Jazz /
El Is A Sound Of Joy
Shining sounds from the dawn of the Sun Ra Arkestra. "El is A Sound of Joy" was recorded in 1956 and appeared the following year on the very first Saturn LP, Super-Sonic Jazz. Incredible is the fact that saxophonist Charles Davis, here providing the soulful baritone anchor line (counterpoint to Ra's formidable left hand), remains in the front-line of today's Sun Ra Arkestra directed by Marshall Allen. Shuffle swing breakdown jets leisurely, casually, masterfully, painting lush, post-modern impre…
Plutonian Nights / Reflects Motion (Part 1)
"Plutonian Nights," the opening jam from the 1959 Afrofuturist classic album Nubians of Plutonia, is Sun Ra's quintessential, astro-majestic party joint. Among the top grooves in his immense catalog, Ra reveals his love for R&B is inseparable from his embrace of Jazz. (He once told bassist Richard Evans, "We don't play Jazz, we play Dazz.") Pat Patrick's bari sax morphs into a Fender bass, while the swinging flow of John Gilmore & Co. gives new meaning to the notion of 'Blowing' (Out From Chica…
Saturn / Mystery Mr. Ra
Sun Ra's angular yet strident and soulful "Saturn,” recorded in 1958, displays bluesy cubist bop in perfect alter-dimensional extension of Fletcher Henderson. It's also a showcase for John Gilmore's sax acrobatics and supersonic swing. Gilmore dove deep into the Ra Omniverse; "got the concept" - as Coltrane described the tenor giant - hooked by this composition, and never left. Dual baritones of Pat Patrick and Charles Davis (who continues in the front line of the living, glowing Arkestra of 201…
Plays Standards
Just when you thought it would be safe... Ground Zero are back with a CD of extraordinary covers, some are massive, others strange, all add something to their originals and were selected because of their importance to founder Otomo Yoshihide's personal musical biography - all explained in his excellent accompanying notes. Just the version of Shed a Little Tear is worth the whole CD.
The Eastern Moods Of Ahmed Abdul-Malik
Doxy present a reissue of Ahmed Abdul-Malik's The Eastern Moods Of Ahmed Abdul-Malik, originally released in 1962. One of the most compelling albums ever recorded by Ahmed Abdul-Malik, the set's got a style that's very strongly in keeping with the "eastern moods" of the title - with less of a jazz sound than some of Abdul Malik's other work, and more spare, exotic instrumentation overall. The group on the set is a trio - Ahmed on bass and oud, Bilal Abdurrahman on alto, Korean reed flute, …
Step Across The Border
Although this is technically the soundtrack to a film of the same name by Nicolas Humbert and Werner Penzel, Step Across the Border actually serves as an excellent overview of Fred Frith\'s groundbreaking work as a soloist, bandleader, and collaborator. There\'s an example of his \"guitars on the table\" approach (\"Romanisches Cafe\"), and a couple of excellent duos with tape manipulation whiz Bob Ostertag (\"Voice of America, Pt. 3,\" from the lost and lamented Voice of America album they m…
So Beautiful, It Starts To Rain
In a country and a musical domain where you have someone like Evan Parker, it’s difficult for any emerging sax player to establish himself, but John Butcher managed to do it and with his own personal style, very different from Parker’s. Now, he’s one of the main figures of the United Kingdom free improvised scene and his name crossed frontiers. “So Beautiful, it Starts to Rain” is a transnational enterprising, and another product of the British / Scandinavian connection, reuniting the tenor and …
International Holy Hill Jazz Meeting 1969
CD version. BeJazz is happy to come up with a true “holy” modern/free jazz gems of the late 1960s. The original double LP was issued by Meno Liechtenstein’s CB Records – he was also the organizer of the “International Holy Hill Jazz Meeting” in Heidelberg/Germany. The sound quality on the original album was not really bad – but it certainly was not really good as well. We spent a lot of work on a proper restoration of the live tapes. The result is truly amazing – after almost 50 years we are now…
Ear of Beholder
Radiation Deluxe Series present a reissue of Lol Coxhill's Ear Of Beholder, originally released in 1971. Ear Of Beholder is one of the most beguiling and adventurous records of the 1970s, which is saying a lot as that is a musical decade marked by groundbreaking creativity. Originally released on John Peel's Dandelion label, Lol Coxhill's sprawling double album debut is an avant-garde jazz masterstroke that features Robert Wyatt and much of the Whole World group, Kevin Ayers's backing band at…
Untitled
The Département d’Éducation Psychique group - Dynamo Dreesen and SVN : Andreas and Sven = DRESVN & Jean-Marc Foussat - was born in Paris June 25, 2014 in La Java, at a concert organized by Xavier Ehretsmann. The proposal of Xavier and our deep desire at all was to “mix” various networks for the unexpected meeting, improbable, surprising… of artists referenced “techno”, here DRESVN, with others from the “improvised music” in this instance Jean-Marc Foussat. And so as the duo DRESVN the German has…
Perujazz
