Yearly Archives: 2007

Benedic Lamdin keeps the pressure on with yet another exquisite release under the guise of The Nostalgia 77 Octet. Again this is deep jazz of the highest order and features outstanding moments such as the funked up ‘Journey Home’, ‘Chola’, a stunning waltz and the modal ‘Stars’ fronted by vocalist Sophie Smith. Sophie also graces ‘One Step Out’ and ‘To Have Or To Be?’, two spiritual outings. Not to be overlooked though are the gentle meanderings of ‘Medusa’ and ‘When Love Is Strange’.

Andy Allen

Fresh for Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood label is the stunning debut long player from Jose James. Jose possesses a distinctive smoky quality to his voice which sits perfectly on this 10 track selection of largely down-tempo jazz works. ‘The Dreamer’ which initially appeared on ‘Brownswood Bubblers Vol. 1’ is present and correct along with the original mix of ‘Blackeyed Susan’. Other highlights include ‘Love’, a slightly funkier outing with a live, almost drum ‘n’ bass rhythm and an inspired version of ‘Nola’ originally performed by Bill Lee and Ronnie Dyson on the Spike Lee movie soundtrack ‘She’s Gotta Have It’. Touch down anywhere on this album though and you won’t be disappointed. If I had to make one slight criticism it would be that ‘Equinox’ and ‘Resolution’ from the limited edition 10" haven’t made it on to the set.

Andy Allen

There’s no denying that Jill Scott is one of the most significant artists to have emerged in the past decade but since her classic debut ‘Who Is Jill Scott?’ she has never quite captured the same sense of magic. That’s not to say her subsequent releases haven’t featured some great moments, they have and ‘The Real Thing’ is no different. ‘Let It Be’ and ‘Only You’ are strong cuts on a funky mid-tempo tip but my personal favourites here are the rich down-tempo arrangements of ‘Insomnia’ and ‘My Love’. Well worth investigating for these tracks alone.

Andy Allen

Originally released in very small quantities on the private Numu Numu label in 1981 ‘Fearless Warriors’ was the debut recording by Life Force, an Atlanta based group founded by Joe Jennings and Howard Nicholson. Thanks to Sonorama this spiritual jazz-fusion rarity now gets a welcome reissue. The set sits somewhere between Pharoah Sanders and Jeff Lorber’s early material and features the solid mid-tempo grooves ‘Wow’, ‘Sister Bea’ and the brilliant title track plus the bright and breezy ‘To Pharaoh With Love’, an awesome jazz dancer which should find favour at nights such as Messin’ Around and The Jazz Rooms.

Andy Allen

Compiled by Jazzanova and Erik Ott ‘Nueva Vision’ shines the spotlight on Cuba’s EGREM/Areito label between 1971 and 1989. Across 17 tracks it covers a variety of styles including jazz dance delights such as Chucho Valdes’ ‘Triton’ and ‘La Sombra’, the latter of which has an air of Bossa Tres’ ‘Imprevisto’ about it, mellow jazz-fusion with Emiliano Salvador’s ‘Angelica’ and Orchestra LA 440’s ‘Y No Me Ire’ and full on Jazz-funk in the shape of Ricardo Eddy Martinez y Expreso Ritmico’s ‘Mi Conga es laque es’. Psychedelic folk-funk is represented by Grupo Tema IV who serve up ‘Tema 4’ and ‘Yayabo’ and there’s also the superb 2-step soul cut ‘De tu amorme enamore’ from Yo, tu, el y ella. Also available is a 6 track 12" for the vinyl junkies.

Andy Allen

Re-issue of two CDs originally issued in 1968 (Vol 1) and 1979 (Vol 2) with tabla player Pandit Jnan Prakash Ghosh the inspiration and motivation behind the project. CD one has 10 tracks which looks at different drums in turn starting with the Pakhawaj which is played against the background of a tabla ensemble, other drums featured include khol, mridangam and dholak. CD two starts with a talba ensemble piece and then features drums from different parts of India including Dhak, Sree Khole and Tasha. Guests include Anindya Chatterjee, Sanjay Mukherjee, Ustad Bafati Kan and Anup Parsad & Party. Excellent.

