Record Shopping Etiquette
The do’s, the don’ts, and best practices when it comes to shopping for vinyl.
Kahil El’Zabar celebrates 50 years of the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble with new album
Legendary multi-percussionist, bandleader, vocalist, composer, educator, and former Chair of the Association of Creative Musicians (AACM), Kahil El’Zabar has been a staple among the Chicago jazz scene for over half a century. In celebration of the 50th anniversary of his pioneering group, the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, he has released a brilliant new album on the Spiritmuse label, titled Open Me, A Higher Consciousness of Sound and Spirit.
Finland’s Timo Lassy and Jukka Eskola “stew” together Nordic jazz and New Orleans grooves
Two of Finland’s most virtuosic and forward-thinking musicians in saxophonist Timo Lassy and trumpeter Jukka Eskola have teamed up with a number of notable New Orleans musicians for an innovative new album on the Amsterdam-based Dox Records, titled Nordic Stew, that fuses together Nordic jazz and the deep-rooted sounds from the Crescent City.
Legendary UK DJ Colin Curtis presents Jazz Dance Fusion Volume 4
Legendary UK DJ Colin Curtis, who has been at the forefront of both the jazz dance and Northern soul scenes, has released the fourth volume of his brilliant Jazz Dance Fusion compilation series featuring new and unreleased dancefloor-focused jazz selections that have either previously never been issued on vinyl, or have slid slightly under-the-radar.
An eclectic selection of today’s most forward-thinking jazz featured on ‘The Congregation’ compilation
Italian DJ, broadcaster and internationally respected Mixcloud selector Massimiliano “Jazzcat” Conti has teamed up with the Milan-based label Right Tempo on a brilliant new compilation, titled The Congregation: Jazz Alliance International, that highlights some of today’s most forward-thinking jazz that’s currently being released.
Nuovi Fratelli, Nimbus Sextet & guest vocalists team up on new version of Roy Ayers’ “Searching”
The fantastic Glasgow-based production duo Nuovi Fratelli, featuring DJ and producer Wayne Dickson and sound engineer, music producer, and synth wiz Luigi Pasquini have teamed up again with the superb jazz ensemble Nimbus Sextet, along with special guest vocalists Russell Stewart and lissappear (aka Lissa Chen Robertson) on an incredible new rendition of Roy Ayers’ 1976 soul-jazz classic “Searching”.
Gilles Peterson & Jean-Paul “Bluey” Maunick release new STR4TA Remix 12″
Highly influential London-based DJ, broadcaster, and producer Gilles Peterson and pioneering multi-instrumentalist, producer, composer, and bandleader Jean Paul “Bluey” Maunick (Incognito, Light of The World, Freeez) continue their deep dive into the world of DIY Brit-funk with a limited-edition STR4TA white label 12inch, featuring two new remixes of tracks taken from their 2022 album, STR4TASFEAR.
French jazz-funk group Cotonete release brilliant full-length ‘Victoire De La Musique’
Following a slew of standout singles and their 2019 breakthrough album Super-vilains, the 8-piece French jazz-funk group Cotonete has returned with a brilliant new eclectic album on the Heavenly Sweetness label, titled Victoire De La Musique (which takes a dig at the annual French music award ceremony).
Brainfeeder releases 2011 cosmic jazz classic from Austin Peralta on vinyl
After 13 years since its initial CD/Digital-only release in 2011, Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder label is releasing for the first time on vinyl, the late great Austin Peralta’s cosmic jazz classic Endless Planets. This record was the label’s first dive into jazz, helping set the stage for artists like Kamasi Washington, Thundercat, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Kneedelus, and others.
Live 1970 recording of Rahsaan Roland Kirk performing in Paris released
The French label Transversales Disques continues its string of brilliant live ORTF recordings captured at Grand Auditorium’s Studio 104 in Paris’ Maison de la Radio (aka the headquarters of Radio France) with an early 70s session from legendary jazz multi-instrumentalist Rahsaan Roland Kirk. This is the latest in a growing series that has included jazz greats Pharoah Sanders, Archie Shepp, Don Cherry, and Ahmad Jamal.
Gilles Peterson’s Arc Records releases late 1960s unreleased recordings by Roberta Flack
Under the guidance and direction from London-based DJ, radio broadcaster, and music producer Gilles Peterson, his reissue-focused label Arc Records has recently been diving deep into the Atlantic jazz archives, re-releasing mono versions of Max Roach’s 1968 of Members, Don’t Git Weary and Yusef Lateef’s 1969 Yusef Lateef’s Detroit Latitude 42° 30′ Longitude 83°. With the labels latest release of the series, they unearth a collection of tracks recorded by Roberta Flack in the sessions leading up to the recording of her seminal 1969 debut album First Take.
