Author: TJ Gorton
The Mr. Bongo label has just reissued Atmosfear’s 1981 jazz-funk classic En Trance, a recording that was a pinnacle release during the height of the early eighties underground Brit-funk scene that predominately took place in North West London.
As a part of BBE Music’s ‘J Jazz Masterclass series,’ spawning from the brilliant J Jazz: Deep Modern Jazz from Japan 1969-1984 compilation that came out earlier in the year, the label has just reissued Takeo Moriyama’s 1983 masterpiece East Plants.
Floating Points & Red Greg’s Melodies International label just released the first-ever 7” reissue of the highly sought-after 1973 Brazilian classic “A Gira” by Trio Ternura.
A few weeks ago on September 1st, pianist, composer, and jazz legend Randy Weston sadly passed at the age of 92. The six-foot seven-inch iconic musician was one of the first to incorporate traditional African-influenced rhythms and instrumentation with jazz melodies.
Following up on his superb ‘Spit/Swallow’ single earlier in the year, the multi-talented producer Skinny Pelembe has just released a brilliant new EP titled Sleep More, Make More Friends, his second off of Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood label.
38 years after it’s original release, N’Draman-Blintch’s extremely rare Afro-disco gem Cosmic Sounds finally sees a much-needed reissue from the Paris-based Hot Mule label.
The first of a three-part release from Analog Africa dedicated to the multi-generational Somalian funk group, the Dur-Dur Band. This triple LP features the band’s first two albums, which were originally released on cassette tapes back in the mid-eighties.
This third edition of BeatCaffeine’s Bargain Bins series features three great seventies-era jazz-funk selections that can often be found for five dollars or less.
Led by bassist, composer, producer, and Cape Town native Shane Cooper, Welcome To The World is the debut release from MABUTA, a collective of incredible musicians from the currently thriving South African jazz scene.
For the second week in a row, Gondwana Records has released another great record, this time the sophomore album from Phil France, titled Circle.
Are you collecting records on a budget, but you still have the itch to do some digging? The BeatCaffeine Bargain Bins series will highlight three great records on a bi-monthly basis that can often be found for five dollars or less.
To help celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Manchester-based Gondwana Records, the label is putting out a collection of limited-edition spiritual jazz releases.
Let’s play the hypothetical game. You are trapped on a deserted island. You have all the essentials to live (food, water, shelter, etc) and a record player (essential in my mind). In this, admittedly ridiculous scenario, you can only bring with you five records. What would they be?
