BeatCaffeine’s Favorite Albums of 2021
2021 … or what at times just felt like the hangover to 2020. For parts, it seemed like a better year than the one prior, however let’s be real, that certainly wasn’t a hard bar to climb by any stretch. Over the last 12 months it’s become clear that the pandemic still remains a strong influence on all of our daily lives. It also continues to have a significant effect on music in general, what was produced, how it gets created, and often how it’s distributed. A whirlwind of complex emotions, cautious gatherings, high levels of uncertainty, as well as constantly backed-up vinyl pressing plants and more … 2021 was definitely a very challenging year for many, including musicians, record labels, and just about everyone in the music ecosystem.
The good news is that through all the many challenges, this still was a phenomenal year for music creation and output. I often find that some of the most forward-thinking music is created during the most challenging times. It’s one of the many reasons that makes art so essential to all our lives. In 2021, we saw the rebirthing of Brit-funk thanks to STR4TA and others, the first new album in over 20 years from jazz legend Pharoah Sanders, two breakthrough jazz harp(!!!) releases by Brandee Younger and Amanda Whiting, a continuation of expansive jazz-influenced recordings coming out of the UK and so much more!
As with most years, narrowing down the “best of” list to just 30 albums is always a difficult task, and this year certainly proved to be no different. Even though I feel good about this how this list shaped up, there are many great recordings that weren’t included, however very highly recommend, like Tommaso Cappellato’s Pioneered, Nicola Conte and Gianluca Petrella’s People Need People, Ishmael Ensemble’s Vision of Light, Telemakus’ The New Heritage, and so many others (one year when I have more time, I will expand the list to 50). These don’t even include the fantastic reissues, EPs, and compilations that were also released throughout the last 12 months (which will be featured in other forthcoming “best of” lists).
Overall, 2021 was an incredible year for new music, and I only hope that things will begin to improve with the physical pressing of vinyl in 2022, so that artist’s work can hit the shelves in a more timely manner. Until then, I encourage people to pre-order forthcoming releases, so that it not only guarantees a copy of a desired record, it more importantly will help support the artists in which their music you enjoy.
With that beings said, here are BeatCaffeine’s Favorite Albums of 2021. Enjoy!
30. Snazzback — ‘In The Place’
(Worm Discs)
One of the leading groups among the Bristol scene, the seven-piece ensemble known as Snazzback, returned with their widely expansive sophomore album In The Place on Worm Disco Club. Recorded over a span of two year’s in the group’s self-built small studio, this incredible recording incorporates jazz-funk and heavy cosmic-soul grooves with Afro-Latin rhythms, electronic textures, and a touch of psychedelic rock.
29. Nubiyan Twist — ‘Freedom Fables’
(Strut)
Building off the collaborative nature of the 10-piece UK-based collective’s past two full-length albums, this nine-track recording fuses together elements of jazz-funk, broken beat, Afro-Latin grooves, and UK street soul influences, featuring an all-star cast of special guest vocalists including Cherise, Nick Richards, Ego Ella May, Ria Moran, London jazz great Soweto Kinch, rising Ghanaian star K.O.G. and highlife legend Pat Thomas.
28. Irreversible Entanglements — ‘Open The Gates’
(International Anthem)
The adventurous quintet Irreversible Entanglements has established themselves as one of the most thought-provoking & forward-thinking jazz collectives. They returned in 2021 with a outstanding new new album, released on International Anthem, featuring a sonic eruption of free-wheeling horn solos, tranced-out cosmic electronic tones, and explosive drum rhythms, that blend brilliantly with Moor Mother timely spoken words. Arguably the group’s best recording to date!
27. Aldorande — Deux
(Favorite Recordings)
Influences from 70s era jazz-funk and fusion sound, French jazz-funk quartet Aldorande returned with an incredible new album Deux on Favorite Recordings. Building on the strong foundation of their first two releases, this brilliant recording blends together spacey synths and cosmic melodies with funky head-nodding grooves and a nice touch of Brazilian-inspired vibes.
