Category Archives: Jazz

KJETIL MULELID TRIO-WHAT YOU THOUGHT WAS HOME.

Kjetil Mulelid Trio-What You Thought Was Home.  Label: Rune Grammofon.  Prodigious describes twenty-eight year old Norwegian composer, bandleader and pianist Kjetil Mulelid, who graduated from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology’s jazz program in Trondheim in 2014. By then, he had already made his recording debut on Lauv’s album De Som Er Eldre Enn Voksne. …

Continue reading

LOTHAR OHLMEIER, ISAMBARD KHROUSTALIOV, RUDI FISCHERLEHNER-HYPERTIDE OVER KIRIBATI.

Lothar Ohlmeier, Isambard Khroustaliov, Rudi Fischerlehner-Hypertide Over Kiribati. Label: Not Applicable Recordings. Each week, a vast amount of new albums are released into the global musical marketplace by artists and bands from every corner of the world. This should mean that there’s a constant stream on ambitious and innovative music being released. Sadly, that isn’t …

Continue reading

FIFTY YEARS AGO TEN YEARS AFTER RELEASED STONEDHENGE.

Fifty Years Ago Ten Years After Released Stonedhenge, When Ten Years After released their eponymous debut album in October 1967, it failed to make an impression on either side of the Atlantic. It was a disappointing start to Ten Years After’s recording career. Especially considering how well things had been going for Ten Years After.  Ever …

Continue reading

LA TORRE IBIZA: VOLUMEN TRES.

La Torre Ibiza: Volumen Tres. Label: Hostal La Torre. The nineties and early noughties were the golden age for what was referred to as Balearic, chill out or downtempo  music.  Many of these lovingly curated  compilations were released on smaller independent labels and featured a mixture of the new and old, from familiar faces and new names. Some of these …

Continue reading

J JAZZ VOLUME 2-DEEP MODERN JAZZ FROM JAZZ 1969-1983 -VINYL VERSION.

J Jazz Volume 2–Deep Modern Jazz From Japan 1969–1983-Vinyl Version. Label: BBE Music. Release Date: ‘6th’ September 2019. Music is a universal language,  and something that binds us all, regardless of what part of planet earth we’re from, music is ever present, and a part of our life. It’s hard to imagine daily life without …

Continue reading

THE DAISY AGE.

 The Daisy Age. Label: Ace Records. Release Date: ‘30th’ August 2019. When is a movement not a movement? When it’s the Daisy Age, which was  never really a movement. It’s been described more like an ethos or set of principles that for a short while, pervaded into hip hop, R&B and even pop. The ironic …

Continue reading

TABANSI SAMPLER.

Tabansi Sampler. Label: BBE Africa. Release Date: ‘30th’ August 2019. Over the next two years, BBE Africa, an imprint of BBE Music, will release around sixty albums from the Tabansi Records vaults. This is part of their Tabansi Gold reissue series, which got underway recently, and is a reminder of what’s the most important, influential …

Continue reading

LOS ANGELES SOUL VOLUME 2-KENT-MODERN’S BLACK MUSIC LEGACY 1963-197

Los Angeles Soul Volume 2-Kent-Modern’s Black Music Legacy 1963-1971. Label: Kent Soul. Release Date: ‘30th’ August 2019. Four-and-a-half years ago,  in February 2015, Kent Soul, an imprint of Ace Records, released Los Angeles Soul-Kent-Modern’s Black Music Legacy to plaudits and praise. Critics and music fans wondered if there would be a followup to this  lovingly …

Continue reading

BEN JAGGA-HOLD ON PRETTY WOMAN.

Ben Jagga-Hold On Pretty Woman. Label: BBE Africa. Nowadays, every third rate, regional bar band has delusions of becoming the next Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple or Black Sabbath, and spend their days dreaming of fame and fortune. Alas, these poor deluded fools shouldn’t give up their day job and should stick to pumping gas and parking cars because they usually …

Continue reading

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. 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 …

Continue reading

MELISSA MANCHESTER-1973-1976: HER EARLY YEARS AND BREAKTHROUGH.

