Contemporary Jazz / Punk / Free Improvisation 2026
Alden Hellmuth
Tether
via Tokyo Buy Buy Diary
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Wednesday, May 6, 2026 • Vinyl Finds from Around the World
OST The Godfather
Nino Rota's iconic score for Francis Ford Coppola's 1972 epic, building a world of tragedy and grandeur through haunting trumpet melodies and lush orchestration. This year's pressing comes in red marble colored vinyl.
petal
Ariana Grande's new LP, pressed on semi-transparent pearl-white vinyl with a gatefold sleeve, die-cut inner sleeve, and a 16-page 12x12 lyric booklet. Out July 31 — act early.
渡
Takada Wataru's 1993 comeback album, his first in ten years, produced by Keiichi Suzuki with members of Moonriders and Hachimitsu-pai. Features the well-known commercial jingle 'Honto wa Minna' and a fresh take on his signature song 'Seikatsu no Gara' — an ideal entry point.
ねこのねごと
Takada Wataru's eighth album, the only studio recording from his most active touring years, featuring ten-plus musicians across folk, country, and European traditional styles. Opens with an autoharp and children's chorus; the languid title track is frequently compared to Hosono Haruomi's cover of 'Lazy Bones'.
FISHIN' ON SUNDAY
Takada Wataru's landmark 1976 LA recording, produced by Hosono Haruomi. Beyond the core trio, Van Dyke Parks plays piano and Robert Greenidge adds steel drum, lending some tracks a Caribbean flavor while Wataru's sardonic wit remains intact. Now remastered for its 50th anniversary by Soichiro Nakamura at Peace Music, limited run.
Mana
Kalia Vandever's new album, named for the Hawaiian concept of sacred, life-giving energy. Effect-processed trombone floats alongside late-period Sakamoto-esque minimalist piano, weaving between Ambient and experimental jazz in tones that are ethereal and deeply gentle. Out on International Anthem; also available in limited orange vinyl.
People Of The Moon
Nu Genea's third album deepens their rich rhythmic journey through Afro-Cuban and Mediterranean sounds, layering Neapolitan, Arabic, English, Spanish, and Portuguese across contributions from Tom Misch, María José Llergo, Fabiana Martone, Celinatique, and Gabriel Prado. Out July 31.
轟動閩南語歌曲
A precious early collection of Teresa Teng performing Taiwanese Hokkien folk and pop songs, including classics like 'Bah-tsang', 'Sim-sng-sng', and 'Su-siong-ki'. Released as a numbered 180g transparent vinyl — an essential collectible for Teresa Teng devotees.
DENIM
Mariya Takeuchi's tenth album from 2007, co-produced with Tatsuro Yamashita, now receiving its first-ever double heavyweight LP release. Twelve tracks including 'Reply' and 'Slow Love' — an essential piece of City Pop's golden era, finally available in vinyl.
Lower Caste Religious Music From India
Recorded in Calcutta in 1973 by ethnomusicologist Rosina Schlenker, documenting the music of India's lower-caste Shudra and Harijan communities — wandering monks, acrobats, farmers, midwives — sounds rooted in life and labor rather than the refined Ragas of the classical tradition. Released on Lyrichord; companion to the Middle Caste volume.
Middle Caste Religious Music From India
The companion volume to Schlenker's 1973 Calcutta field recordings, turning to Brahmin, Kshatriya, and Vaishya communities and their refined classical Ragas and Talas — music of spiritual elevation. Heard alongside the Lower Caste volume, the contrast maps the parallel sonic universes divided by India's caste system.
精選 (Cheer)
Cheer Chen's 2005 compilation, spanning her early career highlights from 'Coffee Shop in Jiufen' to 'Too Smart', threading her signature indie folk aesthetic through a gentle, luminous voice. Newly repressed on transparent double vinyl — a cornerstone of Taiwanese indie music collecting.
Dangerous
Michael Jackson's eighth studio album, produced with Teddy Riley and Bruce Swedien, blending New Jack Swing grooves with MJ's signature pop R&B across classics like 'Black Or White', 'Remember The Time', and 'Heal The World'. One of the best-selling albums in pop history — double LP restock.
Summer-Time Love Song
Dubbed the psychedelic prequel to Makoto Matsushita's 'First Light', this 1979 hidden gem by The Milky Way weaves AOR, Jazz Fusion, and Bossa Nova with contributions from saxophonist Yasuhiro Shimizu and a cover shot by photographer Shimpei Asai. Wewantsounds delivers its first official international reissue.
After winning the 2024 Deutscher Jazzpreis for Best International Debut, NYC alto saxophonist Alden Hellmuth returns with 'Tether' — a rare double-bass quartet spanning jazz, punk, and free improvisation. Logan Kane and Miller Wrenn anchor the low end while Justin Brown drives with relentless rhythmic energy. Out on Nils Frahm's LEITER label.