Pop & Rock News

This is the first in Soul Jazz Records’ new series of one-off pressings of limited-edition 1000 copies vinyl-only releases of Afro-funk/Afro-beat exact-replica, super-rare albums that were previously only ever released in Nigeria. The series starts with Kollington Ayinla’s celebrated 1978 album ‘Blessing,’ a rare lost classic of Nigerian Fuji music, featuring Ayinla’s sharp political lyrics together with his
new band Fuji ’78.

‘Blessing’ blends the heavily percussive style of Fuji music with a stunning array of modern instruments, including synthesizers, Bata drums and guitars, to create one of the most forward-thinking and heavily danceable sounds ever to come out of Nigeria – a highly successful mixture of profound Fuji rhythms and Fela Kuti-style Afrobeat.

Kollington Ayinla ranks alongside his friend and competitor Ayinde Barrister as the two most important artists to dominate Fuji music from its inception in the 1970's through to the 1990's by which time it had grown to become one of the most popular dance genres in Nigeria. At the start of the 1980's Ayinla started his own record company, Kollington Records, to release his music and remains to this day an extremely prolific artist, having recorded over 50 albums, most of which have never been released outside of Nigeria.

“What you are listening to is the sound of a forgotten instrument. It has existed since the middle ages, but the earliest example still intact is from 1608. Once a staple in most households in the low countries, it is a true folk instrument, of the people, mainly played in the past by women who used their kitchen tables as a resonating surfaces to amplify & accompany traditional religious & secular tunes. Nowadays it seen rarely outside of museums in Brussels & other places you most likely have never heard of. It is not spectacular, its simplest version is just a long thin box with strings on top. Some of the strings are melody strings, which have frets placed underneath them, some are drone strings that have no frets. Traditionally it was strummed with a goose feather & notes were made by sliding a hard stick with a handle, from fret to fret on the melody strings leaving the drone strings ringing openly. The constant hum of the drones is where the name of the instrument comes from: bumblebee, which in Flemish, is a hommel. The hommel has all but disappeared from the collective memory of Flanders. If it is seen outside of a display case, it is usually being played in a static way, denied the right to evolve & find a more contemporary voice. It has thus been replaced in the hearts of most Belgians by acoustic guitars & the more well known Appalachian dulcimer, which strangely enough is a descendent of this instrument: the grandparent is lost, the grandchild is celebrated. The first hommel I saw was years ago at the Volksinstrumentenmuseum in Gooik. Curious to how it would sound, I suggested to my father that we make one. A seasoned woodworker, he was up to the challenge & so we began... The sides & top are made from Douglas Fir recovered from an old bookshelf. The headstock block (schroevenstuck) is maple. The end block (staartstuck) is a piece of Oregon myrtlewood & the fretboard... I have to say I don't remember. We cut & sanded the wood, sawed the guides for the frets & set them in, created the bridge & nut out of ersatz granite, found some tuners from an old guitar & assembled the pieces together. Is is not the most elaborate example of a hommel, but, with the relationship I have forged with it over time, it's a beauty to me. I do not play in a traditional way: I pluck, fingerpick, tap & bow amplified flat wound electric guitar strings. I change the notes with my fingers, metal sticks, bottlenecks steel tubes & the hard stick with a wooden handle, which has a special name : the vlier, which is a more local, Flemish Brabant, name of the instrument itself. I play in a tuning to be in harmony with the tin whistles you hear from time to time & occasionally play shakers I made by hand from branches, wire & bottle caps. The songs in this collection are not traditional either, they are inspired by cycling around Flanders & the landscape that surrounds my home in Niemandaal, a small village in the Pajottenland of Flanders, not far from the capital city, but isolated enough to not hear the constant hum of the highways. It's a nice place to relax, filled with what I would call elegant micro-landscapes: simple combinations of fields, grass, streams, small farms, rolling hills... Sometimes called the "Tuscany of the North", wine is replaced by lambik, a naturally fermented sour beer & it is well-known as being the place where Pieter Bruegel the Elder would set up his easel. Until I was 40, I only played at home. Thanks to my friends at Herberg Rustiek, who released some tapes & encouraged me to play outside. I made my first public concert on top of an old slag heap near Liège. Since then, I have been invited to play a few concerts in Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Portugal, France & Japan. Thanks to Okraïna, you now have this record in your hands. I chose to keep the recordings quite raw in the hope that the natural reverb & warmth of your listening space can evoke the music's spirit & that you will have the impression I am playing next to you in the same room. I highly recommend listening through speakers rather than headphones. If you would like to learn more about the hommel, I strongly suggest tracking down the out of print "De Hommel in de Lage Landen" written by Herbert Boone in the mid 1970's, coming to one of my concerts, or if you happen to be walking around Niemandaal & notice a warm light coming from my living room: knock. I just may invite you in to share a gueuze & play a few tunes.”

Linus Vandewolken

Already a renowned live band on the London gig circuit, Lunch Money Life make apocalypse music, impossible to categorise, rich in texture, immersing the listener in a world of disgust and yearning. Their debut album 'Immersion Chamber' is the perfect embodiment of that. Full of foreboding energy, restless beats and agitated noise: it's mardy electronics married with tense jazz-tinged and combative drumming.

Lunch Money Life are Stewart Hughes (drums) Sean Keating (guitar) Luke Mills-Pettigrew (bass) Jack Martin (electronics/trombone) Spencer Martin (electronics/saxophone). A few years ago, Spencer wrote to 50 churches in East London looking for a job as an organist - one responded, All Saints Haggerston, where he still plays every Sunday. In a city where traditional rehearsal is near unaffordable, this was a lifeline for the band during its early, experimental period. It is the results of this period that make up 'Immersion Chamber'.

The band initially featured 10 members, a loose collective now (somewhat) sharpened ahead of album release, as documented in an electric Boiler Room set at the end of 2019.

Bubbling on the fringes of the London music scene for years, between them creating & sculpting Church of Sound, Total Refreshment Centre, Touching Bass & Tiff’s Joints. In the wake of 2018’s sold-out collaboration with Jamaican outfit Equiknoxx - Living3000 EP - the group has released lunchmoneylife STYLES™, a label compilation in the form of a cereal box, and Unlimited Ice Cream Palace EP on Kaya Kaya Records, featuring remixes by King Knut and Captain Terence McDonagh.

The album is coming out via Scenic Route. A label that started in October 2019 after beginning life as a regular south London party. Previous releases include Desert Sound Colony: expect more releases, parties and, in their own words, "there'll be a melancholic and introspective thread running through everything we release".

Stewart Hughes - drums
Sean Keating - guitar
Luke Mills-Pettigrew - bass
Jack Martin - electronics / trombone
Spencer Martin - electronics / saxophone

Mixed by Danalogue the Conqueror
Mastered by Frank Merritt
Artwork by Aurelie Michaud

Olli Ahvenlahti is a Finnish pianist, composer and conductor, born in Helsinki, Finland in 1949. A pianist, composer and conductor, Ahvenlahti has been one of leading Finnish Jazz artists since the 70s. He has recorded with several artists and groups including UMO Jazz Orchestra (1977-1982). He went on to become conductor for Finland in, believe it or not, the Eurovision Song
Contest, conducting seven entries for the country from 1990 until 1998. Since the 1990s he has worked as a composer and arranger for Finnish radio and television company 'YLE'.
'The Poet' was originally released on Love Records in Finland in 1976 and is now hard to find and expensive to acquire. The most sought after track 'Grandma's Rocking Chair' became very popular with dancers in the early 90's London acid/jazz scene due to its pace and percussion, and has appeared on many
compilations since. It was reworked by Kenny Dope in 2001 and released on
Finnish label 'Jazzpuu'.
This Mr Bongo re-issue is packaged in our new and improved heavyweight card sleeves, pressed on high quality vinyl, with label designs and artwork as per the original release.

