Pop & Rock Vinyl New Releases - News

Smooth & groovy cuts from diggin' fanatics Obscure & Obsolete featuring space disco, french boogie, german cheesecake, and calypso steel drum madness. Limited pressing!

Soul Jazz Records are releasing flautist Lloyd McNeill’s album ‘Elegia’ (1980). Originally released on the artists’
own private press Baobab label in New York, the album is a serious collectors’ piece, a heavyweight and fascinating
fusion of deep spiritual jazz with Brazilian rhythms and melodies. The album has been out of print for nearly 40
years.
This groundbreaking album is the culmination of Lloyd McNeill’s many years involved with Brazilian musicians and
features the great percussionist Nana Vasconcelos alongside fellow Brazilians Portinho and Dom Salvador, and US
jazz musicians including bassist Cecil McBee.
In a 50-year musical career, McNeill has worked with many artists including Nina Simone, Eric Dolphy, Mulatu
Asatke and Sabu Martinez.
McNeill grew up during the era of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s and his life and work is a reflection of
those ideals. All of his music was only ever released on his own private-press record label, echoing the Civil Rights
and African-American themes of the era – black economic empowerment and self-sufficiency – and there is a
beautiful spirituality in all his music.
In the late 1960s McNeill became a teacher of both jazz and painting at the New Thing Art and Architecture Center
in Washington and in 1969 was the first African-American professor hired to teach African-American Music History,
at Rutgers University.
This is the fifth Lloyd McNeill album that Soul Jazz Records have released and follows on from the recent release
of ‘Treasures’ (1976) and the earlier albums ‘Asha’ (1969), ‘Tanner Suite’ (1969) and ‘Washington Suite’ (1970),
all of which are being re-pressed to coincide with this new release.
This album is fully re-mastered from original source and is re-released for the first time ever on Soul Jazz Records
in a very limited edition of 1000 vinyl (+ download code), 1000 limited edition CD pressing and digital.

Color Vinyl

Mica Levi returns to Slip with six piano pieces played by Eliza McCarthy in 'Slow Dark Green Murky Waterfall' - a crepuscular suite riddled with Mica's inquisitive, conversational phrasing and
smartly expanding upon their 7' track, 'Riding Through Drinking Harpo Dine' (Foom, 2017), a new recording of which also appears in this set
The culmination of three years work between Mica and Eliza - winner of the 2013 British Contemporary Piano Competition - 'Slow Dark Green Murky Waterfall' follows up their collaboration on the Oscar-nominated score for Pablo Larrain's 'Jackie' score with a finer-shaded, patient space for low-lit, smoky expression that's so intimate and personal it almost feels like eavesdropping a private recording.Ineffably bound by a sense of unreal poise, Eliza's interpretations are subtly, dynamically rendered in-the-mix by Mica to present the pieces as though in flux, like poignant, unresolved statements that occur in the flow of quiet, intent dialogue and linger in the air. It's testament to the pair's well-honed intuition that the results connote this feeling so naturally.
And it's maybe our familiarity with Mica's work, from her earliest chopped 'n screwed orchestrations, to her 'Under The Skin' score and her mutant pop pieces, that we keep expecting
hers or Tirzah's voice to match her melodies with wordless vocals or harmonious limns throughout the six pieces. That's probably simply down to the fact that Mica writes with such a pop-wise appeal and soulful sensitivity that it prompts subvocalisation in every listener, or maybe it's just us, but either way the hook of these instrumentals will be floating your head for days, weeks, or a lifetime after they're imbibed...

Featuring Prince Jazzbo, Dillinger, Dennis Alcapone, Lone Ranger, Michigan & Smiley and many more. Soul Jazz Records’ new Studio One DJ Party is the latest installation from the mighty Studio One Records catalogue, a wicked new collection of the finest DJs and toasters ever to inhabit the world of reggae – seminal Jamaican artists including Prince Jazzbo, Dillinger, Dennis Alcapone, Michigan & Smiley, Lone Ranger as well as a host of lesser known artists and rare cuts from Studio One. From the earliest days when Clement ‘Sir Coxsone’ Dodd ran his Downbeat soundsystem up and down the length of Jamaica, DJs and toasters such as King Stitt and Count Machukie were always a part of the sound of Studio One, introducing new records and exciting audiences with catchphrase lines such as: “No matter what the people say these sounds lead the way It's the order of the day from your boss deejay” King Stitt So when DJ emerged as a distinct reggae style at the start of the 1970s, Studio One was, as always, way ahead of their competitors. Legendary artists of the calibre of Dillinger, Dennis Alcapone and Prince Jazzbo all queued up to record for the equally legendary label. At the end of the 1970s, as dancehall exploded onto the island, Clement Dodd was once again able to maintain Studio One’s position on the throne as the number one sound in the Jamaica, fighting off upstart competitors such as Channel One and Joe Gibbs who tried to replicate Studio One’s unique sound. During this period Clement Dodd released a series of stunning dancehall releases from young DJ/dancehall artists at the label including Lone Ranger and Michigan & Smiley. This selection spans the early 70s up until the mid-1980s, from the earliest days of deejay toasting right up until digital dancehall, ground-breaking tracks over the finest selection of the ultimate Studio One rhythms and tracks. Who could ask for more? Studio One DJ Party includes specially commissioned sleevenotes by Chris Lane, founder of the legendary British reggae label Fashion Records, as well as fantastic original artwork commissioned by the illustrator Ski Williams. The album is released as double heavyweight vinyl (+download code), and distinctive Soul Jazz Records CD with slipcase

First collaboration between french trumpet player Antoine Berjeaut and Chicago-based drummer MVP Makaya McCraven, along with a cast including bassist Junius Paul and saxophonist Julien Lourau. A mix of writing and improvisation based on material previously composed by Antoine Berjeaut and Makaya McCraven, those sessions were then used in his studio by McCraven, who did what he does best: he re-mixed, sampled and re-composed a new and vivid score, blending contemporary jazz, electronic music and post-rock.

Bridging the spaces between the Paris and Chicago scenes, Moving Cities brings together the best of both worlds and is emblematic of a new, utterly modern jazz going through a true aesthetic revolution. Moving Cities started as a live laboratory set up by Berjeaut and McCraven; it echoes the recent evolution of international metropolises constantly torn between individualism and collective endeavors, in a disrupted geography.


In today’s musical landscape, there is a strong push to reassess and redefine musical genres. Incorporating all kinds of influences has become a driving force, and jazz, like other genres, is now experiencing an explosion of its aesthetic boundaries. It has moved away from its ponderous legacy and now fully channels the spirit of the times - as it once used to.

Unarguably Antoine Berjeaut, Makaya McCraven, Junius Paul and Julien Lourau are, each in their own way, a major contribution to the work-in-progress that jazz is today. Gathered for this new project, they have challenged themselves and gone beyond conventional jazz idioms and structures, in the best way possible: instinctively, as members of an energetic and remarkably creative ensemble led by Berjeaut and McCraven.

Sponsored by the French-American program of the Face foundation, the band first came together in Chicago, playing in local clubs Constellation and California Clipper. They were reunited at the Gent festival, in Belgium, at the invitation of DJ/producer Lefto and ended up playing a sold-out show at Musiques au Comptoir, in Fontenay, France, just a few metro stations away from the heart of Paris. At each step, workshops and recording sessions were put together in order to capture the energy and the ideas that were developed on the spot.

Moving Cities conjures up an ever-expanding universe ruled by immediacy and tension, while always allowing for collective inspiration. The album conveys the poetry of transformed and dismembered cities, whose inhabitants are in constant search of meaning. Hyper-connected standardized cities desperately missing horizontality and human scale: a driving influence for artist Yann Bagot’s visual work, who blended together the maps of Chicago and Paris, which are geographically distant but close in spirit.

A trailblazing project, conceived, written and performed as a collage, Moving Cities invites us to reassess the codes that have long presided over jazz. It also echoes the prevailing paradoxes in modern metropolises.

From Paris to Chicago and back again, the musicians endeavor to recreate human connection through an inspired collective statement.

Soul Jazz Records are re-releasing Airto Moreira’s classic album ‘Samba de Flora’, out of
print for 30 years ever since its original release in 1988. The album is very limited to just
1000 copies only, pressed on both vinyl and CD.
The impact of Airto Moreira in both the world of American jazz and in Brazilian music is
unparalleled. At the start of the 1970s Airto was invited to join Miles Davis’
groundbreaking ‘electric’ group, which with albums such as the seminal ‘Bitches Brew’
helping Davis regain his title from John Coltrane as the most important jazz artist of all
time.
Two years later Airto helped establish two of the most important jazz fusion groups of all
time: Weather Report, with Wayne Shorter, Joe Zawinul and Miroslav Vituous; and Return
to Forever, with Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke and Flora Purim.
Airto Moreira also began his solo career in the USA in 1970, and alongside his wife, the
singer Flora Purim, and Brazilian artists such as Hermeto Pascoal, Sivuca, Deodato, Raul
de Souza, Azymuth, all played a major part in the Latinised sound of American jazz fusion
throughout the 1970s.
By this time Airto established himself in the USA in the 1970s, he had already had a
formidable career back in Brazil in the 1960s as an important figure in the Bossa Nova
movement, which soon after spread throughout the world. Airto played in a number of
important groups during this time – Quarteto Novo Sambalanco Trio and Sambrassa Trio
(all of with Hermeto Pascoal) – which proved to be three of the most ground-breaking
groups of this era.
The album ‘Samba de Flora’, including the seminal jazz dance title track, is a masterpiece
of jazz and Brazilian fusion and features Airto Moreira alongside Flora Purim, fellow
Brazilian artist Raul de Souza and heavyweight USA jazz musicians Alphonso Johnson,
percussionist Don Alias (from Stone Alliance), Cuban conga player Cachete and
Argentinian pianist Jorge Dalto.
The album was originally released on the small independent Montuno Record label (which
was run out of the unassuming Record Mart record store situated in the Times Square
underground subway station!) and has been unavailable for many, many years.
This album is fully re-mastered and re-released by Soul Jazz Records for the first time
ever, packaged in full original artwork on both vinyl (+ download code) and CD.

The band TORSO is Ken G and Orie. Ken is from Tokyo underground rock band Group, who have previously released on P-Vine Records.
Summoning the vibes of Arthur Russell, and minimal composition, the duo use cello, flute, glockenspiel, piano and soprano sax to hone a warm, organic sound, already getting airplay on Japan Blues' show on NTS radio.

ehind Dosage there is Sayoko, a Japanese woman living in Paris, who works with a rich, organic, yet destabilized musical style, but with a pulsating life that makes her pieces fascinating.

His songs - since they are songs here - on the edge of pop music, are made for re-listening; each passage revealing new secrets hidden in the complex mechanics of his compositions. Evidence is never at the rendezvous, and yet the pleasure of listening, the joy of being carried away by texts that border the surreal without ever complacent, grooves that always seem on the verge of "collapse without ever poking the nose, this pleasure and this joy, unique, do not leave us from one end to the other of this theory of the pink, UFO album, for those who seek this, and to surprise the others too.

Sayoko: voice, piano, bass, electronics;
Buz: battery; Franca Mai: poems;
Dirty_Pink: guitar;
Gaspar Claus: cello;
Vincent Epplay: electronics;
Nicolas Laffererie: guitar;
BN Würtz: electronics, bass, composition;
Simon Takahashi: electronics, composition

First full length album from rising UK jazz/soul/funk pianist. The follow up to his "Easter" EP which was brilliantly received across a broad range of music press, radio and tastemaker retailers. A 15 track album available on a 2LP black vinyl set and single CD. Collaborators include Keyon Harrold, Judi Jackson, Theo Croker, Ben Marc, Makaya McCraven, Luke Flowers and more. The album blends jazz/beats/funk with a hint of hip hop, grime and breaks.

