Gilles delves into the Impulse archives and surfaces with a fine and varied selection. On the spiritual tip there’s Pharoah Sanders’ ‘Hum-Allah-Hum-Allah-Hum-Allah’ with vocalist Leon Thomas, Michael White’s ‘The Blessing Song’ from his 1972 ‘Pnuema’ album, the Abbey Lincoln fronted ‘Lonesome Lover’ by Max Roach and the inspirational ‘Wise One’ from John Coltrane. Art Blakey represents with the firing ‘Alamode’ and the quality continues with the likes of Oliver Nelson’s ‘Patterns’, ‘Three Flowers’, a gorgeous waltz by McCoy Tyner, Milt Jackson & Ray Brown’s dreamy ‘Enchanted Lady’ and the gentle bossa of ‘See You Later’ from Dave Mackay & Vicky Hamilton. And to top it all off, Yusef Lateef’s take of ‘First Gymnopedie’, one of the most beautiful pieces to have ever graced these ears.

Andy Allen

Produced by Ed Motta, Jazzinho’s sophomore set is another solid selection of Brazilian rhythms, incorporating elements of soul, funk and jazz along the way. Ed’s influence is apparent throughout and best savoured on the joyful opener, ‘The Lagoon Monster’, ‘Humano, Desumano’, ‘Maria Mulata’ and the awesome bass heavy groove of ‘Da Tempo ao Tempo’, which is also appears with a Nicola Conte rework.

Andy Allen

More quality Japanese jazz gear, this time from Indigo Jam Unit, who are essentially a trio with Yoshichika Tarue on piano, BJ (Katsuhiko Sasai) on bass and Isao Wasano and Kenichi Tateiwa alternating on drums. These guys can really swing which is evidenced on the sizzling ‘Palette’, the hypnotic ‘7th Feeling’ and the Latin tinged ‘Teardrop’. They are equally at home though on the slower material, ‘Snow’, a stunningly beautiful piece, being a good example. The standard of musicianship on show here is exceptional but you’ll have to be quick, as this is a seriously limited release.

Andy Allen

After impressing with their version of Tubby Hayes’ ‘Down In The Village’ for Raw Fusion, the Japanese jazz quartet now deliver their debut long player. The said cut is here along with the title track which also featured on that 12" plus ‘Ipe Amarelo’ and ‘1000 Days Of Spirit’ from their new single also out on Raw Fusion. Other tracks of note are the percussive ‘Skeleton Coast’, ‘Lucky Luciano’ which has a lovely Latin swing and the monster dancer ‘Giant Black Shadow’. The album is produced by Masato Komatsu aka Slowly, who has just released a version of Lesette Wilson’s ‘Caveman Boogie’ featuring Quasimode, which is also worthy of your attention.

Andy Allen

On their debut album Owusu & Hannibal serve up a platter of twisted down-tempo electro-soul. ‘Delirium’ and ‘What It’s About’ from the 12" are present but my advise is to check ‘Lonnie’s Secret’ which really draws you in after a couple of plays, the blissful ‘Elephants’ and the super slinky 80s influenced 2 stepper ‘Le Fox’.

Andy Allen

It’s with great anticipation that Vikter Duplaix returns. I’ve been a huge fan since Critical Point’s “Messages” and I had high hopes. One thing for sure, Duplaix has a wonderful voice, but “Bold & Beautiful” took me a little by surprise. I was expecting a mix up of styles, when in reality this is a more soulful, downbeat affair, except for “A Life Worth Living” and “I See The Sun”, with the latter finally seeing its official release. It’s two years since the bootleg surfaced, yet it still sounds good as ever. With expectations so high, I was expecting to be blown away, yet it’s a great album that will grow on you over time.

Simon Harrison

Red Astaire was the alias that kicked off the surge of re-edits and of course Gamm records. Some three years later the Red Astaire album is here. There is something commercial about “Soul Search” and given the right airplay, I’m certain it could go mainstream. Maybe Tru Thoughts is the label to give it the big promotional push. With good lyrics and beats with splatterings of soul, reggae and hip-hop, this could turn Cruger into a sought-after producer. Only time will tell.

Simon Harrison

Alex Cowen aka TM Juke returns with his second installment on Tru Thoughts. I’m pleased to say he has produced another corking track with Alice Russell -“So Good”. Other guests include Elmore Judd on the ace “Electric Chair”, Kinny on the quirky “Damn” and Sophie Faricy on the excellent single “Come Away”- you may have heard Sophie recently on the road with Bonobo. Instrumentals are covered and make sure you check out “Pencils for Dolphins”. Alex has done himself proud.

Simon Harrison

Voice has often been compared to Bahamadia, mainly due to their similar voices and I’m sure she won’t be dismissing that. Voice has recently featured on Marc Marc’s Visioneers and Zero dB albums, which is certainly diverse, and that pretty much sums up the feel to "Gumbo". Voice sounds ace, whether the beats are hip-hop, or broken, or in-between, but that could be due to the heavy weight producers involved i.e. Marc Mac, Moonstarr, Murr, Arch Typ and Alister Johnson. The lyrics are also a treat: witty and flowling wonderfully over the beats and basslines. Hip-hop producers should take note… this is the way forward!

Simon Harrison

Guru, an undisputed legend, is back with a new label, a new producer and a new album. And guests include Jean Grae, Talib Kweli and, amazingly, Cypress Hill’s B.Real! Only, something’s not quite right. Guru still possesses the trademark vocal skills with which he made his name, but these are lost here amongst the underpowered, synthetic and, sometimes, scarily poor production. Filling the boots of Gangstarr"s other half, the awesome DJ Premier, is clearly a Herculean task, but surely new boy Solar could have done better.

Tom Breslin