Pop & Rock News

The only constant about Nguyên Lê's career is that it's always
evolving. The Parisborn and based musician has established himself
as a preeminent voice in combining myriad global musics with
Vietnamese influences in thrilling and groundbreaking ways. 'Streams'
continues in that tradition, with a focus on taking jazz elements and
extending them far beyond conventional boundaries.
'The album is about revealing where my journey has brought me
today and how each cultural idiosyncrasy has melted into my own
voice,' says Lê. 'There are lots of Indian rhythm concepts, many
Indian and Vietnamese phrasings, Oriental melodic shifts and
accents, and rhythms from Maghreb - as well as unknown references
to imaginary traditions. I like to think all of 'Streams'' music
showcases the journey of cultures, and how cultures transform
themselves when they travel.'
Every musician on the album is also dedicated to that inspiring
mission: 'This group is a great symbiosis of musicians, human beings
and artistic personalities,' says Lê. 'I've known Illya Amar since he
was three. He's my stepson and I saw him grow up and become a
fantastic vibraphonist with great harmonic depth. I've known Chris
Jennings for over 10 years. He provides such solid foundations which
are rare to hear in funky grooves for an acoustic bass player.
Drummer John Hadfield has a deep love of indigenous traditions. He
has traveled extensively to India, Peru, Mongolia, the Middle East,
and Indonesia to learn the rhythms and instruments of each culture.'
For Lê, an essential element of jazz is having an open mind and open
ears: 'Because it's based on collective improvisation, jazz is about
listening to the other musicians and reacting and adapting your
musical speech to the other on the spot,' he says. 'This essential
dialog and interplay makes jazz musicians the most empowered for
cross-cultural dialogues.'
'The 'Streams' quartet is one of my favorite examples of opening up
that dialog. It creates rich musical conversations that, while grounded
in jazz, ultimately transcends genres, enabling listeners to simply
focus on and enjoy the music. I believe a new world of inspiration is
opening up between tradition and modernity, East and West, and
North and South. Streams is the embodiment of that idea.' - Nguyên
Lê

Intergalactic cosmic soul featuring ebony rose and members of the spellbinder project.

The B side is a spiritual jazz instrumental with a soprano sax lead.

World-renowned Irish American group The Gloaming return with their highly anticipated third studio album.

The Gloaming is four master musicians and one singer, seemingly suspended in time as their music unfurls around them, its tendrils reaching out into every nook and cranny of the room.

It's undoubtedly Irish music - with violinists Martin Hayes and Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh, guitarist Dennis Cahill and Iarla Ó Lionáird, one of the greatest contemporary Sean-nós singers. However, it's also more than that: pianist and producer Thomas Bartlett steers the music towards a place where modernity and the old world become one. The heart of The Gloaming remains but there are touches throughout that signal its points of difference.

Bastard Jazz is proud to present the next installment of our long running Tempo Dreams compilation series. As with previous volumes of the compilation, we've tapped an established artist that we're big fans of to shine a light on their personal favorite producers, and compile an album up of all unreleased music from emerging & underrated young talent. And with Volume 5, we're happy to welcome in the Los Angeles based but globetrotting selection of Free The Robots.

Rooted in Santa Ana, CA, Chris Alfaro aka Free the Robots has spent over a decade taking his craft to audiences around the globe. Known as one of the pioneering artists to come out of LA's infamous beat movement, the energy and technical skill behind his live performances have landed him among the greats, sharing stages with Dj Shadow, Prefuse 73, Flying Lotus, to Afrika Bambaataa. Crafting stories to tell with his ever-evolving solo project Free the Robots, he has always had the ability to jump in and out of other worlds inspiring a unique signature sound that hints at jazz, psych, electronic, and hip hop, while remaining un-genre-fiable.

Staying almost permanently on the road, Chris has come across an array of artists and scenes around the world. Different tours and temporary living situations have landed him in the middle of both the DIY underground and more mainstream clubs and stages. Some artists he's connected with have either kept it proudly local or breached international borders. Underrated, unknown, or already on the brink; these are just a few of the people that have crossed paths with Free The Robots. He's chosen these songs as a representation of some of the vibes that inspire his music: Jazz, Psychedelia, Dirtwave, Beats, and a little bit of Future Funk make up Volume 5 of his Tempo Dreams series.

As with all previous volumes, the compiler has produced a track exclusively for the album, which Chris delivers in the bass heavy, South East Asian vibes of "Nasi Goreng" (also available on a limited edition 7" with another unreleased FTR track). Other producers included on the album include Mophono, Never Ending Echo, Kuromoji, RSI-MSK, The Breathing Effect, Cazal Organism, Lefto, Chubby Boss, Caliph8, TITLE, Nois IV, The Heavy Twelves, Mu. and Markey Funk.

- 180 GRAM AUDIOPHILE VINYL
- TWO-TIME GRAMMY NOMINATED 1976 SOLO DEBUT ALBUM
- GUEST APPEARANCES BY HERBIE HANCOCK, WAYNE SHORTER AND MANY MORE
- LIMITED EDITION OF 2.000 NUMBERED COPIES ON SILVER VINYL

Jaco Pastorius was widely acknowledged for his skills as an electric bass player. He died in 1987 at age 35 following a violent incident at a Fort Lauderdale drinking establishment. This self-titled album was Pastorius' solo debut and was originally released in 1976. The bass pieces are excellent and a good showcase of how skilful and talented Jaco was. His virtuous solo's heading off in different directions, what makes it a glorious debut album. The fact that he was only 24 years old when he recorded this album makes it even more impressive.

