Jazz /
Maiden Voyage
"Five of Japan's most famous arrangers (Miki, Yamaya, Takahashi, Ueda, Maeda) have come together to create a rare big band work. Highlights include the title track with its electric sound arranged by Miki and the dynamic "Giant Steps" arranged by Maeda. "Koki Hanawa
Wamono A To Z Vol.II (Japanese Funk 1970-1977)
Following the highly acclaimed Volume I, dig further into the Wamono sound - the cream of the Japanese jazz, funk, soul, rare groove and disco music developed throughout the years since the end of the sixties in Japan! Active as a professional DJ in Japan since the late eighties, DJ Yoshizawa Dynamite is also a renowned remixer, compiler and producer. An avid record collector and an expert of the Wamono style, Yoshizawa published the Wamono A to Z records guide book in 2015 which instantly sold…
Le - Le
Recorded in the 1980's and snapped up upon arrival in Europe by the Soho Boho's, Acid Jazzuals, Cuboppers, Jazz Massivists and Mojo Jazzmuziker, "Le-Le" by The Arpeggio Jazz Ensemble is a unique one off spiritual soul-jazz outing with avant garde touches and more than a hint of afro-cuban orientalism.The percussion drenched title track has that special worldwide sound and the cool jazz get down groove of "Wet Walnuts and Whipped Cream" is a DJ's delight, whether played over the airwaves or to a …
Getatchew Mekuria And His Saxophone
Getatchew Mekurya is probably the most revered veteran of Ethiopian saxophone. A real giant, both physically and musically. Not only is he at the very top level of Ethiopian saxophonists, but he is the 'inventor' of an extremely distinctive musical 'style.'
Blue Dance / Milky Way
Original created by Roland Kovac’s studio band for an industrial commercial, Hans Georg Brunner Schwer, an admirer of Kovac’s work, released the recordings as a full length SABA album in 1968 under the title ‘Trip To The Mars’. The recording has a sound somewhere between atmospheric soundtrack, library and modal jazz. Sort after for the modal waltz dancer ‘Blue Dance’, presented here in it’s ultimate sonic form – AAA analogue mastered and cut to 45rpm. Side 2’s ‘Milky Way’ is a heady trip mixing…
Melodies Record Club #001: Four Tet selects
We’re excitWe’re excited to be launching a new release series: “Melodies Record Club”, a string of DJ and Artist curated mini compilations in loud 12” format! The first instalment was put together by Four Tet, selecting two big peak-time Jazz tracks he used to spin regularly at Plastic People. On one side, we’ve got all time jazz greats Jackie McLean and Michael Carvin’s De I Comahlee Ah, taken from their seminal album Antiquity recorded in Denmark back in 1975. A year and a half ago, we visited…
Sam Suffy
** Limited edition, individually numbered copies on translucent vinyl ** Marc Moulin’s debut LP Sam Suffy (1975) is a compelling and unique mosaic of jazz, soul, and electronic elements that employs sampled sounds and sequencers to startling effect, vividly anticipating the music of the not-so-distant future. While rooted in collective improvisation, cuts like the opening “Le Saule” and “Le Beau Galop” foreshadow the emergence of house music via their underlying electronic motifs; even more impr…
Spiritual Jazz 9: Blue Notes Part One & Two
** 2021 Stock ** The Blue Note record label needs little introduction. Musically, graphically and sonically iconic, the label created and defined the golden age of modern jazz on record. Founded in 1939 by German émigré Alfred Lion, the label's roster of artists is a litany of giants - Thelonious Monk, Sonny Rollins, Horace Silver, Lee Morgan, Art Blakey, Lee Morgan, Herbie Hancock, and many more. With peerless musicians in the grooves, the legendary Rudy Van Gelder behind the boards, and graphi…
Beautiful Bamboo-Flute
** In process of stocking ** Seminal Japanese jazz album from 1971. Journeys through jazz fusion, soul and big band moods. Impossible to obtain in its original format, these days. Hozan Yamamoto was recognised as a "living national treasure" by the Japanese government in 2002. This highly sought-after album from the Japanese wood flute player is more upbeat and swinging than some of his other records. The big band he recorded this album with (Sharps & Flats) played a big part in the genesis of t…
Utopic Cities : Progressive Jazz In Belgium 1968-1
** Limited Grey Marbled edition ** Sdban Records presents Utopic Cities: Progressive Jazz in Belgium 1968-1979 featuring twelve essential compositions from a highly creative period in Belgian jazz. The release follows Sdban's critically acclaimed Let's Get Swinging: Modern Jazz in Belgium 1950-1970, released back in 2017. Utopic Cities is an eclectic selection of forward-thinking jazz from the Belgian underground, including the left-field fusion of Marc Moulin's Placebo, Koen De Bruyne and Solis…
Fitz Gore & The Talismen
** Including 7inch Single "Gisela (Lion Rock)" b/w "Summertime" (previously unreleased). Limited to 500 numbered copies. Heavy old school tip-on cover ** Perfect Toy Records presents Fitz Gore & the Talismen. Licensed by Gisela Gore. Tenor Saxophone – Fitz Gore, Bass – Gérard Ebbo - Obama Ngomo, Congas – Lamont Hampton, Drums – Emmanuel Dipanda, Guitar – Gil Nguema, Piano – Lukoki Mampasi.
