Though there are only two tracks currently available to listen to on this album, Frukstrakt, a new ethno-jazz album by Polish bassist Michał Aftyka and his quintet is as cool as anything ECM Records has released that would qualify as Nordic jazz.
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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.
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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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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…
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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.
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Another dear friend of the blog, Samo Salamon from Slovenia, brings along a few friends for a well-done, gorgeously recorded improvisational album. Joining Salamon on this disc are Emanuele Parrini on violin and Vasco Trilla on drums and percussion. From Samo’s Bandcamp site: “A great improvising trio session of three fantastic improvisers from three different European countries. Samo Salamon (Slovenia) has this time played exclusively acoustic guitars – 6 and 12-string string. Especially the 12-string guitar is a hugely underrated instrument in the improvising context. Naturally, names such as Ralph Towner or Marc Ducret come to mind, but still Salamon…
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Soghomon Soghomonian, the priest, ethnomusicologist and arranger who would be later known to millions of Armenian music aficionados as Komitas (Vardapet), is a figure who looms large in the history of the country’s music scene. Avant-garde pianist Lucy Khanyan does great justice to some of the works of Komitas, interpreting them in more of a jazz setting which sounds completely natural.