April 10, 2026:

Last week we were occupied with our Spring Sale, a fun weekend sharing great music around the world — thanks to all who placed an order!

Once we caught up, we turned to upcoming arrivals, in particular five new ezz-thetics by Hat Hut, Ltd: improvised albums by Christoph Gallio (XOXO, Birds & Dogs), the quartet of Gerry Hemingway / Izumi Kimura / Frank Gratkowski / Christian Weber (Live At Bau 4), and Matthias Muche BONECRUSHER (Densities), plus two contemporary releases — Judith Wegmann & Marlies Debacker (John Cage Two2 (1989) for 2 Pianos) and Edu Haubensak (SEQUOIA I-IV (for 6 Pianos)).

From Werner X. Uehlinger's Thingamajig label we have three new albums coming: Albert Ayler (Reference: Albert Ayler, Spirits & Spirits Rejoice), Bix Beiderbecke (Reference: Bix Beiderbecke, 1924 to 1928), and Marion Brown / Burton Green Quartet (Reference: Marion Brown, Capricorn Moon, Why Not & with Burton Green Quartet).

Those new albums led us to our annual Spring Hat Sale to make space — and it's also a great time to try out some new older Hats!

Welcoming Some Creativity:

This week we received several new Creative Sources albums, which will begin appearing on our site in the coming days. The release we've been most anticipating is a superb quartet of Rodrigues, Rodrigues, Torres — three core Creative Sources performers — joined by legendary European free improv musicians Alexander von Schlippenbach and Willi Kellers. This is the same group that released the excellent Conundrum in 2023, recorded in the studio, so it's exciting to hear them again three years later, now live at the 45th (!) Konfrontationen Festival. For those less familiar with Creative Sources' overlap with the more traditional European free jazz scene, I've listed a few related albums that may be of interest.

Rodrigues, Ernesto / Guilherme Rodrigues / Nuno Torres / Alexander Von Schlippenbach / Willi Kellers: Nickelsdorf (Creative Sources)

Recorded live at the 2025 Konfrontationen #45 in Nickelsdorf, this quintet of viola, cello, alto saxophone, piano, and percussion unites frequent Creative Sources players Ernesto Rodrigues, Guilherme Rodrigues, and Nuno Torres with legendary free jazz pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach and drummer Willi Kellers, in a dynamic convergence of textural string abstraction and energetic free jazz interplay.

Zingaro, Carlos / Carlos Bechegas / Ernesto Rodrigues : Spleen (Creative Sources)

A fascinating live performance from Lisbon's Reverso Festival in 2024, where luminaries Carlos Zíngaro (violin), Ernesto Rodrigues (viola, crackle box), and Carlos Bechegas (flute, piccolo) intertwine their distinct approaches into an intricate tapestry that blends classical sensibilities with free improv exploration in a compelling journey through texture and timbre.

Rodrigues / Gratkowski / Rodrigues / Griener: Unstable Molecules (Creative Sources)

Bridging jazz and contemporary forms, this 2024 live recording of four improvisations at Berlin's Kuhlspot Social Club channels collective power with chamber jazz influences, showcasing the refined techniques and deep experience of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Frank Gratkowski on clarinets and alto saxophone, Guilherme Rodrigues on cello, and Michael Griener on percussion.

Krennerich / Schubert / Osswald / Fischer: Degrees Above (Creative Sources)

Four German saxophonists are heard in three sophisticated and extremely creative chamber-oriented improvisations recorded at Kulturzentrum Hufeisen: Andreas Krennerich on soprano, sopranino & baritone saxophones; Frank Paul Schubert on alto & soprano saxophones; Hartmut Osswald on tenor sax & bass clarinet; and Nils Fischer on baritone sax & contrabass clarinet.

Zwerv (Raoul van der Weide / George Hadow / Henk Zwerver / Ziv Taubenfeld / Luis Vicente): Live (Creative Sources)

Recorded live at Zaal 100 in Amsterdam in 2017, the quintet Zwerv — Raoul van der Weide, George Hadow, Henk Zwerver, Ziv Taubenfeld, and Luis Vicente — deliver five dynamic free improv explorations, balancing percussive guitar textures, driving rhythm section interplay, and vivid horn lines that channel both the European free improv tradition and the spirited edge of Dolphy-inspired jazz.

