Jazz & Improvisation / Modal

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…

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.

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.

2025 Repress. In the pantheon of jazz "holy grails," few albums combine rarity and excellence like this one. Recorded in 1965, this session represents a forceful reminder of the limitations of the "great names" approach to jazz history, capturing Sahib Shihab (Edmund Gregory) at the height of his creative powers with Denmark's finest musicians. Shihab played with many of jazz's finest. Shortly after he became one of the first jazz players to change their names due to an Islamic conversion, he jo…

One of the most politically charged terms of the 20th century, the Iron Curtain was a metaphor for political and cultural division. In a post-war telegram Winston Churchill referred to the fault line that ran through Europe between East and West as "an Iron Curtain is drawn down upon their front. We do not know what is going on behind". In this two-part album, as far as jazz is concerned, we will showcase, describe and celebrate exactly what was 'going on behind'. We see that music is the power …

New Zealand’s jazz luminaries have assembled to form an all-star cluster: The Circling Sun.

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.

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…

* 2025 stock * "There is no jazz in Korea" Music critic Choi Kyung-sik's liner note for the 1974 record by Shin Joong-hyun and the Yup Juns starts off with this stark statement. Though it may have been a rhetorical device to emphasize the birth of an album embodying Korean rock, the statement itself holds nevertheless when one considers that Korean jazz has never enjoyed a place of its own - not in the 8th Army scene nor the civilian general scene. As is usually the case in other countries, jazz…

Legendary 1966 collaboration with Claus Ogerman and 48-piece orchestra represents peak of jazz sophistication

*2025 stock*  Kim Oki is a South Korean saxophonist, and former breakdancer. He debuted in 2013 with his studio album Cherubim's Wrath (천사의 분노), and has since released numerous projects and albums. He collaborated with various artists including Park Jiha, Lowdown 30, Hippy Was Gipsy, Say Sue Me, and Bek Hyunjin. He won the Musician of the Year at the 2020 Korean Music Awards. He was also active under the stage names of Kim Oki Oriental Youth (김오키 동양청년), Kim Oki Fucking Madness (김오키뻐킹매드니스), and K…

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 …

In 1975, the lead album "Fragment" by the acclaimed UK jazz pianist John Taylor, which was previously only released on cassette tape and hailed as a gem of UK jazz, is now being remastered and released for the first time on 2LP

Milestones is an album that needs no introduction. Often overshadowed by its younger sibling Kind of Blue in the rankings of greatest jazz records, it nonetheless holds a pivotal place in the history of modern jazz. Critics and devoted listeners alike recognize its importance: an early – and outstanding – example of modal jazz, recorded by Miles Davis’ so-called “first great quintet” (actually sextet, this time), featuring legends like John Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers, Philly Joe Jones,…

2025 stock The reissue of Rolf & Joachim Kühn Quartet’s "Re-Union In Berlin" on b.free is a welcome resurrection of a historic German jazz masterpiece. This album, first recorded in 1965, captures the Kühn brothers at a creative peak, blending modal jazz with free improvisation in ways that still sound fresh and daring today. "Re-Union In Berlin" showcases Rolf Kühn’s virtuosic clarinet lines and Joachim Kühn’s exploratory piano, supported by Klaus Koch on bass and Reinhard Schwartz on drums. Ea…

Heralded as one of the defining moments in British modern jazz, the Don Rendell Quintet’s 1972 recording Space Walk returns to the spotlight, reaffirming its place as a stunning document of both bold creativity and refined craftsmanship. Saxophonist Don Rendell, already celebrated for his collaborations with Ian Carr in the groundbreaking Rendell/Carr Quintet, took a daring step forward with this album. *Space Walk* captures a group at a creative peak, fusing modal explorations, post-bop energy,…

One of the wonderfully creative 70s sets from Japanese stringman Isao Suzuki – an artist who also plays bass, but who works here on jazz cello – for a very unusual approach! The set has Suzuki's work on the light strings matched in a combo with lead guitar from Kazumi Watanabe – who's nicely restrained here, and falls in with Isao's strings at a level that's quite different than his own material of the time. Watanabe's lead is augmented by further rhythm guitar work by Kazumasa Akiyama, and the …

