Jazz / Soul / Funk

"We're very happy to release Johannes Rød’s amazing new book Free Jazz and Improvisation on LP and CD 1965-2024. This is the complete guide to avant-garde/experimental/contemporary. Jazz/spiritual. Jazz/improvisation/modern composition. Electronic/abstract/noise. And a guide to 185 label. A monument of discographic research spanning six decades of freeform music. "

Future Development is Del the Funky Homosapien’s third album and, following his departure from major label Elektra, it was his first album on his independent label, Hieroglyphics Imperium Recordings. Originally released on cassette in 1997, and later reissued on CD and vinyl in 2002, the album largely relied on in-house production from Del along with contributions from Hiero crew members A-Plus, Opio, and Toure. The only guest feature on the album is from crew member Casual, who joins Del on the energetic “Checking Out The Rivalry.”Sonically, Future Development bridges the funk-heavy stylings of Del’s debut with the darker, more futuristic textures he explored on No Need for Alarm. Lyrically, Del refines his rapid-fire wordplay with sharper thematic focus, tackling life in Oakland, societal observations and hip-hop culture, all with a blend of humor, streetwise insight, and multi-syllabic dexterity. Ultimately, the album captures a snapshot of his progression from raw talent to a more conceptually matured songwriter. It remains a significant and under-appreciated chapter in Del’s evolution, showcasing early seeds of the creativity and independence that would come to define much of his career thereafter.

Hailu Mergia is a one-man band. In 1985, master accordionist and veteran bandleader, arranger and keyboardist released the Hailu Mergia & His Classical Instrument cassette. In a nostalgic effort to bring back the vintage accordion sound of his youth, Hailu gave Ethiopian music a sonic makeover. He was already celebrated for his work with the groundbreaking Addis Ababa ethio-jazz and funk outfit Walias Band. With imagination and a visionary sense of the self-contained possibilities of modern music, he captured the popular sounds of the past using the modern tools of the day. Hailu Mergia weaves Moog and DX7 synthesizers, Rhodes electric piano and rhythm machine into the rich harmonic layering of his accordion, creating hauntingly psychedelic, elegantly arranged instrumentals. These tunes draw from famous traditional and modern Ethiopian songs, as Hailu brilliantly matches lush Amhara, Tigrinya and Oromo melodies with otherworldly flavors soaked in jazz and blues, synthesizing a futuristic landscape. He balances Ethiopian music's signature melodic shape with beautiful analog synth touches, floating upon clouds of hypnotically minimal rhythm tracks. Hailu Mergia was born in Debre Birhan, Showa Province, Ethiopia in 1938 (1946 in the European calendar) to parents Tewabech Ezineh and Mergia Lulessa, who were of Amhara and Oromo ancestry, respectively. His mother took him to Aynemisa, close to Addis, where he grew up from age 3 until he was 10 when they moved to the capital Addis Ababa. Hailu went to Shimelis Habte high school but dropped out before graduating. In 1952 (1960 in European calendar), he joined the army music department as a boy scout to support his mother. Mergia stayed in the army almost two years, learning how to read and write music. After Hailu left the army, he started singing in small bars as a freelance musician. He joined various pick-up bands, touring across the Ethiopian provinces as a singer and accordion player for almost a year. After the group broke up, he started performing in nightclubs like Addis Ababa, Patrice Lumumba, Asegedech Alamrew, Sombrero, Zula Club and others. At Zula Club he and his mates formed Walias Band and did something no other band in Ethiopian nightclub history had done: they started buying their own musical instruments. Until then the club owners were supplying the instruments and had the power to fire musicians at will. For the first time ever Walias Band signed a contract with the owner of Venus Club as a group thereby protecting themselves from club owners. Mergia and Walias Band went on to do gigs at hotels like Wabi Shebele and the Hilton. After playing almost eight years at the Hilton Hotel, Mergia and Walias Band came to the United States and toured widely in 1982-1983. Afterwards, some of of the band stayed in America while others went back to Addis. That was a heartbreaking time for the band. They considered themselves a family, and they knew they had broken new ground in the history of Addis nightclub musicians. They had helped make the Ashantis Band from Kenya famous in Addis. They were the first private band who played for state dinners at the palace for the Derg government (twice). And, they were the first private band to tour the USA. After the break-up of Walias Band, Mergia settled in the States and formed Zula Band with Moges Habte and Tamiru Ayele, playing in different restaurants and touring in the States and Europe. At that time, Mergia made a one-man band recording with accordion for the first time, mixing in Rhodes electric piano, Moog synthesizer and a rhythm machine. That was 1985. This recording was inspired by the early memories of his first instrument, the accordion. After the break-up of Zula Band in 1992, he quit performing and ran Soukous Club for seven years with his partners Moges and Tamiru. Nowadays he's making his living as a self-employed taxi driver at Dulles International Airport while continuing to record his music and practice as often as possible. The reissue of this recording brings back a moment when Ethiopian music was shifting from acoustic-based performances to recordings using more and more synthesized elements. While the results of that shift have their critics Hailu Mergia's initial experiments with solo instrumental music based on Ethiopian folk and popular music captures a singular feeling dripping in ambiance and very human emotional energy.