Rodrigues, Ernesto / Hans W. Koch : Nostalghia (Creative Sources)

Portuguese violist Ernesto Rodrigues joins with German electronic improviser Has W Koch for an album of interactive acoustics and electronics, where textures from Rodrigues' viola are fed into Koch's electronics to create new and unanticipated transformations, both patiently evolving the textures to reveal sublime minutiae and detail.

Some Hot Notes from Louis Armstrong:

A special note on the Louis Armstrong release, which was held back from Werner X. Uehlinger's first set of releases on Thingamajig, his new post-ezz-thetics label, due to a printing error with the two enclosed cards. This week, the replacement discs arrived with the correct postcards, detailing each track on both CDs with their original discographic information.

On a more personal note: over the last few years, I've started my day with one of five musicians' discographies, depending on my mood. Those are Duke Ellington's early chronology; Ella Fitzgerald's chronology into the 40s; Mozart's complete piano sonatas; Beethoven's complete piano sonatas; and Louis Armstrong's chronology into the 40s.

Armstrong was a bit of a surprise to me. I never considered myself a Dixieland fan, though I've always respected the form. After reading his two autobiographies, I was taken by his personality, and by this first-person history of some of the earliest improvised music, drawn from his reflections and experiences. I began to familiarize myself with that early work and became an enthusiast.

The recordings I've played in the mornings were remastered, but many involve compromises in sound or remain simply rough. So I was extremely intrigued by this new issue from the Hat Hut legacy, given how revelatory many of their remasters have been, clarifying muddy live recordings or poorly captured studio work. Having become very familiar with Armstrong's work, this album is truly a revelation. The clarity of Michael Brändli's work brings a new understanding to Armstrong's two most important bands: the Hot Five and the Hot Seven.

The album title invokes their 100th anniversary, as these recordings begin in 1925. It's remarkable that we can hear them so close to how they were intended, and they continue to justify Armstrong's forward-thinking approach to fledgling jazz.

Kudos to Werner for putting this album out, and for continuing to treat this music with the care and respect it so clearly deserves.

Armstrong, Louis: Hot Five & Hot Seven At 100 [2 CDs + 2 POSTCARDS] (Thingamajig)

Recorded in Chicago between 1925 and 1928, these seminal Hot Five and Hot Seven sessions led by Louis Armstrong capture a transformative moment in early jazz, where his virtuosic phrasing, rhythmic innovation, and charismatic presence redefine the music's expressive scope, presented here with exceptional restoration and mastering, and accompanied by two postcards detailing recording sessions and personnel.

ezz-thetics and now Thingamajig have included a small line of early jazz and traditional forms that include or ultimately influenced hard bop and free jazz. Here is a short selection of those albums. Coming soon is Thingamajig's reissue of Bix Biederbeck, another early and important influence on coming forms.

Hampton, Lionel Orchestra 1958: The Mess Is Here, Revisited (ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)

An influence on the next generation of small band and bop players, vibraphonist and Band Leader Lionel Hampton's programs included both crowd-pleasers and sophisticatedly complex sections, heard here in this 1958 studio recording from Stuttgart, Germany while touring Europe, Ghana and Israel with his exceptional band expanded by three German jazz musicians.

Ellis, Don (Byard / Carter / Persip; Bley / Peacock / Stone /Martinis): How Time Passes To Essence, Revisited (ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)

Before his experimental, culturally absorbing large band work in the late 60s and 70s, trumpeter Don Ellis released these two excellent quartet albums featuring his own compositions, particularly the side-long work "Improvisational Suite 1", in bands with Jaki Byard, Ron Carter & Charlie Persip (How Time Passes) and with Paul Bley, Gary Peacock and either Gene Stone or Nick Martinis (Essence).

Monk, Thelonious with Sonny Rollins : 1953 To 1957 Revisited (ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)

Restoring and remastering three key sessions documenting the evolving creative relationship between Thelonious Monk and Sonny Rollins, alongside artists including Julius Watkins, Ernie Henry, Oscar Pettiford, and Max Roach, in a vital revisitation of formative collaborations that highlight Monk's unique brilliance and Rollins' early improvisational voice within shifting post-bop ensembles.

Monk, Thelonious: Celebrating 75 Years Of His First Recordings (ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)

The foundational work of composer and pianist Thelonious Monk is heard in these six remastered studio sessions for Blue Note Records recorded between 1947 to 1952, performing twenty three original compositions in bands from trios to sextets with a who's who of emerging jazz leaders including Art Blakey, Max Roach, Lou Donaldson, Kenny Dorham, and Milt Jackson.