Original copies of this marvellous 1980 solo LP.

Acoustic guitar, bathwater, balloons, percussion, piano, synthesiser, melodica, tubes, toothbrush, clarinet mouthpiece, reeds, cow box, chicken box, cymbal, drums, voice, euphonium, flugelhorn, toy piano, nailbrush, toy record player, bass, whistle, trumpet, giggle-stick, ukulele, body, footclickers, cymbal, plastic horn, cassette, talking telephone, electronic bird.

Produced by David Cunningham.

• Long lost 1968 album from visionary South African jazz composer incorporating traditional African music sources and instruments.

• Officially licensed from the Nxumalo family and reissued with inner sleeve containing archival photographs and new liner notes by Francis Gooding.

Gideon Nxumalo’s Gideon Plays might just be the most mythologised and sought-after LP in the whole South African canon. A sophisticated bop excursion with a distinctive African edge, it was only Nxumalo’s second LP as leader, despite his crucial place in South African jazz history. Pianist Nxumalo was a visionary jazz composer who had recorded regularly during the 1950s, and his 1962 Jazz Fantasia album was the first South African jazz recording to incorporate traditional African musical sources and instruments. But he was also the country’s most significant radio presenter and jazz tastemaker – from 1954 onwards, he had worn the nickname ‘Mgibe’ to introduce ‘This Is Bantu Jazz’, South African radio’s premier jazz show.

But in the aftermath of the Sharpeville Massacre in 1961, Nxumalo had been side-lined from radio play, and was eventually sacked for playing records with political meanings. By 1968, he had not been heard on record or airwave for several years. Gideon Plays was a celebrated return to the studio for one of South Africa’s best loved and most forward-thinking jazzmen, and it showcases Nxumalo’s deep understanding of jazz, his brilliant touch as a composer, and his commitment to bringing South Africa’s indigenous sound into the music.

However, it was released on the tiny JAS Pride label owned by production impresario Ray Nkwe, and after one pressing in 1968, Gideon Plays fell into the undeserved silence that has obscured so much of the South African jazz discography. It has since become a legend: hardly more than a rumour, it has been bootlegged by the unscrupulous, changed hands for eye-watering sums, and has scarcely been heard outside the circles of the most committed South African jazz devotees. It goes without saying that it has never been released outside South Africa, and even now only a handful of original copies are known to have survived.

Over the last ten years, Matsuli Music has been proud to present some of the greatest lost and found jazz recordings in South African history – but we have never presented a rarer, lesser known album than the mighty Gideon ‘Mgibe’ Nxumalo’s Gideon Plays.

Gondwana Records are delighted to announce '7" Series', our first ever 7" vinyl collection series. Featuring bespoke artwork from Gondwana Records designer Daniel Halsall, cut at Calyx in Berlin, and manufactured at Optimal, each 7" is limited to strictly 300 copies and housed in a reverse board printed sleeve with classic 'dinked' centre holes.

To launch this collectable series, we are excited to share new and previously unreleased music from Mammal Hands and two catalogue favourites from Matthew Halsall. Over the next coming months, we will share series part 3 and 4 and beyond.



Matthew Halsall & The Gondwana Orchestra ft Josephine Oniyama

Badder Weather / As I Walk 7" (GOND07003)

Manchester based composer, arranger, producer, DJ and band-leader Matthew Halsall has carved out a niche for himself as one of the UK's brightest talents. His languid, soulful, beautiful music has won international acclaim and for his first ever 7" he revisits his 2015 masterpiece, Into Forever, selecting two classic cuts, featuring the great vocalist Josephine Oniyama to create an instant, timeless, classic.

Side A Badder Weather is deep and soulful built around a groove that never quits.

Side B As I Walk is a lush, soulful affair, featuring swelling strings and deep vocals.

