Patrick Shiroishi is a Japanese-American multi-instrumentalist and saxophone player whose work has reckoned with racism against Japanese Americans through improvisation, effects pedals, and field records. On his latest […]
Jazz
In 1993, when Chicago’s Adler Planetarium asked Kelan Phil Cohran to score a program called African Skies, they tapped a mind that moved comfortably between galaxies and neighborhoods, between […]
One of the great Cuban latin-jazz bands, NG La Banda was led by flautist José Luis Cortés and are known for being the originators of the “timba” rhythm, […]
Melting Steine are multi-instrumentalists Martin Schenker, Luzius Schuler and Dshamilja Kalt. Their nostalgic, warm instrumental music combines elements of jazz, bossa and psychedelic synthesizer music and sounds like […]
Built from live recordings and riveted together with intention, How You Been captures SML in full propulsion: a groove-locked quintet finding shape in the blur. The music mutates […]
2025 Repress! Ships late December Concept album from LA based Brendan Eder under the guise of Edward Blankman, a retired dentist in the 1970s who wrote elegant, minimalist […]
2025 Repress! Ships late December “What kind of ambient record would Richard D. James, a.k.a. Aphex Twin, create with a chamber ensemble and a church organ?” Given those […]
For years, Takuro Okada has carried a quiet question: how can a Japanese musician honor the music of African Americans without simply borrowing it? That search shapes his […]
Ships January Listening Position is proud to present the first official reissue of this cosmic masterpiece. Originally recorded in 1993 for the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, African Skies […]
A peculiar and quite whimsical record from the ’80s, A Very Big Band in Heaven is the debut full-length from Japanese art-pop band Real Fish, a project from […]
It’s been over a decade since LA-based singer Kelela released her foundational debut EP Cut 4 Me on Night Slugs affiliated label Fade to Mind. During that era, Kelela […]
Scott Walker’s lone album from the 1980s, Climate of Hunter is an underrated gem highlighting a crucial transitionary period for the cult favorite artist as he moved from […]
2025 Vinyl Edition w/ foil sticker cover artwork and multi-color screen printed logo of the group’s future times 2022 cd-only release ‘3′ saw the core Lifted duo of […]
A masterpiece of abstract trip-hop and acid jazz, Strange Emotion is the final album by Audio Sports aka sound artist Aki Onda. Once a supergroup featuring Boredoms’ Yamatsuka […]
Originally released in 1975, Tropical Dandy is a cult classic from Haruomi Hosono’s pre-YMO “Crown Years” that marked a shift toward genre-blending, fusing exotica, jazz, and pop that would […]
A feast of percussion, guitar, tuba, violin, saxophone, more percussion and more, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, bandleader and horn/flute player Henry Threadgill’s 1993 album remains as alive, visionary, and […]
Released on Klaus Schulze’s Innovative Communication, Quiet Force’s Smile is a late ’80s balearic fusion album featuring glistening digital production, electronic percussion, fretless bass, and smooth jazz solos. […]
2024 was a bittersweet year for Music from Memory. With the loss of co-founder Jamie Tiller, the Amsterdam-based label has had to regroup and find a new way […]
One of the greatest jazz-funk bands ever put together, The Crusaders featured Joe Sample (piano), Stix Hooper (drums), Wilton Felder (tenor), Robert “Pops” Popwell (bass) and Larry Carlton […]
A lesser known work from Mingus’ later years, Cumbia & Jazz Fusion was originally recorded for use in Todo Modo, an Italian film about cocaine traffic between New […]
For his third studio album, Los Angeles composer Brendan Eder rented a cavernous church sanctuary in Arcadia, gathered a dozen-odd musicians, many of them woodwind players, and offered […]
Mexico’s first fusion band, Sacbé (white road in the Mayan culture) was formed by three brothers Eugenio (keyboards), Enrique (electric bass) & Fernando Toussaint (drums) and sax player […]
Panthalassa marks a return to some of the most important recordings of Miles Davis’ passionate and controversial “electric” period of the early 1970s. Conceived by producer Bill Laswell […]
The masterpiece sophomore album by spoken-word collective The Last Poets, This is Madness remains immensely poignant 50+ after its release calling out the oppressive, inhumane systems that continue […]
After years of performing with Ari Up and The Slits, vocalist-songwriter Neneh Cherry (daughter of Don and Moki Cherry) would join up with members of Bristol’s The Pop […]
Edson Frederico E A Transa is the first and only solo album released by prodigious piano talent Edson Frederico, who is credited on many classic ’70s MPB albums […]
Introducing ‘Total Blue’, the Los Angeles-based trio of Nicky Benedek, Alex Talan, and Anthony Calonico. Despite collaborating for over a decade, ‘Total Blue’ represents a new chapter in […]
Real Ax Band was a short-lived late ’70s Krautrock group featuring musicians affiliated with the experimental collective Embryo and the related Missus Beastly. Compared to the aforementioned group, […]
Takuro Okada’s first album released outside of Japan, The Near End, The Dark Night, The County Line arrives on Temporal Drift, an imprint well-known for their archival releases […]
The Boredoms first gained attention in the U.S. after New York label Shimmy Disc (Bongwater, Half Japanese, Velvet Monkeys) compiled the group’s ridiculously erratic noise-punk-metal songs onto an […]
One of legendary saxophonist Yasuaki Shimizu’s earlier solo works, IQ 179 can be considered a pre-cursor to Mariah of sorts and features support from members of the band including […]
Dreamy ambient guitar compositions from Kevin McCormick, who released the amazing cult classic Light Patterns record that Smiling C reissued in 2021. Highly recommended for fans of the […]
In 2022, Australian experimental guitarist Oren Ambarchi teamed with musicians Johan Berthling and Andreas Werliin for an immersive album of percussion and guitar. Ghosted features four numerically titled […]
13 new pieces from the ‘Isophonic Music’ innovator via Osaka’s EM Records. A diverse array of appealing and joyful celebrations of music and life!
