Dakota Staton
The Late, Late Show

It would appear that Polish jazz is a well-known subject through and through. Dozens of outstanding albums, biographies of the masters, hundreds of journal articles. As it turns out, it is still possible to find music that has been waiting for years to be discovered. On the 80th birthday of Tomasz Stańko, Astigmatic Records presents the first part of Wooden Music, a conceptual project created by the maestro and his legendary quintet, which has been stored in the archives of Radio Bremen for 50 years.Tomasz Stańko was an exceptional Polish jazz trumpeter. He passed away in 2018, leaving behind a legacy of numerous releases, soundtracks, concert recordings and wild stories involving him. Before rising to the top, he honed his craft alongside Krzysztof Komeda and Andrzej Trzaskowski. In the mid-1960s, he appeared on Astigmatic and Polish Jazz Vol. 4 – the albums that were a creative manifesto for Polish jazz of those years. However, all this time he was constantly thinking about starting his own band.In 1968 he completed the line-up – Janusz Stefański on drums, Bronisław Suchanek on double bass, Janusz Muniak on tenor saxophone and Zbigniew Seifert on alto saxophone, which he soon replaced with the violin. Stańko classified the quintet's output into three periods. The first, composed, is associated with Music for K, Stańko's publishing debut as a leader, which became a permanent entry in the canon of Polish jazz records. The second period is wooden music – it's the free jazz period, the least known in the quintet's history despite the fact that it spanned more than three years. The third and final period is linked to the release of the band's final album, the cult Purple Sun. However, the entire period between Music for K and Purple Sun is shrouded in mystery, as the band was mainly in Western Europe at the time. In the early 1970s, all the musicians take one-year visas. In between tours they live in Germany: first in a hippie commune in Wurtzburg, then in Darmstadt. They play in clubs on a day by day basis. The quintet is said to be distinguished from other bands by their ability to completely "burn" in the fire of improvisation. They lead their lives as a single organism, touring without wives or girlfriends. The compositions are blurred, the fascination with free music prevails. Short pieces and motives are the starting point for further performance. The ensemble does not plan, they just play. On 28 May 1972 they play at the Iserlohn jazz festival. JG Records would release this performance as Jazzmessage from Poland. The very music recorded there represents what the quintet called Wooden Music.The foundation of wooden music is the sound of the double bass and the violin, but it soon becomes apparent that all instruments except for Tomasz Stańko's trumpet are wooden. A string orchestra is born, over which the metal trumpet can weave all sorts of hues accompanied by the saxophone. What fascinates the quintet in wooden music is the melody, rhythm and timbre - where these are usually just an element, they fill the entire piece in their case. Bronisław Suchanek, the last living member of the quintet, recalls:"Wooden music is all about total improvisation. We used to arrive at a gig, start playing without really knowing where we were heading. The only thing that guided us was the common and mental compatibility, understanding, friendship and respect along this musical journey. Music was the first most important element to attribute to – it was free jazz in its purest form. If there are any moments that seem orchestrated it is because we played together for several years, evening after evening, going from club to club. We knew each other better than our parents knew us, we had total trust in each other – that's what made this music exist in the way it did."To celebrate the 80th anniversary of Tomasz Stanko's birthday, Astigmatic Records in cooperation with Tomasz Stańko Foundation and the Adam Mickiewicz Institute will be releasing two parts of Wooden Music: the first on 5th December 2022, and the second in the first half of 2023. Both albums released by Astigmatic Records add to the little-known history of the quintet, the most important episode in their lives, as the band's musicians used to refer to the late 1960s and early 1970s. Wooden Music I will be released via Astigmatic Records in digital, CD and LP versions; what's more, a limited red vinyl edition including a B2 poster designed by Natalia Łabędź will also be available. The pre-order of the LP will be launched on 4th November 2022.

Closing Time is the debut album by American singer-songwriter Tom Waits, released on March 6, 1973 on Asylum Records. Tom WAITSClosing Time (remastered)Anti

What's Real?JK GroupA collective of forward-thinking "jazz" musicians from Australia. We owe our thanks and gratitude to the founding mothers and fathers of the music people call jazz. We respect and continuously study their legacy whilst embracing our current surroundings in making music that honestly reflects our time and space.

Hot and groovy jazzfunk that turns every dancefloor into a simmering witch cauldron on Side A, meeting silky soul pop ballads on Side B. A catchy and memorable affair that will give you goosebumps as long as you are a fan of funk and soul on the threshold from the 1970s to the golden era of pop, the 80s. For fans of Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, The Four Tops, The Temptations, Stanley Clarke, Hot Chocolate and the likes. It's the first album of the later Blues legend Mel Waiters. DETAILS: Swirling synthesizers drag your mind into space, the slapped bass guitar throbs like a frantic pulse and there are hissing percussions that back up the slick drum sound. Here we go, straight forward into the 1980 album by the MEL PRODUCTION BAND, a private release that reaches high prices if a copy ever appears for sale somewhere and that comes as a product of it’s time. This is club music made for discos, soul pop that has all the great trademarks, as those tunes that would storm the charts only a few years later, it heads into two different directions with two steaming, yet slick power funk songs successing the intro on side A and three soul pop ballads on the flipside. While these B Side tracks invite you to dive into an ocean of lush melodies and complex arrangements that form accessible and especially memorable tunes with overwhelming vocal performances, the three jazzfunk compositions on the A side make you jump up from your seats and dance your soul out. The slapped bass guitar can be found in all three tracks, the vocals are a mix between singing and shouting in a joyful, euphoric way. Mostly simple phrases get repeated over and over again to create something like a disco mantra for everybody who is in for a wild dance. It is all glitter here and and a never ending party. You still find musical greatness in these dance songs, for the performance is just wild and the musicians are up on par with the greatest of their genre, tight and determined, still passionate in their playing and they truly love their music, their funk. So, this is a beast first and then turns into a beauty for side two. Since the original private press simply never ever turns up these days, this new reissue on EVERLAND MUSIC is more than welcome to rediscover this rare gem. Take your time to listen and take your time to dance for this album is a great occasion for both. The sound on this record is clean and slick, but vibrant. The music has the real feeling, everything is handmade and you can hear it. Even the synthesizer carpet sounds like coming from the gifted hands of a real keyboard wizard. A blast to spin on your turntable.

Spiritual, intimate and revolutionary, yet firmly rooted in Brazil's folklore. Africadeus was the breakthrough album of the mighty Naná Vasconcelos, in which he discovered the berimbau to the world and took the instrument to a universal level, abstracting it from its original context of capoeira. Having played in the shadows for other artists such as Milton Nascimento, Gato Barbieri or Som Imaginario, Naná is here finally in the spotlight.Recorded in 1973 in France for Pierre Barouh's Saravah label, this is the album that definitely imprinted Naná's name in the international scene, on his track to becoming one of the best percussionists of all times.Immensely proud to offer a quality reissue of both his early 70s albums for the French label Saravah.