FOR THE 20th ANNIVERSARY OF HIS ALBUM "AT HOME" AND HIS HIT SONG "REMEMBERING", AVISHAI COHEN IS OFFERING, FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, A VINYL EDITION OF THIS JAZZ CLASSIC !

The magic of art needs a frame, a somewhat solid container to hold the freedom that can only be found once we integrate some form of structure. And that also holds in every other area of life. We all need a frame, a structure, a rhythm, or else, we fall apart. This human form needs the body, and yet it transcends the limitations of the body - through art.

John Hart's collaboration with SteepleChase started in 2016 with sideman role on the late alto sax Andy Fusco's Turmoil (SCCD 31843). The guitarist/composer/educator Hart since has kept releasing a barrage of highly acclaimed leader albums. On this his fifth outing he has assembled an impeccable quartet featuring Rich Perry on tenor and Brian Charette on B-3. "He has just released Resonance (2023) on SteepleChase, his fifth date for the legendary Danish label headed by Nils Winther. Labelmate, tenor saxophonist Rich Perry joins him along with organist Brian Charette and longtime collaborator Steve Johns handling the percussion duties. The breadth and eclecticism of Resonance's playlist is plainly evident from Hart's illustrious recording pedigree. We hear a refreshing mix of five originals and four standards." (Frank Griffith - UK JAZZ NEWS) 180g Audiophile Vinyl

An audiophile-grade LP transfer for evocative transcriptions of hits from the Ennio Morricone catalogue of classic film scores. For his own selection of highlights from Ennio Morricone's music, Enea Leone has arranged the themes from the Leone/Eastwood 'dollar' trilogy (inevitably finishing with The Good, The Bad and the Ugly) alongside no less definitive westerns as Once Upon a Time in the West and Once Upon a Time in America. He has also ventured into the film composer's later career, with the unforgettable theme from The Mission, starring Jeremy Irons, and a four-movement suite from La leggenda del pianista sull'oceano, a 1998 romance directed by Giuseppe Tornatore, in which a baby boy discovered on an ocean liner in 1900 grows into a musical prodigy, never setting foot on land. With it's subtle pastiche of Mozart and long-limbed Romantic melodies, this score lends itself to Leone's sensitive transcription for guitar. Enea Leone has enjoyed a 20-year career as a performer and teacher and made several well-received recordings for Brilliant Classics such as the complete studies by Fernando Sor (94791), which attracted a glowing review from Classics Today: 'These pieces are both technically beneficial and musically rewarding, and Milan-born guitarist Enea Leone's suave execution, keen ear for tone colour, and steady yet flexible rhythmic sense befit the music.' Another album of studies by Castelnuovo-Tedesco drew this praise from Fanfare magazine: 'Adding to a strong recommendation for the music itself is the beautiful playing on a lovely, mellow-sounding guitar by master guitarist Enea Leone.' This LP transfer of the original 2020 album is accompanied by full sleeve notes. - The LP version of one of the beautiful recordings in the Brilliant Classics catalogue, Morricone's greatest film-scores arranged for solo guitar. - Ennio Morricone (1928-2020) is without doubt the most successful, popular and influential composer of film music of the 20th century. He wrote over 400 film scores which received numerous International Awards, including Grammy Awards. - This new recording presents arrangements for guitar of his most iconic melodies from the films Once Upon A Time in The West, A Fistful of Dollars, The Mission, Inglorious Basterds and many more. - Played by Enea Leone, a pupil of the great Alirio Diaz, who already recorded for Brilliant Classics works by Castelnuovo-(Appunti, BC 95219), Sor (Complete Studies for Guitar, BC94791) and, with bandoneonist Roberto Bongianino, Music from Argentina (BC95527) (with bandoneonist Roberto Bongianino).