Big Crown Records is proud to present the sophomore full-length from Les Imprimés, Fading Forward. Spearheaded by self-taught multi-instrumentalist and producer Morten Martens, the album explores mortality, escapism, and a myriad of experiences associated with love.

Martens made a tremendous impression with his highly acclaimed 2023 debut Rêverie and has since cultivated a diehard fanbase whose demographics are as wide-ranging as the influences that shape his music. He mixes tones from ’60s and ’70s soul with arrangement nods to doo-wop records, takes drum energy from hip-hop, and covers the whole thing with vocal stylings drawn from ’90s and 2000s alternative. But it is Martens’ lyrics, emotion, and delivery that truly bring everything together and help him stand out from his peers. There’s an infectiousness and pop sensibility in the writing, executed with the utmost class and taste, giving Les Imprimés the rare quality of immediate attraction that only deepens with repeat listens.

Hailing from Kristiansand, Norway, Martens plays nearly every instrument on Fading Forward, produces and arranges the album, and of course sings. “It’s soul music, but I don’t exactly have the soul voice,” Morten explains humbly. “But I do it my own way, in a way that’s mine.”

Album opener “You & I” is Morten’s homage to his partner, who sticks it out “through the chaos and the blunders” with him. Punchy drums and cascading pianos make this one a proper two-stepper and an anthem for those lucky enough to find someone who understands them and helps them through the parts of life where they need it most. “Again & Again” slows the pace and deals with the heavier side of love and life, as Martens professes his resilience through the mishaps, heartbreak, and letdowns of love affairs gone wrong. “Untainted Love” brings the sweet side of new love center stage with a tune that plays on the title of the Gloria Jones classic. “Get Lost” leans into the metaphysical with an invitation to leave reality behind and spend time with Les Imprimés, where there’s room to dream. “Only Love” is built over a gritty drum break, with a chorus that is simple yet profound, and an arrangement that gives it the energy of a mantra. The album turns to the dancefloor on “With You,” an uptempo, uplifting tune about a fleeting encounter that leaves you pining for more. Martens longs for her, but joyfully—as if simply remembering that such a connection is possible is exactly what he needed. Martens is joined by guest vocalist Ama Li on “Miss the Days,” a slow-burning ballad that reckons back to simpler times when love felt easier. Fading Forward closes on a wholly somber note with “Paradise,” a tune that wishes freedom and peace to a friend who passed away.

In the small town of Kristiansand, Norway, there is a huge talent who spent much of his life laying low and playing in the background. Signing to New York’s Big Crown Records inspired Morten Martens to begin sharing his own music. The response to his debut Rêverie pushed him out of the studio and onto the stage, serving as inspiration to push his artistry to new heights—heights that are fully realized on Fading Forward.

Big Crown is proud to present Thee Marloes’ sophomore album, Di Hotel Malibu. It arrives as a widening of the frame — a confident step away from the lines that once neatly held their sound, and toward something more porous, conversational, and deeply Indonesian. It’s been two years since Perak, the Surabaya trio’s debut for Big Crown Records, introduced their unique sound. This new record doesn’t abandon that lineage so much as stretch it, showing how much they have grown as a band since the release of their debut and all the experiences that came with it. Composed of vocalist and keyboardist Natassya Sianturi, guitarist and producer Sinatrya Dharaka and drummer Tommy Satwick, Thee Marloes have always worked as a unit, their songs shaped by shared reference points and a lived-in sense of groove. On this album, that collective language expands. The arrangements move across a broader spectrum, with new instrumental colors, unexpected rhythmic turns, and a looser approach to structure. The band describes it as a response to the last two years of living: social realities, love lives in flux, and all that success has brought into their lives. The album opener “Under the Silver Moon” is a stone cold two-stepper that addresses the bitter and the sweet of long-distance love affairs over a breezy musical backdrop. “Six Years” is a page from singer Natassya Sianturi’s life and her struggle to take the step of leaving a comfortable and stable daytime job to follow her dreams of a full-time career in music. “Harap Dan Ragu” explores life, death, and the emotions that orbit them, opening with an earworm guitar riff that ushers in Sianturi’s honeyed vocals, this time in her native language of Indonesian. The album continues to switch vibes and tones track to track with the darker, more introspective “The More”. The gorgeous musicianship and pulsing drums are met with the deeply poetic lyrics that walk the line between futility and unbreakable resilience. Thee Marloes dip into their drop dead gorgeous ballad bag with “Through the Changes” with a powerful yet delicate song about how we imagine and deal with what comes after death. “Boru” sung entirely in Batak, a traditional language from North Sumatera, goes further into asserting heritage as a foundation and mission statement for the group while “I’d Be Lost” takes us back to the dancefloor with a light and lovely profession of love. In the end, Di Hotel Malibu is the result of the best type of inspiration: the global attention Thee Marloes have earned, and the chance to play their homegrown music for fans around the world has put wind in their sails. Enjoy the record, then catch them as they tour the globe. Soul Music from Surabaya, another Big Crown Sureshot.

