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Two Banks Of Four: Junkyard Gods [Sonar Kollektiv]
Rob Gallagher (Earl Zinger/Galliano), Dillip Harris (Demus) and the crew are back with their third album as Two Banks Of Four. As with previous releases ‘Junkyard Gods’ fuses deep jazz sensibilities with modern production techniques to create a twisted yet beautiful soundscape. Valerie Etienne is on hand to provide her gorgeous vocal tones on delights such as ‘Queen Of Crows’, the spiritual ‘Shadowlands’ and the waltz ‘Dead Afternoon’. With other strong moments including ‘Go’ and ‘Flags & Words’ this makes for an unmissable and innovative album.
Carmen Lundy: Come Home [Afrasia]
Following her recent guest appearance on Quasimode’s ‘The Land Of Freedom’ the great jazz vocalist Carmen Lundy is back with her ninth album to date. ‘Come Home’ is a stunning collection of, other than a version of ‘Nature Boy’, original compositions and features players of the caliber of Geri Allen on keys, percussionist Mayra Casales and of course her brother Curtis Lundy on bass. From the opening magical moments of ‘Lost In San Rafael’ Ms Lundy takes you on a journey of emotions with dancers such as ‘Gossip’, the uplifting title track and funky Fender Rhodes workouts on ‘Lil’ Lu’ through to brooding numbers such as ‘My Wedding Vow’. A new Carmen Lundy release is always something to behold and ‘Come Home’ is certainly no different!
Vladimir Cetkar: We Will Never End [Vladimir Cetkar]
Macedonian native and New York resident, Vladimir Cedkar is a guitarist, vocalist, composer, arranger and producer whose debut studio album ‘We Will Never End’ is pure class. He cites George Benson and Earth Wind & Fire amongst his influences and it shines through the up-tempo feel-good grooves ‘All For You’, ‘Born For The Screen’ plus the string laced jazz-funk cuts ‘The Open Space’ and the title track. How this guy hasn’t been picked up by a major label I’ll never know!
Erykah Badu: New Amerykah Part One (4th World War) [Motown]
After wetting our appetite with the brilliant single ‘Honey’ Erykah Badu’s much anticipated 4th studio album is finally here. Ms Badu’s music has always been innovative and on ‘New Amerykah’ she pushes the neo soul boundaries further with the help of The Sa-Ra Creative Partners, Madlib, 9th Wonder (Little Brother) and James Poyser on production duties. The set opens with ‘Amerykahn Promise’ which is essentially Erykah’s remix/replay of Ramp’s ‘The American Promise’ and ends with ‘Honey’, included here as a bonus track. In between we’re treated to killer tracks such as ‘Soldier’ and ‘Master Teacher’, two low slung bumpers, the Roy Ayers influenced ‘The Cell’, ‘Me’, a dreamy cut with subtle trumpet undercurrents from Roy Hargrove and the gorgeous ‘Telephone’. ‘New Amerykah Pt.2’ is due later this year!
Various Artists: Neu Jazz [Sonar Kollektiv]
To pinpoint the essence of any musical genre is always difficult and in the case of nu jazz it’s pointless even trying when Jazzanova have done it so well on this compilation. ‘Neu Jazz’ includes some of the best tracks of recent times from some of the scene’s leading players such as Dalindeo’s ‘Solifer Lento’, ‘Wind’ from Sleep Walker featuring Yukimi Nagano, Soulstance’s ‘Lead The Way’, ‘Carrousel’ by Hipnosis and ‘Last Nine Days’ from Quasimode. There’s also some tasty exclusives in the shape of ‘Queen Of Crows’ from the forthcoming Two Banks Of Four album and Jazzanova’s own ‘That Night’ featuring Bembe Segue, which is a new version of a track they originally recorded with Vikter Duplaix and later with Clara Hill on their Belle Et Fou project. Plus there’s ‘Simple Timeless’ by Fertile Ground which I was unfamiliar with but is apparently from a Chico Hamilton tribute compilation.
Natalie Gardiner: California [Ramjac]
Natalie Gardiner returns with the follow up to her 2004 self-titled debut set. Overall ‘California’ is a more accomplished album and features eleven down-tempo soul tracks which showcase Natalie’s smoky vocals to great effect. The acoustic ‘Bittersweet’, ‘Summer Rain’ and the jazzy ‘Let’s Not Worry About Tomorrow’ work particularly well and are beautiful in their simplicity.
Brownout: Homenaje [Freestyle Records]
‘Homenaje’ is the debut album from the Austin, Texas based eight piece band Brownout. Their sound is most definitely rooted in funk but with plenty of Latin and Afro-beat influences thrown in for good measure. The majority of the tracks here are aimed directly at the dance-floor but my personal favourites are the mellower cuts particularly the string laced psychedelic soul of ‘Brown Wind And Fire’.
