Jazz | Fusion 5562 Items

In the Felbm project, Dutch multi-instrumentalist Eelco Topper steps away from his previous synthesiser-laden sounds as Falco Benz, towards a much looser, simpler and sketch-like approach. Picking up a number of acoustic instruments, he began experimenting with a Tascam 4-track tape recorder and allowed these sketches to flourish.
The result is Tape 1 and Tape 2, a two-part project stretching across fifteen tracks - encompassing fluttering piano melodies, subtle jazz drums, rumba rhythms and soothing ambience. The jazz element links back to Topper’s childhood. “I grew up playing drums, switched to playing piano at sixteen and in the meantime I produced hip-hop beats,” he recalls. “I went to study jazz piano at the Utrecht Conservatory, which I finished with pain and effort… I was interested more in electronic and present-day music.”
This mix of being rooted in traditional jazz composition whilst searching for something more contemporary is the perfect encapsulation of these recordings. Tape 1’s jazz roots are palpable and as things move into Tape 2, it takes on a neo-classical, psychedelic soundscape and cinematic quality.

Percussionist Jamie Muir was a member of King Crimson during the recording of Larks’ Tongues In Aspic, in 1973. Staying less than a year with Robert Fripp, the Scot had already cut his teeth with another master guitarist, Derek Bailey, as part of the Music Improvisation Company, along with Evan Parker, Hugh Davies and Christine Jeffrey, whose eponymous 1970 album was one of the first releases on ECM. Muir and Bailey recorded Dart Drug eleven years later, in 1981.

There’s no shortage of great percussionists in the brief history of free improvised music but on the strength of Dart Drug alone Jamie Muir deserves a place at High Table. Unlike for example Han Bennink and John Stevens, though, you can’t hear echoes of any particular jazz drummer in Muir’s playing, even if he has expressed appreciation for Milford Graves (who himself sounded like nobody else who’d come before him).

What on earth did Muir’s kit consist of? Some instruments are clearly identifiable (bells, gongs, chimes, woodblocks); others could be… well, anything. Old suitcases thwacked with rolled up newspapers? Tin cans and hubcaps inside a washing machine? Who cares? It sounds terrific – but if you’re the kind of person who faints at the sound of nails scraping a blackboard, you might want to nip out and put the kettle on towards the end of the title track.

Dart Drug is consistently thrilling, and often very amusing – but it’s certainly not easy listening. In music we talk about playing with other musicians, whereas in sport you play against another opponent (or with your team against another team). Why not play against in music, too? That’s precisely what happens very often in improvised music, and Bailey was particularly good at it. How can a humble acoustic guitar hope to compete with a Muir in full flight? Sometimes Bailey’s content to sit on those open strings, teasing out yet another exquisite Webernian constellation of ringing harmonics and wait for the dust to settle in Muir’s junkyard, but elsewhere he sets off into uncharted territory himself.

“The way to discover the undiscovered in performing terms is to immediately reject all situations as you identify them (the cloud of unknowing) – which is to give music a future.” Bailey evidently concurred with this spoken statement by Muir, including it in his book Improvisation.

Derek Bailey is no longer with us, of course, and Muir gave up performing music back in 1989. All the more reason for seeking out this magnificent, wild album.

Hollywood Spritz is a soundtrack to a police television drama from the '70s that doesn't exist, including a Jazz Funk rework of the Charlie's Angels theme. Italian DJ, composer and producer Federica Grappasonni, aka Mistura Pura, looks to the 70’s Golden Age of Hollywood TV and the accompanying music for inspiration.

Combining Jazz, Funk and Latin elements with Afro percussion, Mediterranean harmonies, minimal electronic effects, Hip Hop and Nu Jazz beats, Mistura Pura focuses her sound on the "action" element from these ‘70s soundtracks: scenes depicting danger or tension but also making sure to round it out with moments of love and fun. The presence of percussion in all the tracks with Afro, Latin American as well as Middle-Eastern and Hawaiian polyrhythms round out the album’s edges giving it a languid feel. "Hollywood Spritz" with it’s abundant Latin vibes would be a perfect accompaniment to a police drama set in LA, New York, Miami or any major metropolis with a vibrant Latino community. Another important aspect contributing to this musical work comes from Federica’s extensive, decades-long experience as a DJ digging and spinning rare grooves from Be Bop, Funk, Soul and Bossa Nova. Her familiarity and connection with notable players in the scene gave her acces to record with a talented group of musicians such as pianist Jessica Lauren (Hollywood Spritz, LA Sound 1976, Nuevo Jungo) known for her work in the London Acid Jazz scene, Cuban multi-instrumentalist Lorenzo Patrix Duenas (Looking For The Angels, Intro - The Angels Connection, Charlie’s Angels Theme), Italian Jazz pianist Alessandro Gwis (Angels On A Cruise, Jill Is Dancing In The Dark), Mediterranean flutist Carlo Nicita, the king of the Latin rhythms Hector Barez from Puerto Rico, the cool trumpet of Josh Evans (Nuevo Jungo), volcanic percussion work from Gennaro Scarpato (High Tide At Waimanalo beach), Nu Jazz drums from Lorenzo Tucci (Angels On A cruise, Jill Is Dancing In The Dark (with milonga drums)), with the combination of Lorenzo Feliciati (Angels On A cruise) and Marco Siniscalco (Hollywood Spritz) on Jazz bass, oud musician Jean Pierre Smadj (The Arab Connection), and young Italian pianist Alberto Napolioni (Sunset at Venice beach) rounding out the cast.

Billy Cobham is one of the greatest jazz-fusion drummers from
the last decades. Shortly after he left the band Mahavishnu
Orchestra he released his debut solo album Spectrum. Influenced
by the music of Miles Davis he combines elements from the jazz
with rock and psychedelia. From the subtle parts to the more
aggressive moments, it’s an album in which Cobham shows his
identity to the public. The music quartet recorded some lengthy
pieces, out of which “Stratus” is the absolute masterpiece. The
funky grooves and effective guitar melodies blend together very
well and the jazz comes alive in the outstanding drum play by
Cobham. “Quadrant 4” is another great track in which the music
erupts and the synergy between the musicians can be felt.
As a member of the Mahavishnu Orchestra and in his
collaboration with Miles Davis, Billy Cobham earned recognition
for his impressive playstyle and live performance.

