Featured

Recorded in 1976 with the legendary George Martin as producer (The Beatles), both reprise their magic from Beck's Blow By Blow with an awesome array of jazz-rock-funk fusion, which is often sited as one of this genres finest recordings.

-

This time for the eight incredible tracks, Jeff brings back the great Max Middleton on keys and Richard Bailey on drums, as well as new additions and future mainstay keyboardist Jan Hammer and the power drums of Michael Narada Walden, plus bassist Wilbur Bascomb.

-

With legendary tracks such as Charles Mingus's "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat," and Jan Hammer's "Blue Wind," Wired soon became a radio and retail staple which has truly endured and stood the test of time. Rightfully so, this album continues to inspire and influence a whole new generation of guitar players and music lovers worldwide. Now Wired is back bigger and better than ever! We've gone the deluxe Analogue Productions route — remastered from the original analog tape by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound, cut at 45 RPM, plated and pressed at Quality Record Pressings. Then packaged in deluxe tip-on gatefold jackets from Stoughton Printing. A great title, a brilliant reissue — what could be better? – Acoustic Sounds

Composer and saxophonist Brian Brown produced some of the most refined Australian jazz recordings during the 1970s. A versatile musician whose distinct impressionist music melded modern jazz with the outer limits of free experimentation. Considered to be his greatest work was the 1975 concept album Carlton Streets, an ambitious recording that romanticised the sights, sounds and the nostalgia of this once-bohemian Melbourne neighbourhood. Differing from his eco-jazz composition Wildflowers heard on the recent Roundtable compilation Pyramid Pieces, Carlton Streets explores the polar opposite, offering jazz impressions of the urban environment. Comparable to other pioneering jazz-rock groups such as Ian Carr’s Nucleus and mid-period Soft Machine, the album is a mosaic of ecstatic jazz-rock groove, spirited free improvisation and expanded experimental textures. A potent fusion that owes as much to Australian 20th-century avant-garde composers as it does to the influence of the electric jazz innovators, specifically early Weather Report and Herbie Hancock’s Mwandishi. The Roundtable are pleased to showcase this important artist and offer a new edition of this landmark Australian jazz recording. Restored from the original master tapes and presented in a gatefold sleeve including liner notes and rare photos. Released for Record Store Day 2021. - The Roundtable

*Landmark 1975 Australian experimental jazz-rock.

*Ian Carr’s Nucleus meets Herbie Hancock’s Mwandishi.

*Restored from the original master tapes.

*Gatefold sleeve including liner notes and rare photos.

They say: A Dramatic Suite Of Themes, Montage, Sequences And Generics.

We say: An enormously influential and heavy KPM set of timeless, killer funk breaks from 1972 by the mighty John Cameron.

Jazzrock is an aggressive, percussion-heavy album with an energy that leaves jaws on the floor. Breaks and beats for days with electric piano, bass loops, and pounding percussion. Funky jazz with a deep, tough, soundtrack feel. – Be With Records

Drummer who led the jazz scene in Japan with accurate stick work and musicality and an eye on the times, Takeshi Inomata’s first album with Sound Limited formed at the end of the 60’s. Starting with the theme song “Mustache”, which is beloved as one of the most iconic songs, it is a masterpiece full of dynamism and enthusiasm throughout. – Light In The Attic

Over the last decade Belladonna Of Sadness has risen from the ashes and now shines brighter than ever. Now on the eve of its third or fourth global DVD release, fans no longer have to wait four months for third generation VHS telecine rubs from “that guy” in the States, or stuff their ambitious wish lists into the hands of any lucky friends visiting Tokyo in the summer. Belladonna has been used as nightclub projections by clued-up VJs and been restored by discerning feminist folk singers and improv bands while influencing illustrators, fashion designers and other creative types along the way.

