Back catalogue: Jazz

Review: Stanley Cowell, the Ohio-born pianist and co-founder of Strata-East Records, delivers a landmark solo recording that cements his reputation as one of jazz's most forward-thinking musicians. Recorded in 1974, this session finds him at a pivotal moment in his career, blending acoustic and electric piano to push the expressive boundaries of the instrument. Tracks like 'Equipoise' and 'Prayer of Peace' balance intricate phrasing with deep spiritual resonance, while 'Maimoun' channels his lifelong engagement with African and Eastern traditions. Both meditative and technically dazzling, this album remains a defining work in solo jazz pianoian essential document of Cowell's artistry and Strata-East's commitment to uncompromising musical vision.

Review: Recorded at the storied Slugs' Saloon in Manhattan's Lower East Side, this unified collection captures the Charles Tolliver-led Music Inc quartet in blistering form. New York runs through the musiciits restlessness, density, sharp corners. Tolliver, a Brooklyn-born trumpeter with a militant edge and lyrical touch, fronts a group that helped define the forward-looking jazz of the early 70s. Beside him are Strata-East co-founder Stanley Cowell on piano, bassist Cecil McBee and drummer Jimmy Hopps, all embedded in the New York avant-garde at the time. On pieces like 'Felicite' and 'Wilpan's', they stretch out with blistering force, melting structure into raw, insistent groove. Even in quieter momentsi'Ruthie's Heart', or the shadowy 'Repetition'ithere's a tension that never quite releases, the sense that every note is carved in real time. This is the first time both volumes are presented as one continuous document, expanded with three previously unreleased tracks. It's a vital capture of a quartet thinking collectively, improvising with unrelenting intensity and total mutual trust. The sound, newly remastered, gives space to the grit and nuance of the live sessioniCowell's cascading runs, McBee's deep pull, Hopps' unpredictable propulsion. There's no studio polish here, just a direct line to the spirit of a time and place, when New York jazz burned fast, political and free.

Review: Two Is One (1974, now 2025) recaptures saxophonist Charlie Rouse at the peak of his rabble-Rousing powers, commanding the popular will (through steering clear of sonic demagoguery) through effortless funk, soul jazz, and post-bop, all while orbiting that distinctive cosmic ring-edge that defined the Strata-East catalogue. Best known for his long tenure alongside Thelonious Monk, Rouse steps into a new light here, leading a stellar ensemble made up of guitarists George Davis and Paul Metzke, Cal Scott on electric cello and Stanley Clarke on bass. Together they stretch out across a set both grounded and exploratory, with a spiritual undercurrent running through the grooves. Newly issued on 180-gram vinyl, the record comes packed in a tip-on gatefold with fresh liner notes from Syd Schwartz and rare archival photos, bringing fresh focus to one of Rouse's most compelling records.

Review: Pharoah Sanders' Izipho Zam (My Gifts) was first recorded in 1969 but wasn't released until 1973; a monumental yet, despite the name, little-received jazz work, we can still hear the legendary jazz-musical theocrat push the boat ever further out psychically and sonically here. Produced by Stanley Cowell and Charles Tolliver's Strata-East label, the album was recorded at Town Sound Studios, two years after Sanders' mentor John Coltrane's death. Coltrane's passing marked a significant turning point for Sanders, who saw in the saxophonist the unopened buds of a spiritual path for music, expressible in jazz. The Zulu phrase used in the title is regularly heard in Mozambique, Eswatini and Zimbabwe, reflecting the cultural emphasising of gifting in East Africa.