Pop & Rock Vinyl New Releases - News

Omena travels south of the Mediterranean Sea, antique maps and compass in hand, for the release of Parviz's Zerzura EP.

An expedition to the eponymous mythical oasis, west of the Nile river, stirring "the passion of men", as St-Exupery would put it.
Four songs of romance and reverie, taking you through a dizzying jazz journey, full of twists and turns; starting with emboldened trumpets, only to end on a handful of quaint piano notes.
As dusk settles upon the dunes, the mirage has now vanished, and the forlorn hope turns into a soul-searching journey.

The  Hammond organist’s classic 1968 album. His second record for Blue Note. Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, on 23rd July 1968. Produced by Blue Note co-founder Francis Wolff. Featuring an all-star unit including Lee Morgan (trumpet), David ‘Fathead’ Newman (tenor sax) and Melvin Sparks (guitar). Kicks off with the hard-driving Hugh Masekela composition ‘Song Of Ice Bag’, and continues with a take on ‘Three Blind Mice’, a brilliant version of the title track, made famous by Aretha Franklin, and two more Latin-tinged Smith originals (‘ The Call Of The Wild’, ‘Slouchin’’). Includes liner notes written by Rhett Evers.

Soul Jazz Records are releasing flautist Lloyd McNeill’s album ‘Treasures’ (1976). 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 and
spiritual jazz sensibilities blended with Brazilian and Latin rhythms and melodies.
Lloyd McNeill is a cultural polymath – a multi-disciplinarian flautist, painter, academic, poet, and photographer – who as a
musician has worked with everyone from Mulatu to Nina Simone, Eric Dolphy and Nana Vasconceles (and as a painter was
befriended by Picasso!).
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 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.
‘The course was a scholarly attempt to trace the roots of the music of African-American cultures in the diaspora (including North
and South America) of the African Peoples taken from West Africa and brought to the so-called New Worlds as slaves.’ LLOYD
MCNEILL
As part of these academic studies McNeill travelled extensively throughout Brazil between 1971-76, studying Afro-Brazilian music.
On his first trip to Brazil he met the pianist Dom Salvador, leader of the fusion group Aboliçao and over the next few years
worked with many Brazilian musicians including the guitarist Paulinho da Viola, saxophonist Paolo Moura, and singer Martinho
da Villa.
On his return to New York in 1973 he formed a regular and fluid live group that included Brazilian players Dom Salvador, Nana
Vasconceles, Portinho as well as many heavyweight jazz musicians such as Ron Carter, Cecil McBee, Marcus Miller, Charlie Rouse,
Bob Cranshaw and many more.
‘Treasures’ was the culmination of this intense period for McNeill fusing Brazilian, jazz and Latin sensibilities together. The album
features McNeill on flute, Cecil McBee on bass, Dom Salvador on piano and three percussionists – the Brazilian multiinstrumentalist Portinho, Latin percussionist Ray Armando and jazz drummer Brian Brake.
This is the 4th Lloyd McNeill album that Soul Jazz Records have released and follows on from 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.
‘Treasures’ is released as a limited-edition 1000-copies worldwide LP (+ download code), and limited-edition 1000-copies
worldwide CD edition and also as a digital album on Soul Jazz Records.

All of the music featured here on this new Soul Jazz Records collection was created by Brazilian
artists in the USA in the 1970s.
In the early 1970s North American jazz musicians were eager to work with upcoming Brazilian
musicians. Miles Davis invited Airto Moreira to join his new ‘electric’ band, Dom Um Romao (part of
Sérgio Mendes’ legen
dary Brazil ‘66 in the 1960s) joined the fusion group Weather Report, Flora
Purim and Airto both became a part of Chick Corea’s new project Light As A Feather, Wayne Shorter
collaborated with Milton Nascimento, George Duke recorded Brazilian Love Affair, and so on.
With all the attention placed on them from these important jazz artists, North America became the
new musical playground for a large number of these Brazilian artists – Airto Moreira, Flora Purim,
Sérgio Mendes, Luiz Bonfá, Eumir Deodato, João Donato and many others.
Most of these musicians had already experienced success through the earlier popularity of bossa
nova in the 1960s, either at home in Brazil or in the USA. But by the end of the 1960s many
Brazilian artists had left their own country, as the military dictatorship became progressively more
authoritarian and repressive. In the USA, through their critically acclaimed work for Miles Davis,
Weather Report, Lightj As A Feather etc., all of these artists were now given reign to explore new
musical terrains away from the restrictions of both a musical genre and a state censor back in Brazil.
This collection brings together some of these finest works and comes complete with extensive notes
that explains the path these musicians took from Brazil to the USA and shows the political and
musical links between Brazil and the USA that created the conditions for this unique fusion of these
two distinct cultures, North American Jazz and Brazilian music, that occurred in the 1970s.
The album comes as a deluxe gatefold double vinyl LP, complete with download code, full sleeve
notes, exclusive photography, double inner sleeves.

“While he was still just a young adolescent who had perfected his drum technique under the benevolent wing of Kenny Clarke, the Club Saint-Germain liked to present Jacques Thollot as a prodigy capable of holding his own with the famous jazz musicians who came through Paris. It was there that Eric Dolphy immediately noticed him, and from René Thomas to Walt Dickerson, everyone wanted to work with him.

However, it was during the 1960s, first with Jef Gilson then François Tusques, Barney Wilen, Joachim Kühn and Steve Lacy, that the decisive encounters occurred. Without forgetting that he joined, in 1968, one of Don Cherry’s groups, went on tour with them and came back transformed. That being said, to present Jacques Thollot as an in-demand virtuoso who could adapt to any circumstances would be to ignore both his demanding compositions and his complete freedom from stylistic boundaries.

