New for 2012 - Spiritual Jazz 2 - Europe

I've been working on this for a while, now it's ready, and the double LP/CD/download will be out in Feb 2012.

 

As the ‘60s progressed, cultural and political revolutions occurred both in the US and in Europe. Jazz was both a victim and a saviour, with radical developments in the music occurring in both continents. In the US, artists took control of their own musical destiny as small labels broke away from the mainstream, expressing new and creative visions of freedom and peace against a backdrop of civil unrest, repression and war. Be sure to check the first volume of this series, Spiritual Jazz (JMANCD.020). In ‘60s Europe the jazz community forged ahead with a different revolution; that of breaking away from mere emulation of their American counterparts. A distinctive, European jazz sound began to develop that combined traditional music from across Europe and around the world with the creative freedom so abundant in American jazz. Over time the most forward-thinking creative talents of the post-Coltrane European jazz generation crafted and nurtured sophisticated and multi-faceted styles of jazz that were as radical as they were beautiful, giving modern jazz a characteristically European flavour.

THE MUSIC
A heady mix indeed; stirring jazz overtures with orchestra and choir, festival performances recorded live from the grassy heartlands of central Europe, modal montages inspired by pilgrimages to Asia and Africa, experiments in rhythm and sound where modern jazz meets traditional Balkan and Flamenco folk music. This is Spiritual Jazz – European style.

We dedicate this album to Michael Garrick, who died shortly before its release. His contribution to UK jazz was profound, and we’re proud to include one of his previously-unreleased tracks.

·All tracks fully licensed and digitally restored from the original master tapes

·Comprehensive liner notes with individual notes on each track with original stories direct from the musicians and artists

·16 page colour CD booklet with in-depth liner notes, album cover scans and previously unpublished photographs

·Most tracks never before reissued – previously only available on rare LP’s that change hands for hundreds of dollars.

·180g double vinyl pressing with thick, glossy double gatefold sleeve and colour inserts

·RARE and FINE music heard only on Jazzman – all because WE DIG DEEPER!

• 1. Erich Kleinschuster- Communion (Austria)
• 2. Albert Mangelsdorff - Varie (Germany)
• 3. Michael Garrick - Temple Dancer (UK, previously unreleased version)
• 4. Raphael - Archangelo (Belgium)
• 5. Barney Wilen - Africa Freakout (France)
• 6. Nicolai Gromin - Corrida (Czechoslovakia)
• 7. Heikki Sarmanto - Duke and Trane (Finland)
• 8. Wroblewski Jazz Quintet - Nana Imboro (Poland)
• 9. Dusko Goykovic - Bosna Calling (Yugoslavia)
• 10. Pedro Iturralde - Las Morillas de Jaen (Spain)
• 11. Hans Dulfer - Candy Clouds Pt 2 (Holland)

• 
  

London Metro 14 Nov

Here's a little piece in the London Metro that was published today. Can anyone guess which record it is?

Coming Soon - Tino Contreras CD/dbl LP

TINO CONTRERAS

JMANCD/LP.043

A lifetime of waltz-time exotica, latinesque choral chants and psychedelic modal jazz from Mexico’s best kept musical secret!

INTRODUCTION

Our never-ending mission to reveal the under-appreciated-yet-worthy-of-attention jazz masters around the world has now taken us far away and across the sea to Mexico. Not the first port of call you’d consider if you were looking for hard bop or modal jazz, but here we have found an incredible jazz drummer whose career has spanned over 5 decades, and is still playing to this day. In that time Tino Contreras has produced countless recordings, played on innumerable live dates, and has performed with various jazz groups all around the world. Yet he is still relatively unknown, and probably Mexico’s best kept secret in jazz.

We tell the story of the maverick that is Tino Contreras and showcase his unique and fascinating career with 16 tracks, a 12 page colour CD booklet and a double gatefold LP.

