This is the first-ever reissue of this, Brit-jazz composer/arranger Neil Ardley's 1st full album under his own name. This 1971, Dennis Preston production features the all-star band I know you were expecting me to list! Included are: Dick Heckstall...

"Archive release. This debut release of Neil Ardley and his New Jazz Orchestra BBC broadcasts from 1971 measure a year of change for the band's musical director.
The first session captures the full majesty of the NJO at the height of it's powers in a Jazz Club session from February with a 20-performer line-up pre-recorded at London's Camden Theatre. Humphrey Lyttelton helms proceedings; musicians include Ardley, Harry Beckett, Ian Carr, Henry Lowther, Derek Wadsworth, Mike Gibbs, Don Rendell...

The Artchipel Orchestra, led by conductor / arranger Ferdinando Farao, is a Italian big band (over 20 participants) and Ferdinando is a big fan of the British jazz and jazz rock scene of the 70s, having previously covered tunes by Alan Gowen, Dave Stewart, Mike Westbrook & Fred Frith, among others.

Here, he's tackling the Soft Machine boo, but even though the title is "Play Soft Machine", a more accurate title would be "Plays Hugh Hopper's Tunes For Soft Machine", as that's what this mostly is....

"Although this album contains a varied selection of material, including one original composition and three tracks from a 1998 Mike Westbrook project, I'm just going to write just a few words about what seems, at the moment, to be at the core of this great orchestra's repertoire: namely, some classic British jazz-rock from the 1970s. This music was always on the margins, of course, even at the time. Back when I was a schoolboy, most of my friends were listening to soul, blues, punk, disco, heavy metal...

This is apparently an authorized-by-Brian collection of rare live recordings from 1968 from the Piper Club in Rome and their appearance on "Ce Soir On Danse" from Paris! Quite good sound for the time period.

"In May 1968, Brian Auger and the Trinity & Julie Driscoll were part of an international rock 'n' roll disaster. That fiasco created a stash of urgent, commanding recordings, capturing a golden moment that took half a century to reach the wider world. A year after Monterey Pop but a year....

"A reissue of Derek Bailey's Lot 74, originally released by Incus in 1974. Recorded at a private house in West London, the side-long title track is a masterwork: a twenty-two-minute, starkly personal, freely expressive, itchily searching re-casting of orders of rhythm and sound into a new, quicksilver kind of affective and musical polyphony. Never mind the guitarist's championing of "non-idiomatic improvisation", the poet Peter Riley gets the ball rolling in his identification of the various hauntings...

"In publishing the entire performance from start to finish, this release allows us to experience these much-missed artists at work with a degree of intimacy and familiarity absent from (for example) prestigious festival performances. Of course, any new addition to the Bailey discography is an exciting development, but I feel I must also mention just how well Will Gaines plays on this gig. For those who might be unsure why Derek was always so happy to play with Will, listen to how Will uses his strongly...

"A reissue of Derek Bailey and Tristan Honsinger Duo, originally released by Incus in 1976. Born in Burlington, Vermont, and conservatory-trained in the US, the cellist Tristan Honsinger moved from Montreal to Amsterdam in 1974, quickly linking with Han Bennink and Misha Mengelberg and opening a long and fruitful musical relationship with Derek Bailey. Recorded in 1976, Duo displays a performative musical approach already characterized by the lack of inhibition which would later endear him to The Pop...

Gordon Beck - piano
Jeff Clyne - bass
Tony Oxley - drums

A great album, rescued from the mists of time almost 50 years later! First-ever reissue!

"Pianist / composer Gordon Beck, one of the true forefathers of modern British and European Jazz, has been a source of inspiration and musical joy to Jazz connoisseurs since the 1960s. His formidable technique and more importantly overwhelming musicality are completely unique and unrivaled. This, his 4th recording as a leader, deserves a.

"Turtle Records is proud to present these excellent performances, now transferred and collated, which capture the group playing a variety of some well-known compositions plus a large number of Gordon Beck originals, which are surely a must for any serious modern jazz fan.
They chronicle a peak period of creativity and performance by Gordon involving key lineups of his groups with musicians including a who's who of British Jazz: Jeff Clyne, Johnny Butts, Ron Mathewson, John McLaughlin, Tony Oxley...

A great set in the classic Ornette 4tet vein, mixed with a Brit-jazz feel! I dont know any of these players (Roberto-double bass, Claude Deppa-trumpet, Jason Yarde-alto & soprano sax & Brian Abrahams-drums), but all play fabulously well. [SLAM]

"Tenor saxophonist Binker Golding and drummer Moses Boyd are two of the most exciting young jazz musicians on the London jazz scene.
One year on from their highly praised mega work Journey To The Mountain Of Forever (Urban Album Of The Year 2017 : MoJo Magazine), Binker And Moses return with a blistering assault on the senses.
Their third album in as many years, Binker Golding and Moses Boyd are trailblazers in arguably the most exciting jazz explosion London has ever seen.
Is it a st

Robin Lumley-keyboards
John Goodsall-guitar
Percy Jones-bass
Phil Collins-drums

The good news: This captures Brand X in their early prime, from around the time of their 1st album and with all the fury and fire they had in that period. And in really good 'live and smokin' sound, as this was recorded for a radio broadcast.

The bad news: the radio broadcast was 25' long and that's all that is here.

So - half a great album. And something you'll have to decide if it's wo

"The Catastrophe of Minimalism is a well-recorded performance of the first meeting of reknowned UK saxophone explorer John Butcher and stalwart the US improvised music rhythm section of Damon Smith (bass) and Weasel Walter (drums).
The timbral variation, instrumental techniques, and dynamics are diverse, but Butcher fans will be surprised by some of the volcanic, muscular playing here.
This album was released in a limited edition of only 200 CDs."

Mark Charig: cornet, tenor horn
Keith Tippett: organ, zither, piano, voice, bell
Ann Winter: voice, bell

Much needed reissue of this rather obscure album which had some very quiet parts, which sounded terrible on the original...

Like the somewhat better known Michael Gibbs or lesser known Neil Ardley, bassist/composer Collier is a long time leader in the field of large and small scale jazz compositions that effortlessly meld US jazz (and especially the work of Charles Mingus) ...

Like the somewhat better known Michael Gibbs or lesser known Neil Ardley, bassist/composer Collier is a long time leader in the field of large and small scale jazz compositions that effortlessly meld US jazz (and especially the work of Charles Mingus) ...

Graham Collier is one of the best known and most important British jazz composers and over a 40 year career, his list of compositions and commissions has grown to encompass ensembles around the world. He is well-known as an author and educator, having

"Colosseum's 1969 debut album is a notably pioneering endeavor in its combination of British blues-rock with British jazz-rock, even if the writing and singing aren't as impressive as the confident playing. Graham Bond and some of the horn-augmented...

It seemed to have taken Lindsay's death, recent series of tribute concerts and the ReR 'Rarities' compilation to reawaken people to her work, but at least they've reawakened!

Excellent CD of one of Lindsay's best extended works, with lyrics by...

Paul Mitchell-Davidson-bass, Ken Shaw-electric guitar, Veryan Weston-piano, Colin Wood-cello and Richard Wright-guitar.

“The debut album was recorded while Dean was still with Soft Machine, and made largely with fellow-Softs, though it is clear that he was already interested in exploring new territory...Deservedly rescued from oblivion by Cuneiform, Just Us is a great introduction to a compelling voice.” – The Penguin Guide To Jazz Recordings

English jazz saxophone legend Elton Dean has been in the public eye for over 30 years, & has played in numerous acclaimed groups over the years, including the...

With Alex Maguire, Mark Sanders, Paul Dunmall, Simon Picard, Nick Evans, Jim Dvorak, Tony Bianco, Roberto Bellatella, Paul Rogers and others perform with Elton in duets, trios, quartets and quintets. Elton dusts off his Fender Rhodes chops for the 1st ...

Live recording of Elton's splendid band includes four saxists (Elton, Paul Dunmall, Simon Pickard & Trevor Watts), plus the rhythm section of Paul Rogers & Tony Levin. A mixture of heads and freedom. [Ogun]

A very deserving reissue of a semi-obscure, 'free-blowing free-bop with heads' quartet, co-led by Elton Dean & Alan Skidmore (saxes) with Chris Laurence-double bass & John Marshall-drums. Originally released in 1977, jazz/free jazz fans will have their socks knocked off by this!

“Apart from lending his forename to a certain Reg Dwight, Elton Dean is probably still best known for his contribution to Soft Machine, where his fuzzy, amplified alto grafted a jazz sensibility onto that band's organ...