One of the greatest, heaviest, and most sought-after guitar records from 1970s West Africa, available on vinyl for the first time in over a decade!!! Bamako, Mali, 1973: Rail Band, the official orchestra of the Malian state railway, drops their self-titled LP. It’s a relentlessly soulful and hypnotic blend of American funk, jazz horns, and Afro-Cuban music, reflected through centuries-old Mandé tradition and blasted at top volume by some of the continent’s greatest artists. Led by legendary trumpet and saxman Tidiani Koné and held aloft by the intricate web of Djelimady Tounkara’s rumbling, reverb-soaked guitar, Rail Band’s sprawling compositions embody West African storytelling traditions while exulting in the technology and modernity of a newly independent Mali. Vocalists Salif Keita and Mory Kanté, two heroes of African music who would achieve global fame as soloists, are endlessly emotive, oscillating between silky ballads and funk screams. The band’s sound is filled out by layers of percussion, rolling guitars, and melodic horns filtered through the Caribbean. Starting in 1970, Rail Band played five nights a week, from 2 pm til the early hours, at the Buffet Hotel de la Gare. Their audience was an international array of businessmen, young partiers, and people of the Bamako night. The band was incredibly versatile, switching genres, rhythms, and styles to meet their crowd. It was a volatile mix, one that would fall apart soon after these recordings were made, with Salif Keita’s departure to start the rival Les Ambassadeurs. Though Rail Band continued in many distinguished forms, the eight songs on this album reveal one of the greatest bands to ever exist, at the height of their creative powers. On “Duga,” a composition dating back to the 13th century and passed on through oral tradition by the jelis (griots), the Rail Band replaces balafon with the interplay of Cheick Tidiane’s speaker-rattling bass and Alfred Coulibaly’s tasteful organ. “Marabayasa,” with its iconic sax intro and Mory Kanté channeling James Brown, is a deep-cut favorite of DJs around the world. Part of a long and regal lineage of Malian guitar orchestras initially tasked with translating the region’s traditional music to modern instrumentation, Rail Band morphed and reenvisioned those traditions with a style and energy that has never been matched. High-quality black or translucent blue vinyl (limited to first pressing), old school jacket faithfully reproducing the iconic “mermaid” design from the 1973 release. Licensed from Syllart Records and Djelimady Tounkara.

"You and Me” by Penny & the Quarters simply refused to stay lost. For 40 years, the song sat silent in a box of reels before heartthrob Ryan Gosling selected it to star in 2010's indie weeper Blue Valentine. The power of the track set off an international treasure hunt in pursuit of the mysterious artists behind it. Since then, “You and Me” has soundtracked thousands of weddings, spawned hundreds of YouTube covers, and tugged heartstrings for scores of advertisements and films. Fifteen years after Eccentric Soul: The Prix label became Numero’s worst selling compilation, we’ve reanalyzed the tapes and selected 11 equally-as-fascinating rehearsals caught by engineer Clem Price in Columbus, Ohio, in 1970. Please note: Physical items are o

During the last half-decade Joe Westerlund became engrossed in studying the clave, the metric pattern that first defined so much Afro-Cuban and Latin music and then drifted into almost every corner of jazz and rock. What did it mean for an idea to be so flexible, for it to fit so many forms while retaining its own essence? The result is aleap into the unknown for Westerlund: Curiosities from the Shift, a 12-track playground of endlessly interwoven beats and melodies, where Westerlund’s clave enthusiasm collides with his textural experimentalism, where his rhythmic symphony of one shakes hands with friends decorating this space alongside him.The three-piece suite that holds Curiosities’ first half begins with the junkyard percussion and delightful bass splashes that frame “Tem” and ends with the surrealistic boom-bap of thumb pianos and shakers on “Can Tangle.” There is a hard-won joy to these numbers, as if Westerlund is delighting in real time in spotting a potential dead end but finding his own way forward, anyway. Those songs became a kind of working roadmap for the terrain that Westerlund explores across Curiosities, from the call-and-response glory of opener “Nu Male Uno” to the uncanny amorphousness of closer “Felt Like Floating.” All of these songs are defined by an identifiable rhythm, like the loping strut at the center of “Midpoint” and the head-nodding pulse that winds through “Persurverance,” winkingly misspelled to suit his North Carolina-via-Wisconsin pronunciation. But those are springboards for other textures, moods, and notions, like the New Age references—shimmering metallophones, chattering birds, retiring flutes—that circle through “Midpoint” or the dub-indebted delays and gamelan hymns that bubble up through “Persurverance.” This is deeply multivalent music, each number’s propulsive core counterbalanced by a series of surprising choices. Bittersweetness and joy, grief and liberation, sighs and smiles: It all exists here, tangling toward infinity.In the months after the initial sessions were done, Westerlund reached out to friends—Califone’s Tim Rutilli, saxophonist Sam Gendel, trumpeter Trever Hagen, and violinists Libby Rodenbough and Chris Jusell among them. These were his most thoroughly composed and precisely built works ever, but he wanted to hear what happened when his pals responded in real time. They delivered grace, depth, and feeling, with their parts pulling back curtains on hidden recesses of rhythmic worlds.Westerlund readily admits he is surprised by the album’s insistence on groove and meter rather than drifting abstraction. Having lived and worked so long with bands, he assumed he was done functioning within basic meter. These 12 songs fuse so many of Westerlund’s loves into pieces that are endlessly fascinating, using familiar elements to render his adventures into the unknown. Playful but tender, wistful but wondrous, driven by beats but not bound by them, this is Westerlund’s definitive statement so far, the solo drummer record that opens wide to reveal a musical and emotional landscape richer than perhaps even he imagined he might find.