To prove the point, and although he had already featured on some cult albums (Our Meanings And Our Feelings by Michel Portal, Monkey-PockieBoo by Sonny Sharrock), the first album under his own name, recorded in 1971 for producer Gérard Terronès, who gave him free rein, would turn out to be an unexpected, unclassifiable and astounding work. Entitled "Quand le son devient aigu, jeter la girafe à la mer", (when the sound gets high-pitched, throw the giraffe into the sea) it is an extraordinary sonic collage, created from discrete re-recordings and using just a handful of instruments including drums and piano. The result is a miracle, though the economy of means the production technique succeeds in putting the spotlight on the oddly elaborate compositions under an enigmatic but well-chosen title, borrowed from poet Henri Michaux. It puts into words the mysteries of a fragile melancholic universe which can be compared to another album by an iconoclastic drummer: The End Of An Ear by Robert Wyatt. The difference being the highly personal elements which shine through the French musician’s album, clearly drawn from listening intently to classics from Debussy, Ravel and Barraqué (whom he knew), a seam which he would continue to mine on his equally excellent following albums Watch Devil Go and Cinq Hops.

Yes, it is true that Jacques Thollot recorded rarely under his own name (five albums during his lifetime), but what marvellous albums they are!”

Repress coming soon!

One of the finest albums I've heard in a while. Tight, Fela-esque horns, big clubby drums with chunky guitars holding it all together, this record is constantly engaging and is at times reminiscent of Quantic at his best. Can't say fairer than that!" - Adam Gibbons/Lack Of Afro



Were David Hanke to pass on from this mortal coil tomorrow, Nevertheless might prove his perfect epitaph. It’s a refreshingly honest and somewhat autobiographical long-player that harks back to his early twenty first century musical influences but actually has its route much earlier in this self-styled Renegade Of Jazz’s life. The album’s appellation refers back to Hanke’s first live concert experience when in 1984, at the age of six, he went to see a Blues-rock band called Nevertheless whose guitarist was none other than his own father. With music clearly already running through Hanke’s D.N.A. this was the moment that, perhaps subconsciously, triggered his life long love affair with soulful sonic creativity. Nevertheless sparks into action with the irresistibly uplifting Lemon Squeezers, a suitably life affirming opener complete with exhilarating guitars and as the man tells us, “(the) basic characteristic, the beat!” and it’s a rock solid beat at that. With some Renegades Of Jazz trademark horns added for extra spice, and of course everything programmed by Mr Hanke himself, this is the perfect introduction to this man’s scintillating style. Nautical nugget, Big Fish, continues the brass obsession.

It has a more sonorous, almost big band feel, even though we all know this is being delivered solely by one pair of hands and that singular, special musical brain. Hanke adds some nifty piano work for extra cheekiness, which is a theme that’s continued on Another Day (Going In Too Deep) where Hammond style keys and perfectly chosen vocal samples do battle with more foot friendly beats, before we go in deep with Afro flavoured licks and horn riffs. The title track starts life as something of a moment of calm with a more introspective feel, but not for long as we make way for more trademark beats and vocal loops, and more of those irresistible horns! It’s the prelude for a watershed moment on the album as Hanke then introduces his first guest in the shape of Bristolian rapper Donnie Numeric (one half of Delegates of Rhyme) on the scorching Hot Wired. It’s the perfect illustration of our producer’s love for the Hip-Hop art form, and Donnie’s smooth lyrical flow combines with those Renegades Of Jazz brass and guitar riffs to make more demands on you to move your feet.

This third release on City Volts Records from the international producer and DJ collective sees West Loop Chicago channelling their inner Herbie Hancock and The Headhunters for this heavily jazz-fusion influenced record. The A-Side features 'The Serpent', a frantic analogue synth dance floor gem with its Mini Moog and Oberheim OB-6 parts leading the charge, a track very much inspired by Herbie's 'Chameleon' and Barry Miles' 'Magic Theater' from 1975, a Gilles Peterson/Dingwalls standard. The B-side includes 'Divinity', a more soulful affair with its delicious Fender Rhodes chords and atmospheric piano solos, which furthermore highlights the high level of musicianship contained within the 12". Both tracks also feature their respective bonus beats versions with 'Serpentine Bonus Beats' and 'Divine Bonus Beats' providing the rhythm tracks for both.

*Third vinyl release from the Berlin based Jazz-O-Tech Records.

Jazz-O-Tech introduces Black Gardenia Vol.1 composed by Berlin-based duo BEAT MOVEMENT.
The duo presents an unusual, psychedelic and moving techno jazz EP in collaboration with techno pioneer Sunil Sharpe, Italian saxophonist and composer Gianni Mimmo and the jazz quartet Gamapawa.
Black Gardenia is a mesmerizing aesthetic sound experience, taking the listener on abstract journeys and into cinematic sceneries. The title track "Silent Rain" opens the A-side with a soft and emotional fusion of drones and saxophone, followed by the sovereign and psychedelic slow groove of the track "Aphex Twin shot my neck". The B-side is a dancefloor killer combination between Sunil Sharpe's intelligent techno remix of “Silent Rain” and Gamapawa's featuring track "Untitled Reconstruction", where drums and saxophone reach the speed of 150 bpm.
Black Gardenia will be distributed worldwide in 300 limited edition copies.

Celebrating the photography of Robert Doisneau, 25 years after his death. Discover the new Esprit Robert Doisneau Collection, associating songs with his famous images of Paris.

Famous all over the world, the photographer’s work accurately represents the soul of Paris. This collection of ten LPs are all pressed on 180g coloured vinyl.

Celebrating the photography of Robert Doisneau, 25 years after his death. Discover the new Esprit Robert Doisneau Collection, associating songs with his famous images of Paris.

Famous all over the world, the photographer’s work accurately represents the soul of Paris. This collection of ten LPs are all pressed on 180g coloured vinyl.

First Word Records is thrilled to announce the next LP release of 2019,14KT presents IAMABEENIE: For My Sanity.


Following up 'The Power of Same', the first single off 14KT's new project, featuring Muhsinah, and remixed by Kaidi Tatham, 'For My Sanity' is a "freedom project", an album rooted in free creation, without being tied down by bars, patterns, scenes, and sequences. The intention behind this long-player is clearly stated all throughout the 12 tracks: releasing the angst of the current climate we are facing through collective artistic means.

"I made all the music really late at night after my day-to-day work, as an escape from "what I normally do". Paired with the everyday struggles of being an artist, it was very stressful hearing about so many deaths––especially due to law enforcement. Making "For My Sanity" was how I was trying to find peace of mind every night so I could go to sleep." says 14KT.

