• Music

    Kristo Rodzevski – Black Earth

    November 8, 2023 - By 

    Here is something rather magnificent coming out of Macedonia in the form of Kristo Rodzevski’s latest album through Defkaz, a great Greek label.  There is hope for the Balkans yet!  From the Defkaz Bandcamp site: “Black Earth has eleven traditional Macedonian songs infused with African aesthetics, including Gnawa undertones, Congo rumba, and African field recordings. The core of the traditional Macedonian harmonies and rhythms was developed over the centuries from the Ancient Greek and Roman Empire’s lyricism, Byzantium’s chants, and the Ottoman Empire’s classical music progressions, by way of multiple migrations, storytelling, wars, myths, tribalism, reconciliations, etc.) In a nutshell,…

  • Music

    Luther Thomas Human Arts Ensemble – Funky Donkey Vol. 1

    October 18, 2023 - By 

    Yet another vinyl masterpiece, reissued to perfection, comes to us from Wewantsounds.  This gem features a big player in the St. Louis jazz scene, Luther Thomas.  From the label’s press release: “A gang reunion, an effort of revitalization, a headbangers’ blowout, a legendary “lost” recording, a snapshot of its time, prophetic of sounds to come – Funky Donkey is all those things, but worth attention most ’cause after 50 years it’s still fun to hear. Alto saxophonist-ringleader Luther Thomas and his St. Louis cohort comprising the Human Arts Ensemble live large on this album, conveying as if right now the…

  • Music

    The Modern Jazz & Folk Ensemble – I’ve Got A Feeling (feat. Jacqui McShee)

    October 15, 2023 - By 

    Sean Khan has a sterling reputation working with jazz legends like Hermeto Pascoal, but the fact that he is pairing with Pentangle chanteuse Jacqui McShee makes this single from Acid Jazz Records crucial listening.  From the release’s Bandcamp site: “Earlier this year we announced The Modern Folk & Jazz Ensemble, led by saxophonist Sean Khan. Ahead of a special appearance at the London Jazz Festival on 16 November, we are releasing their first single ‘I’ve Got A Feeling’ on all digital platforms on 11 October. We’re very excited to be working with Sean on this project – one of our…

  • Music

    Perry Robinson / Wacław Zimpel / Michael Zerang / Raphael Rogiński – Yemen – Music Of The Yemenite Jews

    September 16, 2023 - By 

    Thanks to a translation of the Polish on the release’s Bandcamp site, this project was originally prepared as a special project of the 5th Tzadik Poznań Festival. It was also performed there for the first time. In the beautiful walls of the Renaissance Górka Palace, where one of the five stages of the festival was located, a quartet composed of important figures of contemporary improvised music presented an original interpretation of Yemenite music. From the Bandcamp site: “Raphael Rogiński, one of the originators of the project, talks about this tradition: “This culture had a huge impact on modern Israel. Contrary…

  • Music

    Yussef Dayes – Black Classical Music

    September 13, 2023 - By 

    Over the past 10 years or so, something incredible has been happening in London.  Jazz has come back into fashion, and has taken in influences from all over, be it hip hop or world music.  Yussef Dayes is, arguably, the leading light in this Nu Jazz movement.  This is his debut album after scores of incredible singles and remixes, and so far, the album is living up to the hype.

  • Music

    Gianni Marchetti – Milano: Il Clan Dei Calabresi

    August 31, 2023 - By 

    Thanks to killer reissue labels like Four Flies Records out of Italy, we can experience the easy/cheesy listening sounds of 1970s Italian movie soundtracks.  From the label’s Bandcamp site: “Four Flies’ 45s series continues to pay tribute to the golden age of Italian film music, this time with the first 7-inch release ever of two super-groovy themes from Gianni Marchetti’s soundtrack to Milano: Il Clan dei Calabresi (known in English as ‘The Last Desperate Hours’), a 1974 poliziottesco film directed by Giorgio Stegani. “M2”, on side A, is a re-versioning of a timeless classic – Quincy Jones’ “Ironside” theme –…

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    Jorge López Ruiz – Un Hombre de Buenos Aires

    August 24, 2023 - By 

    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…

  • Music

    Szilárd Mezei Trio – Ink​á​bb (Rather)

    July 26, 2023 - By 

    Serbian-Hungarian multi-instrumentalist and composer Szilárd Mezei is perhaps the most adventurous musician coming out of Hungary these days, and that’s saying a lot, considering the great quality of improvisers who have come from that country (think of the legendary A.E. Bizottság, for example).  This is a trio album from 2008 where he plays viola while Ernő Hock handles the double bass and István Csík plays drums.  Unique.