American jazz bassist Jaco Pastorius recorded several with the influential band Weather Report and several solo albums. He has been lauded as one of the best electric bassists of all time.

Jaco Pastorius is available as a limited edition of 2.000 individually numbered copies on silver vinyl.

- One 140 gram RED Vinyl Disc in plain white paper inner sleeve

- 4/color Single-pocket jacket - shared with 093624903444

- 4/c over 4/c Lyric Insert - shared with 093624903444

- 2/c (PMS 186 + Black) 2.0' x 4.0' FYE Exclusive Marketing Sticker

- 1/c (Black) UPC sticker and affix directly on jacket over existing barcode.

Global superstar Michael Bublé is scheduled to release(pronounced love) as his first studio album in two years on November 16th following a two year break from public life to spend time with his family.

The Canadian singer-songwriter returned to the studio with a new perspective on life and a renewed commitment to honouring the music he has always loved.

I didn't anticipate returning to recording or performing and I was fine with that. My entire world view has changed completely these last few years. I wanted to spend all my time with my wife and kids. That was my focus. During that time, I also learned how much love and humanity is out in the world from the prayers and good wishes we received. But slowly, along with understanding what my priorities in life are, I began to feel a new commitment to express the emotions and lessons I've embraced. Whether I am the narrator, the observer, the main character, the dreamer, the broken hearted guy at a bar or having the night of a lifetime, I have stories to tell on this record. It's all there in the songs. I have had so many blessings in life and one of them is that I hold the torch to keep these songs alive for generations to come. I take the responsibility very seriously. My end game for the new record was to create a series of short cinematic stories for each song I chose and have it stand on its own. I'm so proud of what we accomplished,' commented Bublé.

Bublé co-produced his new album and brings new love to several rich classics from the American Songbook. The album opens with the idealistic and dreamy 'When I Fall In Love.' It also includes a haunting take on another Rogers & Hart standard, 'My Funny Valentine.' Other standouts are an ebullient 'When You're Smiling,' a swinging 'Such A Night' as well as Bublé's hand-picked favorites including 'Unforgettable,' 'Help Me Make It Through The Night,' and 'I Only Have Eyes For You.' Two standout tracks are Charlie Puth's swinging 'Love You Anymore' and an achingly poignant 'La Vie En Rose' -a Bublé duet featuring singer Cecile McLorin Salvant. A touching Bublépenned original 'Forever Now' demonstrates his songwriting skills, which were previously shown in such Bubléwritten hits like 'Home,' 'Haven't Met You Yet' and 'Everything.' The album closes with a show-stopping version of 'Where or When.'

was produced by David Foster, longtime collaborator Jochem van der Saag and Michael Bublé. The trio brought Bublé's visions to life with luscious arrangements surrounding his rich vocals. Michael Bublé has sold over 60 million records worldwide, performed hundreds of sold-out shows around the globe, and won four Grammys and multiple Juno Awards during the course of his extraordinary career.

After three subliminal albums Amsterdam's new Super-Sonic Jazz label now introduces Niels Broos & Jamie Peet. With free improvisation as key element the talented Dutch duo takes you on a colorful and adventurous ride through landscapes of hiphop, electronica and jazz.

Black Truffle is excited to announce the release of the first-ever vinyl reissue of Ruedi Häusermann's Galerie Randolph, a masterpiece of solo multi-tracking originally released on CD by Unit Records in 1995. Born in 1948 and residing in the medieval Swiss town of Lenzburg, and virtually unknown outside of the German-speaking world, Häusermann is a multi-instrumentalist and enormously prolific composer who works primarily in the medium of absurdist music-theatre. A virtuoso wind player and free improviser who also composes for traditional classical instrumentation, his work is characterised by subtly surreal humour and the unlikely combination of extended technique and simple, at times almost child-like, melodic ideas. Named after his rehearsal room in Lenzburg, Galerie Randolph uses an enormous array of instruments to craft a work of singular compositional vision. Each of the twelve pieces begins from the same two elements: a woozy, sliding scatter of tones played on a home-made contraption stretching two guitar strings between the top of Häusermann's alto saxophone and an amplified cup, and a series of uneasy block chords sounded on accordion and reeds. On each piece these two elements (whose pitch gradually raises throughout the record) are complemented by entirely different material, all of it played by Häusermann. Ranging from layered flutes to one-finger piano melodies to unintelligible vocals to musique concrete interjections to free jazz saxophone explosions, these additional layers combine with the endlessly returning idée fixe of the foundational elements to create a truly dream-like listening experience, a gently deranged realm in which we lose all sense of linear time. Calling up the most unlikely combinations of possible predecessors - Erik Satie, Gerry Mulligan, and Helmut Lachenmann perhaps -Galerie Randolph ultimately defies comparison. Almost unknown except to a select group of cognoscenti such as Jim O'Rourke, yet destined to become a cult classic, Galerie Randolph is an instance of that most rare thing: music the likes of which you have never heard before.

Presented in a deluxe gatefold sleeve with gorgeous archival images by the composer. Design by Stephen O'Malley. Mastered and cut by Rashad Becker at D&M, Berlin

Key selling points: - Black Truffle is excited to announce the release of the first-ever vinyl reissue of Ruedi Häusermann's Galerie Randolph, a masterpiece of solo multi-tracking originally released in 1995, the album utilises an enormous array of instruments to craft a work of singular compositional vision.

- Calling up the most unlikely combinations of possible predecessors - Erik Satie, Gerry Mulligan, and Helmut Lachenmann perhaps -Galerie Randolph ultimately defies comparison.