The followup to Lucien’s 1973 surprise breakthrough album Rashida, Mind’s Eye brings even more of the baritone singer’s Caribbean roots into his delicate and deeply romantic soul-jazz sound. Bossa […]
Eberhard Weber’s most minimalistic work, Chorus is a gorgeous study of space, atmosphere, and organic improvisation. While other Weber albums tended to explore a more stacked and “colourful” […]
While not a household name, singer Dee Dee Bridgewater is a true great of ’70s soul-jazz, fusion, and disco. Along with her 1979 disco classic Bad for Me, […]
Originally released on Sun Ra’s El Saturn Records, this impossibly rare 7-inch (reissued by Strut Records) contains two holiday barbershop tracks from The Qualities, a mysterious vocal quartet […]
The first comprehensive collection of its kind, Even the Forest Hums: Ukrainian Sonic Archives 1971-1996 explores the flourishing Ukrainian music scene of the late 20th century—much of which was […]
The core duo of Max D and Matt Papich debut on Peak Oil following full-lengths for Future Times and PAN with a fresh suite of tactile, diffuse fusion. […]
“Live at Sound City” is an instrumental collaboration between bassist Pino Palladino, guitarist/multi-instrumentalist/producer Blake Mills, and LA-based saxophonist Sam Gendel. Recorded in one day at the legendary Sound […]
Formerly an English teacher, Linda Hoyle joined the jazz-rock band Affinity in the late ’60s and began performing regularly at Ronnie Scott’s world-famous jazz club. Affinity would release […]
Formed in 1977 by Crammed Discs founder Marc Hollander and his musical partner Vincent Kenis, Aksak Maboul was a seminal project that playfully combined and deconstructed seemingly disparate […]
Long before she became an R&B singer, the Los Angeles-born jazz pianist Patrice Rushen was cutting up electric jazz records on Prestige with synthesizers, clavinet, electric piano. The […]
When avant-garde guitarist Sonny Sharrock released his debut solo album Black Woman, he was already an established jazz guitarist, recording with artists like Pharoah Sanders, Don Cherry, Wayne […]
Reflections In The Sea Of Nurnen is the masterpiece debut release from drummer, percussionist and vocalist Doug Hammond in collaboration with keyboardist David Durrah, who is known for […]
Daniel Aged’s Bass Improvisations, Pt. 1 is a recording to luxuriate in, an immersive set of four pieces that the accomplished musician laid to tape as a creative […]
Legendary French musical couple Brigitte Fontaine and Areski Belkacem’s first album together Comme À La Radio is a masterpiece of avant-garde jazz uniquely bringing together French chanson with […]
Ezra Feinberg is a composer-guitarist and psychoanalyst living in upstate New York’s Hudson River valley, and his third album, Soft Power, reflects this bucolic setting. A founding member, with […]
A private press oddity from Kinothek Percussion Ensemble, a conceptual project by composer DNA Hoover which focused on releasing visually provocative music, catalogued by dramatic mood. The concept […]
One of the most influential drummers in the modern jazz tradition, Elvin Jones is known for being a key member of John Coltrane’s legendary ’60s quartet, which released […]
A balearic ethno-jazz masterpiece, Kaunis Maa is the debut album by Italian guitarist, film composer, and philosophy student Riccardo Giagni. Giagni worked for years as a cultural curator […]
A Neapolitan jazz, disco, and rock bomb from Pugliese band Milords. Fans of Nu Genea will recognize the classic characteristics of the Neapolitan sound with beautiful melody-driven compositions, […]
Nucleus was an influential psychedelic jazz-rock band led by Scottish trumpet player, composer, writer Ian Carr. Active from 1969 to 1989, the band has been described as the […]
The spiritual continuation of Jeff Parker’s Mondays at The Enfield Tennis Academy, Small Medium Large is the debut album from SML, a new LA-based quintet featuring luminaries from […]
A truly unhinged private press oddity from San Francisco-based band President’s Breakfast, Industrial Strength Funk In A Dub Stylee is exactly what it’s name entails. If you’re thinking […]
Our favorite Akron multi-instrumentalist Gabe Schray’s fourth full-length arrives as a spacious and pensive affair. Schray said he “set out to make something strange and ugly and somehow […]
Starting in 2018, LA-based guitarist Jeff Parker set up camp at the Enfield Tennis Academy in Highland Park for an extended residency. Parker, who earned acclaim as a […]
If the full moon could sing, it would likely sound like Grammy award winner Arooj Aftab. It’s no surprise that Aftab has shared she draws inspiration from the […]
A gift to the overthinkers and overworked. Those who are over-concerned and always preoccupied. This is an invitation to hang up the bootstraps, take a load off, and […]
Seep into the tranquil calm of a Japanese garden with the latest release on Organic Music founder Chee Shimizu’s always quality 17853 Records. Garden of Time features two […]
Bradley Miller aka CKtrl is a reed player, multi-instrumentalist, and producer who has previously released on South London-based label and event series Touching Bass and collaborated with ISC […]
Inspired by Ornette Coleman’s vision of free jazz aka the “New Thing”, double bassist Barre Phillips has spent the last five decades developing his own style of improvised […]
While not a household name, alto saxophonist Gary Bartz is beloved amongst jazz heads for his stints playing with Max Roach, Art Blakey, and Miles Davis along with […]
Time Capsule, the East London reissue-focused label by Sam Jacob and Kay Suzuki, return with this mesmerizing retrospective by Angolan guitarist and musicologist Mario Rui Silva. Stories From […]
Inspired by spiritual jazz pioneers John and Alice Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Yusef Lateef and Sun Ra along with Gnawa music, modal jazz, and Bengali folk, London-based jazz trio […]
Deeply spiritual bass ambient by inc. no world’s Daniel Aged. Originally released digital only in 2020, our limited vinyl release comes with an unreleased track (our personal favorite) […]
Featured in the “Organic” section of Chee Shimizu’s Obscure Sound disc guide, Elements is the debut album from fretless bass player Mark Egan and drummer Danny Gottlieb’s 80s […]
Ethiopian jazz meets drum machine and synthesizers on Admas’ 1984 cult classic Sons of Ethiopia. As the title suggests, Admas’ core members were children of Ethiopian families exiled […]
A supergroup or rather superduo of sorts, German electronic composer Burnt Friedman meets the great Can drummer Jaki Liebezeit for the first edition of their cult favorite Secret […]
In between playing in Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and joining what would be known as Miles Davis’ second great quintet, saxophonist Wayne Shorter makes his debut here for […]
Less than a year after her passing, a new archival recording has emerged from the beloved Ethiopian nun, composer, and pianist Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou. Released by Mississippi Records […]
Pianist and Hammond B-3 master Shirley Scott aka the “Queen of the Organ” has released music on some of the greatest jazz labels including Impulse!, Prestige, Blue Note, […]
Another favorite from 2023, Recreational Kraut is a collection of ECM-adjacent ambient and jazz-infused electronic compositions performed by Jordan Czamanski (Jordan GCZ) & David Moufang (Move D). While […]
Fazer drummer Simon Popp links up with Munich-based producer Polygonia for a set of experimental electronic / futuristic third stream jazz compositions steeped in improvisation and fluid abstraction. […]
Featured in the “Organic” section of Chee Shimizu’s Obscure Sound disc guide, Chameleon 2 is the lone release by Fuchs-Goos-Band (formerly known as Chameleon), a German jazz-rock group […]
Sam Gendel and his longtime partner, illustrator-artist Marcella Cytrynowicz, created Audiobook as a series of spontaneous collaborations after the two were making stuff in the same room. Gendel […]
Japanese jazz pianist Norio Maeda meets Haruomi Hosono’s Van Dyke Parks and Martin Denny inspired exotica / lounge band Tin Pan Alley. Released on Panam, Soul Samba / […]
Another favorite of 2023, NY-based artists Salenta and Topu debut on Belgian label Futura Resistenza. The pair met serendipitously in the summer of 2019 at a mutual friend’s […]
Legendary jazz keyboardist George Duke’s first fusion album arrived in 1974 on MPS Records. A valued sideman at this point in his career, Duke had been a key […]
Featured in the “Pensive” section of the first edition of Chee Shimizu’s Obscure Sound disc guide, Coincidencias is a little known release from Pere Soto, a Spanish guitarist […]
A dozen instrumentals by the LA-based bassist/multi-instrumentalist whose regular gigs at the Enfield Tennis Academy with Jeff Parker have become the stuff of legend, Anna Butterss’ debut album […]
