Jazz | Fusion 129 Items

180gram vinyl

Long awaited re-issue of The Necks 2011 masterpiece. Always different, here the Necks resolutely layer polyrhythmic material to form seething blocks of sound - in two long pieces, one more stripped back to the live trio, the other featuring multiple strata of swirling Hammonds, noise-guitar and electronics. Their 16th release still resonates on its own.

"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."

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.

Yeah, this is the 1st real album by Matthew Tavares (Keys), Chester Hansen (Bass) & Alex Sowinski (Drums).

Record Store Day 2021 Release. Extensive booklet with rare fotos / first re-pressing after the 2014 release / Limited 180g Gatefold Vinyl, new remastered

Horizontal Structures is palpably a more open, more expressive album than the previous studio recording, Vertical Ascent. There is more contrast, more light and shade. St Hilaire and Muellbauer add fresh drama and swing to the intimate tonal and rhythmic interactions of the core grouping.

Indigos is a seminal Jazz album by big band superstar Duke Ellington, originally released in 1958. Ellington chose a set of easy listening ballads to be performed by his ace Big Band, putting less emphasis on the uptempo and danceable Swing the group was revered for. A timeless classic!

180g vinyl.

With a crunching sound that is as teeth-chatteringly heavy as metal icons like Slayer and Megadeth or ferocious grindcore groups like Napalm Death and Brutal Truth, yet is imbued with the freedom principle of such avant garde jazz icons as saxophonists Marshall Allen, Albert Ayler and Peter Brotzman, the formidable instrumental power trio from Scotland known as Free Nelson Mandoom Jazz debuts on the London-based RareNoise label with a provocative double EP that will confound jazz critics as it challenges the thrashmetalgrindcore community.

Jointly named for the late South African freedom fighter Nelson Mandela and the genre of fuzz-bass-inflected heavy-duty improvisation dubbed oomjazz', this renegade trio of bassist Colin Stewart, drummer Paul Archibald and alto saxophonist Rebecca Sneddon rattles the very grey matter of your brain on their imposing Shape of Doomjazz to Come/Saxophone Giganticus.

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.

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 edition tape!

2LP, 180 Gram Audiophile Vinyl, Numbered Limited-Edition

Limited Edition. 180 gram vinyl reissue.

180g vinyl / limited pressing of 500!

Leo Kottke, Bob James, James Last, Map Of Africa, Massive Attack, Outkast & others are featured. Another tasty selection!

Tropical rhythms from Latin America and the Caribbean. Meridian Brothers are back with a new studio album, the bizarre and wonderful ‘Salvadora Robot’. Heading deeper into the tropical rhythms of Latin America and the Caribbean each song on the album focuses on a different style and playfully twists it into Meridian Brothers’s surreal landscape.

Earlier this year, Micha Acher and his band The Notwist returned with their latest full-length “Close To The Glass” and received rave reviews around the globe. Yet, it’s not the only album he’s going to release this year, since Acher’s about to introduce his latest musical entity – the Alien Ensemble. It’s an all-acoustic line-up, devoid of electronic enhancements. And even though all members have a background in jazz, this is no classic “jazz music” either – there’s simply no need to show off technical skills… Since you’ll hear anything from Minimal Music to Krautrock influences, from delicate brass sections to the sound of New Orleans, it’s pretty much impossible to pigeonhole Alien Ensemble’s sound or slap a genre term on it.

Strut presents a limited transparent vinyl pressing of the seminal album by one of the all-time legends of Nigerian music, the late, great Orlando Julius, in a mouth-watering collaboration with London super-group The Heliocentrics, originally released in 2014.

Soul Safari's "Township Jive & Kwela Jazz 1940-1960" celebrates the 3rd year of the Soul Safari blog with this great compilation of South African Jive & Kwela 78's .

2014 anthology of classics & rarities curated by longest serving member & current Arkestra leader, Marshall Allen. Newly mastered from the original tapes.

US reissue from 2014. Still in shrink, but opened, with hype sticker. Vinyl closer to NM

US reissue from 2014. Vinyl closer to NM

US reissue from 2014 on 180gr vinyl. Still in shrink, but opened, with hype sticker

Vinyl with a couple of light scuffs. Still in shrink, but opened, with hype sticker

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.

Afro Latin Vintage Orchestra’s (ALVO) new album Pulsion delves deeper into spiritual jazz, library and film music. The result is a heavier, more progressive and darker sound albeit
with their signature funk and groove remaining intact as the foundation.

180g 1LP Gatefold Sleeve

Florian Pellissier, keyboard player of Guts' live band, comes around with a stunning sophomore album via Heavenly Sweetness, including cover versions of Jef Gilson & Wayne Shorter tracks.

Includes four bonus tracks.

Cover with very small beginning of seam split on top spine