Category: FEATURED RELEASES
French jazz-funk quartet Aldorande follow up both their 2019 breakthrough debut album and superb 2020 double-sided 12inch single Summer Body / Breakfast in Space with an incredible new album, titled Deux on Favorite Recordings.
Bassist of the legendary Brazilian fusion trio Azymuth, Alex Malheiros, who has also contributed his pioneering space-funk sound on records by Jorge Ben, Milton Nascimento, Roberto Carlos, Marcos Valle, Mark Murphy, and others, has recently released a brilliant new album on Far Out Recordings, appropriately titled Tempos Futuros.
Over the past two decades, Soundway has been at the forefront in unearthing obscure and lost gems from all corners of the world. Through each record they put out, the London-based label is often able to fully tap into the most essential and defining music of a specific region or sub-genre. For their latest compilation, titled Ritmo Fantasía, that is certainly the case, as Venezuelan producer, DJ and record collector Trujillo (aka Andres Astorga) takes listeners on a journey through forgotten 1980s and 1990s era Balearic Spanish synth-pop, boogie and house music.
Formerly Chicago, and now Hawaii-based composer, producer, drummer, and all-around “jazz beat scientist” Makaya McCraven continues to be one the most forward-thinking artists of our present time. On his latest album, titled Deciphering The Message, he dives into the historic vaults of Blue Note Records and completely reworks some of the label’s classic material.
Since the release of their breakthrough self-titled debut in 2017, the adventurous Philadelphia/NY/DC-based quintet has established themselves as one of the most thought-provoking and forward-thinking jazz collectives. The group returns with an incredible new album on International Anthem, titled Open The Gates, that much like their other recordings, cries out for universal social change.
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, and their 11th full-length to date (9 self-released from 2017-2019), titled Luminal Space, the group continues to take their sound to new heights in what is arguably their best record to date.
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, has just released his debut album as a bandleader, titled Boxed In on the Jazz re:freshed label.
Earlier in the year, Gilles Peterson and Stuart Baker teamed up to release an incredible 23-track compilation exploring the fusion of jazz, funk, Brazilian, Tropicalia, and disco with Latin and Salsa that emerged in Cuba in the 1970s and 1980s, titled Cuba: Music And Revolution — Culture Clash In Havana Cuba: Experiments In Latin Music 1975-85. With much more music to dive into from this era, London’s Soul Jazz Records has just released volume 2 of this essential series.
Sacred Rhythm Music, which is a pioneering label run by the legendary Joaquin “Joe” Claussell, has just released a superb posthumous EP release, titled Grace, by the late great New York house DJ and producer Carlos Sanchez featuring crossover vocal greats Gregory Porter, Bobby McFerrin, and Kenny Lattimore.
Following up on the group’s 2017 breakthrough EP Yellow Ochre, the cosmic jazz London-based Vels Trio, featuring keyboardist Jack Stephenson-Oliver, bassist Cameron Dawson, and drummer Dougal Taylor have just released their highly-anticipated full-length album Celestial Greens on the Rhythm Section International label.