When the 24-year old “cool jazz” trumpeter started his vocal career in 1954, his singing was revolutionary; as delicate and clear as his trumpet playing with a similarly […]
A classic jazz duo album perfect for the holidays… “Johnny Hartman was John Coltrane’s unequivocal choice for the singer he’d like most to be caught with in front […]
The quintessential dinner soundtrack, The Art of Tea encapsulates the best of Michael Franks. With an elite group of jazz side-men, he explores a range of styles, jumping from slow-funk […]
Hu Vibrational is a group led by handrummer/percussionist Adam Rudolph who has played and recorded with Pharoah Sanders, Yusef Lateef, Don Cherry, Jon Hassell, Wadada Leo Smith, Bill […]
The record that started it all for Squama Recordings, Mara is the debut from Munich-based jazz musicians Matthias Lindermayr (trumpet), Paul Brändle (guitar), Martin Brugger (bass), Simon Popp (drums), […]
Featured in Sanshiro’s Post-House Music Disc Guide “a guidebook of dance music from around the world… based on the concept of being able to mix”, Johnny Lamas’ Danza […]
Azimuth (not to be confused with Brazilian legends Azymuth) were an English jazz trio consisting of trumpeter Kenny Wheeler, vocalist Norma Winstone, and Winstone’s husband, pianist John Taylor. […]
Discovered by the St. Louis-based Paradise is a Frequency crew, “Bob Siebert’s 1983 album Six Lyric Pieces is the kind of record that’s been flipped by for years. […]
Sun Arcs is a gorgeous new collection of acoustic folk and jazz from Copenhagen-based multi-instrumentalist Jason Dungan aka Blue Lake. Inspired by Dungan’s summers spent in a cabin […]
On her latest full-length album Ulaan on Squama Recordings, Enji continues her seemingly exponential growth as she steps into a bandleader position, bringing together an international quintet featuring […]
Part of Jazzman’s limited Holy Grail’ series, LaVice And Company’s Two Sisters From Bagdad is a legendary lost Detroit album of jazz and gospel infused funky soul. Originally […]
E.S.P. is the debut album from Miles’ “Second Great Quintet” which featured Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter, Tony Williams, and a young Herbie Hancock. The album featured Miles’ muse […]
Atmospheres is a collection of experimental electronic compositions from Italian film and library music composer Piero Umiliani. Created during a time of “musical confusion” for Piero Umiliani, who […]
…Theoretically is a masterpiece duo album from two NYC avant-garde jazz musicians at the top of their game. Bill Frisell lays down layers of gorgeous and intricate ambient guitar […]
Brazilian guitarist Bola Sete presents a beautiful collection of solo guitar music for Fantasy Records. The album includes compositions by the great Heitor Villa-Lobos, who has been described […]
A companion album to Michael Bierylo’s cult classic solo debut Lifeline, which was featured in the “Organic” section of Chee Shimizu’s Obscure Sound disc guide, Cloud Chorus adds […]
One of his best post-Brian Jackson Arista albums, Reflections is Gil Scott-Heron’s return to spoken word and more poetry-oriented songs versus the more pop and hook-driven approach of […]
The Crusaders were a prolific jazz group popular in the early 1970s that released over 40 albums. Primarily a sextet comprised of Joe Sample (piano), Wilton Felder (tenor […]
A collection of great tracks from the legendary spiritual / free jazz vocalist Leon Thomas. Thomas is known for his unique ululating singing style which combined scat singing, […]
In Akron, Ohio, four friends get together every Tuesday with gas station snacks and various instruments to see where the night takes them. They call themselves Lemon Quartet […]
Lonnie Liston Smith: “’Astral Travelling’ (1971) was the first time I played an Electric Piano! Before that, I only played the Grand Piano. I met Pharoah Sanders in […]
Featured in the “Pensive” section of Chee Shimizu’s Obscure Sound disc guide, De Las Colonias Del Río De La Plata (Old Roots of the Colonies of the River […]
Compiled by NuNorthern Soul’s Phat Phil Cooper, Selected Works 1979 to 1983 brings together five sublime tracks from the long and highly varied catalog of legendary Japanese guitarist Ryo […]
Somewhat an anomaly in the vast ECM catalog, composer, saxophonist and synthesizer player Ulrich Lask presents a fusion of new wave and electronic jazz on Sucht + Ordnung […]
Kyoko Takenaka + Tomoki Sanders have created an auditory environment that brings forth all the emotions of what it means to be uniquely yourself. Kyoko Takenaka: “Thats what […]
Avant-garde jazz composer and pianist Wolfgang Dauner was known for introducing provocative musical and cultural concepts through his work in jazz music, opera, and theater. His 1970 album […]
Experimental guitarist David Torn rounds up an all-star cast of experimentalists on his second album from Manfred Eicher’s ECM Records. Cloud About Mercury is a masterful fusion album […]
“New Orleans – birthplace of the jazz tradition. April 6, 1943 – Aries, symbol of the creative spirit; dynamic, intense; agent for change. Appropriate beginnings for an artist […]
Building upon his previous large-group project, Attica Blues, avant-garde jazz saxophonist Archie Shepp brings together gospel singers, big bands, quintets, sextets, and chamber orchestras on The Cry of […]
The other Herb Alpert bargain bin classic, Keep Your Eye on Me is the trumpet legend’s ’80s comeback and essentially a Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis record. Feeling […]
When Cincinnati-based soul group The 24-Carat Black released their debut in 1973, the album struggled to find its place in the market and didn’t achieve commercial success. However, […]
An underrated release from the vast ECM catalog, Faces is the second album from French horn player John Clark and his only appearance on Manfred Eicher’s revered jazz […]
Billy “Bang” Walker was a a student of Leroy Jenkins who developed his own personal style of avant-garde free jazz violin by imitating Eric Dolphy’s style at the […]
Legendary jazz pianist, lyricist, producer, and author Ben Sidran is a name more should know. The co-writer of Steve Miller’s “Space Cowboy” and host of National Public Radio’s […]
Two keyboard maestros from different musical worlds, UK jazzman Greg Foat and Italian ambient hero Gigi Masin, meet for the first time on this amazing new LP released […]
Inside Out has been described by John Martyn as “everything I ever wanted to do in music… it’s my inside coming out.” More experimental and free-form than his […]
Pianist and composer Abdullah Ibrahim, formerly known as Dollar Brand, is known as one of the leading figures of Cape Jazz, a subgenre of jazz performed in the […]
Part of the band’s “late-period” after Robert Wyatt and Kevin Ayers had left, Bundles is the first of three albums released on Harvest from the legendary Canterbury psych/progressive […]
Northern Song is the first of many classic ECM albums from Minneapolis based guitarist Steve Tibbetts and percussionist Marc Anderson. Recorded over the course of three days in […]
An ECM classic from the great Brazilian composer, guitarist and pianist Egberto Gismonti, Sol do Meio Dia is Portuguese for “Noon Sun.” From Egberto Gismonti: “The music on […]
When two musical geniuses like Stanley Clarke and George Duke come together, magic happens. The highly anticipated sophomore album from the two legends who made their names in […]
The first album featured in Chee Shimizu’s Obscure Sound disc guide, Return To Forever is a masterpiece and essential listen from the great jazz pianist Chick Corea. The […]
The first track on the Chicago bassist and bandleader Joshua Abrams-led Natural Information Society big band opens with rhythm: Abrams thrumming his double-bass strings while percussionists Hamid Drake […]
Doug Lucas moved from Arkansas to Europe in 1968 and would go on to release his first solo record in 1976. He played in the ethnic Africa-orientated jazz […]
Modern is a dreamy experimental jazz album from Toshiyuki Honda, a Japanese saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, and composer who worked with Chick Corea, Tatsuya Takahashi, and Kazumi Watanabe in the […]
Munju was an instrumental jazz-kraut-fusion outfit formed by alto sax & flute player Jurgen Benz after quitting Missus Beastly. The group’s sound is very much in the same […]
Azar Lawrence’s third solo album People Moving was released in 1976 on Prestige Records. The album features Lawrence on tenor, alto and soprano saxophone alongside a group of […]
Miroslav Vitous is probably most well-known for his years as a founding member of seminal fusion group Weather Report. The Czech acoustic bass player and composer’s musical output […]
Produced by Bill Laswell and Sonny Sharrock, Ask the Ages was guitarist Sharrock’s final studio album before his passing in 1994. It’s a wonder of tightly wound power […]
Modern spiritual jazz cuts from the Los Angeles based quartet, with one side evoking an uplifting joyous optimism and the other touching on a deeper, free jazz realm.
