Jazz | Fusion Vinyl 457 Items

Deadstock copy in Mint or NM condition

La Matta Records proudly presents the First Official Reissue of the unique LP made by Stani Labonia, an Italian Soul-Funk masterpiece originally released in 1978 on Vincenzo Micocci's It/RCA label. This rare album recorded in Naples, finally comes out after more than 40 years, carefully restored from the original tape. Among the talented musicians who worked in the recording of this album we can find names as Jenny Sorrenti of “Saint Just”, Gaio Chiocchio founding member of “Pierrot Lunaire”, Enzo Avitabile and Gianni Guarracino, former “Città Frontale” but most importantly this LP boasts the courtesy arrangement of Pino Daniele in: La Prossima Donna. Labonia, whose real name is Stanislao Smiraglia, is from Bolzano but lived most of his life in Naples, collaborating with the main musicians of that city. He cou ld be compared with the best of the Italian scene, with strong funk and Latin influences. So this is a rare italian gem to anyone interested in Latin Jazz-Funk & Soul. Fully remastered and available as LP and in all digital stores.

Malik King was an important part of the St Louis jazz scene of the 70's & 80's.

He studied under Albert Ayler in NY in the early 70s before returning to the Midwest. He was a member of the Shirley Le Flore's ensemble "Free N' Concert". He also served as musical director of The Creative Arts & Expression Lab, The African Peoples Continuum, & The Black Arts Alliance, The worrier poets, The Human Arts Ensemble, as well as various Emerging Force Ensembles.

Zimbabwe Nkenya (1953-2022), a creative artist and innovative musician, was brought up on army bases in the USA and Spain. He spent 30 years traveling and performing in New York, New Mexico, Arizona and St Louis. playing with a who's who of jazz. In New Mexico he became an integral part of the scene, producing and hosting the Kunm's radio show "the House That Jazz Built" .

Luckily Malik self released "Time & Condition" in 1982, capturing his work together with Qaiyim Shabazz. It's not just a crate diggers Holy Grail, but an important artistic and historic document of the St Louis scene. Time & Condition stands alone as a (very) individual, spiritual jazz classic.

We hope this reissue will finally grant these musicians the wider acknowledgement & credit they deserved during their life time.

Enrico Rava was the first Italian jazz artist to represent the country internationally, born in Trieste in 1939. A border city with a long history as part of Austria, an important port on the Adriatic see, a places influenced by different cultures. Rava's music at its best is a product of this city - a mix of Central European and Italian culture. 'Pupa o Crisalide' is one of the most interesting works in Enrico's discography. It is a good summary of the first phase of his solo career, and contains tracks recorded with three different line-ups: an all-Italian line-up for the opener "Pupa O Crisalide" and the closer "Giromondo", recorded in Rome with Giovanni Tommaso, Bruno Biriaco, Franco D'Andrea, Michele Ascolese, Mandrake and Tommaso Vittorini - an Argentinian octet for the B-side of the LP, recorded in Buenos Aires, and finally an impressive American septet with Jack DeJohnette and John Abercrombie, to name a few for the A-side, recorded in New York. The musical style clearly reflects the composite nature of the album. The first half is funkier, edgier and more fiery, evidently influenced by the jazz-rock/fusion tendencies that were spreading at the time. The second is more placid, elegantly incorporating some Latin/samba elements into the alchemy. The two halves are held together by the similarity in timbre of the line-ups (which feature almost the same elements), and Enrico Rava's renowned trumpet style. Often compared to Miles Davis and Kenny Wheeler, his technique involves rarefied notes, full of atmosphere, and erratic melodic lines that surprisingly do not undermine the 'presence' of his trumpet sound. On the contrary, the charisma of Rava's trumpet seems to emerge precisely from this surprising balance of detachment and red blood.

Behold! Yes, Blue Butterfly, one of the absolute stunners on the revered Selected Sound, is finally available for all the beat-heads. Heavyweight library funk with a psychedelic touch, the super in-demand Blue Butterfly from *deep breath* Hardy's Jet Band, Orchestra Klaus Wuesthoff, Jan Troysen Band and Orchestra Gary Pacific - was originally released in 1971. Incredibly ahead of its time, it's been rare and sought-after for decades.

For many aficionados, this is the best Selected Sound release. Loaded with fuzzy wah-wah guitar, deep flute-lines atop soulful psych-rock breakbeats and huge organ action, its uncompromising funk will blow you away. Sampled for many hip hop beats and dropped by well known rare groove DJs around the world, one jewel in particular from this glorious German vault needs little introduction. The intro to Orchestra Gary Pacific's mesmeric "Soft Wind" rides the illest, crispest drum break you've perhaps never heard - like, the drum break to end them all - alongside a smooth, deep bass line from the heavens. It featured notoriously on the beloved Dusty Fingers comps of the 90s and was brilliantly sampled by Pacewon for his eternal "Sunroof Top". Just listen and be dazzled.

Beyond this mini-masterpiece, the other killer tracks offer brilliance in abundance. Hardy's Jet Band take control of the full A side, and it's full of dynamic psych-funk bombs. Hard, "big city" industrial groovers. In particular, the initial one-two of "Sorry, Doc!" and "Wind It Up" provide thrilling funky-blues rock instrumentals showcasing relentless guitars, flutes, sax and organ, the latter containing gorgeous, hypnotic breakdowns; these tracks just slay. The title track, "Blue Butterfly" is a real deep strut of a track with fantastic soloing from guitar and flute over crisp drums whilst the highway banger "What You Call To Be Free" certainly sounds a lot like unbridled, rhythmical liberty.