26. Nautilus — ‘Refrain’
(Urban Discos)
Formed in 2014, Nautilus is an amazing and (in my opinion) under-the-radar Japanese-based jazz-funk trio centered around drummer Toshiyuki Sasaki, who also features bassist Shigeki Umezawa and keyboardist Mariko Nakabayashi. In 2021, the group released another of fantastic 7inch singles as well as this masterful full-length, titled Refrain. As with most of their releases, this one flew off record shelves quickly, featuring a heavy-hitting dose of futuristic jazz-funk and cosmic grooves, that included some impressive covers of Lonnie Liston Smith’s “Expansions,” Bill Wither’s “Ain’t No Sunshine,” and Spiral Starecase’s “More Today Than Yesterday”. With a continuous ongoing string of essential releases, including Refrain, the best way to approach this group moving forward is to just buy a copy of every record and single they release — you will never regret it!
25. Gary Bartz, Adrian Younge, & Ali Shaheed Muhammad — ‘Jazz Is Dead 6 (JID006)‘
(Jazz Is Dead)
For one of their many brilliant Jazz Is Dead releases this year, Los Angeles based producers/multi-instrumentalists Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad teamed up with legendary saxophonist and composer Gary Bartz on an incredible new full-length album that truly brought together all the different dynamic sides musically that Bartz has explored throughout the years, from spiritual and hard-bop, to fusion and jazz-funk, while pushing the sound forward into new adventurous territory.
24. Secret Night Gang — ‘s/t’
(Brownswood Recordings)
After releasing a number of superb singles earlier in the year, including “The Sun” and “Journey”, the Manchester-based Secret Night Gang released their much anticipated debut full-length this fall on Brownswood (vinyl out in Spring 2022). Featuring a unique blend of soul jazz, Brit-funk, gospel, and R&B, SNG have a sound that’s all their own, which is fully on display on this impressive nine-track album. It’s safe to say, this is just the start of good things to come from this extremely talented and forward-thinking group. Pre-order that vinyl release!
23. Vels Trio — ‘Celestial Greens’
(Rhythm Section International)
Following up on the group’s 2017 breakthrough EP Yellow Ochre, the cosmic jazz London-based Vels Trio returned with their highly-anticipated full-length album Celestial Greens on the Rhythm Section International label. Even though this album has a similar foundation as their debut EP, blending together spacey keys and synths with funky head-nodding rhythms, this new 11-track recording has a more exploratory psychedelic 70’s era jazz fusion vibe that is very complimentary to their unique sound.
22. Nat Birchall — ‘Ancient Africa‘
(Ancient Archive of Sound)
For well over a decade, Manchester composer, saxophonist, and multi-instrumentalist Nat Birchall has released some of the most standout jazz recordings, as well as some brilliant dub-infused collaborative work with producer Al Breadwinner. This past year, he released an incredible solo album, in which Birchall impressively played all the instrumentation, that beautifully blended together spiritual melodies, Coltrane-esque solos, with African-influenced textures and percussion.
21. John Carroll Kirby — ‘Septet’
(Stones Throw)
Los Angeles-based composer, producer, and pianist John Carroll Kirby, who has made a strong name for himself over the last several years collaborating with everyone from Solange and Blood Orange, to Frank Ocean, Miley Cyrus and many others, as well as a number of incredible albums on his own via the Stones Throw Records, released arguably his best album to date, titled Septet. This brilliant album fuses together Kirby’s synth and keyboard wizardry with cosmic melodies, jazz-funk grooves, and heavily layered horns and percussion rhythms.
20. Carlos Niño & Friends — ‘More Energy Fields, Current‘
(International Anthem)
Los Angeles-based percussionist and producer Carlos Niño teamed up with a superb cast of musicians, including Jamael Dean, Sam Gendel, Dntel, Shabaka Hutchings, Laraaji, and others to release a cosmic ambient jazz masterpiece on the International Anthem label, titled More Energy Fields, Current. The music is a beautiful combination of ambient and atmospheric tones, cosmic melodies with layered and spacial percussion textures. Important to also note, that this was BeatCaffeine’s most listened to album in 2021!
19. James Brandon Lewis & Red Lily Quintet — ‘Jesup Wagon‘
(AUM Fidelity)
Over the past decade, New York City based tenor saxophonist and composer James Brandon Lewis has made his mark as one of the leading and most cutting-edge artists in jazz. On this brilliant recording, Lewis celebrates the life and legacy of turn-of-the-19th century African-American musician, painter, writer, and scientist George Washington Carver with seven superb tracks themed around agriculture sustainability, which was a key component of Carver’s work. The album is incredible from start to finish, with the virtuosic ensemble pushing the envelope on some hard-hitting free-wheeling post bop grooves that remind me of those classic Ornette Coleman Quartet sessions.
18. Sons Of Kemet — ‘Black To The Future’
(Impulse! Records)
The explosive London-based quartet Sons Of Kemet featuring saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings, tuba player Theon Cross, and drummers Tom Skinner and Edward Wakili-Hick released their most adventurous and collaborative album in Black To The Future. Similar to their other superb recordings, this phenomenal record features high-octane horn melodies and screaming solos, layered over intricate percussive rhythms and pulsating grooves, drawing on influences of Caribbean Soca, Afrobeat, Ethio-jazz, dub, and UK grime. The session also finds Hutchings playing clarinet on a number of the tracks, giving some of the tracks a different dynamic from what we’ve heard in the past.
17. Web Web — ‘WEB MAX‘
(Compost Records)
Following the group’s superb 2020 breakthrough album Worshippers, the Munich-based ensemble Web Web returned in 2021 to release a phenomenal new 70s-era inspired spiritual jazz recording, tilted WEB MAX. Led by mastermind Roberto Di Gioia and composer, musician, and producer Max Herre, the recording also featured an A-list cast of special guests, including rising harpist phenom Brandee Younger, tenor saxophonist Ben Abarbanel-Wolff (also played w/ The Heliocentrics), Ethio-jazz legend Mulatu Astatke, trumpet jazz giant and co-founder of Strata-East Charles Tolliver, the late great legend Yusef Lateef, and more. Brilliant from start to finish, this is an amazing collaborative effort and one of the best modern-day spiritual jazz recordings that has come out in the last decade.
16. Josef Akin — ‘Flightcase’
Glasgow-based keyboardist Josef Akin released an absolutely brilliant new album titled, Flightcase on London’s Sola Terra label. Influenced by the adventurous sounds of Herbie Hancock to Sun Ra, this incredible eight track recording blends together spacey jazz-funk with spiritual grooves, hypnotic atmospheric tones, and layered horn melodies and percussion rhythms. The session also featured an outstanding cast of musicians, including rising star trumpeter and vocalist India Blue.
15. Lady Blackbird – ‘Black Acid Soul’
(Foundation Music)
After a number of incredible singles circulated on numerous radio shows throughout 2020, in September of this year, Los Angeles-based vocalist Lady Blackbird, whom Gilles Peterson dubbed as the “Grace Jones of Jazz”, released her highly-anticipated and debut album Black Acid Soul. With a breathtaking voice and unique sound, this stunning eleven-track album brings together elements of soul and jazz in a way that will move you to your core. It’s safe to say, Lady Blackbird is well on her way to super stardom, and Black Acid Soul is just the beginning.
14. Amanda Whiting — ‘After Dark’
(Gondwana Records)
After being featured as an integral part of Matthew Halsall’s Gondwana Orchestra, Welsh harpist Amanda Whiting stepped out on her own to release a brilliant and mesmerizing new full-length album on Jazzman Records. This remarkable 11-track album captures the nocturnal mood suggested by the album’s title, featuring a selection of beautiful compositions that are spiritual, meditative, and soulful. She is backed nicely on the session by bassist Aidan Thorne and drummer John Reynolds, and notable special guest flautist Chip Wickham.
13. Alex Malheiros — ‘Tempos Futuros’
(Far Out Recordings)
Pioneering bassist Alex Malheiros of the legendary Brazilian jazz fusion trio Azymuth released an incredible new solo album on Far Out Recordings. Featuring a superb cast of musicians, including Alex’s daughter and Brazilian vocalist star Sabrina Malheiros, the record blends together Malheiros’ signature jazz-funk bass lines with spacey synths, cosmic disco and samba-grooves.
12. Daniel Casimir — ‘Boxed In‘
(Jazz re:freshed)
London-based composer and bassist Daniel Casimir, who has been making a strong name for himself over the past few years performing alongside some of the most notable artists among the scene like Joe Armon-Jones, Nubya Garcia, Oscar Jerome, Ashley Henry, Binker Golding and others. In 2021, he stepped out on his own and released an incredible debut album ‘Boxed In’ via the forward-thinking Jazz re:freshed label, featuring expansive ensemble that includes brass, woodwind and strings alongside his outstanding quintet that includes trumpeter James Copus, saxophonist Nubya Garcia, keyboardist Al MacSween, and drummer Moses Boyd. The recording brilliantly blends together soulful and spiritual jazz grooves with orchestral instrumentation and epic cinematic textures.
