BBE Music presents a meeting of musical spirits in a unique live recording captured just a few months before the world changed due to a global pandemic. Recorded in September 2019, Live at Café Oto sees two giant heavyweights of the post-war Japanese jazz scene come together with a pair of exemplary musicians from the heart of the new UK jazz movement. Generations and continents apart but united as one for a very special concert.
Together, performing at London’s leading space of innovative and exploratory music – Café Oto in East London – pianist and composer Masahiko Satoh and drummer Takeo Moriyama fuse their musical forces with saxophonist Idris Rahman and bassist Leon Brichard, at the time both members of Ill Considered, one of the UK’s most notable experimental jazz groups.
Masahiko Satoh and Takeo Moriyama are more than mere players of their respective instruments. They inhabit a higher realm, a space closer to icons or totems in their chosen fields. Both Satoh-san and Moriyama-san emerged as potent forces in the late 1960s – Satoh-san as an experimental and iconoclastic composer and pianist and Moriyama-san as the dynamo to the blistering Yosuke Yamashita Trio – a critical period in the development of free and modern jazz in Japan. A time that witnessed creative boundaries dissolve, new vectors of cultural transmission emerge and the very definition of ‘jazz’ undergoes intense and wide-ranging reframing by a new generation of artist. These artists eschewed prior conventions and forms and looked to construct a new musical vernacular.
That spirit of change and transformation is shared with the two younger players who accompanied them on that autumn Sunday evening in East London. As members of Ill Considered, reed player Idris Rahman and bassist Leon Brichard (Brichard has since left the group) were at the fulcrum of the burgeoning UK jazz and improvisation scene that has taken the world by storm in recent years. Ill Considered’s sound was – and remains – centred on free improvisation and, in their own words, ‘based loosely around simple pre-written themes or composed on the spot’. It was therefore natural that Idris and Leon were well matched to play alongside two seasoned veterans of the revolutionary free improvising scene of the late 60s and early 70s Japan.
Live at Café Oto presents a unique moment as generations meet in a unity of purpose to create a truly ecstatic experience that will not be forgotten by those lucky enough to be in the audience that night. That special moment can now be shared with you.
Recorded live at Cafe Oto, 8 September 2019
Produced by Tony Higgins
Mixing by Masahiko Satoh
Mastering by Taishi Taruoka
Mastering and Lacquer cut by Frank Merritt at The Carvery
Photography by Eddie Otchere & Tony Higgins
Design by Jake Holloway

Tracks 1-9 & 14 originally issued by Folkways Records in 1964 as 'Mary Lou Williams Presents' F 2843; all tracks recorded in New York City at Cue Studios and Nola Studios between August 1962 and November 1963. Tracks 10-13 previously unreleased.
Reissue compiled, annotated, and produced by Fr. Peter F. O'Brien, S.J., on behalf of the Mary Lou Williams Foundation.
℗© 2004 Smithsonian Folkway Recordings

Tina Brooks的專輯長年為樂迷們視為稀有珍品，其演奏風格不同於當時其他的薩克斯風手，即興樂句聽來內斂不張狂，並喜歡在主流架構的邊緣上游移，開放式的手法則充滿驚喜，值得玩味。
薩克斯風手 Tina Brooks 的照片總是留著八字鬍，嘴裡叼著煙，手上抱著樂器。Man 的很，但怎樣有個女生的名字！？原來這是個美麗的小誤會。小時候 Brooks 身材矮小，朋友們替他取了個「矮子布魯克斯」＜Tiny Brooks＞的綽號，後來不知怎樣 Tiny 變成了 Tina，出道後索性就叫自己 " Tina " Brooks。Brooks 的演奏天份人人稱讚，當時幾張作品都讓大家抱著「新一代薩克斯風巨星」準備降臨的期待。但 Brooks 的音樂壽命卻很短，原因無他，就是「天底下爵士樂手都會犯的錯」。他讓毒品毀了他的身體，三十歲之後就因為健康因素不再演奏，真正活躍的時間不過短短三年＜1958 ~ 1961＞，留下了四張個人專輯，《True Blue》、《Back to the Tracks》與《The Waiting Game》，四十二歲就過世了。
而最讓當代爵士樂迷翻來覆去的是 : Tina Brooks的專輯非常難找。不過四張專輯卻全是以「鑑賞家系列」＜Blue Note Connoisseur Series＞的名義限量發行＜該系列簡單說就是絕版許久的錄音得以探頭的少數出口＞。而本專輯《True Blue》更是叫樂迷望穿秋水數十載，美國的數位發行直到西元 1994 年才出土，很快絕版後直到今天才終於以 RVG 系列的名義重新發行。在國外爵士討論區的朋友會發現，論壇裡常有一個叫做「您最希望哪張專輯被重新發行」的主題，而討論串裡的回應這張專輯十之八九列名其中，足可見大家對它的期待，同時也為裡面的音樂內容增添了不少神秘色彩。於是，現在是揭開專輯神秘面紗的時候了。
True Blue 專輯裡除了 Tina Brooks 的次中音薩克斯風外，還有當時相當年輕的小號手 Freddie Hubbard，以及由鋼琴手 Duke Jordan、貝斯手 Sam Jones 與鼓手 Art Taylor 所組成的節奏組共五人演奏，是最標準的硬式咆勃爵士編制。音樂部分也是最純粹的硬式咆勃風，以五首 Brooks 的個人創作為主軸，外加一首標準曲“Nothing Ever Changes My Love for You”構成了專輯的血與肉。Brooks 的演奏風格不同於當時其他的薩克斯風手，他的即興樂句聽來內斂不張狂，並喜歡在主流架構的邊緣上游移，而開放式的即興手法則讓聽者難以去預料他的下一步。或者可以換個角度看，Brooks 即興的不可預測性或許是因為他仍在摸索方向，然而方向尚未固定，人卻遠去。