Reissued for the first time! Modal and Eastern Jazz by Spiritual Jazz Maestro Lloyd Miller, originally issued in a run of 500 copies in 1967. This reissue was overseen by Miller and pressed from new stampers made from the original metal parts. The album contains an extensive booklet detailing Miller’s story by Francis Goding and also includes a download Card for WAV files and video of late 60s performances as well as Miller’s autobiography ‘Sufi, Saint & Swinger’ included.

The 2018 full-length by the acclaimed Swiss post-rock orchestra. Recorded at Real World Studio in England, and once again produced by John Parish, the eight tracks are as beautiful as they are adventurous.

Recorded in 1974, at the Royal Hotel in Luton, with Braxton playing soprano and alto saxophones, and Bb and contrabass clarinets. Two volumes were planned; only one was issued, till now. This was one of the first transatlantic meetings between leading free improvisers. Many of Braxton’s signature techniques and ideas were gestated in such sessions. It still brims with inquisitive musical creativity and knockabout jazzbo allusiveness.

Gatefold 180g Includes Rare Or Exclusive Artwork Inside

A download code is included. New album 'Waiho' is BRZZVLL at its best: excellent psychedelic jazz-funk in which the band's solid, characteristic sound comes forward.The seven piece interfuse improvised dance music with jazz-fusion, afro funk and rare groove. It is freaky, it is trippy and it follows no rules.

Vibrant and beautiful almost beyond words, the fifty year old recordings being collected on Honest Jons’ London Is The Place For Me series are giant and precious treasures of early black British music. Exquisite artistic achievements in their own right, they also throw light on the early development of post bop jazz in the UK.

The Heliocentrics are a group for which genres are meaningless and boundaries invisible. Since first appearing on DJ Shadow’s 2006 album The Outsider the group have gone on to release a string of records that float through jazz, hip-hop, psych, krautrock, and musique concrete whilst collaborating with numerous genre heavyweights from Mulatu Astake to Gaslamp Killer and picking up prestigious fans along the way, such as Madlib and the recently departed David Axelrod.
The primarily instrumental group, who operate out of their vintage analogue studio in East London called the Quatermass Sound Lab, bring in a new singer on album number four - a young Slovakian singer called Barbora Patkova. The result is an album that takes the band, already solidified in ever-expanding grooves and rhythms into new previously unexplored dimensions.The group’s deep-set ability to craft music intuitively and impulsively stems from a desire to avoid typical processes or generic structures. Since its conception, the band’s music has mainly been created from live improvisation. This musical approach gives the band its own sound and identity -”for anything to happen it must be at that time from the people in the room, and on the spot”. A decade of such sonic adventures has resulted in a tightly knit bond that the group refer to as “almost a form of telepathy” with “musical changes that otherwise would be near impossible to write.”

A fresh project from the Nilamaye crew — crossing currulao, art-rock and jazz.

Ken Vandermark, reeds. Christof Kurzmann, electronics [loopp], Jasper Stadhouders, bass. Tim Daisy, drums.
One of the "main" groups of saxophonist extraordinaire. Ken Vandermark!
New album, new bassist; and even more energetic. Made to Break's live performances amazed audiences all over Europe and North America, which will continue this fall, accompanied by their new record "Before The Code". Quartet instrumentation constituting the basis for improvisation of unprecedented flexibility and immediacy, making Made to Break a unique act in the world of free jazz. Recorded by Christoph Amann, on November 11th, 2014, at Amann Studios, Vienna. Mixed by Christoph Amann, Christof Kurzmann and Ken Vandermark. Mastered by Christoph Amann.

A vinyl reissue of a classic exotica gem. Chaino & His African Percussion Safari, capable of playing for 17 hours straight, recorded this unbelievable record made of rhythms and shouts in 1959, offering a disturbing trip through the imaginary world of this unrivaled percussionist. A dangerously addictive and syncopated atomic bomb of a record. Reissued by Moi J'Connais, hand in hand with Black Sweat Records.

"Full Moon Wizard” by Massive Suits Quartet (MSQ) is a personal journey by it’s creator Grégoire Marty (aka Dandy Teru) delving into his love of original movie soundtracks and various composers. Crafting a sonic and aural odyssey for a
movie that exists only in his mind and imagination. Tip!

Afro Latin Vintage Orchestra’s (ALVO) new album Pulsion delves deeper into spiritual jazz, library and film music. The result is a heavier, more progressive and darker sound albeit
with their signature funk and groove remaining intact as the foundation.

Tropical rhythms from Latin America and the Caribbean. Meridian Brothers are back with a new studio album, the bizarre and wonderful ‘Salvadora Robot’. Heading deeper into the tropical rhythms of Latin America and the Caribbean each song on the album focuses on a different style and playfully twists it into Meridian Brothers’s surreal landscape.

** Raw, Deep and Spiritual Jazz 1966-2018 **
The Peace Chant compilation series is a Temple, a reliquary of sacred harmonious statements made by enlightened artists throughout time. With Tramp Records' latest offerings, "Peace Chant, Raw Deep and Spiritual Jazz volumes 5 & 6, deeper, darker, and even more remote chambers of this already exalted temple are brought to light. The team at Tramp, with their torch of love and with reverence for those builders who came before, have returned from their quest with musical treasures unfathomable. Indeed, some of these tracks sound as if they may have literally been plucked from the ancient hands of some towering golden idol. But this quest was no looting effort, no. The Gods, as well as the artists and their families were fairly compensated through Tramp Records' rigorous and historically conscious licensing efforts.