11. Cleo Sol – ‘Mother’
(Forever Living Originals)
Following the birth of her child, Cleo Sol (also of SAULT) released one of the most heartfelt and moving albums of 2021. Appropriately titled Mother, this beautifully soulful stunning twelve-track recording is obviously a dedication to her newborn and the transition into motherhood, featuring messages of love, hope, and guidance. Remarkable from start to finish, this is another timeless masterpiece from one of the most forward-thinking artists of today.
10. Pharoah Sanders, Floating Points & The London Symphony Orchestra — ‘Promises‘
(Luaka Bop)
In what might have been the most-anticipated and discussed album of the year, New York label Luaka Bop released an absolute stunning new collaborative record featuring legendary saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, groundbreaking electronic producer Sam Shepard, also know as Floating Points, and one of the greatest symphonies in the world, in The London Symphony Orchestra. This phenomenal 46-plus minute piece, composed by Shepherd, is broken into nine movements, and is based on a motif that shifts every nine seconds. From subtle electronic soundscapes, and dynamic strings, to Pharoah’s saxophone solos, voice, breath and even the tapping of his saxophone’s keys, the work is an interwoven sonic conversation that orbits through different musical movements and shapes. By the time you come to the conclusion, there is an emotional feeling of peace and spiritualism, like you have just been transported through multiple dimensions of time and space.
9. SAULT – ‘NINE’
(Forever Living Originals)
Over the last two-plus years, UK’s SAULT has been the most innovative collective in all of music, releasing four groundbreaking full length albums including last year’s highly acclaimed UNTITLED (Black Is) and follow-up UNTITLED (Rise) (BeatCaffeine’s #1 and #3 Favorite Albums of 2020). The thought-provoking group, which features producer Dean “Inflo” Wynton Josiah, vocalist Cleo Sol, rapper/vocalist Melisa Young (aka Kid Sister) and numerous other guests and collaborators, returned with with another timeless recording, which was only available to download or stream for 99 days from it’s release date of June 25, 2021. Arguably the most soulful album from the group to date, the ten-track recording , takes on topics of continual police brutality, racism, alcohol abuse, community, and the importance of self-worth. Like all of their previous outings, the production continues to be ahead of the pack, incorporating funky percussion rhythms, driving bass grooves, electronic beats, with at times, epic strings, synths, and piano melodies.
8. Makaya McCraven — ‘Deciphering The Message’
(Blue Note Records)
“Jazz Beat Scientist” Makaya McCraven dives into Blue Note Records historic vaults and completely reworks some of the label’s classic material from Art Blakey, Horace Silver, Clifford Brown, Dexter Gordon, Kenny Dorham, Bobby Hutcherson, Eddie Gale and others. Using a creative process that involves a mixture of sampling classic material, live instrumentation, and remolding the audio several times, he does a masterful job of taking pieces of landmark jazz recordings and giving them a more modern feel that spans from dancefloor primed cuts to more hypnotic grooved-out arrangements. For the live instrumentation on the recording, McCraven was backed by an incredible cast of musicians, including vibraphonist Joel Ross, trumpeter Marquis Hill, alto saxophonist Greg Ward, guitarists Matt Gold and Jeff Parker, bassist Junius Paul, and De’Sean Jones on tenor saxophone and flute.
7. Pino Palladino & Blake Mills — ‘Notes With Attachments’
(New Deal Recordings / Impulse!)
Renowned bassist Pino Palladino, who helped create the rhythm-section sound on D’Angelo’s neo-soul classic albums Voodoo and Black Messiah, as well as performing over the years with Erykah Badu, Nine Inch Nails, Paul Simon, Jeff Beck, Herbie Hancock and numerous others, teamed up with prolific multi-instrumentalist and producer Blake Mills to produce a highly innovative new album, titled Notes With Attachments. The superb eight track instrumental recording is based off of repeating chord changes inspired by jazz, funk, West African, and Cuban rooted music featuring interwoven bass and guitar lines, syncopated percussion rhythms, horn melodies, and electronic tones.