Black Truffle is honoured to announce the first ever vinyl reissue of David Rosenboom’s legendary Brainwave Music, originally released on A.R.C. Records in 1975 and here expanded to a double LP with the addition of over 40 minutes of contemporaneous material. Pioneer of live electronics, innovator in music education, collaborator with artists as diverse as Jon Hassell, Jacqueline Humbert, Terry Riley and Anthony Braxton, Rosenboom is renowned for his ground-breaking experiments with the use of brain biofeedback to control live electronic systems.

Each of the three pieces that make up the original Brainwave Music LP integrates biofeedback with musical technology in different ways. In the side-long opening piece “Portable Gold and Philosophers’ Stones”, four performers have electrodes and monitoring devices attached to their bodies to receive information about brainwaves, temperature, and galvanic skin response. This information is analysed and fed into a complex set of frequency dividers and filters, manned by Rosenboom, but essentially played by each of the performers through their psychophysiological responses to the situation. The result is a slowly unfolding web of filtered electronic tones over a tanpura-esque fundamental, possessing the unhurried, stately grandeur of an electronic raga. In “Chilean Drought”, three different variations of a text about a drought in Chile, each read by a different voice in a different style, are associated with the Beta, Alpha, and Theta brainwave bands. Alongside an insistent piano accompaniment, we hear a constantly shifting combination of the three vocal recordings controlled by the relative preponderance of each of the brainwave bands in the soloist whose brainwaves are being monitored. “Piano Etude I (Alpha)”, the earliest piece included here, is based on research into the link between Alpha brain wave production and the execution of repetitive motor tasks. As Rosenboom plays a very rapid, incessantly repeated pattern in both hands – deliberately designed to be difficult to execute without being in an alert, non-thinking state similar to that associated with strong Alpha brainwave production – two filters controlled by monitoring his brainwaves process the piano sound, moving gradually higher in frequency as the average Alpha amplitude increases, resulting in a hypnotic, constantly shifting blur of repeated notes reflected through the shimmering, watery lights of the filters. For this reissue, the original LP is supplemented with an additional LP containing an unreleased 1977 live recording of Rosenboom’s “On Being Invisible”, in which the composer himself performs on an array of electronics that are fed information from his brainwaves. Stretching out over 40 minutes, the piece begins in similar territory to “Portable Gold and Philosophers’ Stones” but eventually becomes far wilder, building up to pointillistic bleeps and dense layers of electronic fizz that unexpectedly cut to near-silence. As Rosenboom explains, the piece creates a situation in which the ‘performer’s active imaginative listening became one of the ways to play their instrument, as well as an active agent in how self-organizing musical forms might emerge.’ Enriched with archival images and new notes from the composer, this expanded reissue of Brainwave Music is essential listening for anyone interested in the history of live electronic music and alive to the possibilities it might still contain.

Previously unreleased and thought lost Cacophonic present these rare recordings for first time ever! Compiled from a collection of recordings spanning 1969 to 1971 featuring a cast of (unconfirmed) jazz greats including Ronnie Beer, Joseph Déjean, Claude Delcloo, Earl Freeman, Beckie Friend, Eddy Gaumont, Beb Guérin, Noel McGhie, Jouck Minor, Barre Phillips, Aldo Romano, Alan Silva, Kenneth Terroade, Jacques Thollot and Bernard Vitet.

Official remastered, reissue of two of Esther Phillips' breathtaking covers from the early '70s.

Firstly, Esther's cover of Gil Scott-Heron's timeless masterpiece 'Home Is Where The Hatred Is'. A haunting tale of addiction filled with the rawest of emotions, that can only truly be covered by someone who has fought that same battle with dependency. The pain in Esther's voice completely conveys this vulnerability and does Gill Scott Heron's original total justice. Heart-wrenching and completely absorbing in its honesty, it's a sincere portrayal of the demons both artist's faced in their lives.

On the B side, an adaptation of Eddie Floyd's 'I've Never Found A Girl (To Love Me Like You Do)'. Phillips' trademark soulful tones suit this sweet serenade so well, with the passion oozing from every word she sings. Sit back, relax and prepare to have your heart melted all over again.

the first remixed release from studio mule/bgm. our portland friend visible cloaks made remix for 2 songs. the original songs of both tracks are his all time fav japanese music. check his amazing compilation “kankyo Mongaku” !! the result is simply beautiful ambient music.

Bathurst is pleased to announce the return of The Motion Orchestra with their new single Sonorous taken from their forthcoming album All One set for release in 2020.

Formed in 2017, this studio project consists of Alexander Bednasch on Double-Bass, Mark Matthes on Violins, Andy Sells on Drums and David Hanke on electronics and production. Though influenced heavily by Neo-Classical and Jazz sensibilities they occupy a musical space that sits in neither sphere, with a compositional style that deftly fuses the orchestral and electronic worlds.

Their debut single – All One was a gorgeous piece inspired by the notion that everything comes from the same source, the same starting point. And it was well received, garnering support from BBC 6Music and Bandcamp Weekly.

Second single Sonorous is just as elegant as their first offering and looks set to continue the upward trajectory the band are currently on. Starting witha repeated electronic motif, it incorporates piano chord harmonics, tasteful bass notes, and swirling jazz drum patterns that interplay wonderfully with beautiful string arrangements, altogether creating a truly captivating character.

The release is comprised of both the original version as well as a the arrangement without the drums. The Motion Orchestra is currently in the process of producing their live show for performances of the debut album.

Any jazz lover will tell you that one of the main considerations in their appreciation of jazz is spontaneity, and the freedom it gives to improvise. In jazz, freedom is everything.

Here we have a record that was recorded simply because some musicians met in the studio one day in 1996. They were not under instruction, they had no plans. What they had was the presence of mind to make music with one another, free to collaborate and spontaneously create new sounds.

