Collection: Jazz

Format Notes: 25th Anniversary vinyl reissue, 140g double vinyl, remastered audio with restored artwork and fresh liners.

South African producer Cool Affair returns to Cataleya with an innovative track that blends genres effortlessly. Motoric Patterns is a real hypnotic groover, with sweet keys and vocal harmonies. The sound is somewhere between Broken Beat, Downtempo and even Deep House. Keyboard wizard and Broken Beat pioneer Kaidi Tatham provides a fantastic remix. His version features classic fractured beats and soul kissed touches. Tatham even adds an extra vocal hook. Motoric Patterns is a singular winner!

Produced in eastern Sicily between Mount Etna and Ionian seashore, Oltremare recalls the idea of what’s beyond the sea, evoking the dialogue between Northern and Southern Italy, Europe and America, and all the extremes that are divided by the sea, in a constant -yet inspiring conversation that can only lead to contamination. Franco Corica and Andrea Normanno join forces with multi-talented and revered dj and producer Byron The Aquarius, who infuses his blissful touch to this jazz-funk inspired house record.

After a quiet return via Neroli, Domu comes full circle to 2000black with a final statement after 25 years of sonic highs, lows and plenty of reinvention. Haunted by the echoes of jungle's past, Domu steps away for good, he says, with this final outing, which leaves behind three deeply personal tracks. 'A Madness' brims with urgent, sample-heavy energy and signature keys. 'Not Him Again' is a jam with longtime collaborator Robert Marin that plays with tempo and hip-hop norms. 'Them Things' then seeks to capture an elusive feeling and closes an EP that is Domu at his most reflective and raw. The end of an era. Don't let it pass you by.

Italian jazz trio Collettivo Immaginario announces the release of their second full-length album, 'Oltreoceano'. Known for their slick sound and energetic live performances, their style is firmly rooted in the jazz tradition of collective improvisation, through which they have developed an agile, kaleidoscopic sound. The trio’s unique fusion of funk, jazz, and 70's electronica continues in the trio’s latest release, forging connections across oceans through the universal language of music. Consisting of founder Tommaso Cappellato on drums and percussion, Nicolò Masetto on electric bass, and Alberto Lincetto on rhodes, piano, and synths, Collettivo Immaginario have become rising stars in the Italian festival scene, from the streets of their hometown in Italy to the diverse audiences in Los Angeles, London and Milan. Subtly paying homage to genre-bending giants like Azymuth, Lonnie Liston Smith, Herbie Hancock, and Hermeto Pascoal—alongside Italian film music legends Piero Piccioni and Piero Umiliani—their sound moves effortlessly between the heat of the club and the cinematic allure of evocative film scores, infused with touches of spiritual jazz.

This debut album by Amsterdam-based guitarist Johnny Biner is a modern day jazz piece, with hints of soul, funk, hip-hop, and latin jazz as well. It's the follow-up of his 7-inch 'Don't Ask Me/Way Too Long', which came out in 2023 and launched his solo endeavours. Johnny's compositions are filled with warmth and unexpected left turns, such as the raw banger 'Tonic Water' (which got featured on the Super-Sonic Jazz compilation) and the beautiful samba-inspired jazz-funk tune 'Pick It Up'. There are lots of layers to this musician, and they're all cohesive with his sound. The album obviously is a way out for the artist, from creating it at home or in the studio with his close musician friends and sharing it with the public. But the process has equally been a healing way out of the everyday life. Think of the moments when music teleports your mind out of the earthly spheres, into the more universal ones, this is what 'A Way Out' would represent as well. The power of honest music. "If US guitarist Isaiah Sharkey and Brazilian guitarist Toninho Horta would've had a European baby, it could've made 'A Way Out'."

Koinè is the new album by Pellegrino & Zodyaco, a record that explores the desire to escape by interpreting it as an act of emancipation, an aimless journey in search of creative freedom. The demonstration that escapism, when it is conscious, can bring us back to the heart of things. Inspired by Éloge de la fuite by Henri Laborit, the album embarks on a journey to discover a “common language” (Koinè), blending Neapolitan roots with a global and contemporary musical vision. It blends melodic traditions with disco, funk, jazz fusion, and world music, experimenting with vintage instruments, ethnic percussion, and Mediterranean atmospheres. Pellegrino, a pioneer of the “new school” Neapolitan sound, after 4 years since his last LP “Morphé” (2020) continues the path started with Zodyaco I (2018), painting an authentic portrait of modern Naples and celebrating musical contamination as a form of creative euphoria.

