IF MUSIC PRESENTS YOU NEED THIS-A JOURNEY INTO DEEP JAZZ VOL. 3

dereksmusicblog ♦ August 16, 2019 ♦ Leave a comment

IF Music Presents You Need This–A Journey Into Deep Jazz Vol. 3.

BBE Music.

Album Of The Week.

For the best part of four decades, Jean-Claude Thompson has been one of the leading lights of London’s vibrant and eclectic music scene. Since 1990, he’s been one half of production duo The Amalgamation Of Soundz who have released critically acclaimed albums, compilations, countless singles and remixes a plenty. Amalgamation Of Soundz also played a memorable DJ set at Glastonbury back in 2005. That was no surprise.

For many a year, Jean-Claude has been a top DJ, and is a familiar face in London’s club scene. He’s travelled far and wide DJ-ing, flying the flag for his genre-defying, jazz-tinged sound. Recently, when he’s not been involved in production nor DJ-ing, Jean-Claude has been busy with a variety of new projects.

This includes hosting radio shows on NTS and Soho Radio. Jean-Claude also finds time to run a record shop IF Music, and curate a series of compilations. The most recent compilation that Jean-Claude curated was IF Music Presents You Need This–A Journey Into Deep Jazz Vol. 3 for BBE Music.

IF Music Presents You Need This-A Journey Into Deep Jazz Vol. 3 is the latest and much anticipated instalment in BBE’s deep jazz series. It’s no ordinary deep jazz compilation though. Instead, IF Music Presents You Need This-A Journey Into Deep Jazz Vol. 3 is a triple album that is about to be released on heavyweight vinyl. It features ten eclectic slices of deep jazz and there’s  something for everyone on IF Music Presents You Need This–A Journey Into Deep Jazz Vol. 3.

The music on IF Music Presents You Need This–A Journey Into Deep Jazz Vol. 3 veers between soulful and spiritual to free jazz. There’s obscurities, rarities and hidden gems that will have eluded even the most dedicated and determined collector. These tracks are sure to appeal to a wide range of record buyers.

This ranges from hipsters discovering jazz for the first time, to DJs, dancers and veteran collectors. IF Music Presents You Need This–A Journey Into Deep Jazz Vol. 3 is sure to appeal to a wide range of record buyers. They’re in for a veritable musical feast from Jean-Claude Thompson’s collection.

Side A.

Opening IF Music Presents You Need This–A Journey Into Deep Jazz Vol. 3 is Middle Passage, a track by Tyrone Jefferson who was James Brown’s trombonist and musical director. He released two albums track is from the album Free Your Mind, released in 1988. It’s a breathtaking workout where horns accompany Ellene Rockette’s inimitable vocal that is akin to an extra musical instrument as she takes the listener on a memorable journey. 

Beaver Harris 360 Degree Music Experience recorded Aladdin’s Carpet for the 1979 album Beautiful Africa. It’s a welcome addition and a reminder of this underground anthem that for many a year, has been a favourite of jazz DJs.

Side B.

Legendary Hungarian jazz guitarist Gabor Szabo recorded 24 Carat View for his 1979 album Belsta River which was released on the Swedish label Four Leaf Clover Records. 24 Carat View is an impressive fifteen minute epic that showcases the considerable talents of Gabor Szabo and what can only be described as an all-star cast.

Side C.

In 1974, Björn Alkes Kvartett released his debut album Jazz I Sverige 1974, on Caprice Records. It was recorded by the bandleader and his quartet at the Swedish Broadcasting Corporation. One of the standout tracks is Nepal, which is another favourite of jazz DJs and is sure to fill a dancefloor. 

Between 1969 and 1986 Jazz Celula released a total of five albums. Probuzeni is a track from their 1976 sophomore album Oheň Až Požár, and is a majestic slice of jazz-funk.

Side D.

Karl Hester and The Contemporary Jazz Art Movement recorded and released Pan African Ballet Music in 1981. This twenty-one minute epic is  musical tour de force that isn’t just inventive and innovative, and for the first six minutes will test the stamina of  dancers. This hidden gem is another welcome addition to IF Music Presents You Need This–A Journey Into Deep Jazz Vol. 3.

Side E.

Manteca was written by Dizzy Gillespie and recorded  by Phineas Newborn Jr.  in 1962 for his album The World Of Piano, which was released on Contemporary Records. It’s another hidden gem where the Tennessee born pianist and his band deliver a breathtaking performance.

In 1982, the fusion supergroup Sangam Jazz Yatra Sextett released their one and only album Sangam. It featured Dawn, which opened the album and features this pioneering supergroup at the peak of their powers.

Side F.

Copa Salvo’s Hasta La Victria Siempre is a track from the album Loveletter From Far East, which was released by RD Records in Japan, in 2006. Only 300 copies of the album were pressed and Hasta La Victria Siempre is one of the highlights of an album where elements of Latin, funk, jazz and soul melt into one. Sadly, very few people know about Loveletter From Far East, and Hasta La Victria Siempre will introduce Copa Salvo’s music to the wider audience it deserves.

Stafford James Ensemble only released one album, and that was their eponymous album on Red Record in 1979. It featured a memorable and captivating cover of John Coltrane’s Impressions which is the perfect way to close IF Music Presents You Need This–A Journey Into Deep Jazz Vol. 3.

IF Music Presents You Need This–A Journey Into Deep Jazz Vol. 3 features ten tracks. This includes obscurities, rarities and hidden gems that will have eluded even the most dedicated and determined collector. To track down these obscurities, rarities and hidden gems would prove expensive. Several of the albums the tracks on IF Music Presents You Need This–A Journey Into Deep Jazz Vol. 3 are taken from are extremely rare albums. Copies don’t come up for sale very often, and when they do, they change hands for large sums of money. However,  they all feature on Jean-Claude Thompson’s lovingly curated IF Music Presents You Need This–A Journey Into Deep Jazz Vol. 3, which is a tantalising taste of the music on these albums. It’s music that  is ambitious, innovative and inventive music. Proof of that can be found on IF Music Presents You Need This–A Journey Into Deep Jazz Vol. 3, which is a lovingly curated compilation which BBE Music have just as a triple album, and  for anyone interested in jazz, then this will be a welcome addition to their record collection.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a hipster dipping your toe into the world of jazz for the first time, or  DJs, dancers or veterans of jazz compilations past, IF Music Presents You Need This–A Journey Into Deep Jazz Vol. 3 is without doubt one of the finest jazz compilations money can buy and is another tantalising taste of inventive and innovative deep jazz from yesteryear. 

IF Music Presents You Need This–A Journey Into Deep Jazz Vol. 3.