The themes of the album sway gracefully from personal philosophies and creeds, to burning social matters and celebration of the importance of family and genuine, fruitful friendships. If we were to classify this in a genre, we would say For My Sanity is a jazz record, at its core, but elements of hip hop, soul, r'n'b and latin music are easily recognisable and at home on the album.

"I challenged myself to create a jazz album, primarily using Native Instruments Maschine. 85% of the album was created on there. The rest was my amazing friends and myself playing instruments." KT continues.


'For My Sanity' features an array of fellow visionaries - Jimetta Rose, Masego, Mark de Clive-Lowe, Muhsinah, James Poyser, Stro Elliot, Rasheeda Ali, Farnell Newton, Kris Johnson, Magestik Legend –– who help deliver the message and further relay the essence of what the album stands for.

The journey of this release is a story in itself, as the primary thought wasn't for it to be released, especially with a label. But when this landed in DJ Gilla's inbox, and then shared with the First Word team, it was clear that the music was right up First Word's street.

IAMABEENIE is a name that denotes a series of jazz-Influenced albums 14KT is currently working on.

'For My Sanity' is out on vinyl & digital on April 26th.

Zoe’s Shanghai does not want you to know what’s coming.
With their debut LP A Mirage (Meant To Last Forever) and its kaleidoscopic textures, rich
melodies, fizzing percussions and soulful vocals, they effortlessly lead your imagination and
sense of rhythm, to places you did not expect, feeling things you did not know were there.
The music making process for Zoe’s Shanghai is a series of mysterious intuitive steps from
one thrilling discovery to the next. These sounds and ideas flow between the members of
the group, iterating into a tightly formed composition, forming original bases of sound and
then rolling off the edge into unchartered territory with Zoé’s voice reflecting on themes like
the subjectivity of reality, the creation of memories and internal contradictions.
Your ears and body will listen as they are lead through an exploration of acapella silk-road
scale vocals caught by light swinging chords, tender and reflective bassline foundations
supporting Zoé’s wandering reflections, rolling out into the sunlight of nurturing neo-soul
chord sections, rounded and warm textures punctuated by broken beat, walls of vocal
harmonies swelling over shimmering percussion as it rolls away.
A Mirage (Meant To Last Forever) is the record of Zoe’s Shanghai’s thrilling, joyful,
mysterious, groovy and shared process of music making. The loving extension of what Zoé
has been discovering in music since she can remember.

Third studio album by Vienna born London based saxophonist Guido Spannocchi after his sold out vinyl only debut "Ahead Only" and his second album "Terms & Conditions"

This new double vinyl or single CD features interntionally acclaimed Tony Kofi, former sideman of Abdullah Ibrahim and Ornette Coleman, on Baritone saxophone as well as New York based Jure Pukl on tenor saxophone. The various configurations also contain Gina Schwarz on bass who recently was mentioned in the Billboard Magazine and is a long time sidewoman of George Garzone as well as Saleem Raman on drums who is known for his work with Robert Mitchell amongst many others.

Recorded Kristian Craig Robinson, sound engineer of Shabaka Hutchins "Comet is Coming" at London's hotspot Total Refreshment Centre.

All titles are original music and draw from eastern European Lullabies, club grooves and displacements onto intricate harmonic structures and daring interplay. The delicate compositions come to live through the versatile approach of the ensemble led by Guido Spannocchi

[a] 1. Moral for Cash (feat. Tony Kofi, JJ Stillwell & Filippo Galli) [clip]
[b] 2. Kensington Hanami (feat. Jure Pukl, Gina Schwarz & Saleem Raman) [clip]
[c] 3. Majorelle Blue (feat. Jure Pukl, Gina Schwarz & Saleem Raman) [clip]
[d] 4. Spilled Milk (feat. Tony Kofi, JJ Stillwell & Filippo Galli) [clip]
[e] 5. Ode to Ornette (feat. Gina Schwarz & Saleem Raman) [clip]
[f] 6. Cork Screw Blues (feat. Jure Pukl, Gina Schwarz & Saleem Raman) [clip]
[g] 7. Urban Jig (feat. Tony Kofi, JJ Stillwell & Filippo Galli) [clip]
[h] 8. Aria (feat. Tony Kofi, JJ Stillwell & Filippo Galli) [clip]
[i] 9. Fragmentation Alteration (feat. Jure Pukl, Gina Schwarz & Saleem Raman) [clip]
[j] 10. Sunday Solitude (feat. Gina Schwarz) [clip]
[k] 11. Au clair de l'eclipse (feat. Jure Pukl, Gina Schwarz & Saleem Raman) [clip]
[l] 12. Rush Hour War Chant (feat. Saleem Raman) [clip]

Godtet is the brainchild of Australian Instrumentalist and producer Godriguez. Praised for his production on 'The Great Mixtape' for Sampa the Great. Godtet see's Godriguez stepping back into the live format of production with his band plus Simon Mavin (Hiatus Kaiyote) & Zeke Ruckman (30/70).

After releasing the self-titled debut in late 2017 Godtet have quickly become a staple within the emerging Australian Jazz & Instrumental scene with adulation streaming in from all parts of the globe. House Shoes called it his" album of the year" whilst Gilles Peterson made an exception in his Melbourne focused WorldWide FM show playing the Sydney outfits music. Whilst in Melbourne playing shows launching the first album, Godtet decided to record the next album "II", the bulk of which was laid down over one day and was rooted deeply in improvisation, just like the first record.

"It's a masterful piece of production" - Supreme Standards

"They are crazy, insane musicianship" - Jordan Rakei

Airplay on BBC6 and World Wide FM.

Led by the light of imagination, Son Swagga creates a musical realm of magic and wonder. The nine-headed kinship tells tales of warring tribes, forces of nature and cosmic sorcery.

Clanleader Felix Back draws upon his repertoire of funk-fusion, spiritual jazz and videogame music to create a sound that has never been heard before. Backed up by the tightest, most energetic rhythm section Amsterdam has to offer and spearheaded by a powerful horn section Son Swagga fanfares the coming of a new age in rhythm music.

Following their 2017 debut ‘Fires of Quidel’ Son Swagga are releasing their second full length album ‘Dark Magic’ on Super-Sonic Jazz Records on May 7th. Performance highlights include Bimhuis, Paradiso, Melkweg and Womex World Music Festival.