Stripped back, spiritual jazz from the Los Angeles based band, performing this time as a different trio formed from the usual quartet, giving each song a unique and […]
Recently reissued by Numero Group, Cheryl Glasgow’s “Glued to the Spot” is a perfect sunshine clubber that fuses together Sade-adjacent lovers rock vocals with street soul, boogie, synth […]
Niagara was a supergroup project envisioned by legendary German jazz drummer Klauss Weiss to create an orchestra made entirely of drummers and percussionists. Their 1970 self-titled debut is […]
Committing to and supporting the music of Makaya McCraven while he’s still in his thirties feels like both a no-brainer – nobody’s currently making better jazz records – […]
Free jazz improvisation and organic music meets electro-acoustic composition techniques and synthesizers on Don Cherry and Jon Appleton’s first collaboration, the aptly titled Human Music. Released on Bob […]
Bargain bin spiritual jazz isn’t something that pops up very often and rarely is it actually good… Illuminations features probably one of the strangest musical pairings we’ve come […]
Anita Baker is pure elegance and a powerhouse vocalist best known for her quiet storm work in the ’80s. Her path to stardom wasn’t exactly smooth… At 16, […]
Ramòn “Mongo” Santamaria was a Cuban master of percussion, mainly a conga drummer and leader of the boogaloo dance crazes of the 60s. Mongo first picked up the […]
One of Queens’ finest, Tom Browne recorded his album Love Approach in 1980 featuring the smash hit “Funkin For Jamaica(N.Y.)” which charted number one on the US Billboard […]
O’Donel Levy was a blues/funk/jazz guitarist and the brother of session drummer Stafford Levy. Born and raised in Baltimore, Levy studied music at the Peabody Institute at John […]
The followup to Dutch keyboardist Ronald Langestraat’s recently unearthed 1984 self-recorded living room gem Searching… Light Years Away is a collection of new recordings from the now 81 […]
Ronnie Laws is the fifth of eight children in the deeply talented Laws family and the brother of flutist Hubert Laws and vocalist sisters Debra Laws & Eloise […]
Featured in the “Psychedelic section” of Chee Shimizu’s Obscure Sound disc guide, Dr. Aftershave And The Mixed Pickles is technically the third studio album by Missus Beastly, a […]
Don “Minister of Funk” Blackman had an illustrious musical career starting when he was only 15 years old with Charles McPherson, who was his neighbor growing up in […]
Sunshine Man is a classic jazz-funk album from saxophonist and flutist Harold Alexander. Released on Bob Thiele’s Flying Dutchman imprint, the album “exists somewhere in the space between […]
Black Talk!, recorded in 1970 by one of the most renowned jazz recording engineers Rudy Van Gelder, is the killer debut album from organist/reed player Charles Earland. Earland grew […]
Part two of the Mwandishi trilogy, Crossings further expands on the free jazz group’s sound with the introduction of Patrick Gleeson’s psychedelic electronics. As the only non-black member, […]
Breezy Hawaiian jazz from local alto sax legend Gabe Baltazar, who played with the Stan Kenton Orchestra backing singers such as Nat King Cole, Jean Turner, and Ann […]
We first came across this one on the great Lovefingers music blog… Chekeré Son is a must-have album from Afro-Cuban jazz legends Irakere (Yoruba for ‘forest’). One of […]
Luis Gasca’s For Those Who Chant is a spaced out Latin jazz classic! Some call this the forgotten Santana album because it features more than half of Santana […]
“Four years after Nuova Napoli, Nu Genea are back with Bar Mediterraneo, a new album and journey, which projects the sounds of the Neapolitan duo formed by Massimo […]
Tropical Dandy is the first album from the great Haruomi Hosono’s “Crown Years” where he explored tropical jazz fusion, soft rock, exotica, and lounge music with his band […]
Lyle Mays’ self-titled debut album followed a string of excellent collaborations with ECM mainstays Pat Metheny, Eberhard Weber, Steve Swallow, and John Abercrombie, as well as Windham Hill’s […]
Featured in the “Psychedelic” section of Chee Shimizu’s Obscure Sound disc guide and reissued on Florence-based balearic label Archeo Recordings, Aqua Sansa is tripped-out electronic free jazz meets […]
Hard bop meets soul-jazz, calypso, and bossa on Blue Mitchell’s underrated self-titled album (alternatively titled “Soul Village”) on Mainstream Records. While not quite a household name, Richard Allen […]
One of our favorite deadstock finds of the year, Myles Davis and Ray Herrmann’s Hybrid Vigor is private press gold from two virtually unknown musicians from Stamford who met […]
McCoy Tyner’s saxophonist and early Pan Afrikan Arkestra member Azar Lawrence steps confidently into the mid ’80s with Shadow Dancing, his first solo album in almost a decade […]
Another masterpiece from David Axelrod, Seriously Deep is one of the rarer records from the multi-talented musician, producer, composer, arranger’s heavily sampled catalog. As usual with Axelrod albums, […]
Played by our good friend Victor Rodriguez at last summer’s listening sessions… Electric Byrd is the great Howard University educator/trumpeter’s most psychedelic outing obviously influenced by Miles Davis’ […]
Japanese guitar master Masayoshi Takanaka presents a collection of more vocally-driven tropical fusion songs on his thirteenth album for Kitty Records. Takanaka’s slick ’80s guitar is obviously all […]
A favorite of our good friend Justin Gage of Aquarium Drunkard, Cycles is the second solo album by cellist David Darling on Manfred Eicher’s seminal ECM Records. With […]
Featured in Toshihito “Dubby” Maeyama’s Midnight in Tokyo Vol.2 compilation for Mule Musiq, Jugando was a short-lived Japanese latin fusion band formed by guitarist Masayuki Furuya. The group […]
Drummer/Keyboardist Jack DeJohnette delivers his trippiest solo outing to date on cult classic Sorcery with an all-star cast including Headhunters / Mwandishi legend Bennie Maupin, Bitches Brew bass […]
The landmark debut album by Durutti Column, a Factory Records project consisting of genius guitarist Vini Reilly and legendary Manchester producer Martin Hannett, The Return Of The Durutti […]
Long considered a grail of city pop but only recently reissued on vinyl, Seaside Lovers’ Memories in Beach House brings together three Japanese music icons of the ’80s […]
An essential album from the great Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson, Bridges is the first from the duo to feature production assistance and synthesizer programming from Malcolm Cecil […]
Drummer Art Blakey expands his legendary Jazz Messengers group to a sextet for the first time on this 1961 classic album on Impulse! The album features a young […]
One of the earliest Impulse! records and one of Max Roach’s finest, Percussion Bitter Sweet takes on the struggles of the early ’60s civil rights movement with powerful, […]
Featured in the “Ethnic” section of Chee Shimizu’s Obscure Sound disc guide, Solar Wind is the lone release from short-lived ’80s Japanese fusion band Om. Apparently inspired by […]
An outlet for emerging local acts in Hawaii, KKUA’s four volume Home Grown series launched and propelled the careers of acts like Nohelani Cypriano, Cecilio & Kapono, Olomana, […]
One of the great classics of exotica, a style of easy listening music that emerged in the mid ’50s alongside tiki culture blending jazz, swing, latin music, psychedelia, […]
