‘Lyla’ is Avishai Cohen’s first release with Razdaz Recordz. Piano legend Chick Corea appears as a special guest performing a duet with the leader. Avishai Cohen is an Israeli jazz double bassist, composer, singer, and arranger. He began playing the piano at 9 years old but changed to the bass guitar at the age of 14, inspired by bassist Jaco Pastorius. In 2002, Cohen founded his record label, Razdaz Recordz. "I've always been interested in several genres of music, including jazz, rock, pop, Latin and funk," says Cohen. "I'm always packed with ideas. I decided to start my own label because I'm involved in so many different projects." Cohen's signature sound is a blend of Middle Eastern, eastern European, and African-American musical idioms.
Albert and Emil Mangelsdorff are two brothers who had an important impact on the development of German jazz. Emil studied clarinet at the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt, but he is more widely known for his saxophone playing. After he was a member of the illegal ensemble Hot Club, (jazz was banned in Germany at the time) he was imprisoned by the Gestapo and forced into the Hitler Army. After the war he performed in the Frankfurt All Stars and the Jazz-Ensemble des Hessischen Rundfunks before forming his own quartet in the 1960s. Albert is most known for his technique of playing multiphonics. A trombone player, he led a hard bop quintet in the late 50s, and performed frequently with his brother. This release is a compilation of concerts and studio sessions, recorded in the height of the brothers’ career, between 1956 and 1963.
Four Compositions (Wesleyan) 2013 / Anthony Braxton, Roland Dahinden, Hildegard Kleeb
Animal Music
CD
$64.99Apr 19, 2024
In September 2023, PMP is proud to release Anthony Braxton's "Four Compositions (Wesleyan) 2013", a limited deluxe 4-CD box set documenting the one-time meeting of an all-star trio featuring the legendary saxophonist and composer alongside Roland Dahinden (trombone), and Hildegard Kleeb (piano). This is the first album of the new Czech label PMP. Art Lange describes the impetus for the session in the liner notes: The 4 CD set box Four Compositions (Wesleyan) 2013 is built on the latest evolutional stage of Anthony Braxton's lifelong conceptualization and personalization of notation called Falling River Music. Braxton's systematic approach balances methodology and mythology, utilizing a variety of graphic designs as symbolic and representational characterizations of his sound vision. The scores incorporate numerical and alphabetical equations, abstract diagrams, and sections of conventional notation, along with spontaneously conceived, painted gestures connected to a web-like pattern of shorthand. In this album, Braxton explores the concept of "aesthetic networking "by having three musicians play from different scores simultaneously, creating a unique blend of impressions. The collaborative efforts of Roland Dahinden (trombone) and Hildegard Kleeb (piano) bring an intimate awareness of Braxton's language types and transformational procedures, resulting in rotating voicings, morphing tonalities, and labyrinthine counterpoint. Braxton's characteristic reed colors and personal lyricism are also showcased, along with occasional electronic elements, to enhance the overall sonic experience.
Experience Louis Armstrong at the height of his powers with this definitive 1959 Copenhagen concert, captured just months before his life changing heart attack. Drawn from newly restored Danish radio tapes, SCCD 36513 showcases Armstrong’s All Stars in explosive form—fiery “Tiger Rag,” soulful “Basin Street Blues,” a powerful “Black and Blue/Do You Know What It Means” medley, and joyous favorites like “Mack the Knife” and “When the Saints Go Marching In.” Featuring Velma Middleton, Trummy Young, Peanuts Hucko, Billy Kyle, Mort Herbert, and Danny Barcelona, this release reveals Armstrong’s unmatched stamina and emotional depth. Liner notes are by Ricky Riccardi, the Grammy winning Director of Research Collections at the Louis Armstrong House Museum and one of the world’s leading Armstrong scholars. A major archival addition to the Armstrong discography, presented with SteepleChase’s renowned audio restoration.
After the 45-year world jungle expedition, guitarist/composer/chieftain
Pierre Dørge takes his tribe to its home turf Copenhagen’s fabled Jazzhus Montmartre to record live their latest album filled with all but one new vibrant compositions by Dørge.
Donald Elfman of AAJ once remarked, “Pierre Dørge has what seems like a magical ability - he can re-imagine and re-think the way that music is voiced thus creating entire new worlds out of worlds we think we know.”
Saxophonist-composer Chris Byars, praised as a modern master of ensemble writing and conceptual storytelling, delivers new album The Dark Forest—his fifteenth release on SteepleChase and perhaps his most introspective to date. Byars’ signature Original Jazz Sextet achieves remarkable harmonic and emotional depth through intricate voicings and counterpoint.
