Jazz | Fusion 274 Items

Established in 2013 by Valentina Magaletti and Tom Relleen, the duo operated until 2020 as a creative laboratory for the London-based musicians to explore beyond their traditional musical endeavours. They sought to deconstruct their usual sonic frameworks, venturing into a novel and unfamiliar auditory landscape. Their work seamlessly integrated various forms of multi-instrumentalism, traversing the realms of industrial, jazz, psychedelia and minimalism.

'The band's self-released cassette debut, 'Sleepy Jazz for Tired Cats' presents an unconstrained, complex and abstract introduction to their distinctive and darkly thought-provoking sound. In contrast, Tomaga’s seminal album, 'Futura Grotesk', further elevates their sonic explorations, leading to compositions that are more elusive and profoundly evocative, resembling the surreal and unsettling language of dreams and other subconscious wanderings transposed into a unique musical expression.

Established in 2013 by Valentina Magaletti and Tom Relleen, the duo operated until 2020 as a creative laboratory for the London-based musicians to explore beyond their traditional musical endeavours. They sought to deconstruct their usual sonic frameworks, venturing into a novel and unfamiliar auditory landscape. Their work seamlessly integrated various forms of multi-instrumentalism, traversing the realms of industrial, jazz, psychedelia and minimalism.

In celebration of the 10th anniversary of Tomaga's debut album, 'Futura Grotesk', Hands in the Dark are re-releasing the long sold out record in a limited edition of 500 copies. The reissue will be accompanied by the first-ever vinyl pressing of the band's inaugural EP, 'Sleepy Jazz for Tired Cats', featuring new artwork and 300 units available.

Why you'll love it...
Monk was dealing with a bevy of health problems at the time, so it’s perhaps understandable that the show in Paris was like a capstone or Greatest Hits. But thanks to Monk’s indelible ability to make everything emotional and poignant, his ace band and a bonus appearance from Philly Joe Jones, the set has an enchanting electricity. It captured Monk swinging through his greatest works and adding flourishes that sent the crowd into multiple tizzies. Listen as he takes on his standards and remakes them for their moment.

Opportunity: In April 2013 the pre-eminent free-jazz saxophone player of our times, Ivo Perelman, comes down to the Stone, John Zorn's experimental music club on Manhattan's Lower East Side, to hear the drummer play with Slobber Pup, a thunderously intense band featuring Morris on distortion-laced guitar, Trevor Dunn on electric bass and Jamie Saft on keyboards.

Released in 2014, Humbert Humbert's 8th original album "Mukashi Boku wa Mijime Datta" is being made into an LP! The album includes the title track "Boku no Ohisama", which serves as the theme song for the Cannes Film Festival Un Certain Regard entry "Boku no Ohisama". It also features self-covers of songs provided to NHK E-Tele's children's program, such as "Honmatsu Tentoumushi" and "Pont Neuf no Tamago", as well as covers of masterpieces left by the little-known music producer Noboru Abe, including "Nani mo Kangaenai" and "Oi Oi". Sound produced by Tim O'Brien and recorded in Nashville, this album is a must-have for fans, boasting different artwork from the CD version. This release is a limited edition, so don't miss out!

"Before he developed into a star composer and arranger, Tom Scott was an ambitious 19 year-old saxophonist looking for his big break in 1967. The opportunity came when legendary jazz label Impulse paired Scott with 9-piece vocal group The California Dreamers and allowed the young musician to take the helm as a band leader, with The Honeysuckle Breeze as the spectacular result. Out of print on vinyl since last reissued in 2018, the album features Scott leading a stellar lineup of sessions players-Bill Plummer (sitar), Glen Campbell (guitar) and Carol Kaye (bass) among them- through warm, smooth versions of songs by The Beatles (She’s Leaving Home), Donovan (Mellow Yellow), Joan Baez (North) and Jefferson Airplane (Today), which many will recognize from its sampling in the Pete Rock & CL Smooth classic T.R.O.Y."

Dominik Blum: Hammond C3 OrganMarino Pliakas: EbassLucas Niggli: DrumsThe swiss Trio, energetic and innovative border crossers between Hardcore and Avantgarde, plays compositions of Michael Wertmüller (drummer of Peter Brötzmann's FULL BLAST outfit) - breath-taking, radical, exact.The ,Hammond Avantcore Trio" Steamboat Switzerland is a damn wild and absolutely virtuos project. They played many different festivals - from ,Donaueschinger Musiktage" and ,Moers" to the Londoner ,Meltdown Festival". The group combines elements from rock, metal and contemporary scores. The sounds exchange between ,Dark Power Ambient" and ,Boulez On The Rock"(Eckhart Liess)Recorded live at Powerplay Studios (Mauer/CH) by Andy Neresheimer in September 2012. Mixed by Gareth Jones (London) January 2013. Mastered by Martin Siewert (Wien) February 2013.Produced by Peter BürliArtwork by Lutz & Guggisberg.