Some of the treasures herein include, from Volume 5, a German gospel/modal jazz hybrid replete with flutes and vibes (and even a surprise gospel choir) reminding us not to 'speak when we should be silent' called "Ich Rede Wenn Ich Schweigen Sollte"; Indian jazz/rock fusion outfit Jazz Yatra Sextette's literal peace chant, "Shanti" led by Louis Banks (real name Dambar Bahadur Budaprithi), who worked with Embryo and John Maclaughlin; and Ron Wilson Trio's walking meditation and study on the beauty and rhythm of "Zimbabwe" in 3/4.

With the Peace Chant series, we are reminded to:
Listen with intention...
Let ourselves notice...
Focus our attention...
Feel our surroundings...
Notice when our thoughts take over...
Let ourselves experience our surroundings...

And continue our unending quest for Peace.

May ALL beings be peaceful.
~Joel Ricci
Key selling points: - incl. full album download code - incl. detailed liner notes - ALL songs appear on Vinyl-LP for the very first-time

** Raw, Deep and Spiritual Jazz 1966-2018 **
The Peace Chant compilation series is a Temple, a reliquary of sacred harmonious statements made by enlightened artists throughout time. With Tramp Records' latest offerings, "Peace Chant, Raw Deep and Spiritual Jazz volumes 5 & 6, deeper, darker, and even more remote chambers of this already exalted temple are brought to light. The team at Tramp, with their torch of love and with reverence for those builders who came before, have returned from their quest with musical treasures unfathomable. Indeed, some of these tracks sound as if they may have literally been plucked from the ancient hands of some towering golden idol. But this quest was no looting effort, no. The Gods, as well as the artists and their families were fairly compensated through Tramp Records' rigorous and historically conscious licensing efforts.

Volume 6 ululates with a rich flute and Fender Rhodes-rich microtonal fusion called "Cataracts" by Musica Orbis that even comes with some sparkling Afro-harping moments ala Dorothy Ashby; a 5/4 dreamscape conjured by the Fredric Rabold Crew called "Januschka" with enraptured wailing soprano; and a very interesting and likely heretofore unheard version of a tune that, in Dizzy's words, "... has withstood the vicissitudes of the contingent world and rocketed in an odyssey into the realm of the metaphysical...", A Night in Tunisia, with rich vocals and scatting.

With the Peace Chant series, we are reminded to:
Listen with intention...
Let ourselves notice...
Focus our attention...
Feel our surroundings...
Notice when our thoughts take over...
Let ourselves experience our surroundings...

And continue our unending quest for Peace.

May ALL beings be peaceful.
~Joel Ricci
Key selling points: - incl. full album download code - incl. detailed liner notes - ALL but one song appear on Vinyl-LP for the very first-time

Bristol"s new wave dance floor instrumentalists announce their new album "Ruins Everything" releasing on Worm Discs. Snazzback"s music is a collage, collectively constructed, torn up and glued back together in unexpected ways, bringing a renewed, daring energy to UK dance music. The 7-piece embrace their experimental beginnings to create a sound fusing abstract beats with spiralling improvisation. Their music is soaked in influences including interlocking West African rhythms, rootsy Brazilian flavours, sprawling soundscapes, deep dubstep basslines and flickering arpeggiators. A collaborative instinct runs through the group, and an eclectic choice of vocalists keeps their compositions shimmering with new possibilities.

Nucleus's Elastic Rock is undisputedly a milestone in Jazz-Rock. A beautiful and vital debut album, it was first released on Vertigo in 1970. Original copies are now very tricky to score and, like all the Nucleus records, it’s aged ridiculously well. This Be With re-issue, re-mastered from the original analogue tapes, shows off just why this deserves to be back in press.

Genius trumpeter and visionary composer Ian Carr was one of the most respected British musicians of his era. He was a true pioneer and saw the potential in fusing the worlds of jazz with rock, just as Miles Davis and The Tony Williams Lifetime did in the US. In late 1969, following the demise of the Rendell-Carr quintet, and tiring of British jazz, Carr assembled the legendary Nucleus. Regarding music as a continuous process, Nucleus refused to “recognise rigid boundaries” and worked on delivering what they saw as a “total musical experience”. We can get behind that.

Under bandleader Carr, Nucleus existed as a fluid line-up of inventive, skilled musicians. This constant evolution and revolution was all part of the continuous musical exploration and discovery that took jazz to new levels. And the music has kept relevant. To steal a line from a review of our re-issue of Roots, when it comes to anything Nucleus “it’s basically already hip-hop”.

The very title Elastic Rock could be regarded as the group's MO, describing a melting point between their rock and jazz impulses. Indeed, housed in a memorable gatefold jacket designed by Roger Dean, the die cut molten teardrop shape on the front sleeve opens to reveal a fiery volcanic crater. On the back, Dean's drawing has Carr with saxophonist Brian Smith, guitarist Chris Spedding, drummer John Marshall, bassist Jeff Clyne and sax, oboe and pianist Karl Jenkins in a circle, the central core of a movement and the basis for its activity.

Recorded over four days in January 1970, Elastic Rock didn't sound like any other British jazz album. Exploding out the gate, "1916" opens with Marshall's frantic pounding before melancholic horns enter. The smooth title track, "Elastic Rock" is just a gorgeous electric blues track. Light drums, gentle melodic horns, piano and a solid bassline serve as the perfect bed for Spedding's graceful bluesy guitar melodies. The serene "Striation", a Clyne and Spedding collaboration, is led by bowed bass and is the epitome of calm before the late night laid back vibe of "Taranaki" breezes along sweetly and smoothly with great trumpet and tenor.

The truly emotional "Twisted Track" is elegant with horns, while guitar is gently played with drums and bass. Initially deeply soothing, it gradually builds with various solos and duets. "Crude Blues (Part 1)" features an excellent oboe part by Jenkins with laconic guitar helping out. "Part 2" is livelier, with a heavy backbeat and great wind parts. "1916 (Battle Of Boogaloo)" features a steady bassline and great call and response parts from the horn section.