On the flip, the ghost-riding "Lady In Space" is a string-drenched acid-western foxtrot. Yep. “Pop Happening” by Jan Troysen Band is a heavy, druggy psych-fuzz organ groover whilst their slow beat-organ-flute gem "A Blue Message" is a gorgeous psych floater conjuring deeply strange frontier lands. Preceding their monster "Soft Wind", the soulful, uptempo groover “Ghetto Gap” by Orchestra Gary Pacific contains solo piano and flute whilst closing out the set is the free-and-easy samba beat of "So Far".

Founded in the late 60s by German composer and musician Klaus Netzle (who recorded under the alias Claude Larson for Sonoton) Selected Sound began as a production music company specialising in jazz, orchestral and electronic recordings. You can’t miss those early LPs in their iconic glossy metallic copper sleeves with minimal German typography. Serious, classy stuff.

The audio for Blue Butterfly has been remastered for vinyl by Be With regular Simon Francis whilst Richard Robinson has handled reproducing the glossy metallic (iconic) original Selected Sound sleeve. Essential.

2022 repress. Reissue of the legendary 5-track first LP from horn wizard & original underground FM radio DJ Young, featuring soprano sax, clarinet, and electronically-processed bass clarinet. An enjoyable outing from a neglected musician. Cosmic afro mimimal electronic winds recorded in late 1970s San Francisco.

Thankfully, Isophonic Boogie Woogie is as weird and as wacked as all the above business would lead you to believe. Originally released in 1980, Isophonic Boogie Woogie was the first realization of Young's unique version of free jazz music, which he referred to as "Afro spiritual minimal electronic space music" which on closer listening is WAY more spot on... Some of the coolest, weird-est, most far out free jazz we've heard for sure (Aquarius Records)

Wenha’s inaugural release! From Wenha and Tribe co-founder Wendell Harrison comes Dreams Of A Love Supreme with the never before-reissued 7” single “No Turnin’ Back / Rocket Love” for the first time ever!

Following the untimely collapse of Tribe Records, Tribe co-founder Wendell Harrison established the Wenha record label in 1980, followed that same year by its inaugural release : Dreams Of A Love Supreme. Spirituality and themes of Black Consciousness are apparent throughout, yet compared to the fiery hymnals of its namesake, or even the funky avant-garde jazz of The Tribe, Dreams Of A Love Supreme is mellow - a reflection of the changing landscape of Detroit’s jazz scene. Electric guitars and pianos twinkle behind Harrison’s always impressive playing, with soft tones tempering the fiery spirituality of his solos. Featuring many of Detroit’s greatest musicians, including Tribe co-founder Phil Ranelin (Tb.), Harold McKinney (pf.), and Roy Brooks (perc.), Dreams Of A Love Supreme is filled to the brim with spiritual jazz royalty! Reissued for the first time ever alongside a never before reissued 7” single “No Turnin’ Back / Rocket Love”, as well as one of our iconic obi-strips, everything about this screams deluxe! Don’t miss Dreams Of A Love Supreme (Deluxe Edition) available only from P-vine Records!

Since the 1970s, Reggie Fields (A.K.A. The Real ShooBeeDoo) had been making a name for himself as one of the finest bass players in Detroit. Playing on early Tribe recordings, as well as as a member of Sun Ra’s Arkestra, his distinct, funky, yet harmonically complex approach to bass playing was making waves in the Motor City. His first album as a leader (and his first under the ShooBeeDoo moniker), Reawakening, sees his iconic bass playing take center stage, with each track highlighting his immense talent. The title track, “Reawakening” opens with an upright bass solo, and despite his technical prowess, it’s clear that each note is meaningful; simply a part of the larger plan. Even when he’s playing a supporting role, it’s clear that Field’s bass playing is driving the music forward like an unrelenting force of rhythm. Reawakening also sees Wendell Harrison make an appearance, his impassioned saxophone improvisations on the A-side of the record adding an element of spirituality to the record that seems to tie together all Tribe related records. Reissued for the first time ever with an OBI-strip, this hidden gem of the Tribe catalog is one you must not miss!

Established in 1985 by Tribe co-founder Wendell Harrison, Rebirth Records would become something of a rebirth for Harrison. The label’s inaugural release, ‘Reawakening’ saw him expressing a renewed interest in jazz, beginning with album opener ‘Winter’. Tribe and Wenha contemporary Harold McKinney’s magnificent piano playing, forms the basis of the rhythm section, over which Harrison plays fiery clarinet lines previously unheard of outside of New Orleans. In sharp contrast to the energizing spiritualism of ‘Winter’, ‘Love Dream’ is a laid-back bossa. The brawny baritone of Leon Thomas, Harrison’s sunny flute, and backing vocals from a who’s who of Detroit’s Jazz scene all combine to make the ultimate Bossa tune. Throughout the album, Wendell Harrison leads a rotating cast of musicians, including Tribe co-founder Phil Ranelin, Harold MicKinney, and Pamela Wise (Harrison’s second wife and the , bringing together their immense talents to create a spiritual jazz album quite unlike anything else. Remastered with contemporary technology and techniques, and reissued with an Obi-strip ‘Reawakening’ is a record you absolutely must not miss!