When The World Was One is something of a companion piece to Matthew Halsall"s 2012 album Fletcher Moss Park (much of the music was written at the same time) but draws more explicitly on Halsall"s love of spiritual jazz and Eastern music as well as his own studies in meditation and travels in Japan. Beautifully recorded at Hasall"s favourite studio, 80 Hertz in Manchester, and engineered by Brendan Williams and George Atkins it features the recording debut of Halsall"s large ensemble, The Gondwana Orchestra, which utilises the exotic flavours of harp, koto and bansuri flute and Eastern scales to create a global palate for Halsall"s life-affirming sounds.

Jorge Ben is a name that any lover of Brazilian music will be very familiar with. He is widely regarded as the James Brown of Brazilian music and is famed for writing the Brazilian anthem ‘Mas Que Nada'. For the duet ‘Carolina, Carol Bela' he teamed up with the singer and guitarist Toquinho. Toquinho is best known for his collaborations, as composer and performer, with bossa nova poet Vinicius de Moraes.

'Carolina, Carol Bela' featured on the album Toquinho by Toquinho. It was originally released in 1970 on the small independent Brazilian label, RGE. The song was sampled by DJ Marky and XRS for their Drum & Bass track ‘lk’ (V Recordings, 2002). This went on to be a huge chart hit across the world, and a number one hit in the UK.

João Donato is a Brazilian jazz and bossa nova pianist. He has collaborated with many of the greats of Brazilian Music, including Tom Jobim, Astrud Gilberto and Gilberto Gil. He was one of the few Brazilian artists who went over to perform in the States during the bossa nova boom of the late 60’s. The song ‘A Rã’ was originally released on his seminal album Quem é quem, (emi, 1973), an album that is full of great tracks and was considered as one of the 100 best albums of all time by the Rolling Stone magazine.

180g vinyl / limited pressing of 500!

"Shadow Theater" is the fifth album by armenian pianist and composer Tigran Hamasyan and his second release on Verve released in 2013.

In reference to an ancestral art of his country, Hamasyan plunges the listener into an imaginary, dreamlike world that owes as much to Tim Burton as to the tradition of shadow theatre. The album is packed with dozens of figurines that inhabit the pianist's head, from the labyrinthine metal of Meshuggah to the jazz fusion of Chick Corea, from Madlib to Sigur Rós and Steve Reich. Hamasyan explores both electronic and sonic avenues, proving himself to be a dazzling songwriter as well as a singer with a fragile timbre.



This 140-gram vinyl is the first international vinyl reissue, pressed at Pallas, and is presented in a gatefold jacket.

Unfortunaley the last batch of these arrived with ceased corners and therefore we sell it a bit cheaper.

First Word Records is incredibly proud to bring you an exclusive vinyl-only re-issue of Takuya Kuroda's highly-sought after album 'Rising Son'.

'Rising Son' was first released on the seminal Blue Note Records imprint 10 years ago in 2014, with Takuya being the first Japanese artist to sign to the label. The record received widespread critical acclaim, hitting No.1 on Japan's jazz charts at the time, with original copies now fetching hundreds of pounds on Discogs and the like. There has long been high demand for a re-press of this album, and we're very pleased to say it's finally here, a decade on.

The re-issue is to be released via London-based Worldwide Award-winning label First Word Records, who coincidentally celebrate their 20th year running in 2024. First Word released Takuya's highly-revered previous two albums, 'Fly Moon Die Soon' (2020) and 'Midnight Crisp' (2022).

For those that don't know, Takuya Kuroda is a Kobe-born, Brooklyn-based trumpeter and musician, who was also a longtime player for Akoya Afrobeat as well as DJ Premier's Badder band. Initially playing on the Japanese circuit with his trombonist brother, Takuya went on to relocate to New York City, where he has largely remained to this day, becoming a prominent player in the jazz scene there.

The original album featured several Roy Ayers covers, including the all-time classic 'Everybody Loves The Sunshine', and this 2024 pressing also includes a brand new remix of the track from keys player & producer, Joe Armon-Jones. Joe is hugely-acclaimed in his own right as a solo artist, as well as his recent collaborations with Mala (who has a track named after him on this very project, as Takuya was influenced heavily by his 2012 Brownswood album 'Mala in Cuba'), and as an integral member of the legendary Ezra Collective, winners of the 2023 Mercury Music Prize in the UK.

Flitting between the genres of jazz fusion, soul, r&b, hip hop and afrobeat, the album was predominantly produced by a previous Takuya collaborator, vocalist José James, while also featuring phenomenal accompaniment from Nate Smith (drums), Solomon Dorsey (bass), Corey King (trombone) and Kris Bowers (keys).

In the words of José James, "no one sounds like Takuya. His tone, warmth and most of all his storytelling have inspired me for years. His writing is soulful, modern, and effortlessly bridges the gap between jazz and soul, and between history and tomorrow."

Previous reviews and accolades for Takuya's third album 'Rising Son' include AllMusic's Best of 2014, NPR Music, Jazz Weekly, Leo Weekly, All About Jazz, Icon, Relix, Pop Matters, Jay Z's Life + Times, Wbgo, Upscale, The Revivalist, East Bay Express and The Jazz Line, to name just a few.