Ctober 28, 2021 marks the centennial of Arturo "Chico" O'Farrill. This vinyl release of two original compositions is named The Centennial Suites to honor this moment in time. I have been indelibly shaped by Chico O'Farrill. The first movement of the Afro Latin Jazz Suite, Mother Africa, is based on South Asian Harmonium textures, Indigenous African Rhythms, a cluster based harmonic improvisational setting and fragments of Chico's motifs in The Afro Cuban Jazz Suite. The second movement is based on Peruvian rhythms and is called All of the Americas. The connecting Adagio is based on what I consider Chico's most gorgeous writing, his ballads and boleros and the final movement What Now is based directly on the angularity of Rudresh's motivic improvisational approach. What I hope I've achieved is an acknowledgement of his integrity, curiosity and willingness to risk it all. Four Questions is the marriage of creative practice and personal conviction. In this piece I was inspired by truth telling. Dr. Cornel West is a truth teller. He makes many in and out of his community nervous. Whether or not you agree with his views he is a modern-day prophet. In this case I was transformed by a speech Dr. West made in 2004 in Seattle based on his book, Black Prophetic Fire. In the speech he expounds on four questions posed by W.E. B. DuBoise in his book, Souls of Black Folk. These two suites were both awarded critical success having earned Grammy awards. This is sweet vindication for me as I consider all the merit I have as an acknowledgement of a principle I learned from Maestro Arturo 'Chico' O'Farrill. Do what you do at the highest technical level that you can, do this with artistic integrity, marry it to your convictions and worry not about what reception you'll receive. These suites are a reflection of those values instilled in me by a humble Irish German Cuban visionary who lived what he believed.

Heart Trio features three lifelong-devoted fellow travelers on the path of healing through sound. World-renowned & revered bassist-composer-leader William Parker has performed and recorded extensively with both Cooper-Moore & Hamid Drake over the past 30+ years. And, the three of them are core since 2012 in Parker's reborn In Order To Survive quartet. Heart Trio is, remarkably then, their debut as a trio on record. William here plays doson ngoni, dudek, and flutes of bamboo, cedar & walnut. Cooper-Moore on his hand-crafted ashimba and harp; Hamid Drake on frame drum and drum kit. All of this music was collectively composed at the time of it's creation. This is music for sunrise and sunset. Daily music. Healing, centering, mantra, heart music. From William's notes included with the release: "The theory behind this music is the music itself. Empty and fill the heart and soul with sound, letting it dance. Without pretense. We are trying to get to a flow-Earth, sky, and flowing water sounds that jump out of the painting." William Parker will receive Lifetime of Achievement Honors at Vision 2024. The celebration will take place June 18, 2024 at Roulette, Brooklyn. Jacket printed on reverse board. Includes full-res download card w/ all * tracks. Strictly limited LP edition of 600.

Final Floor is eleven new tracks featuring saxophonist Kamasi Washington and trumpeter Erik Jekabson with longtime collaborators and songwriters Matt Montgomery and Gregory Howe. Joining them are Mike Hughes and on drums, Kasey Knudsen on alto saxophone, Ross Howe on fender guitar and Mike Blankenship on organ. As the title indicates this album represents the final original recordings of Throttle Elevator Music. Final Floor has an upscale energy with elements of rock and punk that fuel the overall sound and dynamically bring an edge back to jazz.

Vinyl LP pressing. 2023 release. Brandee Younger is defying expectations. Over the past 15 years, she has worked relentlessly to stretch boundaries for harpists. In 2022, she broke new ground by becoming the first black woman nominated for a Grammy for Best Instrumental Composition. An ever-expanding artist, the album builds on her already rich oeuvre, transcending genre. As the title suggests, Brand New Life is about forging new paths. It features originals by Brandee, reinterpretations of Dorothy Ashby classics, and more.

Vinyl LP pressing. Impulse! Records proudly announces the signing of free jazz collective Irreversible Entanglements with their label debut Protect Your Light. Fusing elements of jazz, hip-hop, global music traditions and spoken word, the new album sees the quintet (vocalist/poet Camae Ayewa, saxophonist Keir Neuringer, bassist Luke Stewart, trumpeter Aquiles Navarro, drummer Tcheser Holmes) break molds with adventurous improvisation driven by poetry about the Black experience, love, power, community, liberation.