Manchester based composer, producer, trumpeter, DJ and founder of Gondwana Records, Matthew Halsall is one of UK's most creative talents. A gifted trumpeter with a beautiful, expressive tone, his music has explored his love of the transcendental spiritual and modal jazz of Alice Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders, as well as more contemporary dance music and electronica.


a a1 Badder Weather (feat. Josephine Oniyama) clip
b b1 As I Walk (feat. Josephine Oniyama) clip

Original created by Roland Kovac’s studio band for an industrial commercial, Hans Georg Brunner Schwer, an admirer of Kovac’s work, released the recordings as a full length SABA album in 1968 under the title ‘Trip To The Mars’. The recording has a sound somewhere between atmospheric soundtrack, library and modal jazz. Sort after for the modal waltz dancer ‘Blue Dance’, presented here in it’s ultimate sonic form – AAA analogue mastered and cut to 45rpm. Side 2’s ‘Milky Way’ is a heady trip mixing jazz elements with floating brass harmonies and sensuous horn solos.

Nantais by adoption, the Australian Will Guthrie is a discreet star of the international scene of free, experimental and improvised music; over the past fteen years, he has developed an open and personal approach to drums and percussion, skillfully blurring the lines between his brilliant jazz upbringing, his passion for traditional musics, and his inexhaustible interest in experimental and noise creation, with a pronounced taste for a physical and raw approach to sound. With thousands of performances and some fty albums to his credit, the Australian regularly dispenses his vibratory art solo or alongside the best of improvisation; From Oren Ambarchi to Roscoe Mitchell via Jérôme Noetinger, Anthony Pateras, David Maranha, Ava Mendoza, Jean-Luc Guionnet, Keith Rowe or even Mark Fell. In recent months Guthrie has performed with Tunisian singer Ghassen Chiba, toured as part of “All Around”, a performance with Danish dancer choreographer Mette Ingvarsten and founded the Ensemble Nist-Nah, a gamelan orchestra, in the company of eight other percussionists, out of which Black Truf e published an album, with a second on the way. He also found the time to put in shape a second volume of “People Pleaser”, a discographic act between an autographical assessment, the parenthesis and the musical UFO. A singular exercise in Guthrie's discography, “People Pleaser”, a series initiated in 2017, sees the Australian partially put down his drumsticks and wear a producer cap for a result offering a resolutely singular perspective of / on his work with a very personal dimension. On the rst volume, with a cover signed Stephen O'Malley sets the tone by diverting the chamaré Warhol infulenced visual of the album “Unit Structures” by Cecil Taylor. The portrait of the free jazz pianist has been replaced by passport photos of Guthrie. The result is a diversion into a fairly “Pop” aesthetic whose musical content works in a fairly similar way. Four years later, the cover art's undertones are slightly darker and Guthrie hasn't aged a bit on his new passport photo. The twelve tracks of this second “People Pleaser” combine and arrange eld recordings, heady loops, twists, musical quotes stuck on bedside records, recorded moments captured during travels, ghosty voices from low- lands, a police interview tape and imagined exotic sounds ... Guthrie could walk us for hours on his hard drive like looking at a photo album but he chose to build pieces based on this very personal sound material, much like a mixtape, with special care given to how sounds articulate, overlap and collide. He thus invites his heroes and his friends to join him in skilfully chiseled and nely edited imaginary jams. The rst to take pleasure in this “People Pleaser” is undoubtedly its author as some of his nds are enjoyably playful; we are there embarked in an addictive sound patchwork at high speed where a Balinese Squarepusher is propelled via a defective cathode ray tube in a temple where the happy marriage of the saxophone and the gong is celebrated before this too short respite is interrupted by a sustained hip hop rhythm. The multiplicity and variety of sources give the whole a very pop format and the way in which Guthrie combines sounds, textures, rhythms and vocal elements quickly takes on a narrative dimension and poses this exercise between hip hop and a very personal plunderphonic, evoking as much J Dilla or RZA as the irreverent inventiveness of People Like Us or Wobbly. Will Guthrie has never been in as good company as on a solo album, he also lists on the cover the list of friends, heroes, members of his family and countries who inspired him and to whom he pays homage / collage on this new disc; An aesthetic exercise apart in his discography, both in nitely personal and self-centered and resolutely turned towards what animates him, the aptly named “People Pleaser” reveals the music DNA of the Australian and can be listened to on repeat.

