BeatCaffeine’s Weekly Record Rundown, 05.10.24
In an effort to cover more releases on a weekly basis, BeatCaffeine will kick off the ‘Weekly Record Rundown’ series, which will focus primarily on LPs, EPs, and 7″ featuring new music. We will still do single dedicated features on full-length albums, reissues and compilations during the week, however this allows (hopefully) more coverage for the many great records that continue to come out over a month.
The new weekly post will typically include five new releases, and Album of the Week, and four other highly recommended releases. The descriptions will be much shorter, so that people can quickly take in some information about the recording. The hope is that people spend more time listening to the actual music and generate their own opinions about it. We will try this out and adjust accordingly as needed.
BEATCAFFEINE’S ALBUM OF THE WEEK
Rosa Brunello — ‘Senseless Acts of Love’
(Domanda Music)
Italian bassist and composer Rosa Brunello follows up her breakthrough debut, Sounds Like Freedom, with another brilliant offering on Tommaso Cappellato’s Domanda Music label, titled Senseless Acts of Love. Featuring a superb cast of musicians, including trumpeter Yazz Ahmed, baritone saxophonist and flautist Tamar Osborn, keyboardist Maurice Louca, drummer, percussionist and beat programmer Marco Frattini, guitarist and keyboardist Enrico Terragnoli, and trombonist Luca Tapino, the music off this 10-track recording builds off Brunello’s debut, fusing together hypnotic grooves and rhythms, with spiritual vibes, synth-based electronic tones, and cosmic textures.
MORE BEATCAFFEINE RECOMMENDATIONS
Jasmine Myra — ‘Rising’
(Gondwana Records)
One of UK’s rising saxophonists returns with her sophomore album off of Matthew Halsall’s Gondwana Records, titled Rising. This incredible 6-track recording has an overall spiritual meditative jazz feel that’s calm, unique and dynamic. Rising features the same core of musicians as Myra’s debut album Horizons with guitarist Ben Haskins, drummer George Hall, pianist Jasper Green, harpist Alice Roberts (who both also perform with Matthew Halsall) and bassist Sam Quintana.
Kamasi Washington — ‘Fearless Movement’
(Young)
One of jazz’s modern day giants, returns for his highly-anticipated third full-length release, titled Fearless Movement. From start to finish, this might arguably Kamasi Washington’s most diverse album album to date, as each song takes on a life of it’s own, while still sounding cohesive as an overall recording. The 12-track album also features an impressive cast of guest musicians, including George Clinton, Thundercat, Terrace Martin, André 3000 (yes on flute), BJ The Chicago Kid and more. This is modern-day spiritual jazz at it’s best and most forward-thinking.
Gerardo Frisina — ‘Mystical Funk / Spaced Out’ 7″
(Schema Records)
Italian jazz dance producer and pioneer Gerardo Frisina treats us to a new double-sided 7″ single ahead of his highly-anticipated full-length releases, scheduled for Fall 2024. “Mystical Funk” has a Dennis Coffey-meets-Deodato like driving jazz-funk groove. On the flip, “Space Out” picks things up a bit, and as the track title suggests, has a bit of a spacey dubbed out tribal feel. Provides much excitement for what’s in store for his forthcoming album.
EABS — ‘Reflections of Purple Sun’
(Astigmatic Records)
Wrocław-based experimental jazz fusion quintet EABS returns to their Polish jazz roots and pays tribute to the late great trumpter Tomasz Stańko and his groundbreaking 1973 album Purple Sun. The brilliant 6-track recording fuses together spacey cosmic grooves, soulful horn melodies, and dynamic rhythms that work on the dancefloor and in a listening session. With each new release, EABS continues to take their sound to new heights, and that certainly is the case on this latest album. Definitely one of the best jazz recordings of the year!
