Category Archives: Improv
CULT CLASSIC: TOHRU AIZAWA QUARTET-TACHIBANA.
Cult Classic: Tohru Aizawa Quartet-Tachibana. For many connoisseurs of jazz, especially seventies J-Jazz, one little known private pressing is their holy grail, and everywhere they go it’s the one album that they always search for. There’s always the hope that in a backstreet record shop, antique centre or thrift store in a town or city somewhere in …
BOBBY HUTCHERSON-OBLIQUE.
Bobby Hutcherson-Oblique. Label: Blue Note Records-Tone Poet Series. Format: LP. On July the ‘21st’ 1967, Bobby Hutcherson journeyed to Van Gelder Studio, in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, to record Oblique which was his sixth solo album for Blue Note Records. It was just the second album he had recorded with a quartet. The first was Happenings, …
SUN RA ARKESTRA-SWIRLING.
Sun Ra Arkestra-Swirling. Label: Strut. Format: LP. On May the ’30th’ 1993, Sun Ra passed away aged seventy-nine and that day, music was in mourning at the loss a musical pioneer who had played his part in rewriting the history of jazz. From the late-fifties, Sun Ra was one of the pioneers of free jazz …
LARAAJI-MOON PIANO.
Laraaji-Moon Piano. Label: All Saints Records. Format: LP. When Laraaji recorded two albums of spiritual keyboard improvisations at the First Unitarian Church, Brooklyn, on December the ’10th’ and ’11th’ 2018 he was fulfilling a lifetime’s ambition. He had always wanted to return the piano which was the first instrument he learned to play growing up …
DEUTSCHE ELEKTRONISCHE MUSIK 4: EXPERIMENTAL GERMAN ROCK AND ELECTRONIC MUSIC 1971-83.
Deutsche Elektronische Musik 4: Experimental German Rock and Electronic Music 1971-83. Label: Soul Jazz Records. Format: CD. Release Date: ‘16th’ October 2020. Nowadays, the period between 1968 and the early eighties is regarded as a golden period for German music, and saw groundbreaking artists and groups like Amon Düül, Can, Cluster, Deuter, Faust, Harmonia, Neu!, …
CULT CLASSIC: THE NAZGÛL-THE NAZGÛL.
Cult Classic: The Nazgûl-The Nazgûl. Pyramid Records was founded by forty-year old British expat Robin Page, in 1972. By then , he was one of the leading lights in the Fluxus arts movement . He had moved from London, England to Cologne, in Germany, in 1969, and the city had been his home ever since. However, Robin Page …
IDRIS ACKAMOOR AND THE PYRAMIDS- SHAMAN!
Idris Ackamoor and The Pyramids-Shaman! Label: Strut. Nowadays, not many groups are still together after forty-seven years. Many groups call time on their career after three or four albums citing “artistic differences” but are keen to reassure their fans that they’re “still friends” and that the band had “run its course.” This has happened to some of …
LARAAJI-SUN PIANO.
Laraaji-Sun Piano. Label: All Saints Records. Format: LP. On the album cover to his new album Sun Piano, which was released by All Saints Records, Laraaji describes playing the piano as: “my music therapy.” This is something the seventy-seven year has been doing since 1953, when he was just ten and living in New Jersey. …
GREG FOAT-SYMPHOMIE PACIFIQUE.
Greg Foat-Symphonie Pacifique. Label: Strut Release Date: ‘3rd’ July 2020. Prolific and versatile are words that describe London-based Greg Foat, who nowadays, is regarded as one of Britain’s top jazz pianists and composers. His career began back in the noughties, and in 2009, he founded The Greg Foat Group who went on to release five …
HEDVIG MOLLESTAD-EKHIDNA.
Hedvig Mollestad-Ekhidna. Label: Rune Grammofon. Format: CD. In May 2018, award-winning Norwegian guitarist, vocalist, bandleader and composer Hedvig Mollestad was thirty-six and one of the leading lights of the vibrant Nordic music scene. Her band the Hedvig Mollestad Trio had already released five albums and had already recorded their sixth album Smells Funny. Despite the …
AKSAK MABOUL-FIGURES.
Aksak Maboul-Figures. Label: Crammed Discs. Nowadays, there aren’t many bands that are still together and releasing new albums after five decades. The same can be said of record labels founded in the seventies. Sadly, bands and record labels aren’t enjoying the same longevity in the modern music business. All too often, bands release a couple …
ANDREAS ROYSUM ENSEMBLE-ANDREAS ROYSUM ENSEMBLE.
Andreas Røysum Ensemble-Andreas Røysum Ensemble. Label: Motvind Records. Over the last decade, the Norwegian jazz scene has been thriving, and today is one of the most vibrant in Europe as a new generation of up-and-coming musicians follow their dreams to make a living playing jazz. They hope to follow in the footsteps of Jan Garbarek, …
ERLEND APNESETH-FRAGMENTARIUM.
Erlend Apneseth-Fragmentarium. Label: Hubro Music. When the Erlend Apneseth Trio recorded their third album Salika, Molika they were joined by top Norwegian accordionist Frode Haltli as they fused folk and experimental improv and electronic music. The result was an ambitious and groundbreaking album that was hailed as a gamechanger when it was released to critical …
SUN RA AND HIS MYTH SCIENCE ARKESTRA-WHEN ANGELS SPEAK OF LOVE.
Sun Ra and His Myth Science Arkestra-When Angels Speak Of Love. Label: Cosmic Myth Records. One of the most prolific artist of the twentieth century was the inimitable Sun Ra, who released around 125 albums during a career that spanned six decades. Over the last few years, dozens of these albums have been reissued by …
CULT CLASSIC: AKSAK MABOUL-UN PEU L’AME DES BANDITS.
Cult Classic: Aksak Maboul-Un Peu de L’âme Des Bandits. Nearly three years after releasing their seminal avant pop album, Onze Danses Pour Combattre la Migraine in the summer of 1977, Aksak Maboul returned with their much-anticipated 1980 sophomore album Un Peu de L’âme Des Bandits. It was the first album Aksak Maboul released on Marc …
LUMAN DRONES-UMBRA.
Lumen Drones-Umbra. Label: Hubro Music. Four years after Lumen Drones released their critically acclaimed eponymous debut album on ECM Records in late-2015, Nils Økland, Per Steinar Lie and Ørjan Haaland recently return with their much-anticipated followup Umbra, which was released on Hubro Music. Umbra is an epic album that doesn’t disappoint and marks the welcome …
CULT CLASSIC: SUN RA AND HIS ARKESTRA-THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STREET.
Cult Classic: Sun Ra and His Arkestra-The Other Side Of The Street. Nowadays, music journalists are guilty of using the words innovator and pioneer for too freely, but that is the perfect description of the inimitable Sun Ra. He’s now regarded as one of the true pioneers of free jazz and a truly innovative …
CULT CLASSIC: MOUVEMENTS-MOUVEMENTS.
Cult Classic: Mouvements-Mouvements. In the late-sixties, self-taught guitarist and jazz aficionado Christian Oestreicher, who was later described as: “a savage in the era of twist and free jazz,” met artist and painter Richard Reimann who was famous for his optical art, at the renowned Aurora art gallery in Geneva, Switzerland. This was the start of …
CULT CLASSIC: TOHRU AIZAWA QUARTET-TACHIBANA.
Cult Classic: Tohru Aizawa Quartet-Tachibana. For many connoisseurs of jazz, especially seventies J-Jazz, one little known private pressing is their holy grail, and everywhere they go is the album they search for. There’s always the hope that in a backstreet record shop, antique centre or thrift store in a town or city somewhere in the …
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