BeatCaffeine’s Weekly Record Rundown, 05.24.24
This week’s BeatCaffeine Weekly Record Rundown includes the return and a fresh new sound from French producer and multi-instrumentalist Blackjoy, Quiet Dawn’s new highly-anticipated full-length, a limited-edition new single featuring the late vocal jazz great Mark Murphy, cosmic jazz pioneer Carlos Niño’s latest spiritual offering, and John Beltran kicking off the summer with the fourth installment of Back to Bahia.
BEATCAFFEINE’S ALBUM OF THE WEEK
Blackjoy — ‘Grand Soleil’
(Les Rythmes Ruban)
After a bit of a hiatus, French producer and multi-instrumentalist Blackjoy aka Jérôme Caron, who notably put out the massive Nu-disco classic “Moustache” in 2005 and some other superb 12″ singles, has returned with a bit of an evolved sound on his brilliant new album Grand Soleil for the Paris-based label Les Rythmes Ruban. Featuring 7 tracks, this recording fuses together Italian-like soundtrack grooves, cosmic keyboard driven melodies and textures, ambient tones, an epic orchestrated arrangements. Fans of Sven Wunder, Surprise Chef, and Janko Nilovic. Highly recommended!
MORE BEATCAFFEINE RECOMMENDATIONS
Quite Dawn — ‘Celebrate’
(First Word Records)
French multi-instrumentalist Quiet Dawn, who has been an integral part of the First Word Records family for a decade, returns with another superb full-length, titled Celebrate. This 11-track release features a heavy-dose of broken beat grooves, jazz samba-tinged vibes, hip-hop instrumental beats, squelchy synths and sweet rhodes melodies, funky bass lines and just about everything in-between. Definitely coming to a dancefloor near you soon!
Mark Murphy — ‘Seasons In My Mind (Remixes)’ 12″
(Right Tempo)
As a follow-up to the highly acclaimed Jazzcat compiled compilation, The Congregation, Italian label Right Tempo has recently released a limited-edition single of jazz vocal legend Mark Murphy’s previously unreleased track “Seasons In My Mind” (which first appeared on The Congregation). This 12″ includes the original version, plus two superb remixes from Richard E. Jake Telford, and Emanative and Jessica Lauren, which is our favorite out of the bunch.
Carlos Niño & Friends — ‘Placenta’
(International Anthem)
For the latest brilliant offering from Los Angeles-based producer, percussionist, and modern-day cosmic jazz pioneer Carlos Niño, is inspired by the 1st solar return of his child, Moss Niño, and the experience that him and his partner Annelise shared during the pregnancy through now. Featuring an impressive and expansive group of collaborators, including André 3000, Surya Botofasina, Nate Mercereau, Photay, Jamael Dean, Sam Gendel, Jamire Williams, Dexter Story, Annelise and many others, this album is collection of thirteen spiritually improvised tracks that celebrate human life and nature.
John Beltran — ‘Back To Bahia Vol. 4’
(MotorCity Wine)
Legendary Michigan-based producer and DJ John Beltran gets us ready for the warmer months with his fourth installment of his incredible Back to Bahia Balearic-inspired series. The A-side consists of the laid-back track “Laguna”, which fuses Afro-Brazilian drum rhythms with cosmic lush keys, and exotic nature tones to help set the mood. On the flip, “Just Beyond The Sun” picks things up just a bit with Latin-tinged percussion, sultry trumpet and keyboard melodies, and a pulsating samba-like groove. Let’s go swimming, the Summer is finally here!