Original copies of the soundtrack, however, are much less likely to rear their heads on a weekly basis, with prices literally doubling each time the original stock copies swap hands amongst the same Italian dealers at central European record fairs. Italian soundtracks are expensive anyway, but this one, as I’m sure you’ll agree, has got extra credentials. Finders Keepers Records, in direct collaboration with Sato himself, agree that this record should finally be liberated amongst those who know the magic words. With our decision to keep this album “strictly Sato” we removed a track – the main orchestral love theme by Asei Kobayashi and Mayumi Tachibana, which in all honesty is very much detached from Sato’s psychedelic soundtrack. Kept intact, however, are the songs sung and penned by Sato’s then wife Chinatsu Nakayama, including the track entitled TBFS (answers on a postcard?) that only appears on the master tapes and never actually made it to the theatrical cut of the film (although the theme is briefly alluded to, in different instrumentation, in a cut-scene available on the German DVD). This reissue project also marks the beginning of a longer intended relationship between Finders Keepers and Masahiko Sato, exploring his recorded work in both film music, jazz and avant garde composition. – Finders Keepers

Favorite Recordings proudly presents a reissue of the first and eponymous LP by Esperanto, a Venezuelan Jazz-Fusion masterpiece originally released in 1980. This rare and sought-after album recorded in Caracas by talented musicians could be likened to the best of the South American scene with strong Funk & Latin influences. Following the recent reissue of Sacbé, this one is a little wonder and a must-have for anyone interested in Latin Jazz-Funk & Fusion. Fully remastered and available as Gatefold Tip-On vinyl LP.

Like most bands, the story first started as a series of jam sessions. Multi-instrumentist Jorge Aguilar and his drummer Pablo Matarazzo were playing in a band, covering a various number of Latin genres from Merengue to Salsa and playing at parties, even though they were mostly influenced by Jazz or Funk, but also British Rock or Brazilian music. Still, they were dreaming about a real band. Thus, while some of their friends were on vacations in Venezuela during their studies at Music school in Boston and New York, they immediately organized jam sessions. First impros quickly became songs and Pablo and Jorge were finally joined by Roldan Peña, Gustavo Arranguren, Ezequiel Serrano, Marcus Vinicius and Nenè Quintero.

With the help of a friend, they recorded songs and brought those tracks to radio stations. Without realizing it, the group gained a certain notoriety in Caracas and began to give shows that became quite famous. Sometimes, they had to play two times in the same night with people still waiting outside!

With the money earned, they kept recording their songs but now in a quite better studio. The album was taking its final shape, with an exciting blend of Funk, Fusion and Jazz-Rock elements, all mixed with Latin music influences. With an extensive use of synthesizers, the tracks sounded like a fresh wind blowing over the city of Caracas.

After bringing a few friends to record their parts, the album was then offered to CBS for distribution – some of their executives had just become fans after experiencing one of their amazing gigs! But in exchange, they also had to record two more commercial songs, a cover of "Ticket To Ride" by The Beatles, and “Vereda Tropical", a classic in the Latin market. Jorge reminds: "The rest of the songs were compositions by myself and by other members of the band. The album was recorded in its entirety almost live, that is, all of us playing together and without many overdubs because we did not have many tracks nor money to pay studio time. Certainly, we were one of the bands that started the Fusion jazz movement in Venezuela and the most recognized because we managed to be played a lot on the radios and we filled the largest number of concerts as well as obtained the largest number of sales".

"Originally released in 1976, Cocktail Bar was the first release of the Modern Sound Quartet ensemble lead by Oscar Rocchi, one of the most brilliant yet unrecognized composer of the library music era. As the title might already suggest, the 14 songs bring an incredibly fresh mix of sounds and flavors, each one named after a different spirit, with every single track floating around different soundscapes and atmospheres. Whether it be a gin & tonic poolside, a melancholic drink of Strega on the hills of southern Italy or some Kümmel by a Dutch canal, this masterpiece has got something for every taste. Now available on vinyl for the first time since its original release as a limited edition of 500 copies." – Forced Exposure

"What a pleasure it's been over the past decade to look out and see audiences full of both newcomers and familiar faces, coming together to share music and each other's company!

Since 2006, seven tours and over 1,000 concerts in France and abroad, I feel like I've spent more time with you than with my own family. Indeed, you've become family - the most beautiful family imaginable. You've given me the purist artistic freedom, allowing me to take risks, explore any and every musical direction, even when they range wildly from one CD to the next and from one night to the next. Often, my live performances didn't feature music from the just-released album or the music you had expected to hear. And yet every time I was received with smiles, warm applause and open hearts.