Maxed out and burning hot nasty, Electric Rag brings together the electric organs, electronics and alto sax of Jean-Luc Guionnet, with the closely amplified drums and percussion of Will Guthrie. After years of playing together in the minimalist pointillist free jazz noise core trio ‘The Ames Room’ (with Clayton Thomas on bass) Electric Rag offers up another point of view on a musical history of nearly 15 years of playing together. The 8 titles of Electric Rag draw on their various experience in electronic music, free improvisation and experimental sound research, however the music is deeply rooted in their love of jazz, in its most potent, aggressive and antisocial form.

The double LP ‘Mamari’ by Muito Kaballa Power Ensemble from Cologne (Germany) will be released on 28 May on outernational Brussels label Rebel Up Records. It represents the vast musical development of the Muito Kaballa project since the release of the first album 'Everything is Broke' in 2019 on German label Switchstance Recordings.

Muito Kaballa, also known as Niklas Mündemann, started out as a one-man show on the streets and quickly gained attention through his loopstation performances. After the recording of the first album Niklas Mündemann wanted to move away from the entertainer image and explore new musical ideas. When he met musician Jan Janzen, the two instantly decided to create a band and take the project to the next level. The band now consists of members Nora Beisel on vocals, André van der Heide on drums, Leonard Gaab on percusscions, Marie Tjong-Ayong on trumpet and flugelhorn (replaced recently with Lilli Thomas on trumpet), Till Weise on bass, Benjamin Schneider on guitar, Tim von Malotki on baritone sax, Jan Janzen on keys and Niklas Mündemann on tenor sax, flute and synthesizer. The result is a jazz album that brims with afrobeat, afro-cuban and funk influences and current activist thoughts on social equality, racial politics, climate change and more, all through the voices & bodies of this young ensemble.

‘Mamari’ is the title song and first single. Bass player Till Weise composed the song about which he says; “When I first wrote Mamari, I wanted to create a song that I could play alone while singing along to it. Mamari is a song with a groove heart that moves forward fast and at the same time stumbles. Like riding a bike with bent wheels or the way how camels move, which is called the pace gait, or in arabic: Mamari.”

‘Aga Aga’ is named after a lake close to Cologne called Aggertalsperre. There happened to be an incident with our percussionist Leonard Gaab almost drowning in the ice cold lake - naked. The song fuses Mali blues with Afro Cuban influences.

‘Money. Equal. Trouble’ broaches the issue of our relation to money in ironic manner. The groove is fast and definitely evokes the desire to dance. It is inspired by classical Afrobeat.

‘Chung’ is the new arrangement of the former version on the album ‘Everything is Broke’ from 2019. It represents the development of the Muito Kaballa project and combines diverse influences from Maroccan Gnawa to Hip Hop and Jazz.

‘Tin Tin’ is another rearrangement that was issued before on the album ‘Everything is Broke’. It’s a melancholic song that transports heavy vibes as well as dance moods. The song is influenced by Afro Cuban music as well as Cumbia.

‘Don’t Go’ thematizes political issues in our society in a protest swagger. It might not be profound, but it defenitly reflects upon a certain feeling of anger and frustration about political issues. The song turns that anger into a powerful and danceable groove that takes the people away.

‘There’s Always Sun’ is a praise to life. With all its twists and turns, slow moments as well as groovy moments, it takes into account the different turns life can take. It accompanies that journey with the catchy message that there is always sun, even though we might not always see it.

'Curupira' is the 2nd single of the album. The Curupira is a mythological creature that was known for being able to communicate with the inhabitants of the forest, notably alarming them about danger. With this song we want to alarm you, and ourselves. “We need to understand that there is no Curupira, it’s all on us”. Curupira lives inside each and everyone of us. We need to let it out and fight for climate justice together.