Gillespie, Dizzy & Charlie Parker: Live, Revisited (ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)

Three essential concerts remastered, from the legacy of be-bop trailblazers, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and alto saxophonist Charlie Parker, with Don Byas, Al Haig piano, Curley Russell, Max Roach & Sidney Catlett at Town Hall 1945; with John Lewis, Al McKibbon & Joe Harris at Carnegie Hall 1947; and with Bud Powell, Tommy Potter & Roy Haynes at Birdland 1951.

Dameron, Tadd: Fontainebleau & Magic Touch, Revisited (ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)

Composer, pianist, and bandleader Tadd Dameron's first album, Fontainebleau (1956), and his final work, The Magic Touch (1962), are remastered to highlight his sophisticated hard bop compositions for large ensembles, featuring influential players like Bill Evans, Philly Joe Jones, and Ron Carter, and showcasing Dameron's lasting impact on jazz before his untimely passing.

Not Two... much longer:

The first album we carried on Poland's Not Two label — known for essential free jazz from Europe and the Americas — was The Cosmosamatics' Reeds and Birds, featuring Sonny Simmons and Michael Marcus. Around 2015 we began working directly with the label, bringing prices down and giving us greater control over inventory. It was with a heavy heart, then, when I read that the label would no longer ship physical albums, effectively closing its operations. While there is hope that a new team may take over, we have now placed our final order and closed out older and out-of-stock titles.

You can use this link to browse Not Two titles currently listed in our store, and below I've listed the albums we have in stock at the time of writing. Many are last copies, so if you're considering any of these titles, now would be a good time to pick them up.

Not Two:

View: Altschul's, Barry 3Dom Factor (feat. Jon Irabagon / Joe Fonda): Long Tall Sunshine

View: Amado, Rodrigo Northern Liberties (w/ Johansson / Strom / Nilssen): We Are Electric

View: Ballister (Dave Rempis / Fred Lonberg-Holm / Paal Nilssen-Love): Chrysopoeia

View: Bishop, Jeb Flex Quartet: Re-Collect

View: Brotzmann / Swell / Nilssen-Love: Live in Copenhagen

View: Brotzmann, Peter / Heather Leigh: Ears Are Filled With Wonder

View: Brotzmann, Peter / Steve Swell / Paal Nilssen-Love: Krakow Nights

View: Carter, Daniel / Matthew Shipp: Dark Matrix

View: Chicago Plan, The (Swell / Ullmann / Lonberg-Holm / Zerang): For New Zealand

View: Conference Call (Gebhard Ullmann / Michael Jefry Stevens / Joe Fonda / Dieter Ulrich): Prism

View: Daisy, Tim / Ken Vandermark: Fourth Atlas

View: DKV Trio / Joe McPhee : The Fire Each Time [6 CD BOX]

View: Easter Quartet, The (Weissenfels / Filliano / Grassi / Capp): Light End

View: Fernandez, Agusti / Rafal Mazur: Correspondence With No Words

View: Fujii, Satoko / Natsuki Tamura: In Krakow In November

View: Fujii, Satoko / Natsuki Tamura: Pentas: Tribute to Eric and Chris Stern

View: Fujii, Satoko ma-do: Heat Wave

View: Giallorenzo, Paul Trio featuring Ingebrigt Haker Flaten and Tim Daisy: Pg3 IHF & tD

View: Gianfratti, Antonio Panda / Marco Scarassatti / Otomo Yoshihide / Paulo Hartmann: Psychogeography, an Improvisational Derive

View: Gjerstad, Frode / Hamid Drake / William Parker: [4-CD BOX SET]

View: Gush (Gustafsson / Sandell / Strid) + Guests: Gush 30 - Krakow 2018 [3 CD BOX SET]

View: Guy, Barry / Ken Vandermark: Occasional Poems [2 CDs]

View: Guy, Barry and Friends: Krakow 2018 [5 CD BOX SET]

View: Guy's, Barry Blue Shroud Band: Odes and Meditations for Cecil Taylor [5 CD BOX]

View: Harnik, Elisabeth / Zlatko Kaucic: One Foot in the Air

View: Jubileum Quartet (Leandre / Parker / Fermandez / Kaucic): A UIS ?