6. Ill Considered — ‘Luminal Space’
(New Soil)
Over the last few years, Ill Considered has been one of the most active and musically adventurous ensembles to have emerged out of the London jazz scene. For their first fully produced studio album on the New Soil label,the group continues to take their sound to new heights in what is arguably their best record to date. An stellar cast of special guests are also featured on the recording, including Collocutor’s Tamar Osborn, Steam Down saxophonist Ahnanse, Sons of Kemet tuba player Theon Cross and percussionist Sarathy Korwar.
5. Brandee Younger — ‘Somewhere Different‘
(Impulse! Records)
One of the last year’s best albums, and a recording that really captured the emotion of 2020 well, was New York harpist Brandee Younger and bassist Dezron Douglas Force Majeure. Following this beautifully homemade session (recorded in the couple’s apartment), Younger steps out on her own to release a brilliant full-length on Impulse!, titled Somewhere Different. Highly inspired by pioneering harpists Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane, this eight-track recording nicely blends together soulful jazz grooves and spiritual meditative vibes with a fresh modern feel.
4. Scrimshire — ‘Nothing Feels Like Everything’
(Albert’s Favourites)
Recorded during the lockdown and heavily influenced by that isolation, highly innovative London-based singer, songwriter, producer, and DJ, Adam Scrimshire captures the whirlwind of different emotions that surround such an experience from hopefulness to loss in this new nine track album, Nothing Feels Like Everything. With only four vocal contributions on the session, this record represents his most instrumental exploration to date, nicely blending together elements of spiritual jazz, warm synth melodies, hypnotic grooves, atmospheric textures, electronics, and cinematic string arrangement. Similar to those complex feelings during the pandemic, the album flows beautifully from one mood to the next, and will undoubtedly have many listening to it (like me) on repeat.
3. Emma-Jean Thackray — ‘Yellow’
(Movementt)
Highly talented London-based multi-instrumentalist, producer, composer, vocalist and DJ, Emma-Jean Thackray returned with an incredible new full-length album on her own Movementt label. On this fourteen track recording, she brilliantly melds all those musical elements together into an adventurous masterpiece, blending together cosmic jazz grooves, psychedelic funk, hazy atmospheric tones and soulful hypnotic vocal harmonies. There is an overall uplifting spiritual energy to the entire album, with Thackray singing more on this record than anything she has released in the past. The record can just as easily work on the dancefloor as it could be a prime selection a sonic meditative experience.
2. Kaidi Tatham — ‘An Insight To All Minds’
(First Word Records)
Pioneering producer and keyboardist Kaidi Tatham, who has made his mark as one the most innovative broken beat artists over the past two decades. In 2021, he released arguably released his greatest recording yet in An Insight To All Minds. This mind-blowing cosmic masterpiece fuses together a fresh mix of space-aged jazz-funk, deep Afro house, innovative broken beat grooves, intergalactic boogie, and some Latin-influenced percussion rhythms. There is no doubt, this is futuristic jazz for the dancefloor!
- STR4TA — ‘Aspects’
(Brownswood Recordings)
In 2020, if you tuned in and listened to many of the Worldwide FM radio shows, more times than not, you might have been finding yourself asking the question, who’s behind this new Brit-funk outfit STR4TA? After some well-deserved hype and built up anticipation for an official release, it was finally revealed at the beginning of 2021 that legendary DJ, producer, and radio broadcaster Gilles Peterson and the great Jean-Paul “Bluey” Maunick of notable British group Incognito (also Light of The World, Freeez), were the masterminds behind this phenomenal project. Heavily influenced by pioneering Brit-funk bands of the late 70s and early 80s, like Incognito, Light of The World, Freeez, as well as Atmosfear, Hi-Tension, Linx and others, this incredible conceptual eight-track recording fuses together the raucous energy and DIY sound of early Brit-funk, combined with spacey-synth melodies, jazz dance grooves, and hypnotic vocals. Capturing the essence of the sound perfectly, without any context, you might first think this is a lost Brit-funk recording from 1981. Brilliant from start to finish, Aspects pays homage to what seemed like a previously oft-overlooked and vital pocket of Black British music history, while also successfully moving the sound forward. Thanks to this recording and a few others over the last couple of years, it seems like Brit-funk is back in an exciting way!