Melissa Manchester-1973-1976: Her Early Years and Breakthrough. It was almost inevitable that Melissa Manchester would end up embarking upon a musical career. The Manchester family were a highly creative family, and music played an important part in everyday life. That was no surprise. Melissa’s father was a bassoonist in the New York Metropolitan Opera. She would …

Continue reading

BLACK MOON CIRCLE-THE STORY SO FAR.

Black Moon Circle-The Story So Far. Just seven years ago, brothers Øyvin and Vemund Engan founded the psychedelic space rock band Black Moon Circle, and since then, this talented band from Trondheim, in Norway, have released seven  albums.  Not many bands average an album a year, but not many bands have the talent that Black Moon Circle have. Their story begins seven …

Continue reading

HORN ROCK AND FUNKY GUITAR GROOVES 1968-1974.

Horn Rock and Funky Guitar Grooves 1968-1974. Label: BGP. Nowadays,  music historians regard 1968 as the year that American rock returned to its soulful roots. The man responsible, was one of the true legends of music, Bob Dylan, who joined forces with The Band, and they went in search of a chimerical America, and  what …

Continue reading

THE LIFE AND CAREER OF ANE BRUN.

The Life and Career Of Ane Brun. In her native Norway, forty-one year old Ane Brun is one of the most successful singer-songwriters of her generation. Her career began in May 2003, when she released her debut album Spending Time With Morgan. This was the start of a glittering career for Ane Brun, who recently …

Continue reading

HIROSHIMA’S FIRST FIVE ALBUMS

Hiroshima’s First Five Albums. Dan Kuramoto’s interest in music began when he became the inaugural chairman of the Asian-American studies program at California State University in Long Beach in the sixties. This was an honour for Dan Kuramoto who had just graduated from California State University with a degree in Fine Arts. The chance to return …

Continue reading

THE LIFE AND CAREER OF MUSICAL PIONEER EMILIO APARICIO.

The Life and Career Of Musical Pioneer Emilio Aparicio. Nowadays, the words pioneer and innovator tend to be overused, and musicians who create truly groundbreaking music seem to be sadly, few and far between. While there are some pioneering musicians whose music continues to push musical boundaries, there are no longer as many as there once …

Continue reading

HEAT EXCHANGE AND THEIR LOST DEBUT ALBUM REMINISCENCE.

Heat Exchange and Their Lost Debut Album Reminiscence. Heat Exchange’s root’s can be traced to a Toronto high school, in the late-sixties. That was when four school friends decided to form a blues band, which they named Cloud. Just a couple of years later, and Cloud were one of the top bands in Toronto.  Several record …

Continue reading

GILLIAN HILLS-THE YE-YE YEARS 1960-1965. 

Gillian Hills-The Yé-Yé Years 1960-1965. Gillian Hills was born in Cairo, Egypt, on the ‘5th’ of June 1944  and was the daughter of teacher, traveller, author and adventurer Denis Hills and Dunia Leśmianowna, daughter of Polish poet Bolesław Leśmian. Much of Gillian Hills’ early life was spent in France which was where the fourteen year …

Continue reading

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF SUSANNE SUNDFOR.

The Life and Times Of Susanne Sundfør, Although Susanne Sundfør only embarked upon a musical career in 2005, the thirty-three year old is already one of Norway’s most successful singer, songwriter and producers. Her last four studio albums have topped the Norwegian charts, including her fifth album Music For People In Trouble which was released …

Continue reading

SEUN KUTI-HIS FATHER’S SON MAKING HIS OWN WAY IN MUSIC.

Seun Kuti-His Father’s Son Making His Own Way In Music.  Nowadays, one of the most overused word in the English language is legend, which is bandied about all too freely, with faux punks, third-rate Britpop bands and Beatles impersonators being labelled legends by fawning music journalists who hang on their every word. These bands aren’t worthy of …

Continue reading