Pop & Rock Vinyl New Releases - News

This album was recorded live in Copenhagen on September 8, 1961. Multi-instrumentalist/composer Eric Dolphy, who left a distinct and original imprint on jazz, here plays solo bass clarinet on 'God Bless the Child'. It is generally considered his best
recorded version of the composition. 'Oleo' is more in the hard bop vein and Dolphy's bass clarinet really cooks! Hi-Fly is a
13-minute duet with Dolphy on flute and Chuck Israels on bass. Joined by a supportive Danish rhythm section (pianist Bent Axen, bassist Erik Moseholm and drummer Jorn Elniff), Dolphy is in excellent form throughout.

Recorded live at Studenterföreningen', Copenhagen, Denmark, September 8, 1961

Louis Armstrong's concert at Symphony Hall with his newly-formed All-Stars in 1947 was a major success, featuring the
trumpeter with vocalist/trombonist Jack Teagarden, clarinetist Barney Bigard, pianist Dick Cary, bassist Arvell Shaw, and drummer 'Big' Sid Catlett in particularly inspired form. The program concentrates on such classics as Mahogany Hall Stomp,' Black And Blue,' Muskrat Ramble' and C-Jam Blues.' Highlights include Armstrong's outstanding vocal on Black and Blue,' heated jams on Royal Garden Blues,' Muskrat Ramble,' and High Society,' and Teagarden's playing on Lover Man.' Catlett drives the band, Middleton and Armstrong have a great, funny duet on That's My Desire', and Bigard complements his front-line cohorts. There may be more historically important Armstrong recordings, but there are few that are more exciting.

Nicknamed Bags', the Detroit, Michigan born vibraphonist Milt Jackson was one of the permanent members of the Modern Jazz Quartet and was famous for his blues-heavy improvisations. This release reissues two Jackson 10' LPs. Wizard of the Vibes' combines four tracks he did with the Modern Jazz Quartet (plus Lou Donaldson on alto sax) in 1952 with three tracks done with Thelonious Monk and Art Blakey (1951).
Three Milt Jackson originals are featured, including his signature composition and jazz standard, 'Bags' Groove'.
The self-titled album that forms side B of this release features tracks recorded by the Milt Jackson Quartet (1951) and includes
Thelonious Monk's ''Round About Midnight', as well as five Jackson originals

Superrare spiritual jazz 2-sider which gets a proper re-issue treatmen from Tramp Records. Black Bandit is a fabulous composition backed with the equally great California Dreaming. This "45" is cut at 33rpm due to the long playing time of the A-side which ensures the best sound quality possible. Limited to 250 copies.

"The dazzling symphonic album he always threatened to produce" UNCUT 5/5
"A soulful symphonic masterpiece" ROLLING STONE

Originally released in Japan only on CD in 2002, Plush's Fed lives up to the cult-like adulation it has garnered ever since. A stunning symphony of Bacharach-inspired pop, Toussaint-swing andMelody Nelson-era-Gainsbourg, it's an album bound together by Liam Hayes' maverick genius, an uncompromising Brian Wilson-esque quest for sonic perfection. Positively indulgent in every way, this sumptuous record has long deserved to be treated to a deluxe vinyl edition. Lovingly overseen by Hayes and recent collaborator Pat Sansone (Wilco/The Autumn Defense), it will finally be available on the format it should've always been, this Record Store Day 2018. Remastered and presented as a double LP - cut specially at 45rpm - it comes housed in a beautiful gatefold jacket with expanded artwork throughout.

Its expansive, singular vision infamously took years to realise, involving Earth Wind & Fire's horn arranger (the legendary Tom Tom MMLXXXIV) amongst other elite personnel. Recorded with five different engineers (including Steve Albini and John McEntire), Hayes meticulously extracted every ounce of pop from each note. A long list of renowned studio ringers (including soul drummer Morris Jennings) and Chicago regulars (McEntire, Rizzo, Parker) among many others provide playing of demonstrably professional precision. As such, Hayes' complex, meandering melodies are rendered far more coherent and satisfying than they otherwise might have appeared, bringing his epic, anguished pop to a rarely seen level of perfection and depth. This unstinting dedication to the overarching vision was rewarded handsomely - artistically, at least.

However, as might have been expected, his deluxe approach resulted in a bill too steep for any American or European label to ultimately support. It has since seemed unlikely that it would see the light of day on either side of the Atlantic. Yet we were determined not to allow Hayes' lifetime achievement to go unnoticed or let music fans across the world miss out on one of the finest albums of this century.

A wide-eyed opus of stunning intensity, Fed oozes Hayes' impeccable influences without ever becoming overwhelmed by them. Incredibly, it touches upon Blaxploitation soul, Boz Scaggs-soft-rock, hints of jazz and blues, timeless baroque and skewed pop. In one long minute, the stabbing, soulful "So Blind" moves through five different melodic segments, horns shift easily from haunting backdrop to explosive forefront, smoothly giving way to strings as Hayes' voice casts its bewitching spell. The ambitious soul of "Having It All" has been described as the diffident cousin of Marvin Gaye's "Save The Children" whilst the breezy "Greyhound Bus Station" is pure 70s AM Gold, evoking the easy warmth of Jimmy Webb's beloved Land's End period. The sublime resignation of "No Education", a beautifully slow number that begins, "Never read a book in my life/ But I feel just fine" is post-rock ballad heaven. Arriving towards the end, the title track arrives as a majestic suite, moving from a horn-and-guitar-led instrumental via shifting melodies to Hayes' compelling vocal bursts.