- Each of the twelve pieces begins from the same two elements: a woozy, sliding scatter of tones and a series of uneasy block chords sounded on accordion and reeds. On each piece these two elements are complemented by entirely different material, ranging from layered flutes to one-finger piano melodies to unintelligible vocals to musique concrete interjections to free jazz saxophone explosions, these additional layers combine with the endlessly returning idée fixe of the foundational elements to create a truly dream-like listening experience, a gently deranged realm in which we lose all sense of linear time.

- Almost unknown except to a select group of cognoscenti such as Jim O'Rourke, yet destined to become a cult classic, Galerie Randolph is an instance of that most rare thing: music the likes of which you have never heard before.

- Galerie Randolph is presented in a deluxe gatefold sleeve with gorgeous archival images by the composer with design by Stephen O'Malley. Mastered and cut by Rashad Becker at D&M, Berlin

John Hicks (1941-2006) gave much to jazz over several decades but never really received the appreciation he so richly deserved. As a pianist, he proved himself in the Art Blakey and Betty Carter universities. He was also the prototypical musician's musician, a first-call pianist for many jazz greats and a magnificent accompanist to the art's best saxists, including Pharoah Sanders, Arthur Blythe, Chico Freeman, Archie Shepp, and David Murray.

He was often accused of hovering in McCoy Tyner's shadow, which is unfair and untrue. But he evinced a great fondness for Coltrane's music and was often heard on many a Coltrane tribute, showing affection for the saxophonist and his appreciation for Tyner's contribution to Coltrane's finest music.

Another facet of John Hicks' career, which gets even less attention than his wondrous playing, is his ability to craft identifiable compositions that are wandering and melodic, suggestive and malleable yet memorable all at once.

It would be difficult to conceive the ideal tribute to John Hicks. As a jazz contributor, he wasn't easily pigeon-holed. While he was always a (straight) jazz player, he skirted the edges of free jazz and pure romanticism that neither side ever appreciates in the other. But both camps could find moments of joyous life in all the ways Hicks chose to express himself. He was an unmistakably perfect accompanist in any mode. by Doug Payne

Omena label boss Tooli delivers three tracks all inspired and dedicated to Tompkins Square Park.

Two of the UK's unsung heroes NY*AK and Mark Hand transform the title track into a 15 minute journey with plenty twists and turns.

Tutankhamun, the 1969 album by avant-garde jazz pioneers Art Ensemble of Chicago, features performances by Lester Bowie, Joseph Jarman, Roscoe Mitchell and Malachi Favors Maghostut. As the AllMusic review states, "This landmark album is one of the most influential free jazz recordings in the '60s avant-garde canon.' Previously out of print for over three decades, Tutankhamun has been remastered for vinyl at Infrasonic Mastering and pressed on audiophile-grade vinyl at Pallas in Germany. As a bonus, the reissue features 'Tthinitthedalen" Part 1 and 2, closing out sides A and B, respectively.

Cecil Taylor's solo piano set at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1974 drew critical acclaim, earning five star reviews from the Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide and AllMusic's Scott Yanow. The set features Taylor's five-movement work "Silent Tongues', along with two encores. After being out of print for nearly four decades, the classic live album has been remastered at Infrasonic Mastering and pressed on audiophile-grade vinyl at Pallas Group in Germany. Silent Tongues is a must-have for fans of Taylor and collectors of free jazz.

FT. RUSS FREEMAN / 180GR. / LTD. 1000 PCS.

Originally starting out in the late 90s, Paris-based 8 piece, Cotonete originally gained fame for renditions of tracks from their contemporaries, the likes of: Deodato, Lalo Schiffrin and Banda Black Rio. Replicating the heavy grooves, sweaty jazz-funk with a nod to the Brazilian warmth and beach breeze. Before bowing out of the game thinking the fun was over….

Fast forward to more recent times, having had their flame reignited by Melik Bencheikh, head honcho of Paris vinyl emporium, Heartbeat Vinyl. He encouraged the band to get back together and over the last two years the band released four EPs of original material - including the collaboration with Dimitri from Paris - quickly becoming collectors items, and now gearing up for 2019 they are finally ready to present a full body of work, their album debut 'Super Vilains'.

Ella's 1960 Christmas album is a sultry, swinging holiday classic. Originally released on Verve and her only full length Christmas album for the label, it features arrangements by the great Frank DeVol who worked with a who's who of 50s/60s pop and jazz vocalists from Nat King Cole and Sarah Vaughan to Tony Bennett and Dinah Shore. A beautiful collection from one of jazz music's finest all-time vocalists. Perfect for that swinging holiday party!

Ilhan Ersahin ist ein schwedisch-türkischer Musiker und Barbesitzer, der in Stockholm
aufgewachsen ist und seit 1990 in New York lebt. Als Musiker hat Ersahin mit verschiedenen
Musikern sowie eigenen Projekten / Bands, wie beispielsweise dem Wax Poetic Love Trio,
gespielt und aufgenommen.
Silver ist das jüngste Projekt von Ilhan Ersahin. Damit hat er sich ein Stück weit von seinen
anderen musikalischen Unternehmungen entfernt. Dazu formte er eine Gruppe bestehend aus sich
selbst an Rhodes-Keyboards und am Tenorsaxophon, der Trompetenikone Eddie Henderson,
der Basslegende Juini Booth und dem Schlagzeug / Percussion-Zauberer Kenny Wollesen.
Auf dem Album geht es um Improvisation sowie um minimales Denken im jazz-musikalischen
Sinne. Die Improvisationen hatten eher eine lineare Annäherung als die normale arpegierte oder
angeregte Stilisierung der Soli.

The great jazz guitarist Kenny Burrell on one of his most celebrated sets of all-time. Recorded live at the Five Spot Café in New York City on August 25, 1959, this is the second set and the band is really cooking. Featuring the brilliant drummer Art Blakey as well as the wonderful, but unfortunately under-recorded tenor saxophonist Tina Brooks, Burrell's band is in tip-top shape on this set of compositions ranging from originals to Gershwin to Gillespie. An essential live jazz set for any fan of the golden era of modern jazz.

Dies könnte das einzige verfügbare Album sein, das die heißeren und
schwungvollen Sounds von Peggy Connolly bietet. Sie war über zwei Jahre
lang Frank Sinatras Freundin und ihre Beziehung öffnete ihr viele Türen für
ihre Karriere in Musik und Film. Obwohl Connelly in ihrer Karriere nur
wenige bedeutende Möglichkeiten hatte, ihr Talent als Sängerin zu
beweisen, liefert sie hier großartige Aufnahmen. Ihre Performance ist
tadellos und erfrischend

KOWTOW is the brand new label created by the composer and producer Vincent Leibovitz, member of La Fine Equipe and cofounder of Nowadays Records (La Fine Equipe, Fakear, Clément Bazin, etc.). Through this ironic courbette, Vincent Leibovitz proposes an ingenious way of developing projects inherited from music library liberties. Each artist creates a specific object akin to electronic film music, sound design and ambient, rather than a collection of traditional-album-formatted tracks. An opportunity for artists to experiment their bond with contemporary images. As such, projects on the KowTow roster are supported by productive and promotional assets boosted by Vincent Leibovitz's vision and his experience with the epic Nowadays adventure, as well as in the sphere of production music (in particular through his work with the benchmark agency Cezame).

For its first overt compilation, KTW001, KowTow proposes its courbette for 10 artists with visionary synaesthesia.
6 of them will release their album during the year (Malvina Meinier, Penelope Antena, Monolithe Noir, Airsouth, Billy Dentelle, 52hzWhale) - the other 4 seized the opportunity to deliver their own ideas by taking advantage of this venture to lay down highly-edgy, atypical tracks: Jumo (Nowadays), Haring (City Tracks), J.Kid (Unno) and Sébastien Forrester (Nowadays) and, among those who will soon be creating a buzz:
PUBERTY by Malvina Meinier is probably the most pop and most digital track on the record. Puberty, from the upcoming Corpus/Anima album, embodies the explosive, sensual struggle between body and spirit, between Malvina's adolescent self-tuned impetus and her synthesizer.

Meanwhile, Airsouth drew his inspiration from the fantasy and contemplative aesthetics of the filmANNIHILATION (Alex Garland). Written with minimal resources during a flash of spontaneous inspiration, this track exemplifies the latest mutations of Airsouth's work. Synthetic instruments complement the field recording, giving birth to an artificial decor, an extraterrestrial intrusion into a forest stroll.

In contrast, BY TWOS lends more so to song-type listening, partly because it is the fruit of the partnership between Monolithe Noir and the folk singer Peter Broderick (Erased Tapes). The track was created using a real modular synthesizer, the artist's preferred instrument which shrouds this folk song with a cold and disquieting register, coexisting complex-free with the spectres of early electro.

In the same lyrical vein, GRANTED was composed using voice-changing software, for which Penelope Antena is now the undisputed maestro and which is one of the distinctive features of her work. A voice affected by a romantic break-up is the root of her writing. Electronic, solitary soul.

And, last but not least, 52HzWhale - Vincent Leibovitz himself - brings this compilation to a close with LADDER TO THE STARS, a track inspired by a work from Chinese artist Cai Guoqiang, discovered on Youtube: an ephemeral scale of fireworks. The progressive build-up of this celestial object embodies an ascent from Earth to the Heavens, from the world of the living to that of the deceased, embracing a transient combustion of synthetic and acoustic layers. Through this contemporary-sourced leaning gifted to traditions, Vincent Leibovitz illustrates his kinship, his respect and his mastery of image through sound: the quintessence of KowTow.

Walter Wanderleys Debütalbum O Samba É Mais Samba wurde in
Argentinien als El Samba Es Mas Samba Con veröffentlicht. Walter
Wanderley nannte sich für den nordamerikanischen Markt Walter
Wanderley's Brazilian Organ; eine zweite Veröffentlichung in den USA
mit dem Titel From Rio With Love folgte. Wanderley war bekannt für
seinen unverwechselbaren Stakkotstil und seine Beherrschung der
Hammond B-3-Orgel. Er war bereits in den späten 1950er Jahren in
seiner Heimat Brasilien berühmt und wurde durch seine
Zusammenarbeit mit dem Sänger Astrud Gilberto Mitte der 1960er
Jahre zu einem international bekannten Star.

Larry Grenadiers The Gleaners ist ein tiefgründiges und höchst kreatives Album, das seine Einflüsse
aus vielen Quellen bezieht. So ist sein Titel von Agnès Vardas Film - The Gleaners and I' inspiriert.
Zwischen seinen eigenen Stücken, einschließlich einer Widmung an den frühen Helden Oscar
Pettiford, erkundet der Star-Bassist hier Kompositionen von George Gershwin, John Coltrane, Paul
Motian, Rebecca Martin und Wolfgang Muthspiel. - Der Entstehungsprozess dieser Platte begann mit
einem Blick nach innen', schreibt Larry in seinen Liner Notes, - ein Graben in den Kernelementen
dessen, was ich als Bassspieler bin. Es war die Suche nach dem Zentrum von Sound und Klangfarbe,
nach den Fäden von Harmonie und Rhythmus, die den Knackpunkt der musikalischen Identität
ausmachen.' Das Ergebnis ist eine wichtige Ergänzung in der Reihe herausragender
Solobass-Aufnahmen bei ECM. The Gleaners wurde im Dezember 2016 in den Avatar Studios in New
York eingespielt und von Manfred Eicher produziert.