Future Development is Del the Funky Homosapien’s third album and, following his departure from major label Elektra, it was his first album on his independent label, Hieroglyphics Imperium Recordings. Originally released on cassette in 1997, and later reissued on CD and vinyl in 2002, the album largely relied on in-house production from Del along with contributions from Hiero crew members A-Plus, Opio, and Toure. The only guest feature on the album is from crew member Casual, who joins Del on the energetic “Checking Out The Rivalry.”Sonically, Future Development bridges the funk-heavy stylings of Del’s debut with the darker, more futuristic textures he explored on No Need for Alarm. Lyrically, Del refines his rapid-fire wordplay with sharper thematic focus, tackling life in Oakland, societal observations and hip-hop culture, all with a blend of humor, streetwise insight, and multi-syllabic dexterity. Ultimately, the album captures a snapshot of his progression from raw talent to a more conceptually matured songwriter. It remains a significant and under-appreciated chapter in Del’s evolution, showcasing early seeds of the creativity and independence that would come to define much of his career thereafter.

Wyoming-born troubadour Jeb Loy Nichols returns to Timmion Records with This House is Empty Without You, a timeless collection of soul-rooted songs that radiate warmth, wisdom, and quiet intensity. Backed once again by Timmion’s house band Cold Diamond and Mink, Jeb delivers a full-length that sits comfortably among the label’s finest – steeped in southern soul traditions, but carried by his unmistakable voice and lyrical touch. From the gently loping opener “First Night Away from Home” to the closer “Time On My Hands,” the album unfolds like a good summer book, best enjoyed with a warm breeze on your face. Nichols has a way of making things sound effortless – like he’s singing just for you, from the porch or the back room – but listen closely and you’ll find songwriting full of depth, subtly arranged with organ swells, snapping drums, and deep-pocket grooves. Alongside the breezy mid-tempo romantics of “Here With You,” other standout moments include the rootsy southern shuffle of “Good Morning Monday,” the heart-tugging “Coming Home Love,” and “Step In,” a mellow groove about rediscovery and reunion. As always, Cold Diamond and Mink provide the perfect analog foundation – all soul and no filler. Together with Nichols – and Emilia Sisco, whose gospel-drenched background harmonies grace several tracks – they’ve crafted a record that draws from classic influences but sounds unmistakably personal and present. A masterclass in understated soul, This House is Empty Without You proves that Jeb Loy Nichols isn’t just still here – he’s still growing, glowing, and finding new ways to tell the truth.

The studio at 122 West Loveland Avenue was not an unfamiliar space for Steve Okonski, the leader of his eponymous trio Okonski. Ever since the Colemine label set up shop in Loveland, Ohio it has been a host to a number of groups passing through town, including Durand Jones and the Indications who all of this trio’s members have connections to. After setting aside some time in winter of 2020, Okonski, trained initially as a classical pianist, invited Michael Isvara “Ish” Montgomery and Aaron Frazer to work on an album that was initially planned to be beat driven and fully composed trio instrumentals. After finishing this first session with some improvisations, a second week was booked in the summer of 2021 to try and capture some more of that spontaneous energy. During this session, the tracks were all improvised and recorded live to a Tascam 388 during several late nights at the Colemine HQ. They were structured to allow the group’s collective intuition to fully shape the melodies and arcs of the music. The album opens with Runner Up, where a triumphant yet melancholic melody in the piano leads to a more reserved B-section driven by the drums and bass of Frazer and Montgomery. As you journey through the remainder of the album you are met with a plethora of evoked and explored emotions. The calmness one has walking down a moonlit street after midnight, the connection one has for a person who comes into their world for just a moment or a lifetime, and the nerves and catharsis one feels when starting upon a new, unknown journey. Magnolia closes with Sunday, a track that was recorded late into the night at the close of their first recording session. Without the spontaneity of Sunday, the remainder of Magnolia would likely have never come to fruition. Magnolia was composed from the heart and from the spirit of those in the studio those late nights in Loveland. It is the culmination of an emotional and artistic release that was not afforded or recognized before the band sat at their instruments, and because of that it is introspective, meditative, spiritual, and new.

The Weather Channel is the new instrumental album from Bad Brains bassist Darryl Jenifer. It follows his 2010 solo debut, In Search of Black Judas. The record features a venerable lineup of heavy-hitters from the jazz world, including the likes of John Medeski, Ben Perowsky, Jack DeJohnette, and Karl Berger, among others. The tracklist includes nine new compositions, as well as new interpretations of two Bad Brains classics.

Quickly following on from last year's 'Ghosted II', the third Reichian kraut-jazz session from Oren Ambarchi and his long-time collaborators loosens the screws a little, inviting in Americana, dream pop and blues influences and zeroing in on the tiny details.