Those inclined toward improvised music can usually find something worthwhile in all forms of it. But even the most blindly faithful recognize when a session shoots so high that it sounds more like a rocket than a record. The First Original Silence is that kind of instant attention-grabber. Original Silence use the same tools as many improv groups: rolling percussion, squawking horns, guitar feedback, and scraggly electronic noise. But these six sound-crushers have added some sort of performance-enhancing drug, injecting their sound with energy rare to any music, improvised or otherwise.
That shouldn't be a surprise given the pedigree of the participants. High-level improv is routine for sax player Mats Gustafsson and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love (both from free jazz dynamo the Thing), guitarist Terrie Ex of the Ex, bassist Massimo Pupillo of Zu, and guitarist Thurston Moore and Jim O'Rourke (on electronics here) of whatever it is they do. But improv history is littered with mediocre records made by well-heeled musicians unable to get out of each other's way.
Original Silence avoid such pitfalls by committing to improv-rock, the kind that actually sounds like experimental rock music rather than just rock musicians noodling. This is due mostly to the heavy gravitational force of Nilssen-Love and Pupillo, whose metallic rhythms swing between structure and freedom. The closest parallel to their bombastic stomp is the hammering lurch of Norwegian trio Noxagt; in fact, much of The First Original Silence sounds like Noxagt gone free-jazz, an enticing prospect to be sure.
Recorded during a 2005 tour of Italy, the album gets off to a ferocious start, grafting Minutemen-like bounce to Gustafsson's guttural horn playing. "If Light Has No Age, Time Has No Shadow" continues to hurtle forward from there, remaining insistent and vigorous through 15 minutes of tonal changes. Most impressive is how the musicians never step on each other; their fluid exchange of sonic positions almost feels conducted. When Pupillo backs down, Moore or Ex fills in with cutting string-work, only to slip underneath O'Rourke's squiggly slashes, which in turn make way for Gustafsson's full-body bellows.
The 45-minute closer "In the Name of the Law" is understandably not as high-speed. It does have stretches of mass hysteria, especially a crazed section starting around eight minutes in, where a nearly-4/4 beat, wailing guitar noise, and Gustafsson's Albert Ayler-esque squalls evoke the Stooges' "L.A. Blues". But even the most placid moments crackle. Stretches of electronic whirr, minimal guitar clang (reminiscent of Evol-era Sonic Youth), and thick atmosphere all emit an electric charge. Even the final 15 minutes, a nearly rhythm-less denouement, has enough plot points to keep you turning the sonic pages.
Long improv tracks have become such a cliché that they often seem doomed to fail. But Original Silence attacks these two epics like sprints instead of marathons, and The First Original Silence proves you don't have to stop playing to catch your breath.

First time on CD for this Japanese release. Digitally remastered using 24 bit Super Bit Mapping. 14 tracks recorded live in 1956-1954 at the Carlton Theatre in Los Angeles and the Masonic Temple in Ann Arbor. 2000 release. Standard jewel case.