It's thanks to you that I've found joy and fulfillment in music. Those concerts when you, my musicians and I shared so much are moments of grace. It's during these moments that I feel belonging, that I feel I've found my place in this sometimes hostile world. Ten years ago, those who would become my closest friends and collaborators asked me what I wanted, and I told them I wanted to share music, concerts, emotions, desires, hybrid styles, multitudes of musical directions, and above all, love. I dreamed of all this a decade ago… and it came true!

Thanks to this circle of people, their gracious help and astute stewardship I've been able to respond to the richness and emotion of life as simply as possible. First and foremost, my manager of 10 years, Jean-Louis Perrier. He helped me found my own record label, Mi'ster Productions. My thanks also to the person who introduced me to him, Alejandra Norambuena Skira (director of SACEM's endowment grants), and so many other kind and talented souls... This album is a way of remembering beautiful moments. I wanted to gather them together so I'd never forget just how lucky I am to have crossed your paths."  – Ibrahim Maalouf

By welcoming the beauty of imperfection and simplicity, Sven Wunder applies the timeless wisdom of wabi sabi on this musical journey. What you can hear is filtered through Ukiyo-e (which translates as “pictures of the floating world”), which illustrates everyday life, as well as through Japonism, the study of Japanese art, and more specifically its influence on European works. The result is a surface that creates an illusion by sound. The infusion of Min’yō with jazz rock, this hazy scene evokes the landscape of Monet’s ”The Water Lily Pond”, which depicts the painter’s Giverny garden, with a Japanese bridge, bamboo, ginkgo trees and the reflection of the sky in the pond. This illusion constructs both time and space.

-

The surface of the music, like the canvas of the painting, invents a journey between now and then by interpreting the idiom of folkloric and western art instruments. In this composition, the sound of the Western concert flute, which stretches back to the Renaissance and Baroque periods, evokes the sound of the bamboo-flute (”shakuchachi”), which reached its peak during the Edo period. The guzheng, also known as the Chinese zither, with a more than 2,500 year history, joins traditional Japanese folk melodies with modern pop percussion and 20th century electronic instruments such as the Moog synthesizer, Wurlitzer electric piano and electric bass.

-

This is the illusion that celebrates the fleeting nature of all things. A journey. A deep inhale and a slow exhale. It has a mix of jazz (both funky and progressive), East Asian and South Asian sounds. The idea of fusing these styles and reframing them with the aesthetic of wabi sabi is to reconnect with nature and concentrate on asymmetries and emphasize ornamentation to generate new ways of looking at the world, here and now. – Bandcamp

It's safe to say that starting a jazz album with a version of Led Zeppelin's "Black Dog" was quite a daring deed, to say the least. In Argentina -- back in 1977.

And yet this is something a musician with the career of Jorge Navarro could afford. Navarro belongs to a generation of musicians who shaped the history of jazz music in Argentina, starting already in the mid-50s alongside other renowned jazzmen such as Lalo Schifrin, Leandro "Gato" Barbieri, "Baby" López Furst or Jorge López Ruiz.

This tightly-knit group of musicians often looked abroad and followed the dominant current in the US, going through swing and be-bop phases, but towards the end of the sixties many started to develop their own identity, a tendency that intensified in the early 70s.

In Argentina, "con polenta" is an expression used to describe something with great energy or strength -- which perfectly defines the mood for the album. As many other musicians, most notably Schifrin and Barbieri (who enjoyed a huge international success and would only sporadically return to Argentina), Navarro had just left the country and spent several years in the USA, returning to his homeland full of energy and new ideas, which translated into his debut solo album. A rocking blend of Jazz and Funk, the album unexpectedly kicks off with a groovy cover of Led Zeppelin's "Black Dog" and includes equally wicked takes on compositions by Eumir Deodato, Keith Jarrett and Joe Farrell, as well as two self-penned originals and a funky number by Roberto Valencia, who's in charge of percussion in the album.

Modern Jazz / Jazz Rock / Psychedelia group out of Finland, Helsinki. 2nd re-press of this amazing LP - Highly recommend checking it out!

There is a Window Of Opportunity called life. A limited period of time, into which we must fit the quotidian activities of everyday life, our dreams, relationships, personal pleasures and self-discovery. Sometimes we contemplate our death, our impact on the world and the traces we’ve left. Biodiversity is one of the most serious issues of our time. We are currently experiencing a period of mass extinction mainly caused by human activity, e.g. overfishing, hunting and the spread of cities and agriculture.

