Featured

Levitation Orchestra presents one of the most adventurous albums to bless our ears in 2021, bringing together multiple inspirations ranging across spiritual jazz, classical, electronica, soul, spoken word, M-Base, and no-holds-barred free improvisation. With trumpeter Axel Kaner-Lidstrom (Cykada, Gary Bartz) as musical director, the collective comprises some of London's most promising young musicians, who together play in or with the likes of Alabaster de Plume, Shunaji, Nihilism, PÆN, and Nardedey. Lluis Domenech Plana on flute, James Akers on tenor saxophone, and Ayodeji Ijishakin on tenor saxophone complete the horn section, with Saskia Horton on violin, Beatriz Rola on violin, and Emma Barnaby on cello making up the strings. Rhythm is available in handfuls from Hamish Nockles-Moore on double bass and Harry Ling on drums, Maria Osuchowska on harp, and Paris Charles on guitar, with last but not least, Plumm and Dilara Aydin-Corbett on vocals.

-

As a true collective, each member is vital, contributing equally to the whole in terms of playing and writing. Compositions formed out of group discussions, which in the case of Illusions & Realities, delved into childhood, stoicism, astrophysical theories, and neurological delusions, all interweaving and circling the point where truth and reality enter the realm of illusion. The result is a record which manages to channels the energy of Sun Ra's Arkestra, the spiritual ambience of Alice Coltrane, and the harmonic subtleties of Debussy, whilst ultimately producing something tantalisingly original. – Bandcamp

Drawing on UK dance music, experimental R&B, and hip-hop, this remix album to the London saxophonist’s kaleidoscopic jazz record expands on the eclectic universe of the original.

After years of dance music borrowing from jazz, in the late 2010s UK jazz musicians decided to return the favor, with albums from Kamaal Williams, Moses Boyd et al. drawing from UK garage, jungle, broken beat, house, R&B, afrobeats and more in search of a new jazz swing. In this context, Source ⧺ We Move feels like a logical next step for London saxophonist Nubya Garcia after the success of her 2020 debut album Source, a modern jazz record of kaleidoscopic musical ambition. Garcia called Source “a definite ode to musical history,” with the album taking in influences from Colombian cumbia, reggae, calypso, and modern dance music to create a vision of jazz that was both historic in scope and modern in feel.

More than a remix album, then, Source ⧺ We Move is like an expansion pack to Source’s electric, eclectic universe, opening up paths and byways that shed new light on Garcia’s work while staying true to her vision; a modular musical adventure that is best enjoyed in context. - Pitchfork

In 2012, Snarky Puppy booked their first European tour through Facebook posts, begging people to help find a bar they could play in. Years later, on November 14th, 2019, Snarky Puppy recorded their sold-out show from the iconic Royal Albert Hall in London. Featuring an extended line-up of 15 out of their 18 regular members, the record includes many tracks from their recent studio album, Immigrance. – Snarky Puppy

Bobbi Humphrey was one of the most prominent stars on the Blue Note roster of the 1970s. The flutist debuted on the label in 1971 with Flute In¸ the first in a run of six creative and highly enjoyable albums. On her breakout 1973 album Blacks and Blues, Humphrey hooked up with the forward-thinking producer Larry Mizell to create a jazz-funk classic that expanded her audience. It proved to be a winning combination, and the two joined forces again on Satin Doll the following year. Their third and final collaboration would be on the great 1975 album Fancy Dancer. Humphrey’s alluring flute dances through vibrant and ingenious arrangements by Larry and Fonce Mizell that skillfully wove together a broad range of influences from across the spectrum of black music. The set featured standout tracks like the Latin grooves of “Uno Esta,” the laid-back jam “You Make Me Feel So Good,” and the album’s expansive closer “Please Set Me At Ease,” which the innovative Hip Hop beatmaker Madlib memorably remade on his 2003 Blue Note remix album Shades Of Blue. – Blue Note

