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The second album of Sault follows their debut "5" which came out just three months prior to this one. Heads all over the world were still in awe of "5", when all of a sudden "7" dropped. Now, by the end of 2020, they are four critically acclaimed albums deep into buiding their own legacy.

21 tracks from Reggie Miller, Bar-Kays, Rufus Thomas, Emotions, Albert King, ...

CD sized hardback book with 32 pages and glued-in wallet for CD on inside back page

This is the limited Digisleeve edition that contains 13 tracks.

Japanese pressing with obi.

Copy without OBI! Original Japanese pressing.

Original Japanese pressing.

For his eighth album, Lucas Santtana returns to guitar-voice simplicity, in the spirit of his tropicalist peers (Gilberto Gil, Tom Zé or Caetano Veloso). At a time when everyone shouts very loudly, when no one wants to listen to the other, he decides to whisper in people's ears. He looks for the points of intersection between the intimate and the political and social situation, very degraded in Brazil since the election of the populist president of the extreme right Jair Bolsonaro. Surrounded by a young creative guard(Jaloo, Linn da Quebrada, DUDA BEAT)and Juçara Marçal (Meta Meta), he offers a peaceful album in the face of the profound disruptions of retrograde societies and ideas. He thus delivers a free, airy, poetic record, because "even if the times are obscure, they will pass, because everything is cyclical. Hence the name of the disc: "the sky has been old for a long time".

Unreleased recording form 1964!

The album captures all of the visceral power of the band's increasingly legendary live performances. Shades of classic
Soul and Psychedelic Funk blend uniquely with modern-day flavours on a record destined to set the soul agenda for
2019 and far beyond. “I've never been as proud of anything in my entire career” says Hannah.

All compositions by Albert Beger
Recorded on May 31st and June 1st, 2017 at Alt Studio, Afula, Israel
Recorded and mixed by Yoram Lev and Itay Alter
Mastered by Arūnas Zujus at MAMAstudios
Cover art by Anat Beger
Back cover photo by Itay Alter
Design by Oskaras Anosovas

Noah Howard was born in 1943 in New Orleans and, like many of his contemporaries, first played music in church as a child. In his 2010 book, 'Music in My Soul', Howard reflected upon his childhood in New Orleans and the influence the city had on him: “Growing up in New Orleans was like receiving a steady diet of music, and my taste in music became increasingly more sophisticated. In the neighborhood where I grew up kids around me were listening to Rhythm and Blues and Jazz; Rock came only much later. One of the great moments of my life was when I was around 13 years old and heard Duke Ellington with Paul Gonsalves playing a twenty-some minutes chorus solo on tenor sax at Newport. We had never heard anything like this before; a saxophone player doing so many choruses, this was years before Coltrane opened up. That experience meant there was no turning back; my ears were open and my desire was burning for music.”
He first learned to play the trumpet before moving on to alto, tenor and soprano saxophone. And his musical journey initially took him to Los Angeles where he worked with Dewey Johnson and then later moved to New York to join the Sun Ra Arkestra. Like most forward thinking saxophonists of the time, Howard was influenced by the evolving expressionism of John Coltrane and Albert Ayler and it wasn't long before he became a key member of the mid-60s free jazz movement, a stepping stone to his elevation into one of the world’s most notable saxophonists.
Howard's debut LP as leader, 'Noah Howard Quartet' was recorded in 1965, and the follow up, 'Noah Howard at Judson Hall', in 1966 but not issued until 1968, both for the groundbreaking ESP Records label (incidentally, both albums featured British trumpeter Ric Colbeck). However, Howard's view of ESP was not positive, calling it “ a monster of deception... I am aware of ESP's adventures...they continue to make money off the artists and they refuse to pay any royalties.”

Like many of the black jazz musicians of the 60s, Howard left the USA and settled in Europe (making the permanent move to Paris in 1972). In an interview in 2005, Howard explained his move: “When I first came to Europe it was 1969 and I came to play in a big festival and after that we had a lot of concerts, recalls Howard. "Then we left and we came back to the States, I was based in New York at that time. About six months later, we had some more concerts, we came back and this went on for years, going back and forth and back and forth and back and forth... I decided that instead of going back and forth all the time, it was more advantageous for me to stay over here and live and work.”
It was in Paris that Howard took part in sessions for the Frank Wright albums 'One For John', cut for the leading French free jazz label BYG Actuel and another Wight session, 'Uhuru Na Umoja', for the America label. Another album on America that featured Howard was Archie Shepp's 'Black Gipsy'. This session also featured , among others, Sunny Murray on drums and Clifford Thornton on trumpet.
America Records was to be home to Howard's third album, 'Space Dimension'. On this album, Frank Wright was reunited with Howard once more, and Wright also composed one track, 'Church Number Nine' (Wright would also do his own version as the title track on his 1970 album, initially only released in Japan. That album would also feature Howard.) 'Space Dimension' also features bop drummer Art Taylor on three tracks, with Muhammed Ali (brother of Rashid), on one. They're joined by alongside pianist Bobby Few, longtime member of Frank Wright's group and an alumnus of Archie Shepp's band.
'Space Dimension' has never seen an official reissue since its original release in 1970 and remains, among a few aficionados, one of the most in demand - and little known - albums in Howard's discography. The blend of free improvisation with a tough rhythmic foundation make for an edifying listening experience. The spectral disjointed afro-blues of the title track, with Howard's soaring, searing horn, introduces an exceptional album of weight and significance, a real statement piece. 'Viva Black' starts as a lush groove, rich with texture and tone. Bobby Few's piano is sparse and disciplined, allowing space for the interweaving angles of the horns and drums to cross and jostle and build in intensity, with Muhammad Ali's drum solo acting as a cathartic release.
'Song for Poets' is blistering in its attack, an intense assault from the whole group – urgent and imperative, a call to action that seemed to resonate with the tumult of the late 60s and early 70s and, perhaps, still resonates now. The album closes with the extended piece 'Blues for Thelma'. It starts like a sort of angular, shattered New Orleans first line march band; Howard visceral horn and Few's piano joust and punch like fighters in a ring; Ali's drums hammer a solid undertow of power and energy, relentless in its fire.
All in all, 'Space Dimension' announced Howard's arrival into a new decade, a decade that was to see not just jazz but music and wider society undergo profound change.
Howard's third record was the widely acclaimed 'Black Ark', which featured Arthur Doyle on his first recording. 'Black Ark' soon became a landmark free jazz recording and elevated Howard into the first division of globally renowned free jazz players.