The highly-charged centrepiece of the record, the mesmeric epic "Torrid Zone" features an hypnotic bassline and hi-hat with some of the ensemble's best soloing. Brilliantly encapsulating the jazz fusion aesthetic so desired by the group, the rhythm section is rock-influenced but magically retains a laid-back jazz vibe. Just perfection. Spacey jazz in the style of In a Silent Way, the semi-ambient "Stonescape" features smooth, muted brass, warm, smokey keys and a barely-there rhythm section. Heavenly.

The bubbling, fragile restraint of "Earth Mother" partially utilises the "Torrid Zone" bassline but takes the energy in a different direction with Marshall's frenetic drumming and Spedding's unpredictable riffing. Next comes the very idiosyncratic drum solo track by Marshall in the appropriately-titled "Speaking for Myself, Personally, in My Own Opinion, I Think." The album closes with the raucous "Persephones Jive", a track that ends the album frantically, riotously, just as it began.

This Be With edition of Elastic Rock has been re-mastered from the original Vertigo master tapes, Simon Francis’ mastering working together with Cicely Balston's cut at AIR Studios to weave their usual magic with these wonderful recordings. The stunning die-cut gatefold sleeve has been restored in all its molten glory.

Their masterpiece? With breaks for dayyyyyys and an almost ambient, heavy jazz atmosphere throughout, *this* is the apex of British jazz-rock fusion. We'll Talk About It Later was first released on Vertigo in 1971 and original copies are now very tricky to score. Like all the Nucleus records, it’s aged ridiculously well and this Be With re-issue, re-mastered from the original analogue tapes, shows off just why this deserves to be back in press.

Genius trumpeter and visionary composer Ian Carr was one of the most respected British musicians of his era. He was a true pioneer and saw the potential in fusing the worlds of jazz with rock, just as Miles Davis and The Tony Williams Lifetime did in the US. In late 1969, following the demise of the Rendell-Carr quintet, and tiring of British jazz, Carr assembled the legendary Nucleus. Regarding music as a continuous process, Nucleus refused to “recognise rigid boundaries” and worked on delivering what they saw as a “total musical experience”. We can get behind that.

Under bandleader Carr, Nucleus existed as a fluid line-up of inventive, skilled musicians. This constant evolution and revolution was all part of the continuous musical exploration and discovery that took jazz to new levels. And the music has kept relevant. To steal a line from a review of our re-issue of Roots, when it comes to anything Nucleus “it’s basically already hip-hop”.

We'll Talk About It Later is arguably Nucleus's best album. Not only that, it's in the top 5 of all fusion albums. By the time Nucleus entered Trident Studios in September 1970 to record Elastic Rock's successor, they had already won a best group award at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Once again presented in a Roger Dean designed die-cut gatefold sleeve it continued to demonstrate the chemistry and interplay that worked so brilliantly on Elastic Rock; Carr's sumptuous trumpet and flügelhorn lines, Karl Jenkins's funk-filled electric keyboards, Chris Spedding's wah-wah guitar, Brian Smith's sax and the rhythmic foundation of drummer John Marshall and bassist Jeff Clyne.

The group work and insane musicianship Nucleus were famed for is in evidence from the off. The intensely funky "Song for the Bearded Lady" is absolute FIRE, blasting out the speakers to leave listeners floored. Counterpoint riffing segues into a spacious groove and a Carr trumpet solo demonstrating the influence of electric Miles from the period. The stop-start funk of "Sun Child" would appeal to Soft Machine devotees whilst the genuinely touching "Lullaby for a Lonely Child" is a lovely downtempo ballad. Featuring an understated, reflective horn line from Carr and Smith and atmospheric, shimmering bouzouki from Spedding, there's an exotic flavour which contributes to the bliss. The ominous, sleazy title track retains a swaggering menace and is not the only track to lend a sort of heavy stoner rock atmosphere. The guitars and bass are deep and low throughout, conjuring heavy psych moments to go with the actual jazz and even funk. To say this album was in conversation with Bitches Brew would not be overstating the sheer brain-frying brilliance.

The Weather Report-adjacent "Oasis" opens Side B, a colossal track featuring nearly 10 minutes of steadily building melodic horns, keys and choppy guitar riffs. So ace, it could easily go on for another 10. Mesmeric. Spedding adds unique vocals to the undeniable groove of "Ballad of Joe Pimp" whilst saxophonist Smith's duet with drummer Marshall at the conclusion of "Easter 1916" - inspired by the Yeats poem about the Irish nationalist uprising in Dublin - adopts the wildness of the most incendiary free jazz.

This Be With edition of We'll Talk About It Later has been re-mastered from the original Vertigo master tapes, Simon Francis’ mastering working together with Cicely Balston's cut at AIR Studios to weave their usual magic with these wonderful recordings. The stunning die-cut sleeve has been restored with the original gatefold window pane depicting the Irish uprising in 1916. Incredible, timeless, guaranteed spine-chills.

What a record! The outstanding Solar Plexus, the much-loved third album from Ian Carr and Nucleus, was first released on Vertigo in 1971. Inevitably, original copies are now very tricky to score and, like all the Nucleus records, it’s aged ridiculously well. This Be With re-issue, re-mastered from the original analogue tapes, shows off just why this deserves to be back in press.

Genius trumpeter and visionary composer Ian Carr was one of the most respected British musicians of his era. He was a true pioneer and saw the potential in fusing the worlds of jazz with rock, just as Miles Davis and The Tony Williams Lifetime did in the US. In late 1969, following the demise of the Rendell-Carr quintet, and tiring of British jazz, Carr assembled the legendary Nucleus. Regarding music as a continuous process, Nucleus refused to “recognise rigid boundaries” and worked on delivering what they saw as a “total musical experience”. We can get behind that.