Vampisoul present a reissue of Perujazz's self-titled album, originally released in 1987. "Manongo Mujica (drums, percussion), Jean Pierre Magnet (tenor saxophone), Julio 'Chocolate' Algendones (percussion) and Enrique Luna (electric bass) founded Perujazz in 1984. All four already had embarked on diverse musical ventures when they formed the band. Mujica had played as a jazz drummer and also with the psychedelic rock group Los Mad's and then as an experimental music percussionist. Jean Pierre…
The Eastcode Studios Session
Dancing Wayang present a new and rare studio album by US noise legends Borbetomagus titled The Eastcote Studios Session. Recorded in 2014, it unites fire-breathing saxophonists Jim Sauter, Don Dietrich and face-flaying guitarist Donald Miller whom together summon one of their most forceful yet detailed sonic onslaughts to date. The bulk of Borbetomagus releases over the last forty years have been taken from live recordings. This particular workout, however, took place in the eponymous studio …
Molto Bene
In Summer 2015 A L’ARME! Festival invited Konstrukt to perform with William Parker so we teamed up with Matt Bordin of Outside Inside Studio and invited the quartet to play two shows in Italy on their way to Berlin. Plans overlapped leaving two days off which were spent playing with no interruption at Matt's studio in Montebelluna and capturing four incredible tracks.Now, Konstrukt are well known for their many collaborations with key players and real giants of worldwide jazz scene, but -…
Duo Exchange
A replica reissue of a legendary, sought-after album, a worthy and historical addition to the collections of all fans of avant-garde duos. Rashied Ali and Frank Lowe's Duo Exchange LP from 1973, originally released by Survival Records. From Thurston Moore's Top Ten Free Jazz Underground (1996): "Frank Lowe has been studying and playing a consistently developing tenor sax style for a few decades now. At present he's been swinging through a Lester Young trip, which can be heard majestically on …
Tangle
A live recording of the trio comprised of John Butcher (saxophones, feedback) Thomas Lehn (analogue synthesizer) Matthew Shipp (piano) performing at Cafe Oto, London on 19 February 2014. "the standout album of 2016. There’s a raw vitality to the performance, and the music is unabashed and direct in channeling relatively conventional lyricism: Tangle is supremely listenable, and should grab listeners who usually find improvised free music elusive, as well as devotees . . . This is thrilling…
European Jazz Sounds
Digipack incl. 16-page booklet. Dusko Goykovich - tp, Derek Humble - as, Karl Drevo - ts, Francis Coppieters - p, Jonny Fischer - b, Stuff Combe - dr, Kenny Clarke - dr. Previously unreleased radio sessions 1958-1961 in Cologne, West Germany. During his career Dusko Goykovich built his own style recognizable for the preciseness and brilliance of his technique. His warm sound is like a mirror of half a century of jazz history. Goykovich set technical standards and played with all the greats of th…
Die Deutschen All Stars
CD digipack incl.20-page booklet.
Unreleased recordings from 1963 sessions! The 22 musicians presented on this album can be referred to as the leading names of jazz in Germany. In the “'German Jazz Poll 1963' Albert Mangelsdorff was elected 'musician of the year', the prize winners on individual instruments from trumpet to bass are included, as are the two leading ensembles – the Michael Naura Quintett as the best modern jazz combo, the Feet warmers as the best traditional band. Rarely ha…
JAZZ antibes 1963
CD digipack incl.12-page booklet. Unreleased live recordings from the 4th Antibes Jazz Festival. Since 1960 a jazz festival is held in Juan-Les-Pins at the Côte d'Azur, which is regarded as one of the best summer festivals worldwide. Apart from the big names - from Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald to Miles Davis or Keith Jarrett - it also featured legends such as Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Chuck Berry and Ray Charles. The 4th Festival in 1963 saw a meeting of representatives of traditional and mo…
from the German Jazz Festival 1964
CD digipack incl.24-page booklet.
Unreleased live recordings from the 9th German Jazz Festival 1964 in Frankfurt am Main! Apart from well-known bands such as the Jazzensemble des Hessischen Rundfunks and the Klaus Doldinger Quartet, the German Jazz Festival 1964 focussed on jazz from our Eastern neighbouring countries, here represented by the Zagreb Jazz Quartet from Jugoslavia. Saxophonists Karl Drevo, Emil Mangelsdorff and Joki Freund also played an important part and are featured in thi…
Free At The German Jazz Festival 1966
Unreleased live recordings - featuring the pioneers from the Euro-pean New Jazz scene! This is the third in our series of exciting jazz albums with beautiful unreleased live recordings from the German Jazz Festival 1966! Please check the whos's who of the European jazz scene in the tracklisting.This 2-CD set comes in a SABA-style packaging.
We had the impression that those recordings could easily have been part of the SABA/MPS catalogue back in 1966 - that's why we decided to design the co…