Ambarchi, bassist Johan Berthling and percussionist Andreas Werliin are familiar with each other at this stage to fully let rip. 'Ghosted III' is their third recorded set in four years, and although they're still led by the jazz-taught instincts that guided their subtle, minimalist-inspired folk-jazz-rock debut, they've unclenched their muscles and let rip this time around. There's a new-found, liberating slackness to opener (and lead single) 'Yek', where Ambarchi daubs his chiming guitar notes over Werliin's jerky rhythms and Berthling's unraveled bassline. Catching the desert dust at first, it hardens into a Tangerine Dream-cum-Philip Glass nu-new age shimmer before it comes to a close. And 'Do' pulls back the bluster even further, reducing Weliin's drums to a faint patter, and filling the gaps with Ambarchi's cosmic pad-like guitars. After the 'TNT'-era Tortoise in dub Leslie-powered euphoria of 'Seh', the trio get back into the groove with 'Chahar', pulling Ambarchi's fictile notes into an orbit of ratcheting drums and repeating bass plucks that concludes with a splatter of xenharmonic guitar tones.

They venture into Americana territory on the long, plodding 'Panj', padding the low end with Ambarchi's swirling organ-esque tones that transform into concertina-ing zaps, and the best is saved for last - 'Shesh' is a dream-pop/post-rock melter that's among the best tracks Ambarchi, Berthling and Werliin have recorded, falling somewhere between Labradford and Talk Talk. Gorgeous.

Ambarchi, Berthling and Werliin share a fascination with rhythm and the myriad of ways it can subdivide within the beat. Using aspects of jazz, world and experimental musics, each tune settles into a deep groove, digging itself via continuous minimal adjustments into an ever-deeper, eternal groove.

Jeff Parker, who is familiar with activities such as Tortoise and Chicago Underground Quartet, announces the latest work from the sanctuary of US contemporary jazz . It is an album composed of solo guitar works including interpretations of "Ugly Beauty" and "My Ideal" by Celonias Monk and 6 original songs, and it is a home in Altadena, California in June 2021. A gem of improvisational minimal ambient work recorded by Graeme Gibson in the studio over a two-day period!

An inspired coming together of musical minds. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of In A Space Outta Sound, George Evelyn aka DJ E.A.S.E has handed over the tapes to dub maestro Adrian Sherwood to go on a heady version excursion with eight tracks from the original record, in the spirit of the reggae and sound system roots that informed the original album. The result is a fresh take on a much-loved classic, in the lineage of albums such as Massive Attack’s No Protection and Spoon’s Lucifer On The Moon. Features bold new re-works of iconic tracks such as “You Wish” (appearing here as “You Bliss”) and “Flip Ya Lid” (mutated into “Flippin Eck”). As well as his trademark mixing desk wizardry, Sherwood has also brought in some of the core On-U Sound players to add additional instrumentation and turn this collaboration into something which is much more than the sum of its parts.

Limited Japanese edition inc the insert. KNOWER FOREVER credits

(1.) Knower Forever (Louis Cole)
*All strings
*All Brass
Extra synth: Louis Cole

(2.) I’m The President (Louis Cole / Genevieve Artadi)
Genevieve Artadi: Vox
Louis Cole: Drums
Sam Wilkes: Bass
Jacob Mann: Keyboard
Paul Cornish: Keyboard / Piano
*All Brass
*All Flutes
*All Choir
*All strings

(3.) The Abyss (Louis Cole / Genevieve Artadi)
Genevieve Artadi: Vox
Louis Cole: Drums
Mononeon: Bass
Rai Thistlethwayte: Keyboard
Sam Gendel: Saxophone

(4.) Real Nice Moment (Louis Cole / Genevieve Artadi)
Genevieve Artadi: Vox
Louis Cole: Drums
Mononeon: Bass
Rai Thistlethwayte: Keyboard
Paul Cornish: Keyboard / Piano
Sam Gendel: Saxophone
*All Choir

(5.) It’s All Nothing Until It’s Everything (Louis Cole / Genevieve Artadi)
Genevieve Artadi: Vox
Louis Cole: Drums
Sam Wilkes: Bass
Jacob Mann: Keyboard
Rai Thistlethwayte: Keyboard / Piano
*All Strings
*All Horns

(6.) Nightmare (Louis Cole / Genevieve Artadi)
Genevieve Artadi: Vox
Louis Cole: Drums
Mononeon: Bass
Jacob Mann: Keyboard
Rai Thistlethwayte: Keyboard

(7.) Same Smile, Different Face (Louis Cole)
Genevieve Artadi: Vox
Louis Cole: Piano
*All Strings

(8.) Do Hot Girls Like Chords? (Louis Cole / Genevieve Artadi)
Genevieve Artadi: Vox
Louis Cole: Drums
Sam Wilkes: Bass
Jacob Mann: Keyboard
Paul Cornish: Keyboard
Adam Ratner: Guitar

(9.) Ride That Dolphin (Louis Cole / Genevieve Artadi)
Genevieve Artadi: Vox
Louis Cole: Drums
Sam Wilkes: Bass
Jacob Mann: Keyboard
Paul Cornish: Keyboard
*All Choir

