Category Archives: Jazz
DAVID AXELROD-SONGS OF EXPERIENCE.
David Axelrod-Songs Of Experience. Label: Now Again Records. By 1968, composer, musicians and producer David Axelrod was just about to embark upon a solo career after nine years working in the music industry. Buoyed by the experimental climate of popular music, David Axelrod wrote and recorded what was akin to a suite-like tone poem that …
SUPER ELCADOS-TOGETHER IS ALWAYS A GOOD VENTURE-TAMBOURINE PARTY VOLUME 2.
Super Elcados–Togetherness Is Always A Good Venture-Tambourine Party Volume 2. Label: Mr Bongo. During the early sixties, a musical revolution took place in Ghana, when musicians started combining elements of West African musical genres including highlife and fuji music which they fused with American funk and jazz. Playing an important part important part in this …
SANDY DENNY-LIKE AN OLD FASHIONED WALTZ-RECORD STORE DAY 2018 EDITION.
Sandy Denny-Like An Old Fashioned Waltz-Record Store Day 2018 Edition. Label: Island Records. Sandy Denny left Fairport Convention in December 1969, and in early 1970, decided to form a new band. The new band became Fotheringay, who released their eponymous debut album in June 1970. Critics hailed Fotheringay a masterful debut, and the album sold …
EMANATIVE-EARTH.
Emanative-Earth. Label: Jazzman Records. Three years after the release of their third album The Light Years Of The Darkness in 2015, British jazz collective Emanative return with Earth, a new album of ambitious genre-melting music. It finds Emanative channelling the spirit of Sun Ra, but also drawing inspiration from Floating Point’s unique brand if cinematic …
THE LIGHTMEN-FREE AS YOU WANNA BE.
The Lightmen-Free As You Wanna Be. Label: Now Again Records. Before founding The Lightmen, drummer, bandleader and political activist Bubbha Thomas had toured the length and breadth of America playing in R&B revues. The rest of his career had been spent working alongside the legends of jazz and playing on sessions for Peacock and Back …
ANA SILVERA-ORACLES.
Ana Silvera-Oracles. Label; Gearbox. When London born singer-songwriter Ana Silvera released her debut album The Aviary to widespread critical acclaim in March 2012, great things were forecast for one of the rising star’s of British Nu Folk. Since then, critics and music fans have looked forward with anticipation to the followup to The Aviary. They’ve …
MIDNIGHT IN TOKYO VOLUME 2.
Midnight In Tokyo Volume 2, Label: Studio Mule Japan. Release Date: ‘27th’ July 2018. During the seventies and eighties, Japan still had a thriving and vibrant jazz scene, although many artists and bands had turned their attention to fusion. This includes the thirteen artists and bands that feature on the new compilation Midnight In Tokyo …
SKADEDYR-MUSIKK!
Skadedyr-Musikk! Label: Hubro Music. Release Date: ’27th’ of July 2018. Over the last few years, some of the most ambitious and innovative new music being released in Europe, has been in Norway, which has a vibrant and thriving musical community. However, this didn’t happen overnight, and instead, it took years for Norway to become home …
MULATA ASTATKE AND THE ETHIOPIAN QUINTET-AFRO LATIN SOUL.
Mulatu Astatke and The Ethiopian Quintet-Afro Latin Soul. Label: Strut Records. By 1966, Ethiopian multi-instrumentalist Mulatu Astatke was twenty-three, and had already spent time studying music in London, Boston and New York. This included spells at two prestigious institutions, London’s Trinity College of Music and Boston’s Berklee College of Music. However, having finished his studies, …
TOHRU AIZAWA QUARTET-TACHIBANA.
Tohru Aizawa Quartet-Tachibana. Label: BBE Records. Release Date: ‘27th’ of July 2018. For many connoisseurs of jazz, especially seventies J-Jazz, one little known private pressing is their holy grail, and everywhere they go is the album they search for. There’s always the hope that in a backstreet record shop, antique centre or thrift store in …
DAVID AXELROD-SONGS OF INNOCENCE.
David Axelrod-Songs Of Innocence. Label: Now Again Records. By the time David Axelrod began work on his debut album Songs Of Innocence in 1968, the thirty-seven year arranger, composer, drummer and producer old had enjoyed a chequered career. He had started off as a boxer, before changing direction and finding work in film and …
JOHN COLTRANE-BOTH DIRECTIONS AT ONCE: THE LOST ALBUM.
John Coltrane-Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album. Label: Impulse! As John Coltrane and his classic quartet arrived at the Van Gelder studios in Englewood Cliffs, on the ‘6th’ of March 1963, the band were in good spirits having played a barnstorming set at Birdland the night before. It was one of the best sets …
LA DISCOTEQUE PSYCHEDELIQUE VOLUME 1 (VINYL).
La Discoteque Psychédélique Volume 1 (Vinyl). Label: Boss-A-Tone Records. Nowadays, the compilation market in Britain is fiercely competitive, with independent and major record companies from home and abroad fighting for the compilation pound week after week. That has been the case for the last few years, and with every passing week new record companies join …
GORDON JACKSON-THINKING BACK.
Gordon Jackson-Thinking Back. Label: Sunbeam Records. Nowadays, Gordon Jackson’s 1969 lost classic Thinking Back, which has just been reissued by Sunbeam Records, is often referred to as a: “lost Traffic album.” However, that isn’t strictly true, despite Dave Mason, Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood, and Steve Winwood all play on Thinking Back. As is often the case, there’s …
DISQUES DEBS INTERNATIONAL VOLUME 1.
Disques Debs International Volume 1. Label: Strut. Release Date: ‘29th’ July 2018. Compilation Of The Week. Nowadays, Disques Debs International which was founded by Henri Debs in Guadeloupe, in the late-fifties, is regarded by many connoisseurs as the one of the best, if not greatest of all French Caribbean labels. That is high praise, given …
DIALI CISSOKHO AND KAIRA BA-ROUTES.
Diali Cissokho and Kaira Ba-Routes. Label: Twelve Eight Records. Release Date: ‘29th’ June 2018. Just over six years ago, North Carolina-based Senegalese kora master Diali Cissokho and Kaira Ba released their debut album Resonance in April 2012. Resonance featured songs about mythology, migration and justice, while Diali Cissokho and Kaira Ba combined elements of African …
RAMSEY LEWIS-FUNKY SERENITY, RAMSEY LEWIS’ GOLDEN HITS, SOLAR WIND AND SUN GODDESS.
Ramey Lewis-Funky Serenity, Ramsey Lewis’ Golden Hits, Solar Wind and Sun Goddess. Label: BGO Records. Not many recording artists spend sixteen years signed to the same label, but bandleader, composer and pianist Ramsey Lewis had signed to Chess Records in 1956, and his band Ramsey Lewis and The Gentlemen Of Swing their debut album later …
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