Record Shopping Etiquette
The do’s, the don’ts, and best practices when it comes to shopping for vinyl.
UK’s SAULT releases fifth album ‘NINE’, available for 99 days
Over the last two-plus years, UK’s SAULT has been the most innovative collective in all of music, releasing four groundbreaking full length albums including last year’s highly acclaimed UNTITLED (Black Is) and follow-up UNTITLED (Rise) (BeatCaffeine’s #1 and #3 Favorite Albums of 2020), which centered around subjects of police brutality and racial injustices. The thought-provoking group, which features producer Dean “Inflo” Wynton Josiah, vocalist Cleo Sol, rapper/vocalist Melisa Young (aka Kid Sister) and numerous other guests and collaborators, returns with another brilliant recording, titled NINE, which according to the band, will only be available to download or stream digital for 99 days from it’s release date of June 25, 2021.
Paul Murphy’s Jazz Room Records reissues obscure 1978 funky spiritual jazz gem ‘La Dee La La’ from Shamek Farrah
London’s Jazz Room Records, run by iconic London DJ Paul Murphy, continues it’s string of essential releases with a recent limited-edition reissue of Shamek Farrah And Folks‘ nearly impossible-to-find 1978 funky spiritual jazz album La Dee La La, featuring trumpet great Malachi Thompson of Chicago’s influential collective AACM.
LA-based producer/pianist John Carroll Kirby releases brilliant new cosmic jazz LP ‘Septet’ on Stones Throw
Los Angeles-based composer, producer, and pianist John Carroll Kirby, who has made a strong name for himself over the last several years collaborating with everyone from Solange (produced three tracks on A Seat At The Table, and featured on When I Get Home), and Blood Orange, to Frank Ocean, Miley Cyrus and many others. On top of these high-profile collaborative works, Kirby has also released a number of incredible albums on his own via the Stones Throw label, and he returns with arguably his best album to date, titled Septet.
Prolific Detroit jazz drummer Gerald Cleaver releases brilliant experimental electronic album ‘Griots’
Highly accomplished Detroit-born drummer Gerald Cleaver, who has been a staple among the New York jazz scene performing in forward-thinking groups with artists like Matthew Shipp, William Parker, Michael Formanek, Chris Lightcap, Joshua Abrams, Craig Taborn, Steve Swell and many others, returns with an experimental new album, titled Griots, that explores the depths of electronic music.
Rising Poland jazz quintet Sneaky Jesus releases superb debut album ‘For Joseph Riddle’
Over the last several years, Poland has produced some of today’s most forward-thinking and innovative jazz artists and ensembles like EABS, Wojtek Mazolewski, Piotr Damasiewicz, and Bloto to just name a few. We can now add the Wrocław-based Sneaky Jesus to that last list, as the Polish quintet has just released a superb debut album, titled For Joseph Riddle on the South London label Shapes Of Rhythm.
Mexico City-based label Discodelic releases 7inch featuring two 1975 Nicaraguan Latin funk gems by Poder Del Alma
Mexico City-based label Discodelic presents the first release of their exclusive three-part limited edition 7inch series highlighting rare Nicaraguan Afro-Latin music, with two funky 1975 gems from Managua group Poder Del Alma.
Innovative trio Wildflower release brilliant new recording ‘Better Times’ on Tropic of Love
The innovative London-based trio, featuring bassist and founding member of Ill Considered Leon Brichard, saxophonist Idris Rahman (Soothsayers), and drummer Tom Skinner (Sons of Kemet), have followed up last year’s outstanding album Season 2, with a brilliant new four-track EP, titled Better Times. This also marks the debut release on notable London-based Portuguese DJ Mafalda Daniel‘s new label Tropic of Love Music.
BeatCaffeine’s Record Store Day 2021 ‘Drop 1’ Recommendations
As we move into the warmer months of summer, it’s great to see that many of the record shops that were either closed for over a year and/or only doing online sales are finally opening up again. In my opinion, it doesn’t get much better than a Saturday trip (or any day really) to the local record shop(s). Somewhat similar to last year, this year’s typical annual Record Store Day has been broken up into not just one, but two Saturdays (or what is being referred to as “Drop 1” & “Drop 2”) on June 12th and July 17th.
Jazzman Records reissues Ron Everett’s 1977 obscure soul jazz holy grail ‘Glitter of The City’
One can make the argument, that the term “Holy Grail” is sometimes used a bit too loosely, however that certainly isn’t the case when applied to Ron Everett’s 1977 obscure soul jazz masterpiece Glitter Of The City. Originally self-released in 1977 on a shoestring budget, UK’s Jazzman Records has recently reissued the essential recording as a part of it’s ongoing superb Jazzman Holy Grail series.
Jazz Is Dead teams up with Brazilian great João Donato on latest release in the series
For the seventh release in what continues to be an absolutely brilliant Jazz Is Dead series, Los Angeles based producers/multi-instrumentalists Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad have teamed up with legendary Brazilian composer and pianist João Donato on a superb new full-length album.
