Jazzman Records
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Jazzman Records is a record label founded by London DJ Gerald Short in 1998, specialising in re-releasing hard-to-find jazz, funk and soul vinyl records. It also has three sublabels called FUNK45, SOUL45 and Stark Reality.
Jazzman Records is distributed in Europe by PIAS, Boombox, Groove Attack and Boogaloop Records Distribution, in Japan by P-Vine and in the US by Groove Distribution.
Jazzman has released over 100 vinyl singles. Among the CD and LP releases are:
- Texas Funk: Black Gold from the Lone Star State, 1968-1975 (2004)
- Midwest Funk: Funk 45s from Tornado Alley (2005)
- Florida Funk: Funk 45s from the Alligator State, 1968-1975 (2007)
- Carolina Funk: First in Funk (2008)
- Spiritual Jazz (2008)
Spiritual Jazz compilation albums
Spiritual Jazz is a series of compilation albums on Jazzman Records consisting of spiritual jazz recordings
Spiritual Jazz Vol. 1: Esoteric Modal and Deep Jazz From the Underground 1968-77
Existing completely under the critical radar and largely ignored or unknown by music fans and critics alike, most of the musicians featured in this album won't be familiar to even the most seasoned jazz aficionado. But in this era of musical apathy, where so many music junkies look to the past for their musical fix, we have re-discovered hidden, obscure and esoteric jazz musicians who looked to the four corners of the earth - and beyond - for inspiration. Here we evaluate Spiritual Jazz – music that is a snapshot of the era after Coltrane, a time which saw the evolution of an underground jazz that spoke about the reform of the soul, the reform of the spirit, and the reform of society: a music which was local and international at once, which was a personal journey and a political statement, and which was religious and secular in one non-contradictory breath. Soul Jazz - Black Jazz - Spiritual Jazz.
Spiritual Jazz Vol. 2: Europe - Esoteric Modal & Deep Jazz From The European Underground 1960-78
As the ‘60s progressed, cultural and political revolutions occurred both in the US and in Europe. Jazz was both a victim and a saviour, with radical developments in the music occurring in both continents. In the US, artists took control of their own musical destiny as small labels broke away from the mainstream, expressing new and creative visions of freedom and peace against a backdrop of civil unrest, repression and war. Be sure to check the first volume of this series, Spiritual Jazz.
In ‘60s Europe the jazz community forged ahead with a different revolution; that of breaking away from mere emulation of their American counterparts. A distinctive, European jazz sound began to develop that combined traditional music from across Europe and around the world with the creative freedom so abundant in American jazz. Over time the most forward-thinking creative talents of the post-Coltrane European jazz generation crafted and nurtured sophisticated and multi-faceted styles of jazz that were as radical as they were beautiful, giving modern jazz a characteristically European flavour.
THE MUSIC
A heady mix indeed; stirring jazz overtures with orchestra and choir, festival performances recorded live from the grassy heartlands of central Europe, modal montages inspired by pilgrimages to Asia and Africa, experiments in rhythm and sound where modern jazz meets traditional Balkan and Flamenco folk music. This is Spiritual Jazz – European style.
Spiritual Jazz Vol. 3: Modal Esoteric and Ethereal Jazz from the European Underground 1963-1972
"At the end of the ‘50s, Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue heralded the revelatory arrival of modal jazz. As the vibrations of these giant steps resonated across the world, European jazz musicians reassessed their bearings and began to steer a new course. Across the continent they sent roots down into the rich soil of the European folk and Christian liturgical traditions, extended their music along ancient routes of communication and trade to the Middle East, and reached across the crumbling ramparts of the European empires to the music of Asia Africa and Latin America. The music collected here follows the richly tangled threads of meditative, modal and religious European jazz. Picking up where Spiritual Jazz 2: Europe left off, with volume 3 continuing our excavation of private releases, underrepresented artists and visionary one-offs that stud the European jazz landscape like standing stones. Just as it had waxed, so the cult of American jazz waned, and these recordings are the compelling documents of a musical world in imaginative transition and virtuoso transformation – a second trail of determined footprints on the pathways of European jazz. Sublime choral jazz in an ecclesiastical setting, revolutionary sounds deep within the USSR, radical modal experiments inspired by excursions to the Asian continent and Latin America, advances in rhythm and sound where modern jazz combines with Balkan and Scandinavian folk traditions. This is Spiritual Jazz – European style."
Spiritual Jazz Vol. 4 - Americans in Europe: Modal Esoteric & Progressive Jazz 1963-1979
It's well known that throughout the 20th century, fed up with poor working conditions and racism in their home country, many American jazz musicians chose to leave the US in order to live and work in Europe. What's less well known is how their music developed and evolved during their time on the continent, and how the experience of being a musician in Europe was to shape their respective lives.
Over the years countless jazz concerts, festivals and recordings featuring American jazz musicians have taken place all over Europe, yet it's remarkable how few of these musical artifacts have been evaluated by the jazz community. We seek to assess the European experiences of the American jazzmen, with a specific focus on the progressive sounds of modal jazz and the avant garde. We examine the recordings made by those who crossed the Atlantic just to take in a short tour, as well as those who made more frequent trips, and of course those for whom Europe ultimately became their permanent place of residence.