Curupira was also released as an EP with a remix of Ghanaian-German producer Lee Bass (Gato Preto) and serves as a fundraiser to support the project of Resgate Climático in Brazil. They recently started to actively protect and reforest land in the northeastern state of Bahia that once used to be pristine rainforest. Under the current political circumstances and the record wildfires in the country, their work has become more important than ever.

Der Klassiker des einstigen Pfarrers und Kreuzzügler des Allgemeinwohls PASTOR T. L. BARRETT & THE YOUTH OF CHRIST CHOIR von 1971 gilt bis heute als der heilige Gral des Gospel-Soul. Mit dem seinerzeit selbst veröffentlichten Werk des JESSE JACKSON JR.-Mitstreiters demonstrierte BARRETT seine Leidenschaft für die Musik, seine wilde Entschlossenheit, Kinder vor der Straße zu bewahren und sein Talent für mitreißende Predigten (die nebenbei Künstler wie EARTH, WIND & FIRE und DONNY HATHAWAY dazu brachten, seine Kirche zu besuchen) mit einem Album, das vom Chess Records Saxophon Helden Gene Barge und einer Reihe von Musikern wie Richard Evans, Phil Upchurch und dem stürmischen Gesang des YOUTH FOR CHRIST CHOIRs profitiert. Heilige Grooves, Breaks, Beats und Lobpreisungen mit eingängigen Refrains. Chicago pastor and activist T.L. Barrett's rare gospel soul classic Like A Ship. (Without A Sail) is one of the holy grails of gospel soul. Self-released in 1971, Like A Ship was the result of Barrett channeling his passion for music, a determination to keep children off the streets, and his charismatic preaching (which attracted the likes of Earth, Wind & Fire and Donny Hathaway to his sermons at Mount Zion Baptist Church) into the production of the album, a project bolstered by the saxophonist and arranger Gene Barge of the famed Chess Records, and backed by a cast of players that included Richard Evans, Phil Upchurch and the rapturous vocals of the Youth For Christ Choir. Like A Ship... is filled with sanctified grooves and spiritual praise delivered with a righteous, infectious chorus.

Beautiful contemplating jazz by the Danish duo Bremer/McCowith with Jonathan Bremer on acoustic bass and Morten McCoy on keys and tape delay—recorded straight to tape so that they had as little time as possible to think about it. They just laid it down.

The duo has been making music that defies categorization since 2012. They started as a dub group, bringing their own sound system to shows. Now their sound lilts between jazz, ambient, and neoclassical, with contemplative, propulsive melodies that capture the Nordic woods they walk in. Their last full-length release, 2019’s clear-eyed Utopia, gained them a cult following in the U.S. and a roster of notable fans, including Nils Frahm and Gilles Peterson.

The duo’s latest release Natten, which means “The Night” in Danish, strives for even more transcendence, more freedom, more of everything in whatever sound they’re making. It’s still hard to explain. It’s not meant to be explained. These 11 tracks are tinged with the sublime: watching the setting sun, feeling the planet tilt on its axis. If you listen closely, you can hear the constellations. Let Bremer/McCoy bring the night mood to you, whatever you’re up to.

Honing your skills is under-appreciated in times of instant gratification and the continuous stream of music. Rotterdam-based producer Kofi The Unknown subverts this idea and took time for spiritual introspection, studying rhythms and sound production. Where being a late bloomer normally is seen as a sobriquet, the producer, composer and beatmaker wears it as a badge of honour and solidifies it as an honorary title by pinning it to his debut EP on Wicked Wax: The Late Bloomer. Wearing his heart on his sleeve, Kofi The Unknown shares his journey that led to The Late Bloomer, an emotional journey through sophisticated dance music, straight from the heart, aimed at the soul and feet.

