Jazz /
Katyusha
This isn’t your grandfather’s free jazz. Hell, it probably isn’t free jazz at all, but you have to call it something. “Katyusha” is ballistic fire music that starts where the most berserk, intense free music begins and then sustains that, then pushes it further. Blood vessel bursting intensity, stamina, speed, and momentum is here in blinding quantities, all the while retaining lightning fast interaction. No dull roar, the densities and dynamics do vary, but there is never a dull moment or coast…
Akisakila / Attitudes of Preparation (Mountains, Oceans, Trees)
*Limited edition of 400 copies.* Attitudes of Preparation (Mountains, Oceans, Trees) is a collaboration between XT (the duo of Paul Abbott and Seymour Wright) and pianist Pat Thomas. Across the two LP sides (80 minutes), and four gatefold panels (13,331 words) together they reflect on, and take inspiration from, the late pianist, composer, poet Cecil Taylor. On 12 August 2018, as part of a Cafe OTO tribute to the recently deceased Taylor, the trio perform live a 'version' of The Cecil Taylor Un…
Haborym (Book Of Angels Volume 16)
*In process of stocking. 2022 stock.* The magical interplay and incredible virtuosity of this exhilarating trio of string masters has made it one of the most beloved and acclaimed of all Masada ensembles. Back now by popular demand for their first studio recording in over five years, their telepathic interplay and endless creativity had never been stronger. Ten more tunes from the rich and inventive Book of Angels featuring moody ballads, hypnotic grooves, intense burners and of course the trade…
Masada Anniversary Edition, Vol. 2: Voices In The Wilderness
*In process of stocking. 2022 stock.* As John Zorn’s most popular project reaches its tenth year, Tzadik celebrates the Masada songbook with a series of all-star tributes. Following Masada Guitars, Volume 2 is an eclectic and powerful collection of almost two dozen Masada classics artfully arranged by some of the downtown scene’s most creative performers. Zorn’s catchiest and most lyrical tunes performed by rock bands, klezmer groups, vocalists, jazz.
Obelisk
*In process of stocking. 2022 stock.* Universally acclaimed as a pioneer in live laptop electronics, Ikue’s signature style is still uniquely her own and has influenced two generations of laptop performers. Her new band project Obelisk is a super-band featuring three of the most acclaimed and original players in the Downtown scene—Okkyung Lee, Jim Black and Sylvie Courvoisier. Ikue’s startling compositions blend gorgeous melodies with hypnotic rhythms and evocative soundscapes. Strange and beaut…
Live At Tonic 1999
*In process of stocking. 2022 stock* With the growth of saxophonist/composer/bandleader/producer John Zorn's Masada project into a veritable cottage industry that includes Masada Recital, Masada String Trio, Masada Guitars , Electric Masada and The Unknown Masada, it may be easy to forget how, ten years ago, his Masada Quartet, with trumpeter Dave Douglas, bassist Greg Cohen and drummer Joey Baron burst onto the scene with a series of ten rapidly-released studio records that combined a Jewish mu…
Mediumistic Methodology
*In process of stocking. Limited edition of 200 copies.* Alto sax player Devin Brahja Waldman lives in New York and leads his own group Brahja and is a member of Heroes Are Gang Leaders and Land of Kush. He also helps run the label Fast Speaking Music with his aunt, celebrated poet Anne Waldman. Master drummer Hamid Drake needs no introduction.
