An amazing piece of work from Angel Bat Dawid – music that's light years ahead from her recordings of just a few years back – and that's really saying a lot, given the strength of that material! The album features music from a large stage performance put together by Angel – partly inspired by the legendary film The Cry Of Jazz – done by director Edward Bland at the end of the 50s, with music by Sun Ra, and groundbreaking testament on the nature of jazz and black expression in America. The film has been a touchstone for us for decades – yet somehow, Angel finds a way to to channel all its power and explode its meaning and message into something even more powerful – directing a larger group of musicians and singers with a stunningly majestic quality – one that is sure to elevate Dawid into the upper reaches of jazz for years to come. An instant masterpiece, and a record that will become a touchstone for both jazz and contemporary music in general – with titles that include "Introit", "Dias Ire", "Rex Tremendae", "Recordare", "Confutatis", "Lacrimosa", "Kyrie Eleison", "Agnus Dei", and "Lux Aeterna". LP, Vinyl record album

A never-issued live performance from the legendary Japanese drummer Motohiko Hino – recorded live in concert, originally by the Three Blind Mice label – yet a date that's a lot more freewheeling than most of the more familiar studio material from TBM! All the tracks are long, soaring, and searching – very spiritual in nature, and kicked off with long solo work from Hino, as he builds up energy and then welcomes in the rest of the group – a killer lineup that features two tenors, one in each channel – Mabumi Yamaguchi and Yasuaki Shimizu – plus nicely raw guitar work from Kazumi Watanabe, very different than his tighter albums of later years – as well as bass from Nobuyoshi Ino and percussion from Yuji Imamura. Titles include "Olive's Step", "Flying Clouds", and "Running Water". LP, Vinyl record album

Great funky avant work from this mad German duo – sounding very much here as they do on their Mad Rockers mode! The lineup features work from John Surman on baritone, Eje Thelin on trombone, Barre Phillips on bass, and both Stu Martin and Jacques Thollot on drums – one in each channel! LP, Vinyl record album

An obscure early set from this important Japanese group – one that features drums from Akira Ishikawa (of Count Buffalos fame) – and tunes that are from war and action films! LP, Vinyl record album

A masterpiece of spiritual sounds from Japanese drummer Takahashi Miyasaka – one of those sublime 70s records that really carries the Coltrane legacy forward, and finds a whole new channel of inspiration in the universe! The group is led by Miyasaka, but features fantastic horn work from Koichi Matsukaze on alto and tenor, Genji Sawai on soprano and alto, and Hiroshi Itaya on trombone – the last of whom has a wonderfully distinct voice, with these crisp, concise notes that really make the record shine! Pianist Hiromachi Tsugaki is wonderful too – a player we don't know at all, but who ranks right up there with the best Japanese pianists of the decade – and bassist Kagehiro Ohba has a spacious stepping sound that really keeps things in line. All tracks are nice and long – and titles include "Dog's Dance", "Pecker's Blues", "Ballad For Mammoth", and "Animals Garden". LP, Vinyl record album

The earliest album ever to be issued under the Globe Unity label – a very early project headed up by the mighty pianist Alexander Von Schlippenbach – and a record that's noteworthy for the first album to feature the work of Peter Brotzmann and Peter Kowald! Right from the start, the vibe is completely in line with the highest ideals of the improvising orchestra – Schlippenbach directing the group and playing piano – in a large lineup that also features Brotzmann on alto, Manfred Schoof on cornet, Gerd Dudek on tenor, Willem Breuker on baritone, Gunter Hampel on bass clarinet, Karl Berger on vibes, and Peter Kowald and Buschi Niebergall on basses, one in each channel! And alongside these free jazz heavyweights, the album also sports the amazing rhythm duo of future prog rock giants Jaki Liebezeit and Mani Neumeier – both working here at a level that matches the free improvisations of the others – on two side-long tracks, titled "Globe Unity" and "Sun". LP, Vinyl record album

Angel Bat Dawid is a completely mesmerizing artist on record, but she's even more mindblowing in a live setting – where she seems to channel the energy of the skies and the planet into her music – brimming over with righteous energy that guides the rest of the group with a hell of a lot of power! Angel plays clarinet, keyboards, and sings throughout – effortlessly shifting between those elements in a group that includes tenor, keyboards, electronics, bass, and lots of drums and percussion – bursting out with an effortless blend of larger conception and improvisation – at a level that may well have Dawid emerging as one of the few folks from Chicago that could ever hope to match the legacy of Sun Ra! That's not saying that Angel is anything like Ra at all – but in a similar way, she immediately comes across as a true visionary, a deeply spiritual talent, and an artist who's following a path that's completely her own. Features material recorded live in Chicago and Berlin – and titles include "Capetown", "Black Family", "What Shall I Tell My Children Who Are Black", "The Wicked Shall Not Prevail", "Melo Deez From Heab'N", "VIKTORious Return", and "Enlightenment". LP, Vinyl record album

Keyboardist Soichi Noriki is at the top of his game here – combining warmer fusion modes from a few years before with some of the city pop styles on the Japanese scene of the early 80s – an approach that's topped with vocals from Yurie Kokubu on a few of the album's key cuts! Most of the set is instrumental, and has this soulful fusion glide that's great – Noriki on Fender Rhodes, Hammond B3, and a host of other keyboards – getting support from guitarists Toru Tatsuki and Hirotsugu Nakai, each of whom play in a different channel of the mix – in a combo that also features Haruo Sakai on tenor, alto, and soprano sax! Yurie sings on "You Need Me" and "Do What You Do" – and other tracks include "Rag Box", "Go Over The Hill", "Black Duck", "Anyway", and "Cozy's Melody". LP, Vinyl record album

Larry Coryell began his career as a fuzzy fusion monster – often leaning into rock with both his sound and his solos – but over the 70s, he also really developed his talents as an acoustic artist – which come into beautiful focus here on a set of mostly solo recordings! Larry almost seems to channel previous acoustic giants – like Baden Powell or Paco DeLucia – but all while making a sound that's completely his own – quite rhythmic in its pulse, with some very hard action on the strings – but also with a level of sensitivity that you never would have heard in his music a decade before! The album's got a fantastic blending of the Horace Silver tunes "Song For My Father" and "Sister Sadie" – and other tracks include "Toronto Under The Sign Of Capricorn", "April Seventh", "Copenhagen Impressions", and "For Phillip & Django". LP, Vinyl record album

A heck of a rare jazz album – and a great one too! This obscure session was cut by pianist Kenny Drew in Hollywood in 1955, with a sharp-edged west coast quartet that includes LA boppers Leroy Vinnegar on bass and Larry Marable on drums, as well as the overlooked Joe Maini on alto – a really great talent who makes the album one of Drew's greatest from the 50s. Maini clocks in one of his best performances ever, matching Drew's firey work on the keys with some tight well-toned solos that pack an incredible punch that reminds us of Sonny Criss – supported strongly by some hard and heavy work from Drew and the rhythm section. Many titles are originals, and tracks include "Talkin-Walkin", "In The Prescribed Manner", "Deadline", "Hidden Channel", and "Walkin-Talkin". Great stuff all-out, and the kind of a record that makes it worth collecting rare jazz! LP, Vinyl record album

Warmly jazzy grooves from this late 70s Japanese combo – one who are more like a fusion group than some of the more standard city pop acts – in part because they've got two different guitarists in the lineup, each of whom get a different channel in the mix! Haruto Kawabe is on one channel, and Motoki Ichizaki is in the other – both soloing strongly at points, but stepping aside to allow plenty of room for the lead vocals of Masako Takasaki – who sings throughout the record, in a warm voice that works perfectly with the electric instrumentation! Shinnoichi Shimizu plays keyboards on the set too – and titles include "Jump", "Usou", "AM 4:00", "Goodbye Again", "Crystal Magic", and "One Night Affair". (Japanese, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful reunion of Pharoah Sanders and vocalist Leon Thomas – and a set that captures a lot of the same energy as the pair's previous record – Karma! Thomas' vocals are in wonderful form for the set – stretching out soulfully on the extended classic "Hum-Allah-Hum-Allah-Hum-Allah" – a title that has much of the same grace and power as "The Creator Has A Master Plan. The rest of the players on the date include Lonnie Liston Smith on piano, Richard Davis and Cecil McBee on basses, and Idris Muhammad and Roy Haynes on drums – and unusually enough, each of the double bassists and drummers gets their own channel of sound to work with! The other long track on the album is the extended "Sun In Aquarius" – which is a bit more outside, but still pretty great! LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing piece of work from Angel Bat Dawid – music that's light years ahead from her recordings of just a few years back – and that's really saying a lot, given the strength of that material! The album features music from a large stage performance put together by Angel – partly inspired by the legendary film The Cry Of Jazz – done by director Edward Bland at the end of the 50s, with music by Sun Ra, and groundbreaking testament on the nature of jazz and black expression in America. The film has been a touchstone for us for decades – yet somehow, Angel finds a way to to channel all its power and explode its meaning and message into something even more powerful – directing a larger group of musicians and singers with a stunningly majestic quality – one that is sure to elevate Dawid into the upper reaches of jazz for years to come. An instant masterpiece, and a record that will become a touchstone for both jazz and contemporary music in general – with titles that include "Introit", "Dias Ire", "Rex Tremendae", "Recordare", "Confutatis", "Lacrimosa", "Kyrie Eleison", "Agnus Dei", and "Lux Aeterna". LP, Vinyl record album

A soaring London set, in the best tradition of the Jazz Refreshed label – served up by a group who know how to channel classic jazz funk modes, and really send them soaring to the skies! There's an electric piano on here that has all sorts of harder-edged, almost noisy qualities at times – really emphasizing the sharper edges that come from the massive drums of Jamie Murray, bass of Tom Driessler, and guitar of Luke Wynter – while Lyle Barton serves up all sorts of great sounds on the keys! The approach is maybe a leaner, more funk based take on 70s fusion – but filtered through a smaller combo sensibility, with a nicely tight approach to the tunes – on titles that include "The Breaks", "Miniature", "Red Horizon", "Intra", "Oumuamua", and "Terra". LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "All Of Me", "West End Blues", "Ain't Misbehavin'", "Basin Street Blues", "Indiana", "Back O'Town Blues", and more! LP, Vinyl record album

A mighty fresh debut from Domi and JD Beck – a duo who mix together keyboards and drums at a level that channels lots of styles from the global underground of the past decade or so, but with a jazzier sort of warmth, and a nicely soulful current throughout! The pair first got attention on a track by Anderson Paak, who appears here alongside a list of other luminaries who include Thundercat, Busta Rhymes, Herbie Hancock, Snoop Dogg, and Mac DeMarco – all guests who are maybe more at home in the groove of Domi and JD, than trying to push their own agenda! Anderson signed the duo himself – and titles include "Pilot", "Moon", "Duke", "Take A Chance", "Whatup", "Smile", "Bowling", "Not Tight", "Two Shrimps", and "U Don't Have To Rob Me". LP, Vinyl record album

A masterful meeting of two 50s modern jazz talents – the trumpet of Miles Davis balanced with the arrangements of Gil Evans – with results that have made the album one of Miles' greatest ever! The sound here is completely sublime – as Davis gets all chromatic and spooky over Evans' edgey arrangements – shimmering nicely in a perfect blend of modernism and lighter, more lyrical touches. The record's filled with loads of the kind of solos that Miles brought to his smaller group records – but they almost flower even more amazingly here in the larger setting. Titles include "Springsville", "Blues For Pablo", "New Rhumba", "Lament", and "Miles Ahead". This is the record that your dad bought to prove that he was cool – so buy it from us and keep up the family tradition! LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe the coolest album so far in the Red Hot series – even amidst the unique Sun Ra subgroup – as the album's the brainchild of Meshell Ndegeocello, and comes together with all the complex soulfulness of her own recent albums! Back in the 90s, Meshell was a great but more mainstream soul artist – and over the years, she's developed into a really fascinating talent – one able to reach out with a complex blend of jazz, funk, and soul elements – woven into patterns that are always very much her own – a musical legacy that the great Sun Ra might have appreciated! Ndegeocello leads a very diverse lineup here – playing bass and keyboards, and singing a bit – next to other players who include longtime Arkestra giant Marshall Allen on alto and EWI, plus Immanuel Wilkins on alto, Christopher Bruce on guitar, Darius Jones on saxes, Daniel Mintseris on keyboards, and Justin Hicks, Pink Siifu, Kenita Miller, Nio Levon, and Hanna Benn on vocals. The album channels Ra's spirit through territory that's very much Meshell's own – and titles include "Yet Differently Not Mars Hall", "El Soul The Companion Traveler", "The World Of Shadow", "Reproductive Manatees/Sunny Said Up", "Bedlam Blues", "#9 Venus The Living Myth", and "Departure Guide Of The 7 Sisters". LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful live work from Bill Evans – issued here for the first time, and the kind of special concert that really makes a great addition to his classic catalog! Bill Evans live can really be something wonderful – and that's definitely the case here, as he makes this personal magic with the keys of the piano – Evans-esque balancing of silence and sound, with painterly colors that always feel natural and organic, never forced – like Bill's fingertips are just spreading out, and channeling sound through the instrument! Rhythm is from Eddie Gomez on bass and Elliot Zigmund on drums – both players whose work here goes far past the conventional – and titles include "Sareen Jurer", "Sugar Plum", "Two Lonely People", "TTT", "Up With The Lark", "Blue Serge", and "Nardis". LP, Vinyl record album

A great early Black Saint album from trombonist George Lewis – a key example of the way the AACM spirit thrived overseas, thanks to the efforts of labels like this! The work is quite serious and experimental – almost compositional in nature, and definitely heading towards the AACM promise of "Great Black Music". Two of the songs, "Monads" and "Shadowgraph" are performed by a group that features Roscoe Mitchell on saxes, Leroy Jenkins on violin, Muhal Richard Abrams on piano, Douglas Ewart on bass clarinet and other reeds, and Abdul Wadud on cello – with Lewis himself on tenor trombone and other horns. "Triple Slow Mix" features Lewis on the sousaphone with split piano channels – Abrams on the left and Anthony Davis on the right – a very haunting sonic experience. "Cycle" has Lewis playing the Moog in addition to trombone and tuba, accompanied by Ewart on various woodwinds. LP, Vinyl record album

Moody improvisations from this unique Chicago trio – pulled together from a series of performances recorded in a few different venues, and distilled down to a nicely focused album! The sound here is a blend of the alto sax of Caroline Davis, the basses of Matthew Golombisky, and the drums of Quinn Kirchner – players who seem to find their groove instantly on each individual track, then keep exploring that space in ways that have them pushing the boundaries as the cycles move on – with some especially soaring lines from Davis, at a level that often feels as if she's handling a very different instrument than an alto! Golombisky plays electric bass, which also gives the record a different vibe than if he were acoustic – and titles include "If We Open People Up We'd Find Landscapes", "Home Of Levi Coffin", "Channels", "Vapor", "Film As Dream Film As Music", and "Personal Flotation Device". LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe the coolest album so far in the Red Hot series – even amidst the unique Sun Ra subgroup – as the album's the brainchild of Meshell Ndegeocello, and comes together with all the complex soulfulness of her own recent albums! Back in the 90s, Meshell was a great but more mainstream soul artist – and over the years, she's developed into a really fascinating talent – one able to reach out with a complex blend of jazz, funk, and soul elements – woven into patterns that are always very much her own – a musical legacy that the great Sun Ra might have appreciated! Ndegeocello leads a very diverse lineup here – playing bass and keyboards, and singing a bit – next to other players who include longtime Arkestra giant Marshall Allen on alto and EWI, plus Immanuel Wilkins on alto, Christopher Bruce on guitar, Darius Jones on saxes, Daniel Mintseris on keyboards, and Justin Hicks, Pink Siifu, Kenita Miller, Nio Levon, and Hanna Benn on vocals. The album channels Ra's spirit through territory that's very much Meshell's own – and titles include "Yet Differently Not Mars Hall", "El Soul The Companion Traveler", "The World Of Shadow", "Reproductive Manatees/Sunny Said Up", "Bedlam Blues", "#9 Venus The Living Myth", and "Departure Guide Of The 7 Sisters". LP, Vinyl record album