Tag: Jazz
Portugese-based label Mad About Records continues their string of truly essential reissues with the release of Syncro Jazz’s extremely rare 1982 live album featuring legendary Brazilian saxophonist Nestico Aguiar, and his sister, pianist Lilu.
Composer, multi-instrumentalist and Tortoise guitarist Jeff Parker follows up his first New Breed recording, released back in 2016 and named best album of the year by London’s Observer, with a great new album on Chicago’s International Anthem, titled Suite for Max Brown.
One of the records that completely missed my radar when it was released back in the summer of 2019 was Los Angeles producer Jason McGuiness brilliant cosmic jazz album Empyrean Tones.
Gilles Peterson launches his brand new reissue label Arc Records, focusing on rare and interesting records from his basement vaults, with the experimental jazz recording Musica Infinita from by Mexican drummer and composer Tino Contreras.
Over the past decade, there many incredible jazz releases from a number of new rising exploratory artists looking to explore new ground and continue to push the music forward. With jazz having an overall strong resurgence in places like London, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Melbourne and numerous of other cities and regions globally, it’s great to look back at some of the most essential albums from the past ten years.
With six incredible releases across multiple projects, and numerous collaborations with some of the most-forward thinking artists in the world, as well as ongoing performances that touched just about every corner of the globe, BeatCaffeine’s 2019 Artist of the Year is Los Angeles-based producer and multi-instrumentalist Mark de Clive-Lowe.
In what has turned into quite a productive year for Greg Foat, the London-based pianist follows up a number of incredible releases for Edinburgh’s Athens of The North label, including the one of the year’s best albums in The Mage, and released another brilliant full-length to close out the year, titled The Dreaming Jewels.
Bassist and composer Junius Paul has been making a name for himself over the last decade both in Chicago with his jam sessions at the now-shuttered Velvet Lounge, and internationally with his collaborative work with drummer and beat-maker Makaya McCraven. As usual, Chi-town’s International Anthem Recordings continues to have their finger on the pulse, and have just released Paul’s debut album, titled Ism.
One of the best releases in 2018 was Makaya McCraven’s widely collaborative Where We Come From (CHICAGOxLONDON Mixtape), a recording that brought together some of the most forward-thinking musicians and beat makers from both Chicago and London. One of the many standout tracks from that session was London-based producer and multi-instrumentalist Emma-Jean Thackray’s “Too Shy”. Total Refreshment Records and International Anthem have teamed up again to release an extended version on a new twelve-inch single.
This December, London-based independent label Clap City Records will be reissuing the 7inch version of the highly-obscure 1975 jazz-funk classic ‘Farewell To The Welfare’ by Wendell Harrison and the legendary Detroit Tribe collective.
The London-based trio Still Moving featuring saxophonist Nat Philipps, drummer Pike Ogilvy, and keyboardist Sam Bates have just released a brilliant debut self-titled EP on Lanquidity Records.
For the second time in two decades, Soul Jazz Records has reissued legendary drummer Steve Reid’s 1976 spiritual jazz masterpiece Rhythmatism, which is one of the most sought-after and adventurous recordings of it’s time.
Even though the group of musicians were very much ignored by the mainstream at the time, Detroit’s Tribe is now considered one of the most legendary collectives and jazz labels during the seventies, featuring jazz greats like Wendell Harrison, Phil Ranelin, Marcus Belgrave, Harold McKinney, and others. Now, labels Strut and Art Yard have teamed up to release the first compilation celebrating the modern era recordings from this collection of artists.