(10.) It Will Get Real (Louis Cole / Genevieve Artadi)
Genevieve Artadi: Vox
Louis Cole: Drums
Mononeon: Bass
Rai Thistlethwayte: Keyboard
Chiquita Magic: Keyboard
Sam Gendel: Saxophone

(11.) Crash The Car (Louis Cole / Genevieve Artadi)
Genevieve Artadi: Vox
Louis Cole: Drums
Sam Wilkes: Bass
Jacob Mann: Keyboard
Paul Cornish: Piano
Adam Ratner: Guitar
David Binney: Saxophone
*All Brass
*All Choir
*All strings

(12.) Bonus Track (Louis Cole)
Genevieve Artadi: Tambourine Robot Holder
Louis Cole: Drums
Mononeon: Bass
Rai Thistlethwayte: Keyboard
Chiquita Magic: Keyboard
Sam Gendel: Saxophone
Tambourine Robot built by Louis Cole and Daniel Sunshine


*Strings:
Leah Zeger (vln)
Lily Honigberg (vln)
Megan Shung (vln)
Yu-Ting Wu (vln)
Chrysanthe Tan (vln)
Sabrina Parry (vln)
Nora Germain (vln)
Tylana Renga (vln)
Tom Lea (vla)
Ethan Moffitt (vla)
Daniel Jacobs (vla)
Lauren Baba (vla)
Isaiah Gage (clo)
Chris Votek (clo)
Niall Ferguson (clo)
Emily Elkin (clo)
Karl McComas-Reichl (bs)
Logan Kane (bs)

*Brass:
Robert Murray (tuba)
Corbin Jones (sousaphone)
Kyle Richter (sousaphone)
Jon Hatamiya (tbn)
Vikram Devasthali (tbn)
Mariel Austin (tbn)
Nick Platoff (bass tbn)
Aidan Lombard (tp)
Aaron Janik (tp)
Andris Mattson (tp)
Chris Clarkson (tp)

*Flutes:
Rob Sheppard
Amber Navran
Henry Solomon

*Choir:
Kathryn Shuman
Mikaela Elson
Dyasono
Micaela Tobin
Jessica Freedman
Rayah Clarkson
Alexandra Domingo
Sharon Kim
Linnea Sablosky
Katharine Eames
Glynis Davies
Michael Kohl
Jeff Eames
VJ Rosales
Brett McDermid
Luc Kleiner
Sean Fitzpatrick


All production by: Louis Cole
All songs mixed and mastered by: Louis Cole
Audio Engineer: Daniel Sunshine
Cameras: Daniel Sunshine, Richard Thompson, Chiquita Magic, Max Zemanovic
Special thanks for Alliz Espi at Songololo Music, and publishers Because Music

Limited Japanese edition. KNOWER FOREVER credits

(1.) Knower Forever (Louis Cole)
*All strings
*All Brass
Extra synth: Louis Cole

(2.) I’m The President (Louis Cole / Genevieve Artadi)
Genevieve Artadi: Vox
Louis Cole: Drums
Sam Wilkes: Bass
Jacob Mann: Keyboard
Paul Cornish: Keyboard / Piano
*All Brass
*All Flutes
*All Choir
*All strings

(3.) The Abyss (Louis Cole / Genevieve Artadi)
Genevieve Artadi: Vox
Louis Cole: Drums
Mononeon: Bass
Rai Thistlethwayte: Keyboard
Sam Gendel: Saxophone

(4.) Real Nice Moment (Louis Cole / Genevieve Artadi)
Genevieve Artadi: Vox
Louis Cole: Drums
Mononeon: Bass
Rai Thistlethwayte: Keyboard
Paul Cornish: Keyboard / Piano
Sam Gendel: Saxophone
*All Choir

(5.) It’s All Nothing Until It’s Everything (Louis Cole / Genevieve Artadi)
Genevieve Artadi: Vox
Louis Cole: Drums
Sam Wilkes: Bass
Jacob Mann: Keyboard
Rai Thistlethwayte: Keyboard / Piano
*All Strings
*All Horns

(6.) Nightmare (Louis Cole / Genevieve Artadi)
Genevieve Artadi: Vox
Louis Cole: Drums
Mononeon: Bass
Jacob Mann: Keyboard
Rai Thistlethwayte: Keyboard

(7.) Same Smile, Different Face (Louis Cole)
Genevieve Artadi: Vox
Louis Cole: Piano
*All Strings

(8.) Do Hot Girls Like Chords? (Louis Cole / Genevieve Artadi)
Genevieve Artadi: Vox
Louis Cole: Drums
Sam Wilkes: Bass
Jacob Mann: Keyboard
Paul Cornish: Keyboard
Adam Ratner: Guitar

(9.) Ride That Dolphin (Louis Cole / Genevieve Artadi)
Genevieve Artadi: Vox
Louis Cole: Drums
Sam Wilkes: Bass
Jacob Mann: Keyboard
Paul Cornish: Keyboard
*All Choir