He spent much of the next decade or so exploring new ideas and places to work, including Europe and Africa, moving to Nairobi in 1982 and finally Brussels, where he had a studio and ran a jazz club.
In his autobiography, Howard described going to Africa: “It was a Sunday morning with bright blue skies and I reached down and grabbed a handful of earth, holding it in my hands. It was red earth. As the first of my family to make this voyage back to my community, I was filled with emotion and started to cry – thinking about all those before me who didn’t survive the middle passage and slave trade. I thanked the few strong survivors of which I’m a descendant and was grateful to be a live and to make it back to Africa in my lifetime. The feeling of coming back home, after generations had gone through abuse and suffering, was upon me. I would put some of this into music later on when recording with James Emmanuel, the poet on 'Middle Passage'”
He recorded steadily through the 1970s and 1980s, mostly with his own label AltSax and continued to expand his repertoire, exploring a range of sounds from ethno-funk to world music in his latter decade. He returned to his free jazz roots in the 90s, mixing the myriad of influences and styles he had encountered throughout his journey.
Noah Howard recorded 35 albums, and their styles reflect the ceaseless musical searcher he was: blues, free jazz, world music. He covered it all.
Noah Howard died on September 3rd, 2010 while on holiday in the South of France. He died a day before finishing the first draft of his autobiography.

In the 1950s and 60s, the Cincinnati recording scene was dominated by Syd Nathan’s King label, whose R&B catalogue made it a major player among post-war independents. In its shadow was Fraternity, a smaller concern launched by Harry Carlson in 1954.

The well-respected Carlson set about building an artist roster which reflected his conservative musical taste, scoring smash hits by Cathy Carr and Jimmy Dorsey a couple of years later which established the label as an indie to be reckoned with.

Here, though, we spotlight decidedly non-MOR Fraternity recordings by influential guitar hero Lonnie Mack, soulful girl group the Charmaines, bluesy singer-guitarist Albert Washington, and female duo the 2 Of Clubs.

For those with appetites whetted by this old-fangled 7-inch vinyl sampler, further Fraternity recordings by each of these artists can be found elsewhere in the Ace Records catalogue. For now, though, here’s your chance to enjoy four fine examples of the sound of mid-60s Cincinnati.

* Record Store Day Europe / UK 2019 Exclusive Release!
* Originally released on Westbound Records in 1973
* Pressed on 180gm vinyl
* Limited to 1,000 copies

By the time singer-songwriter Albert Washington went to record the tracks that would be released on his career-defining LP, Sad and Lonely, in 1973, he was already a veteran on the recording scene. He had singles recorded on a dozen labels, in styles ranging from gospel to blues and soul. Washington (born in Georgia, 1939) made his own guitar out of a gasoline can using rubber bands as strings at the age of seven. After the family moved to Cincinnati, Albert started going to clubs in the area where he was exposed to artists from the likes of B.B. King and Sam Cooke who would inspire him to become a performer. By the mid 1960’s, Washington had started his recording career, cutting several singles for various labels. His 1964 recordings for the VLM label, including the song he wrote called ‘Haven't Got a Friend’, got him noticed in England, and this in turn led to a deal with Fraternity Records in 1966. Lonnie Mack later joined Washington on several singles for Fraternity recorded in 1969. In 1970, he released two singles on the Jewel label before finally recording his first LP (Sad and Lonely) for the Detroit-based label ‘Eastbound Records’ in 1973. Recorded with the Memphis Horns, the tracks on Sad and Lonely are prime southern gospel-infected soul, funk and raw Albert King style blues…bearing the heavy influence of both James Brown’s funk and Otis Redding’s Memphis soul. Albert’s music is full of lament, urban hustle and lost love, the precise guitar strokes alongside Washington's soaring vocals create the mood for the blues to invade the funk parts. The female backup singers’ harmonies are the cherry on top and the album is a funky emotional onslaught with relentless dance grooves from start to end. The outpour of talent featured here on ‘Sad and Lonely’ was carefully produced by Bernie Mendelson (Donald Austin, Melvin Sparks, Ceasar Frazier), engineered by Ronnie Capone (Stax) and then mastered by the legendary Howard Craft. Because of complications from diabetes (Washington lost his sight and went completely blind) he had to put his musical career on and off hiatus…but despite the crippling effects and the tragedies that befell him over the course of his life, Albert remained an upbeat, positive figure. Washington continued to perform in blues clubs around Long Island prior to dying of complications from diabetes on October 23, 1998. ‘Sad and Lonely’ was originally released on Eastbound (whose parent label Westbound had hitmakers such as Funkadelic & the Ohio Players on its roster in 1973). This rare album has now attained a cult status and fetches hefty sums on the collectors-market. Now it’s finally back available as a limited deluxe 180g vinyl edition (1000 copies) featuring the original artwork. Released exclusively for Record Store Day (UK & Europe) 2019, available in participating stores on April 13.

