Here is a producer and DJ who’s been on the scene for many years pushing quality music in his city of Liege in Belgium. Counterpoint recognised such a great talent and wisely snapped up David’s debut. ‘Insight’ builds over the 70mins, as a DJ should build up a crowd, starting off with some Jazzy cuts, through mid tempo workouts, to house anthems ‘Move’ and ‘Hustle The Funk’. For the last 6 months I’ve been hammering to death the Broken Beat anthem ‘Mannequin Mankind’. Watching people dance to this mental track with devastating beats and basslines is pure entertainment. The ace Mark De Clive-Low remix of ‘Move’ is included if you missed out on the recent single but make sure you don’t miss out on this.

Simon Harrison

Most of you will remember Cecilia from Koop’s excellent "Baby" and "Waltz for Koop" but judging by this album, those two tracks are only the tip of the iceberg. Cecilia is based in Stockholm but has also lived in New York and in both cities she has quickly become a regular at the legendary jazzclubs. Here is proof yet again that Scandinavians are leading the way with 21st century jazz. With a total of nine tracks this is a wonderful journey through the acoustic jazz productions and Celcillia’s expressive vocals and lyrics. "Straight It Up" has been compared to some of the true greats of our scene and I cannot disagree. In fact it is so good that it would not look out of place on the excellent Ricky Tick Records, and fans should take note.

Simon Harrison

‘The Kings Of .’ series continues with this latest instalment delving into the world of jazz. The CD features 25 tracks spread across 2 discs. Disc 1, selected by Gilles Peterson, mainly concentrates on the 60s and 70s with nuggets such as Donald Byrd’s ‘Cristo Redentor’, John Coltrane’s ‘Equinox’ and Mark Murphy’s version of ‘My Favorite Things’. Other highlights include ‘Quiet Fire’ by drummer Roy Haynes, taken from his album ‘Thank You, Thank You’ (Galaxy 1977), Lee Konitz’ modal masterpiece ‘Five, Four And Three’ and the haunting ‘Moves’ from Charles Mingus which features Honey Gordon and Doug Hammond (Tribe Records) on vocals. The second disc is compiled by Jazzanova and shines the light on the new breed of jazz artists. Although I’m not convinced by the inclusion of United Future Organization’s ‘Loud Minority’, on the whole this is a great set. Opening with 4 Hero’s ‘Spirits In Transit’ and ending with the beautiful Jamie Lidell fronted ‘Everything’s Changed’ by The Matthew Herbert Big Band. In between we’re treated to music from The Five Corners Quintet, Two Banks Of Four, Soil & Pimp Sessions and Sleepwalker’s ‘Into The Sun’ featuring Bembe Segue. Bembe turns up again on a live version of ‘Mother Of The Future’ which is absolutely storming as is Jeffrey Smith’s take on ‘Afro Blue’. Also worthy of note are ‘Inner City Life’ by [re:jazz], Nikki O’s ‘Butterflies’ and the Nicola Conte version of Sunaga T Experience’s ‘No Rhyme No Reason’, which was previously only available on Japanese 12". The vinyl edition is split over 2 separate double packs and in total contains only 20 tracks.

Andy Allen

Is there no stopping these guys?! It was only last month I reviewed their ‘Crush!’ EP, and here they are again with a full length album, ‘Pimp Of The Year’. If you’ve been paying attention then you know the score, this is jazz with punk attitude. The set features ‘Summer Goddess’ and ‘Crush!’, the title tracks of their last 2 EPs along with goodies such as ‘Worldwide’ (a dedication to Gilles perhaps?!) and ‘Sahara’ with it’s stunning piano work. My particular favourites though are ‘Scoop Out’ which sounds like a 70s cop show theme, the feel good vibe of ‘Last Long’, a solid jazz-funk affair and track 8, a beautiful modal waltz. This track has a Japanese title and although on some web sites it’s translate as ‘Fragment’ from the ‘Summer Goddess’ EP it is not the same track.