Under bandleader Carr, Nucleus existed as a fluid line-up of inventive, skilled musicians. This constant evolution and revolution was all part of the continuous musical exploration and discovery that took jazz to new levels. And the music has kept relevant. To steal a line from a review of our re-issue of Roots, when it comes to anything Nucleus “it’s basically already hip-hop”.

We'll let Ian describe this one: "I wrote Solar Plexus' last year with the help of an Arts Council grant. It is based on two short themes which are stated at the beginning (Elements I & I1). The first theme is angular and has a slow, crab-like movement: the second theme is direct, simple and diatonic. CHANGING TIME and SPIRIT LEVEL explore the first theme and BEDROCK DEADLOCK and TORSO explore the second one. SNAKEHIPS DREAM tries to fuse both themes. (The title is a reference to the famous dancer 'Snakehips' Johnson)."

Solar Plexus features the same lineup as Elastic Rock and We'll Talk About It Later, but they're augmented by six guests, three of which play brass. Carr himself had almost full control of the writing and it does feel very different to the previous albums. It's more of a jazz record loosely based on a rock foundation rather than jazz fusion jamming.

The haunting synth-and-bass soundscape "Elements I and II" opens the album in dramatic, experimental fashion. It gives way to the bright, funky feel-good jazz of "Changing Times". An elegant onslaught of horns, courtesy of guests Kenny Wheeler and Harry Beckett, ride a solid groove for the duration. How the brass refrains have eluded samplers is beyond us. The melancholic "Bedrock Deadlock" features the brooding majesty of Jenkins' oboe and Clyne's mournful, skittering double bass. Wah wah guitar, drums and funky percussion then take over before the horns ride us out over frenetic beats. The dark, angular "Spirit Level" is a real highlight, by turns harmonic and beautiful then dissonant and wayward. Wonky jazz with no apparent structure or melodic bones. Regardless, it represents a great showcase for each virtuoso performer.

The breezy soul of "Torso" feels like a breath of fresh air, skipping along in the uptempo style with guitar, horns, drums and bass. A track which truly sounds scintillating, featuring sax solos, fantastic propulsive interplay from all the group around the halfway stage before Marshall gets his chance to really shine in closing out with a polyrhythmic drum solo. Final track "Snakehips' Dream" stretches cooly out over 15 minutes to round out a spellbinding album. An epic, suave groove, it's a relaxing piece with warm electric keys, laconic guitar and languorous horns. Truly sophisticated soulful jazz. An absolute masterclass. We could easily listen to this all day long.

This Be With edition of Solar Plexus has been re-mastered from the original Vertigo master tapes, Simon Francis’ mastering working together with Cicely Balston's cut at AIR Studios to weave their usual magic with these wonderful recordings. The stunning gatefold sleeve has been restored to complete this sensational package.

The distinctive rolling grooves, growling basslines and blasting horns of Snakehips Etcetera combined to present Nucleus's most energetic record. First released on Vertigo in 1975, original copies of Snakehips Etcetera are now very tricky to score. Like all the Nucleus records, it’s aged ridiculously well and this Be With re-issue, re-mastered from the original analogue tapes, shows off just why this deserves to be back in press.

Genius trumpeter and visionary composer Ian Carr was one of the most respected British musicians of his era. He was a true pioneer and saw the potential in fusing the worlds of jazz with rock, just as Miles Davis and The Tony Williams Lifetime did in the US. In late 1969, following the demise of the Rendell-Carr quintet, and tiring of British jazz, Carr assembled the legendary Nucleus. Regarding music as a continuous process, Nucleus refused to “recognise rigid boundaries” and worked on delivering what they saw as a “total musical experience”. We can get behind that.

Under bandleader Carr, Nucleus existed as a fluid line-up of inventive, skilled musicians. This constant evolution and revolution was all part of the continuous musical exploration and discovery that took jazz to new levels. And the music has kept relevant. To steal a line from a review of our re-issue of Roots, when it comes to anything Nucleus “it’s basically already hip-hop”

With all restraint out the window, 1975's pimped-up Snakehips Etcetera is the outrageous - in both cover art and sound - follow-up to the brooding Under The Sun. It's perhaps not one for the jazz purists! It finds Nucleus pared down to a core group of six, with Carr, Bob Bertles (sax), Ken Shaw (guitar), Geoff Castle (keys), Roger Sutton (bass) and Roger Sellers (drums) comprising the collective. Snakehips Etcetera reflects a period where the compositions start to become a little more direct and less-cerebral in comparison to some of Nucleus' previous releases. And why would we begrudge them some fun? This one rocks, swings and funks with no little soul. And more than a little jazzy sleaze. Clearly, they were having a good time.

The album has a real live, jamming feel to it, no surprise given the extent to which they were touring at the time. The band is tight and grooving throughout, none more so than on Bob Bertles's effervescent opener, "Rat’s Bag". So darn funky it stings, it's an infectious gem full of punchy clean lines over a killer bassline from Sutton. The thick, driving jazz-rock of "Alive And Kicking" is exactly that. It has a very improvisational feel, but an inspired one at that and features a wailing guitar solo from Ken Shaw that simply slays. The funky "Rachel’s Tune" is amazing, bringing you back to Canterbury days with its fuzzed-out organ solos to close out Side A.

Opening up Side B, the cool psychedelic title track unfolds slowly and sensually over its ten-plus minutes. A stoned soul stew of sorts, each member of the crew gets their chance to shine over Sellers's steady drums. The melodic funk fusion of "Pussyfoot" pairs Carr with Bertles on ace solo flute for a bright, springy melody. This one really gleams over shuffling drums. Changing the pace to close out this memorable set, the particularly cool "Heyday" is a reflective, sober tune which reinforces the sumptuous Nucleus palette, the acoustic guitar and bass high in the mix to make the neck snap, the horns elegantly blasting to help you swoon.

This Be With edition of Snakehips Etcetera has been re-mastered from the original Vertigo master tapes, Simon Francis’ mastering working together with Cicely Balston's cut at AIR Studios to weave their usual magic with these wonderful recordings. The striking, lascivious sleeve has been restored in all its seductive/ridiculous beauty.

