New stuff just in: Stanley Jordan,
Mindi Abair,
Brian Blade,
John Surman,
Marilyn Crispell,
Brad Mehldau Trio,
Michael McDonald,
Jessy J,
Steve Khan
Al Di Meola,
Bob Baldwin,
Smokin' Joe Kubek
Pat Metheny Trio,
Lizz Wright,
Shelby Lynne,
The Vampires,
Steve Kuhn,
Stefano Bollani,
Joe Chindamo,
Medeski, Martin and Wood,
Paul Hardcastle,
Horace Silver,
Marilyn Mazur & Jan Garbarek,
Elizabeth Geyer,
Keith Jarrett (3 CD Box),
Maceo Parker,
Marcin Wasilewski Trio,
Kenny Wheeler,
Enrico Pieranunzi,
John Taylor
Fernando Otero,
China Forbes
Charles Lloyd,
Gerald Veasley,
George Cables,
The Sax Pack,
John Zorn, Bobby Watson, Daniel Lanois, Mark Egan, ......
Coming soon: Ketil Bjornstad, Miguel Zenon, David Sanborn & Eric Clapton and some more Blue Note reissues.
If you wish to order anything on the web site and you have problems please call us on 02 9267 6881 or send an
email with your request and we will call you back.
On-line stock quantities are not very accurate - an item listed as out of stock on the website may well be in stock in the shop. Please contact us to confirm availability or order as if it is in stock. If it's an Australian release it should be available 99% of the time.
TOP SELLERS 2005 - 2007
Search Tips:
- use Advanced search and type part of TITLE and part of ARTIST. Eg To search for John Sangster - "Lord of the rings" type JOHN in Artist and LORD in Title. Click the box marked "Match all specified criteria". Then click SEARCH. This will save you heaps of time. You don't need to fill each field completely- fill PART of TITLE and ARTIST, and click for the box marked "Match all specified criteria".
- If you are searching for something use the most unusual word of the artists name or cd title. eg Use GORMAN when searching for Tony Gorman. If you type Tony you will get every artist with Tony in either the name or title of the cd.
15/10/2007 Mike Nock & Dave Liebman - "Duologue" wins ARIA Award for best Jazz Album 2007. Congrats to Mike and Dave from all at Birdland.
Review of
Steve Hunter's "Dig my Garden" in the SMH 20/10/2007
"the band's finest recording to date"
"one of the country's most potent musical acts",
"this albums sound captures that visceral excitement "... for James Muller to unleash a guitar solo of such ferocity you will duck for cover; the sort of playing that makes his live perfomances so extraordinary"
In stock now!
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We've been very busy updating the site - most recent releases are now on-line with comments and pics and we'll be adding back-catalogue on a daily basis.
OUT NOW FROM BIRDLAND RECORDS:
Tony Gorman + Bobby Singh "As Wide As The Sky"
Steve Hunter Band - "Dig My Garden" (with James Muller, Matt McMahon and James Hauptmann)
JazzGroove Mothership Orchestra with Florian Ross - Dream Wheel
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myspace site:
www.myspace.com/birdlandrecords
James Muller "Kaboom" Review - SMH 23/9/6
CD of the week - Sydney Morning Herald
Even in the age of mediocrity being worshipped and celebrity being an end in itself, cultural cringe is still alive and thriving down under. When Pat Metheny or John Scofield come to
Australia they sell out concerts at hefty ticket prices and are rightly lauded as among the finest jazz guitarists alive.
Meanwhile a more remarkable one is operating right in our midst,
performing to people paying the price of a couple of drinks at the Excelsior Hotel or The Sound Lounge.
More remarkable? James Muller? In terms of melodic ingenuity, yes. His sound and the lines he weaves place him with saxophonists Mark Simmonds and Bernie McGann as among those
Australians to have an utterly unique voice and approach to jazz improvisation.
With "Kaboom" another chapter is added to the Muller story, which began with a rather tentative arrival in Sydney from Adelaide a decade ago, although he was soon shaking up the scene with a sense of melody that was already all his own. In 2004 he won the Freedman/Music Council of Australia Jazz Fellowship, using the loot to hire a New York studio and the brilliance and experience of bassist Matt Penman and drummer Bill Stewart.
The result is startling and his best recording to date, capturing something of the all-engulfing waves of energy, beauty and passion which Muller routinely unleashes in little bars
around town. That it does not exclusively contain those waves is
not so much an indictment of the disc as an indication of just how astonishing Muller can be. I don't mean astonishing in any technical sense (although that aspect of his playing is certainly impressive), but live there is a devil-may-care edge that he finds hard to replicate in the studio. What is on offer, though, is perhaps the most exciting jazz guitarist in the world
inventing melodies to make you laugh in disbelief ("D BLUES") and cry at their loveliness (the exquisite " Eindhoven"); lines to jolt you with their unexpected starts, stops and leaps, and pin you back in your chair with their power. Stewart's imaginative agility and sophisticated sense of detail have the drums twisting and turning with, and in parallel to, the guitar, continually flecking the lines with highlights and shadows. The latter are deepened by Penman, who also keeps a tight hold of the harmonic string attached to Muller's dazzling, diving, soaring kite. Outstanding.
John Shand SMH 23/9/6
Order Kaboom now!
Kaboom Weekend Australian review !
Rating: ****1/2
Right from the opening this album explodes with the promise of its title. Sydney guitarist Muller has scored a triumph, enlisting drummer Bill Stewart from US guitar maestro John Scofield’s trio, for this New York session. Initially Stewart had vetoed the gig without hearing the Australian, but on auditioning Muller’s work, phoned back to sign on. And what an asset he is!
The guitar/drums interplay lifts everything to a higher level of integration, like a musical version of 3D chess, often at full throttle. Muller’s flashing curvilinear solos never slip a note as high energy and profuse ideas pour out. US bassist Matt Penman supplies adequate foundations, if a little boomy at the low end, but his well thought-out solos more than compensate.
A tribute to US pianist Chick Corea opens with solo multiple cymbals against a jiggy light groove before the guitar arrives to state a swinging chorded theme. All tracks are original, save for an uptempo All The Things You Are, and Muller gets enough guitar tonal variety, that, added to the sheer brilliance of playing, makes this a must-have CD.
John McBeath Weekend Australian 12th August 2006
Order Kaboom now!
THEAK-TET - OLD SCHOOL
Here's the Theak-Tet "Old School" 4 star review from the Australian:
"This third album from Sydney saxophonist David Theak's group has been a while coming, following its recording at Oslo's Rainbow Studios after the band's 2004 European tour. Formed in 1997, Theak-Tet has evolved through several changes of personnel, retaining leader Theak and guitarist James Muller, now supported by Brendan Clarke (double bass) and drummer Felix Bloxsom. The quartet plays all-original pieces in a rhythmic post-bop style of often complex harmonic structures - ideal for soloists to open up on - but keeping its themes melodically comprehensible. There is superb four-way integration, smart use of drum fills, and some truly astounding scramjet velocity solos from Theak and Muller, especially on "Watch yo back". Other tracks range from ballad tempos in the satisfying resolutions of "ki-ki" and the pensive beauty of "June", to the medium bat bop explorations on "3,4,5,6" and the albums signature guitar and sax interchanges in "Flea Bag". An astounding example of originality and high-level performance.
John McBeath - Weekend Australian
In stock- order now!
FYI: Just about every Australian cd we carry is now listed on our web site.
FYI - Check out this unique visual take on Giant Steps:
Michael Levy's Giant Steps
LIVE AT BIRDLAND - INSTORE PERFORMANCES
As part of our ongoing commitment to jazz and in particular the homegrown variety, Birdland (in conjunction with JAZZGROOVE ) will host these free performances on a regular basis. These performances will present a unique opportunity for ALL - AGES to experience some of the best Australian contemporary music.
The shop address is:
Shop M 3 / 4, Mezzanine Level,
City Centre Building,
231 - 247 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW 2000.
(Below Monorail Station and Arizona Bar- now known as Coolabar)
Our phone number is: (02) 9267 6881.
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Birdland Records
P O Box A 836
Sydney South NSW 1235
Our email address is: birdland@birdland.com.au
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That's it for now. All the best from Birdland!
PS: We do our best to keep this site current. However due to the huge number of releases, deletions, prices changes (both up and down), items listed may be deleted, may change in price etc. So we reserve the right to change anything on this site without notice.
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