'A prodigious young talent' - New York Times
'Incredible!' - Gilles Peterson
'Completely essential' - Clash Magazine
Theon Cross strides confidently forth from his crucial
role alongside Shabaka Hutchings in the award
winning Sons Of Kemet to unleash one of the vital
sounds of 2019.
Irresistibly inventive, while at once both serious and
witty. Theon Cross plays tuba like no one else.
An enormous, swaggering bass emanates from
Theon's magnificent horn, evoking sweaty clubnights
where dancefloor bangers sit side by side with
intricate arrangements.
Nubya Garcia and Moses Boyd, London's Jazz golden
generation illuminaries, feature heavily. Wayne Francis
of Steam Down also guests.
Refusing to be shackled by the confines of jazz, the
album draws on London's vivacious cultural heritage,
dipping in and out of grime, afrobeat, electronic, dub,
dancehall and Jamaican roots music.
Theon featured recently on Makaya McCraven's much
lauded 'Where We Come From' album. He's also
performed with the likes of Kano, Moses Boyd, Jon
Batiste, Pharoahe Monch and Courtney Pine and is a
founding figure in South London-based collective
Steam Down.
'Theon Cross crucially embraces the bass and rhythm
role with exuberant inventiveness' - The Guardian

The Secret Between the Shadow and the Soul finds the celebrated Branford Marsalis Quartet at a new peak, addressing a kaleidoscope of moods with inspiration and group commitment. As usual there is compositional input from the veteran members, with Eric Revis supplying the surging 'Dance of the Evil Toys' and more tensile yet equally dynamic 'Nilaste,' while Calderazzo reinforces the lyrical compositional yin to his virtuosic keyboard yang in 'Cianna' and 'Conversation Among the Ruins.' In addition to the leader's own 'Life Filtering from the Water Flowers,' with one of his most deeply felt and keenly shaded tenor saxophone solos, there are two of the more challenging jazz jewels of the mid-seventies, Andrew Hill's 'Snake Hips Waltz' and Keith Jarrett's 'The Windup.' The Secret Between the Shadow and the Soul confirms Branford Marsalis's vision. It is sophisticated, adventurous and anything but defensive, and it captures a great band sounding better than ever.

The quartet that Marsalis has led for the past three decades has always been a model of daring, no-apologies artistry, of ever-widening musical horizons
and deepening collective identity. With like-minded support from pianist Joey Calderazzo and bassist Eric Revis (each with 20 years of service to the group) and drummer Justin Faulkner (the 'rookie' who has been aboard since 2009), the band has long been a model of how to sustain and enlarge a musical outlook that is both historically and stylistically inclusive.

The Guitar Player was Davy Graham's first full length LP, after releasing his EP ¾ A.D. two years earlier. This unique album combines his interesting and virtuoso guitar play with some excellent arrangements. With his guitar style he contributed to the musical changes in the early 1960s, where blues, rock and folk started to play a more prominent role in the music scene. The man crosses into blues, jazz, folk, Arababic music and more, often in the same song. It's an essential album and one of the greatest instrumental acoustic guitar records released in the 1960's.

British guitar virtuoso Davy Graham inspired a multitude of artists such as Paul Simon, Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix. Combining different music genres, Graham proved to be one of the 20th century's most versatile guitarists and songwriters.

When Cyro Baptista moved to New York in 1980 from his home city of São Paulo, he brought with him an arsenal of percussion instruments, including the cuica (friction drum), surdo (the booming bass drum associated with samba), berimbau (single-string bow with resonating gourd), and cabasas galore, in the next few years deploying them most notably in numerous ensembles curated by John Zorn, who helped set up this studio session in 1982.

As you might expect from someone whose infectious grooves have graced the work of Herbie Hancock, Astrud Gilberto and Cassandra Wilson, Baptista expertly fires off cunning polyrhythms, even traces of thumping samba, with restless fluency. Bailey the wily old fox skirts and eschews the bait, which is quickly conjured away and newly fashioned. The guitarist homes in on the delicious squeaks of the cuica and the twanging drones of the berimbau with truly awesome tonal precision. You could sing along if you wanted, after a caipirinha or two. And he gets almost as many different sounds from his instrument as Baptista can from his kit - check out the stratospheric plings and string-length fret-sweeps of Tonto, which sound more like a prepared piano than an acoustic guitar.

Wonders abound, from the berimbau/bent-string exchanges that open Quanto Tempo to the delightful collision of howling cuica and spiky bebop on Polvo, and the spare, preposterous Webernian samba of Improvisation 3.

These days, 'improvisation' often appears without its customary qualifier 'free'. If there were ever a case to be made for its reinstatement, this album is the best supporting evidence. Freedom means you're free to get into the groove, free not to, free to play with each other, free to play against each other. Sometimes frustrating, even scary, but more often than not in the hands of these two great masters it's hilarious, exhilarating and utterly irresistible.

