"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...

"Born of a time when jazz musicians crossed in to the world of rock music, Atlantic Bridge was a quartet featuring Mike McNaught (piano, electric piano), Daryl Runswick (bass, bass guitar), Jim Philip (flute, soprano sax, tenor sax) & Mike Travis (drums). All four musicians were seasoned players on the London jazz circuit, but sought to expand their musical horizons.
Influenced by the experimentation of Miles Davis on his album Bitches Brew and by the work of British musicians such as Keith Tippett..

"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...

This fine album, one of the few recorded examples of Muir's pure improvisational playing, has been out on vinyl before - in its original issue in 1981 - but not with this fantastic photo on the cover, which I had never seen before....

"A reissue of Jamie Muir and Derek Bailey's 1981 duo album, Dart Drug, originally released on Bailey's Incus label. Percussionist Jamie Muir was a member of King Crimson during the recording of Larks' Tongues In Aspic, in 1973. Staying less than a year with Robert..

Lucian Ban - piano
John Surman - baritone & soprano saxophones, bass clarinet
Mat Maneri - viola

This is everything you would want from an exploration of folk music melodies of Romania from these three distinctive players. Surman particularly sounds amazing here - like he was born to play this music!.

“Their mutual interest in the work of Hungarian composer and ethnomusicologist Béla Bartók led to their new recording, Transylvanian Folk Songs, an assortment of arrangements

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...

Harry Beckett: trumpet, flugelhorn
Ray Russell: guitar
Brian Miller: piano, electric piano, synthesizer
Darryl Runswick: bass, bass guitar
Nigel Morris: drums
Martin David: congas

This is the first-ever CD issue of Harry’s fourth solo album, from 1975 and it features a joyful electric jazz, with half of the original line-up (Brian Miller & Nigel Morris) and Ray Russell totally SMOKIN’ on lead.

“It’s been a real Joy to bring this long-lost classic back to life....

"The product of a recording session in New York City in 1970, “Where Fortune Smiles” is one of the milestone albums to be recorded at a time when the divisions between the worlds of jazz and rock were less defined and albums such as Bitches Brew by Miles Davis and the work of Tony Williams’ Lifetime pointed a new direction in music.
Originally released on Pye Records’ “Progressive” imprint Dawn Records, Where Fortune Smiles was recorded fresh on the heels of John McLaughlin and Dave Holland’s work...

ALL OF OUR COPIES ARE UNSEALED AND HAVE SHELF WEAR TO THE SLEEVES. WE RECEIVED THEM LIKE THIS FROM THE LABEL, SORRY. Excellent archival release - the second so far - from the Blue Notes’ 1979 tour of Belgium and Holland, taken from tour organiser Rob Sotemann’s tape archive. This features the established version of the group - South African expatriates all - Louis...

Chris McGregor - piano
Dudu Pukwana - alto saxophone
Nick Moyake - tenor saxophone
Mongezi Feza - trumpet
Johnny Dyani - bass
Louis Moholo - drums

“A vital artefact in the recorded history of the Blue Notes, being a live recording (Durban, 1964) of one the the group's last performances in their homeland prior to flying to France to appear by invitation at the Juan-Les-Pins Jazz Festival and then on to expatriation in England.
The album was first released

This release includes a CD of a new stereo remix, and a DVD with a new 5.1 surround sound mix along with the original 1978 mix, all taken from the original 1978 analogue tapes.
This album, originally released in 1977, established (ex Yes, King Crimson, Genesis, National Health) drummer Bill Bruford as a (very) credible composer and bandleader. For me, this is one of the finest fusion albums to have come out of the UK.
In addition to Bill's excellent playing, there is Dave Stewart on keyboards...

An Italian band who have a great love for Brit-jazz and, more specifically, the Ogun sound. The musicians are:
Pino Minafra trumpet, flugelhorn, voice
Roberto Ottaviano saxophones
Livio Minafra piano
Roberto Bellatalla bass...

“Official half-speed mastered re-issue of British trumpeter and bandleader Ian Carr's iconic jazz-fusion-rock hybrid 'Belladonna' from 1972.
Originally released on the Vertigo label, complete with collectable 'swirl' record centre design, this sought-after jazz-rock-fusion rarity features some of the cream of the UK jazz musicians of the 70's. Comprised from groups such as Nucleus, Brian Auger's band, Soft Machine, Stan Tracy group, the players included Brian Smith (tenor and soprano saxophones...

Lol Coxhill-soprano sax
Charles Hayward-drums
Hugh Hopper-bass
Orphy Robinson-vibes, steel drums
with
Robert Wyatt-cornet

The first release (and sadly the only one) by this improvising group of established figures from the creative rock and improvised music scene in Britain. They've been together for a few years now, plays shows when circumstances permit, and it's great that they've finally documented something. This pretty quickly finds its feet, finds a groove and keeps.

Called "A pioneer...a true British jazz original." by The Times, "An inventive and underrated jazz figure" by Jazziz and "Britain's most original jazz talent." by The Financial Times, Graham Collier is one of the best known British jazz composers, and over a 40 year career, his list of compositions and comissions has grown to encompass ensembles around the world.
He was born in Tynemouth, England in 1937. He won a Downbeat scholarship to Berklee School of Music, Boston, studying with Herb Pomeroy...

"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...

“Music recorded at London's ICA in July 1982. It's a miracle of group interaction, wonderfully paced, moving steadily between moments of mounting intensity and tension. The passage about halfway through -- when Derek Bailey's harmonics ring out above a sheen of inside piano tremolos and shimmering electronics, topped off by Julie Tippetts's soaring vocalese -- is simply sublime. After which it's fun to try and tell the two pianists apart. Are those runs Ursula Oppens, with her formidable technique honed...

This has been out of print for some years and completely unavailable on these shores. Well worth getting if you don't already have it.
A repressing of bassoonist/oboeist/saxist/composer Lindsay's first two solo albums. Lindsay first made her name in Henry Cow and was also greatly featured in News From Babel. Both of these were film scores.

"Consists of the whole of the LP previously issued as Re/arc and most of "The Golddiggers".
Featuring Lindsay Cooper, Sally Potter, Phil Minton...

* Legendary British Psychedelic jazz album.
* East meets West ‘Indo-Jazz’ fusion.
* Remastered from the original master tapes.
* A rare Lansdowne Jazz recording.

“Following in the footsteps of the landmark 1966 double-quartet recording by Joe Harriott and John Mayer, Indian born musician Amancio D’Silva produced some of the most adventurous and sophisticated recordings within the canon of ‘Indo-Jazz’, a term used to define a pioneering east meets west synthesis that reflected the..

“Morphometry is an exquisite album of duets by the legendary soprano sax player Lol Coxhill and his friend and disciple, Raymond MacDonald. These are recordings made in July 2008 during what would be Coxhill's last visit to Scotland. Pressed on custard-colored vinyl with fleas on the label, in homage to Coxhill's album Fleas In Custard (1975), this release features a front cover woodcut created by Ian Barrett, whose uncle Syd was one of the figures whose paths crossed with Lol in 1960s London.”

“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 ...