The man who taught Ginger Baker everything about (1) drumming and (2) heroin!

"Phil Seamen was arguably the greatest jazz drummer Europe has ever produced. He was up there alongside such contemporaries as Kenny Clarke and Philly-Joe Jones...

For some reason, I think Four has always been the overlooked Soft Machine album. There's probably several reasons for this but that doesn't change the fact that I think that this is tied with Volume Two as their greatest album ever!

The tunes were getting more and more complex and astonishing: Mike Ratledge contributed what I consider the band's greatest work ever in the 10 minute long Teeth, while Hugh Hopper was also reaching a peak compositionally. Elton Dean showed the direction that he...

By this time (1974), the band were pretty much a straight-forward fusion ensemble with many of their biggest quirks and oddities excised. And all the quirky old personnel too, with only Mike Ratledge remaining (for the time being at least). Hugh...

Elton Dean - alto sax, saxello, electric piano
Mike Ratledge - electric piano, organ
Hugh Hopper - bass
Robert Wyatt - drums, vocals

This was our second Soft Machine archival release and over 20 years later, it remains one of the great documents of the 'classic quartet' line-up and it is now available again after many years!

"...an innovative union of jazz and rock." – Downbeat...

A great performance. Last time ever on this wonderful release from the wonderful, now gone, Reel Recordings label.

Latest archival treasure from Reel Recordings was a short-lived, little known (but based on this release 37 years later, quite...

This is a real treat. Drummer John Stevens is best known for his pioneering work performing and championing non-idiomatic free music.

But he was an excellent drummer with voracious musical interests and he worked in many types of ensembles.

Away was his electric, somewhat harmolodic-style band that he led throughout the 70s in addition to his free work.

The band made three excellent albums of thorny, unique electric jazz for Vertigo between 1975-1977. None of the three albums...

“Subversion Through Jazz examines the beginning of the British progressive jazz (BPJ) movement from 1956 to 1964, attempting to identify and plot the progress of its coming into being. This eight-year period of inception was set against the backdrop of two specifically relevant world events: the failed Hungarian revolution in 1956; and the Cuban Missile Crisis, a potentially apocalyptic nuclear standoff between the United States and the USSR in the Gulf of Mexico in 1962. Like many art forms in the UK...

This was previously available on CD, but wasn't authorized and wasn't from the original masters. This version is from John's original masters and he supervised this reissue!
This minor classic was recorded live December 3, 1973 and features Surman's soprano and baritone sax work in a all-star jazz and jazz/rock setting, with a band consisting of Terje Rypdal-guitar, Chris Lawrence-bass, John Taylor-piano & electric piano, Malcolm Griffiths-trombone, Chris Lawrence-double bass and John Marshall-drums..

Many of you will remember this one from its original lp release on the budget HELP subsidiary of Island, now very happily on CD, as the original lp had a simply awful pressing, which was anathema to the quiet music. This was Surman's first truely solo album, charming pieces for simple synth patterns and a number of reed instruments, recorded through overdubs. Some of it is similar to his later ECM discs.

"Westering Home was originally released in 1972. John Surman plays everything on the album...

John Taylor-Piano
Chris Lawrence-Bass
Tony Levin-Drums

A very nice, rather hip piano trio session from three Brit-jazz masters from MPS. It was recorded in 1972 and 1973 and released in 1973. This was John's second album, after the fantastic "Pause And Think Again".
There was one previous CD version, only in Japan, in 2006 but this is the first time it's been on CD at a reasonable price!

A classic of Brit-jazz.

This restores to print from the master tapes, and packaged in a nice slipcase, a 1972 "solo" by Keith [it's really the first Ovary Lodge album, with Roy Babbington-bass, Frank Perry or Keith Bailey- percussion, & Julie Tippetts-guitar/voice], which was produced by Robert Fripp.
This is a very quiet album in places; to hear it well reproduced from the masters with the silence of a good CD transfer is a real pleasure.

Paul Dunmall tenor & soprano saxes, James Gardiner-Bateman alto sax, Peter Fairclough drums, Kevin Figes alto & baritones saxes, Thad Kelly double bass, Ben Waghorn tenor sax, bass clarinet, Julie Tippetts voice, seed pods, Balinese xylophone, toy...

“The Unlonely Raindancer is undoubtedly a beginning, it is also an enigma. More than its means. The seminal first solo album by Keith Tippett released by Universal Productions in 1980 is a live recording from the previous year’s short tour of the Netherlands. The audience applause was edited out, leaving the listener with the intensity of one lone musician literally improvising into composition.
The word ‘unlonely’ could be described as uneven grammatically, but given nuance by juxtaposing the....

This is a hand-numbered, hand-packaged, limited edition of 500 copies!

“Another true masterpiece. A Mid Autumn Night's Dream faithfully report a one-shot concert that took place at Conservatorio Nicolini in Piacenza on October 1st, 2016. The four giants of new music never played together before: Keith Tippett, Julie Tippetts, Lino Capra Vaccina, and Paolo Tofani. As the lights turned off something magic started. A spontaneous interplay, an amazing flowing of notes. The subject was the night...