Category Archives: Jazz
CULT CLASSIC: ISAAC HAYES MOVEMENT-DISCO CONNECTION.
Cult Classic: Isaac Hayes Movement-Disco Connection. Disco. Never has a musical genre divided opinion like the D word. It’s been described as musical Marmite. People either love disco, or they loathe it. There’s no in-between. However, forty years ago, in 1976, disco’s star was in the ascendancy. Artists were jumping onto the disco bandwagon. …
MASAHIKO SATO-KAYOBI NO ONNA.
Masahiko Sato-Kayobi No Onna. Label: Mitsuko and Svetlana Records. By 1969, Tokyo-born composer and pianist Masahiko Sato about to turn twenty-nine, and had been a professional musician since he was seventeen. He had started out accompanying magicians, singers and strippers in a cabaret in Ginza, a district of Tokyo. Now eleven years later he had …
GRANT GREEN-NIGERIA.
Grant Green-Nigeria. Label: Blue Note Records. On January the ’13th’ 1962 Grant Green journeyed to New Jersey, and what were by now the familiar environs of the Van Gelder Studio. He was twenty-five and had already recorded eight albums for Blue Note Records since he signed for the label in 1960. Grant Green had his …
LEE MORGAN-THE COOKER.
Lee Morgan-The Cooker. Label: Blue Note Records. ’1st’ May 2020. When eighteen year old trumpeter Lee Morgan signed to Blue Note Records as a solo artist in 1956, he was already a prodigious talent and had the potential to become one of the greatest trumpeters of his generation. That talent was soon apparent. Introducing Lee …
SUN RA-CELESTIAL LOVE.
Sun Ra-Celestial Love. Label: Modern Harmonic. Nowadays, maybe music journalists are guilty of using the words innovator and musical pioneer all too freely, but that is the perfect description of the inimitable Sun Ra. He’s quite rightly regarded as one of the true pioneers of free jazz and a truly innovative and influential musician who pushed musical …
HERBIE HANCOCK-THE PRISONER.
Herbie Hancock-The Prisoner. Label: Blue Note Records. In the summer of 1968 Herbie Hancock left Miles Davis Quintet to form his own group. This was a risky move, but one he felt he had to make to develop as a composer, bandleader and pianist. During the summer of 1968 Herbie Hancock also released his …
DANIEL HAAKSMAN-BLACK ATLANTICA EDITS.
Daniel Haaksman-Black Atlantica Edits. Label: BBE Music. Release Date: ’24th’ of April 2020. Over the last few years, Berlin-based DJ, producer and record label owner Daniel Haaksman has been reworking tracks by everyone from CK Mann + Carousel 7 and Soul Brothers to Francis Bebey, Bonde Do Rôlé and Kaba Blon and these edits have become favourites …
DR JOHN THE NIGHT TRIPPER-THE SUN, MOON AND HERBS.
Dr John The Night Tripper-The Sun, Moon and Herbs. Label: Speaker’s Corner. By July 1970, twenty-nine year old Dr John was about to begin recording his fourth album for Atco which eventually became The Sun, Moon and Herbs which has just been reissued on vinyl by Speaker’s Corner. Dr John had written six new track …
ELVIND AAARSET I JAN BANG-SNOW CATCHES ON HER EYELASHES.
Eivind Aarset I Jan Bang-Snow Catches On Her Eyelashes. Label: Jazzland Recordings. Although Eivind Aarset and Jan Bang have been collaborating since the early nineties, the pair have never recorded an album as a duo. That was until they recorded Snow Catches On Her Eyelashes, which was recently released by Jazzland Recordings. It features ten …
SPIRITUAL JAZZ VOLUME 11: STEEPLECHASE.
Spiritual Jazz Volume 11: SteepleChase. Label: Jazzman. In 1959, Anders Dyrup founded Jazzhus Montmartre, which was situated in Dahlerupsgade, in the Danish capital Copenhagen. On the opening night, American clarinetist George Lewis had been booked to play and performed there for a fortnight. He was the first of many great jazz musicians who played at …
DEXTER GORDON-A SWINGIN’ AFFAIR.
Dexter Gordon-A Swingin’ Affair. Label: Blue Note Records. Tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon was only seventeen when he joined Lionel Hampton’s band in 1940, and for the next three years, played alongside Illinois Jacquet and Marshal Royal. However, by 1944 he was a member of the Fletcher Henderson band before featuring in Louis Armstrong and Billy …
GARD NILSSEN’S SUPERSONIC ORCHESTRA-IF YOU LISTEN CAREFULLY THE MUSIC IS YOURS.
Gard Nilssen’s Supersonic Orchestra-If You Listen Carefully The Music Is Yours. Label: Odin Records. To say that bandleader, composer, drummer and percussionist Gard Nilssen is a prolific musician is something of an understatement. Since 2007, he has played on over seventy albums by all types of groups. Mostly, it’s been with small groups including the …
MIKE WESTBROOK-LOVE AND UNDERSTANDING: CITADEL/ROOM 315 SWEDEN 74.
Mike Westbrook-Love and Understanding: Citadel/Room 315 Sweden 74. Label: My Only Desire Records. By 1974, composer and pianist Mike Westbrook was thirty-eight and one of the leading lights of the British jazz scene. He had come a long way since he formed his first band in 1958 when he was an art student studying painting. …
LARRY ROSE BAND-THE JUPITER EFFECT.
Larry Rose Band–The Jupiter Effect. Label: BBE Music. Release Date: ‘17th’ April 2020. Usually, at this time of the year, dedicated crate-digging DJs and discerning record collectors spend much of their spare time searching for oft-overlooked albums and long lost hidden gems in back-street record shops, thrift stores and dusty warehouses. This is the natural …
MUSAX BACKGROUND MUSIC LIBRARY VOLUME 1.
Musax Background Music Library Volume 1. Label: Farfalla Records. The resurgence of interest in library music that began a few years ago is still continuing, with collectors keen to add to their burgeoning collections. For many, it’s original releases from the golden era of library music which covers the late-sixties through to the mid-eighties. Alas, …
TEA AND SYMPHONY-AN ASYLUM FOR THE MUSICALLY INSANE.
Tea and Symphony-An Asylum For The Musically Insane. Label: Magic Box. When the original lineup of Tea and Symphony was founded in Birmingham, England, in the late-sixties, they were an acoustic group who have since been compared to Marc Bolan’s Tyrannosaurus Rex. The group was founded by Jeff Daw, James Langston and Nigel Phillips, but …
NIGHTMARES ON WAX-SMOKER’S DELIGHT 25TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION.
Nightmares On Wax-Smoker’s Delight 25th Anniversary Edition. Label: Warp. Four years after releasing their debut album A Word Of Science: The First and Final Chapter in 1991, Nightmares On Wax returned with their much-anticipated and critically acclaimed sophomore album Smoker’s Delight. It was released on the ‘24th’ of October 1995, Warp, who have just reissued …
MILES DAVIS-BITCHES BREW AT 50.
Miles Davis-Bitches Brew At 50. Although Miles Davis’ recording career began in 1951, when he released his debut album The New Sounds, he soon had established a reputation as a prolific, and innovative musician. He released further forty-three albums between 1951 and 1969. This included classics like 1957s Round About Midnight and 1959s Kind Of Blue. …
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