The timeless 1960 hard bop classic The Big Beat was the album that first introduced one of the greatest line-ups of Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers to the jazz public with the legendary drummer and bandleader joined by trumpeter Lee Morgan, tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter, pianist Bobby Timmons, and bassist Jymie Merritt. Shorter was the band’s newest member, and it was immediately clear that his presence would steer the group’s sound in a new more modern direction. Three of the album’s six pieces were penned by Shorter including the swaggering set opener “The Chess Players,” the imaginative “Sakeena’s Vision” written for Blakey’s young daughter, and the tribute “Lester Left Town” which was dedicated to influential jazz tenor forefather Lester Young. However, it was Timmons’ unforgettable gospel-influenced tune “Dat Dere,” a suitably soulful follow-up to the band’s previous hit “Moanin’,” that the album would ultimately become best-known for. This excellent edition of The Jazz Messengers would go on to record a phenomenal run of classic albums including A Night In Tunisia, Like Someone In Love, The Freedom Rider, Roots & Herbs, and The Witch Doctor. – Blue Note

There is a moment near the top of jaimie branch’s FLY or DIE LIVE, the new album recorded by the trumpeter’s quartet in Zurich, Switzerland on January 23rd, 2020, which feels like it bears the weight of both that specific pocket of time, and a prophecy for all that was soon to come. branch and her Fly or Die crew — cellist Lester St. Louis, double bassist Jason Ajemian, and drummer/percussionist/mbira player Chad Taylor — had just kicked off the concert at Moods, with the opening tracks off their then-new studio album FLY or DIE II: Bird Dogs of Paradise, the second of which, “Prayer for Amerikkka” is among the best political songs written during the Tr*mp Era, and when the moment in question pops off.

The multi-part “Prayer” begins as a goth-blues stomp, its moaning ghosts flying around the room. A week into a European tour and after three months of constant live performance, Fly or Die is at home in this new song’s contours, messing with its internal machinery while guiding its meaning. By now, “Prayer” had gained a tough spoken-word intro, bringing the context as it slowly gearshifts the intensity: “It’s a song about America,” off-the-cuffs branch while the band seethes behind her, “but it’s about a whole lotta places — ‘cause it’s not just America where shit’s fucked up...” Then arrives the climax, at once site-specific and far-reaching: “...and it’s not always time to be neutral, do you know what I mean?” The gathered Swiss crowd knows, understands, and responds vocally, as Taylor’s backbeats cue branch to bring the trumpet to her lips, and let out a high-pitched wail. Her horn doesn’t know what’s about to happen to our world, and yet, somehow, it does — with only the catastrophic details needing to be worked out. For the next 12 minutes, “Prayer” careens through its twists of wide-eyed racism and family separation, Ajemian and Taylor driving branch’s punk-jazz Morricone horn line. “This is a warning, honey…” cries the song, and over the ensuing 70 minutes, the band echoes its sentiment, filled with glee and terror. – Bandcamp

Super obscure New York Latin Jazz superbly produced by Eddie Drennon of the massive Disco hit of the early 1970's "Let's do the Latin Hustle".

-

Drennon was also a well known arranger and producer on the underground Latin Circuit and produced this way out, leftfield and very different to the typical "Salsa" style release current at that time. Some very jazz oriented playing on top of the "El Barrio" Vox Pop sounds of the streets and underlaid with some funky and fiery latin percussion.

-

"Suite Guaracha" was picked up on by the London Ibiza crew in the 90's and the Ursula 1000 & Gamm Nu-Jazz crew in the 2000's, played all over the alternative club circuit but has still managed to stay under the radar since then, but now a staple of the Worldwide Sound appearing on DJ Playlists in the hippest spots from Tokyo to Hamburg, New York to Barcelona.

-

Very different from the usual run of the mill late 70's Fania outings which might be a clue as to it's somewhat unique sound stylings. Funky, gritty, raw, fat jazzy and spooky backing vocals.

It's Strictly Jazz Room!

– Bandcamp

This is timeless music that has inspired innumerable jazz guitarists and aficionados. In fact, jazz guitar great Pat Metheny has said, "I learned to play listening to Wes Montgomery's Smokin' At The Half Note." Metheny additionally said that the solo on "If You Could See Me Now" is his favorite of all time.

-

This legendary session was recorded at a New York nightclub. It captures Montgomery at the height of his improvisational powers. Many consider it the best performance on record by one of the most inventive guitarists in jazz history.

-

Highlights include the Miles Davis opener, "No Blues" and the following track, Tadd Dameron's "If You Could See Me Now." And the album's versions of "Unit 7" and "Four On Six" have helped to establish these songs as jazz standards. – Acoustic Sounds

A truly inspired and beautifully played session from saxophonist Archie Shepp.