In late 1974, India Navigation label owner Bob Cummins set up microphones in a New York City building's storefront, documenting two short sets by a band with no alternate takes or additional cuts. These recordings became saxophonist Alan Braufman's debut album Valley of Search, which captures a unique and very alive historical slice of New York's creative improvised jazz underground. The first ever reissue of the 1975 free jazz album "Valley of Search" features Cooper-Moore and Cecil McBee.

Broc Recordz presents their new release, L'Obsession by the Italian composer Louis Fontaine. The album is a fictional soundtrack, between Library music and Italian OST from the 70's in a Jazz style

Chicago-born composer, producer and arranger Charles Stepney is known to some for his work with Earth, Wind & Fire, Deniece Williams, and Ramsey Lewis, or for his work with Chess Records in the 1960s, where he was an essential creative force behind seminal recordings by Rotary Connection, Minnie Riperton, Marlena Shaw, Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, Terry Callier, The Dells, The Emotions, and many many more. In the decades since his untimely death in 1976, the presence of his name in liner notes and on vinyl labels has become a seal of quality for record collectors, music historians, and aficionados, while his sound has been used by countless samplers in the hip-hop world including Kanye West, A Tribe Called Quest, The Fugees, MF Doom, and Madlib. But in comparison to the post-mortem renown of his sound, or the music he created and the artists he supported while he was alive, Stepney is a greatly under-appreciated figure... a genius relegated to the shadows.

After smooth detours into Soul covers, French Neo-Disco, modern Sunset Disco and Brazilian AOR, in 2022 DJ Supermarkt's Too Slow to Disco series makes a joyous return to its original Westcoast AOR/Yacht roots. Celebrating the 10th Tstd compilation. Who would have thought…. The Berlin curator releases a killer 4th edition of the original compilation art form, "Too Slow to Disco", featuring forgotten and overseen gems from the mid 70s to the early 80s from a global world of smooth, brilliant lost and overproduced tracks from Finland via London and L.A. to Trinidad and beyond. The great 'un-vanisher' of lost lazy classics, DJ Supermarkt once again unearthed some incredible music that labels, publishers (in many cases also those, who actually own the rights to those tracks…) and streaming services have often long overlooked. You're welcome, world!

These sixteen tracks of newly ‘un-vanished’ hit-making genius find us once more in that delightfully Westcoast state of mind, the musical breeze in our hair as we corner on the headland, the top most definitely down. Too Slow to Disco 4 is also a love letter to the genre-smashing bravery of that era, Yacht Pop rubbing shoulders with Christian Gospel, groovy Folk, Country-Soul and Blue-Eyed Soul. As ever, DJ Supermarkts genius is to uncover the musical through line that joins these missing-in-action names and the tunes that could have been their big moment. The result is a kind of joyous alternative history of the era, where a very different pantheon of pop gods became the names we love.

As usual these tunes feature ludicrous levels of musical competence, boasting tight grooves in tighter polyester, and yet there’s (almost) not a single household name in sight. DJ Supermarkt is once again looking for the special “geniuses” in the background and behind the sound, musicians and a-list composers, whose names are not well known, but who wrote million selling tracks for other acts in the spotlight: Like Kenny Nolan, who a.o. wrote “Lady Marmalade”, The Dukes, who penned Sheena Easton’s “Modern Girl”, Air Supply’s “Every Woman In The World” and Chaka Khan’s “Fate”, famously sampled by Stardust for their French House Club-Hit “Music Sounds Better With You”.

Four of these 16 tracks are taken from super rare private press vinyls, unearthed by Dj Supermarkt over several years by chasing down the original composers, musicians or producers, and now officially rereleased for the very first time.

What’s this? Today’s holiday gift? One final transmission from the core of the planet! Cresting slabs of concrete and powdered bone, rich soil—improvisation freak flag flitters atop a gutted highrise: Gong Splat. Featuring Ryan Sawyer on drums, Greg Coates on upright bass, Wilder Zoby on synth and mellotron, Andres Renteria on conga, bongos and hand percussion, and John Dwyer on guitar, synths, pan flute, cuíca, hand percussion, space drum and effects. This one is spitting fat and neon night-light city drives, white in the corner of the pilot’s mouth. Furry, fuzzy and frenetic, motorik and full of blood-rich ticks…maggots unite! There’s a show tonight! Welcome back humans.

Inspired by a love of artists such as Bill Evans,Lester Young, Chet Baker and Vince Guaraldi,Dustin Payseur reimagines some of his greatesthits from the Beach Fossils catalog alongside agroup of formally trained jazz musicians. A richand mellow mix of piano, saxophone, uprightbass and brushed drums explore the contours offamiliar songs, soaring Payseur's melancholicharmonies to new heights. Recommended for fans of Chet Baker, Norah Jones, Kamasi Washington,BADBADNOTGOOD, Wild Nothing, Diiv, Kevin Krauter "improvisational jazz, classical music, and Stereolab... his songwriting owes more to loop-based composition than garage-bound woodshedding." - Pitchfork

“Who put the dance into Factory Records?” Be With would like to refer you to FAC 59. Working with founding member Tony Henry, we’re honoured to present the reissue of 52nd Street’s crucial debut single “Look Into My Eyes”, backed with “Express”. Originally released on Factory Records in Summer 1982, this ultra-rare 12″ is a double-sider in the truest sense. Unrivalled Manchester jazz-funk-boogie-soul. Both “Look Into My Eyes” and “Express” came out of a five day recording session in the spring of 1982 at Revolution Studios in Cheadle Hulme, just outside Manchester.

The first reissue of the famous and long-awaited "Medley Maxi 45" by Cortex. Originally released in 1979, this Medley is the perfect tool for DJs (Already played by MCDE at We Love Green Festival as the Final track…).
On B side the “Mary & Jeff (Fender Rhodes Version 77)” was released in 2010 on a very limited 7inch (TV003).
Never republished! Remastered from original tape by Trad Vibe records.