Drummer Harbans Srih tells us about 'Short story from Tabla, Drums & Trumpet': "We were tracking some funky jazz with a full band.
All left at the end except for Pandit and myself. As there was a bit of time left I said to Pandit to have some fun tracking tabla and drums. Engineer pressed the record button and off we went without any prior rehearsal. This take is the result. Colin had turned up, took one listen and said he'd like to play trumpet on it. Again without any particular discussion he went in and recorded this take, resulting in this fusion of Indo-Jazz."

... And then in 2003, 'Oye Maia' came about: "We met at the recording studio one afternoon. I had an idea of recording an Indian themed track and had brought along a kalimba. I showed it to Shanti who started to play it. It was suggested that he recorded a 2 bar loop while Pandit and I performed alongside. Shanti then improvised on trumpet utilising Indian phrasing. The track was named after his daughter Maia, and translated it means 'Listen Maia'."

German guitarist, bandleader and producer JJ Whitefield has been spearheading several musical sub-genres over the last two decades. His bands Poets of Rhythm, Whitefield Brothers and Karl Hector & The Malcouns are almost legendary to fans worldwide.

He has been releasing influencial albums on Ninja Tune, Mo'Wax, Daptone, Strut, Stones Throw and Now-Again and is probably one of the most respected German undergound musicians. Now he is reaching new levels of nastiness with his Kraut-Jazz debut for Kryptox music. The new german label that has been created to show what's happening in the growing german Neo-Jazz underground. A label collaboration between Gomma and K7 Records

Hard-hitting Finnish trio Mopo celebrates their 10th anniversary with a special digi EP / 7" single on We Jazz Records featuring three new tracks. "A Night In Zetor" and "Jauzaa" show a new side of the beloved group with extended, slowly building sonic narratives. "Die Mopo" is an upbeat, acid-y slice of the trio's more electronic side. The release sees Mopo reach out for new worlds of sound and as such, it presents a fine culmination of the beloved band's ten years of friendship and music.

The 7" release comes in a picture sleeve with a "cut-out" Mopo 7-inch adapter.

Linking the ancient and the modern across time and space, the Sokratis Votskos Quartet presents Sketching the Unknown – a modern jazz journey into the folk and modal music of ancient Greece.

Playing rich original compositions, the Quartet draw freely on Greek and Balkan folk sources, jazz idioms, and the classical makams of the near East. Returning to ancient Greek modes such as Dorian, Phrygian and Lydian, a fresh perspective is brought to the modal style that was popularised by Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Herbie Hancock. Expertly versed in musical theory, the pioneering jazz players that adapted these modes for the new jazz of the late 1950s and 1960s worked in full knowledge of their ancient Greek historical origins. The musical freedom offered by these ancient scales helped them take their music to a higher level as they laid the groundwork for the spiritual moment in jazz.

On Sketching the Unknown, the Sokratis Votskos Quartet brings that process full circle, linking today's jazz back to the ancient modes and microtonal folk music of Greece and the Near East. Deep modal jazz sounds from an ancient source!

'Esoteric, modal and deep jazz from Prestige Records, 1961-73'
The tenth edition of our Spiritual Jazz series takes a closer look at the music Prestige was recording at the start of the 1960s. This was the period when the modal jazz sound pioneered by Miles and Coltrane was starting to percolate through the jazz underground.

In its heyday, Prestige was the only jazz label that could hold a candle to Blue Note. Prestige was always quick off the mark to record new artists, and in the years after Kind of Blue the label was quick to release some of the most innovative early explorers of the new style.

Founded as New Jazz in 1949 by 20-year old jazz fan and entrepreneur Bob Weinstock, Prestige was the only other imprint besides Blue Note to capture the iconic jazz sounds of the 1950s, and like its rival it grew to be an icon itself.

If Blue Note documented the sound of hard bop in its most carefully crafted and beautifully presented form, the low-key, jam-session approach that Weinstock preferred meant that the music captured by Prestige has a tough, unfiltered energy that was a lot closer to way it was being played live, night after night, by New York's most prominent jazz musicians.

Featuring Afro-Eastern visions from Yusef Lateef and Ahmed Abdul-Malik, deep modal excursions from Mal Waldron and Walt Dickerson, and essential spiritual jazz grooves from Gary Bartz and Idris Muhammed, Spiritual Jazz vol. 10 documents the sound of modal jazz in full flight, unabashed and authentic from the pioneers!

- 2LP gatefold with comprehensive liner notes & pics

Wanubalé - nine guys from Berlin, inspired by the city's fresh Jazz scene and distinct club culture. Wanubalé met at school. Five of the nine in the band went to the same musical high school in Berlin.
Heavy influences from Jazz, Neo Soul and Funk shape their compositions. However, electronic sounds are just as important to Wanubalé. All of the nine are in their early twenties. All of them are into Dub, Bass Music and Broken Beats. And several members are DJs, as well. The Wanubalés are first rate musicians. They tend to take their time writing arrangements, yet they are careful not to overly emphasize their Jazz skills. Songwriting is a collaborative affaire, everything is developed organically.
Just like the band name, which dates back to the days of fooling around in the schoolyard, playing with syllables ("nuba" came first). Sound was crucial. Some say "Wanubalé" means "brother" in Swahili. Wanubalé: four horns, two drummers, guitar, bass, keyboards. Nine musicians with a knack for funky breaks, mighty brass sounds and great melodies. The musicians don't hide their influences: Snarky Puppy, Fat Freddy's Drop, plus younger acts like Hiatus Kaiyote. But Wanubalé do their own thing.
Wanubalé: four horns, two drummers, guitar, bass, keyboards. Nine musicians with a knack for funky breaks, mighty brass sounds and great melodies. All songs are written, produced and arranged by Wanubalé. Recorded at Jazzanova Studio, Berlin.