Critics have celebrated Byars as a visionary of new bop vocabulary. His previous albums like Boptics and Rhythm and Blues of the 20s drew accolades for their smart, infectious writing and engaging solo showcases.
“… he knows his musicians so well, Byars is masterful in his writing, blending the reeds and trombone in intricate ensembles while letting the soloists all shine throughout.” (Ken Dryden – New York City Jazz Record on SCCD 31929)
Swedish bassist and composer Thommy Andersson makes his long-awaited SteepleChase leader debut with Shimmering Blue, a striking trio recording featuring Kirk Knuffke (cornet) and José Davila (helicon, tuba, didgeridoo, euphorium, and bass flute).
Known for his work with Pierre Dørge’s New Jungle Orchestra, Andersson now steps forward with a highly personal sound world—drumless, low-brass rich, and full of lyrical nuance.
Drawing on his background as a trombonist and cellist, Andersson crafts compositions that shimmer with color and emotional depth. From rustic tone poems to avant-garde textures, the album explores space, resonance, and melodic interplay with chamber-like intimacy.
Critics have praised his “supremely weighted bass playing” and ability to “facilitate exalted music.” Shimmering Blue is a bold, poetic statement from a seasoned artist—grounded in Nordic tradition, yet open to global textures and sonic surprise.
A trombone solo album is not exactly an everyday commodity, because the instrument is considered somewhat bulky, unwieldy and grumpy. In the hand of a master like Ray Anderson, however, one wonders how these prejudices could have come about, because he simply makes music with the trombone. "I've had this idea in my head since I started playing solo concerts in 1982," Ray Anderson recalled. "Anthony Braxton recorded the solo record ‘For Alto’ in 1969, where the challenge of playing an instrument alone without accompaniment is particularly interesting. So why not on the trombone too? Albert Mangelsdorff has recorded beautiful solo albums, and that by George Lewis is also very inspiring.”
CONTENTS:
Roswell Rudd: Keep Your Heart Right
Ray Anderson: Marching on, Blues for John Lewis
Ellington: Just Squeeze Me
Ray Anderson: Early Morning in the Andersonorious Jungle
Coltrane: Equinox
Irving Kahal, Sammy Fain, Pierre Norman: You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me
Ray Anderson: Choppers
Ray Anderson: The Sisyphus Effect
Mancini, H: Moon River
REVIEW:
Trombonist Ray Anderson draws on New Orleans parade traditions, Chicago street smarts, New York assertiveness and a lifetime of often challenging experiences to provide this enriching album.
Saxophonist, clarinettist, composer and visual artist Marcel Barta entered the Czech jazz and improvisation scene while still a student and has since become one of it's core members. He is a founding member of the electro-jazz quintet MUFF, the cult jazz sextet Vertigo and the duo DoMa Ensemble. Besides collaborating with many foremost artists from different genres on the home and international scene, he has been dedicating himself to composition, writing scenic music for the theatre company Farma v jeskyni (Farm in the Cave), among otherprojects. He is the recipient of multiple Czech Music Academy Awards in the jazz category, having also been nominated for the same award on a number of occasions. While Episodes from the Spinning Ball is the first recording to feature Barta's work exclusively, the eponymous composition is his first piece for a large ensemble. As composer and arranger he has taken part in dozens of projects and recordings, many of which were released by the label Animal Music. The new album brings a recording of a concert performance featuring the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, which took place as part of the jazz-symphonic crossover series New Horizons in February 2025 in the DOX+Multifunction Hall in Prague. Composed on a commission from the orchestra, the work formally resembles a suite in three parts. It is performed, however, as a continuous flow of music. In the author's own words, the piece "is an attempt to evoke a story that reflects my own planetary experience. The rotating ball in the title is a geoid, the shape of our own planet." Combining composed music with improvisation, the piece bears traces of Barta's original style, known for example from his work for Vertigo or Muff. It is rooted in jazz and contemporary classical music and unfolds like an elaborate story in which densely composed soundscapes interweave with delicate melodies and fine-grained instrumentation and whereorder coexists with improvisation and melancholy passages alternate with psychedelia and humour. The jazz band in the recording features, alongside Marcel Barta himself, trombonist stepan Janousek, keyboardist and synth player Vojtech Prochazka, double bassist Milos Klapsteand drummer Jan Chalupa. The whole jazz-symphonic ensemble is conducted by Bastien Stil who has had ample experience leading crossover projects.