To mark the tenth anniversary of the release of I’m New Here, the thirteenth - and last - studio album from the legendary US musician, poet and author Gil Scott-Heron, XL Recordings will release a unique reinterpretation of the album by acclaimed US jazz musician Makaya McCraven. Titled We’re New Again , the album will be released on 7th February 2020; exactly a decade after the release of Scott-Heron’s original Richard Russell-produced recording. It’s set to follow in the footsteps of Jamie xx’s highly acclaimed 2011 remix album We’re New Here and will be McCraven’s first release of 2020, following the huge global acclaim heaped upon his 2018 album Universal Beings . One of the most vital new voices in modern jazz, McCraven is described by the New York Times as a "Chicago-based drummer, producer and beat maker, [who] has quietly become one of the best arguments for jazz’s vitality".

Includes one bonus track.

Gatefold 180g Includes Rare Or Exclusive Artwork Inside

Gatefold 180g Includes Rare Or Exclusive Artwork Inside

Includes four bonus tracks.

Franco Chiari, born in 1927 in Naples, was an eclectic artist who is considered a bit of a wildcard of keyboard instruments: he played the piano, accordion, synthesizer, vibraphone and marimba in both jazz and symphony. For three consecutive years (1957/58/59) he won the National Jazz referendum, was vibraphonist in the national TV Orchestra and participated in numerous important broadcasts. He received many awards in his career, and numerous are the artists who have wanted to play live alongside him, including Lionel Hampton, Stéphane Grappelli, Django Reinhardt, Piero Piccioni, Armando Trovajoli, Lelio Luttazzi, and more.

In this album released in 1973, the most groovy in his career, and now the most wanted from collectors, he rearranges the compositions of Mario Bertolazzi electronically with the use of synthesizer on rhythms ranging from latin beats to funk.

Numbered limited edition with digital downloads included and an amazing cover with splashes of paint, making each copy unique and unrepeatable.

The double live album Dark Magus was recorded on March 30, 1974, at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Dark Magus was released after Davis' 1975 retirement. After releasing the live recordings Agharta (1975) and Pangaea (1976), Dark Magus was originally only released in Japan.

3rd and the rarest album which had been recorded by the French legend of Jazz Funk, Cortex. This new edition, using the original master tapes, is realised by Trad Vibe Records.

Super-obscure oddball disco funk goody by French studio wizz Jean-Pierre Massiera, re-released to celebrate the 50th release on Favorite!

Misha Panfilov presents four new compositions in expanded formation on Gala! With a limited 2 day rehearsing and recording time he managed to deliver perhaps his most soulful and intimate album to date. Gathered in a large hall, the septet painting musical structures of the facets of jazz. While observing the condition of the experiment, this group enters energy fields of cosmic balance. The mellow framework allows music to unfold and fill you up with harmony, beauty, love, and respect.
RR GEMS RECORDS, 2023

“This record was a great chance to create something new with my dear friends and longtime fellow musicians. There are no words that could express my gratitude to them and my boundless joy that we were able to rehearse and record the material in such a short time.”

-Misha Panfilov

The Septet: Kino Toshiki, trumpet, percussion; Ilja Gussarov, flute, baritone sax, percussion; Sasha Petrov, tenor sax, percussion; Volodja Brodsky, piano; Leonid Galaganov, drums, percussion, tabla; Monika Erdman, electric bass; Misha Panfilov, lap steel guitar, percussion, composition, production.

Recorded in Tallinn, December 28-29, 2021.

Layout by Ilja Tulit.

Mastering by Jörgen Hermaste & Jukka Sarapää.

Special thanks to Toomas Kuusing for the gorgeous front cover artwork.

Black Editions Archive is ecstatic to announce the newest release in the Milford Graves Archival series, the double LP, Children of the Forest, featuring previously unreleased 1976 sessions with Hugh Glover and Arthur Doyle that re-write the book on Milford Graves's ensemble music of the 1970s. Graves recorded these sessions himself in his legendary Queens basement laboratory and workshop in the weeks immediately leading up to the March 1976 session that, with the same unit, produced what many consider his most iconic album, Bäbi, recorded at Wbai-fm Free Music Store..."— Peter Kolovos & Michael Ehlers Deluxe double-LP tip-on gatefold with pigment ink foil stamping featuring photographs by acclaimed photographer and free jazz historian Val Wilmer. Includes insert with new interview of Hugh Glover by Jake Meginsky.

HHV, Piano Piano and Sven Wunder team up to bring you this white vinyl edition of three albums only available at HHV. The color was picked by the artist. Each album is limited to 300 copies and numbered.

HHV, Piano Piano and Sven Wunder team up to bring you this white vinyl edition of three albums only available at HHV. The color was picked by the artist. Each album is limited to 300 copies and numbered.

HHV, Piano Piano and Sven Wunder team up to bring you this white vinyl edition of three albums only available at HHV. The color was picked by the artist. Each album is limited to 300 copies and numbered.

"Cutting edge live jazz and beat-inspired debut EP by Dutch bass player Joop de Graaf (Brintex Collective). Resonates with the current UK jazz sound and artists such as Yussef Kamaal and Moses Boyd."

The Legendary Swedish Jazz Pianist And Pioneer In Combining Traditional Swedish Folk Tunes With Jazz Influence. Jazz På Svenska Is The Most Sold Swedish Jazz Record Of All Time , And Has Reached An Audience Throughout The World.The Album Was Initially Released In 1964 And Has Been Selling Constantly Since Then.Now Available Again On Both Cd And Lp

Record Store Day 2021 Release.

This is Dorothy Ashby's debut album, originally released in 1957 by the Regent label. Recognized as the woman who gave the harp a Jazz Voice, here Ashby is at the head of a highly distinctive combo featuring Frank Wess on flute, Eddie Jones or Wendell Marshall on bass and master Ed Thigpen on drums. The Jazz Harpist is an unprecedented mix of evocative classic sounds and jazz soul, awarded by Allmusic as her first and best album, period!