Underrated jazz musician and composer Gianni Safred is one of the great pioneers of Italian electronic music, and had proven his talent in a couple of ultra-rare and highly sought-after library records released by renowned Italian label Music Scene. FUTURIBILE was the second of the batch, composed and recorded in 1978 in his Trieste-based studio, using Minimoog, Polymoog, Arp Odyssey, Arp Omni, Fender Rhodes, Sequencer Roland, Space Echo Roland, and accompanied by a solid drum section. The whole album is crazy, with spooky and mysterious grooves that sounds both modern and danceable. An incredible electronic disco-jazz album, full of deep breaks and beats, along with dope overlapping synths, resulting in minimalistic proto-house tunes. A record that will take you both back in time and forward into the future. These sounds are suitable for space travels, space exploration, experiments, fantastic adventures, future enterprises, interplanetary stories, important achievements, industrial accomplishments of broad implications, modern scientific discoveries, and new industrial events.

The Helsinki-based Bowman Trio return with their second LP on We Jazz Records on October 18. "Persistence" is a strong effort, showcasing the young trio's knack at creating dynamic, sparse and memorable music which carries well the term "loft jazz" occasionally attached to it. Here, drummer Sami Nummela, trumpeter Tomi Nikku and bassist Joonas Tuuri present 9 strong originals, 8 of which are penned by Nummela and one by Nikku.

On the course of the new album, Bowman Trio moves from the introspective, calm moments of "Badwater", "Mac Elliot" and "Mä en jaksa" to the full swing of "The Chase" and the solid grind of "Persistence". The album closing track "Sista sommardagen" ("The last day of summer" in Swedish) is a hauntingly beautiful, delicately breezy ballad. Two years in the making, the album is a testament to the album title and a fine example of a band taking time in developing their sound to perfection.

Bowman Trio debuted in 2016 with the group's first LP also being the first release on Helsinki's We Jazz Records, and since then their reputation has grown in Finland and beyond. The trio is known for making music which invites the listener in and takes it sweet time in unraveling its secrets. Their sound is somewhat dry, naturally relaxed and there's a lot of room for manoeuvre within it for all of the players. That being said, each of the musicians in the trio know how to play for their team, and the compositions move forward constantly and effortlessly. Bowman Trio makes music which always feels close to you, like you're right there in the room with the band. That's "loft jazz".

Love Vinyl DRS Ltd Exclusive - Limited press 500 units

Cordial Recordings is a new label with a love for all things with soul, funk and a touch of jazz. The first release on the label is two unreleased jams from the 70s that remained in the can until recently by original Mercury Records act Mark IV. 'Hang Ups' is a bright uptempo number that brings forth the funk with a sprinkle of disco vibes to ensure a solid dancefloor winner. On the flip we treated to the original demo version midtempo shuffler 'Give Me Just A Little' with a great lead vocal from Jimmy Ponder and amazing harmonies from the rest of the group.

This is cool jazz album all the way around. From the black and white hand drawn to the fact that it came out of Fresno, California (not exactly a hotbed for jazz) to the handful of styles present (straight ahead, funky, free, and even a raga), this record’s got it going on. 500 copies press

High quality musicianship and some far out stoner tracks make this album stand head and shoulders above most of its private peers. Original very limited issue (rumor has it that only 300 were pressed). This album was a very limited press that was handed out at their shows and sold to local record stores. Only together for nine months, Mike Selesia (who plays Sax and Flute) and band recorded this album in one day presented this fascinating hybrid of early 60s Coltrane, early 70s Miles Davis.

Koma Saxo is a highly potent new five-piece produced by the visionary Berlin-based Swedish bassist-producer Petter Eldh. The lineup brings together five heavy jazz names on the Berlin–Nordics axis, including Eldh on bass, Christian Lillinger on drums and the frontline of three saxes: Otis Sandsjö, Jonas Kullhammar and Mikko Innanen. Despite the top-billing names, make no mistake: this is not just another "supergroup", but a real working band with their own sound and musical trajectory.

Eldh's vision for the Koma Saxo sound is one step ahead of what groovy avantgarde jazz could sound like in 2019, involving postproduction work with the raw material recorded in Helsinki in connection to Koma Saxo's successful debut at the We Jazz Festival. Both studio and live tapes exist side by side, and Eldh goes deep in molding the final music to be heard on the upcoming Koma Saxo releases.

The Koma Saxo debut LP on We Jazz Records is a revelation for anyone seeking contemporary jazz music with edge and vision. From the opener, the brief but fiery "Kali Koma", right into the pastoral finale, "Så Rinner Tiden Bort", Eldh & co are on it, like a tightly-knitted posse of jazz assassins on the run. At times, the pieces fall gloriously apart, just enough in order to be ripe to put back together again. Take "Ostron Koma" for example. From the intense opening seconds full of suspension, the track moves forward with breathtaking swing, then onto full-on free breakout, to be born anew.

In addition to scorching originals by all members of the band, Koma Saxo tackle a handful of carefully-picked and highly inspirational borrowed tunes from Finnish legends Matti Oiling, Edward Vesala and the Swedish composer Olle Adolphson. Even at their most freeform, Koma Saxo have an underlying "threat" of swinging hard. At their most peaceful, their hymns are full of genuine serenity and charisma, enabling them to never fall into easy sentimentality.

Whatever the mood, Koma Saxo are like lightning in a box, yearning to be set free.

"Cycle and Reveal" is the fourth full length LP of contemporary classical works by acclaimed composer Mario Diaz de Leon. Featuring bold performances by a cast of longtime collaborators, this compilation is an essential chapter in his celebrated series of recordings for acoustic instruments and electronics.

The output of Mario Diaz de Leon defies easy categorization, spanning the worlds of contemporary classical composition, experimental electronic music, extreme metal, and creative improvised music. Working extensively with an inner circle of close collaborators (ICE, Talea, and TAK Ensemble, among others) his classical works have been celebrated over the last decade for their “hallucinatory intensity” (New York Times), “snarling exuberance” (Pitchfork), “helter-skelter, electronically enhanced cadenzas” (New Yorker Magazine), and coupling of “crystalline clarity with the disorienting turbulence of a sonic vortex” (Wire Magazine).

The A-side features two works written in early 2017, which colorfully embrace hypnotic repetition alongside dynamic contrasts and distinctly embody the electrifying post-minimalism that Diaz de Leon is known for. Opener Sacrament is written for a trio of musicians from Talea Ensemble and features the composer’s shimmering, bass heavy electronic production. This energetic piece, driven by the virtuosity of marimba player and Talea executive director Alex Lipowski, makes use of rapid-fire arpeggiations and heavy rhythmic unisons. These are starkly contrasted with moments of reverberant echo, bursts of noise in the flute and electronics, and ecstatic rhythms. Labrys, written for ICE bassoonist Rebekah Heller, builds on the celebrated legacy of solo + electronic works heard on his 2015 album The Soul is the Arena. Built around virtuosic interplay between bassoon and synthesizer, Labrys features shifting and hypnotic repetition alongside expansive melodies and sub-bass frequencies.

The B-side consists of two works composed in July of 2016 which draw from primal, incantatory, and improvisatory sonic landscapes. Irradiance, a collaboration with cellist Mariel Roberts, begins with a series of spacious riffs exploring the extremes of the cello’s register and transforms over time into a climactic frenzy of noise loops. Tuning the cello’s low C down to a growling G, Roberts interpreted the sounds of each pre-recorded loop by ear. The piece gradually builds from cavernous depths into an ecstatic climax of anarchic noise. Concluding track Mysterium is written for the ICE trio of flutist and ensemble founder Claire Chase, clarinetist and artistic director emeritus Joshua Rubin, and bassoonist and current artistic director Rebekah Heller. Archaic melodies, improvised heterophony, spectral transformations, echoes of Klang-era Stockhausen, and the colorful noise of Moog and Ciat-Lonbarde synthesizers combine to create an expansive and wildly ritualistic atmosphere.

Cycle and Reveal was recorded in vivid detail by Marc Urselli (John Zorn, Laurie Anderson) at East Side Sound, Stephen McLaughlin at EMPAC, and mastered by Ryan Streber at Oktaven Audio. Diaz de Leon invited Melbourne-based visual artist Yuria Okamura to design the cover image and inner sleeve symbols. Sharing Diaz de Leon’s interest in the reinterpretation of spiritual art, Okamura’s cover “maps and reconfigures geometric patterns and symbols that reference esoteric symbolism, occult diagrams, religious architecture and decoration.”

The Selenites Band is a musical collective led by Obi Riddim aka Antoine Laloux. The band is playing mostly Ethio Jazz, a popular Ethiopian music trend, famous from the 50’s until the 70’s in
Ethiopia. During this Golden Age famous musicians such as Mulatu Astatke, Girma Béyéné, Mahmoud Ahmed, Getatchew Mekurya dominated the musical scene. The Selenites Band is paying a tribute to those Masters by playing their major pieces, and through
their own creative work inspired by the Spirit of this time. Modal Jazz, pentatonic melodies, free improvisation are expressed and magnified through the original vintage sound, mixing of woodwind
instrument, psychedelic guitars and a drums section that seems to have stepped out of a Blaxploitation movie. The Selenites Band is blowing a heat wave from the Grand Rift Valley to reach a powerful tectonic force, deeper than a sand storm, magic as a trance under the moon, vibrant as a tropical party fever in some Addis Abeba Club back in the old days. After releasing their first EP in 2019 with Sandal label, the French label Stereophonk put out 6
recorded live tracks which consist of classic Ethiopian tracks composed by Mulatu Astatke and Girma Beyene. Some of them have been made famous internationally being sampled by popular
artists like Damian Marley, Nas, Jay Z … who helped the recognizing of this regional culture and gift. Stereophonk is a French label headed by Dj Marrrtin, releasing records that they love: from Estonian jazz-funk (Estrada Orchestra), somtoe funk breaks played in every breakdance events (Funky Bijou) and trips music inspired by Indian Grooves (Lord Paramour).

With "Steamy!" Jukka Eskola Soul Trio reaches its second album on Timmion and delivers another sure-shot for the soul jazz thirsty masses. As with his first self titled debut, this troupe of premium Finnish jazzers turns all the relevant corner stones of soulful and progressive jazz, never running too far up the deep end, but always harnessed with expressive sensitivity and professional cool. It's like the 1960's and 1970's global jazz movement got condensed into a radiant ball of hipness, heady and completely unpretentious.

In addition to the two single releases "Tiny B" and "Stick Of A Branch" Soul Trio dip their groove jazz chops into numbers such as "Five On Three", the shuffling "Jongo Street" and the fatback funky "Steamy". There's also a strong strain of Brazil on several tracks from bossa nova to richly percussive rhythms. On the over 7 minute long "Smash" they mellow out into a beautiful mood that sounds like John Patton swinging with a bunch of European cats. There's even a few studio tricks that we'll leave for the listener to discover.

Calling the Soul Trio a group of virtuosic players is an understatement as all of them have been working at it on a professional level since the 1990's. Trumpetist Eskola and drummer Teppo Mäkynen were both a part of the Helsinki nu jazz movement of the time, which later evolved into the now iconic Five Corners Quintet, while organist Mikko Helevä has hammered his Hammond in underground Finnish jazz funk groups for as long as his two band mates. Together they cook up a stew, which is like a bowl of perfect bouillabaisse, rich with flavour and with nice bits to chew on.

Orange Vinyl

With "Steamy!" Jukka Eskola Soul Trio reaches its second album on Timmion and delivers another sure-shot for the soul jazz thirsty masses. As with his first self titled debut, this troupe of premium Finnish jazzers turns all the relevant corner stones of soulful and progressive jazz, never running too far up the deep end, but always harnessed with expressive sensitivity and professional cool. It's like the 1960's and 1970's global jazz movement got condensed into a radiant ball of hipness, heady and completely unpretentious.