-

It is said that we can’t understand our own death, but is it any easier for us humans to comprehend the scale of death associated with mass extinction, the disappearance of species? Every species is an important part of the ecosystem. Furthermore, with every extinct species, a mode of being is lost. With biodiversity being in such a precarious state, it might be easy to submit to feelings of resignation. Yet, for those who seek beauty, there is still beauty to be found. And there will be, I hope. Likewise, for those who wish to express their love and compassion for the world and for the life inhabiting it, the possibility is still there. The possibility of love having a home in a human heart. – A Message from Soft Power | Bandcamp

The UK’s cosmic, psychedelic-funk ensemble issue their second album on maverick producer Madlib’s label, Madlib Invazion. 

-

The Heliocentrics’ albums are all confounding pieces of work. Drawing equally from the funk universe of James Brown, the disorienting asymmetry of Sun Ra, the cinematic scope of Ennio Morricone, the sublime fusion of David Axelrod, Pierre Henry’s turned-on musique concrète, and Can’s beat-heavy Krautrock, they have – regardless of the label on which they’ve released their music - pointed the way towards a brand new kind of psychedelia, one that could only come from a band of accomplished musicians who were also obsessive music fans. Drummer Malcolm Catto and bassist Jake Ferguson are the Heliocentrics’ masterminds and producers, and they are obsessive weirdos in today’s musical climate, searching, progressive humans who are often out-of-time with current trends.

-

They have been playing together for nearly two decades and their collective drive is to find an individual voice. The Heliocentrics search for it in an alternate galaxy where the orbits of funk, jazz, psychedelic, electronic, avant-garde and “ethnic” music all revolve around “The One.” With Madilb’s label Madlib Invazion for Telemetric Sounds, the Heliocentrics have returned to develop their epic vision of psychedelic funk, while exploring the possibilities created by their myriad influences – Latin, African, and more. - Bandcamp

Pure literature. That's how DJ and businessman Takayuki Fujisawa（藤沢隆行）described Makoto Matsushita's（松下誠）2nd album from April 1982, "The Pressures and the Pleasures" in his review in "Japanese City Pop". Fujisawa was probably referring to the four songs/stories contained within this Matsushita magnum opus. Yup, there are eight tracks in "The Pressures and the Pleasures" but according to the singer-songwriter himself in the liner notes, those eight make up four large songs. – Kayo Kyoku Plus

First time ever official reissue of the second and last album by the legendary oriental and fusion jazz ensemble led by Leonid Atabekov, where folk and ethnic arrangements meet smooth jazz. Mastered from the original tapes, contains full-size insert with the band's history in English and Russian Languages. Check it out!

“Cykada is a band of established musicians on the London scene, having played in groups including, Myriad Forest, EZRA Collective, Maisha, Where Pathways Meet, Family Atlantica and Don Kipper. Bassist Jamie Benzies is the spine of the project, along with Tilé Gichigi-Lipere, also a fellow former member of the legendary band Myriad Forest and Drummer Tim Doyle aka Chiminyo, together were the first members of Cykada. Jamie mentioned in one interview:

'I became more keen on doing something which has a longer vision. Where you get together with people you know you can work with, people you love sharing a space with and you take your time, you make sure you’re enjoying your music and as that comes, everything else comes.'

Trumpeter Axel Kaner-Lidstrom, Saxophonist James Mollison and secret weapon Guitarist Javi Pérez complete the ensemble. Tilé shows a unique and indispensable role within the band, aside from playing keys, he is programming, processing and modifying the sounds of the instruments, a massive factor in creating the distinctive vibe of the band. Cykada’s unique vibe is a testament to its members and the crucial role they each play in the creative process.” – Bandcamp

 Item description:        

Earth Rot (1970) set Axelrod up for his final stage as an architect of jazz fusion and ensured that his productions would help future architects of hip hop. This reissue is a gatefold 2/LP containing a bonus second album with Earth Rot’s instrumentals, never before released. Axelrod himself requested the release of the instrumentals before his death; it was this request that started the process that led to the issue of his Capitol Trilogy on Now-Again, with his family and Estate’s participation and approval. - Now Again Records

Item description: