Jazz — Recently Added

The guitar genius of Gabor Szabo – set to magnificent arrangements by Gary McFarland! The set's one of the most sophisticated albums Szabo ever cut – and has a slow-building style that steps off of his Impulse years with a deeper, broader vision of music. By the time of the set, ... LP, Vinyl record album

The group had us at the name "Clifford Thornton", the really drew us in with the live performance here – two long group improvisations recorded at the festival in Nickelsdorf in 2017! The group's a wonderful international quartet – Makoto Sato on drums, Jean-Mark Foussat on ... CD

Exactly the kind of record that first made us fall in love with the piano of Alexander Von Schlippenbach – a set that has a jagged but freewheeling sort of vibe – improvised, but with that inherent musicality that can make Schlippenbach's piano come across in tuneful ways, even in such ... CD

The guitar of Gordon Gridna provides a really fresh balance for the piano of Matthew Shipp here – an instrument that seems to unlock more color than usual in Shipp's work on the keys – really illuminating, although still with some of his usual dark corners, which is what makes the shift ... CD

Dark sonic interplay between a really wonderful duo – Matthew Shipp on piano and Daniel Carter on a range of horns – alto, tenor, and soprano saxes – plus clarinet and trumpet too! The shifting mix of Carter's instrumentation is matched by a never-ending flow of imagination from ... CD

Bassist Joelle Leandre always seems to bring out something special in a session – and that's definitely the case here, as her warm spirit of creative creation seems to really shape the contributions of Agusti Fernandez on piano and Evan Parker on tenor sax! Make no mistake, Parker also ... CD

Bold work from a group of improvisers who really know each others' strengths – maybe no surprise, as most of them have been playing together in this lineup for years – Joe Fonda on bass, Gebhard Ullman on tenor and bass clarinet, and Michael Jefry Stevens on piano – joined by ... CD

A large group with a really strong command of their sound – so much so that at points the full frenzy of all members seems to pack this really enormous punch, before getting balanced from more personal, individual moments in music! The idea of an improvisers orchestra is nothing new, but ... CD

A wonderful large format recording from bassist Barry Guy – working here at the head of the Blue Shroud Band, an improvising ensemble that echoes some of his earlier work with the London Jazz Composers Orchestra! The extended work is an expansion of an earlier piece that Guy recorded with ... CD

A fantastic pairing of players – two musicians who really bring out the best in each other in this set of improvisations recorded during the Krakow Jazz Festival – really bold basswork from the legendary Barry Guy, and the kind of ever-changing sounds, shapes, and tones that we always ... CD

One of the amazing things about an improviser like Joe McPhee is the way that he can change so much and adapt to a different setting – which is definitely the case here, in a lineup that seems to produce sounds we're not sure we've ever heard from Joe before – even though we've been ... CD

The center may hold, but it's getting jostled plenty by the efforts of this very hip sextet – a free improvising combo who have as much interest in the overall sonic possibilities of their music as they do in the more acoustic jazz-based elements! Steve Swell leads the group on trombone, and ... CD

A really great idea for a record – and one that echoes the same "E & F" mode that Makaya McCraven brought to his previous album! The approach here is as unique as the drummer himself – in that McCraven went back to the sessions for the core album, and pulled out material ... LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible record from reedman Harold McNair – one of the key Jamaican jazz players who hit the London scene in the same post-colonial wave as Joe Harriott and Shake Keane – and maybe our favorite of the bunch! Harold's a hell of a talent on both tenor and flute – and although ... CD

A beautiful, heavy duty double vinyl box set that chronicles reeds genius Ken Vandermark and his Vandermark 5's live work from a late November '05 date at the Alchemia club in Krakow – with the latest 5 lineup from the superb Discontinuous Line album – powerful stuff that you already ... LP, Vinyl record album

A great little soul album from Herbie Hancock – but one that's often lost in the valleys between his bigger hits of the time! The record was cut in the space right before Herbie's big "Rockit" success – and it's a sweet bit of funky fusion that has a good dose of R&B in ... CD

A classic album of all-out soul from Herbie Hancock – done in close collaboration with Rod Temperton of Heatwave – in a jazzy-styled version of that group's own great groove! Temperton handled arrangements and a lot of songwriting, and most cuts have lead vocals from Wayne Anthony ... CD

Maybe the strongest record so far from Mammal Hands – a set that really has the group growing in their sense of tone and color, and in the unique timing they bring to their tunes! The group is a trio, but not in a mode that you might be guessing – because next to the piano of Nick ... LP, Vinyl record album

Drummer Snorre Kirk has a great musical partner here – tenorist Stephen Riley, who blows with this warm, raspy tone that takes us back to classic Ben Webster in the postwar years! The pace of most tunes is nicely laidback, but never in a way that's too sloppy or loose – as Kirk's combo ... LP, Vinyl record album

Funky trumpet galore – and one of the few albums ever cut by trumpeter Billy Brooks as a leader! At the time of this 1974 LP, Billy Brooks was an overlooked LA trumpeter working in the Ray Charles band – and although this record didn't bring him instant fame when it was released, it's ... CD