Basic Soul

Since the release of Eddie’s excellent Roughneck album back in 2004 he’s been on the road with both The New Mastersounds and his Roughneck project, doing what he does best and packing out clubs all over Europe. Now is your chance to take the vibe of the live show which was recorded at Le Triptyque, Paris in October 2005 and enjoy it at your leisure. I’m unsure of the full line-up of the band but as always with Eddie’s projects they come into their own at a live gig, and if you’ve not checked out the live show, shame on you. Eddie’s second instalment of Roughneck should be out later this year: can’t wait.

In May 2005 a Social Beats twelve track sampler dropped on my doorstep and featured three tracks by the unknown to me Jazzinvaders. The main track "Up & Out" became a firm favourite and was in my record box for the rest of the year. Producer/percussionist Phil Martin is the force behind the Jazzinvaders with contributions from two members of the Dutch jazz band The Houdini’s: Rolf Delfos on horns and saxophone and Erwin Hoorweg on piano. It initially started off as a jam session and eventually turned into a cracking album, combining latin and afro beats with some moustache tingling basslines that will keep any dancefloor happy. Lovely vocals are by Danish jazz vocalist Mette Burild and Dutch vocalist Linda Bloemhard, to round off a quality album.

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.

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.

‘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.

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.

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!

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!