Category Archives: Reviews

Soundtrack to the film Tropa De Elite (Elite Squad) composed by Pedro Bromfman. The film tells the story of two childhood friends who decide to join Rio de Janeiro’s Military Police Department and in turn they then try out for a Special Operations Squad whose mission is to take down the drug-lords that plague the city. The music reflects this urban scenario with a mix that features MC Junior, MC Leonardo, Bateria da Rocinha, Barbatuques and styles that range from ambient to thrash punk. Excellent.

Graham Radley

Nathaniel Pearl, the man also known as Natural Self caught our attention with the Broken Keys project he collaborated with Ben Lamdin (Nostalgia 77). On “The Art Of Vibration” he delivers once again with pulsating 60’s funk rhythms and 70’s break beats that evokes memories of the early hip-hop b-boy era. I definitely had a hip-hop flashback when I heard “Welcome To The Ascension”. The heavy percussion, the slick string rrangements and the well placed sampling make me wish that this track was much longer than three minutes. This is followed up with “The Rising”, this track has an afrobeat vibe and is layered with a chanting chorus and funky horns. An added bonus is the wonderful Antreya Triana on vocals. “Breathe Deep” is classic old school hip-hop. A simple mid tempo drumbeat with slick horn riffs serve as the perfect backdrop for MC Abdominal to spit over. “The Laws Of Motion” is a funky instrumental jam with sparse trumpet riffs and spacey chords. One thing is certain, Natural Self has beats galore and knows how to make funky grooves. “The Art Of Vibration” is a rewarding listening experience and further proof of his immense talents.

Reg Dancy

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Belleruche serves up blues tinged soul with a touch of hip-hop for good measure. The trio builds on their warm soulful grooves that made their debut “Turntable Soul” such a success. On their latest release “The Express” vocalist Kathrin Deboer’s smooth smokey vocals complement Ricky Fabulous harmonic rhythm guitar playing. The disc starts off with the infectious “Anything You Want”. DJ Modest provides well placed sampling and electronic beats while Kathrin provides warmth to the mid-tempo soul track. “Goose Blues” has a traditional blues flavor that takes you back to the back roads of the Mississippi Delta. “Scratch My Soul” is a slow burning soul gem where Kathrin conveys enough passion to warm the coldest heart through the depth of her lyrics. “The Express” is a satisfying collection of soul and blues reminiscent of those dusty vinyl records buried in your parents basement. The production, arrangements and the trio’s diverse talents contribute to an eclectic musical experience that you shouldn’t miss.

Reg Dancy

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This New Zealand based group returns with their fourth album, and quite possibly their best. That’s saying a lot considering they already have one gold album and two double platinum albums to their credit. With Solid Ground the growth of this soul funk dub step band is evidenced by the precision like live instrumentation that is heard through the entire disk. On “Love Is A Radiation“, Baranaby Weir’s smooth vocals add warmth to this traditional reggae track. With “Make A Move”, the band adds a little funk, along with some nice horn arrangements as well. There’s also a nice dub remix for this track as a bonus. Overall, “Solid Ground” provides plenty of soulful, funky, reggae flavored gems and The Black Seeds prove that they can play any of these styles very well. This is another enjoyable record by a talented group that continues to get better.

Reg Dancy

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Hailed as the number one soul producer of Russia, Valique lives up his reputation by delivering a collection of soaring post disco dance tracks. Valique lays down the rhythm throughout with funky bass lines and lively percussions. This is evident on tracks like “Wine Or Vinegar” which features nice string and horn arrangements. “Scream For Daddy”, is laced with clever keyboard riffs. All but two songs here are instrumentals but those are highlights as well. “Where’s The Love” features Fanny Franklin of the funk band Orgone and “Out Of My Head” featuring Sofi Ocran are equally satisfying. Valique has already provided quality deep house and jungle tracks in the past. With R.A.W., he proves that he’s adept at creating quality dance music as well.

Reg Dancy

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There’s little of note to be said about The Ipanemas that hasn’t already been said before. Essentially, all you really need to know is that, having formed in the 1950s, their experience and pedigree is unrivalled within Brazilian music and that there are no finer proponents of the afro-bossa nova sound (that they so lovingly pioneered and perfected) alive today. This, their fifth album, is quite simply wonderful. There is no gimmicky concept or technological trickery, just sublime, timeless music.

Tom Breslin

Nick Van Gelder, former Jamiroquai drummer and key mover and shaker during London’s Acid Jazz heyday, clearly knows a thing or two about making soulful, funky records. Which is why I can’t help but feel a little disappointed upon listening to ‘Choose Music’ (especially given that it’s released through BBE, a consistently brilliant label). The songs are written, produced and, for the most part, played by Van Gelder himself, with vocals from Akwaaba People’s Mazen, and the style is an unashamedly straightforward brand of ‘soulful’, jazzy house music. Many people will undoubtedly love this record – fans of the likes of Reel People, in particular – but to me it is underwhelming and unmemorable. It’s destined to be successful as a piece of inoffensive, background bar Muzak, but a man of Van Gelder’s talent surely has more to give.

Tom Breslin

Following his releases on Black Jazz Records Doug Carn converted to Islam and took the name Abdul Rahim Ibrahim. Originally released in 1977 on Tablighi Records, the super rare ‘Al Raman! Cry Of The Floridian Tropic Son’ sees him fuse Islamic influenced spiritual jazz with Californian sweet soul. The result is breathtaking with immaculate cuts such as the lilting ‘Casbah’, the joyful ‘Tropic Sons’, the brooding ‘Al Rahman!’ and the Blaxploitation flavoured ‘The Watcher’.

Andy Allen

Record collector extraordinaire Jonny Trunk launches his new Jonny label (subsidiary to Trunk) in fine style with a reissue of this “rare as rocking horse shit” album. Originally released in 1968 as a private pressing in limited quantities it was the work of a young composer (only 17 years old at the time) Jonathan Klein who married Hebrew song and prayer with New York modern jazz. With players of the caliber of Herbie Hancock, Thad Jones, Ron Carter, Jerome Richardson and Grady Tate this makes for a glorious listening experience. From the opening intro ‘Blessing Over The Candles’ which comes on like the dawning of a bright new day, through intoxicating moments like ‘Sanctification’, the bossa flavoured ‘Kiddush’ to the concluding ‘Final Amen’ this music is truly a blessing to behold.

Andy Allen

Originally released in 1979 jazz trombonist Gregory Charles Royal’s super rare ‘Dream Come True‘ finally gets a reissue. The in-demand up-tempo waltz ‘Dancer’ did make an appearance over ten years ago on the dubious looking compilation ‘A Good Example Of What It Is’ on Higher Learning Records but it’s great to have it again on a quality pressing. The said track is nothing short of exquisite and definitely the standout here, but not to be overlooked is the funky title track and the melancholy ‘For You’ on which Gregory provides some fragile vocals.

Andy Allen

Although I’ve always admired Paul Weller’s music and of course his impeccable dress sense his releases are not usually found within these pages. Of course soul music has always been an influence on him but on ’22 Dreams’ he explores a vast array of styles resulting in a dream like sequence of flashing random thoughts which somehow flow in natural progression. The tracks which will appeal to readers of these pages however are his tribute to Alice Coltrane ‘Song For Alice’, an orchestrated deep jazz instrumental you’d swear was a long lost gem from the woman herself, ‘Cold Moments’ which combines acoustic pop-folk with a heavy dose of soul sway, the folk meets East End barrow boy sounding ‘Black River’ and ‘God’ with spoken word from Aziz Ibrahim having a talk with The Mighty One Above in heartfelt working class bloke kind of way. It’s out there but that’s the way I like it!

Andy Allen

I recently had the pleasure of witnessing the enchanting Elizabeth Shepherd at The Vancouver Jazz Festival performing some of the tracks from her new album ‘Parkdale’, named after the Toronto neighbourhood in which she resides. This, her sophomore album however expands the trio to a quartet or quintet on certain tracks and is produced by Ben Lamdin (Nostalgia 77). Elizabeth describes her style as groove based jazz which is particularly evident on the funky ‘Long As You’re Living’, ‘Just One Song’ and the title track, the Latinesque ‘Con Alma’ and the dancer ‘Mirror Living’. The standouts for me though are the mellower cuts ‘Shining Tear Of The Sun’, ‘Next Time Around’ and ‘Higher Ground’ (no not Stevie’s) which showcase Elizabeth’s voice and song writing abilities beautifully.

Andy Allen

Australia’s own Ashley Anderson, aka Katalyst returns with his second album. "What’s Happening" is a old school hip hop inspired affair with elements of classic soul. Katalyst has recruited some of the most cutting edge rappers and singers from around the globe and blesses everyone with head nodding soulful beats to work with. Steve Spacek, whose voice may remind you of Billy Paul recreates some 70’s soul on "How Bout’ Us". The slept on Diverse from Chicago shows off his superb flow and word play over the piano laden track "Dedicated". "May Have Been James Brown" is a heavy hitting break beat track with well placed turntable cutting and scratching that gives a nod to the formative years of hip hop. With other notable appearances by Ru C.L, yungun and Stephanie McKay, Katalyst captures the spirit of hip hop’s past and brings it up to date with slick production and loads of funky beats to make it feel fresh and new. Definitely worth checking out.

Reg Dancy

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Tokyo’s funky jazzers zip into this one, with with their trademark infectious energy and the music they call ‘Death Jazz’. They can cut the groove down as well as, demonstrated on the delightful ‘Darkside’ or ‘Sorrow’ but my personal favourite is the suitably wild ‘Mingus Fan Club’. Excellent.

Graham Radley

Uileann piper from Kila ably assisted by Frank Tate (bouzouki) fiddler Steve Larkin and guitarist Des Cahalan. Most of the material is written by Eoin and he goes back to his roots for the source. Excellent playing with a gentle but driven approach to the music. Recommended.

Graham Radley