Record Shopping Etiquette
The do’s, the don’ts, and best practices when it comes to shopping for vinyl.
BeatCaffeine’s Weekly Record Rundown 05.30.25
This week’s BeatCaffeine’s weekly record rundown features the latest offering from Italian producer and “nu jazz” pioneer Gerardo Frisina, the funky latin jazz dance recording from the Romero Bros, Angel Bat Dawid and Naima Nefertari cosmic excursion into ancient astrology and spiritualism, and the brilliant and highly meditative new full-length on Gondwana Records from California’s Phi-Psonics.
Legendary DJ & producer Chris Bangs releases dancefloor jazz compilation ‘The Playbox’
Legendary UK DJ, producer and acid jazz pioneer Chris Bangs has just released an incredible new compilation for Ace Records, titled The Playbox, which is essentially his love letter to the jazz dancefloor featuring signature 70s era jazz funk and jazz dance classics.
Tramp Records unearths previously unreleased 70s jazz-fusion recording from Baobab
German-based Tramp Records, who have been one of the leading labels over the past two decades when it comes to unearthing some of the rarest funk, soul and jazz recordings, has just put out a previously never-released-before album from the Stuttgart-based jazz fusion combo Baobab.
BeatCaffeine Radio on Motion FM, May 17, 2025
Listen back to this past Saturday, May 17th BeatCaffeine Radio show on Motion FM, hosted by TJ Gorton. The broadcast celebrates the late legendary vocalist Andy Bey, who sadly passed away recently, and also includes a number of jazz dance classics from Idris Muhammad, Norman Connors, selections from Chris Bang’s new compilation Playbox, new tracks out of Italy from Emanuele Cisi, Gerardo Frisina and Collettivo Immaginario, the latest from Zeitgeist Freedom Energy Exchange and more!
Melbourne’s Don Glori returns with superb genre-defying new album ‘Paper Can’t Wrap Fire’
Melbourne-rooted London-based multi-instrumentalist and producer Don Glori returns with his most eclectic and adventurous album to date, and first for the UK-based Mr. Bongo label, titled Paper Can’t Wrap Fire.
Italian jazz-funk trio Collettivo Immaginario returns with brilliant new album ‘Oltreoceano’
Following the release of last year’s superb 12inch for the Space Grapes label, and before that, their breakthrough 2022 debut recording Trasforma, the Italian jazz-funk trio Collettivo Immaginario returns with their highly-anticipated sophomore release for Domanda Music, titled Oltreoceano.
BeatCaffeine’s Weekly Record Rundown 05.02.25
Catching up on some recent standout releases, here is BeatCaffeine’s weekly record rundown (just a few days late) featuring the latest by Melbourne-based “future-jazz” collective Zeitgeist Freedom Energy Exchange, Emma-Jean Thackray’s highly personal and eclectic album Weirdo, Italian saxophone great Emanuele Cisi’s brilliant new offering on the Right Tempo label, and Ten Lovers Music latest Best of Various EP.
BeatCaffeine Radio on Motion FM, May 3, 2025
Listen back to this past Saturday, May 3rd BeatCaffeine Radio show on Motion FM, hosted by TJ Gorton. The broadcast includes a number of jazz dance classics from Chick Corea, Jack McDuff, and War, funky Brazilian selections from Sérgio Mendes and Dom Um Romao, new tracks from Azymuth, The Sultan’s Swing, Takumi Moriya Black Nation and more!
Jazz Room Records releases Takumi Moriya Black Nation’s rendition of “Merry Go Round”
Paul Murphy’s Jazz Room Records follows up last year’s massive 7inch release of Takumi Moriya Black Nation’s take on Joe McPhee’s “Shakey Jake” with a new 10inch single from the Japanese producer and bassist featuring his brilliant new rendition of Terumasa Hino’s 1981 jazz dance classic “Merry Go Round”.
Colin Curtis presents The Sultan’s Swing Sessions II EP
Over the last several years, legendary UK jazz dance and soul DJ, and now radio broadcaster, Colin Curtis has been releasing a slew of superb EPs under his Colin Curtis Presents imprint. For his first release of 2025, he puts out the much anticipated new recording from multi-instrumentalist and producer Tom Funk‘s cosmic jazz-fusion project The Sultan’s Swing.
BeatCaffeine Radio on Motion FM, April 19, 2025
Listen back to this past Saturday, April 19th BeatCaffeine Radio show on Motion FM, hosted by TJ Gorton. The broadcast includes a number of jazz dance classics from Jeff Lorber Fusion, Mark Murphy, Wayne Henderson, Sonny Fortune, Seawind and Kamal Abdul Alim, Brazilian flavored selections from Valeria Lobao and Bill Summers, “nu jazz” gems by Jazz N Palms, Trüby Trio, one of my all-time favorite tracks “Take Vibe” from Golden Brown and more!
Ghana’s Kwashibu Area Band releases incredible debut album on Soundway
Following the group’s impressive contributions to some of the most recent recordings from Ghanaian highlife legend Pat Thomas, the Accra-based Kwashibu Area Band has released their highly-anticipated debut album on London’s Soundway Records, titled Love Warrior’s Anthem.
BeatCaffeine’s Record Store Day 2025 Recommendations
This Saturday, April 12th is Record Store Day 2025, which over the last several years, has greatly become the prime day for many labels to release limited-edition or never-before-released vinyl albums, singles, compilations and reissues — often (even to BeatCaffeine’s disliking) on color vinyl. You can even make the argument that this annual event has become more like “record label day” or “new vinyl collectables day”, given its evolution. While the day usually attracts many hardcore collectors (sometimes camping out for 10-12 hours or more), shops also often see a large influx of casual music fans and even a few that might be buying their first record. Regardless, these are all great things.