Son Swagga ‘Dark Magic’ is already the fifth physical release on the rising Amsterdam based Super-Sonic Jazz Records. Runned by Dutch DJ KC The Funkaholic (a.k.a. Kees Heus) and brothers Tenzers (a.k.a. Vincent & Siemen Tenzer), the Super-Sonic Jazz recordlabel, their six day festival, monthly concerts and exquisite clubnights becomes a serious movement within the Dutch musical landscape.

Kees Heus was also responsible for the running the Dutch imprint Kindred Spirits, that released records by international heavyweights, while championing local pioneers simultaneously.
Open your mind and nurture your imagination, because Son Swagga’s Dark Magic will spin mystic fiction into vivid reality.

third reissue of fumio itabashi on mule.

“rise and shine live at the aketa’s” is his 2nd release on 1977 which is recorded at legendary jazz club in tokyo.

but this album was actually recorded before his first release “toh”, so this album is his first album in fact.

“jumping board” on a side is japanese hard bop classic and itabashi’s cover version of “my funny valentine” is very sweet and elegant.

main track(for us)” rise and shine” is one of his best work. it reminds us pharaoh sanders if he plays piano…

limited initial press. don’t sleep!

New compilation Untitled collects seven collaborations inspired by the life and work of Jean-Michel Basquiat, pairing emerging and established musicians to create a genre-defying compilation of new music.

* Shabaka Hutchings, Kojey Radical, Wu-Lu, Nubya Garcia, Lex Amor, Ego Ella May, LayFullstop, Moroka, AJ Kwame, Lord Tusk, Roxanne Tataei, Kz, Mala, Joe Armon-Jones, Confucius MC, Kwake Bass, Maxwell Owin & Coby Sey.
* 12″ gatefold sleeve printed with UV Spot gloss
* 1 x 180g heavyweight black vinyl
* Artwork by Fabrice Bourgelle & Anja Ngozi
* Mastered by Finyl Tweek, London.
* Ltd Ed. of 1500
* Vinyl and digital release date: 31/05/2019

A1. Wu-Lu, Lex Amor, Ego Ella May – ‘Legend’
A2. LayFullstop, Moroka, AJ Kwame – ‘Broadcast By Chocolate’
A3. Lord Tusk ft. Roxanne Tataei – ‘Know Ways’
B1. Kojey Radical, Shabaka Hutchings – ‘No Gangster’ (Produced by Kz)
B2. Mala, Joe Armon-Jones, Nubya Garcia – ‘Scratch & Erase’
B3. =CoN+KwAkE= – ‘Same Ol Samo’
B4. Maxwell Owin & Coby Sey – ‘Response to Michel’

Released by Lonely Table, Anja Ngozi and The Vinyl Factory, with support from the Arts Council England, the album spans genres and eras, touching on jazz, experimental electronic, post-punk, dub and ambient influences, painting a diverse picture of the UK’s expanding underground sound.

Drawing on Barbican’s major Basquiat retrospective in 2017, the project also explores themes around identity, representation and social inequality.

As such Untitled also encompasses a youth project with Ruff Sqwad Foundation, in which seven BME young people aged 12-18 were given the opportunity to visit the Tate Modern and create music in response to what they saw.

As LayFullstop says: “We’re celebrating a legend who fought with his brushes and spoke with his work. The need for his work is still as current as ever. The issues we’re attacking are still as current as ever. So it’s only logical that Basquiat is and will continue to be as current as ever.”

Helen Merrill has done something very few others have done in the world of


jazz for, just with one record, she has come to be considered one of jazz's


greats. Usually a budding new star has to do quite a bit of waiting before he or


she can be acclaimed. It all depends on the public's opinion of the musician's


merits. Sarah Vaughan"amongst the singers "and Julian "Cannonball"


Adderley"among the instrumentalists"have had to take their place in the


queue awaiting the people's favourable reaction. In Helen Merrill's case
Notte e Giorno

Night and Day

Accade Tutto A Me

Everything Happens To Me

Autunno a New York

Autumn in New York

Perchè Non Fai Di Tutto

Why Don't You Do Right

Tu Non Sai Cosa Sia L'Amore

You Don't Know What Love Is

Queste Piccole Sciocche Cose

These Foolish Things

Aprile A Parigi

April in Paris

Ti Ho Nella Pelle

I've Got You Under My Skin

Solitudine

Solitude

Salice Piangi Per Me

Willow Weep For Me

Quando il tuo Amore

When Your Lover Has Gone

Helen Merrill has done something very few others have done in the world of

jazz for, just with one record, she has come to be considered one of jazz's

greats. Usually a budding new star has to do quite a bit of waiting before he or

she can be acclaimed. It all depends on the public's opinion of the musician's

merits. Sarah Vaughan—amongst the singers —and Julian "Cannonball"

Adderley—among the instrumentalists—have had to take their place in the

queue awaiting the people's favourable reaction. In Helen Merrill's case

however, it only needed her 1955 recording with Clifford Brown and Oscar

Pettiford—with arrangements by Quincy Jones—for the critics to state that at

long last jazz had a fair skinned singer. And yet we cannot exclude June

Christy, Anita O'Day or Chris Connor. It was just that Helen seemed to have

that certain "je ne sais quoi" which, before her splendid entry into the realm of

jazz, seemed to be exclusive right and property of the coloured singers—with

Billie Holliday leading the field.

Helen was born in New York thirty years ago. Her "education" in jazz was

handled by musicians like Bud Powell, Miles Davis and J. J. Johnson, and then

she carried on to her first important musical engagement—Earl Hines and his

orchestra. Her style is decisively "instrumental" and her interpretations never

set up that old problem of styling which often crops up when we think of the

recordings of other modern singers, that is whether it's really jazz or whether

we are listening only ballads to pazz style. Helen uses her voice with

intelligente and is deliberately "discret" i.e. she tries to make her voice seem

like an added instrument to the orchestra. Her recordings of "Willow Weep for

Me" and "Everything Happens to Me" are especially good examples of this

ability of hers.

