Because I will be on the road for the next few days, I will have to prepare a couple of posts ahead of time until around Thursday or Friday, when I should be settled again in Beijing. In the meantime, practice your Spanish by listening to one of Spain’s coolest podcasts, La Montaña Rusa.
The ever-magnificent Wewantsounds have produced another vinyl masterpiece! They have released, for the first time, Harold Land’s classic LP ‘Damisi,’ recorded in Los Angeles for Bob Shad’s Mainstream Records and released in 1972. It’s a superb mix of Funk and modal Jazz and the vinyl edition features newly remastered audio and a 2-page insert including new liner notes by Kevin Le Gendre. For more information on the release, click here to see the promo sheet. You can click here to purchase the album on the label’s Bandcamp site. It’s due out on May 26, 2023, so pre-order now. …
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.
Kalia Vandever is a New York- based trombonist whose playing is about as elegant as anything I’ve heard in a while. From her Bandcamp site: “We Fell In Turn is the solo debut from Brooklyn-based trombonist, composer, and quartet leader Kalia Vandever. Vandever, who plays with Harry Styles and Japanese Breakfast, “sculpts her trombone’s golden tones into dazzling compositions” (Pitchfork), writing music that tends to “dip you into a feeling or a pattern or a breathing speed, and keep you there” (The New York Times). In 2022, Vandever released Regrowth, an album that “features the ecstatic, brilliant melodies that…
I haven’t had a chance to review anything from Indonesia in some time, so it gives me pleasure to introduce you to a band called the Batavia Collective. Their sound is a great balance of jazz, fusion and electronica. One track only, but it’s a solid one.
Antti Lötjönen is a new name for me. A bassist from Finland, his band absolutely swings and bops. Perhaps it’s best to let him describe his latest album, Circus/Citadel, here on his Bandcamp site: “Antti Lötjönen says: “These compositions vary in terms of form and density, with each player having enough room to re-invent and expand on the music within the pieces. I wrote this music over a relatively brief time span. This, I think, is something you can also hear on the album, as the temporal closeness of the ideas brings with it a certain kind of unity. The…
I have to give full credit to legendary multi-instrumentalist Arkady Shilkloper for making mention of Yury Markin’s album on his Facebook feed on which he appears. I’m familiar with how solid the Russian jazz/experimental record label Fancy Music is, and this latest release does not disappoint. From the label’s Bandcamp site: “Yury Markin is one of the leading Russian composers and jazz pianists, a student of the famous composer Rodion Shchedrin. The double album, coming out in the year of the 75th anniversary of the master, is truly historic. It presents large pieces, displaying the work of Yury Markin in…
We have the joy of announcing another well-done reissue by our friends at Wewantsounds! This release is an expanded reissue of Lalo Schifrin’s soundtrack to director Frank Perry’s 1974 thriller, “Man On A Swing.” There are thirty tracks on this piece of vinyl, and you’ll hear everything from Schifrin’s typically sublime scoring, mixing jazz, Bossa Nova, and groove as well as library music. The music is remastered from the original three-track masters and sounds incredibly punchy. Track List: Side 1 1. Maggie’s Theme 1 0.25 2. Juke Box Source 1.40 3. Evelyn Story 1.42 4. Beetle Search* 0.13 5. Rosehaven…
I’ve had the pleasure of hearing Marc Méan’s previous works while working on my old blog, but this one just came across my radar, and it is absolutely shimmering (no pun intended, as Shimmering Records is his label for this release). This will appeal greatly to those who enjoy the work of Lubomyr Melchik and Philip Glass, especially the cinematic feel of the second track. It was impressive to read that he also had a background in free jazz and psychedelic rock, which gives him a wide palette to work from. Smooth, gentle and engaging listening.
American pianist and psychiatrist Denny Zeitlin has a body of work that is second to none, including winning several jazz awards and scoring films like Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but this album was hidden away at Zeitlin’s insistence, which is a shame, as it blends avant-jazz, funk, rock and some works that would feel comfortably familiar to fans of Frank Zappa. It’s a weird, but rewarding, disc, and it’s such a treat to see that Zeitlin finally relented to its release.