'The Absence' is the third record from grammy-nominated Melody Gardot. Produced by Heitor Pereira, renowned for his work as a film composer ('Despicable Me', 'It's Complicated', 'From Prada to Nada') and world-class session guitarist (Sting, Seal, Caetano Veloso), the Brazilian-born, US-based artist shared Melody's enthusiasm for driving off the beaten path of western pop, jazz, blues and soul. And he was as adventurous as melody when it came to inventive sonic ideas. From the deserts of Morocco to the streets of Lisboa, from the tango bars of Buenos Aires to the beaches of Brazil, 'The Absence' captures the essence of each of these exotic locales, while at the same time remaining quintessentially Melody Gardot.

BROKEN WING

There are lots of outstanding Joe McPhee LPs. Nation Time being chief among them, but there's also Pieces Of Light, Oleo�and Topology. The Poughkeepsie, New York-based multi-instrumentalist, by now an international star of free music, has amassed a daunting discography, no doubt. If you want to peer deeply into the soul of Joe McPhee, however, there's no way around it, you need to spend some quality time with Tenor. Tenor is McPhee's first solo record. He did not set out to make it. It was an afterthought, quite literally, born of a gathering of friends at the Swiss farmhouse of cellist Michael Overhage. A beautiful meal, some drinks, warm conversation, and... why not, an impromptu recital. Hat Hut producer Werner X. Uehlinger was there and a year later issued it as McPhee's third LP for the label (Hat Hut C in their famed letter series). "The existential blues 'Knox' sets the stage, indicating that this will not just be a toss-off postprandial singalong. 'Good-Bye Tom B.' carries on with aching melancholy, through burred notes and hushed harmonics. The relatively jaunty 'Sweet Dragon' is also emotionally loaded with Ayler-esque vibrato, slurs, wipes, and blasts of tone. The side-long title track comes without a theme, as a kind of pure investigation of the horn, it's potential, it's limits, it's expressive capacity. There have been few solo sessions as comprehensive and devastating as this spontaneous after-dinner diversion in rural Switzerland in 1976. We're very lucky someone pressed record." -John Corbett (excerpt from the liner notes)

Black Magic Man is arguably the pivotal Joe McPhee release. It bridged the span between the regional and the international, bypassing the national altogether. Recorded in the same sessions that produced Nation Time, Black Magic Man consists of music not chosen for that LP. Like it's much-feted sister, technically it falls under the domain of CjR, Craig Johnson's herculean effort in support of McPhee. An erstwhile painter, Johnson became a self-taught audio engineer, acquiring equipment expressly to document McPhee's music. In December 1970, five years after Johnson and McPhee had met, they recorded two days of activity -a concert followed by an additional day of recordings-at Vassar College where McPhee was teaching in the Black Studies department. About half of the material was used to make Nation Time. While they had planned to issue a follow-up, the money wasn't there, so the tapes sat dormant. "Fast-forward five years-Werner X. Uehlinger, a Swiss businessman who worked for Sandoz Pharmaceuticals, contacted Johnson while on a trip to the US, and over dinner with McPhee, they discussed putting out some of the unused tracks from the Nation Time sessions. With this casual encounter in 1975, Hat Hut Records was inaugurated. The new label's maiden release was Black Magic Man, dubbed Hat Hut A, the first in what would become Hat Hut's letter series. Along the way, the series would feature seven Joe McPhee records, including the first four in a row." -John Corbett (excerpt from the liner notes)

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. Curated, analogue mastered and cut at Gearbox Studio. This is an undiscovered, high energy hard bop live outing by arguably Britain's most important jazz combo, containing tracks not on any of their studio releases. Mastered direct from original tape - a must for collectors and jazz lovers alike.

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