Composer and guitarist Marcus Klossek, long recognized as a distinctive voice on the Fender Telecaster, presents Blink 7, the latest chapter in a band whose sound has evolved steadily from his long-running Electric Trio. Rooted in clarity, dynamic contrast, and a deep sense of interaction, the project reflects more than fifteen years of close musical collaboration. At the core of the ensemble are Carsten Hein on bass and Derek Scherzer on drums, longtime partners with whom Klossek has refined a highly responsive and nuanced group language. With Blink 6, this foundation expanded into a sextet, joined by three prominent figures from Berlin's jazz scene: Nikolaus Neuser, Ignaz Dinne (tenor saxophone), and Anke Lucks. The enlarged group quickly developed a strong collective identity, equally at ease with precise structure and open improvisation. Blink 7 continues this collaboration and introduces a new and distinctive voice: Korean vocalist Chamin. Appearing on three tracks-Go Not, Another One Beyond, and Unexpected Return-she sings and partially speaks Korean lyrics written by herself. Her voice adds a new layer of texture and expression, expanding the ensemble's tonal range and interacting organically with the instrumental voices rather than standing apart from them. In contrast to Blink 6, which was composed before the musicians were chosen, all eight compositions on Blink 7 were written specifically for this lineup. Klossek shaped each piece around the individual strengths and musical personalities of the players. "I knew what everyone could bring to the music," he explains. "That allowed me to write more precisely for the sound of the band." The result is music that unites clear compositional intent with the intuitive understanding that comes from long-standing collaboration. The album opens with Violet Shift, a rhythmically intricate piece built from interlocking patterns that suggest mechanical precision while maintaining an organic flow. Go Not begins with Chamin's whispered voice, creating an atmosphere of quiet tension and ambiguity. Ephyra (Third Dance) unfolds with a restrained, melancholic beauty, while Half Past Never features one of Klossek's most unrestrained guitar solos-raw, spontaneous, and unpredictable. On Another One Beyond, Chamin's voice further broadens the ensemble's harmonic space, while Begin Again, Swift highlights the band's agility, moving fluidly between tightly woven rhythms and open, airy phrasing. Glass Bridges introduces otherworldly sounds from Carsten Hein, blending acoustic bass with electronic elements. The closing track, Unexpected Return, brings the album to an energetic conclusion, driven by rhythmic momentum as Chamin's voice merges seamlessly with the horn section. Blink 7 captures a band at a mature and confident stage, balancing detailed composition with freedom and collective improvisation-music shaped as much by individual voices as by the shared identity they have built together.
Saxophonist, clarinettist, composer and visual artist Marcel Barta entered the Czech jazz and improvisation scene while still a student and has since become one of it's core members. He is a founding member of the electro-jazz quintet MUFF, the cult jazz sextet Vertigo and the duo DoMa Ensemble. Besides collaborating with many foremost artists from different genres on the home and international scene, he has been dedicating himself to composition, writing scenic music for the theatre company Farma v jeskyni (Farm in the Cave), among otherprojects. He is the recipient of multiple Czech Music Academy Awards in the jazz category, having also been nominated for the same award on a number of occasions. While Episodes from the Spinning Ball is the first recording to feature Barta's work exclusively, the eponymous composition is his first piece for a large ensemble. As composer and arranger he has taken part in dozens of projects and recordings, many of which were released by the label Animal Music. The new album brings a recording of a concert performance featuring the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, which took place as part of the jazz-symphonic crossover series New Horizons in February 2025 in the DOX+Multifunction Hall in Prague. Composed on a commission from the orchestra, the work formally resembles a suite in three parts. It is performed, however, as a continuous flow of music. In the author's own words, the piece "is an attempt to evoke a story that reflects my own planetary experience. The rotating ball in the title is a geoid, the shape of our own planet." Combining composed music with improvisation, the piece bears traces of Barta's original style, known for example from his work for Vertigo or Muff. It is rooted in jazz and contemporary classical music and unfolds like an elaborate story in which densely composed soundscapes interweave with delicate melodies and fine-grained instrumentation and whereorder coexists with improvisation and melancholy passages alternate with psychedelia and humour. The jazz band in the recording features, alongside Marcel Barta himself, trombonist stepan Janousek, keyboardist and synth player Vojtech Prochazka, double bassist Milos Klapsteand drummer Jan Chalupa. The whole jazz-symphonic ensemble is conducted by Bastien Stil who has had ample experience leading crossover projects.
