Jazz /
The Kenny Wheeler Big Band & Friends, Vol. 2
Previously unreleased. Stereophonic sound.
1-4 recorded 11th November 1973.5-8 recorded 22nd December 1974.
Lineup:Kenny Wheeler - flugelhornGreg Bowen, Ian Hamer, Dave Hancock (1-4), Alan Downey (5-8), Henry Lowther - trumpetsBobby Lamb (1-4), Keith Christie (1-4), Dave Horler (1-4), Chris Pyne, Malcolm Griffith, Cliff Hardy (5-8), Jim Wilson (5-8), Pete Smith (5-8) - trombonesAlfie Reece (1-4), Cliff Bevan (5-8) - tubaDuncan Lamont (1-4), Stan Sulzmann (5-8) - tenor/soprano saxophoneNorma Wins…
Le Déjeuner Sur L'Herbe
Tip! By the 1960s, the popularity of big bands had waned considerably. The heyday of the 30s and 40s big bands had been superseded in the 1950s by smaller modern and traditional jazz units, skif e and, ultimately, rock and roll, and the prominence they once enjoyed were a fading memory. Although there were still several very ne big bands playing and recording during this time, the economics of the big band in the age of the pop group always put it at a disadvantage. There was, of course, the lea…
The Buds of Time
This is the first ‘lost’ album Jazz In Britain has discovered. We’ve released albums that were only previously released on vinyl, or even cassette tape, ie never on CD, or albums produced from sessions by groups that never made a record, or we’ve included unreleased tracks that never made it only albums… but this is a real first for us. In 1979 Tony Coe and Bob Cornford composed pieces for an unusual, and unrepeated, combination of a six-piece jazz ensemble (two reeds, bass trombone, piano, perc…
Greek Variations & Other Aegean Exercises
*2025 much needed repress!!!* Recorded in '69, Greek Variations & Other Aegean Exercises is irresistible on two counts. First, for its daringly conceived and brilliantly performed music, inspired by Greek folk songs and instrumental textures and deep enough to reveal all its treasures only after many repeated listenings. Second, for being recorded at the moment when the Don Rendell/Ian Carr Quintet, a major force in British straight-ahead jazz since '62, had broken up and Carr's equally influent…
Near And Far East
*2025 repress* Made with the intention of exploring and experiencing the various musical and cultural perspectives of a territory as vast as that of Persia, "Near And Far East" is a significant historical document that transcends the restrictive concept of territory but rather inhabits a space of absolute time. The album's content is not just window into faraway places, but a leap into the times and cultures that have now been swallowed up by the incessant movement of globalization and capitalis…
Pressing News : British Music As It Happened 1962-1972 (Book)
Hardcover Edition, large format. A treasure trove of rare information and imagery, Pressing News is the latest book by Richard Morton Jack, author of Nick Drake: The Life, Labyrinth, Psychedelia, Galactic Ramble and Endless Trip. A huge number of new records came out in the UK every week in the 1960s and 70s, many of them accompanied by press releases. These offered important and fascinating information but were almost all discarded, meaning that very few have survived. The product of decades of…
How Many Clouds Can You See?
How Many Clouds Can You See? is the second album by English saxophonist John Surman featuring Alto Saxophone – Mike Osborne; Baritone Saxophone, Flute – John Warren; Baritone Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Bass Clarinet – John Surman; Bass – Barre Phillips, Harry Miller; Drums – Alan Jackson, Tony Oxley; Piano – John Taylor; Tenor Saxophone, Flute – Alan Skidmore; Trombone – Chris Pyne, Malcolm Griffiths; Trumpet – Dave Holdsworth; Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Harold Beckett; Tuba – George Smith. John …
Flashpoints and Undercurrents
Recently celebrating his 80th birthday and one of Europe’s foremost jazz musicians, John Surman is a masterful improvisor, composer, and multi-instrumentalist (baritone and soprano sax, bass clarinet, and synthesizers/electronics). For nearly 60 years, he has been a major force, producing a prodigious and creative body of work that expands beyond jazz. Surman’s extensive discography as a leader and a side man numbers more than 100 recordings to date and has featured dozens of prominent artists w…
Progress
On download, streaming and CD for the first time ever, the only Gyroscope album ‘One, Two, Three… Go!’ ever released, expanded with live and studio recordings from the archives plus a wealth of first-hand information about the band and many previously unseen images. Produced with the support of Gordon Beck’s sister Jude and the approval of the band members or their families.