Multi-reedist Tony Coe was born in 1934, four years after guitarist Derek Bailey. He cut his teeth as a career jazzman with Humphrey Lyttleton, before an extended stint with the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band. On this rare 1979 duo outing, he sticks to clarinet. And though that instrument has an illustrious jazz pedigree, Coe's playing here is something else.

It's worth noting that the clarinettist has also played under the baton of arch-modernist Pierre Boulez, the kind of composer Derek Bailey enjoyed taking to task in his book Improvisation. You might think the Frenchman's uncompromising serialism and the free playing Bailey defended with such passion all his life would have little in common, yet both men were hugely influenced by Anton Webern. It's an influence you can hear right through Bailey's career in his obsessive exploration of tight parcels of registrally-fixed pitches, notably those trademark ringing harmonics. Meanwhile, Coe's meandering semitones and sinuous arabesques here recall both Boulez's clarinet writing in Domaines, and the harmonic world of Boulez's own teacher Olivier Messiaen.

Still, no traditional classical musical notation could ever render the extraordinary rhythmic subtlety and timbral complexity of this music. It's at one and the same time dazzlingly virtuosic — Coe and Bailey are on stellar form throughout, and have enough sense to, yes, accompany each other where needs be — and supremely lyrical and spacious.

An absolute delight.

The first edition of a two part series, Heritage finds Mark de Clive-Lowe in the process of grand introspection about his Japanese heritage, with specific tracks as memories from the past illustrating the right history of Japan. The albums have a sweeping, almost majestic feel with signature electronic soundscapes throughout.

*** UNRELEASED AFRO-CUBAN JAZZ FROM 1967 ***

Ulysses Crockett studied classical piano from 6 to 14 years old, adding alto saxophone and flute at 16 years old while attending Oakland California's McClymonds High graduating in 1956 as student body president and Valedictorian entering Stanford University in the fall of 1956.

During the Lawrence Ferlinghetti Bay area beatnik era (circa 1957-1960), Ulysses' group was known as The Latin Jazz Quintet which included an early female bongo drummer named Joyce Zavaleta. Joyce had an extensive vinyl LP collection of afro-cuban records including compositions and performances of legendary bassist Israel 'Cachao' López and international known singer Celia Cruz. Joyce met U.C. Berkeley Student John Miller and taught him the Cuban piano styles. The regular members of the Afro-Blue Persuasion band consisted of John Miller - piano, Harald Haynes - congas, Robert Belinksy - drums, Ulysses Crockett - vibraphone, and Robert Bing Nathan - upright contrabass.

At nineteen years old each, bassist Paul Jackson (who appears with genius composer, performer and pianist Herbie Hancock) and tenor flautist Robert Harvey were both serving in the U.S. Army station located in the San Francisco base known as the Presidio. On weekends, both Paul and Robert would sit in with the Afro-Blue Persuasion band.

"Live at Haight Levels" is the one and only recorded live performance by the Afro-Blue Persuasion. Finally, the songs are going to see the light of the day after 52 years! This is afro-cuban jazz at its very best! A stunning treasure rarely to be found - unless it's on Mo-Jazz!

Key selling points:

- all songs previously unreleased

- deluxe vinyl LP with old school tip-on cover

- incl. full album download code

- limited to 500 hand-numbered copies

Vibrations is the second album released by American free jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler's quartet featuring Don Cherry, Gary Peacock and Sonny Murray. The album was recorded in Copenhagen in September of 1964. Originally issued by the Freedom label, it also been released under an alternate title, Ghosts. Previously out of print for decades, the recordings were remastered for an audiophile-grade pressing on 180gram vinyl at Pallas in Germany.

180g, Repress!

2019 feiert das Blue-Note-Label seinen 80. Geburtstag. Unter den Aktivitäten des Jahres findet sich
auch eine für Vinyl-Fans besonders interessante: die "Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series".
Man nennt ihn den 'Klangpoeten': Joe Harley, Mitbegründer und Koproduzent des renommierten
amerikanischen Vinyl-Labels und Mail-Orders 'Music Matters'. Zum Jubiläum wurde er jetzt von Blue
Note beauftragt, ausgesuchte Alben für eine exklusiven LP-Edition zusammenstellen. Diese rein
analogen Reissues werden von den originalen Masterbändern von Kevin Gray (Cohearent Audio) neu
gemastert und bei Record Technology Incorporated (RTI) in 180g-Vinyl gepresst. Die Originalcover
werden als hochwertige, schwere Tip-on-Sleeves faksimiliert. Zu den von Joe Harley handverlesenen
Aufnahmen werden für ihre Aufnahmequalität berühmte Blue-Note-Klassiker, aber auch
herausragende aktuelle Einspielungen gehören.
Die ersten beiden Alben der Serie sind besondere "Blue-Note-Leckerli": Wayne Shorters 'Etcetera'
und Chick Coreas 'Now He Sings, Now He Sobs'.
Ausstattung: 180g-Pressung, neues Remaster von den Analogbändern, keine digitalen
Fertigungsschritte, schwere Tip-on-Hüllen

* Pharoah 'Farrell' Sanders (born 1940) is a leading figure in the world of jazz and one of the last living legends with connections to players like Sun Ra and John Coltrane. His tenor saxophone playing has earned him royal status amongst free jazz players, critics and collectors.

* Originally Sanders was interested in urban blues music, but his high school teacher exposed him to jazz and this took Farrell in an entirely new direction. Once completing high school Sanders quickly packed his belongings and headed to Oakland, where he got a chance to work with musicians of high caliber such as saxophone players Sonny Simmons and Dewey Redman (who were both later to be major forces in new jazz and free jazz). Soon the young Pharoah would meet John Coltrane and would feel being attracted to the life as a professional musician. By the early sixties Sanders moved to New York where the major jazz scene was happening. Here he'd spent most his time honing his skills at rehearsals with Sun Ra....sadly he was not making much money with the Arkestra and soon found himself living on the streets, trying to stay up all night playing and then scrounging for money during the day, often selling blood to eat.

