascinating in-depth insight into the music and the musicians in Japan within the specified time period.
Recorded in New York, the one-off recording by bassist Shintaro Nakamura and his quintet features the brilliant trumpeter Shunzo Ohno, who has played on many of the quintessential J…
Topology
*Limited Edition* Harold Land shines in this fantastic, rare Japanese album, possibly surpassing his '70s work. Pianist Makoto Tarashita leads with a strong, spiritual, and modal style, setting Land free on vibrant, imaginative solos. The ensemble, including bassist Yasushi Yoneki, drummer Mike Reznikoff, and percussionist Takayuki Koizumi, adds an organic and rhythmic richness.
Solo
*Limited Edition* Pianist Kunihiko Sugano unveils a collection of solo pieces, featuring shorter tracks than his trio albums of the time but brimming with emotion. Sugano's gentle and expansive piano touch, reminiscent of Bill Evans, is complemented by a unique phrasing that suggests an approach to the acoustic instrument akin to an electric one. The notes unfold with a measured attack and a lingering sustain. Sugano's distinctive style shines here offering a beautiful and individual musical jou…
Good Nature
*Limited Edition* Koichi Matsukaze is a versatile saxophone/flute player active in the Life Improvement Committee and Takeo Moriyama's group, fully demonstrates his unique flavor on this, his third leader album, including the sharp and fast "Under Construction" an understated mix of modern moments and lyrical touches, done with some especially nice vibes from Hiroshi Hatsuyama! The group's just a quartet with bass and drums, so there's lots of interplay between Matsukaze and Hatsuyama the vibes …
Enzo Randisi
Tip! This is the lost pearl, this is the most secret album coming from the ancient land of Sicily, the oyster island of the Mediterranean sea, on the borders of Italy. No Holy Grails here, we are not at the crusades, but in the presence of one of the busiest ensembles on the Italian scene during the 70s and 80s of the last century, devoted to only one creed: To Play!
Enzo Randisi and his son Riccardo, take us into a world of visionary spiritual jazz atmospheres on the track "Windows", an opening…
Live
"Onkiniemi Ateljee is a cultural space established in a disused knitting factory in 2020, at a time when the Covid pandemic had been raging for roughly half a year. Globally, countermeasures to the disease and the threat it posed were varied, but the effects were universal. Communal rituals, such as live music gatherings, became rarer or changed in nature. The most you could do was put a record on while boiling masks in the evenings. Every now and then I’ve heard people speak of experimental or …
Summit
*250 copies limited edition* Mu Quintet are a Leeds-based instrumental jazz outfit drawing inspiration from movements within the musical avant-garde. With a sound characterised by rich compositions, explosive improvisation and intricate melodies, they aim to push at the boundaries of the small ensemble.
Joel Stedman - Bass Clarinet & FluteHugh Vincent - PianoSimon Henry - DrumsElliot Roffe - Double BassMatt Cliffe - Tenor Saxophone & Flute
Psychicemotus
Psychicemotus was released in 1965 and features Yusef Lateef on various flutes and tenor saxophone, Georges Arvanitas on piano, bassist Reggie Workman, and drummer James Black. And while the Coltrane era of modal and free jazz was in full swing, Lateef always followed his own muse, and continued looking forward while looking back to ancient musics. His use of bamboo and Chinese wood flutes on the title track and "Bamboo Flute Blues" added not only dimension and texture, but rhythmic invention to…
Bill Evans Duos With Jim Hall & Trios ‘64 & ‘65 (Revisited)
"The emerging credo of western society’s post-Beat counterculture was egalitarian and
anti-hierarchical, be the hierarchy social, political or on the bandstand. Evans and Ayler shared
the belief; only their lexicons were different. If hearing Spiritual Unity was akin, as Ted Joans
wrote, to someone shouting “Fuck!” in St. Patrick’s" – Chris May