** 2021 Stock ** The Blue Note record label needs little introduction. Musically, graphically and sonically iconic, the label created and defined the golden age of modern jazz on record. Founded in 1939 by German émigré Alfred Lion, the label's roster of artists is a litany of giants - Thelonious Monk, Sonny Rollins, Horace Silver, Lee Morgan, Art Blakey, Lee Morgan, Herbie Hancock, and many more. With peerless musicians in the grooves, the legendary Rudy Van Gelder behind the boards, and graphi…

In Jazzman Records' latest chapter of Spiritual Jazz, the label returns to the source -- the Impulse! label, and the monumental influence of its most prominent artist, John Coltrane. Since the first release in the series back in 2008, Jazzman Records has mapped out the growth of the spiritual sound in jazz. Spiritually energized and politically conscious, the spiritual sound in jazz music is one of the most important currents in the music. The label's series has charted the growth of the style f…

Orbits, the sophomore LP from The Circling Sun, channels the cosmic energy of '70s spiritual jazz, filtered through synths, layered percussion, and ethereal choirs. The Aotearoa collective expand their sonic universe with nods to Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Azymuth, and ambient jazz — offering deep listening for jazz heads and newcomers alike.

Impulse! Records is proud to announce the release of “The John Coltrane Quartet Plays,” an evocative and boundary-pushing album from one of jazz’s most celebrated ensembles. Recorded in 1965, just months after the landmark “A Love Supreme,” this album captures John Coltrane and his legendary quartet—McCoy Tyner (piano), Jimmy Garrison (bass), and Elvin Jones (drums)—at a time of creative transformation and exhilarating intensity. Featuring four powerful tracks that stretch the limits of post-bop…

Blue Note Records proudly presents the reissue of Wayne Shorter’s legendary album, The Soothsayer—a vital chapter in the evolution of modern jazz and a showcase of Shorter’s compositional brilliance. Though recorded on March 4, 1965, at the iconic Van Gelder Studio, this remarkable session was not released until 1979, transforming it into one of jazz’s most revered hidden gems. Upon its eventual release, critics hailed The Soothsayer as “hard-driving and as edgy as the time at which it was made,…

After his six years with the seminal John Coltrane Quartet, the master drummer Elvin Jones signed with Blue Note in 1968 and began building his own career as a bandleader. His first two albums for the label were spare trio outings—Puttin’ It Together and The Ultimate—both featuring saxophonist Joe Farrell and bassist Jimmy Garrison. For his next album—1969’s unfettered post-bop exploration Poly-Currents—Jones expanded his ensemble with additional woodwinds and percussion while still maintaining …

Temporary offer *Limited black & orange marbled colored vinyl.* A Love Supreme is a suite about redemption, a work of pure spirit and song, that encapsulates all the struggles and aspirations of the 1960s. Following hard on the heels of the lyrical, swinging Crescent, A Love Supreme heralded Coltrane's search for spiritual and musical freedom, as expressed through polyrhythms, modalities, and purely vertical forms that seemed strange to some jazz purists, but which captivated more adventurous li…

*Limited Edition* Trumpeter Terumasa Hino at a level that's quite different than most of his early work in Japan recording in New York, and using a very spiritual approach one that's clearly influenced by some of the other players in the session! The album features one long track a bit improvised, and almost free at times but also given a strong sense of direction, too that balance between completely unbridled expression and structure that can make some of the best spiritual jazz sessions so gre…

Japan import. Recorded on 29 September and 1 October, 1970 at TSC Japan. Comes in gatefold LP. Reissued for the first time. Reissued for the first time. Rare and rich contents from 1970s Japanese jazz which is now gathering global attention, originally released on Terumasa Hino's private label Love Records and distributed by a Japanese major label. Representing "Ode To Workman" from J Jazz : Deep Modern Jazz From Japan 1969-1984 released on BBE, in his session with local NY musicians, Peace And …

*2024 stock* Muriel Grossmann's album from 2016 "Natural Time" released for the first time on a black 2LP with a thick old style tip-on gatefold outer sleeve on her own imprint Dreamlandrecords and distributed by RR Gems. This record marked a beginning for her in terms of direction and it includes a bonus composition "Inner Fire '' recorded especially for the vinyl release. Available only in a physical format. "As we began this task, we realised that we would need another song to fit in with the…

Symbole is very proud introducing “Women” by Kat-Tet, a unique musical gem straight from Guadeloupe, 1985. This rare album indeed re-issued is a masterpiece made by the brilliant pianist Patrick Jean-Marie where every note is an epic journey through his genius way of composing and playing. It was a true opportunity for Patrick Jean-Marie and his band to showcase their talents, recorded under professional conditions, resulting in a sound of exceptional quality. The meticulous attention to orchest…

Org Music releases Sahib’s Jazz Party by legendary saxophonist Sahib Shihab. This classic album showcases his vibrant, innovative jazz, preserving his legacy for fans and collectors.