Arthur Russell aka Indian Ocean was a celebrated experimental jazz cellist who co-founded the independent label Sleeping Bag Records with Will Socolov in 1981. Prior to that, Russell served as the musical director at The Kitchen, an avant-garde venue in New York, during 1974 and 1975. He later shifted his focus to dance music, producing or co-producing several underground club hits under various names such as Dinosaur L, Loose Joints, and Indian Ocean between 1978 and 1988. Throughout his career, Russell collaborated with a diverse range of artists, including musicians Peter Gordon, Peter Zummo, and Talking Heads, as well as DJs like Nicky Siano, Steve D'Aquisto, and Walter Gibbons. We are excited to announce the re-release of the intriguing single 'School Bell / Tree House', created in collaboration with Walter Gibbons, a true slight of NYC dancefloor in their typical 'Proto House' style. This single will be reissued in the Sleeping Bag's iconic sleeve and limited-edition yellow vinyl.

Record Store Day Exclusive "Frozen Lake Michigan" Color 140g 2xLP, in a heavyweight UV-Gloss jacket, with 12"x12" insert booklet, with IA OBI Strip & printed inner sleeves. Gilles Peterson presents International Anthem is a Deluxe Double LP compilation chronicling the infamous London-based radio host, DJ, label head, curator and cultural impresario's long-standing affinity for and interaction with artists and music from the Chicago-born record label International Anthem.

As the leader of new outfit Sarter Kit, saxophonist Tara Sarter is creating a unique form of minimal, experimental jazz drawing on humanist principles and shared experiences. Her uncluttered and emotionally heavy debut album 'What I am and What I'm Not' creates an open, instrumental soundworld, where breaks and silences command equal gravitas as the notes and beats. The masterful drumming of Lukas Akintaya dances between oblique patterns in odd meters, into rolling grooves and afrobeat inspired rhythms. On keys and synth, Elias Stemeseder creates tension and releases, with lingering chords and fragile melodies. Stemeseder's synthesizer work throughout the album is subtle yet masterful. Stalking the silence between the sax, drums and piano, creating a haze of digital textures within the margins of the music. Much of the album was recorded live, preserving the raw, unedited energy of their performances. Beyond its musical qualities, 'What I am and What I'm Not' is a reflection of Sarter's belief in the power of music as a form of human connection. For Sarter, music is not about proving technical prowess but about creating something meaningful, something that transcends barriers and speaks to the shared experience of being human.

Zy The Way's debut album, Then and Now, skilfully merges ancient Chinese poetry with jazz, improvisation and global musical inspirations. Drawing cues from the Shijing, China's first poetry anthology, this adventures record connects historical themes with contemporary sound nd features collaboration with scholar Dr. Annie Luman Ren. Aong the way, the artist explores timeless concepts having already earned two Global Music Awards and gaining international acclaim. Notable tracks like 'Blue Collar' and 'Agile' shine brightly and, additionally, remixes by Mark de Clive-Lowe and DJ Spinna offer new interpretations to add even more richness.

Dutch bass player Joop de Graaf is back with his Y.O.P.E. project after the first EP 'Lost but Here' dropped in 2022. His debut album ‘Peer Pleasure’ explores an intriguing electronic world of sounds, with a foundation built on a danceable fusion of improvisation, beat-driven, jazz, and soul music. Keeping this foundation strong, Y.O.P.E. has started to make more fully composed songs instead of only beats and grooves. Y.O.P.E. is telling the ups and downs about friendships with their instruments but also with lyrics and works together with upcoming artists such as Sam Nera. There are a lot more features this time, like Diana Dzhabbar on flute, the Rotterdam-based NIA on cello, and Avvnt MM with electronic programming. Y.O.P.E. managed to bring all these ingredients together in a cohesive sound, and it's some of the most cutting-edge music out there.