In addition to the two single releases "Tiny B" and "Stick Of A Branch" Soul Trio dip their groove jazz chops into numbers such as "Five On Three", the shuffling "Jongo Street" and the fatback funky "Steamy". There's also a strong strain of Brazil on several tracks from bossa nova to richly percussive rhythms. On the over 7 minute long "Smash" they mellow out into a beautiful mood that sounds like John Patton swinging with a bunch of European cats. There's even a few studio tricks that we'll leave for the listener to discover.

Calling the Soul Trio a group of virtuosic players is an understatement as all of them have been working at it on a professional level since the 1990's. Trumpetist Eskola and drummer Teppo Mäkynen were both a part of the Helsinki nu jazz movement of the time, which later evolved into the now iconic Five Corners Quintet, while organist Mikko Helevä has hammered his Hammond in underground Finnish jazz funk groups for as long as his two band mates. Together they cook up a stew, which is like a bowl of perfect bouillabaisse, rich with flavour and with nice bits to chew on.

Hailing from Modena, the Northern Italian motor city, Strata-Gemma produce a music of beautiful symmetry, intense craft and surprising angles. Born as a club night, the trio grew out of jam sessions where musicians would play over the records DJ/producer Billy Bogus spun. Their name came about due to the core members finding shared inspiration in records they considered "hidden gems" (gemma means gem in Italian) while paying homage to the Detroit Jazz label Strata Records. Thus from a love of jazz and soul, soundtracks and library music, Strata-Gemma were born.

Where Strata-Gemma's 2018 debut album had a lush, late-night ambience about it, Autunno 1 is more intense and agitated, a reaction to extreme political and weather conditions. As with all things Italian, Autunno 1 is both beautifully sculptured and filled with wild passion while serving as an intense soundtrack to our fractured world.

Strata-Gemma are Billy Bogus (beats), Andrea Moretti (double bass, strings) and Luca Cacciatore (brass, wind). For Autunno 1 they are joined by heavy friends on drums, synth and Hammond.

Yes, dear customers, your favourite instrumental-experimental-tropical quintet Satanique Samba Trio, known for its iconoclastic research on Brazilian traditional rhythms, is pushing the envelope on the low fidelity field once again! Friday September 13th 2019 will be remembered in Music History for the release of their new 10" vinyl Mais Bad, a conceptual sequel of the 2015 release Mó Bad. Mais Bad is a new collection of low fidelity bagatelles, forged into existence by Satanique Samba Trio's thirst for aesthetical deconstruction. All instruments in this 10-track vinyl have been recorded with the same cheap cell phone from the early 2000’s. It is meant to sound desperate, harsh and absolutely surreal. A little over the top, maybe? Yeah, but hey: that’s just how a country in crisis should look and sound like. Right? Greetings from Brasília, Brazil!

The boys from Satanique Samba Trio: Munha da 7 (electric bass and regency), Gustavo “Don Chavez” Elias (acoustic guitar), Jota Dale (cavaco), Lucas “Sombrio” Muniz (bass clarinet) and Lupa Marques (drums).

Born in 1949 in Recife (Brazil), Roberto De Melo Santos, despite a very light discography, is among
the true icons of the Brazilian Soul music under his artist alias, Di Melo. He’s indeed only needed an
eponymous album, released in 1975 on Odeon, to assert himself as a star in his native country, but
also as a legend for all collectors and connoisseurs of the world. More than 40 years after its release,
this famous album sells for several hundred euros in its original version, and even for the few
reissues that were offered. Not very active since then, Di Melo however returned in 2016 with the
album O Imorrível, released on the Brazilian label Casona Produções.
It is then that a year later, came a meeting with the French group Cotonete, that Florian Pellissier,
founding member and keyboard within the band tells us about: “On tour in Brazil with Cotonete, we
had a few days off in Sao Paulo and I really hoped to make a collaboration with an important artist or
band from the Brazilian funk scene. We had thought of Marcos Valle, Meta Meta or Ed Motta... but
Rafaela Prestes our Brazilian "sound ingineer/genious" told me she’d worked with Di Melo for his
recent comeback and gave me his number. No sooner said than done, as I'm a huge fan of Di Melo.
The next day he arrived at our house with Jo, his wife, and Gabi, his daughter. He takes the guitar in
front of us and gives us a private show of 3 hours… we cried the tears of joy. He had 400 original
songs never recorded, a gold mine. On the same night, we started working the arrangements for 2
days, followed by a rehearsal and two small gigs in Sao Paulo. Immediately after, we recorded in the
magical Epsilon B studio. This album is the summary of this moment, of these 5 days of madness
spent together between “the best band in the world” and the legend Roberto Di Melo… Simple,
beautiful, Brazilian-French, human music…”
Today, Atemporal found its final version in collaboration with Favorite Recordings and is proudly
presented as what we believe will become the genuine long-awaited follow-up to the classic Di
Melo’s LP.

In a time when Jazz music is entering a contemporary renaissance and exciting the ears and minds of new audiences, Zombie Zombie's Étienne Jaumet offers us his unique, idiosyncratic take on the sound with the sprawling '8 Regards Obliques', his 3rd solo album with the Versatile label.

Jazz requires a certain freedom of technique, interpretation and improvisation that already matches Jaumet's own production style and sonic aesthetic as well as his playful approach towards music. The eight pieces that make up the new LP were very quickly recorded; Jaumet let himself be carried away by the atmosphere without focusing too much on fine details or the laborious aspects of the composition process. The finished article is a spontaneous collection that stands out, a true mirror image of the creative process adopted by the artist. Not surprisingly, spontaneity is one of the characteristics already present in his music, in both his recorded output and his live happenings, where he leaves much room for freedom and improvisation.