Andy Allen

The wait is over! Marc Mac "better known as one half of 4 Hero" has finally delivered his much-anticipated Visioneers long player. This meeting of Jazz and Hip-Hop cultures sees Mac reclaiming some of the best-loved samples from Hip-Hop’s heyday and recycling them in a fresh and powerful manner (check Benji B favourite Ike’s Mood I and the timely cover of The Pharcyde’s Dilla-produced Runnin’), as well as uncovering some serious gems of his own. And, he manages to create 15 Jazz, Soul and Funk driven grooves without ever even threatening to become tedious. Dinner Jazz this is not!
Every track on Dirty Old Hip Hop has an organic energy about it, with welcome contributions from Twisted Funk’s Brad Somatik and the telented 4 Hero drummer Luke Parkhouse. Picking stand-outs from this album is nigh-on impossible and stellar rap-cameos from the ever-impressive Capitol A and female emcee Voice on Funk Box and Replay, respectively, simply put the icing on the cake. In paying homage to the likes of Jazzy Jeff, Jay Dee and Pete Rock, Mac travels far beyond mere imitation and proves once again that he really ain’t too shabby himself. Essential listening!

Tom Breslin

A treat for all music fans, this collection of (mostly) previously unreleased material is an Afro-groove flavoured melting pot of Reggae, Disco, Rock and Jazz. Chisa Records was established by Hugh Masekela and Stewart Levine in 1966, in the hope of providing a home for the unique brand of �African American Music� which they had been pioneering through a number of bands and musical projects at that time. Over the next 10 years, they enjoyed success with some classic Crusaders albums, and recordings from Masekela himself; but the music contained in this collection was largely never released. Featuring the likes of The Zulus and Johannesburg Street Band, it is the product of an amazing array of supremely talented musicians, with vocals coming from the incredible Miatta Fahinbulleh and Letta Mbulu. All 14 tracks are pure Afro-infused delight; but the lyrically superior �Witch Doctor� just about outshines the rest. Not to be consigned to the abyss of �World� music!

Tom Breslin

Here is Colin Emmanuel, aka C Swing’s debut, which for me is an album of two halves. One half is for the R&B massive with a great selection of vocalists which include Belle, Terry Walker and Celetia Martin. This should more than ensure that it gets radio play. The other half includes some brilliantly produced Hip hop and soul tracks. Guest rhymes come from KRS1, Braintax and Mystro, where each of these deserve to be released as a single and for the Soul heads, there’s the wonderful “Pretend” with Nate James and Sandra Escoffery on “Proof”. Overall it’s a grower but the Hip Hop tracks will knock your socks off.

Simon Harrison

Here’s the second instalment from Sweden’s excellent Raw Fusion stable. It’s jam packed with exclusives and tracks that feature on cd for the first time and compiled by label boss Mad Mats. All the big artists and producers from Scandinavian are featured with a range of styles from Hip Hop, House, Jazz, Latin and Nu-Soul, featuring Teddy Rok 7, Red Astaire, Jukka Eskola, Espen Horne, Fertile Ground, Povo and Todd Terje to name a few. Please don’t tell me I need to list any more tracks, what on earth are you waiting for?

Simon Harrison

Those in the know with Japanese artists will know that Kero One has toured with Jazzy Sport and headlined already released tracks on Jazzy Sport and shows for artists such as Dj Mitsu the beats. ‘Windmills Of The Soul’ was also released a few months ago in the Far East and now’s your chance to pick up this beauty for a normal price. This has been mostly produced by the man himself, with some help from his friend DJ King Most. The rhymes are simple and work a treat over the soulful and jazzy beats. Kero One also proves his excellence in production with some essential instrumentals, so make sure you check out tracks ‘It’s A New Day’ and ‘Ain’t That Somethin?’ Kero is also lined up to work with Quantic and DJ Mitsu in 2006 which should gain him some more deserved exposure.

Simon Harrison

Nnenna Freelon has long been one of my favourite jazz vocalists and since her award winning self titled debut in 1992 has rarely disappointed. On this her 10th album she delves into the Billie Holiday songbook, whether it be songs written by Lady Day or ones that will eternally be associated with her. ‘God Bless The Child’, Strange Fruit’ and ‘Willow Weep For Me’ are all handled beautifully but I’m currently hooked on ‘I Didn’t Know What Time It Was’. The band really let loose on this funky swinger whilst Nnenna performs vocal acrobatics, soaring high and sweeping low, putting her own distinctive stamp on this evergreen.

Andy Allen