In 1960 Helen Merrill went on a tour round Europe and was the star at the

Comblain La Tour Jazz Festival. Later, she came to Italy in order to record a

series of concerts for a television programme called "Moderato Swing" with

Piero Umiliani and his orchestra. She has also recorded 4 songs in Italian with

Armando Trovajoli and his orchestra (a 45 r.p.m. extended play—RCA EPA 30-

387). She has even been to sing in Japan...

In this record are gathered the songs that Helen Merrill sung for the Italian TV

show I have just mentioned. The Italian words have been kept from the original

and they are by Fernando Cajati.

In "Night and Day", "Everything Happens to Me", "Autumn in New York", "These

Foolish Things" and "I've Got You under My Skin", Helen Merril is accompained

by a sextet made up by Piero Umiliani (piano), Nini Rosso (trumpet), Gino

Marinacci (baritone sax), Enzo Grillini (guitar), Berto Pisano (bass) and Sergio

Conti (drums). In the other items we hear instead a quartet formed by Piero

Umiliani (piano and celesta), Nino Culasso (trumpet), Tonino Ferrelli (bass) and

Ralph Ferraro (drums).

First ever official LP reissue of this rare 1972 classic.

"The perfect giallo score, from the opening tones of Edda Dell 'Orso, through jazz-bossa into dissolving dissonance, disarray and pathological destruction." -

Alvin Lucia Remastered from the original master tapes, and includes four previously unreleased tracks.

Exclusive and extensive liner notes by Alvin Lucia, original artwork and rare photos.

Deluxe 180-gm replica limited edition LP.

“Stop here!” exclaimed Robert Oumaou as we passed a mango tree on the side of the road just outside of Point-a-Pitre, the balmy capital of Guadeloupe. He filled a plastic bag with ripe fruit, and we set off on our journey across the small Caribbean island in search of musicians he hadn’t seen in years. On the way, we shared stories in broken French and English, stopping at truck stops to eat delicious fried fish. Robert took me to his hometown, and placed a mango and a flower on the grave of his teacher and mentor, a local poet. The seeds of Vwayajé (Traveller) were sewn on this trip, but shortly after returning home, I heard that Robert was ill, and he sadly passed away in 2018. This compilation was originally intended as a way to share Robert’s brazen work with a wider global audience, but it now also serves to immortalize his indomitable spirit.

Gwakasonné is the ecstatic articulation of Robert Oumaou’s artistic and political vision, a unified expression of his interests in American jazz, pre-colonial rhythms, Guadeloupian independence, and Créole poetics. Over the course of three albums, all released in the 80s, Robert piloted a revolving cast of musicians, a venerable who’s-who of Point-a-Pitre avant-jazz pioneers, to deftly intone his creative communal concepts. The songs on Vwayajé are compiled from these three releases, Gwakasonné, Temwen, and Moun, along with an electronic mantra taken from his 2007 solo album Sang Comment Taire. Viewed from our current artistic and cultural landscape, Robert’s work is exceptionally enduring, grounded in its declarations of freedom and foundational use of the Ka (drum) and voice, and prescient in its borderless explorations of protest folk, electronics, ambient atmosphere, music from the African diaspora, and spiritual jazz. The long-form hive-mind expression of the group has parallels with similar explorations by The Grateful Dead, electric
Miles, Pharaoh Sanders, and even the Boredoms, but these are only oblique references for a truly peerless sound. Like other conceptual children of Gérard Lockel, the group was part of a progressive movement of like-minded musicians, such as Serge Fabriano, Dao, Erick Cosaque, and Gaoulé Mizik, who embraced Lockel’s modernist ideals, fusing Gwo Ka drumming and tuning systems with contemporary jazz and vanguard recording technologies. Robert’s ecstatic phrasings, embrace of electronic instruments, and daring lyrics set the group apart as the beatific expression of a sagacious soul.

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 trejectory.

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 first introduction into the world of Koma Saxo comes in the form of a 7"/digital single "Port Koma / Fanfarum For Komarum". Side A presents a restlessly dubby beat track, which would be ripe for hiphop sample use. The flip launches into a joyful full-on groovy free jazz fest which is hard to resist. Think Art Ensemble of Chicago at their swingingest but add a little "Nordic Noir" dropped right into the busy streets of Berlin's Kreuzberg.

ABOUT//BLANK is a collage of collages, an EP pasted together from tracks that are built of parts of various tracks, recordings, sketches, hooks, grooves and loops that Persian Empire has been working on in the past few years. It's a warm piece of fragmented soul music and a project that's far more vocal than any of Sam Khatam's previous productions.

The vocals, though, float in a cloud of haze. Recorded lo-fi, on the fly, impro style. They're intentionally imprecise, leaving blank spots and holes for listeners to fill in. Thus the play of these ambiguous lyrical fragments becomes not just open to but in fact invokes obligatory interpretation. It's the listener who with active interventions solves the mumbles and connects the gaps.

The EP draws from classic funk samples and hiphop production techniques and nods to the end of 90s cut 'n' paste of vanguard styles Mo' Wax, Warp and Chocolate Industries championed so well. With all this retro, throwback swing Persian Empire delivers soft soul that doesn't fit anywhere but in the present.


Persian Empire has been immensely influenced by UK dance styles, from 2step to bass yet his music usually can't happen without the usual intruders - from jazz to experimental electronics and hiphop. With special attention to rhythmical details Sam's put out music for labels likeCosmonostro and Record Record and since 2015 he runs his own Prrrrrrr Records, with a focus on young promising blood.

His live acts are not to be missed.

Celebrating its 25th anniversary, Far Out Recordings proudly presents two albums of previously unheard Azymuth demo recordings from 1973-75

Since their debut album release in 1975, Azymuth have risen to rank alongside the world’s greatest jazz, funk and fusion artists. As young men in Rio de Janeiro, they stood out for both their exceptional talent as musicians, and their wild rock ‘n’ roll antics in the predominantly middle-class worlds of bossa nova and jazz. Their signature ‘Samba Doido’ (crazy samba) sound ruptured the tried and tested musical structures of the day, resulting in what can only be described as an electric, psychedelic, samba jazz-funk hybrid.

