"En Rymd av Färg" is well-written and ditto arranged jazz music in the larger format with nice themes and sounds, fantastic performances and a voice "to die for". The songs were written with the big band members in mind. It is noticeable in the end result which is really good, modern big band music with sterling solos by, among others, Alberto Pinton on baritone saxophone, Christer Olofsson on trombone, magnificent Stefan Wingefors on piano and not least Karolina's sharpened soprano saxophone. More of this in the future thanks!" (Andreas Backelund LIRA)

For the Dreamers is an album by Simon Group Lasky, released by Ubuntu Music. This captivating collection of music showcases the exceptional talent and creativity of the group, taking listeners on a mesmerizing journey through various musical landscapes.

On Heartland Radio, the four-time Grammy-nominated composer and saxophonist Remy Le Boeuf finds inspiration in the ever-shifting soundscape of the great American road trip. Through seven tracks of stunning ingenuity and intimacy, Le Boeuf’s large ensemble Assembly of Shadows melds modern jazz language and classical textures with ideas and emotions gleaned from pop radio. Echoes of indie rock, R&B, dance-pop, alternative, and EDM infuse breathtaking orchestral harmony, nimble ensemble interplay and masterful solos — including those by the bandleader, whose crystalline alto work exhibits a depth of understanding that only the music’s composer could attain.

As live, late-1970s Sun Ra albums go, Somewhere Over the Rainbow is a cut above. It's similar to and contemporaneous with The Soul Vibrations of Man and Taking a Chance on Chances, two live sets also issued on Saturn in 1977 (and available in our remastered digital catalog).

A new horizon pioneered by New Hard, led by Toshiyuki Miyama, one of Japan’s leading big bands. Four songs written by rare composers and arrangers such as Masahiko Sato, Hiroshi Takami, Norio Maeda, and Kozaburo Yamaki, based on classical Japanese themes such as “Mujou,” “Heian Period Prostitute,” “Soul,” and “Sumo.” With a sharp and enthusiastic performance that ranges from free jazz to jazz rock, the group carefully depicts “old Japan.” This is one of the most quintessential examples of Japanese big band jazz.

New Herd and genius arranger and composer Masahiko Sato cooked up this spiritual work of Japanese big band magic over half a century ago but its sound still resonates today. It's a violent mix of styles that has become a cult classic with its fiery brew of alto and baritone sax, big drums and bass, wild guitars and trumpets, trombones and piano.

A soaringly joyous album from British trumpeter Kenny Wheeler – one that has him leading a larger group in a style that resonates with similar projects of the time from artists like Mike Westbrook or Michael Gibbs!

Trumpeter Tero Lindberg and the Turku Jazz Orchestra are set to release their eagerly anticipated album in October 2023, marking the orchestra's third full-length record. This collaboration promises to be a delightful fusion of Lindberg's trumpet virtuosity and the orchestra's remarkable musical prowess, making it a must-listen for big band funk enthusiasts and music lovers alike.

Mahler’s Breakdown is the extraordinary arrangement of the band’s chief composer, Leonhard Kuhn, and turns the symphony upside down: 110 years later, Mahler’s departure towards a new musical language is skilfully continued, just as his wish to fill the parts with soloists. In the 50-minute techno version of the ‘Sinfonia Maledetta’, as an Italian copyist expressed it, Jazzrausch Bigband unleashes its instrumental versatility and sheer momentum. Through their energetic improvisations, the 15 musicians take Mahler’s and Kuhn’s music into the here and now. A rave to enjoy listening to, a symphony to dance to.

The name says it all, because two ensembles could hardly be further apart. On one side there is a Big Band, sixteen musicians whose core skills do not necessarily include playing softly, and on the other there are six female singers, whose greatest strength lies in their control of the finest nuances. There are, however, unifying elements — the search for new shores, for sounds and structures that have never been heard before, and the joy of experimenting. These elements form the common thread that runs through Jan Schreiner’s compositions.

Ra to the Rescue is one of the rarer albums in the Sun Ra canon. There's a reason, and it has nothing to do with quality content (or lack thereof). When Ra and his business partner Alton Abraham launched their pioneering independent Saturn label in Chicago in the late 1950s, and on thru the 1960s—by which time Ra had moved to New York—each new album was carefully curated, titled, packaged with a printed, illustrated sleeve, and promoted in ads and catalogs.

Omniverse, recorded in New York in 1979 and released that year on Sun Ra's Saturn label, has been gathering dust for too long. It's a fine, overlooked item in the vast Ra catalog. The tracks aren't so much compositions as they are excursions, with only a few memorable themes or recurring motifs. It's pure jazz, somewhat "inside" (for Sun Ra), with little of the aggressiveness and confrontation for which the bandleader was known. (Track 5, "Visitant of the Ninth Ultimate," is an exception.) Omniverse is a very intimate album, offering lots of reflective piano in trio, quartet, and quintet settings, with spare horns. But instead of exhibiting a keyboard showcase, Sun Ra engages in dynamic interplay with the rhythm section. Moreover, the horns are featured largely as soloists; there are few ensemble passages.

Celestial Love contains recordings made in September 1982 at New York's Variety Studios, which had hosted countless Sun Ra sessions since the late 1960s. This was one of the last extended sessions at Variety, and these recordings were the last studio works released on Sun Ra's own Saturn label (though the label did continue to press concert recordings, and new studio recordings did appear on other labels).

An F-bomb saturated hip-hop call & response club cut…from Sun Ra?! While the most renown track in this omniversal opus is the atomic expletive-filled repartee "Nuclear War," there is so much more to this dark mysterious journey through the mind of Sun Ra.

What is the use of limiting one's imagination to what one already knows? This question, posed by the character incarnated by Robin Mercier, is central to the artistic approach of Valentin Ceccaldi and the Grand Orchester du Tricot. Atomic Sputnik is like a kid's dream put into music, a dreamlike journey in which one follows, in parallel, the odyssey in the space of a child and the spatial fantasy of an adult having visibly refused the constraints of the world. Quite a bit of narration strictly speaking, but the interventions of Robin Mercier and André Robillard suggest this duality within this ambitious fresco where clash the naive melodies and the contemporary bursts.