Two days after his 100th birthday, Marshall Allen started recording New Dawn, his debut solo album. A member of Sun Ra’s Arkestra since 1958, Allen assumed leadership of the band in 1995. Throughout his nearly seventy-year career, Allen has never released a solo album under his own name, and yet, instead of capping such a legendary output, New Dawn seems to herald a new beginning. A love letter to spacetime, it channels a century of musical intelligence into seven tracks, showing Allen at his most protean—freely moving from relaxed, transdimensional palettes to bluesy big band and beyond. One of music’s vanguard avant-saxophonists, Allen continues to deliver durational feats during the Arkestra’s gigs. Still, the compositional energy contained on New Dawn is striking. Allen was approached with the idea of a solo record by Week-End Records’ Jan Lankisch. The Arkestra’s Knoel Scott — who has lived with Allen at the Arkestral Institute of Sun Ra since the 1980s — worked with Allen to pore over the archive of unrecorded material and develop this debut. Scott assembled some of Philadelphia’s brightest jazz stars as well as some Arkestra veterans for the sessions. New Dawn was then recorded over a couple of days in Philadelphia, with additional recordings to be added in the coming weeks and months. The legendary Neneh Cherry will lend her unmistakable voice to the title track “New Dawn”.

It’s written in the Agreement Terms. There’s no getting out alive in Life. And yet, mankind keeps striving for eternal life; through art, through power, through cryogenics, through singularity. In that misguided quest against the inevitable, we all fall into the category of lost travellers. No one is exempt. In that understanding, Confucius MC and producer Bastien Keb offer no misgivings about the destination on the somber “Time Will Come”: Time will come for all of us / try to take your time. Songs For Lost Travellers is a collaborative album by Con and Bastien Keb that merges unexplored pathways between rap, folk, and jazz into a spiritual triumvirate. Each genre is a balancing force within the record. The result is an album unlike either artist have made previously, possibly unlike any record in existence. Songs For Lost Travellers opens with bedtime stories and fairytales. Both “Tell Me Lies” and “Fairytale” present the creature comforts that trick us into forgetting the truth. Con’s first words spoken are “tell me lies ‘til I swear I can’t remember” over Keb’s lo-fi plucking that feels like it was lifted from a handheld recorder capturing a nursery mobile above a crib. Third track “Time Will Come” resets the album after acknowledging on “Fairytale” there’s “no nourishment in half-truths / no sustenance in eating lies.” Honest and direct, Con and Keb imbue Songs For Lost Travellers with knowledge and truth from their lived experiences. There is grief hidden in the notes, an inherent sadness that is balanced with an awareness that grief is a protest against the social machinery of remaining numb. The record lingers in a meditative state, unafraid of restlessness and embracing solitude, with the expectation that peace is just as imminent as death. The production contains a complimentary authenticity. Neither Con nor Keb bothered much with the professional studio in making Songs For Lost Travellers. Instead they opted for the raw state of their home recordings and first takes, matching the intimacy of being alone and reflective in their creative energies. Room static on “Tell Me Lies” makes it feel like you’ve entered their apartments. The immediacy continues on “Gutters,” as Keb plays guitar while watching the tele and Con hums along to the vocal melody in search of the proper pocket for his verse. Someone snaps their finger to mark a cue, but the snap never returns to the mix to keep time. More drawn to Keb’s recent folk recordings on the Songs For Lilla EP than his funk roots circa Dinking In The Shadows of Zizou or the cinematic soul of The Killing of Eugene Peeps, Con leaned into the spacial freedom he heard in Keb’s lo-fi production cobbled from field recordings and voice notes. Both artists placed their families into the tableau. Con wrote “Little Man” for his son, hoping to add a positive contribution to the canon of parental rap songs. Later, his son appears at the end of “Paramount” to deliver a passage from Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet. Keb secretly recorded his mum playing saxophone and sampled his cousin playing sax as well. The result is a near-drumless album (save for “Toulouse” and light tapping on “It Would Speak”) in which Keb’s raw production (plus a few sessions with Kofi Flexxx) gave Con a liminal zone, unencumbered by beats per minute, to craft melodies that turn his philosophical rhymes into mantras. Perhaps there’s a message in the presence of family? It would be one of many. Con and Keb’s reflective, somber approach to Songs For Lost Travellers does not wallow in the mire. Music is action and it’s taking them through a portal to the other side of grief. We are welcome to join (which is also in the fine print of the Agreement Terms), but first there’s a password in the final song, a single request to answer: Tell me what you care about.

This new TopicDrift45 release comes straight outta Aachen. Originally released in 1982 on Rainer Wiedensohlers "Nabel Musik" Imprint with a whole LP called "Floating" and for the first time on a DJ friendly 45 cut. Side A "Running" was and still is a well known mover in the UK Northen & Asian Scene. While holding down the laidback mellow jazzy vibes with "Till We Get There" on the B Side. A true example for all those DJs out there collecting & spinning organic music in all its forms. Get it! :-)