An album of such brilliance, Fed can comfortably sit alongside such staggering statement pieces as David Bowie's Young Americans, Randy Newman's 12 Songs or Harry Nilsson's Nilsson Schmilsson. Indeed, for all the sprawling elements that went in - lengthy guitar builds, exploding horn sections, solemn strings, female backup chorus - it is a deeply personal and original record. Employing a distinct "more is more" aesthetic, he demonstrates remarkable restraint in producing an album of such intimacy. "My creation has drowned me," he memorably sings on languid opener "Whose Blues", yet he navigates the shifting styles and ideas with enviable ease.

In the Land of Hi-Fi' is one of Sarah's best albums. The songs are terrific, the arrangements dynamic, the orchestra a blast, the recording quality first-rate.
Accompanied by an all-star orchestra arranged by Ernie Wilkins and featuring J.J. Johnson on trombone, Roy Haynes on drums and altoist Cannonball Adderley (who was near the beginning of his career), the great singer is in superior form during these performances, particularly on Soon,' Cherokee,' I'll Never Smile Again,' and An Occasional Man.' She gives brassy, Sassy-fied treatments to be-bop jazz standards such as How High the Moon' and Cherokee'.
This reissue adds four bonus tracks with the Hugo Peretti Orchestra. All tracks were recorded in New York in 1955.

180g are delighted to release "Souvenir", an album by one of the most promising and talented music makers from today's Japanese underground scene: VIDEOTAPEMUSIC.

Videotapemusic is a young music and video producer from Tokyo who uses old Japanese and Asian VHS tapes collected in dusty recycle shops and closed rental video stores as raw material for his sampling work and video production, creating a singular and highly unique musical world that has created waves on the Japanese scene since 2009. Starting out strong with three self-released albums, followed by two albums on Japanese label Kakubarhythm and a collaboration 12" on EM Records, "Souvenir" is now the first Videotapemusic album released outside of Japan, available as a limited 180g heavyweight vinyl LP edition, and in digital format. The LP comes with a download card.

The eight tracks in "Souvenir" also feature the cream of the crop from the current Japanese scene: Beipana on steel guitar, MC.sirafu on steel pan, saxophonists Satomi Endo, Satoru Takeshima and Kaoru Masuda, trumpetistsTaichiro Kawasaki and Makoto Takahashi, DJ Eskimo, guitarist Yuichi Ushioda, percussionist and hand sonic player Hajime Matsushita, keyboardist Yu Arauchi, Videotapemusic on pianica and vocalists Sansuke Yamada, Toshihiko Ikeda and Ryu Tsuruoka. Dive into a world of musical delight and discover today's best music from Japan!

All Songs Produced by VIDEOTAPEMUSIC.

Recording & Mix : VIDEOTAPEMUSIC, Naoya Tokunou.

Mastering : Naoya Tokunou.

About 180g:

180g is a music agency providing vinyl pressing, distribution and licensing services specialised in the Japanese market. Its strong knowledge of the Japanese music scene and industry allows 180g to bring top quality solutions to the various international labels it is working with, for their development in Japan, and to Japanese labels for their development outside of the country. In addition, 180g runs its own record label.

Jazz at The Philharmonic was a concert series produced by the legendary Norman Granz all the way from 1944 to 1983. Billie Holiday performed several times in the 1940s and 50s and was even a member of the touring troupe late in her career. These sides were recorded in 1945 and 1946 with backing from legends like Illinois Jacquet, Lester Young, and Barney Kessel. Recorded at the height of her technical prowess and before her hard living affected her voice, these performances from Los Angeles and New York City are some of the finest live recordings of her career. Absolute essentials from a jazz legend.

See that amazing personnel list All five of those musicians are scheduled to reunite for a special one-time concert on February 20, 2018 at noted London jazz club Pizza Express. To celebrate, ESP-Disk' is reissuing this seminal album of British avant-jazz on vinyl.

British pianist Peter Lemer studied with Jaki Byard, Paul Bley, and Bill Dixon, so his roots in jazz are strong. His lengthy and distinguished career has found him in a wide variety of settings. As an avant-garde jazz pianist, he recorded with Spontaneous Music Ensemble, in the jazz fusion realm, he was a member of Gilgamesh and Paraphernalia, as a progressive rock keyboardist, he played with Gong, Baker Gurvitz Army, the Mike Oldfield Group, Seventh Wave, and In Cahoots. Sideman credits include work with Annette Peacock, Harry Beckett, and more.

