Tag: Jazz Funk
Following the success of recent limited-edition 7inch singles “Cosmica Italiana” (2020) and “Acqua” (2022), Italian DJ, producer and musician Lorenzo Morresi and UK producer, composer, multi-instrumentalist and 22a label boss, Ed ‘Tenderlonious’ Cawthorne will release their highly-anticipated full-length album, also titled Cosmica Italiana.
Legendary UK jazz and Northern soul DJ Colin Curtis has recently launched his own imprint label, and released two superb debut jazz dance EPs from UK-based producer and percussionist Glenn Worthington aka Gee W.
Sheffield-based producer and multi-instrumentalist Benjamin Harris, aka Yarni continues his exploration into new sounds with a superb soulful cosmic jazz album, titled Pigna, which references a glistening pine cone standing upright – the longstanding symbol of Sicilian openness and welcome hospitality that can be found in homes throughout the Italian island.
The second wave of collaborative Jazz Is Dead releases from masterminds Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad kicks off with the first album in over 20 years from the great jazz, gospel, and soul vocalist Jean Carne.
The string of must-have compilation releases in 2022 continues with the French label Favorite Recordings compiling a mind-blowing collection of extremely rare jazz-funk and fusion grooves from the 1970s and early 1980s, titled Fusion Global Sounds (1970-1983).
When it comes to some of the most rare and essential music from all over the globe, there might not be a better resource than UK-based label and record shop Mr Bongo. Since 2016, their Record Club series has produced some of the best eclectic compilations during that span. They have recently released the highly-anticipated 5th volume of the series, sharing their latest musical discoveries and old favorites.
Throughout the seventies and into the early eighties, jazz-funk legend Brian Jackson collaborated with the late great Gil Scott-Heron on some of the most forward-thinking and socially conscious music of our time, releasing tracks like “The Bottle”, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”, “Johannesburg” and numerous others. Following up on last year’s collaborative effort with Jazz Is Dead, Jackson returns with his first solo album in over 20 years, titled This Is Brian Jackson on BBE.
Legendary UK jazz DJ Paul Murphy and his Jazz Room Records label continues it’s unearthing of jazz dance gems with the recent reissue release of Youngstown, Ohio’s Tony Lavorgna and The St. Thomas Quartet’s 1982 soul jazz album Chameleon.
Highly innovative and active Panamá-born, Chicago-based drummer and DJ Daniel Villarreal, who also notably plays and co-leads in a number of groups including Dos Santos, has recently released an incredible collaborative cosmic psych-jazz debut (under his own name) on International Anthem.
Glasgow’s highly-talented Nimbus Sextet follow-ups their impressive breakthrough debut Dreams Fulfilled, with a superb sophomore release on the Acid Jazz label, appropriately titled Forward Thinker.