Before they became Azymuth, José Roberto Bertrami (keyboards), Ivan ‘Mamão’ Conti (drums), Alex Malheiros (bass) and Ariovaldo Contesini (percussion) played backing band to just about every major artist in Brazil. Bertrami was also contracted as an arranger and songwriter at some the biggest labels of the era: Polydor, Philips, Som Livre, and EMI being just a few. Azymuth’s name can be found on record sleeves by the likes of Jorge Ben, Elis Regina, Marcos Valle, Ana Mazzotti and countless others. But at the dawn of the seventies, fascinated by developments in improvisational music - from jazz in the US, to progressive rock in the UK and of course samba, bossa and tropicália on home turf - the energetic young group were inspired and ready to move forward. Any spare moment in which they weren’t in sessions and writing music for other artists, they would be carving out their own sound.

These previously unheard recordings took place between 1973-75 at Bertrami’s home studio in the Laranjeiras district of Rio de Janeiro. At the time of recording, there was nothing in Brazil, less the world that sounded anything like them, so perhaps it’s unsurprising that when Bertrami presented his demos to the record companies he had been working for, he was turned away, and told in effect that the music was ‘wrong’.

One of the demos ‘Manhã’ would be picked up by Som Livre and Azymuth released their seminal debut album in 1975. Throughout the late seventies and eighties, the group released a series of now classic albums for Milestone Records, before taking an indefinite hiatus to pursue their individual careers.

When English producers Joe Davis and Roc Hunter arrived in Brazil in 1994 to record the first Azymuth album in over a decade, Bertrami dug out the demos which had sat virtually untouched for over twenty years. Joe recalls how he was “blown away by the freedom and intensity of the music, as well as the genius of the ideas musically.” Beginning a long and fruitful relationship, ‘Prefacio’ would be the first track Azymuth recorded for Far Out Recordings and was released on the Carnival album (1996).
Along with ‘Manhã’ and ‘Prefacio’, only a handful of these demos were ever professionally recorded and released, making this the first opportunity to hear many of these early Azymuth compositions in their raw, original form.

On every track the frenetic energy in the studio is palpable, giving the recordings a beautifully personal feel and a sense of the phenomenally creative vision Bertrami, Malheiros and Conti were realising at the time. Fifty years on, Azymuth’s earliest recorded music retains an ineffable, futuristic quality, standing amongst their most captivating and moving work.

Credits:

Keyboards: José Roberto Bertrami (Mini Moog Series One, Arp Omni, Arp 2600, Arp Solina Strings, Fender Rhodes 88, Hammond B3 with box speaker, Clavinet with Wah Wah)
Drums: Ivan ‘Mamão’ Conti
Bass: Alex Malheiros
Percussion: Ariovaldo Contesini
Produced by Azymuth and Jose Roberto Bertrami
Recorded at José Roberto Bertrami’s home studio in Laranjeiras, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil between 1973–1975.
Issue and project co-ordinator: Joe Davis
Tape transfers by Roc Hunter (thanks to Simon Hitner)
Mastered by Daniel Maunick at the Sugar Shack, Lanark, Scotland
Mastered by Frank at Carvery Cuts
All tracks published by Far Out Music Publishing/Westbury Music LTD

Dead Horse Beats is the stage name of Canadian musician, composer and
singer Patrick Wade.

Described as "a groovy treasure packed with the excitement and emotion
of a danceclub makeout session" by Noisey; Wade's releases with labels
in Montreal, New York and London span moods and styles from eccentric
trip-hop to pensive R&B and rattling disco tinged dance numbers.
As a performer and DJ, Wade has entertained tens of thousands at
festivals including MUTEK, Canadian Music Week, Igloofest, and Halifax
Pop Explosion and shared the stage with the the likes of Breakbot,
FKJ, Tokimonsta, RJD2, and Charlotte Day Wilson.

As well as a producer and songwriter, Wade's resume as a composer for
film and video includes award winning projects with the Royal Winnipeg
Ballet, Ubisoft, Landr and Destination Canada, as well as screenings
at Cannes, the National Geographic Film Festival and many other
festivals.

Wade's next album Inglaterra is scheduled for an April 2019 release
with Bastard Jazz Recordings.
Inglaterra', a ten song LP crafted over two years in the 28 year old
producer's Montreal studio, is a continuation of the Left-Field and
R&B influenced Soul of 2016's 'Bad Hopes'.

The Spanish word for England; 'Inglaterra' explores the concept of a
rainy vacation through deep, spacey grooves complimenting typically
pessimistic but vulnerable lyrics. Guest appearances from LA singer
Low Leaf on vocals and harp, frequent collaborator Francis Arseneau on
keyboards, and New York based saxophonist Jarryd Torff add soulful
expression to DHB's infectious, jazzy hooks.

With 'Weightless', their second LP, London-based soul/jazz ensemble Teotima are celebrating friendship, creativity, love, meditation, progress, and the work of being happy.

As musical director and guitarist, Greg Sanders, explains: "You create your own happiness. It's a discipline and a practice, learning what works and then remembering to do those things. So that's how I try to approach the music as well, bearing in mind moods and happiness. The work of being happy — like learning an instrument or a language — feels like something you need to maintain and do regularly.



In the music there's a lot of times where people are following the written music, but I also try and make sure that there's plenty of space for improvisation and solos and interaction. So you're creating the space and conditions for spontaneity and joy by using structure. It's how I write, but it's also how I try and live."


What exudes are 7 tracks that take full advantage of the remarkable breadth and depth of talent within the band's core members. "One of the most important things about Teotima is that the music is written with the specific players in mind - each player's voice on their instrument is an essential part of the group's sound".

This tradition of large-ensemble music written for the characters in the ensemble has a rich history stretching back to Ellington and Strayhorn. After the release of their debut LP 'Counting The Ways', First Word label boss Aly Gillani suggested that Greg should try writing for a smaller ensemble, to tour with.

Greg took up the challenge and focused on writing pieces which could work in differing arrangements/instrumentations, and workshopped ideas with other band members to develop the songs' sound and atmosphere.

Musically, the sounds span the Atlantic from the African continent to Brazil, the Caribbean, the USA and London, while sounding completely fresh and singularly captivating.