Temporary Super Offer! "This Revisited disc chronicles the trio in transition. Formed in autumn 1959, the group recorded its debut album in December. Following a coast-to-coast tour, it opened at Birdland in March 1960, when the first five tracks here were recorded on two separate dates. Already cooking, by the time of the April and May recordings the trio was touching on the interactive magic heard on ezz-thetics’ At The Village."  – Chis May

'Mention of Motian and LaFaro brings us to this disc, perhaps belatedly. But other  than observing that the music is presented here following immaculate and unprecedented  sound restoration, what more needs to be said about it? What more, usefully, can be said? The performances are as close to perfection as makes no difference, and as close to  immortality, too, and if you are still reading thesenotes, you will not need to be told why.' – Chris May Executive producer’s notes: 'Once you start to …

Temporary Super Offer! Thelonious Monk devised a new theoretical basis for his compositional aesthetic, an unorthodox, deconstructed and reinvented pianistic approach that defined his music’s unique rhythmic and melodic parameters. The piano was the vehicle of expression for his compositional mindset. - Art Lange

Here is a chance to hear Miles Davis in something close to real time. Small matter that most collectors of hard bop will have these sides already and will be familiar with a particular running order. Perhaps those who have invested in the complete sessions will have a clearer sense of the continuity of these remarkable sessions, but that now familiar obsession with the burrs and snarf of the studio process may win out over musical appreciation. What happened at Van Gelder’s on October 26 1956 is…

Temporary Super Offer! 'The Miles Davis Quintet of early 1960 was an endangered, embattled entity. Davis and his frontline foil John Coltrane had been drifting apart stylistically and temperamentally for months. United in the embrace and exploration of modal devices on the trumpeter’s seminal Kind of Blue album released the previous summer, bandleader and sideman were increasingly at odds as to where to go next with the celebrated innovations.' - Derek Taylor

Temporary Super Offer! 'The studio side of Coltrane’s catalog has greater consistency in terms of caliber of aural presentation, but fewer occasions for extended improvisation and creation. This is particularly evident in an analysis of the recordings made of his Classic Quartet comprising pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison and drummer Elvin Jones. An ensemble that was a work in progress well before it was a finished cohort, Coltrane’s most fertile band was also best suited to the hot h…

Temporary Super Offer! On Ezz-thetics: Eric Dolphy alto saxophone, bass clarinet, Don Ellis trumpet, David Baker trombone, George Russell piano, Steve Swallow double bass & Joe Hunt drums. On The Stratus Seekers: Paul Plummer tenor saxophone , John Peirce alto saxophone, Don Ellis trumpet, David Baker trombone, George Russell piano,  Steve Swallow double bass & Joe Hunt drums. The six albums that George Russell recorded in just two years – starting with Sextet at the Five Spot in September 1960 …

Temporary Super Offer! 'Was there more than one Miles Davis? Could he be both the Prince of Darkness and the purveyor of cool? A drug addict and an athletic boxer? A hip bebopper and a protohippie? A flamboyant dresser and a shy vulnerable soul? A brutal misogynist and an insecure romantic? The answer is yes, and yes. Miles Davis was both a creator and a destroyer. His chameleon-like nature can be explained by the times in which he lived and created his art. These live recordings in Stockholm, S…

Temporary Super Offer! "These Half Note recordings from March 26 and May 7, 1965, two dates from an extended stay at the club, were captured as a radio broadcast. ezz-thetics has re-sequenced the music here to demonstrate Coltrane’s approach to incorporating all his inventions into a performance, while also mapping a future to his music." – Mark Corroto Producers note: "We have re-sequenced these tracks to allow the listener to become part of the development of the music and to follow J…

Temporary Super Offer! Despite persisting labeling of its music as avant-garde, The New York Contemporary Five played unthreatening contemporary jazz almost as often as it explored more daring materials. Two of Thelonious Monk’s loveliest melodies – “Monk’s Mood” and “Crepuscule with Nellie” – were embedded into their sets, aswell as three of Ornette Coleman’s more accessible, swinging vehicles, “O.C.,”“When Will the Blues Leave,” and “Emotions.” These pieces provided a perspectiveof contemporar…

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…