Initially best known as John Coltrane's wife, Alice Coltrane released a steady wave of amazing cosmic-jazz records from 1967 to 2004, which feature her virtuosic piano and harp playing. She also recorded an album with Carlos Santana and played with Kenny Clarke, McCoy Tyner and Charlie Haden. 'Turiya Sings' was a self-released cassette, issued in 1982 and a hard-to-find collector's item since then. It features Alice Coltrane on vocals and organ, with string arrangements by Murray Adler. This LP-reissue was newly remastered for optimal sound.

Glasgow-born pianist Mike McNaught’s aim was to infuse pop and rock into jazz, forming Atlantic Bridge after leading the London Jazz Four, recruiting bassist Darryl Runswick and drummer Mike Travis, who he played with in the Henry Lowther Band, alongside flutist/saxophonist Jim Philip of the Michael Garrick Sextet to craft a sole LP for Pye’s Dawn subsidiary. The lead track on this rare 12-inch EP, ‘I Can’t Lie To You,’ was a non-standard original that summed up all of their capabilities, with uncredited female vocals and unusual enhancing overdubs; instrumentals ‘Hilary Dickson’ and ‘Childhood Room’ are pleasantly atmospheric, the latter showcasing the awesome power of Runswick’s melodic bass prowess.

While stationed in Germany in the RAF during the late 1950s and early 1960s, York-born alto and soprano saxophonist Trevor Watts met the drummer John Stevens, with whom he would form the Spontaneous Music Ensemble upon returning to the UK in 1965, which became an important vehicle for British free improvisation. Watts’ spin-off project Amalgam came two years later with Stevens and bassist Jeff Clyne, previously in the Jazz Couriers with Ronnie Scott; their debut LP Prayer For Peace is jazz improv at its most melodic, an unpredictable album of varying shades, with three unique takes of the song ‘Judy’s Smile.’

The magic 80s nostalgia is here! Sonor Music Editions in collaboration with Beppe Savoni and Giuseppe Giammetta, respectively known in the digital space as Disco Bambino and Sovraimpressione announce a special release by the Italian queen of silver screen, actress Eleonora Giorgi. The limited edition 7-inch includes a rework of the 1981 soulful disco track "Quale Appuntamento...", written by Bipap, Cristiano Malgioglio & Pino Presti, originally released on the iconic Ricordi label; on the B-side, restored and for the first time ever on vinyl, "Magic", taken from the 1980 original soundtrack of the film "Mia Moglie È Una Strega", with music arranged and directed by Detto Mariano.

Unreleased but perfectly formed "hidden" album, recorded in 1989-90 by Nuno Rebelo on the wake of his "Sagração Do Mês De Maio" double LP (composed in 1988 as soundtrack to the third Manobras de Maio fashion event in Lisbon). The tracks convey a sense of investigative curiosity regarding computer composition and they sound wonderfully artificial. Titles as "Moon OK", "Tiny Space Ships" or "Dança Das Creaturas Elásticas" ("Elastic Creatures Dance") embody this idea of otherworldness, a kind of music actually coming from another place, composed and played by elastic creatures. It displays the functional qualities of Library Music, illustrating playful as much as moody and dense moments. In this way the album comes across as a soundtrack for moving images, sure, but with unusual framing and sharp angles. A unique object in the Portuguese avantgarde, keeping its distance from Academia but also from contemporary independent releases ("Plux Quba" by Nuno Canavarro comes to mind). António Duarte's 2019 mastering enhances this collection of music liberated from the archives of one of the most brilliant, active and challenging musicians of his generation.

BIO: Nuno Rebelo was born in 1960, graduated in Architecture, founded Street Kids and Mler Ife Dada, played in the "transitional" line up of GNR in 1982. His creativity expanded into improvised music. Performances and recordings with other musicians multiplied. He composed music for theatre, dance, jingles and, on an almost contradictory scale to his underground credentials, soundtracks for the Expo 98 and Porto 2001 mega events.

“Improvisações Cristalizadas” by Nuno Rebelo: Short electronic pieces composed in 1989-90 using the Atari 1040st computer with Steinberg Pro24 Software, Two Yamaha Sound Modules (tx81zx and Tg55) and Ensoniq Mirage Sampler with keyboard. The composition method for each piece evolved from a short improvisation on the Mirage keyboard, recorded in Midi to the computer. Counterpoint permutations (inversion, reversion, inverted reversion, transpositions) were then applied through the software, distributing the variations of the initial improvisation by other timbres. No other musical material was used.

All tracks previously unreleased. Stereophonic sound.
Tracks 1 - 3: Live studio session, London, January 1970:

Keith Tippett - piano
Marc Charig - cornet
Nick Evans - trombone
Elton Dean - alto sax, saxello
Jeff Clyne - double bass, electric bass
Trevor Tomkins - drums

Tracks 4 - 6: Live studio session, London, August 1970:
Keith Tippett - piano
Mark Charig - cornet
Nick Evans - trombone
Elton Dean - alto sax, saxello
Roy Babbington - bass
Bryan Spring - drums

Featuring the classic KTG frontline of Marc Charig, Nick Evans and Elton Dean with rhythm section appearances by British jazz luminaries Jeff Clyne, Trevor Tomkins, Roy Babbington and Bryan Spring. These six previously unreleased live studio tracks were recorded in January and August of 1970. Three of the compositions here (Thoughts To Geoff, Five After Dawn, and Green & Orange Night Park) would be recorded again for the group's second album 'Dedicated To You, But You Weren't Listening', released the following year. The remaining two numbers have never been issued in any form.

Consultation - Julie Tippetts

All tracks composed by Keith Tippett ℗ 1970

Restored and produced by Matt Parker

Very special thanks to Julie Tippetts, Martin Archer, Riccardo Bergerone

© 2022 British Progressive Jazz