Jazz | Fusion 362 Items

Highly Rare is a new mixtape produced and arranged by Makaya McCraven, featuring Junius Paul (bass), Nick Mazzarella (alto saxophone), and Ben Lamar Gay (cornet, diddley bow, voice). Recorded live to Tascam 424MKIII cassette four-track at the legendary Danny's Tavern in Chicago, Illinois.

Following 2016’s definitive collection of singles released by Sun Ra from across his illustrious career, Strut present the second volume of the vinyl edition on 3LP format which focus on Ra’s later 1962-1991 period.
Released sporadically during the three decades and primarily on the Saturn label, the 45s offer one-off missives from Ra’s prolific cosmic journey, tracing the development of his forward-thinking “Space-Bop” and his unique take on jazz and blues traditions which remains unlike anything else from the period. As with the first volume vinyl editions, the collection is hugely varied, ranging from Ra’s spoken word recitations and some of his R&B recordings to alternative versions of Arkestra staples like ‘Love In Outer Space’, ‘Enlightenment’ and ‘Rocket No. 9’. The singles are also unpredictable vehicles for Ra’s music, combining different tracks from different sessions and occasionally making available music which was recorded many years beforehand.
As Francis Gooding describes them, “they are answers to questions that albums won’t answer, and questions that can’t be asked or answered elsewhere.”
As with Ra’s LPs, most 45s were only pressed in small runs and have since become extremely rare and sought after. On the volume 2 vinyl editions, we feature tracks that have only ever been seen via a small handful of copies including ‘Love In Outer Space’ b/w ‘Mayan Temple’ and ‘The Blue One’ b/w ‘Orbitration In Blue’; some were planned and pencilled but allegedly never made it to vinyl and some appeared as limited one-off magazine singles including Ra’s very last single release, the reflective ‘I Am The Instrument’.
Sleeve note writers Chris Trent and Paul Griffiths brilliantly illustrate the role of the single within Ra’s career and break down each release with detailed track by track notes. Working with Sun Ra LLC and Sun Ra archivist Michael D. Anderson, Strut has also assembled the best possible master sources for each track.
‘Singles’ Vol. 2 features fully remastered tracks, rare photos, original 45 artwork,
Chris Trent sleeve notes and detailed track by track and session notes by Paul Griffiths.

Unique Direct-To-Disc Recordings

Copy close to NM

Why you'll love it...
Baltimore, an album originally made for the jazz label CTI, is a deep cut in Nina Simone's catalog. It's truly a lost sound found and we're proud to feature it here in celebration of her 90th birthday.

Limited to 2000 copies, the VMP exclusive version of Nina Simone's Baltimore is pressed on (AAA) 180g Red Marble vinyl at GZ Vinyl. The 1LP will arrive in a gatefold, tip-on, foil-stamped and numbered jacket. The (AAA) lacquers were cut from tapes by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound.

Collected is a definitive journey through the vast work of Morricone, stopping by landmark spaghetti westerns like A Fistful Of Dollars, For A Few Dollars More, The Good The Bad & The Ugly, Once Upon A Time In America and most recently, Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained.

180g audiophile vinyl in gatefold sleeve.

Now reissued on Verve Records.

Miles Mosley is a vocalist, upright bassist, guitarist, pianist, composer and arranger from Hollywood, California. He was named after Miles Davis. A founding member of the acclaimed collective, The West Coast Get Down, Mosley has released albums containing his own solo work, in addition to recording and touring with artists including Jonathan Davis (Korn), Miss Lauryn Hill (as her Musical Director and bassist), Harvey Mason, Kendrick Lamar, India Arie, Chris Cornell, Mos Def, Common and Andra Day. Now he releases his new album in cooperation with Alpha Pup Records. The genre-defying and otherworldly core six-piece band consists of the best musicians taking over the scene today-including saxophonist Kamasi Washington, trombonist Ryan Porter, keyboardist Brandon Coleman, pianist Cameron Graves, and drummer Tony Austin. On “Uprising” they are joined by trumpeter Dontae Winslow and the late saxophonist Zane Musa along with a full orchestra and choir. The members all hail from Los Angeles as a family of musicians that Mosley helped bring together during their formative years, and have imprinted their stamp on the world unlike any other musical collective in recent times. Mosley combines his deep love of songwriting with his innovative, mind-bending, effects-laced upright bass.

Blue Opaque vinyl

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.

Limited edition for Black Friday RSD 2014!

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!

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. 2017 release. For his follow-up to 2016's purely improvised studio recording Strength & Power (a cooperative quartet album featuring pianist Jamie Saft, bassist Trevor Dunn and drummer Balazs Pandi), the ever-adventurous trombonist-composer Roswell Rudd made a decided shift in direction on his first RareNoise Records release as a leader by embracing jazz standards he has loved and played throughout his long and illustrious career. Accompanied by the brilliant pianist Lafayette Harris, upright bass virtuoso Ken Filiano and soulful vocal sensation Fay Victor, the 81-year-old jazz master delivers with rare potency and poignancy on the aptly-titled Embrace. This intimate, drum-less quartet session is brimming with conversational playing between all the participants, with Rudd and Victor partaking in some particularly interactive exchanges on jazz classics like Billy Strayhorn's "Something to Live For," Charles Mingus' "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat," Thelonious Monk's beautiful ballad "Pannonica," the standard "Can't We Be Friends" and the traditional "House of the Rising Sun."

Afrobeat legend Tony Allen will release “The Source”, the Nigerian-born Paris-based drummer's debut full-length album for Blue Note Records, following the tantalizing 4-track EP release “A Tribute to Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers”.

“The Source” is the next step in Allen’s musical and spiritual voyage, and a further exploration of his early jazz influences. To share writing tasks and take care of the arrangements, he called on saxophonist Yann Jankielewicz, with whom he has worked since 2009 and the album Secret Agent. They began by getting together to listen to and exchange their favorite jazz records: Lester Bowie, Charles Mingus, Art Blakey, Gil Evans… albums that served as a compass to guide them on their way.

“Tony has never played drums as well as this,” says Jankielewicz. “He's never had as much freedom, never had as much power as he does today.”

Surrounding Allen are some of the best musicians on a Paris scene that is difficult to call “jazz” due to its highly changeable nature: Jankielewicz alongside saxophonists Rémi Sciuto and Jean-Jacques Elangue, trumpeter Nicolas Giraud, trombonist Daniel Zimmermann, bassist Mathias Allamane, pianist Jean-Philippe Dary, and keyboardist Vincent Taurelle, who produced the album with Bertrand Fresel… a French cast to begin with, but with the addition of guitarist Indy Dibongue from Cameroon who, like Allen, contributes an indispensable African sound to this palette. 11 excellent players in total would finally deliver The Source, including one notable guest: Damon Albarn, who adds an ethereal piano part to “Cool Cats.”

The album sparkles in the variety of its timbres and the diversity of its colors. Each of the 11 instrumental tracks—all new originals co-written by Allen and Jankielewicz—bring forward a particular instrument: Giraud's trumpet on “Bad Roads”; the bass of Allamane on “Crusin’”; Dary's piano inside “On Fire,” and Sciuto's bari sax on “Woro Dance.” With “Cool Cats,” it's the turn of Elangue and his tenor, while Zimmerman's trombone is featured on “Wolf Eats Wolf.” And throughout, Tony’s indelible signature, a unique way of hitting skins or a cymbal, its main characteristics a caressing, almost ethereal energy, and a formidable efficiency.