Surprisingly, Local Colour - his debut recording - is Lemer's only album as a leader. Recorded in London in 1966, before jazz fusion or prog-rock even existed, it belongs in the collection of anyone who cares about the British jazz scene, and not only because of Lemer's talents. Everyone in this quintet went on to notable achievements. This was sax great John Surman's recording debut, he is now arguably the premiere British jazz saxophonist, with a prolific and much- praised discography. Chances to hear the also scintillating sax sound of the more obscure Nisar Ahmad Khan (AKA George Khan) in a jazz context are much rarer, though near the end of 2017 Emanem released an excellent two-disc compilation of concert recordings and prog-rock fans may remember his appearance on Robert Wyatt's Ruth Is Stranger than Richard and his work with Cream lyricist Pete Brown and The Crazy World of Arthur Brown. Drummer Jon (then going by John) Hiseman had already established himself on the British jazz scene by co-founding the New Jazz Orchestra in 1964, two years after the Local Colour session he started Colosseum, one of the most successful British jazz-rock bands, and he even collaborated with Andrew Lloyd Webber on the musical Cats. Bassist Tony Reeves had had a hit single in 1965 with Sounds Orchestral ("Cast Your Fate to the Wind"), after a brief stint with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Reeves joined Hiseman in Colosseum, he was also a member of Greenslade and Curved Air in addition to session work with Fairport Convention singer Sandy Denny and guitarist John Martyn. That's a whole lot of talent in the Peter Lemer Quintet! Together, they make a sort of inside/outside jazz that doesn't abandon themes and harmony but is still quite freewheeling when it wants to be.

African Scream Contest 2

A great compilation can open the gate to another world. Who knew that some of the most exciting Afro-funk records of all time were actually made in the small West African country of Benin Once Analog Africa released the first African Scream Contest in 2008, the proof was there for all to hear, gut-busting yelps, lethally well- drilled horn sections and irresistibly insistent rhythms added up to a record that took you into its own space with the same electrifying sureness as any favourite blues or soul or funk or punk sampler you might care to mention.

Ten years on, intrepid crate-digger Samy Ben Redjeb unveils a new treasure- trove of Vodoun-inspired Afrobeat heavy funk crossover greatness. Right from the laceratingly raw guitar fanfare which kicks o Les Sympathics' pile-driving opener, it's clear that African Scream Contest II is going to be every bit as joyous a voyage of discovery as its predecessor. And just as you're trying to get o the canvas after this one-punch knock out, an irresistible Afro-ska romp with a more than subliminal echo of the Batman theme puts you right back there. Ignace De Souza and the Melody Aces' Asaw Fofor" would've been a killer instrumental but once you've factored in the improbably-rich-to-the-point-of-being-Nat-King-Cole-influenced lead vocal, it's a total revelation.

The screaming does not stop there, in fact it's only just beginning. But the

strange thing about African Scream Contest II's celebration of unfettered Beninese creativity is that it would not have been possible without the assistance of a musician who had been trained by the Russian secret services to "search and destroy" enemies of the country's (then) Marxist-Leninist president Mathieu Kerekou.

Already familiar to fans of the first African Scream Contest as a mainstay of ruthlessly disciplined military band Les Volcans de la Capitale, Lokonon André vanished in a cloud of dust at Ben Redjeb's behest with a list of names and some petrol money, only to return a few days later having miraculously tracked down every single name he'd been given. The source of this Afrobeat bounty-hunter's impressive people-finding skills - his training with the KGB - highlights the tension between encroaching authoritarian politics and fearless expressions of personal creative freedom which is the back-story of so much great African music of the 60s and 70s. Happily, in this instance, Lokonon was tracking the artists down to oer them licensing deals, rather than to arrest them.

Where some purveyors of vintage African sounds seem to be strip-mining the

continent's musical heritage with no less rapacious intent than the mining companies and colonial authorities who previously extracted its mineral wealth, Samy Ben Redjeb's determination to track this amazing music to its human sources pays huge karmic dividends.

Like every other Analog Africa release, African Scream Contest II is illuminated by meticulously researched text and eortlessly fashion-forward photography supplied by the artists themselves. Looming large - alongside Lokonon André - in the cast of biopic-worthy characters to emerge from this seductive tropical miasma is visionary space-nerd Bernard Dohounso, who laid the foundations for Benin's vinyl predominance by importing and assembling the turntables that would play the products of his Bond villain-acronymed pressing plant SATEL, a factory that would revolutionise the music industry in the whole region.

The scene documented here couldn't have been born anywhere else but in the Benin Republic , and the prime reason for that is Vodoun. It's one of the world's most complex religions, involving the worship of some 250 divinities, where each divinity has its own specific set of rhythms, and the bands introduced on the African Scream Contest series and other compilations from that country were no less diverse than that army of dierent Gods. At once restless pioneers and masters of the art of modernising their own folklore, the mystic sound of Vodoun was their prime source of inspiration.

One especially irascible Vodoun-adept was Antoine Dougbe, who styled himself The devil's prime minister' while turning ancestral rhythms into satanically alluring modern beats. As Orchestre Poly-Rythmo songwriter Pynasco has observed sagely, Evil is not elsewhere, evil extends into the house'. And African Scream Contest II is a gloriously cinematic road-trip through an undiscovered realm of music lore whose familiarity is every bit as thrilling as its otherness.

Written by Ben Thomson, March 2018

To find Lawkyz, follow the beat. It is here, in this vital part, this lighthouse which guides the route of the other instruments, which it prints in depth the low notes of his four strings. Riveted on the Drums. linking with it a rhythmic pact, ensuring the propulsion of the groove on stage with Erik Truffaz or Guts; on records with UHT °, Anna Kova, or Versus, his hip hop project with full live band. When he puts his fetish instrument, when he lets cool his amp, then wakes up his evil twin: The Waxidermist. One year after his last EP, The Waxidermist comes back to tell his story.