Forthcoming on Telephone Explosion. Bob Bell _Necropolis_. Canadian private press mega-rarity/ obscurity from the artistically schizophrenic Bob Bell. Recorded in 1978, Bell splits the difference between his love of basement psych splatter/pummel and squalling free jazz ramble, the former occupying side A with a stunning four part suite of wasted guitar scuzz and churning Krautrock-like drama with an akin to German Oak, Roland Kirk, Albert Ayler, DNA, Melt Banana (minus the vocals) and Guru Guru. The latter represents Bell as a saxophonist on side B, and the music itself translates into a 15-minute free-jazz exploration.

Mosaic is a heavy new three tracker from a band whose reputation exploded this spring with the release of debut album Murmuration. Lead track Mosaic is full of the warmth of this heatwave-summer, syncopation and groove in abundance. Driving melodic lines and keyboard atmospherics suddenly give way to one of James O'Keefe's most powerful guitar solos to date, wild and psychedelic. Transcoso brings the band to the downtempo magic that they have become much loved for. Heavily inspired by Azimuth, an hypnotic beat from drummer Jonny Drop eventually builds to a euphoric, almost slow disco climax for the final section. Maripose is a timely tribute. Debuted at their London album launch this take on the Freeez classic (although the live version in particular) explored a little more of the South London, Brit Funk influences that really drive the band.

Cover with cut corner

The virtuoso trombonist Albert Mangelsdorff was one of the prominent figures of European Jazz of the 60s – 70s. Eastern influences with a perfect blend of Western culture characterized this album recorded in Frank- furt after the groups Asian tour. “Now Jazz Ramwong” sees the group in its best shape: alto saxophonist Gunther Kronberg, tenor saxophonist Heinz Sauer, bassist Gunter Lenz and drummer Ralf Hubner. A really mind-blowing mix of jazz, folk and Eastern sounds. The album contains “Three Jazz Moods”, a jazz adaptation of Ravi Shankar’s music.

It's impossible to talk about this album without acknowledging the spectre of death that hangs over it - not only is it the third entry in Strata-East Records' Dolphy Series, a collection of archival recordings from some of the label's close associates honoring the recently deceased multi-instrumentalist, but it is actually dedicated to two members of the band, Wynton Kelly and Kenny Dorham, who died in between the recording sessions and its release. The point is driven home even further by the fact that the album begins with a tribute from Payne to the fallen Martin Luther King, Jr., a piece that acts as a de facto solo for Dorham - his playing all rosy elegance and regal warmth - before shifting into the lighter (though equally coolly-paced) "I Know Love," a showcase for Payne's sax. While not the most somber jazz track ever recorded, this opening suite is a low-key and mournful way to open the affair, but thankfully the album really picks off and shows these musicians more in their element the rest of the way.

"Girl, You Got a Home" is a funky piece, beginning very soulfully with some tight interplay among the rhythm section of Kelly, bassist Wilbur Ware and drummer Albert Heath. Ware is in especially fine form on this track, tying together the disparate passages of the piece by grounding the more ponderous moments in a deep funk, while Kelly's playing is especially ear catching in the way he stabs at his piano like it's an organ. After the first two tracks take up nearly twenty minutes, the four-minute "Slide Hampton" feels almost impossibly brief, a feeling that's enhanced by its quick, jittery, and infectious rhythm, driven by some really dexterous work from Kelly. The final track, "Flying Fish," may be the album's highlight, a Caribbean-inspired composition that casts the rhythm section as flighty ground for both Payne and Dorham to vamp on. The track is oddly danceable for something released on Strata-East, maybe the most fun moment ever for the label, and relentlessly uptempo. Though this release may be in part defined by the deaths that preceded it, it's clear that the recording process was actually a lot of fun for everybody, as their enthusiasm and energy jumps right out of the speakers. This is one of the first Strata East records I really got into and is still one of my favorites, a must-hear for any fans of the flightier moments of Dorham or Kelly's career, and a fitting tribute for both master musicians.