Category: FEATURED RELEASES
The rightfully proclaimed “Godfather of Ethio-jazz,” Mulatu Astatke teams up again with the Melbourne-based collective Black Jesus Experience on a brilliant new Agogo Records released album, titled To Know Without Knowing.
The legendary spiritual Afro-jazz collective Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids, who became known due to the discovery of their now highly sought-after rare self-released seventies recordings Lalibela, King Of Kings, and Birth / Speed / Merging, have made waves recently through their newer releases on Strut Records. The iconic group returns with a brilliant new album on the London-based label, titled Shaman!.
Chicago-based composer, drummer, and producer Makaya McCraven has over the past half-decade, been one of the most groundbreaking artists in jazz, due to his unique recording approaches and post-production editing and mixing processes. The “jazz beat scientist” has just released an insightful documentary and new material from the same sessions that produced the 2018 critically-acclaimed Universal Beings album.
Legendary composer and trumpeter Charles Tolliver, who also launched and ran the now groundbreaking Strata-East label with pianist and longtime collaborator Stanley Cowell during the seventies, has just released his first studio album in 13 years, titled Connect on Gearbox Records.
London-based composer, multi-instrumentalist, DJ, and producer Emma-Jean Thackray follows up two breakthrough EP recordings, including 2018’s Ley Lines and Rain Dance, which was released earlier this year, with a brilliant direct-to-disc session on the Night Dreamer label, titled Um Yang.
London-based keyboardist, composer, and producer Kamaal Williams, aka Henry Wu, follows up his superb 2018 full-length recording The Return and twelve-inch single New Heights/Snitches Brew, with another incredible album off of his Black Focus label, titled Wu Hen.
Soul Jazz Records has released an incredible new expansive compilation, titled Kaleidoscope: New Spirits Known & Unknown, featuring many of the groundbreaking artists that are fueling the UK jazz scene.
London-based Afro-Latin quintet Waaju follow-up the group’s 2018 breakthrough self-titled debut LP, with a brilliant new album, titled Grown on the UK label Olindo Records.
Finnish multi-instrumentalist, composer, and producer Jimi Tenor returns following the release of the his outstanding 2018 full-length Order of Nothingness and last year’s single Vocalize My Luv, with a great new 7inch single on Max Weissenfeldt’s Berlin-based Philophon label, titled Sugar And Spice.
With some remarkable releases over the past decade on Jazzman and Gondwana Records, as well as his recently brilliant collaborative work with dub producer Al Breadwinner, Manchester-based saxophonist and composer Nat Birchall has made his mark as one of UK’s most forward-thinking musicians.
The London-based Night Dreamer label continues it’s string of brilliant direct-to-disc sessions with a brilliant new Afro-funk recording featuring Nigerian composer, trumpeter, and bandleader Etuk Ubong, titled Africa Today.
London-based pianist Greg Foat has dived into a wide range of sounds over the last few years on some incredible releases for both Jazzman and Athens of The North, experimenting with soul-jazz, cinematic library music, techno, pastoral acid folk, and ambient electronic tones. For his debut release on Strut Records, titled Symphonie Pacifique, Foat brilliantly brings together all of these different elements to produce his most musically expansive and forward-thinking album to date.
The Houston, Texas based trio Khruangbin (pronounced KRUNG-bin, a Thai word meaning “airplane”), featuring bassist/vocalist Laura Lee, guitarist Mark Speer, and drummer Donald “DJ” Johnson, follow-up their 2018 breakthrough release Con Todo El Mundo and recent notable collaboration with Leon Bridges (Texas Sun EP) with their highly anticipated third full-length album, titled Mordechai on the Dead Ocean label.
