Author: TJ Gorton
Composer, pianist and producer Jamael Dean, who is one the standout young artists among the Los Angeles jazz scene, has recently released an incredible new debut album, titled Primordial Water, on Stones Throw Records.
The production tag team The Magic Twins, made up of Shiho and Yuhiro, have put together two phenomenal new jazz dance re-edits for a debut release on the UK’s Basic Fingers label.
UK/Yorkshire-born and now Kyoto-based multi-instrumentalist Jules Brennan, who first made his mark in the 90s acid jazz and hip-hop in Nottingham, has recently released a brilliant new 7inch single on the London Diplomats Of Soul label, featuring two highly adventurous and innovative jazz-funk tracks.
Through the remarkable restorative and production work of Italy’s Tesla Groove and Cannonball Recordings, a phenomenal previously unreleased gem, titled “Time And Space” from soul great Mike James Kirkland and drumming legend James Gadson is finally completed and put out as a limited-edition double-sided 7inch single.
Japan’s P-Vine Records has recently released an incredible three-part limited-edition 7inch series highlighting some of the greatest tracks released by the legendary 70s Belgian jazz-funk band Placebo, led by pianist and composer Marc Moulin.
Tel-Aviv based composer, producer, bassist and bandleader Shay Hazan, who released a superb 7inch single last year with his Quintet on Jazzman Records, returns with a brilliant new album, titled Reclusive Rituals on London’s Batov Records.
After 19 years since their breakthrough debut album Spirit Of The Sun in 2002, the innovative Kyoto Jazz Massive project led by two hugely influential DJs and artists among the Japanese music scene in Shuya Okino (Kyoto Jazz Sextet & owner of The Room in Shibuya) and Yoshihiro Okino (owner of Especial Records) have returned to release a highly-anticipated new album, titled Message From A New Dawn.
As we wind down the final days of 2021 and look ahead to 2022 (with so many questions regarding what the future or this virus has in store), here is one more “look back” at the past twelve months — exploring some of the best individual tracks that helped us all get through this (still very much) challenging year. Happy New Year everyone, and more importantly, stay healthy and safe!
Putting together selections for this list, I often find that there is a blurring line as to what is an EP and what is considered an album, and some of the selections below can arguably be considered full-length recordings. Sometimes I think it’s best to leave it up to the artist’s interpretation, which to me, makes the most sense. Regardless of the category, I thought this most importantly provided another opportunity to highlight more incredible recordings that came out in 2021.
When it comes to organizing a record release, there might not be something more challenging than compiling music for a compilation. Unlike a Spotify playlist, these releases require sourcing and licensing the music, which is often much more challenging than selecting the tracks. That being said, compilations play an important part in telling a story about either a time period, a region, a sub-genre of a sub-genre and many times, all of the above. They often also serve as musical “gateway drugs” into whole worlds of lesser known music for listeners, in which they can continue to explore well beyond each release.