Chet Baker是一位出色的冷爵士小号演奏家,同时也是一位优秀的爵士歌手,他用极具魅力的表达方式掩饰了他天生嗓音条件的不足.。Baker英俊的外形酷似一名电影明星,然而他却在50年代中期染上了吸毒,从此毒瘾一直伴随着他的后半生。

This third and final Pacific Jazz volume of the Chet Baker Quartet in concert continues with more music from the August 1954 date at the Tiffany Club in Los Angeles (some of which was heard on Vol. 2 in this CD series). Baker is in great form on trumpet throughout this performance, accompanied by pianist Russ Freeman, bassist Carson Smith, and drummer Bob Neel. The group is well-rehearsed and in top form, beginning with a turbocharged run through Charlie Parker's "My Little Suede Shoes." There are some songs previously covered in different versions on the earlier volumes ("Line for Lyons," "My Old Flame," "Carson City Stage," as well as Freeman's "The Wind" and "Russ Job"), but these versions not only measure up to the earlier ones but in several cases improve upon them.

mandatory reality, the new album by joshua abrams & natural information society, is here. setting aside (for the moment) the electric instrumentation of simultonality (2017) & magnetoception (2015), joshua abrams conceived mandatory reality for an eight-piece acoustic manifestation of NIS, consisting of himself on guimbri, lisa alvarado - harmonium & gongs, mikel avery - tam-tam & gongs, ben boye - autoharp & piano, hamid drake - tabla & tar, ben lamar gay - cornet, nick mazzarella - alto saxophone, & jason stein - bass clarinet. a 2 LP set, the album is comprised largely of two performances, both joshua abrams compositions, 24 & 40 minutes in length. while new to the band’s records, long duration pieces are familiar to those who’ve heard JA&NIS in concert in recent years, where elaboration on a single composition for an hour or more is not unusual.
gradual tempos dominate mandatory reality. recorded two months before the 2017 solar eclipse, mandatory reality is the sound of joshua abrams & NIS taking its time. merging methodical compositions with sonically voluptuous orchestration, abrams heightens the immersive & hypnotic qualities JA&NIS music is known for, taking the band & the listener deep into a collective meditative space. a grand realization of long-form psychedelic music, mandatory reality is a dispatch from a sound world that is increasingly unique to itself.
all performances on mandatory reality are full takes recorded live to tape by the full ensemble, magnificently captured by greg norman at electrical audio, chicago—the first true ‘audiophile’ recording of joshua abrams & natural information society. mastered by helge sten at audio virus, oslo.
x2LP, mte-70/71, pressed on premium audiophile-quality vinyl at RTI from kevin gray lacquers. textured gatefold stoughton ‘laserdisc’ jacket, retro-audiophile sleeves & record labels hand-screenprinted by alan sherry at siwa studios, northern new mexico. edition of 999 copies. x2CD, mte-71/72, presented in a six-panel digipak, edition 999 copies.
liner notes
Sometime in the early 2000s I went to see the band Town and Country and remember wishing that their tunes went on longer. They were clearly referencing Minimal music, but without its durational aspect. Since that band’s demise, Josh Abrams has made a series of hypnotic albums with his own group, Natural Information Society, in a different, more jazz-based direction than Town and Country. Magnetoception’s double album format allowed for an marked expansion of material; loosening some of the time restrictions let the music’s repetitions really take hold, and now with Mandatory Reality, another double album, he has made what can only be called an epic. The pieces are structured within a properly Minimalist framework, and the track lengths are extended even more dramatically to do so. Twenty or even forty minute running times are not so unusual for exploratory jazz, where solo space tends to be left open-ended, but there are few solos on Mandatory Reality. NIS is an all-acoustic ensemble here, which reinforces the chamber music vibe; eliminating electric guitars and drum kits this time removes the hints of rock, fusion or African pop music found in prior NIS lineups.
The haunting “Memory’s Prism” starts off with guimbri and autoharp playing a simple repeated scalar figure, in the tradition of many of Don Cherry’s melodies (such guimbri patterns are the foundation of much of NIS’ music). A few sustained notes are chosen to hover above it in succession, recalling Minimalist classics like Philip Glass’ Music With Changing Parts and Frederic Rzewski’s Coming Together; as denser harmonies are added, the figure shifts but the tonal center stays ambiguous. When “Finite” starts, one can’t help but notice how similar its basic melody is to “Memory’s Prism”—it turns out that “Memory’s Prism” grew out of “Finite.” “Finite”’s tempo is slightly faster, but it introduces instruments more gradually. Following the guimbri, the horns disperse the melody, each taking a single note separately, spatialized in the stereo image. At one point they start to stretch the pitches out, sax and piano adding filigrees (the sax quoting a Coltrane solo, from “Spiritual”). The guimbri phrase goes through different permutations, with notes being subtly subtracted as the piece goes on; twenty minutes in, the changes become more noticeable as the guimbri figure is now half as long as it was when it started. Over the next twenty minutes the guimbri part is further broken down until it’s a single note, with the instruments playing in unison on every beat.
This makes for a natural lead-in to “Shadow Conductor,” a shorter piece of fast, jabbing eighth notes, much like Julius Eastman’s four-piano works from the late 70s and somewhat similar to the beginning of “Ophlucus” from NIS’s Simultonality LP. The feeling, though, is more hushed than frantic. There’s a tension in the close intervals, and again some sustained tones are overlaid, as on “Memory’s Prism.” Everyone joins in on wooden flutes for “Agree,” either letting long notes twist microtonally or contributing rapidly chattering high pitches. Its ghostly ambience can also found in John Stevens/Spontaneous Music Orchestra’s ’ “Sustained Piece” or Cornelius Cardew’s The Great Learning, where massed voices carry drone tones in artless concordance.
While Minimalism has roots in modal jazz, among other things, there has been very little crossover --Stevens’ free music/drone pieces c. 1970 (as heard on For You To Share) were an early experiment, Terry Riley’s 1975 concert and radio sessions with Don Cherry in Köln & Marion Brown’s appearance on Harold Budd’s Pavilion of Dreams being rare meetings of the two worlds. Both the Shandar and India Navigation labels released albums by free jazz and Minimalist composers in the 70s, though without connecting the dots. Mandatory Reality is a bold statement that dives headlong into the possibilities of this largely unknown lineage, a fully realized reckoning of jazz and Minimal methodologies. -- Alan Licht
Abrams: guimbri, flute
Lisa Alvarado: gongs, harmonium, flute
Mikel Patrick Avery: gongs, tam-tam, flute
Ben Boye: electric autoharp, piano, flute
Hamid Drake: tabla, tar, flute
Ben Lamar Gay: cornet, flute
Nick Mazzarella: alto saxophone, flute
Jason Stein: bass clarinet, flute
recorded: Chicago, Electrical Audio, 2017
producers: Abrams & Michael Ehlers
engineer: Greg Norman
cover painting: Lisa Alvarado
screenprinting: Alan Sherry