* Sanders recorded his debut album for ESP soon after, but it wasn't until he started playing with his old friend John Coltrane that he would fully unleash the fury of his saxophone on the world of free jazz. The records Pharoah Sanders played on for Coltrane laid the foundation of what was to come for both the world of free jazz and for Sanders as a musician. After Coltrane's tragic death Sanders would record further with Alice Coltrane, John's widow, on the album Karma (1969 - Impulse!), which is universally accepted as Sanders' masterpiece. Along with musicians Alice Coltrane and singer Leon Thomas, Sanders helped to create the genre of spiritual jazz.

* On the album we are presenting you today (Africa from 1987) Sanders plays with an all-star line-up consisting of Idris Muhammad, John Hicks and Curtis Lundy. Muhammad brings his trademark tight sense of timekeeping, but with a looseness that we love - and Lundy's warm soulful bass does more than enough to give the set a sound bottom- all this while Hick's free lyrical piano works nicely with Sander's spiritual horn.

* The brilliant 'Africa sessions' features the quartet at their best...soulful but also searching for a strong groove at the same time. The music here is less ornamented than on most of Sanders' studio recordings, where sextets, septets or larger lineups have been the norm, but this brilliant effort here remains every bit as compelling. Pharoah and his crew play with the utmost sensitivity and give a demonstration that shows us the full extent of their skills.

* Tidal Waves Music now proudly presents: the official reissue of this fantastic album, back available on vinyl for the first time since 1987. Available as a deluxe 180g 2XLP set, with TWO bonus tracks from the same session that were not featured on the original vinyl release. This album is limited to 500 copies worldwide and comes with an obi strip + liner notes by American jazz critic & author Kevin Whitehead.

First Vinyl Reissue Since 1987
Deluxe 180g Double Vinyl Edition, Comes With Liner Notes
Contains Two Bonus Tracks Never Before Released On Vinyl
Strictly Limited To 500 Copies Worldwide, Comes With Obi-strip

The Orbit was founded in 2016 by saxophonist Soren Lyhne Skov and pianist Peder Vind. The two had been playing together for over a decade in various groups inspired by afro-beat and ethio jazz. The idea with Orbit is to maintain the feel of certain musical traditions but to explore them through a modal jazz perspective.

The ominous Orbit Bound is centered around the figure played by the bass clarinet. The time is 9/8 and with the sound of the bass clarinet you might get a Balkan feel. But the scale is more Middle Eastern making it difficult to place precisely - like an orbit constantly moving.

NV is a tribute to the North Western borough of Copenhagen, which is a multi-ethnic and partly still ungentrified part of Copenhagen. The area has its struggles and social problems but at the same time it is also a place of warmth, surprises and lot of untapped talent.

This song has a loose minor scale theme with some sparse piano chords and a solid bassline leading the way. The drums are constrained giving the track a feeling of unreleased energy similar of the potential energy in NV.

Originally from the United Kingdom, funky soul-jazz veterans The New Mastersounds have been touring USA, Europe and Japan for over a decade and return here with their twelfth studio album, recorded in New Orleans and Denver and featuring a slew of musical guests.

"Renewable Energy" expands on the NMS template while still providing plenty of the band's trademark sounds. Guitarist Eddie Roberts, drummer Simon Allen, bassist Pete Shand and keyboardist Joe Tatton are joined on this 11-track effort by a number of guests: Sam Bell, one of the founding members of NMS precursor The Mastersounds who also guested on two previous NMS albums, plays percussion on most of the tracks. Mike Olmos and Joe Cohen of the West Coast Horns once again provide added horn action as they did on "Made For Pleasure" from 2015, while Adryon de León from LA band Orgone contributes vocals on "Gonna Be Just Me". Uptempo numbers "Tantalus" and "Yokacoka" see the band flexing their playing chops over a tightly-wound rhythm, while "Green Was Beautiful" and "Groovin On The Groomers" are toe-tapping slabs of soul jazz. The band's cover of James Gang's "Funk 49" takes the album in a fuzzed-out psych-rock direction with Eddie singing the lead, while the moody Hancock-esque inflections of "Stash" and the sweet mellow vibes of "Swimming With My Fishies" add the final brushstrokes of colour to the canvas.

Originally from the United Kingdom, funky soul-jazz veterans The New Mastersounds have been touring USA, Europe and Japan for over a decade and return here with their twelfth studio album, recorded in New Orleans and Denver and featuring a slew of musical guests.

"Renewable Energy" expands on the NMS template while still providing plenty of the band's trademark sounds. Guitarist Eddie Roberts, drummer Simon Allen, bassist Pete Shand and keyboardist Joe Tatton are joined on this 11-track effort by a number of guests: Sam Bell, one of the founding members of NMS precursor The Mastersounds who also guested on two previous NMS albums, plays percussion on most of the tracks. Mike Olmos and Joe Cohen of the West Coast Horns once again provide added horn action as they did on "Made For Pleasure" from 2015, while Adryon de León from LA band Orgone contributes vocals on "Gonna Be Just Me". Uptempo numbers "Tantalus" and "Yokacoka" see the band flexing their playing chops over a tightly-wound rhythm, while "Green Was Beautiful" and "Groovin On The Groomers" are toe-tapping slabs of soul jazz. The band's cover of James Gang's "Funk 49" takes the album in a fuzzed-out psych-rock direction with Eddie singing the lead, while the moody Hancock-esque inflections of "Stash" and the sweet mellow vibes of "Swimming With My Fishies" add the final brushstrokes of colour to the canvas.