This 1998 studio recording by tenor sax legend Archie Shepp is a study in blues and ballads as the title might suggest, but it also marks the return of Shepp as a true bandleader. With pianist John Hicks, drummer Billy Drummond, and bassist George Mraz, Shepp sounds more inspired here than he has in literally decades. There is no crutch-like reliance on hard bop and blues stylings, nor is there any over-the-shoulder tosses at being the king of the avant-garde. Instead Shepp focuses on what he does best: being a fine stylist and one of the great blues phraseologists in the business. Opening with Coltrane's "Lonnie's Lament," Shepp goes one better than just saluting his old boss -- he reharmonizes the tune and slows it down, making it a true elegy. On Cole Porter's tunes, Shepp looks to the deep lyricism in Hicks' playing to bring out his best ballad style. The two of them interact so warmly and intimately here, it could have easily been a duet. On Jimmy van Heusen's "But Beautiful," it's Hicks who leads off the tune, but it's Shepp who gives it its body and soul. Beginning to play the melody from deep in the lower register, Shepp traces the harmony out to the edges and coaxes Hicks to follow him; he simultaneously scales back just enough to open him up to fill that space with wonderful flowering chords against his warmer-than-July tone. Shepp offers one original to the mix, "A Little Surprise for the Lady," which is refreshing among all these covers for its shimmering, funky groove and slithering solo; he offers a stunning rendition of "Blue Train" and ends the program with another of the Coltrane book standards, Billy Eckstine's "I Want to Talk About You." But instead of going for Coltrane's leaping and loping harmony in the bridge, Shepp creates a new one based on the bassline instead of the lyric phrase, which adds a certain depth and dimension not heard before, no matter how many times this tune has been interpreted. The only weak spot on the whole date comes from Mraz. His lack of wood in his tone makes all of his fluidity for naught because, as with most of the sessions he plays on, he becomes too limpid to hear. But it's a small complaint for a gorgeous session. – All Music

Altercat proudly presents the definitive reissue of one of the crown jewels of South American jazz. Essentially the brainchild of Argentinian jazz’s leading figure Jorge López Ruiz, the project Viejas Raíces marked Lopez Ruiz’s departure from the traditional forms of jazz.

-

Tip! The trio that recorded this album, consisting of López Ruiz joined by his life-long friend drummer Pocho Lapouble and gifted Chilean pianist Matías Pizarro, created a thrilling blend of jazz and Uruguayan candombe, surrounded by an undeniable cinematic feel spurred by López Ruiz’s long experience in the soundtrack field. When read as one element, the cleverly chosen combination of group name and album title (in English: ‘Old Roots of the Colonies of the River Plate’) readily hints at the kind of sounds the listener will be challenged with when diving into this LP.

-

Recorded in 1976 in the wake of the “Proceso de Reorganización Nacional”, the bloodiest period of dictatorship in Argentina, the album was initially frowned upon by critics and public alike, both still firmly rooted in jazz traditionalism and obviously not ready for the new ideas that musicians like López Ruiz were experimenting with. Despite being a commercial flop upon its release, the album has been enjoying a growing reputation over the last two decades, acclaimed by jazz enthusiasts who value it from a different historical perspective and embrace its experimentation during this revolutionary period of change.

-

Fourty-five years after its release, the album receives the Altercat treatment with a much deserved deluxe reissue, with sound direct from the master tapes and an accompanying 12-page booklet with previously unpublished pictures and bilingual liner notes telling everything you ever wanted to know about the album and those who made it possible.

Even by the high-water marks set by Herbie Hancock’s tremendous 1960s Blue Note output, 1965’s Maiden Voyage remains one of the pinnacle artistic achievements of the great pianist’s career. Hancock is joined here by his Miles Davis Quintet bandmates Ron Carter on bass and Tony Williams on drums, along with Freddie Hubbard on trumpet and George Coleman on tenor saxophone.

The quintet embarks on an oceanic exploration of five original Hancock compositions, several of which have since become enduring standards of the jazz lexicon including the title track, “Eye of the Hurricane,” and “Dolphin Dance.”

This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal. – Blue Note

On October 15, 1965, tenor saxophone master and composer Wayne Shorter recorded The All Seeing Eye, a brilliant and ambitiously multi-layered album for Blue Note. Shorter’s goal for the album was to use “a wider range of colors and textures” while continuing his explorations of “life and the universe and God.” Joining Shorter in his quest are Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Grachan Moncur III on trombone, James Spaulding on alto saxophone, Herbie Hancock on piano, Ron Carter on bass, Joe Chambers on drums, and, on one track, Wayne’s brother Alan Shorter on flugelhorn. – Blue Note

Keyboardist Walter Bishop, Jr. recorded the second album released by the Black Jazz label, Coral Keys, a masterpiece of Blue Note-style atmospherics infused with '70s soul-jazz. But a mere two years later, Bishop, Jr. brought a whole new sound and a whole new band into the studio for 1973"s Keeper of My Soul. Contrary to the album title, the name of the band was not The 4th Cycle; instead, as the liner notes put it, the name reflected 'Bishop's composition and improvisational techniques based on the Cycle of 4ths and his various personal musical cycles as performer, student and teacher.' The album also was imbued with a spirituality owed in part to his studies with yogi Parmahansa Yogananda; little wonder, then, that Keeper of My Soul was a more ambitious, electric, and 'out' record than its predecessor. With the estimable support of flautist/sax man Ronnie Laws, bassist Gerald Brown, and vibraphonist Woody Murray, Bishop explores Keith Jarrett-like free-form passages ('Those Who Chant'), Latin stylings (Kenny Dorham's 'Blue Bossa'), and offers one of the most unusual and funky interpretations of 'Summertime' you'll ever hear. All in remastered sound with liner notes by Pat Thomas. First-ever vinyl reissue of a long-lost classic! – Real Gone Music

This newly discovered live-recording of a performance of the Love Supreme suite is a revelation. Recorded at The Penthouse in Seattle on October 2, 1965, this recording transports the listener to a prime seat for piece of musical history. While not studio-quality audio, the power of the performance shines through. This version is also of the full suite and features an expanded band that includes the same Classic Quartet and Pharoah Sanders in his first official gig as part of Coltrane’s group.

Three giants of West Coast Jazz came together in this deeply swinging session recorded for the Pacific Jazz/World Pacific label in 1953. Alto saxophone master Lee Konitz joins with the great Gerry Mulligan on baritone saxophone and legendary trumpeter Chet Baker on a half-live, half-studio program of standards along with one Mulligan original. The group is supported by bassists Carson Smith and Joe Mondragon with Larry Bunker on drums for this spontaneous and inventive jazz treasure. – Blue Note

The album title is apt, as this was saxman Rudolph Johnson's second album for the Black Jazz label (and this reissue marks only the second time this 1973 album has been released on vinyl)! But more importantly, the quality of the music it contains renders the more common, Messianic meaning of the phrase 'the second coming' equally applicable. Saxman and bandleader Rudolph Johnson never attained the commercial success of some of his contemporaries, but his fans consider him the rightful heir to John Coltrane's improvisational genius. And with keyboardist Kirk Lightsey in the band for this go-round (we already reissued Johnson's very fine 1971 Black Jazz album Spring Rain), sparks are gonna fly, starting right off with the cookin' album opener 'The Traveler,' which if you close your eyes will definitely bring to mind Coltrane's classic quartet circa the early '60s. Indeed, unlike most of the other releases on the Black Jazz label, The Second Coming barely nods to the fusion and soul jazz trends that were sweeping jazz at the time. Instead, this is expressive, free improvisation at its best, beautifully recorded by producer Gene Russell and deserving of a much wider audience than it found the first time. Newly remastered and annotated, and, like we said, reissued on vinyl for the first time! – Real Gone Music

Donald Fagen's acclaimed solo album performed live by The Steely Dan Band in 2019! Featuring I.G.Y., New Frontier & more on 180g black vinyl. 

Earth Rot (1970) set the visionary composer/arranger/producer up for his final stage as an architect of jazz fusion and ensured that his productions would help future architects of hip hop.

-

We present here both vocal and instrumental versions of Axelrod’s classic Earth Rot. The instrumentals have never before been released. Both contain and an oversized, 28p. booklet that delves into Axelrod’s incredible life and music, replete with never before published photos and an interview with Axelrod by Eothen Alapatt and Waxpoetic’s Brian Digenti. Audiophile reissue, lacquered directly from Axelrod’s original master tapes at Capitol Records by Ron McMaster. – Rappcats

Japanese Import!

Second time around for Arthur Verocai’s 2016 album “No Voo Do Urubu”, a set that remains the veteran Brazil artist’s most recent full-length excursion. It remains a superb set full of hazy, sun-kissed future classics that put a decidedly loose and languid spin on the 1970s MPB sound that he did so much to popularize. That means ear catching blends of samba, easy listening, folk, jazz-funk and smooth AOR. Highlights are plentiful throughout, from the gentle breeze of “O Tempo E O Vento” and the flute-laden, Azymuth-influenced shuffle of “No Voo Do Urubu”, to the big band samba sizzle of “Mina Terra Tem Palmeiras”, where Lu Oliveira adeptly delivers a memorable lead vocal. – Light In The Attic

With Cuba poised to become more connected to the rest of the world, the Cuban people’s pride in a unique musical heritage has never felt more vital. Arising from that lineage, Daymé Arocena has returned to deliver an ambitious second long player; rooting her compositions in Cuba’s classic rhythms, Daymé encompasses the rich, diverse musical make-up of her home whilst looking outward too – to the world she has spent the last two years traveling.

It’s her most polished, fully realised project since meeting her mentor (and record label head), Gilles Peterson, in 2012. Benefiting from Gilles’ expansive vision as a DJ, broadcaster and promoter, Daymé has been nurtured to this point by the Havana Cultura project – a platform for contemporary Cuban creativity driven by Havana Club rum.

Interviewing Daymé at the Sound of Cuba showcase at SXSW last year, NPR wrote, “It is hard to imagine a better voice to open her country’s gates” – and it feels like this statement holds true. Ambitious, hardworking, and hungry for cultural exchange that doesn’t compromise the unique flavour of her home country of which she is so proud, it feels like 2017 could be a monumental year for Daymé. She possesses a clear sense of her music’s intermingling influences: “We don't have this native culture,” she explains. “We don't have indigenous people, like Maya or Quechua. They made a country with people from everywhere – that’s what makes Cuban culture so different.” – On Bandcamp

Superfly reissue produced in collaboration with Universal Music Japan and Production Dessinee. Beautiful modern jazz album with modal and spiritual vibe all the way. This is a state-of-the-art quality repress with vintage Japanese quality touch, including obi and insert, strictly limited to 700 copies. – Superfly Records

With their unerring synergy and the deep-grooved rhythmic impetus they summon together, these artists do not seem at all to miss the presence of a stickman. Miller, of course, has the responsibility to make full use of both the piano’s melodic and rhythmic capacities, and he does so flawlessly throughout, as Hargrove deftly inserts his trumpet lines into the spaces Miller leaves open—often in unexpected places, heightening both tension and release. For the most part, Hargrove maintains a flat-timbred, vibrato-less tone (clearly the Miles influence), which means that the emotional depth of his playing is dependent solely on the musical ideas he germinates; no bathos or sentiment to make things easy, for either the listener or him. But on more celebratory outings such as “Con Alma” and “Invitation,” he overlays his tone with a brilliant sheen, pumping up both volume and intensity, with clarion-like ascents and upper-range testifying. His extended lines at times echo Clifford Brown’s with their fusion of dexterity and precision, as well as their recasting of classic bop patterns. Miller, meanwhile, confines his explorations primarily to his right hand, using his left as a rhythmic and chordal base on which to dance; his exploratory drive is focused and relentless.

As resolutely as these two highly disciplined improvisers hew to what are now considered conventional notions of melody, pitch, intonation, and harmony (glorying in the sometimes-forgotten art of extracting new riches from well-mined lodes), their music is never dry or pedantic. Even on ballads such as “This Is Always,” “I Remember Clifford” (which gives Hargrove full range to explore his Brownian side), and Monk’s “Ruby My Dear,” a sense of irrepressible playfulness makes itself felt, as trumpeter and pianist toss ideas back and forth like ballplayers in a round of pepper: every moment new and sparkling, celebrating a brotherhood of the spirit bonded by joy, deepened by inspiration, and anointed with love. – Jazz Times