(10.) It Will Get Real (Louis Cole / Genevieve Artadi)
Genevieve Artadi: Vox
Louis Cole: Drums
Mononeon: Bass
Rai Thistlethwayte: Keyboard
Chiquita Magic: Keyboard
Sam Gendel: Saxophone

(11.) Crash The Car (Louis Cole / Genevieve Artadi)
Genevieve Artadi: Vox
Louis Cole: Drums
Sam Wilkes: Bass
Jacob Mann: Keyboard
Paul Cornish: Piano
Adam Ratner: Guitar
David Binney: Saxophone
*All Brass
*All Choir
*All strings

(12.) Bonus Track (Louis Cole)
Genevieve Artadi: Tambourine Robot Holder
Louis Cole: Drums
Mononeon: Bass
Rai Thistlethwayte: Keyboard
Chiquita Magic: Keyboard
Sam Gendel: Saxophone
Tambourine Robot built by Louis Cole and Daniel Sunshine


*Strings:
Leah Zeger (vln)
Lily Honigberg (vln)
Megan Shung (vln)
Yu-Ting Wu (vln)
Chrysanthe Tan (vln)
Sabrina Parry (vln)
Nora Germain (vln)
Tylana Renga (vln)
Tom Lea (vla)
Ethan Moffitt (vla)
Daniel Jacobs (vla)
Lauren Baba (vla)
Isaiah Gage (clo)
Chris Votek (clo)
Niall Ferguson (clo)
Emily Elkin (clo)
Karl McComas-Reichl (bs)
Logan Kane (bs)

*Brass:
Robert Murray (tuba)
Corbin Jones (sousaphone)
Kyle Richter (sousaphone)
Jon Hatamiya (tbn)
Vikram Devasthali (tbn)
Mariel Austin (tbn)
Nick Platoff (bass tbn)
Aidan Lombard (tp)
Aaron Janik (tp)
Andris Mattson (tp)
Chris Clarkson (tp)

*Flutes:
Rob Sheppard
Amber Navran
Henry Solomon

*Choir:
Kathryn Shuman
Mikaela Elson
Dyasono
Micaela Tobin
Jessica Freedman
Rayah Clarkson
Alexandra Domingo
Sharon Kim
Linnea Sablosky
Katharine Eames
Glynis Davies
Michael Kohl
Jeff Eames
VJ Rosales
Brett McDermid
Luc Kleiner
Sean Fitzpatrick


All production by: Louis Cole
All songs mixed and mastered by: Louis Cole
Audio Engineer: Daniel Sunshine
Cameras: Daniel Sunshine, Richard Thompson, Chiquita Magic, Max Zemanovic
Special thanks for Alliz Espi at Songololo Music, and publishers Because Music

"It's been nearly five decades since Joe McPhee assembled a group of musicians to perform the weekend concerts that would become Nation Time. It was December 1970, thirty-one-year-old McPhee was inspired by Amiri Baraka's poem 'It's Nation Time,' and the students at Vassar College didn't know what hit them. 'What time is it?' shouted the bandleader. 'C'mon, you can do better than that. What time is it?!'

"The music on Nation Time came out of the fertile, but little-known creative jazz scene in Poughkeepsie, New York, McPhee's home base. Two bands were deployed, one with a funky free foundation featuring guitar and organ, the other consisting of a more standard jazz formation with two drummers and the brilliant Mike Kull at the piano. Across the concert and the next afternoon's audience-less recording session, the band was ignited by McPhee's passion and his gorgeous post-Coltrane / post-Pharoah tenor. On 'Shakey Jake,' they hit a James Brown groove filtered through Archie Shepp, while the sidelong title track is as searching and poignant today as it was during its heyday.

"Originally released in 1971 on CjR, an imprint started expressly to document McPhee's music, Nation Time has a sense of urgency and inspiration. Additional material from those December days would later appear on Black Magic Man, Hat Hut's first release. In fact, the first four records on this seminal Swiss label all featured McPhee.

"Nation Time was largely unknown a quarter century or so later, when it was first issued on CD through Atavistic's Unheard Music Series. On Corbett vs. Dempsey, we reissued the album along with all known tapes leading up to and around it as a deluxe box set, but the standalone LP has long remained incredibly rare. Now is the time for a new generation of freaks to lose their shit when settling into the cushy beat of 'Shakey Jake' and answer McPhee's call with the only appropriate response: It's NATION TIME."

– John Corbett

“One of my favourite bands, wonderful work” Gilles Peterson BBC 6 Music “Another great album from Matthew Halsall” Jamie Cullum - BBC Radio 2 "Trumpeter Halsall is one of the success stories of new British jazz..." The Independent "Beautiful, spacious and spiritual music." All About Jazz

Produced by Matthew Halsall, Gondwana Records is delighted to announce Horizons the debut album by Leeds-based saxophonist, composer and band-leader Jasmine Myra Jasmine Myra is a saxophonist, composer and band leader, based in Leeds. Part of the bustling, creative, cross-genre music scene in Leeds (she attended Leeds Conservatoire) Jasmine has surrounded herself with some of the best young talent in the city. Her original instrumental music has a euphoric and uplifting sound, influenced by artists as diverse as Kenny Wheeler, Bonobo, Olafur Arnalds and Moses Sumney – artists whose music shares an emotive quality that you can also hear in Myra’s compositions. Her first break came in 2018, when just one year after graduating she was selected to take part in Jazz North Introduces, a scheme that supports emerging jazz artists in the North of England. Shortly afterwards her music came to the attention of Gondwana Records boss Matthew Halsall, whose keen ear for talent helped bring the music of GoGo Penguin, Mammal Hands and Hania Rani to the wider world. Halsall explains: “I was immediately drawn to Jasmine’s music. I could hear jazz, electronica in her music but with a deep, honest, emotional quality. I was really impressed with her skills as a composer and bandleader, that she is open and intelligent enough to bring all those influences together, to make something fresh and original. We were also delighted to work with a young artist from the North of England. London is often seen as the place to be, but cities like Manchester and Leeds are full of creative musicians too, and that sense of local community is at the heart of our values as a label.” Beautifully produced by Matthew Halsall and mixed by Portico Quartet collaborator Greg Freeman, the music for Horizons started to come together during lockdown. It was a hard time for a lot of people, and initially Myra struggled mentally, deprived of shows and the connections of making music with her band and friends, and cut-off from loved ones she felt emotionally and mentally stranded. But she also realised what she wanted as an artist and the result is heard on Horizons. “I realised that my aim was to start writing music that made people feel happy and uplifted. Writing is one of my biggest passions, but I also love performing. Playing live and seeing the audience connect with my music and have a positive experience brings me so much joy”. This sense of elevation is at the heart of Horizons, together with the feeling of a journey, of reaching new ground. Prologue and Horizons were originally composed as one piece as they encapsulate Myra’s own personal development as she worked on the album - taking the listener on a journey, especially Prologue; and then Horizons is that moment of release when you've reached the end goal. 1000 Miles takes inspiration from the music of Shabaka and the Ancestors. Whereas Words Left Unspoken was written after Myra’s grandmother unexpectedly passed away in June, and due to Covid restrictions she was unable to visit her before she passed and say how much she loved her. Morningtide is a nod to Kenny Wheeler, particularly the track Opening from Sweet Time Suite on Music for Large and Small Ensembles but Myra also puts her own spin on it as she also does with Promise, another track influenced by Wheeler. Awakening has a calm and euphoric quality and represents that sense of problems lifting, or of reaching the other side, and New Beginnings finishes the album with a positive vibe and a sense of moving forward from darkness This then is Horizons. A soulful, emotional and up-lifting debut from a major new voice. A snapshot of a young artist at the beginning of her journey - drawing on jazz and electronica influences to create something fresh and new. But also a celebration of her home town Leeds, and a record built on a sense of support and community before looking out to wider Horizons.

Saxophonist and composer Jasmine Myra presents nine beautiful and powerfully grounded compositions that express her ruminations on life, growth, and progression, powered by the artist’s vision of duality. “It’s those bittersweet moments which are heart-breaking but so important. Looking forward and trying to make sense of life,” she says. “Pain is unavoidable, and you’ll have hardship no matter what, but you don’t grow or learn about yourself or the world around you without it. The duality is the growth and coming out the other side. I had the concept from the start.” Jasmine Myra’s verdant musical vision and talent for instrumental storytelling came to life over five days, with her long-standing ensemble gathering in one room at The Nave studios in Leeds with the addition of a string section – all recorded live. Myra had crossed paths with Ancient Infinity Orchestra bandleader Ozzy Moysey before she moved from Leeds to London, often attending and playing at the same jam sessions. This made him the perfect choice to conduct the 13-piece band, freeing her up to bring maximum tenderness and elegiac tones to the alto sax lines she’d written. Her own playing sits deliberately within each track, never flying above. Instead, it wraps gently around precision melodies she wrote for strings, piano, flute, guitar, vibraphone, and harp which themselves furl and unfurl gorgeously around tenor sax, double bass, drums, and percussion. Melodies that sparkle like sunlight on water.

A deluxe, embossed 2 LP box set. Alongside a remastered version of PHAROAH, his seminal record from 1977, are two previously unreleased live performances of his masterpiece, “Harvest Time." Includes a 24-page booklet with rarely seen photographs and ephemera, as well as interviews with many of the participants and a conversation with Pharoah himself.

Strut present a new definitive collection of singles released by jazz maverick Sun Ra during his Earth years, spanning 1952 to 1991. Released prolifically during the 1950s and more sporadically thereafter, primarily on the Saturn label, the 45s offer one-off meteorites 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 sounded unlike anything else from the period. As with his LPs, most 45s were only pressed in small runs and were sold at gigs and have since become extremely rare and sought after. Some have only been discovered in physical form in recent years; some were planned and pencilled but allegedly never made it to vinyl and some appeared as one-off magazine singles and posthumous releases.

‘Singles’ will be released in various formats across two release dates. All formats feature fully remastered tracks, rare photos, poster artwork, extensive sleeve notes by Francis Gooding, an interview with Saturn Records founder Alton Abraham by John Corbett and detailed track by track and session notes by Paul Griffiths.