Strut presents the brand new album from cosmic jazz travellers The Pyramids, led by saxophonist Idris Ackamoor, 'An Angel Fell'. I wanted to use folklore, fantasy and drama as a warning bell,' explains Ackamoor. The songs explore global themes that are important to me and to us all: the rise of catastrophic climate change and our lack of concern for our planet, loss of innocence and separation... but positive themes too, the healing power of music, collective action and the simple beauty of nature.' Produced by Malcolm Catto of The Heliocentrics, the album was recorded during an intense week at Quatermass studios in London and is one of the deepest, richest works yet from a band reaching their highest creative peak since the early '70s. Some of the many highlights include the poignant title track depicting a fallen angel in purgatory, outrage and grief on the powerful, hard hitting 'Soliloquy For Michael Brown' and the lilting, beautiful album closer, 'Sunset'.

The Pyramids originally came together in 1972 at Antioch College, Yellow Springs, Ohio where teachers included renowned pianist, Cecil Taylor. After forming in Paris and embarking on a cultural odyssey' across Africa, the group recorded three independent albums, 'Lalibela' (1973), 'King Of Kings' (1974) and 'Birth / Speed / Merging' (1976) and became renowned for their striking live shows, mixing percussive, spiritual and space-age jazz with performance theatre and dance. After migrating to San Francisco, they disbanded in 1977. 35 years later, the band reunited in 2012 following growing demand for their music from vinyl collectors. German label Disko B released the freeform album 'Otherwordly' and in 2016, they released their first album for Strut, the acclaimed 'We Be All Africans'.

'An Angel Fell' is released on Strut on 11th May 2018 and features full hand-painted artwork by Lewis Heriz.

New concept album by leading cosmic jazz collective exploring global apocalypse, climate change and the healing power of music
Produced by Malcolm Catto of The Heliocentrics - Superb cover painting by Lewis Heriz
Full priority worldwide PR campaign and marketing
Release supported by major European tour dates in May and key Summer festivals

Astro-Black mythology, astro-timeless immortality!

Astro Black has long been known as a cornerstone of the Ra catalog. It is well recorded, features a superb Arkestral lineup, and successfully combines several of the styles in which Sun Ra orbited, from Saturnic jazz to astro-funk. And now it's finally back in the earthly bins! Pressed on colored vinyl, and packaged with new cover art, with liner notes by Robert Campbell (author of The Earthly Recordings of Sun Ra), and includes a poster insert of the original album artwork!

Although Astro Black was obviously professionally produced in a recording studio, no one is entirely sure where or when. The jacket of the original release gave the date as May 7, 1972, and the location as El Saturn Studio,' Chicago. There never was such an animal as the El Saturn studio, in Chicago or in any other town. Yet it was routinely cited as the venue for Saturn/Impulse! recordings, no matter how old they were or where they were originally from. Besides, May 1972 was the month that the Arkestrans had to pack up all their belongings and leave the house they had been staying in in Oakland, California, because they gotten on the wrong side of the Black Panthers. The road trip from Oakland back to Philadelphia would have taken some time.

The title track was a vehicle for Arkestral vocalist June Tyson, who had been with the band since 1967 and was in absolute peak form in 1972. Meanwhile, Ronnie Boykins, who had been Sunny's full-time bassist from 1957 through 1968, was a welcome guest on this occasion. It is his ostinato that holds the theme statement together, and his arco that guides and accompanies Sunny on his space wandering, where they are joined by Akh Tal Ebah on trumpet, and by the ecstatically interweaving alto saxes of Marshall Allen and Danny Davis. A trio of wriggling alto (Danny Davis), mini-Moog synthesizers, and high bowed bass develops, with Sunny and Ronnie accompanying Tyson's hushed recapitulation. This is one of the Arkestra's greatest performances.

Pressed on colored vinyl, and packaged with new cover art, with liner notes by Robert Campbell (author of The Earthly Recordings of Sun Ra), and includes a poster insert of the original album artwork!

Cymbals has finally landed... and brought a 2nd saucer with it!

Originally recorded for the Impulse! jazz label in '73, Cymbals makes its first legitimate release on vinyl, paired with a second LP of unheard material from the same sessions. Hear Ra's Baroque soundscapes, electrolytic clusters and dithering Moogs catalyze images of monoliths, space stations, computers malfunctioning and galaxies imploding on pristine red and green vinyl with liner notes by known Ra-fficianado Brother Cleve!

Making its debut here, the second LP is culled from a mysterious tape recorded during the same time frame and with many of the same musicians (though no Ronnie Boykins, Ra provides keyboard bass). Could this be one of the unissued Impulse! LPs Quite probable. The tape box only lists the song titles.

Symbols, the 2nd LP, opens with some Space Age Cocktail Music' as only Sun Ra could conjure in his intergalactic lounge. Continuing the Sci-Fi film references, side one could well be post-last call cantina music from a galaxy far, far away. Side two, comprising Ra's keyboards and accompanying drums/percussion, feels like an alternate soundtrack to 2001: A Space Odyssey, a film still playing in theaters in 1973.

The Cymbals / Symbols Sessions New York City 1973 is yet another piece of the puzzle, the Mr. Re of Mr. Ra. On pristine red and green vinyl with liner notes by known Ra-fficianado Brother Cleve!

