Sometimes, a powerful dose of sound can be invigorating for the ears. Love Unfold The Sun is a band from New Mexico, led by my old friend Mustafa Stefan Dill. His guitar playing reminds me of John McLaughlin playing the oud, infused with the raw energy of Peter Brötzmann at Continue Reading
Fusion
Luca Calabrese – I Shin Den Shin
MoonJune Records is one of those labels that consistently excels, especially in progressive rock and maybe even more so in jazz fusion. The latest release by Luca Calabrese is from 2024 and has six tracks of the sort of high-quality fusion you would expect from the label, and its focus Continue Reading
Yazz Ahmed – A Paradise In The Hold
It has been a long time since I had a chance to dig into the work of Bahraini/British trumpeter Yazz Ahmed’s works. She has a new album due on January 1, 2025, and judging by the one track available, it will be blending of deep fusion with Middle Eastern musical Continue Reading
Dimitar Dodovski – Liminal
(North) Macedonian composer Dimitar Dodevski offers a shimmering album blending Jon Hassell’s “Fourth World” sound with ambient and jazz fusion. A gentle, relaxing wade into dark waters.
Maâlem Mokhtar Gania & Bill Laswell – Tagnawwit: Holy Black Gnawa Trance
Maâlem Mokhtar Gania & Bill Laswell collaborate on bringing Gnawa music up-to-date in the 21st Century. There have been a good number of Gnawa-related recordings which have come out over the past few decades, but having Laswell’s thundering bass supporting Gania’s instrumentation makes for quite a pairing.
Various Artists – Audion 60 (multimedia)
The Brothers Freeman grace us with a recent edition of the premier progressive rock magazine, full of in-depth reviews of new albums in the genre as well as trips down memory lane in terms of the Italian prog scene. Also included, of course, are sound samples of the of the Continue Reading
Paniyolo + Akio Watanabe – 家並み – Yanami
From the release’s Bandcamp site: “A guitarist Paniyolo and a steelpan player Akio Watanabe are releasing a duo album “Yanami (The row of houses)”. Based on the 11 sketches, they have painted a space kept in tranquil atmosphere with a guitar and a steelpan, each sketch has a glimpse of Continue Reading
Gunesh – Гунеш
Gunesh were from Turkmenistan and had one of the greatest drummers and percussionists to ever beat the skins in Rishad Shafi, who passed on a few years ago. This holds itself admirably compared to western fusion bands. Worth your time!
Opa – Back Home
Far Out Recordings graces us with yet another vital release out of South America. This one by Opa is a little treasure out of Uruguay, not exactly known as a hot-spot for jazz fusion (at least not when compared to Brazil or, maybe, Argentina). This record, shelved for reasons unknown, Continue Reading
Azymuth – Carnival (Original Full-Length Unedited Mix)
Brazil’s finest fusion band return with a reworking of their legendary hit! From the promo pack: Celebrating 30 years of Far Out Recordings, Azymuth’s biggest club track from their groundbreaking 1979 album Light As A Feather is reissued on 12” vinyl, in its full length unedited form. When it was Continue Reading