View: Kaucic, Zlatko (w/ Evan Parker, Agusti Fernandez, Rafal Mazur, Lotte Anger, Artun Majewski, Phil Minton, Johannes Bauer): Diversity [5 CD BOX SET]

View: Krakow Improvisers Orchestra: KIO at Cricoteka

View: Leandre, Joelle: Beauty / Resistance [3 CD BOX]

View: Leandre, Joelle / Vinicius Cajado: Storm Dance

View: London Jazz Composers Orchestra: Krakow 2020 [6 CD BOX SET]

View: London Jazz Composers Orchestra: That Time

View: Marcus, Michael: For Yes!

View: Marcus, Michael: Stone Jump

View: McPhee / Edwards / Kugel: Existential Moments

View: McPhee, Joe / John Edwards / Klaus Kugel: A Night In Alchemia

View: McPhee, Joe / John Edwards / Klaus Kugel: Journey to Parazzar

View: McPhee, Joe / Steve Swell / Mark Tokar / Klaus Kuge: Spontaneous Convergence

View: Mezei Solo, Szilard : When Spring

View: Mezei, Szilard: Always The Same

View: Morris, Joe / Jeb Bishop / Nathan McBride : Tells Or Terrier

View: New Atlantis Octet: Unto the Sun

View: NU Band, The (Wessel / Heberer / Fonda / Grassi): Renual

View: NU Band, The (Whitecage / Heberer / Fonda / Grassi): In Memory of Mark Whitecage (Live at the BopShop)

View: Parker / Bishop / Karayorgis / McBride / Gray: The Diagonal Filter

View: Parker, Evan & Agusti Fernandez: The Voice is One

View: Perelman, Ivo / Gordon Grdina / Hamin Honari Trio: The Purity Of Desire

View: Rempis, Dave / Elisabeth Harnik / Michael Zerang: Triple Tube

View: Resonance Ensemble, The (w/ Broo / Swell / Daisy / Zerrang / Rempis / Vandermark): What Country Is This?

View: Robinson / Whitecage / Filiano / Grassi: Live @ VisionFest20

View: Sakata, Akira / Nicolas Field: First Thirst | Live at Cave12

View: Schlippenbach, Alexander von / Dag Magnus Narvesen: Liminal Field

View: Shipp, Matthew / Mark Helias / Gordon Grdina: Skin and Bones

View: Sorgen, Harvey / Joe Fonda / Marilyn Crispell: Dreamstruck

View: Step In (Carlo Morena / Joe Fonda / Felix Lecaros Herrera): Voila La Tendresse

View: Swell, Steve: Dances with Questions [3-CD SET]

View: Swell, Steve (w / Cyrille / Hwang / Bart / Lonberg-Holm / Boston): The Center Will Hold featuring Andrew Cyrille

View: Tamura / Fujii / Lopez: Yama Kawa Umi

View: Tamura, Natsuki / Satoko Fujii / Ramon Lopez: Mantle

View: Thornton, Clifford Memorial Quartet, The (McPhee / Lazro / Foussat / Sato): Sweet Oranges

View: Trevor-Briscoe, Tim / Szilard Mezei / Nicola Guazzaloca: Before Then [4 CDs]

View: Uesaka, Yuma / Marilyn Crispell: Streams

View: Vandermark, Ken: Mark In The Water

View: Vandermark, Ken w/ Butcher / Drake / Kessler / McPhee / Mori / Noble / Prevost / Rasmussen / Tilbury / Wooley: Unexpected Alchemy [7-CD BOX]

View: Various Artists (Guy / Leandre / Mazur / Nilssen-Love / Kaucic / Fernandez / Gustafsson / Vandermark / Trzaska / Brotzmann / Ste Swell / Holmlander / Homburger): Not Two... But Twenty [5 CDs in Wooden Box]

View: Wandering The Sound Quintet (Satoko Fujii / Guillermo Gregorio / Natsuki Tamuyra / Rafat Mazur / Ramon Lopez): What Is...?

View: Williams, Mars / Vasco Trilla: Awakening Nature From Her Dream (Live In Barcelona)

View: Williams, Mars / Vasco Trilla: Critical Mass

View: Williams, Mars / Vasco Trilla: Spiracle

View: Williams, Mars Presents: An Ayler Xmas Volume 3 Live in Krakow

Squidco Publishing Roundup: