This pushes the fabric of what some might expect when they think of jazz. On it you will find many moods; dubby jazz, atmospheric jazz drifting through an electronic mist, vintage acid jazz, soul jazz, ethnic flavours, upbeat 4/4 jazz house, but also a fair smattering of music that follows a more traditional flightpath.
Soundcloud Playlist:
Youtube Playlist:
Dominique Fils-Aimé is an incredible new talent from Montreal whose music brings together jazz, soul and r&b. In 2018 she released Nameless, her debut album which explored blues music as the first installment in a trilogy devoted to the history of African-American music
https://youtu.be/PxsfzsfcfI4
Wind Horse serves up jazzy house offering with the LP ‘Cosmik Tapes’ from the eclectic French trio Nextune X Hugues. The project is the Brainchild of Ken Linh Doky (on piano) and Thibault Gatinel (on drums) who collaborates with Hugues Morisset, a talented trumpeter who shares the same artistic vision as the former duo. Together the Parisian tastemakers land a laid-back, juicy, jazz-inspired album that’s their interpretation of the intergalactic unknown which is simply outstanding. – Soundcloud
Andrea Benini (b1977), also known as Mop Mop is a musician, music producer and composer from Italy. He has worked in jazz, funk and club music.
Discography
https://www.discogs.com/artist/335316-Mop-Mop
https://soundcloud.com/jazzdeville/plain-gold-ring-mop-mop-rework
Akele Wube are a group from Paris France who draw their musical inspiration from 60’s and 70’s Ethiopian Jazz, also know as Ethiopian Groove.
Akalé Wubé’s second album Mata.
Mata Remixed
Akalé Wubé’s debut album.
Girma Bèyènè is a true legend of Ethiopian music. After an exile in the United States and a radio silence that lasted 25 years, he accepted with jubilation the invitation of the group Akalé Wubé to return to the front of the stage.
The comeback took place last September during a memorable concert with Akalé Wube at the Studio de l’Ermitage. Tracks (Arte), Le Monde, Libé relayed this major event that has aroused great emotion among fans of music ethio and beyond. https://fr.ulule.com/girma/
Some live clips
Eyal Talmudi + Roy Chen – Saved My Eyes From Tears ” This album wrote itself. It was time for a change in life, and music followed. Like it should be, drums came first to set the tempo and style. Then friends just laid keys, samples and most importantly (and for the first time for me) – lyrics. So true and honest. Still it’s hard for me to believe how easy it was to just let it happen. Thank you, loved ones, for just showing up at the right moment.” — Eyal Talmudi //
“There was magic around the recoding of this album. From laying down Roy’s first massive drum takes, the studio filled up with energy, vibrating straight to Talmudi’s abstract and beautiful saxophone melodies.
We created a very dynamic and high end set up in Kicha Studios, Tel Aviv; it was a pleasure for the guest musicians on the album, who jumped right in the sessions and gave an amazing input.
I feel that the album is intensive and comforting, made by good friends together yet still full of real and happy loneliness.” — Rejoicer //
Released: October 2014
Saxophone, Clarinet & Flute – Eyal Talmudi Drums & Percussion – Roy Chen
Synths – Rejoicer
Vocals & Lyrics – KerenDun, Shai Tzabari, Miss Red & Maya Dunietz
Cuts – DJ Werd & DJ Mesh
Synths – Omri Mor , Asaf Talmudi , Moshe Levi , Werd
Percussion – Roni Ivrin
Hailing from the sonic vortex of Melbourne’s music community, WVR BVBY bring a live infusion of Down-tempo, Cinematic Prog and Jazz through what they like to call, Intergalactic Hard-Groove. Emerging from several Melbourne showcases in 2017, Including Melbourne International Jazz Festival, Strawberry Fields Festival and PBS & The Foreign Brothers’ ‘MOMENTUM’. Melbourne’s Intergalactic Groove outfit, WVR BVBY, entered 2018 with an exclusive 10” white label release on Plug Seven Records that includes 2 singles from their Record Store Day Album Debut, out April 21st 2018. Taking inspiration from crate digger culture, 70s production techniques, LA session musicians Miguel Atwood-Ferguson and Kamasi Washington, WVR BVBY fuse these timbres and tonalities with a Melbourne interpretation and a direction towards a cinematic environment. The large ensemble of musicians, who each hold down their own unique styles, work together through an electric journey of roaring horns, synth arpeggiation and an exploration of rhythm interplay and meditative grooves.- Soundcloud
“I am very happy to present this album – made with love for music and spiritual search.
Rejoicer’s effortless and easy approach to the creation process kept the music and workflow fresh, while some of my good friends, who also happen to be my favorite musicians, contributed to the amazing atmosphere in the studio.
This music was created first of all in the name of music.”– Sol Monk
“we visioned the album to be banging and surprising from the start so we used hella side chain, extreme drums mic-ing positions, weird old vinyls and massive analog synths” — Rejoicer (The Dove)
An excellent drummer who appeared in many types of settings, Idris Muhammad became a professional when he was 16. He played primarily soul and R&B during 1962-1964 and then spent 1965-1967 as a member of Lou Donaldson‘s band. He was the house drummer at Prestige Records (1970-1972), appearing on many albums as a sideman. Of his later jazz associations, Muhammad played with Johnny Griffin (1978-1979), Pharoah Sanders in the 1980s, George Coleman, and the Paris Reunion Band (1986-1988). He recorded everything from post-bop to dance music as a leader for such labels as Prestige, Kudu, Fantasy, Theresa, and Lipstick. Muhammad, who retired to New Orleans from New York City in 2011, died in July 2014 at the age of 74. – AllMusic Artist Biography by Scott Yanow
Power of Soul- 1974
This album is one of the reasons that Idris Muhammad is regarded as the drumming king of groove. Featuring the arrangements and keyboards of Bob James, the saxophone punch of Grover Washington, Jr., guitarist Joe Beck, trumpeter Randy Brecker, percussionist Ralph MacDonald, and the knife-edge slick production of Creed Taylor, this 1974 issue is a burning piece of deep, jazzy soul and grooved-out bliss. The funk flies fast and heavy, particularly on the title track (Jimi Hendrix‘s tune), with soaring solos by Grover and James, who fall down in the groove to Muhammad’s powerful pace, setting from the heart of the pocket. Beck‘s own solo is special in that he moves against the tempo just a bit, but that only increases the listener’s dependence on the groove of Muhammad. Clocking in at only 34 minutes it’s a perfect slice of the raw-onion emotion Muhammad was pulling down at the time. – AllMusic Review by Thom Jurek
Peace & Rhythm 1971
Parts of the second solo album by Prestige Records’ house drummer, Idris Muhammad, are an even poppier affair than Black Rhythm Revolution, with a mellow soul-jazz feel replacing the slight Latin tinge of the earlier album. Side one is downright crossover, with its two pieces of positive-thinking pop (the lyrics, by Muhammad, are sung by his wife, Sakinah Muhammad) separated by a loose but faithful take on Wilson Pickett‘s “Don’t Knock My Love.” That’s just side one, though. Side two is something much weirder and far more interesting. “The Peace and Rhythm Suite” is a side-long suite consisting of two long, spacy compositions that predate the ambient house scene by nearly two decades yet sound entirely of a piece with that style. Long, droning, sustained chords on a variety of wind and reed instruments float above Muhammad‘s percussion, which ebbs and flows in a free, almost arrhythmic way through most of the piece. Fans of the Orb or Brian Eno will find it an old hat, but for early-’70s jazz, this was downright revolutionary. – AllMusic Review by Stewart Mason
The debut album by Goatman, a new solo project by one of the mysterious members from the Swedish collective GOAT. The 6 tracks on Rhythms reveal a true collision of African Rock, Jazz, Reggae, Gospel and Psych, but all put through the famous GOAT filters. Rhythms is a very apt title for the album as each track is an exploration of the ‘groove’. From the Fela Kuti‘esqe drums and horns jam of Jaam Ak Salam, to the frantic gospel-jazz of Carry the Load. From the fuzzed Can via the ‘Bristol sound’ track of Hum Bebass Nahin, to the cinematic, Spacemen 3‘esqe drones of the album closer Baaneexu. The end result is quite an astonishing and very unique album, like what you would expect from an album made by a member of GOAT – an album that is hard to put your finger on, but one that you will keep revisiting, the more it’s sounds reveals itself. Goatman plays all the instruments on the album bar some additional drums by Hanna Östergren from fellow Swedish bands Hills and Träd, Gräs & Stenar, and an added horn section courtesy of Johan Asplund, David Byström. One of the standout highlights of the album though is the collection of great guest vocalists Goatman has enlisted. Tracks Jaam Ak Salam and Aduna feature the very special voice of Senegalese singer Seydi Mandoza. You will also hear the vocals of Swedish based singers Amanda Werne on Carry the Load and Amerykhan on Hum Bebass Nahin. Goatman’s passion for traditional and contemporary music from around the world can be clearly heard when listening to Rhythms. The level of authenticity and willingness for exploration that Goatman has captured truly shows a fanatical respect for the music he is greatly influenced by. But at the end of the day, Rhythms is an album that has a sole purpose, and that is for to you to enjoy, dance and have fun too!” Boomkat Records
https://youtu.be/0xi1qxY41vA
Nobody knows for sure who the elusive, desert dwelling Clutchy Hopkins really is. A multi instrumentalist from California, his music brings to mind DJ Shadow and Shawn Lee, both of whom could be the man behind Clutchy. This is music that wanders through you, just press play and step away, its a journey.
2009’s Fascinating Fingers by Shawn Lee & Clutchy Hopkins
Music is my Medicine – Late in ’08, Ubiquity was approached by the mysterious Misled Children about another project from Clutchy Hopkins, the man they claim to represent. A vintage Caribbean tracksuit jacket was found in the office fridge, and written in permanent marker on the inside right arm was their request for a meeting where we would “get another piece of the Clutchy Hopkins puzzle.” Cutting a long story short, we acquired a bag of 2-inch reels that contained the dusty, dubbed out Clutchy Hopkins tracks on this LP. Take a pinch of Hopkins deep musical madness and add a sunshine-blessed dubbed-out twist, and that is “Music Is My Medicine”. Ubiquity
Jazz House Playlist – Some of the more Jazzy tunes from my House Music playlist. Image: jazzmen.ru
CAMILLA GEORGE (saxophone), SARAH TANDY (keyboards), DANIEL CASIMIR (double bass),and FEMI KOLEOSO (drums). Recorded at The Royal British Legion, Llay, Wrexham (28/02/2017) http://www.northwalesjazz.org.uk/
Jazz – Joe Armon-Jones & Maxwell Owin are forces to be reckoned with. Both integral parts of the burgeoning South London jazz scene, these young musicians contribute to numerous outfits including Ata Kak, Jamie Isaac, MC Pinty, Moses Boyd Exodus and Ezra Collective, as well as pushing their own solo projects.This is their first combined effort. ‘Idiom’ is the result of multiple collaborations under the direction of Joe and Maxwell. Featuring Nubya Garcia, Oscar Jerome and Jake Long, it is heavily influenced by the hardcore continuum and covers everything from 2-step, broken-beat and house to jazz and dub. Having been compared to artists like 4hero, Floating Points, Harvey Sutherland and Moodymann all in the same breath, Joe & Maxwell are already garnering support from Radio 6 Music’s Gilles Peterson, Musica Maconda’s Tim Garcia and Jazz FM’s Chris Philips. This is an accomplished body of work by some of the most exciting young talent in London right now. – Soundcloud
Charlie Stacey first discovered the piano at the age of 8 through imitating recordings of boogie-woogie and stride piano he heard on the radio. From there, he continued to listen and imitate obsessively, adding Oscar Peterson, Art Tatum, Keith Jarrett, Sun Ra and Mccoy Tyner to his list of favourites, as the years went on. He became competent at playing with others, as a member of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra and Tomorrow’s Warriors education program. His first major successes were being featured on BBC1’s One Show as a child piano prodigy, age 13, and being awarded a music scholarship to one of England’s best schools. Since his early teens, he has gigged regularly under his own name and with some of England’s best players: with Shane Forbes’ Wave project, The Nathaniel Facey Quartet and Pataruco. He has also had success abroad, as a semifinalist in the Montreux Jazz Festival piano competition in 2012 and a performer at both Nisville Jazz Festival in Serbia, and Chico Freeman’s masterclass in Sofia, Bulgaria the year before. Charlie Stacey, from London, spent a couple of years at Princeton in New Jersey, studying philosophy, but felt the call of music was too great. Since then, his profile on the London scene has been slowly growing, with his recent gig with Marshall Allen and Knoel Scott, representing the summit of his musical career so far. Charlie currently plays with the Knoel Scott Quartet and leads his own outfit, the Charlie Stacey Trio with David Paulis on bass, and drummer Enrico Truzzi. In July 2016, the trio recorded an album in Italy entitled “Metempsychosis”, which they will introduce during a tour in October and November of 2016. Source: Official biography. Article is from:
Artist website: http://www.charliestacey.com/
Laura Misch is a jazz saxophonist/singer/producer from South-East London. Here is an article on her, followed by some live clips and a couple Soundcloud playlists.
https://www.redbull.com/ca-en/exclusive-see-hear-now-session-with-saxophonist-laura-misch
https://soundcloud.com/laura-emma-misch/sets/shaped-by-who-we-knew-ep
Before setting foot in America, Hailu Mergia and the Walias Band had already spent a decade leading revolutionary Ethiopia’s nightclub scene. With raucous sets blending funk, traditional music, and prototypical Ethio-jazz, they played to upper-crust crowds in white tuxes and bowties, at hotels that swerved the country’s strict curfew with all-night lock-ins. But local acclaim left the Walias Band hungry, and in 1981, they plotted a U.S. tour to launch their courtship of discerning westerners. The shows promised much, but the audiences, discerning little, let them drift by; after a few more years’ touring, the group’s members were exhausted, their work unrecognized. Some went home, while others resigned themselves to quiet lives on American soil. Among them was Mergia, a keyboardist whose charisma, creative smarts, and fitful ambition had, by 1985, been made to fit in a silver taxicab, shuttling travellers to and from the airport in Washington, D.C. Anonymity suited him. When business was slow, he’d walk to his trunk, pull out a Yamaha keyboard, and slide into the backseat, where he’d skitter up and down Ethiopian scales over looping beat patterns. It wasn’t until 2013 that Hailu Mergia reissues began popping up in U.S. record stores. The first, Hailu Mergia & His Classical Instrument: Shemonmuanaye, was originally recorded in Washington in 1985, after the Walias Band’s dissolution. The work of a one-man band, this mirage of electric piano, mournful synth, pirouetting accordion, and repetitive drum machine felt accordingly dislocated and solitary, with unchanging tempos that felt like no tempo, a kind of astronomical drift. Its release sparked a wider rediscovery: Two livelier reissues from Mergia’s Ethiopia years followed via Awesome Tapes From Africa, along with the kind of international tour he’d been picturing when the Walias Band touched down three decades earlier. – Pitchfork
The Walias Band formed in the early 1970s in Addis Ababa where they were the house band for the upscale Hilton Hotel. A civilian curfew made it dangerous for clientele visiting the hotel lounge to leave after 11:00 PM, and Walias would end up playing two or three sets until 6:00 AM the next day. In 1981 Walias became the first modern Ethiopian band to travel to the United States, playing on a tour with singer Mahmoud Ahmed primarily to audiences of Ethiopian refugees. Rather than returning to Ethiopia under its dictatorship, four members of Walias—Girma Bèyènè, Mogès Habté, Mèlakè Gèbrè and Hailu Mergia—stayed in the U.S. and formed a new group called Zula Band.[3] Mergia took work in Washington DC driving a taxi cab, often practicing in his cab while waiting for fares at the airport, and released solo cassette tapes of traditional Ethiopian music played on analog synthesizer, electric piano and accordion. Meanwhile the members of Walias who returned to Ethiopia—Yohannes Tèkola and Tèmarè Harègou—continued to play together under the Derg dictatorship for another decade. – Wikipedia
Fresh from the mind of Renegades Of Jazz, Dem Juju Poets serve a bewitching brew: sharp with staccato Latin elements but rich, hazy and mystical with African and Cuban elements, it’s an alluring fusion across both sides; “Voodoo Jazz” lives up to its name with lolloping double bass bassline, warm horns and insistent rhythmic vocal. “Watusi Fever” sidesteps to the left with a more complex time signature, layers of subtle percussive texture and flutes that pepper with funk. Get on this. Juno Records
Makaya McCraven’s album IN THE MOMENT, released 1/20/15 on International Anthem. BUY IT HERE https://intlanthem.bandcamp.com/ on 2xLP Vinyl, CD, & Digital. Featuring: Marquis Hill (trumpet), Joshua Abrams (bass), Justin “Justefan” Thomas (vibes)
Founded in 1998 by Martín Perna Antibalas is a Brooklyn-based afrobeat band that is modeled after Fela Kuti‘s Africa 70 band and Eddie Palmieri‘s Harlem River Drive Orchestra. Although their music generally follows the musical architecture and language of afrobeat, it incorporates elements of jazz, funk, dub, improvised music, and traditional drumming from Cuba and West Africa. WIkipedia
Here is their latest album, Where the Gods Are in Peace.
BADBADNOTGOOD is a Canadian music group from Toronto, Ontario. The group includes Matthew Tavares on keys, Chester Hansen on bass, Leland Whitty on saxophone, and Alexander Sowinski on drums.Wikipedia
https://youtu.be/kEl32RjdX7o?list=PLPXeD_XEn2STaTmqL52-OSrBRi7zWGcQb
Jazz supergroup Jack DeJohnette, Larry Grenadier, John Medeski & John Scofield’s new album ‘Hudson’. Their debut draws on the cultural legacy of Upstate New York, with takes on Dylan, Hendrix, and Joni Mitchell.
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/hudson-hudson/
Click top left corner to see all the tracks
Often referred to as a jazz singer for the hip-hop generation, New York City-based vocalist José James combines jazz, soul, drum’n’bass, and spoken word into his own unique brand of vocal jazz. While he states his main influences as John Coltrane, Marvin Gaye, and Billie Holiday, his sound on early 12″ singles and in live performances brought to mind such icons of ’70s jazz-soul as Terry Callier, and his music felt more like an update of the fluid crossover approach of Gil Scott-Heron, while also being distinctly his own. – Bluenote
http://www.bluenote.com/artists/jose-james
Here is a youtube playlist I made of some of my favourite tracks. Several live clips in here as well. Click top left corner to see the tracks.
Love in the time of Madness is his latest release. It is a flavourful fusion of nu soul, funk and a sprinkling of hip hop.
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/22962-love-in-a-time-of-madness
The Dreamer is the first studio album by American jazz vocalist José James. It was released on Brownswood Recordings in 2008. John Fordham of The Guardian gave the album 4 stars out of 5, saying, “James sometimes suggests a 21st-century Leon Thomas (the 1970s singer who became an acid-jazz star), but he also exhibits a highly personal mix of Bobby McFerrin‘s tonal delicacy and the R&B and soul feel of D’Angelo – with the latter association sometimes reinforced by the way the vocal overdubs and harmonies work.” Adam Greenberg of AllMusic said: “He sings contemporary jazz with a strong sense of respect for the classics, but quietly puts hip-hop instrumentation behind his vocals, and multi-tracks himself for accentuation.
Omar Abdulkarim – Trumpet; Ryan Blum – Arranger, Composer, Keyboards; Luke Damrosch – Drums; Alexi David – Arranger, Double Bass, Bass Guitar; Steve Lyman – Drums; Junior Mance – Piano; Nori Ochiai – Piano; Gilles Peterson – Executive Producer
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | “The Dreamer” | 7:05 |
| 2. | “Velvet” | 4:01 |
| 3. | “Blackeyedsusan” | 4:56 |
| 4. | “Park Bench People” | 6:03 |
| 5. | “Spirits Up Above” (Rahsaan Roland Kirk)” | 5:00 |
| 6. | “Nola” | 3:56 |
| 7. | “Red” | 5:15 |
| 8. | “Winter Wind” | 7:07 |
| 9. | “Desire” | 7:29 |
| 10. | “Love” | 5:24 |
Amancio D’Silva (19 March 1936 – 17 July 1996) was an Indian jazz guitarist and composer, known for his own recordings and his collaborations with other musicians in Britain, notably Joe Harriott and Stan Tracey. Wikipedia
Shango is the name for the Yoruba ‘Thunder God’ in Nigeria and Ojo Okeji, the leader of the Shango Dance Band was all about injecting military power and warlike energy in his own strain of Nigerian highlife and afrobeat.
The Comet Is Coming are a London-based band who incorporate elements of jazz, electronica, funk and psychedelic rock
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/apr/01/the-comet-is-coming-psych-jazz-sun-ra-legacy
Heres a little Youtube playlist. Click top left corner to expand the list.
Jimi Tenor is Finnish artist. His music is hard to pigeonhole, a strange blend of psychedelic pop, soul and jazz, plus his reggae and African collaborations. Just what you imagine when you think of Finland. That and Bjorks cousin. Click top left corner to expand the playlist.
https://youtu.be/3SwDhfCUINU?list=PLFiatVftyT6GtyQ8EX7HtF016dDCAEu_m
Heres a playlist of his avante garde future jazz band, The Comet is Coming.
Chat Noir are masters of the nu-jazz sound.
10 track Youtube playlist.
Here are some of my favourite tracks off my much larger Jazz playlist.
Edward “Kid” Ory (December 25, 1886 – January 23, 1973) was a Louisiana French-speaking jazz trombonist and bandleader. He was born in Woodland Plantation, near La Place, Louisiana-Wiki
Fusion-influenced jam band Snarky Puppy make exploratory jazz, rock, and funk. Formed in Denton, Texas in 2004, Snarky Puppy feature a wide-ranging group of musicians known affectionately as “The Fam,” centered around bassist and leader Michael League. They debuted with the concert album Live at Uncommon Ground in 2005. Since then, the band has built up a loyal following with a steady touring schedule and a handful of well-received albums including The Only Constant (2006), The World Is Getting Smaller (2007), Bring Us the Bright (2008), Tell Your Friends (2010), and groundUP (2012). In 2013, Snarky Puppy released the album Family Dinner, Vol. 1, which featured a cover of Brenda Russell’s “Something.” The song proved a hit and propelled the album up various digital download charts. In 2014, they shared a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance for the song, and recorded the live We Like It Here in Utrecht, Netherlands. The set was released on Ropeadope. Late in the year, Snarky Puppy signed to Impulse! Sylva, their debut offering for the label, was released in April of 2015. The album was greeted enthusiastically by the international press. They followed it with two live documents. The first was World Tour, a 32-disc box featuring their 16 favorite concerts. The deluxe package was sold exclusively through their website. Early in 2016, they issued the audio/video disc set Family Dinner, Vol. 2, a documentary follow-up to the first Family Dinner, recorded the preceding year. It showcased the band during a concert (and included guests Charlie Hunter, Susana Baca, Salif Keita, and David Crosby), in interviews, and backstage sequences. In April, the group struck again with Culcha Vulcha, their first studio album in eight years. It topped jazz albums charts the week of its release. ~ Matt Collar- I Tunes Review
Here is a 13 song playlist of some of my favourites. Click top left corner to expand playlist.
To view the entire playlist, click the top left corner.
After releases on Yoruba Records and Sounds Of The Universe 22a boss, Tenderlonious returns home with a new six track EP. As the title suggests “On Flute” shows us how diverse Tenderlonious’s musicianship is as he embellishes each song with his signature flute sound. On Flute EP is out November 25th – pre-order via Bandcamp
Fogh Depot is a trio from Moscow, Russia, who makes music that incorporates elements of nu jazz, hip-hop, doom jazz and live-electronic. Baritone sax, double bass, drums, samplers and a whole lot of stomp boxes and effects. Heres an 11 track Youtube playlist I put together. Click on the Youtube icon bottom right to expand it.
Moses Boyd represents a new breed of young, talented jazz musicians that aren’t bound by tradition. With the launch of his latest project Exodus, Moses assembles a frighteningly skilled group of musicians, receiving blessings from Gilles Peterson, Four Tet and the MOBOs along the way. The album is used as a tool for improvisatory exploration of sounds and concepts, and to capture the many musical facets of leader Moses Boyd, the usual sideman to the likes of Zara Mcfaralane, Denys Baptiste, Soweto Kinch and many more. Moses aims to brings all his working experience into this ensemble. Boyd – Drums,Theon Cross – Tuba,Artie Zaitz – Guitar,Binker Golding – Tenor Saxophone,Nathaniel Cross – Trombone,Nubya Garcia – Bass Clarinet.-Yelfris Valdes – TrumpetWayne Francis – Alto Saxophone- Boiler Room magazine.
Svart Records is a Finnish label, formed in Turku in 2009 by Jarkko Pietarinen and Tomi Pulkki, specializing in re-releasing underground music on vinyl. Heres a sampler containing nu jazz and a couple folk psych tracks.
Kaidi Tatham is one of UK’s finest musicians whose skills range from multi-instrumentalist, writer, arranger & producer. Often known for his Nu Jazz, Soulful Dance Music & Brokenbeat work from his major contribution as keys player, multi-instrumentalist, production & remixes for acts such as 4Hero, Bugz In The Attic, 2000 Black and Mark De Clive Lowe. An accomplished flute player and pianist he’s also in demand on drums and percussion as well as excelling on bass, guitar and writing for strings and orchestral arrangements. In addition to Kaidi’s own great solo releases including his dance production alias ‘Agent K’ his performance, production, writing and remix credits read like a who’s who of contemporary Jazz, Soul, Neo Soul & Hip Hop including artists such as: Macy Gray, Amp Fiddler, Salsoul Orchestra, Amy Winehouse, Gene Harris, Vikter Duplaix, Fertile Ground, Soul II Soul, Rhiann Benson, Slum Village, Elzhi, Leroy Burgess, Mr Scruff, King Britt, IG Culture, Nathan Haines, Kyoto Jazz Massive, Ivana Santilli, Patricia Marx, Izzi Dunn, DJ Spinna, Bugz in the Attic, Blakai, Likwid Biskit, Mark De Clive Lowe, 2000Black, 4 Hero, Afronaught, Phil Asher, Modaji, Bougie Souliterre, Donnie, Matt Lord, Mulatu, Silhouette Brown, Lady Alma, Mr Scruff, Eric Lau, Blakai, Dego and Blu & Blakai. Kaidi has released two solo albums and many singles and remixes and continues to release on various contemporary record labels. He also blesses dance-floors with a hot selection, often alongside Dego. – Resident Advisor
Kibrom Birhane is an Ethiopian Pianist, multi-instrumentalist, producer, songwriter, record mix engineer, arranger and composer passionate about Ethiopian folk, world, pop, jazz and gospel music. Kibrom started his musical career at a very early stage of his life and had the opportunity to work, perform and record with musicians from all over the world. While attending Los Angeles College of music, he was fortunate to learn under great musicians such as: Sean Halley (Vinnie Colaiuta, Jerry Marotta, and Richard Marx among many others.-MusicAfrica
Heres a 4 track playlist by Swedish nu jazz fusion trio KUF. Experimental yet rewarding for those with an ear for a groove. One thing’s for sure, these boys can sure play. Notice how much of the crazy reverb and effects are coming through the stand up bass, often played with a bow.
Brandee Younger was a teenager — an aspiring classical harpist, growing up on Long Island — when she came across an eye-opening issue of Harp Column magazine. “There were all these teeny squares,” Ms. Younger said recently, recalling the cover illustration, a yearbook-style photo mosaic. “I saw one dark square. So I flipped through the pages to see who it was, and it was Dorothy Ashby.” This was a fateful discovery for Ms. Younger, 32, who has become a harpist of rare prominence in jazz, building on an African-American legacy largely defined by Ms. Ashby and Alice Coltrane. “Wax & Wane,” Ms. Younger’s sleek, assured new album, luxuriates in groove: It’s the latest statement from a jazz generation weaned on hip-hop producers like J Dilla. But the album is also a genuflection, featuring three songs associated with Ashby, including the title track. Younger came to jazz more circuitously. She latched onto Alice Coltrane’s music, with its meditative and astral dimensions, while in high school, around the time she learned of Ashby. Both figures were prized by the crate-digging hip-hop crowd: Ms. Younger recognized one Ashby tune as the main sample in a track by the producer and rapper Pete Rock. At the Hartt School, the conservatory at the University of Hartford, Younger became a scholarship student in the classical department. “It was a real culture shock,” she said. “I didn’t fit in socially.” She hadn’t attended a performing arts high school, which was one difference. Another was more glaring: “Black girl, plus harp,” she said wryly. “I stuck out like a sore thumb.” Ms. Younger quickly found a kinship with Hartt’s jazz program, run at the time by the august alto saxophonist Jackie McLean. He told her to drop by whenever she wanted. “So I did,” she said. “Even though I was studying classical music, I would show up to the master classes, the ensemble classes. I would never bring my instrument; I would just sit there. Four years of that.” Though intimidated by the prospect of improvising, she gradually began to branch out, with encouragement. She was in the graduate program at New York University in 2007 when the saxophonist Ravi Coltrane asked her to play at a memorial service for his mother. Her performance “moved me and everyone in attendance from the first glissando,” Mr. Coltrane recalled. “No harpist thus far has been more capable of combining all of the modern harp traditions — from Salzedo, through Dorothy Ashby, through Alice Coltrane — with such strength, grace and commitment.” This was effectively Ms. Younger’s public debut, and it set the terms for a spiritual succession. New York Times
Guitarist Jeff Parker sees nothing unusual about his simultaneous membership in such diverse groups as Chicago post-rock kings Tortoise, current AACM heavies New Horizons Ensemble, jazz-funk experimentalists Isotope 217, as well as his frequent participation in all kinds of improvised gigs around the city. “Everybody’s always like, ‘You play with all of these different bands, but what do you really want to do?’,” Parker chuckles. “Right now, I’m doing exactly what I want to do.” -Jazz Times
Growing up in Ethiopia, the musical path was not one the young Mulatu Astatke was expected to go down. Instead, in the 1950s he went to high school at Lindisfarne College in north Wales to study aeronautical engineering. While there he had the chance to pick up musical instruments, and discovered he had a natural talent. He soon moved to pursue his interest in music at Trinity College of Music in London, where he studied clarinet, piano and percussion and recorded with Guyanan singer Frank Holder. “I went to Trinity College in London and studied classical music, and that is where I found myself. They found I had the talent. My musical experience started here.” He then moved to the United States to study music at Berklee, Boston, where he was the first African student. Here he learned about arranging and composing, worked with big bands and took up the vibraphone. “And of course there was jazz,” he adds. “At Berklee I had a very interesting teacher who said, ‘Be yourself’. So I went to Berklee and became myself, by creating the music, Ethio jazz.”
Svart Records is a Finnish label, formed in Turku in 2009 by Jarkko Pietarinen and Tomi Pulkki, specializing in re-releasing underground music on vinyl.
Darkside drum machine jazz from Berceuse Heroique, Nous and Bedouin regular Healing Force Project. Sounding like early 23 Skidoo replayed on drum machines and samplers, there’s much to admire about the hectic rhythms, foreboding textures and dusty samples at the heart of Gravitational Lensing. It’s all pretty out there, paranoid and intense, with the fizzing drums, mangled horns and metallic percussion hits of “Random Walks” just edging out the experimental jungle-jazz madness of “Apophenia” in the “top tracks” stakes. It might take a few plays to really sink in, but there’s no doubt it’s worth the effort-(Juno Records Review)