In the late 1990's label manager Nik Weston was working for Island Records and in particular the label imprint Island Blue set up by Ross Allen. It was here that he first heard the timeless jazz version masterpiece of Amalia from Kirk Degiorgio's As One. The track featured on a promo cd but never made it to a commercial release for Island Blue and was later featured on the full length album release for San Francisco label Ubiquity Records a few years later in 2001. 'Amalia' is a sultry jazz classic featuring gorgeous keys from Jamie Odell aka Jimpster. As relevant today as it ever was when initially made and here presented as a single in it's own right for the very first time. On the flipside another track that never made it to single in this version was the unique jazzual 'Spiritual Rotations' by Butti 49 from Norway. Nik had later worked with Butti 49 whilst working for Exceptional Records for the Habit album in 2004 but 'Spiritual Rotations' itself initially featured as an exclusively album only track for Future Sounds Of Jazz Volume 8 in 2001 for German label Compost. So there you have it... two welcome killer Jazz classics that deserve a revisit for your attention cut on limited 180 gram vinyl for your ears, your turntable and your dancefloor....

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

* Since its early days Jazz music has always been experimentatal, trying to contaminate, and integrate different cultures, styles and musical philosophies. Along the years, jazz movement expanded and diversified in many different genres and styles. Electronic music has also always been exprimental and the avant-garde of electronic musicians explored new technologies and new styles of music. Today the two musical frontieers meet and the contamination between jazz and electronic music will enrich both musical languages, changing the grooves but keeping the same depth and spirit of the two genres.
* Jazz-o-Tech is born in order to merge tradition with modernity, improvisation and experimentation, and to create a new style: Techno-Jazz. Finally the elegant arrangements and intricated solos of jazz can develop along the modern structures of Techno and Electronica, taking the listeners on an emotional, hypnotic and intense journey, making us think that future is not that far away.* For its debut release the new label, based between Berlin and Milan, is presenting the new representatives of Techno-Jazz. In this 12' vinyl all the artists represent the new concept that Jazz-o-Tech wants to promote. The argentinian sound designer and experimental musician Paine' is presenting a strong but elegant track full of jazz quotes and pulsing with swing. The DN3 trio (DJ and producer Guido Nemola, trumpet player Cesare Dell'Anna and pianist Mauro Tre) in their track "Lee Theme" mixes elegantly original jazz improvisation and a house inspired rythmic section. Berlin based duo Flat Maze (producer Stefano Mori and pianist Uri Gincel) play with techno grooves and with experimental raw and meditative sounds, but they still leave enough room for silence and emotions. Gamapawa are our final act, probably the most Jazz of all, definitely very much focused on experimenting new forms of contamination of Jazz and Electronica. In "Nobossa" DJ and electronic producer Paine Cuadrelli, trumpet player Mario Mariotti, japanese synth player Gak Sato and bass player Walter Prati (with guest appearance by saxophonist Gianni Mimmo) are providing the finest example of a cross over electronic experimental act which leaves the listeners with plenty of musical references and inspiring moments.

Born and raised on the common desire of bass player Mattias Geernaert and drummer Marius Couvreur to groove and dance on the dub vibes.
Kosmo sound saw daylight in late summer of 2016 when these two ghent based musicians found one another. After a few jam sessions and brainstorms they started searching for like minded colleagues and added 4 wonderful masters of sound. Two guitar players (Cyriel Vandenabeele and Edmund Lauret), one keyboard player (Bos Debusscher) and one saxophone player (Ambroos De Schepper).

This band's sound can definitely be described as dub influenced. Making people dance and drift away in groove and trance is what they stand for.
Because of their background in jazz they sometimes add some improvisations.

Ghent bassed saxophonist Mattias De Craene (MDC) has caused a stir in the past few years as frontman of jazz rock sensation Nordmann. After their second place at Humo's Rock Rally in 2014, Nordmann became one of the most exciting bands in the new golden class of Belgian 'jazz' groups. 2018 sees Mattias fronting his own project MDCIII. Flanked by two special drummers - Simon Segers (De Beren Gieren / Black Flower / Absynthe Minded) and Lennert Jacobs (The Germans / Hong Kong Dong), he takes you on a slightly intoxicating musical trip balancing between psychedelic rock, tribal rhythms and energetic free jazz.
The band will release their debut album in October 2018. In the meantime they drop a self-titled EP as a teaser for Record Store Day. With two tracks of both over 8 minutes, the listener can acquaint the unique musical melting pot of MDCIII. For one of the tracks singer Sylvie Kreusch (Warhaus) was recruited and she makes an almost hypnotic contribution.

Meet the Supremes is, not surprisingly, the debut album of one of the greatest groups in soul music history, led by the inimitable Diana Ross, was originally released in 1962. Featuring the group's earliest singles "I Want a Guy", "Buttered Popcorn", "Your Heart Belongs to Me" and "Let Me Go the Right Way", none of which were chart smashes but have since become regarded as classics. Full of that early Motown sound the world knows and loves this is a perfect entry point into the illustrious career of Diana Ross & The Supremes.

Limited Green edition Here !!

The first single taken from Mario Biondi's top seller debut album "Handful of Soul", featuring a quite interesting modern Samba in perfect Schema style with "Rio De Janeiro Blue" on Side A. It reveals Mario's true soul of a crooner.

On the B-side we have "This Is What You Are", co-written with Alessandro Magnanini - a song that went on air on heavy rotation almost everywhere, and also became the music to many TV commercials and movies/TV series.

Explorations Of African Mysticism On Vinyl LP!

Includes The Astonishing "Sun In Aquarius"!

Pharoah Sanders possesses one of the most distinctive tenor saxophone sounds in jazz. Harmonically rich and heavy with overtones, Sanders' sound can be as raw and abrasive as it is possible for a saxophonist to produce. Yet, Sanders is highly regarded to the point of reverence by a great many jazz fans. He made his name with expressionistic, nearly anarchic free jazz in John Coltrane's late ensembles of the mid-'60s. The hallmarks of Sanders' playing at that time were naked aggression and unrestrained passion. In the years after Coltrane's death, however, Sanders explored other, somewhat gentler and perhaps more cerebral avenues — without, it should be added, sacrificing any of the intensity that defined his work as an apprentice to Coltrane.

Coltrane's ensembles with Sanders were some of the most controversial in the history of jazz. Their music represents a near total desertion of traditional jazz concepts, like swing and functional harmony, in favor of a teeming, irregularly structured, organic mixture of sound for sound's sake. Strength was a necessity in that band, and as Coltrane realized, Sanders had it in abundance.

Sanders made his first record as a leader in 1964. Jewels of Thought was recorded at Plaza Sound Studios in New York City on October 20, 1969, and was released on Impulse! Records in the same year.

"In 1969, Pharoah Sanders was incredibly active, recording no less than four albums and releasing three. The band on Jewels of Thought is largely the same as on Deaf Dumb Blind and Karma, with a few changes. Idris Muhammad has, with the exception of 'Hum-Allah-Hum-Allah Hum Allah,' replaced Roy Haynes, and Richard Davis has permanently replaced Reggie Workman and Ron Carter, though Cecil McBee is still present for the extra bottom sound. Leon Thomas and his trademark holy warble are in the house, as is Lonnie Liston Smith. Comprised of two long cuts, the aforementioned and 'Sun in Aquarius,' Jewels of Thought sees Sanders moving out from his signature tenor for the first time and delving deeply into reed flutes and bass clarinet. The plethora of percussion instruments utilized by everyone is, as expected, part of the mix. 'Hum-Allah' begins with a two-chord piano vamp by Smith and Thomas singing and yodeling his way into the band's improvisational space. For 12 minutes, Sanders and company mix it up -- especially the drummers -- whipping it first quietly down into the most pure melodic essences of Smith's solo and then taking the tension and building to ecstatic heights with all manner of blowing and intervallic interaction between the various elements until it just explodes, before coming down in pieces and settling into a hush of melodic frames and the same two-chord vamp. On 'Sun in Aquarius,' African thumb pianos, reed flutes, sundry percussion, and orchestra chimes are employed to dislocate all notions of Western music. Things get very quiet (though there is constant motion), the innards of the piano are brushed and hammered quietly before Sanders comes roaring out of the tense silence with his bass clarinet, and then the tenor and bass share an intertwined solo and Smith starts kicking ass with impossibly large chords. It moves into another two-chord vamp at the end of 27 minutes, to be taken out as a closed prayer. It's more like a finished exorcism, actually, but it is one of the most astonishing pieces by Sanders ever." -

"Jewels of Thought deeply explores the nimbus of African mysticism. With eyes closed and heart wide open, empyreal atmospheres are courted with almost religious fervour, the shrieks of brass ascending (sometimes falling down) the majestic stairways of celestial dimensions. On its opening track 'Hum-Allah-Hum-Allah-Hum-Allah', a Sufi meditation, is given a gentle sway via a strangely proto-hip-hop rhythm, predating the genre by nearly ten years. A sparkling, lush melody supplied by the simple strokes of a piano gives Sanders the freefall width to send his sax notes sailing high into the stratospheres. Then there is the hollowed African percussion and Leon Thomas' rippling yodels. It may have displeased jazz purists who didn't care for a multi-national confederation of sound, but clearly Sanders was having fun. The album's second track, the astrologically-themed 'Sun in Aquarius' (a motif continued from Tauhid's 'Capricorn Rising'), unfurls with the notes of a thumb piano, which scatter like jewels. Making a stormy mess with the noise of saxophones, bass clarinets and the combined squalls of the piano and drums, 'Sun in Aquarius' exorcises not demons but the seraphs deeply rooted in the songs of earth. Sanders, in restless temperament here, does away with the mathematics of logic and process, his work is down to an emotion invested purely in risk." - Imran Khan, Pop Matters

A Spiritual Journey On Vinyl LP!

Featuring Gary Bartz, Woody Shaw, Lonnie Liston Smith & More!

Pharoah Sanders possesses one of the most distinctive tenor saxophone sounds in jazz. Harmonically rich and heavy with overtones, Sanders' sound can be as raw and abrasive as it is possible for a saxophonist to produce. Yet, Sanders is highly regarded to the point of reverence by a great many jazz fans. He made his name with expressionistic, nearly anarchic free jazz in John Coltrane's late ensembles of the mid-'60s. The hallmarks of Sanders' playing at that time were naked aggression and unrestrained passion. In the years after Coltrane's death, however, Sanders explored other, somewhat gentler and perhaps more cerebral avenues — without, it should be added, sacrificing any of the intensity that defined his work as an apprentice to Coltrane.

Coltrane's ensembles with Sanders were some of the most controversial in the history of jazz. Their music represents a near total desertion of traditional jazz concepts, like swing and functional harmony, in favor of a teeming, irregularly structured, organic mixture of sound for sound's sake. Strength was a necessity in that band, and as Coltrane realized, Sanders had it in abundance.

Sanders made his first record as a leader in 1964. Deaf, Dumb, Blind (Summun, Bukmun, Umyun) was recorded at A & R Studios in New York City on July 1, 1970, and released on Impulse Records in the same year. The album's title is bilingual: "Summun Bukmun Umyun" is Arabic for "Deaf Dumb Blind". The phrase s taken from the Sura Bakara of the Qur'an. According to the liner notes, the album is "predicated on spiritual truths and to the future enlightenment of El Kafirun or The Rejectors of Faith (non-believers)". The performances on the album are strongly influenced by the music of Africa.

"After Karma was issued and Sanders had established himself -- to himself -- as a musician who had something valuable and of use to say, he was on what this critic considers to be a divinely inspired tear. Deaf Dumb Blind is an example of that inspiration. Beginning with the title cut, a suite of over 21 minutes, Sanders brings in the whole of his obsession with rhythm and R&B. Using African percussion, bylophones, shakers, cowbells, and all manner of percussion, as well as drummer Clifford Jarvis, Sanders brought in Cecil McBee to hold down the bass chair and Lonnie Liston Smith back in on piano, and added a three-piece horn section that included Gary Bartz on alto and Woody Shaw on trumpet in addition to himself. Whew! Here the Latin and African polyrhythms collide and place the horns, as large and varied as they are, in almost a supplementary role. The horns check counterpoint in striated harmony, calling and responding over the wash of bass and drums and drums and drums! It evolves into a percussion orgy before the scary otherworldly multiphonic solos begin. And Shaw and Bartz are worthy foils for Sanders. And no matter how out it gets, those rhythms keep it rooted in the soul. 'Let Us Go Into the House of the Lord' is almost 18 minutes in length. It has a long soprano intro, covered in shimmering bells and shakers with a glorious piano fill by Smith, who becomes more prominent, along with some excellent arco work by McBee, until the piece becomes a meditation on lyricism and silence about halfway through. The entire band eventually rejoins for a group ostinato with very little variation, except in timbre and subtle accented color work by Sanders and McBee. It is a stunningly beautiful and contemplative work that showcases how intrinsic melodic phrasing and drones were to Sanders at the time -- and still are today. This piece, and this album, is a joyful noise made in the direction of the divine, and we can feel it through the speakers, down in the place that scares us." - Thom Jurek,

2017 saw Colin Curtis celebrate his 50th anniversary as a DJ, a career that started out in his mid-teens at Newcastle-Under-Lyme's Crystal Ballroom, before making his all-nighter debut at Stoke's hallowed Golden Torch, one of Northern Soul's foundation venues, eventually becoming one of the scene's leading figures as a result of his legendary '70's partnership with Ian Levine at the Blackpool Mecca. This is Colin's own story: By 1979 the development of Jazz rooms at major Soul / Funk Alldayers was providing a much-needed outlet for the more discerning collectors and the fanatical Jazz dancers. The UK Jazz Funk scene began for me in earnest in 1978 when I moved from the Blackpool Mecca to Manchester's Rafters nightclub on Oxford Street. The clash of new imported Soul, Funk and Jazz music coming out in the USA and being shared with a fresh new audience in clubs like Rafters Manchester, Chaplains Birmingham, Locarno Birmingham, Rufus Manchester,
Cassinellis Standish Leeds Central and Nottingham Palais was creating a potpourri of music fashion and dance styles.

I had started to experiment with the jazzier side of dance tracks at Blackpool Mecca in around 1976 with artists like Patrice Rushen, Bill Summers, Azar Lawrence, Charles Earland, Johnny Hammond, Donald Byrd etc, all artists I had discovered using the inner sleeves of Blue Note, Fantasy, Prestige and Mercury labels. As a collector of all styles of black music including Soul, Funk and Jazz my interest was being drawn more to albums and particularly Jazz albums as my brain, as proven with 60's and 70's soul, had an unquenchable appetite for knowledge and unearthing new music. I was thriving on searching out more of this amalgamation of Jazz styles adding fusion, percussion, vocals and tempo to this burgeoning genre.

As the Jazz room identity increased within this environment for me Birmingham, Nottingham, Leeds, Manchester all became prominent in their enthusiasm for Jazz Dance. The fashion, passion and dance began to take on almost a religious aura combined with the unique camaraderie and respect. Out of this grew a passion amongst certain dj's in the midlands and the north of England to start digging a lot deeper for music in the Jazz Fusion / Dance category. Baz Fe Jazz, Chris Reed, Shaun Williams, Simon Mansell, Jonathan Woodliffe, Paul Murphy, Eric & Floyd, Hewan Clarke and many others were willing to push the barriers. This Jazz Dance explosion spread across the country with Dj's like Dr Bob Jones, Colin Parnell & Boo Sylvester adding to the London connection via clubs like The Electric Ballroom and The Horseshoe. This scene thrived for me featuring club nights devoted to Jazz Dance and an increase of Jazz rooms and Jazz breaks on the AllDayer circuits drawing in both interest in the music and the voyeurism of watching the dancers and their individual interpretations.

So this compilation acts as an introduction to this electric, cool and uplifting music that was affecting so many enthusiastic dancers and Dj / collectors. All the tracks on here are taken from one of the most prolific and emerging labels for this genre Muse Records that offered the complete spectrum of styles to fit in with this emerging scene crossing over with Jazz Fusion, Be Bop, vocals, electric keyboards, and percussion.

Strut presents the new album from the modern day leader of Afrobeat, Seun Kuti. The youngest son of Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti is as incensed by injustice as his father ever was and, with his mighty new album Black Times including a feature from Carlos Santana, he honours the revolutionaries who have gone before and rallies the torch-bearers to come.Black Times is the fourth album by Seun & Egypt 80, the extraordinary dance orchestra created by Fela as a conduit for the common people. Inherited by the 14-year-old Seun in 1997, the younger Kuti has been building to this, his most accomplished and honest album yet. Black Times is a true reflection of my political and social beliefs,' says Seun, 34. It is an album for anybody who believes in change and understands the duty we have to rise up and come together. The elites always try to divide the poor people of the world. The same oppression felt by workers in Flint, Michigan is felt by workers in Lagos and Johannesburg.Here, then, are tracks designed to spark conversation and realign priorities. The elegant 'African Dreams' insists that commercial success counts for little. Pay no heed to examples set by accepted' African-American celebrities, says Kuti, and marvel instead at the philosophies of great thinkers like the late Pan-Africanist Doctor Amos Wilson. The message,' Kuti sings, is free.' 'Black Times', featuring Carlos Santana, gives us truth. Lyrics such as Understand your history / rise to be free' shine a forensics-style black light on that which is otherwise hidden. 'Bad Man Lighter' is a horn-heavy track calling out duplicity and defending the right to smoke the good weed, the politically charged 'Corporate Public Control Department (C.P.C.D)' is a roiling protest anthem directed at Muhammadu Bahari's Nigerian government and indeed, at deceitful politicians the world over. Co-written with veteran Egypt 80 saxophonist Abedimeji 'Showboy' Fagbemi, the frenetic, fingerpointing 'Kuku Kee Me' borrows from a Nigerian saying ( When someone is always on your case, you're like 'Save yourself the stress and kuku kill me now'') while 'Theory Of Goat And Yam' ridicules a homily invented by former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan, who justified corruption by likening politicians to goats tempted by yams: By taking money meant for a hospital or to build roads, they are actually costing human lives.' 'Last Revolutionary' is a paean to authentic leaders past, present and future, name-checking homegrown African revolutionaries and freedom fighters like Kwame Nkrumah and Thomas Sankara. I say the names of these men who died for us without any promise of resurrection,' says Seun Kuti. Maybe people will Google them, then set out on a journey whose destination is unknown.Black Times' is released on Strut on 2nd March 2018 with the title track released as a single on 7th December 2017, accompanied by a video directed by Jamie Delaney of Black Dog Films.

When Acid Jazz founder Eddie Piller asked Martin Freeman ('The Hobbit', 'Sherlock', 'The Office') to do a jazz radio show they could hardly imagine the response. From around the world emails and tweets inundated the show and they swore to themselves that they couldn't leave it there.

Now, two years on, this compilation of their favourite jazz has
arrived. From the rolling hard bop of Lee Morgan and Art Blakey, via screaming soul organ, jazz funk original acid jazz onwards to the post modern spiritual jazz of Kasami Washington, this is an incredible journey.

Released on double CD, digital download and double vinyl with
deluxe gatefold packaging, this is the album that will launch Acid
Jazz's 30th Anniversary celebrations.

Michael Wollny is an award winning and gold disc selling German jazz pianist.

He is the recipient of many ECHO Jazz Awards (Germany).
Recorded live in concert.

Emile Parisien is one of France's biggest up and coming jazz stars. Le Monde called him the best new thing that has happened in European jazz for a long time.'

'Wartburg' is a companion album to the studio album 'Oslo' released on the same day.

CD in 4 page digipack including 16 page booklet
with lyrics.

180g vinyl including digital download code.

They are one of the world's great jazz-driven piano trios.' - The Guardian

The most exciting contemporary German jazz pianist.' - Die Welt

Michael Wollny is an award winning and gold disc selling German jazz pianist.

He is the recipient of many ECHO Jazz Awards (Germany).

'Oslo' is a companion album to the live album 'Wartburg' released on the same day.

CD in 4 page digipack including 16 page booklet with lyrics.

180g vinyl including digital download code.

They are one of the world's great jazz-driven piano trios.' - The Guardian

The most exciting contemporary German jazz pianist.' - Die Welt

Equal parts songwriter, poet, singer and lyricist, Sampa The Great makes her debut on Big Dada with her finest mixtape to date, 'Birds And The BEE9', featuring production from Blue Daisy, Sensible J and Silentjay.
The internationally acclaimed Melbourne resident has supported Kendrick Lamar, Thundercat, Joey Bada$$ and Hiatus Kaiyote and just finished her own headline EU tour.
180g heavyweight black vinyl release.
For fans of Kendrick Lamar, Joey Bada$$, Little Simz, Mick Jenkins.
Live highlights include supporting the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Thundercat, Hiatus Kaiyote, Ibeyi and Little Simz. Sampa has also played venues such as KOKO, Sydney Opera House and Somerset House as well as festival slots at Laneway Festival, The Great Escape, Golden Plains, Sugar Mountain, Womad and Vivid Live.
Forthcoming shows include an EU tour stopping in London, Paris, Cologne, Hamburg, Berlin, Birmingham and Manchester, as well as supporting Joey Bada$$ on his UK tour.