THE MUSIC: Radical new jazz sounds created as renowned ex-pat American jazzman mingle with the crème de la crème of their European counterparts. Early developments in world music inspired by trans-global cultural excursions to Asia, Africa and beyond. Exchange of ideas and a cultural meeting of minds as revolutionary jazz festivals take place behind the Iron Curtain. Advances in rhythm and sound where modal jazz and the prophetic music of John Coltrane merges with European folk traditions. This is Spiritual Jazz - as played by Americans in Europe.
Spiritual Jazz Vol. 5: Esoteric Modal and Deep Jazz From Around the World 1961-79
Until it was swept aside by the pop explosion of the 1960s, jazz was the most popular modern sound on earth. From the New World and the Caribbean to Africa, across the Soviet Bloc and the British Empire to the Far East, jazz music was embraced, adopted, played and enjoyed. Having examined spiritual jazz as it was expressed in the US, and followed its messengers and influences in Europe, this fifth installment of our Spiritual Jazz series presents jazz from the rest of the world: a collection of jazz messages hailing from the four corners of the world that are united in their diverse treatment of the jazz idiom. Jazz might have been the music of America, but in its beginnings it was not a purely American creation. The long story of its development stretches across the Atlantic, from Africa to the crucibles of slavery in the Caribbean and the Americas, both North and South. It was a music that ultimately emerged from the varied and resilient cultural achievements of Africans brought to the New World in bondage, and who brought with them a multiplicity of musical traditions. Evolution and development continued and, like a dandelion dispersing its airborne seeds via the wind, the sounds of jazz were carried around the world on the airwaves, record sales and by travelling musicians. In whichever continent the form took root, the individual, ethnic and cultural circumstances of the musicians decided the flavours and nuances of the jazz they created. This volume of Spiritual Jazz presents some of the rarest and most extraordinary global jazz recordings. We have covered some of the wider world's best known yet still underexposed jazz scenes - places such as Argentina and South Africa, as well as some of the world's most obscure. There are recordings here made for major labels, and recordings issued privately. Very few of them have seen any release outside of their country of original prior to this collection. But all of them speak of a period when jazz was a global musical lingua franca, spoken with ease by musicians who headed out into the night to produce their own distinctly local translations. This is esoteric jazz, modal jazz, spiritual jazz - as played by musicians from around the World.
The 5th Volume of Jazzman’s Spiritual Jazz compilation series sources rare material from all over the world, with contributions from countries as diverse as South Africa, Japan and Argentina. What unites the tracks are their inspiration and their quality. Charlie Munro Qt ‘Islamic Suite’, Louiz Banks ‘Song for my lady’, Jazz workshop ‘Mezare Israel’, Virgilio Armas Y Su Cuarteto ‘Sobre El Orinoco’ and Chivo Borraro ‘Half and Half’are beautiful Modal Jazz workouts. Hideo Shiraki ‘Fiesta’, Aquila ‘Um Allah’ and London Experimental Jazz Quartet’ Destroy the Nihilist Picnic’ are also strong tracks. Despite the diversity of the sources this set really works as an album and is probably the most accessible in the series so far.
Spiritual Jazz Vol. 6: Vocals - Modal Esoteric & Progressive Jazz Vocals from Around the World 1960-1986
If American Primitive Guitar begins with John Fahey and the Takoma School, then the actual origins of this sound is found within this collection of fourteen classic solo guitar performances. Recorded between 1923 to 1930, this set is the "Rosetta Stone" of style and repertoire tapped into deeply by Fahey, Basho & Rose, among many others. Sam McGee, Riley Puckett, Bayless Rose, Sylvester Weaver, Lemuel Turner, Frank Hutchison and Davey Miller are the rural artists included in this anthology. Each one of these showcases a particular technique and sensitivity sourced from the earlier 19th century parlor guitar tradition. Several of these sides are reissued for their first time including Sylvester Weaver's "Guitar Blues" which is the first solo finger picked guitar solo ever recorded. Stunningly remastered and annotated by Christopher King.
Spiritual Jazz Vol. 7: Modal Esoteric & Progressive Jazz Inspired by Islam 1957-1989
Esoteric, Modal and Progressive Jazz inspired by Islam 1957 - 1988
Songs ancient and divine - the seventh volume of our acclaimed Spiritual Jazz series examines the influence and impact of Islam on four decades of jazz innovation.
Through Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali, the civil rights era in America saw African American liberation politics famously associated with Islamic belief. This was not the first time that radical developments in African American cultural life had been widely and famously associated with Islam - that distinction belongs not to political or sporting giants, but to the progressive jazz musicians of the bebop generation.
