• Music

    Various Artists – Pierre Barouh and the Saravah Sound

    July 22, 2022 - By 

    As I’ve been stewing over this release for well over a month now, it’s exciting to finally announce that today, this scorching compilation is finally available on vinyl and download from our friends at WeWantSounds.  In fact, the only depressing thing about this gem is that I can’t hear it on vinyl yet as I’m currently in Belgrade, Serbia, waiting to see where I move to next before settling down back in the Czech Republic. Normally, I’ll either place my own personal thoughts about a music, or use clippings from a press release, but the Saravah story needs a bit…

  • Music

    Hermeto Pascoal & Grupo – Só Não Toca Quem Não quer (1987) – Remastered

    July 14, 2022 - By 

    Brazil’s finest living export (to my ears, anyway) has been quite active over the past few years, but it’s nice to see some forgotten releases getting some exposure. The personnel on this album plays some wonderfully, uniquely Brazilian fusion. Hermeto Pascoal: Bandola, Piano, Teclados (Keyboard), Flugelhorn, Harmonium, Flauta Baixo (Bass Flute), Craviola, Acordeom (Accordion), Bombardino, Clavinet, Piano CP-80 Jovino Santos Neto: Piano, Flauta (Flute), Piccolo, Harmonium, Piano Rhodes Itiberê Zwarg: Baixo (Bass), Tuba Carlos Malta: Flauta (Flute), Piccolo, Sax Soprano, Sax Tenor, Sax Alto, Sax Baritone Marcio Bahia: Bateria (Drums), Percussão (Percussion) Pernambuco: Percussão (Percussion)

  • Music

    Vadim Neselovskyi – Odesa: A Musical Walk Through a Legendary City

    June 30, 2022 - By 

    Odessa is a city that both Ukraine and Russia, as well as its many Jewish and even Tatar inhabitants, claim to be its own.  Never mind the political hideousness of today, and let me present you with one of the most fascinating releases I’ve heard in contemporary classical and jazz scenes. Vadim Neselovskyi is a pianist who hails from Ukraine, and has collaborated with giants such as Gary Burton, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and John Scofield, among others.  This paean to the city of his birth is a magnificent blend of modern classical music and the sort of jazz which…

  • Music

    Samo Salamon, Arild Andersen & Ra Kalam Bob Moses – Pure and Simple

    June 21, 2022 - By 

    This is some fine jazz improv.  The trio of a friend to this blog, guitarist Samo Salamon, working alongside bassist and ECM Records legend Arild Andersen and Ra Kalam Bob Moses, and this group have an incredible way of flowing with each other’s vibes. Samo, of course, absolutely shreds on this album, and Arlid serves as one of the best anchors in the history of jazz, but for me, the one stealing the show is the utterly mad percussion of Ra Kalam Bob Moses, who gives this album a frantic heartbeat.

  • Music

    Jerzy Milian – Optima Fide

    May 17, 2022 - By 

    Jerzy Milian is one of the most important jazz musicians to ever come out of Poland.  In this rather expensive album, he is collaborating with the BRT Radio (now VRT Radio) Orchestra during the late 1960s.  The release showcases Milian’s vibraphone talents, but also shows how multi-faceted his music was, incorporating beat, rock and soundtrack music into his oeuvre.

  • Music

    Amancio D’Silva – Konkan Dance

    May 10, 2022 - By 

    A pleasant surprise comes from Australian record label The Round Table.  Amancio D’Silva was a musician based out of India who mixed traditional music from his homeland with modal jazz, and the results are stunning.  From the label’s Bandcamp site: “Also recorded in 1972 although not released at the time was Konkan Dance, an unofficial sequel to Dream Sequence that further explored the unchartered possibilities of an Indian music-jazz fusion. Featuring many of the same personnel, this session also included support from Don Rendell and Alan Branscombe, two giants of the UK jazz scene who add serious credentials to D’Silva’s singular…

  • Music

    Amine Mesnaoui & Labelle – African Prayers

    April 29, 2022 - By 

    What a strangely beautiful album… From the duo’s Bandcamp site: Berlin and Reunion based duo, Amine Mesnaoui and Labelle are set to release their debut album on revered London independent imprint Lo Recordings on the 1st of April 2022. ‘African Prayers’ is a collection of seven new compositions, which includes lead single ‘Bleu Noir’, that aims to bring a contemporary and fresh interpretation to the Lila Ritual of the Moroccan Gnawa masters – also known as the Ritual of the Seven Colors. With a firm belief they can deliver a sound that finds its anchor in heritage and yet escape…