'8 Regards Obliques' was recorded at the Versatile studio in less than 3 weeks with quite a basic set up: TR 808, selected synthesizers, vocals and of course the saxophone, which is a constant presence also in his previous albums. For the mix Etienne has again appealed to the maestro I:Cube, a central figure of the Versatile story and a prdigious engineer and artist in his own right. He immediately understood that it was necessary to keep the spontaneous side alive and to not over-produce the pieces or over-edit them, being constantly mindful to retain the power in the sound and in the frequencies. From Sun Ra with 'Nuclear war', Miles Davis in 'Shhh / Peaceful' or 'Theme from a symphony' by Ornette Coleman to 'Caravan' (already quoted by many jazzmen), Etienne enjoyed revisiting classic masterpieces and paying tribute to his inspirations. He allowed himself only one personal and original composition, 'Ma révélation mystique'.

The vitality you hear on Antique Blacks is a testament to the unique energy of the community around The Foxhole Cafe in Philadelphia, as Ra honed his unique brand of Afro-Futurism through the late 60';s and 70's. Cosmic theatre, spiritual chants, and experimental electronics make this record an essential document that was ahead of its time. Ancient to future! BIG TIP !

The 1970s saw change in Sun Ra's recorded output, and as far as we can tell, the content of his live performances. By the middle of the decade, Sun Ra's music no longer seemed comprehensible as part of the jazz New Thing – quirkier, more idiosyncratic elements were more to the fore.

At this time, 1974, every Sun Ra record still surprised, and seemed radically different from everything else he had released up to then. The musical universe proposed by free jazz had never circumscribed Sun Ra. He had been part of the movement, but was able to use the possibilities it suggested without being limited by its conventions.

The Antique Blacks illustrates this well. Recorded as a radio broadcast in Philadelphia, according to Dale Williams, it has a well defined but oddball structure. Sun Ra was a master architect, very concerned to use the unfolding of an album, a broadcast or a live performance to create a satisfying structure.

Song No 1 starts on an upbeat note, it's a lively, tonal introduction, featuring John Gilmre on tenor saxophone, Sun Ra on roksichord, Dale Williams, then aged 15, on guitar, and Akh Tal Ebah on trumpet.

Sun Ra's poetry is featured on There Is Change In The Air, a track which has on occasion been used for the album title: in its original incarnation as a Saturn LP, there was no dedicated sleeve artwork, and this record appeared under many names. Ra's poetry is allusive, elusive and paradoxical, and this was its first major appearance on a record. During instrumental passages, Dale Williams' guitar is heard, along with the saxophones of Marshall Allen and Danny Davis.

The Antique Blacks is a similar setting for a Sun Ra poem, which encompasses "spiritual men", and Lucifer as a dark angel. The Arkestra is heard in conducted improvisational ensembles, in between the sections of the poem.

This Song Is Dedicated To Nature's God has Arkestral vocals, with John Gilmore's voice in th foreground. Williams' guitar is once again prominent in the instrumental passages.

Sun Ra's poetic declamations provide the structire for The Ridiculous I and The Cosmos Me, which also has a fine unaccompanied tenor solo by John Gilmore, keyboard improvisations by Sun Ra, and closes with bass clarient from Eloe Omoe.

Sun Ra's keyboards are heard with minimal Arkestra support on Would I For All That Were – a fine synthesiser improvisation, with electric piano left hand accompaniment.

Tension is resolved by Space Is The Place, which rounds the album out in an upbeat mood, with Akh Tal Ebah, James Jacson and Sun Ra prominent among the vocalists. The closing section includes the chant Sun Ra And His Band From Outer Space, often used at the close of live performances. This isn't strictly live, though: in one line the vocal is played backwards on tape!

FHUO Records has been pushing the limits of its own diversity by releasing an ambient soundtrack album, hip-hop beats, neo soul and electronic music during the last months.

But here it comes back after a short hiatus with something powerful and very special, the first solo album of one of the all time finest french jazz pianist on the scene, Marc Bianco.

Known for his house productions and his project Kimosabe with Folamour, Marc Bianco decided to go back to the roots for his first long format under his real name. Coming from improvisation, live jazz and the connection between composing and sharing energy, he decided to mix all these ideas into a beautiful experience going through cinematic universes from one track to the other. Different worlds while we're still on the same trip. One for the books!

In-demand deep modal jazz tune from Belgium featuring Babs Roberts!

The lesser-spotted jazz atoms that formed the fusion of Futurist Flanders! It might sound like an ambitious claim but having been a firm fixture at the top of many European jazz collector want lists over the past decade Finders Keepers wouldn’t be alone when proclaiming this extremely rare, lesser-known two-track 7” from 1969 as one of the best jazz 45s of all time! Alongside Polish pianist Krzysztof Komeda’s soundtrack 7” for the film Cul-De-Sac and ranking closely with François Tusques’ commemorative Le Corbusier exhibition 45 (featuring Don Cherry) this format-specific release known only as Brussels Art Quintet might well sit at the top of the podium while striking similarities and arguably combining the best stylistic traits of both aforementioned contenders.

This is all speculative and clearly a matter of individual opinion but it’s not often that one should find a recording from this era, comprising such high production qualities, keen compositional values and robust craftsmanship spread across two equally spellbinding individual tracks, all of which awards this record justified hyperbole albeit subject to a 50 year delay. It is safe to say that this unique release is “rare” on many levels. Like all privately pressed art projects this 45 comprises some serious outsider art trappings. However, on closer inspection it also stands as a pivotal record in the micro-genre of Belgian jazz, pin-pointing an early axis for some vital progressive jazz players who went on to become sturdy pillars of the central European happening.

Essentially as a five-piece, the short-lived Brussels Art Quintet neatly combines members of both the mythical Babs Robert Quartet (early exponents of Belgian spiritual jazz) and key players from the leading progressive jazz/rock/funk unit known as COS (formally Classroom) who would stand as close affiliates of the likes of Marc Moulin, Kiosk and Placebo through the 1970s. Reproduced in close collaboration with COS leader Daniel Schell, who, under the early guise of Daniel “Max” Schellekens, authored both tracks that make up this facsimile 45 single, this one-off single includes the only known output by the Brussels Art Quintet thus marking the essential in-road to instantly start and complete your entire BAQ collection not without reliving the early germination of the froward-thinking jazz fusion that came to shape Belgium’s truly unique movement.