Graham Radley

Double CD of some of shenai master Bismillah Khan’s most important recordings between 1959 and 1989. The first CD is “with Party” whilst the second has two tracks from the 1959 film “Goonj Uthi Shehnai” plus some collaborative work with V.G.Jog and with Vilayat Khan. Superb, Indian classical music at its finest.

Graham Radley

11 remixes of 7 tracks opening well with Yossi Fine’s dubby 3rd Bass Remix of ‘Ma Hine Cocore’. The tracks all let the original shine through but take them in very different directions- so the purists likely to be up in arms but that’s their loss. My two favourites are DJ Center’s funky jazz take on ‘Sangare’ and Nickodemus’s afro funk take on the same track. Adventurously good.

Graham Radley

To celebrate one of the world’s finest musicians as he approaches his 80th birthday, next year, Network put together this 2 CD package of old and new. Djivan Gasparyan gave his first public performance on the duduk (Armenian flute which was mainly played by shepherds) 60 years ago, He has gone on to tour the world , play on many film soundtracks (Gladiator etc) and win many awards including the Womex Lifetime Achievement Award. There are several exclusive new recordings here but I think my pick would have to be the 2005 recording with Michael Brook featuring Djivan plus Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan – pure magic.

Graham Radley

Another terrific new young band rooted in tradition but exploring the future with equal enthusiasm. Songs by Karine Polwart (thaney) and Ar Williams (Fishing In The Morning) sit alongside material sourced in Scotland, Cape Breton, Ireland and Galicia. Very good.

Graham Radley

The title is the Arabic translation of the word ‘metaphor’ with the brothers this time joined by percussionist Yousef Hbeisch. Terrific at this year’s Womad and developing all the time, weaving intricate improvisations around traditional music, from their Palestinian homeland. Superb musicians and CD.

Graham Radley

Fourteen cuts tracking vibes and differing yet collective sounds have set an overall tone quite distinctly British, yet fittingly encompasses of these individual acts hereditary roots; spanning genres of jazz, reggae, gospel, Afro, funk, drum & bass, soul and so much in between. This long awaited follow up (the label’s this LP) showcases the talented troupe of DJ’s, vocalists, MC’s and producers birthed out of the now 6 year old club night: Broadcite Basement Sessions. An air of political incorrectness is broached on the smoothly inspirational but almost flippant flow of Leon Williams featured on the Ceramic (aka DJ Magic) produced hi hat sparked and rolling sythn patterned broken track. His big bass line track ‘Body Shock’ bounces and jumps up with masses of hi hats and drum kit loops, a huge puller for club floors. Magic’s third contribution ‘Feel The Rush’ ably assisted by the blued-eyed Black man Colonel Red is an intelligent broken creation. ‘That Touch’ (Tempo) hints at seedy bedroom talk with blended minimalist tech house. Contrastingly, Soundbwoy Killer gets tech-twisted with a slightly darker dub element set off by lashing beats and a suitable MC vox sample. Method Unique’s bashement club rhythms and popular key synths of ‘Superstar’ could easily make the UK Top Ten chart. Should that prove to be hampering for anyone’s underground charismatic style, two class offerings from up and coming young bucks called Souled; a jazzy tech beat laden ‘What Reason Do I Have To Go Back’ or the vocally energised soulful house offering ‘Waiting’ featuring Incognito’s Joy Rose are guaranteed to please any discerner of the good groove. Speaking of which, Altered Natives assembly of techy effect inserts, some inspired booming beats and the odd, unmistakable grunts from the late James Brown on ‘Tribute’ rounds up this session, that is insightful, inclusive, brimming gloriously with optimism and quality (except for a couple of tracks with unnecessary expletives) reflects a part of club land which is all about community, talent and contribution with soul feeling – the UK album market needs more projects like this.