When a Man Loves a Woman
** 2021 Stock. In process of stocking ** A live recording of 1974 released by Hokkaido-born bassist Takashi Mizuhashi from [Three Blind Mice] in his own group after working for Masaru Imada and Isao Suzuki. Seiichi Nakamura (TS) and Shigeharu Mukai (T) participated in the quartet of Yoshio Otomo (AS), Fumio Karashima (P), and Hideo Sekine (D) only for B1 "Sugar". Includes the hit song A1 "When A Man Loves A Woman" sung by Percy Sledge in 1966, and A2 "So What", a thrilling performance of Miles D…
Midnight Sugar
** 2021 Stock. In process of stocking ** Craftman Records presents Midnight Sugar by Yamamoto Tsuyoshi Trio. Bass – Isao Fukui, Drums – Tetsujiro Obara, Liner Notes – Yoshio Maki, Mixed By – Yoshihiko Kannari, Piano – Tsuyoshi Yamamoto, Producer – Takeshi Fujii.
The Fire Still Burns
45 years after his debut album Valley of Search (1975/India Navigation), jazz saxophonist Alan Braufman returns. The Fire Still Burns has that gritty, forthright sensibility we hope to hear in sonic collaborations borne out of beauty and struggle, but there’s a populist ease that comes with age and reflection. Put simply it’s natural music – complementary, individual, and full of the sweet, hot taste of celebration.
Valley of Search
The first ever reissue of the 1975 free jazz album originally released on India Navigation. What we know of Downtown New York comes from the countercultural and creative flowering that emerged in lower Manhattan in the 1960s, attributable to cheap live-work spaces called lofts. These were often abandoned and disused small manufacturing spaces and they became a nexus for artistic practice and life. From a jazz perspective, lofts were alternatives to the club scene, and they gained notoriety in th…
Torben Hertz Soul Sextet
** 2021 Stock ** ** 2021 Stock ** This is an official reissue of a rare and unknown Danish EP issued on CSA records in 1967. CSA's focus was mainly on traditional jazz, and this gem is a one-of-a-kind from the Danish jazz scene at that time.This is a vinyl only reissue. No downloads.
Searching
** 2021 Stock ** Searching was self-recorded in Ronald’s living room on a 4-Track Tape Recorder in 1984. The recordings symbolise his engagement to cross-over everything that was known to him musically at that time. Most importantly, all recordings reflect his personal way of searching; searching for his own characteristic sound. Rhythmical patterns meet well balanced distortion, shaping the music into a mirror of his character. He was part of several Dutch Latin and Jazz bands, including Cascad…
Soul Love Now: The Black Fire Records Story 1975-1993
Strut present the first ever compilation bringing together classics and rarities from the seminal spiritual jazz and conscious soul label Black Fire, spanning 1975 to 1993. Formed by DJ and record producer Jimmy Gray in Richmond, Virginia, and following in the footsteps of other influential black-owned independent labels like Strata-East and Tribe, the foundation of Black Fire coincided with saxophonist James “Plunky” Branch returning to Richmond from New York to form Oneness Of Juju. The band’s…
My Pure Joy
"From A Love Supreme to The Sex Machine!" The personal musical mantra of the late Philadelphia reedman Byard Lancaster informed an open-minded and varied lifetime in jazz. Strut presents one of Lancaster’s lesser known classics, ‘My Pure Joy’, recorded in 1992 for Black Fire. Lancaster had initially cut his musical teeth with the avant-garde on New York’s Lower East Side in the 1960s (famously on sessions with pianist Dave Burrell and drummer Sunny Murray) and in Paris during the ‘70s after an a…
Ed Kelly & Friend
In 1978 Pharoah Sanders went into the studio with pianist, Ed Kelly, who was an important figure in the local San Francisco and Oakland jazz scene. The two of them recorded six tracks which ranged from covers of standards, through soul jazz through to two real gems. The album was originally released as Ed Kelly and Friend due to Pharoah being contracted to Arista Records at the time. Indeed, as you can see, the cover shows Kelly playing next to Pharoah’s hat, shoes and Selmer tenor saxophone.
Ra…