THE MUSIC

During his far-reaching travels over the years, all kinds of weird and wonderful sounds have come to influence the music of the imaginative Mexican jazzman. Hear latinesque ritual chants in Orfeo en los Tambores, insane percussion in the high-tempo jazz-dance favourite What is This Thing Called Love,  avant-garde experimentation with a psychedelic subframe in Orbita, exotic waltz-time jazz in Visnu and religiously-themed chamber jazz with choir in Credo, Santo and Gloria. Not only that, but noted influences from India, Egypt, Turkey and Brasil create a most fascinating jazz album, the likes of which you will most likely never have heard before. We hope you enjoy as much as Tino does:

·         Eclectic recordings made during the course of a lifetime by a very special Mexican jazz drummer during his worldwide travels

·         Never-before-seen pictures, photos and images from Tino Contreras’ personal collection on one CD/double gatefold LP

·         Extensive original liner notes in both English AND Spanish with comments from Tino himself

·         180g vinyl pressing with original art sleeve in gloss

RARE and FINE music heard only on Jazzman – all because WE DIG DEEPER!

Handmade knitted record bags

Now hear this! Kym 'Miss Shingaling' who used to work for us at Jazzman before she returned to her native USA has just started a line in custom handmade 'knitted' record bags. They're made of board and are covered in cosy knitwear. Yes, they actually work and are fully functional. These are a first I think? I've certainly never seen or heard of them before. Although not something I would use personally, unless it was black with a skull and crossbones or something, I think they're pretty cool.

An interview with the widow of Sahib Shihab

Here's a chap who is one of my all-time favourite jazzmen. Nobody else played the flute or baritone like Sahib. Interview

On the Radio with Little Miss Sunshine

The multi-faceted Orsi the Jazzgirl is an enthusiastic and dedicated music lover, and she kindly invited me on her highly respected radio show the other day. She drank all my beer and persuaded me to play some records. Have a look here and listen how it went:

Little Miss Sunshiine #27 feat. Jazzman by Laid Back on Mixcloud

The Best of Jef Gilson

A lifetime in jazz from the illustrious French musician, producer, composer, arranger, band leader, sound engineer, music teacher, label-owner, and multi-instrumentalist par excellence!

Our long-awaited 'Best of Jef Gilson' CD/double LP is finally ready! It looks and sounds GORGEOUS! Very pleased with this one. Despite our high standards this is still one of the best things we have done, I'm really happy how the album as a whole has come out. Available on our website very soon!

You get 80 mins of the finest music created over a lifetime, with 5000 words of biographical liner notes in place. They have all been translated into French too for the benefit of our Gallic friends. We've also amassed an amazing selection of hitherto unseen pics, photos and posters. You can see them on this video that Fryer has put together for us. This is the music of JEF GILSON!

Tracklist for LP and CD:

A1 Up to the Light 1:35
A2 Accueil 1:14
A3 Valse Pour Helene 2:30
A4 Blue-Bizz 6:59
A5 Valse a Quatre Temps 3:05
A6 Agnus Dei 2:55
B7 Modalité Pour Mimi 3:49
B8 Three Four One 3:53
B9 Chakan 2:26
B10 Jazz a la Quarte 3:28
B11 Un Pas, Deux Pas, Cent Pas 2:30
B12 Valerie’s Waltz 3:45
C13 Suite Pour San Remo: Ouverture 4:25
C14 Strings for One 5:40
C15 Suite Pour San Remo: Adriano 4:11
C16 Espagnolade 6:33
D17 Chant Inca 4:11
D18 Hommage a Rakotozafy 4:49
D19 The Creator has a Masterplan 11:28


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On the radio with Dom Servini

Had some fun last night with Dom Servini at Colourful radio. Chit chat about Jazzman and the opportunity to play some Jazzman releases from the past few years. Later on I get to play a few 45s that I brought along from my collection. Worth a listen!

Click Here. Then click on the LISTEN AGAIN link and scroll down to 14.

Belgium Popcorn

Here's a short documentary on Belgian Popcorn which has just come out. If you have 12 minutes to spare, it's well worth watching!

Belgian Popcorn from Laid Back on Vimeo.

Natural Yogurt Band - interview

Here's a quick link to an interview of Miles of the Natural Yogurt Band. He lifts the lid on what's what and who's who and shares some NYB secrets - and about time too!

 

Jazzman Interview

The good people at Monobrow asked me a few questions recently, make yourself a cup of tea and click here for a quick read

The Greg Foat Group - Hello Old Friend

Taken from the forthcoming album 'The Greg Foat Group' JMANLP/CD.041

OUT NOW - JEF GILSON 7" EP

It’s always an honour for us to re-release cool & obscure records, but as honours go they surely come no greater than bringing you music from one of the most brilliant and productive jazzmen ever to have lived: French pianist, composer and arranger extraordinaire Jef Gilson.