Compiled from studio, live and rehearsal session recordings, made in 1973 and 1974, from the tape archives of Ron Mathewso…
Tubby The Tenor
2024 Stock The arrival of English tenor saxophonist Tubby Hayes in New York during the autumn of 1961 caused a sensation in American jazz circles. The first British jazz soloist to ever make a guest appearance in a US club, his opening night at the Half Note was attended by figures including Miles Davis, Al Cohn and Zoot Sims, with Metronome describing Hayes as a swinging ambassador from Britain who definitely can hold his own in fast company. At the end of his visit Hayes recorded the album Tu…
Prayer for peace
** 2024 restock, long out of print - few copies avaialble ** Reissue of the legendary Amalgam recording with Trevor Watts, Jeff Clyne, John Stevens and Barry Guy. This recording received the highest rating by The Penguin Guide to Jazz. It was re-mastered from the original reel to reel tapes. : In the late 60s, British jazz was in a state of flux, pulling itself into strange new shapes influenced by the U.S. avant garde, European improvisation and rock and giving birth to bands such as Keith Tip…
Seven For Lee Variations: On Italian Roads, Vol. 2
Recorded live on 25th February 1979, Teatro Cristallo, Milan, Italy. Second of two performances. Previously unreleased. Stereophonic sound. Elton Dean - saxophones, Keith Tippett - piano, Harry Miller - double bass, Louis Moholo-Moholo - drums. All tracks composed by Elton Dean.
Original event organised by Riccardo Bergerone. Very special thanks to: Marino Dean, Roberto Ottaviano, Sergio Balletti, Carlo Verri, Aymeric Leroy.
Executive producer: Riccardo Bergerone.
Restored and produced by Matt…
Fragment
In 1975, the lead album "Fragment" by the acclaimed UK jazz pianist John Taylor, which was previously only released on cassette tape and hailed as a gem of UK jazz.
Camden '70
2024 stock. The Coliseum and the New Jazz Orchestra led by Neil Ardlay originally had John Heisman and Dick Hextall Smith in the NJO, and the NJO participated in the ‘Valentine Suite’, but this album was released the year after the ‘Valentine Suite’, in ‘ This is a rare live album from when they toured as a combined band in 1970, the year after ‘Valentine Suite’. The album features songs from the Coliseum and NJO albums, as well as songs by Jack Bruce and John Coltrane, and is a rare live record…
Kaleidoscope Of Rainbows
2024 stock. Third solo album released in 1976 by Neil Ardley, a British jazz pianist and arranger who led the ‘New Jazz Orchestra’, featuring top British jazz musicians such as Ian Kerr and Brian Smith of Necleus, as well as Third Ear Band's Paul Buckmaster of Third Ear Band, Dave Krahe of Matching Mole and others also participated. As the album title suggests, the dazzling sonic universe is a brilliant crossover of diverse musical genres. Paper jacket, SHM-CD, latest remastering, definitive rel…
Smoke-Blackened Walls & Curlews
‘Surprisingly enough, program music is not all that common in jazz. For example, unlike their classical counterparts, not many jazz composers have set out to evoke particular places. Duke Ellington’s 'Tone Parallel To Harlem' is one of the great exceptions. Britain has been even more neglected, unless you count Billy Strayhorn’s 'Chelsea Bridge', and that was about Whistler's painting rather than the actual bridge itself. But the British jazz composer Graham Collier is one who is doing something…
BBC Jazz Club Session April 1965
"The Rendell/Carr Quintet was a groundbreaking jazz ensemble featuring saxophonist Don Rendell and trumpeter Ian Carr, among the most influential musicians in post-war British jazz. BBC Jazz Club Session April 1965 is a snapshot of the group in transition, with pianist Michael Garrick new to the ranks and taking them in a more radical direction." - normanrecords.com
Jazz In Britain '68-'69
John Surman's Jazz in Britain '68-'69 is an overview disc of his '60s band and one of the more enjoyable vintage British jazz records. These tunes come from several different sessions recorded in the late sixties, as evidenced by the alternate drummers - Alan Jackson and Tony Oxley - and the use of different instrumentation, like the three-horn modal piece "Bouquet Garni," from 1968 that places Surman in the company of only two other horn players - Alan Skidmore and Mike Osborne - and no rhythm …
This Is British Progressive Jazz
Nine previously unreleased tracks from the golden era of British jazz. Featuring the cream of players and composers from the period. Stereophonic sound.All tracks original source - public domain. These restorations and remasters by British Progressive Jazz © 2024
High In The Sky
Big tip! Leading a dynamic trio with virtuoso bass player Leroy Vinnegar and drummer Donald Bailey, piano player Hampton Hawes released one of his best effort in 1970, focusing on an original blend of post-bop and rare groove. The record opens with a rendition of Bacharach "The Look Of Love" and offers a deep soulful voyage with the 11 minutes title track. Hampton Hawes was one of the finest jazz pianists of the 1950s, a fixture on the Los Angeles scene who brought his own interpretations to the…