The first release on our label ISC Hi-Fi Selects, Live at Sound City is an instrumental collaboration between bassist Pino Palladino, guitarist/multi-instrumentalist/producer Blake Mills, and LA-based saxophonist Sam […]
Dutch guitar master Jan Akkerman meets blues singer Kaz Lux on their 1976 collaborative album entitled Eli. An unusual mixture of styles come together on this concept album […]
Guitarists Kevin McCormick and David Horridge collaborated on this wordless, dream-like album back in 1982, using only guitars and the occasional fretless bass to express themselves. The obvious […]
“There is joy laced with confidence in his music, and sadness, or pathos, that is as much connected to the Blues as it to the huge yearning of […]
The second act of David Axelrod’s musical interpretations of William Blake’s epic Songs of Innocence and of Experience pulls the distorted rock guitar back a tad in favor […]
The debut release by the legendary Bill Evans Trio, Everybody Digs Bill Evans, follows a 27 month break since Evans’ first release, a solo effort titled New Jazz […]
The followup to Ryo Fukui’s widely popular and now thoroughly revived classic Scenery, Mellow Dream pushes forward with even more of that rich modal, bop, and cool jazz […]
The best-selling album in the storied ECM catalog, The Köln Concert is one of the all-time great solo piano performances captured live. Fully improvised without any prior planning, […]
One of the all-time jazz classics and an essential listen, Journey In Satchidananda continues Alice Coltrane’s spiritual connection with Pharoah Sanders. From Alice herself in the liner notes: […]
The AB’s debut album is a collection of soulful fusion jazz that’s often looped in with other “city pop” releases on Moon Records, but transcends many of the […]
A truly spectacular pairing between drummer Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and the great Thelonious Monk. The album is presented in “Atlantic High Fidelity” and the first to featuring […]
Sandy Bull’s cult classic debut album Fantasias For Guitar And Banjo opens with the 22-minute long epic “Blend,” which some consider one of the greatest acoustic guitar tracks […]
A definitive moment in the storied and still-ongoing career of the great Pharoah Sanders, Karma honored John Coltrane’s spiritual jazz legacy while also pushing the movement forward. The […]
One of the great Brazilian obscurities revived by the Mr. Bongo crew, Krishnanda by Pedro Santos is a spiritual, psychedelic percussion masterpiece featuring instruments and rhythms invented by […]
After two successful albums with Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, Joe Farrell, and her husband Airto Moreira as Return to Forever, Flora Purim launched her solo career on New […]
Caribbean-Belgian composer, producer, and musician Nala Sinephro’s debut release Space 1.8 weaves together future-facing jazz and mellow ambient moods that feel wholly new. Sinephro was only 22 when she recorded Space […]
Featured in Numero Group’s Nu Leaf smooth jazz compilation, George Shaw’s Encounters is an underrated jazz album that you probably wouldn’t pick out of the stacks based on […]
Originally released in 1997 on independent UK label Soul Static Sound, Echoes is ex-Tortoise member Ken Brown’s final release under the short-lived Directions moniker. Much like Tortoise’s music, […]
American jazz saxophonist Robin Kenyatta meets German experimental pianist Wolfgang Dauner (who released the very first ECM record) on this underrated and somewhat out of place ECM classic. […]
Featured in Shotaro Matsumoto’s Walearic Disc Guide, Comme Des Garçons Volume One is, like its title suggests, a commissioned piece for the luxury Japanese clothing brand. While this may […]
The first release on Just Us, a shop and label from Detroit’s Bill Spencer and San Francisco’s Izaak Schlossman (Loveshadow), is an absolute belter of a psych-jazz album, […]
“A fairly essential recording from the Canterbury axis of early ’70s British progressive rock…” Avant-garde saxophonist Lol Coxhill meets blues pianist Steve Miller (not that one) for a […]
Released in 1988 on the new age sub-label of Polygram dubbed Theta, Spanish guitar maestro Joan Bibiloni’s For a Future Smile continues the artist’s work of presenting the […]
Unexpectedly incredible sun-kissed electronic smooth jazz from duo Dancing Fantasy on Klaus Schulze’s Innovative Communication. Dancing Fantasy was originally formed as a smooth jazz variation on German synthesizer […]
Featured in the “ethnic” section of Chee Shimizu’s Obscure Sound disc guide, Nyanser is the balearic masterpiece by Swedish guitar maestro Thomas Almqvist. A diverse mixture of mellow […]
Pino Palladino’s debut studio LP Notes with Attachments is a collaboration with producer, multi-instrumentalist and guitar maestro Blake Mills. A mixture of West African, Cuban, jazz, funk, and […]
Featured in the “Organic” section of Chee Shimizu’s Obscure Sound disc guide, Life Line by Michael Bierylo is a simple but gorgeous new age guitar album that seems […]
Recorded just a few hours outside of Los Angeles in the small town of Idyllwild, Linger Lane captures the spirit of the California mountains with organic marimbas, echo […]
Free jazz pioneer Ornette Coleman returns to his original (and arguably best) lineup with Don Cherry, Charlie Haden, and Billy Higgins on 1972’s Science Fiction. The music is […]
RAMP aka Roy Ayers Music Productions was a soul/jazz group led by the great vibes player widely known for his composition “Everybody Loves the Sunshine.” The group’s lone […]
A favorite from the listening bar, Deaf Dumb Blind (Summun Bukmun Umyun)‘s title is taken from verse 18 of Surat al-Baqarah in the Qur’an. “Deaf, dumb and blind […]
The story goes that Vince and Bola owe the Sheraton Hotels a bit of credit for their magical union… Bola Sete was first discovered by a Sheraton executive, […]
Reissued and compiled by Manfred Eicher on ECM, 1961 presents clarinetist Jimmy Giuffre at his finest alongside his chamber jazz trio featuring Steve Swallow on acoustic bass and […]
Part of a trio of privately released albums on David Oliver’s own Damiana Records, Hope For La Roo is a gorgeous collection of minimal jazz compositions centered around […]
One of the co-founders of internationally known Dutch band Focus, guitarist Jan Akkerman would head into a more jazz-rock / fusion direction after leaving the baroque inspired prog […]
A groundbreaking work that established the name of the “new music,” Ornette Coleman’s Free Jazz was so controversial that Downbeat magazine had to feature a double-review of the […]
The 3 Pieces are Andre Richardson, Jerry Wilder, and Lincoln Ross, three Howard University students discovered by Donald Byrd while they attended one of Byrd’s classes. They released […]
William Howard “Monk” Montgomery is widely known as the man who “de-bastardized the Fender bass.” Monk worked with Lionel Hampton’s orchestra in the early 50’s and legitimized the […]
One of the great Black Jazz albums in “the key of the black power movement,” Spirit of the New Land showcases pianist Doug Carn’s innovative songwriting along with the […]
An early pioneer of “world music,” Henri Texier takes his double bass to uncharted territory on Varech, blending avant-garde jazz with Celtic, African, Indian, and Middle Eastern elements […]
Featured in the “Psychedelic” section of Chee Shimizu’s Obscure Sound disc guide, For You is the private pressed solo debut of Angelo Noce Santoro. A founding member of […]
“Jaco is a phenomenon. He is able to make sounds on the bass that are a total surprise to the sensibilities. Not only single notes, but chords, harmonics, […]