Album opener 'Suddenly' sees the Chakacha rhythm of coastal East Africa blended with the song-writing sensibilities of close friends and sometime collaborators Flying Ibex. 'If Every If' is the sound of Radiohead recording a samba with Bjork in Nashville, while 'From A Distance' sets Gil Evans style orchestration and a vocal performance reminiscent of Kadhja Bonet to a heavy Steppaz reggae riddim. Meanwhile, 'To Friends' is a joyful homage to South African township jazz legends Abdullah Ibrahim and Brotherhood of Breath, composed in the Ijexá rhythm of North-Eastern Brasil.

In the 6 years since 'Counting The Ways', the members of Teotima have been making waves with their own projects as leaders, as well as playing with contemporaries such as James Blake, Jordan Rakei, Waaju, Riot Jazz, and this wide-ranging experience in the band's joyful and sensitive performances.

From techno to to electronic cross-over classical, and now back again – Carl Craig’s Versus project continues to morph and evolve with the release of five beatless versions taken from the eponymous album. On the eve of the Carl Craig concert with the Chinake! Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall (which promises to be mythical) InFiné partners with Planet E for the release of 4 exclusive, purely orchestral, versions. This Versus Beatless EP brings together the classical musical base used in the making of Versus (2017). These pieces “without electronics” give primacy to the orchestral texture of the instruments and to Carl Craig’s close work with Les Siècles during the recording sessions at Davoux studio. With this new take on 4 Planet E catalogue classics, Carl Craig and Francesco Tristano transport their listeners into a new time space. Techno is entering concert halls. The European musical tradition pays tribute to the city of Detroit.

“New York’s Harlem River Drive is a dividing line, a highway where the rich zip past the poor,” says singer Jimmy Norman. Eddie Palmieri’s Latin-funk band of the same name tackled these hard truths, playing prisons and speaking to the common man. Ultimately, Norman and Palmieri made a powerful socio-political statement that continues to resonate to this day." Pablo Yglesias/Wax Poetics. When initially released in 1971, many critics panned Eddie Palmieri’s album Harlem River Drive. Those critics were wrong. Regardless of critical opinion, the release was not the crossover success Palmieri and Roulette Records had hoped for, at least in the immediate. Over the years the release has developed a following among listeners, DJs, and aficionados of rare-grooves. The record may have been recorded towards the end of the Latin soul era, yet it features that genre's wonderful mix of Puerto Rican soul, Spanish Harlem Latin, and New York funk. Palmieri worked with an incredibly talented crew of Latin and R&B session musicians to create this quintessential New York vibe, a synthesis of funk and Afro-Cuban sounds. Contributors include Victor Venegas from Mongo Santamaria’s band, Palmieri’s brother Charlie, an accomplished musician in his own right, Bruce Fowler who went on to join Frank Zappa’s band, Dick Meza who went on to great things with Tito Puente, Ray Barretto and Celia Cruz, as well as Andy Gonzalez who’s pedigree includes recordings with Barretto, Johnny Pacheco, Willie Colon and even Chico O’Farrill. Also appearing Randy Brecker and one of the all-time greatest of the greats Bernard Purdy. An over-arching theme of Harlem River Drive is the thought that, as Palmieri puts it “The U.S. is richest country, all this immense wealth, side by side with the most intense poverty, racial prejudice; how is that possible?” A question that’s perhaps more even more relevant today than it was in 1971. A question that can be further explored with Get On Down’s reissue of this seminal recording.

With 20 years passing since his first foray into recorded jazz, Nat Birchall now ranks as one of the premier saxophonists of his generation. With several highly acclaimed albums in the locker, he now returns to JAZZ45 for the second time to wrap his chops around the 45rpm 7" format. This is the format that takes no prisoners - there's no time for noodling - and the result is an intense yet sensitive message of deep jazz, modal jazz, esoteric jazz, spiritual jazz; refined and concentrated into 2 whirlwind sides. Watch out for a double long-player to come later in 2019!

Reaching out to the real roots of the Jamaican sixties musical explosion…

Some of the originators of the genre, including Ernest Ranglin, Lennie Hibbert & Cecil Lloyd, playing in their element and demonstrating just where they're coming from

Brooklyn-based saxophonist Jonah Parzen-Johnson presents an inspired set of ambient jazz for baritone sax and electronics, captured at Helsinki's We Jazz Festival in December 2018. The mood of the set is intense, with Parzen-Johnson's powerful music blending perfectly with the spacious feel of the room. His commentary in between songs gives the set a communal feel, which can now thankfully be revisited in the warm spirit of this wonderful evening of music.

This We Jazz Records release is tape only in terms of its physical distribution, while also a digital version is offered for streaming and download. "Helsinki 8.12.18" by Jonah Parzen-Johnson is a part of the ongoing "We Jazz Live Plates" series documenting the label's live activities.

Take a pinch of classic Blue Note soul jazz, some stylings from the 1970's afrocentric movement, and streamed to perfection lines of a lead jazz guitar and you've put together the pieces of Sami Linna Quartet's sound. Their album on Timmion is one for the dark evenings, for the first rays of sunlight cracking through a summer mist, for the dance floors of the mind.

Kicking things off is "Black Mountain", a 7-minute mix of unisono tranquility and bursts of energy, giving spacious solos to both Linna and saxophonist Jussi Kannaste. The firm and disciplined groove paves the way for the aptly named "Dreamsville", in which Linna takes the lead accompanied by Mikko Helevä's mellow organ and Dana Hall's gently sparkling drumming. "Umoya" and "Mode For Tomorrow" got a 7" edit release ahead of the album, but here both are revealed in all their glory, the latter clocking at all the way to 11 minutes. The LP finishes up with the swinging but edgy soul jazz of "Clowns", where the rhythm section of Helevä and Hall really get to shine.

Linna, Kannaste and Helevä have played together for two decades and drummer Dana Hall has previously worked with folks such as Ray Charles, Horace Silver and Joe Henderson, so there's combined experience in the quartet to pack the goods. Sami Linna is in the middle of completing his doctoral thesis on the subject of fusing modality and tonality in jazz expression. This serious focus is well reflected in his craft, but delivered with such levity that the listener can just kick back and relax.