With his career spanning the best part of a century, Gilson has made music with a who’s who of European and American jazz greats, has written, performed on and recorded innumerable film scores, albums and 45s, ran the Palm jazz record label… yet despite all this the 84 year old Frenchman remains criminally under appreciated by so many jazz fans. Look him up on the internet – there isn’t even a Wikipedia entry! We address this unfortunate situation by releasing 19 songs spanning decades of his recording career in our forthcoming album JMANCD/LP.042 ‘Jef Gilson’. But for now, here is a sumptuous taster in the form of a LTD EDN 4 track 7” EP featuring two of his finest creations, the awesome ‘Chakan’ and ‘Modalite Pour Mimi’. As a bonus the flipside has two more tracks NOT to be found on the album.

· Four songs recorded by French jazz genius
· Hand-printed colour sleeves and hand-numbered 33rpm 7” vinyl limited to 500 copies only
· Watch out for the CD and double gatefold LP ‘JEF GILSON’ coming soon
· Two songs ONLY available on the EP – these will NOT be available on the Jef Gilson album*

A1 Chakan
A2 Modalite Pour Mimi
B1 Jef’s Blues*
B2 Hectorologie*

Jef Gilson EP by Jazzmanrecords

OUT NOW - Terea - CD and LTD 500 VINYL PRESS

In the olden days the music business was a torrid set of affairs run by hustlers, sharks and gangsters. Broken promises, deceit and corruption was the order of the day, and to be thrown out of a window was seen as a rite of passage into the business.

Amongst all this hustle and bustle was the murky world of the ‘tax scam’ label. Set up for wealthy individuals to invest in as a means to take advantage of a tax loophole, labels such as Tiger Lilly, Guinness and Baby Grand (upon which Terea was released) released many hundreds of obscure titles. The records themselves never saw a proper release and were often dumped in cut-out bins – or taken straight to the dump itself. As such, many of these LPs, including this album by Californian soul outfit Terea, remain extremely scarce and are now highly-prized collectors items.

In his liner notes to our reissue of the Terea album. producer Dennis Dreith lifts the lid on the shady business of the tax scam labels. Not only that but he tells us the story of Terea and the dedicated musicians who freely recorded the music they wanted to record without obligation to the record companies and A&R men. It was in these circumstances that the Terea LP was recorded, a work of art if only for the utterly joyous ‘Pretty Bird’.

Terea by Jazzmanrecords

OUT NOW... The Greg Foat Group 10" EP

Taken from the forthcoming Jazzman album (The Greg Foat Group - JMANCD/LP.041), this is the debut release from British pianist/composer/arranger Greg Foat. The 3 track 10” vinyl EP contains an intriguing blend of non-contemporary jazz sounds with classic scoring techniques, utilizing an exotic array of unorthodox instrumentation including harpsichord, tubular bells and a 15 piece choir. Recorded 100% analogue in Sweden – no computerised jiggery pokery here! With musical influence from such luminaries as Bruno Nicolai, Michel Legrand and Serge Gainsbourg as well as a firm nod towards UK jazzmen Michael Garrick, Keith Mansfield and Alan Hawkshaw, the result is highly-listenable, enduring and fulfilling for those who like real music played with real instruments.

• Debut recording by outstanding UK jazz pianist, composer and arranger
• Hand-printed, hand-stamped and hand-numbered 10” vinyl
• Limited to 500 copies only
• Non-contemporary jazz recorded in Sweden
• Watch out for the album ‘Dark is the Sun’ coming soon!

The Greg Foat Group 10" EP by Jazzmanrecords

Here's some footage from a DJ gig in Gent, Belgium from a couple of weeks back. I think I had a bit too much of the local brew again, nothing new there. It's always fun to get out and play records LOUD :)

Sun Ra has Landed

The Sun Ra 45rpm triple box sets we did in 2010 were so popular we sold all 999 copies within 24 hours of release. As Sun Ra was so prolific in his musical output it wasn't hard to find more of his 45s worthy of re-release in the same format. So we have made another triple pack, this time on clear vinyl and with a bonus 7" glow-in-the-dark slipmat to play them on. The records arrived at Jazzman HQ just the other day, so here's a quick preview of 'A Foggy Day'.