Waldman and Drake’s duo was recorded live at Elastic Arts in Chicago in December 2019. The title of the album, "Mediumistic Methodology", relates to a se…
Boiling Point
*In process of stocking. Limited edition of 300 copies.* "Boiling Point" is the sophomore release from Gordon Grdina's Nomad Trio featuring Matt Mitchell (piano) and Jim Black (drums) and also follows up on 2021's Astral Spirits Grdina / Black duo release "Martian Kitties." The self-titled 2020 debut of Grdina’s Nomad Trio (Skirl Records) was hailed by PopMatters for setting up “loose structures for wild improvising [while also including] a healthy menu of hot unison licks and fleet melodies.” S…
In The Swarm
*In process of stocking.* Few bands in improvised music seem to generate more palpable sonic friction than Brandon Seabrook’s trio with Cooper-Moore and Gerald Cleaver. The group produces a seriously tactile, almost psychedelic sound: the gut-punch of drums, the rumbling twang of diddley-bow, and the slashing, brittle crunch of electric guitar. On Exulations, the trio’s 2020 debut album on Astral Spirits, these sounds coalesced into gritty, propulsive improvisations possessed of an almost three-…
The End and The Beginning
*In process of stocking. Limited edition of 500 copies.* The debut LP from RedGreenBlue posits a mesmeric, minimalist extension of Chicago's groove-based improvised music tradition. Over the course of two introverted, side-long pieces, the band patiently crafts hypnotic—yet still dynamic—sonic spaces using languid pulsations, careful shifts in colour, and occasional bursts of virtuosic urgency. It's music that hovers between worlds, unfurling a foundation of almost-ambient weightlessness that's …
Final Thaw
*Limited edition of 500 copies.* Final Thaw is the debut from the new trio of John Kolodij (guitar), Jayson Gerycz (drums) & Dylan Baldi (saxophone). You will likely recognize Kolodij from his incredible Astral Editions album "First Fire • At Dawn" and you likely will recognize Baldi & Gerycz from Cloud Nothings (as well as Powers/Rolin/Gerycz, Monocot, etc)...and Iceberg doesn't really sound like any of those things, in the best way possible. "Final Thaw" features two sidelong workouts that bui…
These Things Happen
*Limited edition of 500 copies.* A group here that features some key members from the American avant scene, but whose standout member might well be pianist Oscar Jan Hoogland – who contributed two originals to the set, and whose work on the keys seems to really direct the energy of this session that features fresh interpretations of tunes by Herbie Nichols and Thelonious Monk! The setting is quite a different one for saxophonist Keefe Jackson, but he's superb throughout – blowing tenor and sopra…
Master Of Time
*Limited edition of 500 copies.* Coming on vinyl is a noteworthy release from guitarist Tashi Dorji and percussionist Susie Ibarra. Master of Time is a live performance commissioned for the exhibition of Bardo Now, The Second Buddha: Master of Time at the Tang Teaching Museum during a residency on April 16-18, 2019. Vinyl contains the tracks "Confluence" and "The Way of the Clouds".
When The Circle Was Closed
*100 copies limited edition. In process of stocking* Dinzu Artefacts presents When The Circle Was Closed by Slow Bell Trio. Midwest trio that taps into the slower, more meditative side of improvisational music allowing for some deep listening.
Live In Paris (1971 - Lost ORTF Recordings)
Transversales Disques proudly presents Ahmad Jamal Trio, Live in Paris 1971. Never heard before ORTF recordings performed live at studio 104, Maison de la Radio, Paris. This is the first official release with the full permission and cooperation of the National Audiovisual Institute (INA) coming in a Deluxe Edition - Classic Tip-On Jacket. Including exclusive pictures. Mastered from the original master tapes.
"While be-bop musicians practise one-upmanship in terms of speed, Ahmad Jamal develops a…
Numerology of Birdsong
*2022 stock* Numerology of Birdsong is the second album by Somersaults, following on from their 2015 eponymous debut on Two Rivers. Olie Brice and Mark Sanders have been heard as a bass/drum unit with the likes of Paul Dunmall, Evan Parker, Mikolaj Trzaska, Rachel Musson and Ken Vandermark. Chatting about their very favourite saxophonists and what their ideal trio combination would be, they both agreed that they’d love to do something with Toby Delius, best known as a member of the legendary Dut…
Palindromes
*2022 stock. In process of stocking.* This is an outstanding hour or so of improvised music that beggars belief that this was only the second performance by this particular line up. The first was on 02/02/2020, and the first palindrome, and this concert 2 days later at Cafe OTO, with the second palindrome, and hence the title of this wonderful set. What is quite amazing is how such a rapport between four musicians can be created and cemented so quickly. Each free to add, comment or step up to le…
Vol. 1 Erie Live!
Daniel Carter, William Parker, and Federico Ughi have been playing together since 2005, the year in which they recorded their first album The Dream. The band has performed regularly in the US and Europe ever since, gaining considerable success, with a 2010 European tour throughout Portugal, Spain, and Italy that resulted in the live album Navajo Sunrise (2012). In 2015 the trio started to rehearse with multi-instrumentalist Watson Jennison (Toronto, CA). As a quartet, the band toured the US and …
Blurt + Singles
Led by poet/saxophonist/blurter Ted Milton, they were one of the oddest and most galvanizing bands from Great Britain’s post-punk movement. Surfacing a year after 1981’s live full-length In Berlin, their self-titled debut studio LP consists of seven tracks that strip funk and jazz-inflected no wave down to insanely logical essentials. These lean vehicles operated by Milton, his brother Jake (drums), and Pete Creese (guitar) get your hips twitching and your brain itching. The songs are both tight…
Il Bene Comune
*In process of stocking. Limited edition of 500 copies.* Literally translated from Italian, il bene comune means "the common good." Ineffable and ambiguous, the term in itself offers no intrinsic clues as to what its application should entail, although we generally view it in a positive light. Engaging in acts we perceive as furthering the common good can give us immense personal satisfaction, while participating in collective actions moved by this desire can be among the most rewarding experien…