Record Shopping Etiquette
The do’s, the don’ts, and best practices when it comes to shopping for vinyl.
Chicago-based composer, clarinetist, singer and educator Angel Bat Dawid and the International Anthem label have recently released a powerful new recording, Requiem for Jazz, that explores the strong interconnections between the foundations of jazz and the African American experience.
London-based rising star pianist Sultan Stevenson, who came out of both the prominent Tomorrow’s Warriors education program and the Julian Joseph Jazz Academy (JJJA), has recently released his brilliant debut album Faithful One on Whirlwind Recordings.
Legendary UK-based jazz dance DJ Paul Murphy and his fantastic label Jazz Room Records continue their onslaught of impressive releases with a welcomed reissue of Japanese pianist Takehiro Honda’s rare 1973 soul-jazz album What’s Going On.
New York-based multi-instrumentalist Devin Brahja Waldman, known for his work under BRAHJA, teamed up with an eclectic group of musicians, including vocalist Ziad Qoulaii, for a new experimental recording under the name KADEF.
Swedish multi-instrumentalist Gustav Horneij, under his one-person Organic Pulse Ensemble alias, has recently released an incredible new spiritual jazz album, titled A Thousand Hands on the Spanish label 2 Headed Deer.
Three of today’s most forward-thinking artists, in Los Angeles-based multi-instrumentalist/producer Mark de Clive-Lowe, Detroit drummer/producer Shigeto, and Brooklyn/Haitian singer, flautist and sample chopper Melanie Charles have teamed up under an exciting new project titled Hotel San Claudio, which was appropriately named after the Italian countryside stay in which the trio first came together in preparation for performing as a trio at the Fat Fat Fat Festival.
This past Sunday, March 19, 2023, I ran the Oakland Half Marathon, as a part of the week-long Oakland Running Festival. The weather was a little rainy and windy this year, but overall it’s a really great annual event that I highly recommend checking out and participating in.
The Italian-based label Eating Standing, which focuses on hi-quality reissues, has recently re-released the 1984 spiritual jazz-funk masterpiece Polygamy from producer, tenor saxophonist, and percussionist Mustafa Abdul Rahman.
DJ Amir (aka Amir Abdullah), through his 180 Proof Records, has been officially reissuing and releasing previously unheard material from Strata Records for the past decade. Now with the help of London’s BBE Music, he has put together a brilliant compilation featuring some of the most essential tracks to have come out on the legendary 70’s Detroit jazz label.
Over the last few years, not only has Paul Murphy reissued a number of rare jazz dance and fusion gems through his label Jazz Room Records, he has put out a number of essential and rare Latin dancefloor recordings, including Tata Vasquez’s Ecstasy, Robin Jones led Denga and El Maja. This Spring, the UK label will reissue the 1981 album Con El Ritmo Del Tambó by the Nuyorican supergroup Orquesta Mayombe.