The Super-Phonics: Interstellar [Freestyle Records]
The cream of the UK’s soul and funk musicians, most notably Snowboy, Jean Paul ‘Bluey’ Maunick and Jan Kincaid and Simon Bartholomew of The Brand New Heavies, have joined forces to create The Super-Phonics. ‘Interstellar’ opens with the appropriately titled ‘P.A.R.T.Y’ which perfectly sums up this set of feel-good disco/boogie cuts. There’s really not a bad track throughout but pay special attention to the Chic influenced ‘Dial L For Love’, ‘Better Try And See’ and a great version of Linda Williams’ classic ‘Elevate Our Minds’. If you like Joey Negro’s The Sunburst Band then this is for you.
Robert Owens: Night-time Stories [Compost Records]
Since the early days of house music Robert Owens has been an ever present force and his distinctive vocals have graced some of the genre’s most defining moments. His latest full length project is packed with deep house delights and features quality productions from the likes of Jimpster "Inside My World", Simbad "New World", Wahoo "Happy" and Atjazz "Now I Know". Quite simply, house music doesn’t get any better than this!
Atjazz: Full Circle [Mantis Recordings]
Martin Iveson AKA Atjazz has always been right on point with his productions and ‘Full Circle’ is no different. Released on his own Mantis label it combines elements of deep house, broken-beat and digital soul and features a variety of guest vocalists including Robert Owens and Ernesto. There’s also Vancouver’s finest Amalia who graces the head-nodder ‘One’, Mr J of Phuturistix who appears on ‘Together’, Dawne B on the techy ‘Parralels’, Clara Hill on the bass heavy groove ‘Before’ and Sarah Jane Morris who fronts the feel-good vibe of ‘Fantasy’, all of which are nothing short of brilliant. Do not miss this one!
Confection: Confection [Soulchoonz]
Australian duo Confection (Josh Beagley and Juanita Tippins) follow up their debut single with a very tasty long player. Although this is all brand new material you’d swear it was a long lost soul set from around 1984. Both ‘Fantasisin’’, a killer down-tempo groove very much in the vein of Juicy’s classic ‘Sugar Free’ and the mid-tempo boogie outing ‘I Choose You’ from the 12” are present plus other boogie bombs in the shape of ‘I’ve Gotta Thing (4U)’ and ‘You Got The Love’. If you’re a fan of Paul Laurence, Lillo Thomas, Kashif etc then you’re going to love this album.
Anne Wirz: Infini [Heavenly Sweetness]
‘Infini’ is the debut album from Parisian based jazz vocalist Anne Wirz. She’s backed in the main by a trio (piano/Fender Rhodes, bass and drums) on this largely self penned set, much of which is sung in French. For me though it’s the covers which she excels on such as Sathima Bea Benjamin’s ‘Music’ and her amazing interpretations of ‘Maiden Voyage’ and the Carlos Garnett/Norman Connors jazz-dance classic ‘Mother Of The Future’.
The John Betsch Society: Earth Blossom [Heavenly Sweetness]
‘Earth Blossom’ from drummer/percussionist John Betsch is one of the rarer releases on Strata-East but thankfully Heavenly Sweetness have picked it up for reissue. Originally released in 1974 this is a beautiful example of spiritual jazz and features the haunting title track plus the percussive masterpiece ‘Ode To Ethiopia’ which has long been in demand.
Herbie Hancock: River: The Joni Letters [Verve]
For his latest project Herbie delves into the Joni Mitchell songbook. With a band including Wayne Shorter and vocal performances from Norah Jones (‘Court And Spark’), Corinne Bailey Rae (‘River’), Leonard Cohen (‘The Jungle Line’) and Joni herself (‘Tea Leaf Prophecy’) this makes for a pleasant listening experience and could well see some airplay on the likes of BBC Radio 2. The real standout here though is a version of one of my all time favourite Joni tracks, ‘Edith And The Kingpin’ featuring Tina Turner. I can’t say I’ve ever been a huge fan of Ms Turner but here her vocals are more restrained than usual yet retain those wonderful earthy tones which sit perfectly on this glorious laid back jazz interpretation.
Phuturistix: Breathe Some Light [Phuture Lounge Records]
It’s been almost two years since ‘Cohiba’ dropped but finally the full length album is here and it’s been well worth the wait. Both ‘Cohiba’ and ‘In The Sun’ from the 12" are present plus another twelve quality broken-soul excursions. It kicks off with a killer cosmic funk intro entitled ‘Let There Be Love’ featuring a distinctive spoken word performance from Chris Jam, before moving into the flute laced ‘Everyday’ and ‘Breathe Some Light’, a great collaboration with Atjazz. With other solid moments such as ‘Eager For The Years’ featuring Michelle Amador, ‘Afrodisiosity’ with Fyza, ‘Hurt Ya Twice’ and the two Oezlem fronted tracks, ‘More Than The Eye Can See’ and ‘Women Of The Night’ this is one album you can’t afford to miss!