Sam Rivers – tenor saxophone
Jaki Byard – piano
Ron Carter – bass
Tony Williams – drums
Fuchsia Swing Song is the debut album by Americ an saxophonist Sam Rivers recorded in 1964 and released on the Blue Note label. The album was reissued on CD in 1995, and again in 2003 as part of the "Connoisseur Series" (limited edition series) including four alternate takes as bonus tracks.
The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek awarded the album 4½ stars and stated "By the time of his debut, Rivers had been deep under the influence of John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman, but wasn't willing to give up the blues just yet. Hence the sound on Fuchsia Swing Song is one of an artist who is at once very self-assured, and in transition... This is a highly recommended date. Rivers never played quite like this again".

Joe Henderson – tenor saxophone
Eliane Elias – piano (tracks 1-4)
Herbie Hancock – piano (tracks 6-11)
Oscar Castro-Neves – guitar (tracks 1, 2, 5)
Nico Assumpção – bass (tracks 1-4)
Christian McBride – bass (tracks 6-12)
Paulo Braga – drums (tracks 1-4)
Jack DeJohnette – drums (tracks 6-7, 9, 11)

音乐人的脑袋总是充满各种想像，一个个奇幻美丽且通常不合逻辑的虚拟世界在脑内建构著，展现出来的成品是空气的振动。
爵士钢琴家许郁瑛的最新创作〈波杰克特三 PROJECT 3〉打破传统编制组合，以钢琴、鼓、吉他和弦乐四重奏为声响核心，三首长篇曲目诉说三段奇幻行旅故事，却又彼此连绵交织。
〈波杰克特三 PROJECT 3〉穿梭于印度与义大利；过去与现在；都会与原始部落；他者与自我──有如梦境想像拼贴，亦是奇异时空之旅。期盼将谱纸上平面延展的音符化为一幅幅奇想立体世界，触发听者对自身未知境界的探索。
*本专辑获文化部影视及流行音乐产业局补助
Breaking away from the traditional jazz structure of introducing a melodic theme followed by improvisations, PROJECT 3 is a trilogy featuring more classically-inclined instruments: a string quartet, piano, drums and guitar. The album invites listeners on three fantastical journeys, each told in three chapters, painted visually through music.
Traversing from India to Italy; the past and the present; the urban and nature; mass and self──PROJECT 3 is the culmination of quiet observations transformed into auditory fantasies.