1989: the wall falls – freedom at last! What could be more obvious than a German/ German jazz band. The musicians claim it as the first German/ German jazz band, as contact among them already existed before the wall came down. Not the form, but the musicians and their being are the quintessence - the form adapts. Every note, a statement. It's about creativity and improvisation. 1992 is the time. 30 years after the fall of the wall, much has changed in Germany. The mood is completely different. It is no longer a time of change and exploration, and now uncertainty and radicalization dominate. The music sounds different, but remains just as brilliant. Polyphonic melodies and rhythms characterize the sound. Jazz becomes even more of a home. The metamorphosis succeeds! The music fits into the new era.
Because Avishai Cohen’s previous outing—a 2017 album titled 1970 (Sony)—was his most commercially successful release thus far, one wouldn’t blame him for revisiting a similar artistic wellspring. Instead, for his 17th leader date, the bassist went in another direction, recruiting an entirely different set of musicians for the deeply personal, nostalgia-fueled Arvoles. Half the program here consists of trio recordings with pianist Elchin Shirinov and drummer Noam David, and on the other half, the band expands to a quintet with trombonist Björn Samuelsson and flutist Anders Hagberg. - DownBeat Magazine Editors' Pick
The Leipzig pianist and composer Jonas Timm and his seven-piece band not only captivate the listener with all his senses, but also take him along in the variety of his emotions. What seems to begin like an acoustic film noir, becomes more cheerful as the album progresses, and continues to go through more and more emotional states without ever becoming predictable. Much is reminiscent of Latin American dances, French chansons, soundtracks from old films and sometimes jazz.
Gnar Gnar Rad - Jazz Thing Next Generation, Vol. 102
Double Moon Records
CD
$16.99Apr 26, 2024
Oscar Pettiford. The Clash Art Blakey. A Tribe Called Quest. Charles Mingus (with Eric Dolphy). Only People Do The Killing. Cannonball Adderley. Primus. The Ornette Coleman Quartet. When Moritz Koser, bassist and composer from Frankfurt/Main, talks about points of reference and important influences, it goes all the way through music history. Gnar Gnar Rad, the quartet from Frankfurt, is his band. "Gnar Gnar Rad" is the album debut: a strong statement with which he effortlessly bridges the gap between jazz history and current trends.
Gottwald and his quartet Prisma – with the decisive addition of guitarist Christina Zurhausen – play seven compositions by the trombonist. Gottwald's formative influences ranged from Kid Ory to Albert Mangelsdorff, and the universal aspiration he places on his instrument is best embodied by a musician like Ray Anderson.
Magic … is one of the most overused terms for describing music. You seldom hear something that is really magical. On the other hand, the American bandleader Ray Anderson is a magician if there ever was one. His magic wand is the trombone. He masterly breaks down the boundaries between magic and reality, spirit and the physical, tradition and utopia.
In his upcoming album, «Brightlight,» Cohen showcases his multifaceted talents alongside a stellar ensemble of musicians. Among these are some of the brightest young talents from the new jazz scene, including drummer Roni Kaspi, pianist Guy Moskovich, his working core trio as the centre on many of the titles and joined by saxophonist Yuval Drabkin and many others hand-picked talented artists. Roni Kaspi brings a youthful vigor to the album, infusing the music with a sense of spontaneity and drive. After more than 3 years of touring with Avishai Cohen, she's even got a dedicated title on this recording ("Roni's Swing"), wrote by Cohen as an homage to her dynamic and energetic drumming. Guy Moskovich, a pianist whose harmonic sensibilities and technical prowess have garnered him recognition as a rising star in jazz, provides the perfect complement to Cohen's bass lines. Yuval Drabkin, on saxophone, adds another layer of richness to the extensive ensemble. His emotive playing and nuanced interpretations bring a compelling voice to the project, enhancing the album's overall depth.
In his upcoming album, «Brightlight,» Cohen showcases his multifaceted talents alongside a stellar ensemble of musicians. Among these are some of the brightest young talents from the new jazz scene, including drummer Roni Kaspi, pianist Guy Moskovich, his working core trio as the centre on many of the titles and joined by saxophonist Yuval Drabkin and many others hand-picked talented artists. Roni Kaspi brings a youthful vigor to the album, infusing the music with a sense of spontaneity and drive. After more than 3 years of touring with Avishai Cohen, she's even got a dedicated title on this recording ("Roni's Swing"), wrote by Cohen as an homage to her dynamic and energetic drumming. Guy Moskovich, a pianist whose harmonic sensibilities and technical prowess have garnered him recognition as a rising star in jazz, provides the perfect complement to Cohen's bass lines. Yuval Drabkin, on saxophone, adds another layer of richness to the extensive ensemble. His emotive playing and nuanced interpretations bring a compelling voice to the project, enhancing the album's overall depth.
