Jazz | Fusion 268 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

With his 2012 album Black Radio, Robert Glasper laid out a new paradigm for creative music, reaching beyond entrenched genre boundaries to create a singular vision that drew from all reaches of contemporary black music with his Experiment band and a rollcall of special guests including Erykah Badu, yasiin bey, Lupe Fiasco, Bilal, Lalah Hathaway, Meshell Ndegeocello and others. The 10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition includes the original album plus 3 bonus tracks and the remix EP Black Radio Recovered.

limited 180 gram pressing

2 undeniable classics on one handy donut!

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.

Prelude to Heart is a Lotus is a 1968 BBC Jazz in Britain recording now released for the first time. Pianist and composer Michael Garrick was 35 years old and together with close associates - saxophonist Don Rendell and trumpeter Ian Carr - was defining innovative new directions in British jazz. Prelude to Heart is a Lotus is the precursor to the Argo Records Heart is a Lotus studio album which was released two years later, and this remarkable music shines a new light on an extraordinary period of creativity in Garrick’s long career.

Limited edition tape!

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.

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.

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

Now specially edited for the first time for discerning Northern, Modern and Jazz dancefloors on THE only format that matters for DJs and collectors alike, grab your copy now with an exclusive edit of Gregory’s signature song “1960 What?”

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.

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.

Club sounds meet jazz trumpet. Originally released in 2013 and now an expensive rarity on vinyl, this acclaimed cooperation of trumpet player Nils Petter Molvaer and electronic music wizard Moritz von Oswald is back as a remastered red/white 2-lp edition. It is said that one plus one equals two, but sometimes the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. This is the case with this album full of cinematically celestial and then again dense and powerful soundscapes.



2-lp, 2 x 180g red & white vinyl, Optimal pressing, printed inner sleeves.

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.

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.

Dark and melodic composition by acclaimed Jóhann Jóhannsson (Prisoners)!

Another great comp on the Late Night Tales imprint feat. Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Koushik, Gravediggaz, Madvillain, Fairport Convention!

More great music from the RGE plus another jaw-dropping roll call of vocalists including Common, Patrick Stump, Brandy, Jill Scott, Dwele, Marsha Ambrosius, Anthony Hamilton, Faith Evans, Norah Jones, Snoop Dogg, Lupe Fiasco, Luke James, Emeli Sandé, Lalah Hathaway, and Malcolm-Jamal Warner (Yes! Theo from the Cosby Family!).

Re-recordings of Artemiev's soundtracks to the classic 1970s Tarkovsky film. Recorded in Moscow 1989-90.