Highly influential to Kofi’s sound and this EP is London’s Broken Beat scene. Syncopated drums, soulful chords and heavy bass lines work in tandem to emphasise the danceability the genre is known for. This is further solidified by the track Kofi released leading up to this release: One for Motet, an ode to the Broken Beat MC and Jazz Refreshed host Jason Hicks. The Late Bloomer further develops Kofi’s ode, but provides his Rotterdam flavour and brings his Hip Hop and Funk lineage into the mix.

Embrace Mistakes sets the stage for what’s to come in various ways. It is a textbook case of how dance music can tell a story and be introspective. Kofi’s honesty shines bright on the entire EP and strikes from the first kick drum on. It also shouldn’t be hard to recognise and feel the emotion the producer shares on the title track The Late Bloomer. The emotionally-laced chords and crushing drums are reminiscent of late nights at a warehouse or emotional sequences from a dystopian movie.

Staying true to his ethos ’exploring the university that music holds’, Kofi finds this beyond music production as The Late Bloomer provides an audible experience through creative mixing. Stuttering analog synths, enveloping leads, multiple percussion rhythms and off-beat snare rolls hit from all directions of the stereo spectrum, further underlining the sophistication of his merit. While the EP follows the Broken Beat accents on dance, it is an equally mindful listening experience.

Kofi The Unknown is a Rotterdam native producer with a knack for rhythms. His keen ear is informed by mentor and Dutch enigma Trian Kayhatu. While Kofi has taken the time to perfect his skills under the guidance of Trian, the two are simultaneously working on the exciting follow-up project to this debut EP. Without looking too far ahead, enjoy The Late Bloomer. It’s not only a crown jewel Kofi proudly wears, it is also establishing him as a future household name in the sophisticated dance scene. "

EXPANSION introduce a brand new series of 10” CLASSICS back to back with the
coolest CONTEMPORARY takes of the same track. First off is the 70s masterpiece by
the MIZELL BROTHERS, as originally recorded by the master of the Hammond organ,
JOHNNY HAMMOND in 1975 on FANTASY REORDS – a jazz funk, timeless ‘rare
groove’ previously only a single as a 7” edit but glorified here in it’s full 6 minutes. The
new version is by QUASIMODE, the hippest new jazz quartet from Japan, signed to
BLUE NOTE RECORDS. They have taken the jazz world by storm and have recorded a
version of “Los Conquistadores Chocolates” worthy of comparison to the original and
on vinyl here for the first time.

Simon Lovermann's debut album "Handwerke - Songs for my fathers" is focused around the piano, both as a harmonic and a percussive instrument. It is influenced by Jazz, Electronica, Hip Hop and Minimal Music. The beats are created with the piano and are enriched with body-percussion and beatbox to create an idiosyncratic atmosphere and distinctive sound.

The album deals with the personal story of the artist. Simon's biological father, Robert, was a Jazz musician and died before his birth. Simon was raised by his father Christian. This album is therefore a vividly emotional way for him to explore topics like death, fatherhood, family, identity and belonging.

"Handwerke" comes with a special artwork and cover design, featuring contributions by 16 artists printed on individual postcards and assembled in a 20-page booklet.

The release is a collaboration of Der Greif and Squama Recordings.

Welcome aboard! We're about to slide into the wide musical landscapes of True Flavas Band. Please take place on your seat, enjoy the smell of a cup of Douchka black tea , close your eyes, the train's door is shutting then the locomotive pulls the heavyweight transSiberian slowly.
The Journey starts to reach the "Polar Circle" and its deep soaring atmosphere, snowy forest and the steppes' flatness. Now You recognize, that it's all about immersive laidback
funk. The band breaks with the white screen view blowing up at the wagon's window, crosses some more urban ensembles with the uptempo "Take It Straight", the intriguing "Estonia" and "Ghlmly". The expression touches climax offering a view from the mountain's
top in "4Hero" and "Double Trouble" with transversal dynamic and flight sensations. The four musicians offer nights full of stars and aurora borealis moments in tracks like "Gamekeeper" and "Jazz'N'Bass". At the end "Countryside" brings us into a gradual rise of leftfield ambience sustained by Krautrock guitars and Gregorian like chants, hypnotic.
With this first LP on Stereophonk, True Flavas Band show ten beautiful, fine and wellmatured pieces. Strong of a rich musical experience and influences, the quartet from SaintPetersburg composed by Roma (drums), Danik (keyboards and electronics), Dima (bass) and Alexey (guitar) have evolved since 2005 to achieve a perfect combination. TrueFlavas performed with artists such as Tricky, Dj Vadim, Dj Krush, Theo Parrish, Badbadnotgood, Gaslampkiller, Fatima, Themselves, Jimi Tenor... and toured all over Russia.