Jimi Tenor and a group of friends visited twice at Edward Vesala's unique home (Sound and Fury Studio) in Korkeakoski in southwest Finland. It was winter 1998.
Matti Knaapi and Jimi Tenor has been designing and building instruments since early 80s. They brought vanful of apparatus to Sound and Fury which already had a large collection of Vesala's exotic and self built instruments.

During the two rather extreme sessions 13 songs got finished. The first part was released in year 2000. Sadly Edward Vesala passed away before the first part City of Women I was released.

City of Woman is
Edward Vesala, drums, vocals, instruments
Jimi Tenor, flute, instruments
Jimi Sumen, programming
Matti Knaapi, instrument design and construction
Iro Haarla, Anida Vesala, Tiina Huczkowski, choir

New Fly-Lo.. First outing since 5 years!

Drawing the lines between the galaxies of hip-hop, funk, soul, jazz, global dance music, tribal poly-rhythms, IDM and the beat scene of his hometown L.A, Lotus creates a universe that is uniquely his own. Calling on an all-star cast from the cosmos, Anderson .Paak, George Clinton, Little Dragon, Tierra Whack, Denzel Curry, David Lynch, Shabazz Palaces, Thundercat, Toro y Moi and Solange; Lotus takes these artists on an astral plane to explore his world of fire.

Numbers 28, 29 & 30 in the Jazzman Holy Grail Series.

Fable is a small independent record label started in Austin, Texas in the early 1970s by a young trombone player named Michael Mordecai. In autumn 1975 he debuted a trio of albums on Fable by Austin bands 47 Times its Own Weight, Steam Heat and Starcrost. With only 1000 of each pressed, and each carrying a different emphasis on soul, funk or jazz, all 3 have gone on to become highly sought after by collectors and DJs around the world.

We meet with Michael at our UK offices and over several hours he tells us the highs and lows of running Fable Records, leaving no stone unturned and with success and tragedy in equal measure. We also speak with members of all 3 bands, and they share with us interesting stories and cool anecdotes of the wild times in the mid '70s when their records were made. We acquire informative press cuttings and some awesome posters & flyers, and all of this we publish in a booklet included with each LP which are housed in a US-style tip-on sleeve. Jazzman Records - We Dig Deeper.

The Sokratis Votskos Quartet was formed in Greece in 2017 with a mindset firmly rooted in the sound and aesthetics of European jazz. Add to the mix a strong influence of US legend Wayne Shorter and of course their own personalities and inherent Greek cultural background - here we have the sound of jazz like no other. Look out for a long player later in 2019

Masayuki “Jojo” Takayanagi (1932 - 1991) was a maverick Japanese guitarist, a revolutionary spirit whose oeuvre
embodied the radical political movements of late ‘60s Japan. Having cut his teeth as an accomplished Lennie
Tristano disciple playing cool jazz in the late ‘50s, Takayanagi had his mind blown by the Chicago Transit
Authority’s “Free Form Guitar” in 1969 and promptly turned his back on the jazz scene by which he was beloved,
going as far as to call his former peers and admirers “a bunch of losers” in the press. Takayanagi had found a new
direction, an annihilation of jazz and its associated idolatry of hegemonic American culture. Aiming his virtuoso
chops towards the stratosphere, Takayanagi dedicated himself to the art of the freakout, laying waste to
tradition left and right, most notably via the all-out assault of his aptly-named New Direction for the Arts (later,
New Direction Unit) and collaborations with like-minded outsider saxophonist Kaoru Abe. His innovations on the
instrument parallel those of Sonny Sharrock and Derek Bailey and paved the way for the Japanese necromancy of
Keiji Haino and Otomo Yoshihide, but even at its most limitless hurdling Takayanagi’s playing is propelled by the
dexterous grasp of his foundations, to which he paid tribute with elegant takes on flamenco and Ornette Coleman’s
“Lonely Woman.” In the autumn of his life, Takayanagi’s solo Action Direct performances made him one of the
first guitarists, alongside but independent of Keith Rowe, to use tabletop guitar for pure noise improvisation.
Culled from 1975 sessions by the Masayuki Takayanagi New Direction Unit, April is the cruellest month was
originally slated for release on ESP-Disk before the pioneering free jazz label’s untimely demise that year,
eventually being released on a 1991 CD in Japan. Part of the period of Takayanagi’s career which he termed
“Non-Section Music,” one can only imagine how its unholy racket might have altered an international
understanding of Japanese noise had the LP reached American shores upon its inception. On “We Have
Existed” and “What Have We Given?”, the classic lineup of Takayanagi with Kenji Mori (alto sax, flute, bass
clarinet), Nobuyoshi Ino (bass, cello), and Hiroshi Yamazaki (percussion) prove that free improvisation was
thriving well beyond Western Europe with a set of dilapidated, spacious clanging, Takayanagi’s squalling feedback
and Mori’s Eric Dolphy moves undulating atop the joyous clamor. The cataclysmic “My Friend, Blood Shaking My
Heart” is another story altogether. With the vertiginous abandon of a jet engine, the unit immediately launches into
an unrelenting sidelong barrage of frenzied, blistering noise. Infernal sheets of contorted sound find the berserk
instrumentalists hopelessly entangled as they urge the explosion deeper and deeper into ecstatic oblivion.
Takayanagi’s finely honed guitar abuse, Ino’s demonic squirming, and Mori’s ferocious reed attack occasionally rise
above the din only to subsumed once more by the maelstrom. And then, twenty minutes later, it’s over as quickly
as it began. Rivaled in intensity only by John Coltrane’s The Olatunji Concert, Peter Brötzmann’s Machine Gun, and
Dave Burrell’s Echo, April is the cruellest month finally, deservedly sees the light of day on the vinyl format for which
it was originally conceived, marking the first issue of Takayanagi’s music outside of Japan.

After numerous features and collaborations Obenewa, Kaidi Tatham and dego combine together to form Blacks & Blues.Three song based dance tracks to fill the void of underground vocal club music.

'Spin' is flavoured with S.A house & afrobeatz whilst Obenewa sings about the wonder that is love. 'You Know The Feeling' moves towards the funk that is synonymous with 2000Black and 'Don't Know Why (chant for love)' is purely the marriage between reggae and jazz.