Kenny Clarke, Art Blakey, Sahib Shihab, Gigi Gryce, Idrees Sulieman, Ahmad Jamal, Yusef Lateef; all these legendary jazz pioneers - and countless more - were early converts to the spiritually charged Ahmadiyya school of Islam. Their faith profoundly influenced the music that they made, and the presence of prominent and innovative Muslim musicians at the heart of jazz culture in America has been recognised ever since.
The tracks on this collection follow the story of Islam and jazz from the 1950s to the 1980s. Recorded by Muslim jazz musicians, they often draw specifically on Middle Eastern or Islamic music, dream of an esoteric or spiritual Afro-East, or invoke the landscape and sound worlds of Islamic Africa. Spiritual Jazz 7 presents a selection of visionary music – inspired by faith, powered by jazz.
--liner notes of Spiritual Jazz 7 is, a compilation on Jazzman
Spiritual Jazz Vol. 8: Japan Parts I & II; Modal Esoteric and Ethereal Jazz from Japan 1961-1983
Our latest examination of Esoteric, Modal & Progressive Jazz of the 20th Century has taken us to Japan. The liberating force of jazz has been created and felt all around the world, but few nations on earth embraced the jazz message with the passion and intensity of Japan. From the dawn of the jazz age to the present day, Japanese audiences have been renowned tastemakers, enthusiasts and champions of the music – in the 1980s, Japan was the biggest per capita market in the world for jazz records, and it has even been said that Japanese jazz fans kept the jazz record industry alive through the lean years of the 1970s, when the music fell from commercial favour in the land of its birth.
But while the jazz aficionados of Japan are celebrated as sophisticated fans and consumers of the music, comparatively little is known outside Japan of the remarkable and abundant music produced by generations of Japanese jazz musicians. Numerous Japanese jazzers have found enormous success on the international stage – Toshiko Akiyoshi, Sadao Watanabe, Teramasu Hino, and many others are household names among jazz listeners all over the world, and with good reason. But if such global figures are put aside, the stunning heritage of Japanese jazz remains poorly understood outside Japan. As a result, the work of many celebrated Japanese jazumen has remained largely unknown to international audiences, and the extraordinary scope and depth of Japanese jazz has not been widely recognised.
Compiled for the Spiritual Jazz series in collaboration with the celebrated collector and DJ Yusuke Ogawa (Deep Jazz Reality, Tokyo), this 2CD/twin set of double LPs aims to correct that omission by uncovering the uniquely deep sound of esoteric, modal and progressive jazz from Japan – music of the heart, soul and Japanese spirit!
In 1998, Jazzman Gerald was one of a number of people who noticed that the demand for old jazz, funk and soul albums and singles was outstripping the supply, which meant that many record buyers were being priced out of the market. That was unless they were willing to purchase a bootleg copy of the album. However, many record buyers weren’t willing to buy bootlegs as the artist didn’t receive any royalties, and often the sound quality was extremely poor. Jazzman Gerald realising all this, knew that there had to be another way, and one day, decided to found his own record label, Jazzman Records.
Jazzman Gerald’s plan was to reissue his favourite rarities legally on vinyl and whenever possible, involve the artist in the reissue, by having them tell their story of the album. Over the next ten years, Jazzman Records released many lovingly curated releases which allowed a new audience to discover jazz, funk and soul rarities. This continued in 2008 as Jazzman Records prepared to release the first instalment in a new compilation series Spiritual Jazz.
This was Spiritual Jazz-Esoteric, Modal And Deep Jazz From The Underground 1968-77 which was released to critical acclaim in 2008. Little did anyone realise, and maybe not even Jazzman Gerald that this was the start of successful series that would still be going strong a decade later.
Four years after the first instalment in the series, Spiritual Jazz Volume II-Europe and Spiritual Jazz 3-Europe were released to plaudits and praise. Spiritual Jazz Volume 4-Americans In Europe followed in 2013 and Spiritual Jazz 5-Esoteric, Modal And Deep Jazz From Around The World 1961-79 in 2014. Gerald Short a.k.a. Jazzman Gerald seemed to dig deeper than other compilers, and with every compilation continued to unearth hidden gems. That other was the case on 2015s Spiritual Jazz Volume 6-Vocals and especially 2017s Spiritual Jazz Volume 7-Islam which were both welcome additions to this wonderful series. What everyone wondered was where next for Jazzman Gerald on his musical odyssey?
Recently, that question was answered when Jazzman Records released Spiritual Jazz Volume 8 Japan: Parts I and II as a two CD set. Parts One and Two are also available separately on vinyl as two LP sets. This is the perfect way to discover the music of Mitsuaki Kanno, Tadao Hayashi, Takeo Moriyama, Koichi Matsukaze, New Direction For The Arts, Four Units, Keitaro Miho, Kiyoshi Sugimoto and Yoshio Ikeda who all feature on Spiritual Jazz Volume 8 Japan: Parts I and II. They’re just a few of the artists on this latest instalment in the Soir.
Spiritual Jazz Vol.9 - Blue Notes Parts I & II
Spiritual Jazz Vol. 10: Esoteric modal and deep jazz from Prestige Records (1961-73)
Spiritual Jazz 11: SteepleChase