One of the great underrated Miles albums, Get Up With It pushes forward with the full force, sophistication, groove, and beautiful chaos of Miles’ electrified wah-wah trumpet and […]
How many great Eberhard Weber albums are there on ECM? A good amount… The Colours Of Chloë once again showcases upright bassist Eberhard Weber’s mastery of composition, space, […]
A perfectly sequenced “post-modern mixtape of 12 micro-genres” created by The Numero Group’s Ken Shipley, Reach takes listeners through morning bird songs, afternoon new age, evening soul jazz, […]
Master of the “wah wah” pedal, Melvin Ragin aka guitarist Wah Wah Watson served in the Motown house band throughout the 70’s and has played on albums by […]
While not a household name, you’ve likely heard Michael White’s avant-garde violin playing on spiritual jazz classics like Pharoah Sanders’ Thembi, John Coltrane’s Infinity, and Joe Henderson & Alice […]
Highly underrated compilation of experimental jazz tracks by Korean composer / multi-instrumentalist Kim Byoung Duk. Experiment No. X takes a bit of patience to digest… many of the […]
Featured in the “Floating” section of Chee Shimizu’s Obscure Sound disc guide, Bad Anima is guitarist/vocalist Katsutoshi Morizono’s first solo album to feature vocals after a series of […]
This album needs little introduction… Life on Mars is a space-funk classic from the oft-sampled synthesizer guru Dexter Wansel. Inspired by David Bowie’s “Is There Life on Mars?”, […]
An underrated dollar bin soul-jazz find, Formerly Of The Harlettes is the lone album by former Bette Midler backup singers Sharon Redd, Ula Hedwig, and Charlotte Crossley. The […]
A crucial collection of balearic jazz folk from Spanish singer, guitar player, songwriter Javier Bergia, Eclipse followed a string of reissues surrounding Spanish ambient collective Finis Africae. Bergia […]
Included in our “Beyond the World of Herbie Hancock’s Mwandishi” feature, Pinnacle by Mwandishi bassist Buster Williams is a continuation of Mwandishi, but perhaps in spirit only. Mwandishi […]
Tribal electro ambient jazz composed as the soundtrack for a Japanese TV documentary “Tadayuki Naito Zebra” about the life of a zebra… What’s more to say? Jack DeJohnette […]
Revolutionary spiritual afro jazz from exile… Ndikho Xaba and the Natives self-titled debut is an African jazz holy grail recorded “as a tribute to the struggles of Africans […]
New Age flute and saxophone player Paul Horn goes soul/fusion jazz-funk with a collection of choice covers of some of the best Stevie Wonder, David Crosby, Joni Mitchell, […]
Jazz legend Ramsey Lewis plays Fender Rhodes and Arp synthesizer on his 1974 jazz-funk hit Sun Goddess. The pianist is joined by his former drummer Maurice White, members […]
An underrated gem from one of the Japanese jazz greats, Susto is essentially Masabumi Kikuchi doing his best Miles Davis electric period impression… and it works! Kikuchi brings […]
Drummer and band leader Salah Ragab is considered by many as the father of Egyptian Jazz. In the late 60’s, Egyptian music was typically bound to a strict […]
Big thanks to our friend Andrew “Lovefingers” for this gorgeous selection. The Singers Unlimited were a vocal jazz quartet formed by master singer / vocal arranger Gene Puerling. […]
Les McCann’s drum break classic Layers was conceived in his mind long before the tapes were rolling at Joel Dorn’s Regent Sound Studios in New York. With just […]
A must-have for fans of the David Mancuso Loft staple “Rude Movements”, Raw Movements / Rude Movements presents previously unreleased demos from UK duo Sun Palace. Compiled by […]
John Coltrane’s spiritual dedication A Love Supreme is a four movement masterpiece recorded in a single session at the legendary Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. […]
The follow up to Sade’s brilliant debut, Promise builds on the smooth soul jazz of Diamond Life with even tighter rhythms and elegant compositions. Led by singer Sade […]
Originally released in Japan on JVC’s excellent Music Interior series but also later in Germany on Klaus Schulze’s Innovative Communication, Seigén Ono’s debut album is a minimal masterpiece […]
The great Roland Kirk’s most famous composition, The Inflated Tear is an “awakening and a cry for love” presented in a five-minute package that within it contains traces […]
This once unobtainable Italian library music classic was recently repressed by Sonor Music Editions and represents some of the best work of the great jazz pianist & library […]
Named after a collection of William Blake poems, Song of Innocence is the debut solo album by Capitol Records’ multi-talented musician, producer, composer, arranger David Axelrod. The album […]
Detroit’s Wendell Harrison is as much a teacher as he is an acclaimed reed player. Besides playing alongside numerous greats like Marvin Gaye, Sun Ra, and Aretha Franklin, […]
Antônio Carlos Jobim was a primary force behind the evolution of bossa nova and his 6th studio release Stone Flower is an absolute classic. The album is emblematic […]
One of our favorite underrated ECM cuts… And She Answered by one time project AM 4 aka saxophonist and flutist Wolfgang Puschnig, pianist Uli Scherer, and vocalist Linda […]
This oft sampled record by drummer Idris Muhammed is a cinematic jazz funk classic. Opener “Could Heaven Ever Be Like this” is as joyous as its name sounds […]
Released on Island Records’ “Antilles New Directions” sublabel, Bush Dance by master Brazilian percussionist Naná Vasconcelos is an upbeat, world fusion record that has made its way onto […]
A perfect record for sunny days, this classic record under Roy Ayers’ Ubiquity umbrella is full of funky anthems. The inaugural track “ Hey, Uh, What You Say […]
Though not quite a household name, Brother Ah (aka Robert Northern) is one of the most decorated names in jazz having played with everyone from Donald Byrd, Dizzy […]
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson’s Winter In America was the duo’s first and only release on legendary independent jazz label Strata-East. Praised for its influence on hip-hop and neo […]
Dubbed “one of pop music’s sneakiest masterpieces” due to its low-key but lasting popularity, Donald Fagen’s post-Steely Dan solo debut The Nightlfy is a semi-autobiographical concept album looking […]
From the extended world of Herbie Hancock’s Mwandishi… Buddy Terry’s Pure Dynamite seems to be a bit slept-on but we think it ranks with the best of the fusion-leaning […]
One of our favorite ECM Records bands, Codona features free jazz trumpeter Don Cherry alongside sitar player Collin Walcott and Brazilian percussionist Naná Vasconcelos. The band’s name is […]
One of the great holy grails of the 70s, Body, Mind, And Spirit by Harry Whitaker’s Black Renaissance is a soul-jazz masterpiece with plenty of myth and magic […]
Leon Thomas might not be a household name in jazz, but you’ve likely heard his voice if you’re a fan of Pharoah Sanders. Thomas was the vocalist and […]
French Composer and piano virtuoso Benoit Widemann began his obsession with harmony as a child and quickly found his place in the 70s prog rock scene in Paris. […]
Hailing from Brazil, Azymuth pushed the boundaries of music with a new electric jazz sound that was unmistakably their own. Known for their innovative synth sounds and smooth […]
Not to be confused with the French electronic duo, Long Island’s Air is a jazz-rock band from the 70’s consisting of four core members – Tom Coppola, John […]
Happy Ambrosia is a little known kraut release by Alto, a side project by Kraan “alto” saxophonist Johannes Pappert. The band was apparently not a proper band and […]
Included in the “cosmic” section of Chee Shimizu’s Obscure Sound disc guide, Paradise Space Shuttle is tenor saxophonist George Adam’s first U.S. release as a bandleader. Adams was […]
You probably know Patrice Rushen from her 1982 hit “Forget Me Nots” and the countless other R&B and disco classics she put out on Elektra in the late […]
On Sonidos De Aquel Dia, which translates to “Sounds of that Day”, two talented young prodigies come together to deliver a melodic, latin fusion masterpiece. Bassist César Franov, […]
Produced and compiled by Obscure Sound’s Chee Shimizu, Amarillo: Grabaciones Originales 1980-1987 collects the works of obscure Mexican pianist/composer Gerardo Bátiz. Not much is known about Bátiz other […]
After making a name for himself in the late 70’s Amsterdam jazz scene playing with Cascada and Ritmo Natural, keyboardist Ronald Langstraat began seeking his own musical curiosities […]
The debut solo LP from Italian saxophonist/composer Gianni Gebbia is a beautiful contemporary jazz masterpiece that we first discovered circulating around Japanese shops like SHE Ye, Ye and […]
We first heard this wonderful obscurity on the excellent Okonkole y Trompa music blog curated by record collectors Satoshi Yamamura and PAM. Comme Au Moulin is the self-released […]
Between was an instrumental krautrock group in the 70’s formed by composers Peter Michael Hamel and Ulrich Stranz with the purpose of creating “music between the worlds.” While […]
Richard Schneider Jr.’s Dreamlike Land is a German rarity that has a distinct sound within the web of krautrock and Can offshoots during the 70’s. It may be […]
Art Blakey & the Afro Drum Ensemble’s The African Beat is a landmark jazz percussion album. Released in 1962, the album was one of the first to bring […]
Stanley Cowell was a highly influential figure within the jazz community who somehow never broke through to the mainstream despite his long and storied career. Cowell started out […]
Batsumi’s self-titled debut is a powerful statement against the apartheid state of South Africa. The album was recorded in the segregated township of Soweto just outside Johannesburg, the […]
Singer Fairuz is often regarded as “the Soul of Lebanon” and, in collaboration with the famed Rahbani brothers, created the modern Lebanese musical tradition. Post-colonial Lebanon in the […]
Celestial Sky is an underrated disco-funk gem by Norman Connors’ Starship Orchestra. Connors is a brilliant composer/producer and one of the more unsung jazz greats even though he’s […]
Craig T. Cooper is an LA-based guitarist who recorded two incredible smooth-jazz influenced funk records in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Both albums contain a slew of […]
French keyboard player Wally Badarou had only been in London for a year when he was asked to come to Island Records’ recording studio in the Bahamas to […]
Released in 1961, Sunday At The Village Vanguard is a timeless classic that’s routinely ranked as one of the best live jazz recordings of all time. The album […]
An all-time jazz classic, Joe Henderson’s The Elements is a beautiful meeting of five singular talents propelled to cosmic dimensions by the one and only Alice ‘Swami Turiyasangitananda’ Coltrane. […]
Heard about this one on Japanese record collector Yozo Kumitake’s excellent Originals Volume 9 compilation CD. Savanna Silver Band were a mostly unknown latin jazz rock group that […]
On The Corner remains to this day, one of Miles Davis’ most polarizing efforts. Scorned by critics and fans alike upon its release, the free form jazz funk […]
One of the all time greatest 70’s jazz-funk albums, Gears features organist Johnny “Hammond” Smith in collaboration with the legendary Mizell brothers. The album was released in 1975 […]
One of our favorite ECM records, The Jewel In The Lotus is the debut solo album from master bass clarinetist Bennie Maupin. Though not a household name, Maupin […]
Perhaps the most significant thing about Seasons for Pete Jolly was that this album broke away from the more traditional approach that Jolly had been familiar with in […]
One of the finest Brazilian jazz funk fusion albums ever recorded, the exquisite music found on São Paulo • Brasil is well deserving of its cult status. Cesar […]
Sun Ra’s Angels & Demons at Play is a diptych of a record created from two separate recording sessions recorded four years apart (Side A-1956 and Side B-1960). […]
An obscure jazz-rock holy grail from Sweden that touches on elements of pastoral folk as well as progressive rock, but ultimately sounds quite unlike any of the aforementioned […]
When Bernard Wright released his debut album ‘Nard in 1981, he was only 18 years old. The only son of Roberta Flack had generated quite a bit of […]
If spacey electronics are your thing, this is your record! Released in 1976, Patrick Vian’s Bruit et Temps Analogues, was way ahead of its time in terms of […]
Brazilian drummer & percussionist Airto Moreira’s second solo LP Seeds On The Ground – The Natural Sounds Of Airto is a “world music” masterpiece that blends a variety […]
Billy Higgins may not be a household name in jazz, but the master drummer was certainly one of the most revered in the scene. In fact, Higgins is […]
Most listeners seem to discover the highly regarded avant-garde trumpeter Jon Hassell via his Fourth World, Vol. 1: Possible Musics collaboration with Brian Eno which was not just […]
Bip Redon, Dominique Lentin, his sister Isabelle Lentin (of Virgule IV), and a few other unknown musicians make up the mysterious L’Empire des Sons. Not much is known […]
Sextant, the first record Hancock cut for his new label Columbia Records, was considered a commercial flop upon its release in 1973. The record showcased Hancock’s early adoption […]
I’m the One is the debut LP from avant-garde singer and composer Anette Peacock. Peacock was a mostly self-taught musician who grew up in California and moved to […]
Pharoah Sanders’ final album for Impulse! is a joyous message of love for all times. “Love is Everywhere” begins with a gorgeous bass vamp followed by steadily cascading […]
Recently reissued by Far Out Recordings, the 1974 debut LP from Ana Mazzotti is a little known Brazilian classic. Dubbed a “Super Musician” by fellow Brazilian virtuoso Hermeto […]
Overshadowed by the exceedingly sought after India that came before it, along with the more experimental records that came into fruition during the Tropicália explosion of the late […]
One of our favorite new releases this year, Duval Timothy’s Help is a powerful narrative journey navigating through the the trenches of the music industry, self-help videos, and […]
He may be a household name in Brazil, but Erasmo Carlos never quite made it to the level of international stardom like contemporaries Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Gal […]
Joni Mitchell’s 8th studio album Hejira has the imagery of highways, small towns and snow, in large part because it was written on a cross country road trip […]
You may not have listened to tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon’s One Flight Up but you’ll feel like you have when you do. As original as he is timeless, […]
A collaboration between English jazz vocalist Dianne Ford and German fretless bassist Manfred Lins, Lonely Shadow is the one and only record made by the low-profile duo. Mostly […]
One of our many favorites from the legendary Oakland-based label Black Jazz, double bassist Henry Franklin’s The Skipper At Home takes off right where his solo debut The […]
Steve Kuhn’s 1971 self-titled melancholic free jazz opus was written and recorded after he returned from living in Sweden for several years in the wake of his break […]
Much more than just a rare groove classic, Eugene McDaniels’ Headless Heroes Of The Apocalypse is a psychedelic-soul jazz album with a powerful message. McDaniels, who is also […]
Arthur Verocai’s eponymous 1972 debut album is considered one of the greatest Brazilian albums of all time. Copies of the original are known to go for more than […]
Rare Silk was an 80’s vocal jazz group, a genre that at the time was defined by it’s multi-part vocal harmonies, pop sensibilities and mix of swing and […]
Düsseldorf-based DJ, producer, and Salon Des Amateurs resident Jan Schulte, aka Wolf Müller or Bufiman, pulled together this excellent concept album featuring his personal favorite “tropical drum” music […]
Released in 1969, the In A Silent Way Sessions, as they were known, was all recorded in a day. These recordings were a departure for Davis and would […]
John Abercrombie’s first musical output as a band leader was in his own words originally conceived as an “organ record”. The product of persistent nagging from Manfred Eicher, […]
Recorded in Mols, a remote peninsula region located in the eastern coast of Denmark with ambient producer DJ Sports at the controls, “Petersminde” is a dubbed out, effortless […]
It’s not every day that you listen to a record where jazz and ambient genres can meld so cohesively that they form another thing altogether. On Lemon Quartet’s […]
Bit of a hidden gem from one of our favorite new labels Last Resort, G.S. Schray’s “Gabriel” is a warm, ambient trip through the suburban streets of Akron, […]
A future classic from two rising stars of the LA jazz/electronic scene. Music for Saxofone & Bass Guitar was originally self-released as a limited white label in 2018 […]
When a former psych project decides to drop the guitars and approach recording a new record with looped clarinet as a basis, you don’t get psych. Instead, Tara […]
Canadian electronic collective New World Science (made up of Ramzi, Priori, Ex-terrestrial, and Emmanuel Thibau) follow up their heady debut, New Atlantis, Vol. 1, with this full length. […]
When you think of classic digger records, Lonnie’s albums are sure to come up. Endlessly sampled (the most famous being Digable Planets’ “Pacifics”) and sought after for his […]
Jon Lucien is known as one of the most focused and emotional balladeers to ever step in front of a microphone, but it’s his soothing baritone voice that […]
A limited edition LP of previously unreleased live recordings from a session at The Museum Of Modern Art, Stockholm, January 16, 1977. Modern Art features “organic music” maestro […]
Stepping Into Tomorrow is a classic jazz-funk bomb from the great Donald Byrd featuring an all star cast including Gary Bartz on saxophone, Chuck Rainey on bass, and […]
Archie Shepp’s Attica Blues is a multi-faceted jazz masterpiece. Musically, it represents a departure in Shepp’s music from the free jazz leanings of his previous output to cohesively […]
Zummo With an X is the debut album of Peter Zummo, a multi-instrumentalist and frequent collaborator/friend of the great Arthur Russell. Zummo’s playing can be heard on some […]
Tim Buckley’s third album represented many important changes for the young songwriter. He stopped working with the lyricist of his first two albums and began to write his […]
San Francisco is the perfect introductory album to American jazz vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson. Featuring his right-hand man Harold Land on reeds, the duo’s style takes a step forward […]
A cerebral trip through a land where classical music, Eastern exploration, and psychedelic jazz converge on a magical vortex. Gabor Szabo was a one-of-a-kind Hungarian jazz guitarist with […]
Blacks and Blues was recorded in 1973 when American jazz flutist Bobbi Humphrey was just 23 years old, two years after becoming the first African-American female instrumentalist signed […]
If you’re new to Alice Coltrane, this is an exciting first album to catapult you straight to her planet, whereas other albums might fly you there more slowly. […]
A good rule of thumb if you want to dive into an enormous artist discography and don’t know where to begin: trust the artist’s own recommendation. In this […]
What makes this record so special is the sublime interplay between Bill Evans piano playing and Jim Hall’s guitar work. These two masters of their craft found a […]
It comes as little surprise that Miles Davis was a great admirer of Ahmad Jamal. The critically acclaimed jazz innovator, known for his understated playing and elegant arrangements […]
Charlie Haden’s Closeness is comprised of 4 duet collaboration based melodies crafted by Haden. On each number, Haden (the bassist) pushes the musical envelope playing opposite an artist […]
A monumental jazz big band record, Masterpieces by Ellington was one of the earliest releases to take advantage of the extended time available on Columbia’s brand new 12-inch […]
When Pharoah Sanders’ Love in Us All was released in 1974, it was already becoming clear that the artist was shifting away from the wilder experimentations of his earlier […]
A much needed reissue of Chicago jazz legend Philip Cohran and his Artistic Heritage Ensemble’s private press gem On the Beach. Cohran played with the Sun Ra Arkestra […]
A daytime favorite at ISC, John Carroll Kirby’s solo piano album Tuscany on NYC label Patience is music inspired by a time and a place. The Los Angeles-based […]
Fluid Rustle is a subtle, beautiful piece of storytelling music – the themes and titles reflect on a passage from Richard Adams’ 1972 classic Watership Down. Through the […]
“Istikhbars and Improvisations”, recorded in 1965 in Paris, is a solo piano album presenting a trans-Mediterranean crossover based on traditional Algerian vocal pieces known as Istikhbars. Playing these […]
Originally released in 1975; Bennie Maupin has been an inventive contributor to iconic records including Miles Davis’s Bitches Brew, Herbie Hancock’s Mwandishi and Headhunters and Marion Brown’s Afternoon […]
24-track double vinyl edition of the originally compiled 100 track benefit compilation supporting victims of the 2025 Los Angeles Wildfires. Featuring Andre 3000, Sam Wilkes, Total Blue, Laraaji, […]
One per customer U.e. (Ulla Strauss) dives deeper into the instrumental world with Hometown Girl, a quietly delicate affair featuring plenty of room sounds, upright piano, woodwinds, strings, […]
Paris-born electronic music pioneer and 1970s GRM alumni Ariel Kalma joins with multinational New York trio Asa Tone (Kaazi, Melati ESP, Tristan Arp) for a series of intergenerational, […]
Following the releases of “Tam’ by Soft meets Pan in 2021 and “WaNoWa’ by WaNoWa in 2023, this is the third installment of triple-name releases from CROSSPOINT, Tuff […]
This compilation features tracks released between 1978 and 1988 in Western France. Through this compilation, we strove to highlight a little-known regional scene, characteristic of the diverse and […]
Deeply resonant spiritual music transmitted via piano, organ, and harmonium by beloved composer and Ethiopian Orthodox nun Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru. Church of Kidane Mehret collects all the […]
2LP / Pantone Printed Sleeve / Packed In Resealable Protective Sleeve / Containing either 8-Page Booklet or Printed Insert “Phi-Psonics is a spiritual exploration of being together and […]
