Record Shopping Etiquette
The do’s, the don’ts, and best practices when it comes to shopping for vinyl.
50th Anniversary Edition of Fela Kuti’s ‘Shakara’ includes new renditions from Ezra Collective
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of arguably the greatest Afrobeat album ever recorded, in Fela Kuti and The Africa 70’s Shakara, Brooklyn’s Partisan Records has put out a special edition reissue of the two-track classic that includes an additional 7inch record featuring new renditions of both “Lady” and “Shakara (Oloje)” by one of the leading lights among the London jazz scene, Ezra Collective.
Legendary Decca Records continues their ‘British Jazz Explosion’ with two landmark reissues
The legendary London-based Decca Records continues their superb British Jazz Explosion Series, with two massive additions in trumpeter Harry Beckett‘s 1970 heavy-hitting classic Flare-Up and the groundbreaking large ensemble masterpiece Tales Of The Algonquin led by John Surman and John Warren.
Japanese trio Nautilus covers Gil Scott-Heron & Jessica Lauren on Jazz Room Records 7inch
Paul Murphy’s superb label, Jazz Room Records is back at it again, releasing a brilliant 7inch single featuring two excellent dancefloor primed covers by Tokyo’s remarkable jazz-funk trio Nautilus.
Tokyo’s 45trio covers Weldon Irvine’s soulful classic “I Love You”
A record that seemed to receive a lot of worthy play across numerous notable online radio shows (Colin Curtis, Kev Beadle, and others) during the final two months of 2022, was 45trio’s brilliant instrumental of Weldon Irvine’s soulful 1976 classic ‘I Love You’. Led by pianist and producer SWING-O, the Tokyo-based group, which formed back in 2009, also features bassist Sunapanng and drummer Masahiko Kubo.
Italian producer, singer & DJ Mistura Pura releases stellar Brazilian-influenced 7inch single
As we forge our way into the new year, let’s first take a look at one of the fantastic 7inch released on vinyl at the end of 2022 — An incredible two track single, titled Vamo Vive from Italian producer, singer, vinyl collector, DJ and music producer Mistura Pura (aka Federica Grappasonni).
BeatCaffeine’s Favorite Tracks of 2022
Happy New Year! Before we turn the page and look ahead to 2023, let’s spend one more moment in celebrating some of the best music from the past twelve months and dive into some of the best tracks of 2022.
BeatCaffeine’s Favorite Compilations of 2022
As we wind down the final days of 2022, we take a look back at just some of the essential compilation releases over the past 12 months. From rare dance floor jazz to spiritual grooves and obscure Brazilian gems, there was a lot to absorb from some of the year’s best compiled releases. Similar to what we’ve seen with recent reissues, each year it seems like the quality of compilations continue to excel, with labels, record collectors, archivists, and DJs putting together some of the most interesting selections of music from all corners of the world.
BeatCaffeine’s ‘Favorite EP Releases of 2022’
This year, even what feels like more so than in the past, there were many incredible EP releases, especially in jazz (which hasn’t been a common format for the genre). Many of which resulted in some of the overall best releases of 2022.
BeatCaffeine’s Favorite Reissues, Lost Recordings & Retrospectives of 2022
As with new releases, 2022 was a remarkable year for reissues and previously unreleased recordings. It feels like with every great new release or artists that breaks through on the scene, there are still so many records from the past to still discover, or make more readily available again. I also feel that with each year that goes by, the quality of reissues get’s better and better. The care and work that goes into many of these releases is astonishing.
BeatCaffeine’s Favorite Albums of 2022
It’s that time again (hard to believe), where we revisit some of the best releases of the year. In regards of new music, 2022 was one of the best in recent memory. It was admittedly extremely challenging pulling together a top 30 list, as many their were many additional favorites that unfortunately didn’t make the list. If there is time before the month is up, I might go back and extend the list to 40 or 50 releases. As always, I’m sure I missed a few that were just not fully on my radar.