2019 feiert das Blue-Note-Label seinen 80. Geburtstag. Unter den Aktivitäten des Jahres findet sich
auch eine für Vinyl-Fans besonders interessante: die "Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series".
Man nennt ihn den 'Klangpoeten': Joe Harley, Mitbegründer und Koproduzent des renommierten
amerikanischen Vinyl-Labels und Mail-Orders 'Music Matters'. Zum Jubiläum wurde er jetzt von Blue
Note beauftragt, ausgesuchte Alben für eine exklusiven LP-Edition zusammenstellen. Diese rein
analogen Reissues werden von den originalen Masterbändern von Kevin Gray (Cohearent Audio) neu
gemastert und bei Record Technology Incorporated (RTI) in 180g-Vinyl gepresst. Die Originalcover
werden als hochwertige, schwere Tip-on-Sleeves faksimiliert. Zu den von Joe Harley handverlesenen
Aufnahmen werden für ihre Aufnahmequalität berühmte Blue-Note-Klassiker, aber auch
herausragende aktuelle Einspielungen gehören.
Die ersten beiden Alben der Serie sind besondere "Blue-Note-Leckerli": Wayne Shorters 'Etcetera'
und Chick Coreas 'Now He Sings, Now He Sobs'.
Ausstattung: 180g-Pressung, neues Remaster von den Analogbändern, keine digitalen
Fertigungsschritte, schwere Tip-on-Hüllen

Khalab's 'Album of The Year' has been re-worked!

Ahead of a full remix LP (Summer 2019) On the Corner have opened the vault on 2019 hitters.
This 12' scorches the terrain built by 'Black Noise 2084'.
Hieroglyphic Being dominates the dancefloor with his 10 min sweater.
Afrikan Sciences launch off from Khalab's afrocentric soundscapes into a futuristic cosmos.
Blood, Wine or Honey strip it back, break it down and leave bassments trembling with the
weighty jungle blows.

After a stellar year for Khalab and On the Corner these three remixes bring knock-out blows
for 2019 dancefloors.

Hieroglyphic Being's 10 min sledgehammer shakes the floor as the mythical producer runs a
profound groove with three 808s pummelling the spine of Khalab's track.

On the B side, Afrikan Sciences uses the Afrocentric theme of the original to strip it back and
propel it into the cosmos.

Khalab's 'Black Noise 2084' has already racked up 'Album of the Year' status and we're giving
you a first glimpse of this earth scorching, dance destroyer that will prepare an onslaught for
2019.

'Although discrete, the career of saxophonist Philippe Maté includes nonetheless several indispensable albums: be it with the Acting Trio, Jean Guérin (Tacet) or Jef Gilson (Workshop), his collaborations in a big band or quartet with Lawrence "Butch" Morris, his presence in the Saxophone Quartetand also on the brilliant L'Enfant assassin des mouches by Jean-Claude Vannier.

As for the man in the background, Daniel Vallancien, a sound engineer rarely featuring on the sleeves, the collection Actuel on the BYG label owes much to him (he is at the controls behind Anthony Braxton, Don Cherry, Sonny Sharrock or Steve Lacy), the same goes for Saravah for who he notably recorded Areski,Brigitte Fontaine, Maurice Lemaître or the Cohelmec Ensemble: not bad for starters! What is more, Daniel Vallancien is one of a prestigious group of French recording engineers with open ears and often themselves musicians, even if only occasionally for some, including Bruno Menny, Daniel Deshays or Jean-Marc Foussat, who have all recorded remarkable albums as leaders. Behind this collaboration was the idea of creating music which was free, direct and spontaneous, while having also a minimum of advance planning. Music, according to the brief liner notes, desires to "remove itself from long and patient laboratory experiments ". So there can be found here none of the sophisticated tools associated with electroacoustic research, but mainly a recording mixer console, which, in the hands of Daniel Vallancien acts directly on the original instrumental sound in real time, modifying and multiplying it while respecting the natural flow.

Be it Paul Méfano, Betsy Jolas, Gérard Grisey or Jacques Lejeune, many contemporary composers working in France have, at one time or another, included the saxophone in their work. Michel Redolfi, for example, with the GRIM and then the CIRM , experimented with saxophonist André Jaume on a convincing recording (Hardscore). Nothing, however, can compare to the singularity of the dialogue between Philippe Maté and Daniel Vallancien, which they themselves describe as being "serious, sarcastic or humorous", with, here and there, "disturbing sounds". Words, however, even those used by the protagonists themselves, are insufficient to describe such a sonic object, difficult to identify and, it has to be said, extraordinary.'

Blood, Sweat & Tears' fourth album B, S & T: 4 was written by different band members. The record peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Pop albums chart and two singles made their way into the Pop singles chart. The tracks are generally shorter compared to their previous albums. The band moved a little bit to the mainstream direction, offering some impressive performances. Their musical style is still a mix of rock, blues, jazz and folk. The warm atmosphere is recognizable and it's great from beginning to the piano led end, a charming, energetic and lively album.

In their almost 50-years of existence Blood, Sweat & Tears covered a lot of famous songs by James Taylor, The Band and The Rolling Stones, among others. They also incorporated different music from artists like Thelonious Monk and Sergei Prokofiev in their songs.