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, has finally seen the light of day. There will be no digital release of the album (only vinyl and CD), but you can hear a slice courtesy of Youtube.
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 originally released, Azymuth’s disco fusion worldwide hit “Jazz Carnival” stayed in the UK top twenty for eight straight weeks. It was used as the theme music for national broadcasts in Italy and even made it onto Top Of The Pops in the UK. Since then the track has become a…
From our incredible friends at Wewantsounds, we have another scorching compilation of Japanese jazz-funk. From the label’s Bandcamp site: “Following the success of the ‘Tokyo Glow’ compilation, Wewantsounds once again teams up with Japanese Tokyo-based DJ Notoya to dig the rich Electric Bird catalogue and come with a versatile selection of sunny Jazz-Funk gems recorded between 1978 and 1987 for the label. A tasty selection featuring Yasuaki Shimizu, Toshiyuki Honda and Mikio Masuda, together with a few American musicians such as Ronnie Foster and Bobby Lyle. Most tracks make their debut outside of Japan and the album has been designed…
I have to say that, until a few days ago, I knew nothing about Jorge López Ruiz, but after reading this writeup and listening to the funky exotic jazz on this album, I’ve become a fan. From the Bandcamp website: “Jazz, funk, and bossa vibes kiss each other, all wrapped up in JLR’s trademark cinematic feel. In his colourful Un Hombre de Buenos Aires, recorded in 1978, JLR puts the political outcry of his early 70s works aside and focuses on his love for the city of Buenos Aires. Jorge López Ruiz gets far less credit than he deserves. His…
We received news from friends and from Far Out Records‘ press release that legendary drummer and a founding member of jazz-rock icons Azymuth, Ivan “Mamão” Conti, passed away yesterday at 76. He had been prolific over the past few years, and his passing comes as quite a shock. In honor of his passing, we bring you Azymuth at their finest. Rest in peace, Mamão.
What a jazz-funk gem this is! From the Henryk Debich Bandcamp site: Despite the ongoing pandemic, the past year was very successful for the celebration of Henryk Debich’s 100th birthday anniversary. The master’s albums: Zbliżenie [Astigmatic Records] and Horyzonty [GAD Records] turned out to be a huge success, bringing great reviews and attracting huge interest. The continuation of the publishing series devoted to archival recordings was a bull’s eye. Jazz Funk from the communist time is still in demand. Astigmatic Records presented the works of Henryk Debich and the Lodz PRiTV Orchestra in the form of a seven-inch single “Monika…
Traditional Japanese instruments meet rare groove?? Yes, please! From Wamono’s Bandcamp site: Following the already classic Wamono A to Z trilogy, we are delighted to present an exceptional collection of jazz funk / rare groove tunes recorded in the mid-seventies at the Nippon Columbia studios by three giants of Japanese music: arranger Kiyoshi Yamaya, koto legend Toshiko Yonekawa and shakuhachi master Kifu Mitsuhashi. The album is slated for release on January 28, 2022.
The London-based record label Far Out Recordings is killing me a little these days! I was honored to receive tracks from Alex Malheiros’ new album, and I’m pretty sure I’ll be picking it up on disc, but I loathe having to wait too long such treasures to come out. Still, an album of this magnitude is worth the wait, trust me. November 21st will come quickly, judging by how fast 2021 has blown by. For those of you who know something about Brazilian jazz, especially of the fusion variety, Alex Malheiros is not going to need any introduction. For those…
This is one of the coolest archival recordings I’ve come across in some time! Serbian bassist Miša Blam (Serbian bio only) is a name known to jazz aficionados because of his work with legends like Chet Baker and Sal Nistico, but this album is a minor disco classic. A lot of jazz-funk was popular throughout Yugoslavia (think of musicians like Igor Savin, Josipa Lisac and the legendary Janko Nilović), but this album was limited to 1,000 copies. Everland Music has preserved a classic of the genre, and are owed a debt of thanks for this re-release.
I had no idea what to expect with this album except that it was promoted by Carbon 7 record label impresario and former Univers Zéro bassist Guy Segers. His taste tends to be outstanding, so I gave this a shot. Quite pleasant, actually. Dominique Figaro’s voice reminds me of a lot of 80s female avant-pop which was coming out in the 1980s or 1990s, and though the sound is a bit too compressed for my liking, the music is quirky enough to hold my attention throughout. It is as if Sade fronted Tuxedomoon for a session. Yes, that quirky, and…