Marcia Carr

It seems that some of us do have a heart that goes beyond living for the music, or the money to be made from it. This is great, particularly regarding the meaning, thoughts and intent on releasing this digital only album – thanks to the vision of Hiro Ishioka, KSS’s A & R man also behind the recent success of instalment 2 of Toyko Calling series. Full of poignancy; lyrics flow with sincerity that is undeniably driven by an innate faith as demonstrated on Diviniti’s soul electro stacked ‘The Reason’. As is Kenny Bobien’s inspirational and emotive falsetto signature mark that makes sound the basic of the original hymn ‘Let Us Adore Him (Come O Ye Faithful)’, adding a sense of meaning so strong even this MP3 generation can get to grips and fall in love with it. Equally gorgeous and made for those deeper house dance floor gatherings is the instrumental percussion consortium of ‘Silent Night’ – so well produced by industry house keyboardist Eric Kupper, it’s never sounded so fresh. Sparkling and glittering not only to set disco lights off all over the place, but made with the season in mind – to be cheerful, as the Afro rhythms and jamboree come alive in piano playfulness on Jihad Muhammad’s ‘It’s Holiday Time’. Noticeably, there tracks that might only get airtime during the holidays, whereas some have been so cleverly crafted and worded it won’t matter what day or time they’re played. That said, with so many stand out tracks including those of DJ Spen, Joi Cardwell, two vocal offerings from Chris Bran aka Ananda Project and the opening from Stephanie Cooke reminding us why and what we get into spirit of it all for; Jesus, family and peace. We can all indeed be spoilt for choice; Christmas can be in the house all year round.

Marcia Carr

A few months back, when I was listening heavily to the Basement Soul compilation, a song that really stood out for me was “Dancing” by Electric Conversation. Unfamiliar with the group, I did some research. I discovered they’re from France and releasing their debut very soon. I also found that they’re on the Futuristica label created by Simon S of Break Reform. This was clearly a sign of good things to come since damn near everything coming out on Futuristica has been pure heat. With enormous hype already built up for this disc, was I setting myself up for a letdown? Absolutely not! “Communication” is the rare disc that just gets better with each track. Electric Conversation has crafted an excellent collection of soulful hip-hop infused songs that just melt your heart. The title track “Communication” has all the ingredients of hot buttered organic soul. “Vibe Change” provides more of the same as vocalist K-Ro sings lead while Oz provides the vocals on the chorus. Both songs provide that cosmic soul vibe. What’s great here is that E.C. have managed to create soulful electronic music that is warm and intoxicating. In addition, fellow members of the Futuristica family like Deborah Jordan and Rep Life stop by to bless the disc as well. Everyone should know Deborah from “Silhouette Brown”. Her gorgeous vocals on “In My Mind” take the song to another level. Rep Life lends his superb rhyming skills to the song “Cosmos”. Now there a couple of songs spoken in French but the music is so undeniably good that it hardly matters. You’ll find yourself nodding to it anyway. Hands down if you’re a fan of futuristic soul with a touch of hip-hop and Electronica, you need this in your collection. A must have.

Reg Dancy

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If you’re like me, you look back at the mid-nineties as the golden age of hip-hop. This was a time where the music was at it’s creative peak. There was such diversity that even the groups you didn’t like, at least you respected them for what they brought to the table. When I listened to the Washington D.C. based duo Panacea’s latest cd, it reminded me of the early days of the Native Tongues when they regularly put out quality work. The aptly named “The Scenic Route” their third disc, is a blissful ride of soulful grooves from start to finish. Producer Kyle Murdock does a masterful job of fusing jazz with funk and soul atmospheres. While Jason Moore takes the music to another level with his thought provoking and witty rhymes. On the track “Pops Said”, Jason kicks rhymes of the some of the advice his pops imparted on him. “Square 1” is another banger that will have your heading nodding for sure. Raheem DeVaughn stops by to assist on “Flashback to Stardom”. Raheem’s falsetto fits in perfectly between Kyle Murdock’s beat and Jason’s Rhymes. “Katana” is has a lazy laidback groove accompanied by a soothing rhythm guitar throughout. Jason spits a rhyme about a girl that stays on his mind. “Drop me a line, you’re all in my mind”. Kyle has created a sound that is soulful and euphoric. I can’t get enough of listening to this disc. The kind of hip-hop that springs positive vibes and takes your mind to other places. Having enjoyed their last release “Ink Is My Drink”, I’m simply loving the “Scenic Route” I know you will too. Highly recommended.

Reg Dancy

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