The Dwellers is the first Various Artist’s release under Satta Records. This release consists of six tracks featuring seven artists from New York, Berlin, Paris & London. The Dwellers is a deep jazz house collection of tracks with the combination of downtempo & ethnic genres.

Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Adrian Younge are best known for their collaborations with vocalists and MCs, but these two multi-instrumentalists and producers excel in their ability to conjure musical moods with or without vocal accompaniment. Similarly, the musical legends that these two handpicked to collaborate with across this series are all jazz legends equally at home crafting unadorned compositions as they are collaborating with vocalists. This collection presents exclusive instrumental versions of songs originally released on the Jazz Is Dead albums; Roy Ayers JID002, Marcos Valle JID003, Gary Bartz JID006, and Joao Donato JID007. More than the previous eight Jazz Is Dead releases Instrumentals JID009 delivers on Adrian and Ali's original promise of showcasing the music made with their heroes, laying bare the inspired compositions created when different generations of musicians come together to collaborate in the studio. For nearly all of these songs, Adrian and Ali began with sketches and elements of songs that they developed alongside the featured musicians live in Adrian Younge's Linear Labs studio located in the Highland Park neighborhood of Los Angeles.

Founded in Amsterdam in 1967 by saxophonist Willem Breuker, pianist Misha Mengelberg, and percussionist Han Bennink, Instant Composers Pool (or ICP) was an independent free jazz label and orchestra that would go on to release over fifty albums featuring such pillars of the scene as Derek Bailey, Peter Brötzmann, Evan Parker, Jeanne Lee, John Tchicai, and Steve Lacy. Based around the concept that improvisation was, in fact, an act of instantaneous composition, ICP's legacy on improvised and free music is impossible to overstate.

Yi Yole – recorded in 1978 – was the first time the legendary South African saxophonist Dudu Pukwana had worked with the ICP. An innovator in the genre of Cape Jazz with the Blue Notes – which also featured Chris McGregor, Louis Moholo, and Johnny Dyani – who fled the apartheid regime for London in 1964, Pukwana's style is the perfect complement to ICP co-founders Han Bennink and Misha Mengelberg, who round out the trio here.

Relaxed and somewhat understated for the ICP catalog, Yi Yole is the one and only time these leaders in European free improvisation would record together in a trio setting. This limited reissue marks the first time the album has been in print on vinyl since its initial release.

Founded in Amsterdam in 1967 by saxophonist Willem Breuker, pianist Misha Mengelberg, and percussionist Han Bennink, Instant Composers Pool (or ICP) was an independent free jazz label and orchestra that would go on to release over fifty albums featuring such pillars of the scene as Derek Bailey, Peter Brötzmann, Evan Parker, Jeanne Lee, John Tchicai, and Steve Lacy. Based around the concept that improvisation was, in fact, an act of instantaneous composition, ICP's legacy on improvised and free music is impossible to overstate.

The ICP Tentet's Tetterettet is made up of recordings from 14-17 of September, 1977, cut and spliced together by pianist/composer Misha Mengelberg in a style similar to Teo Macero's work with Miles Davis. The first side is taken up entirely by Mengelberg's multi-part title track that breaks in and out of different tempos, with a loose arrangement style owing more than a bit to Charles Mingus' finest work on Black Saint or Ah Um.

Traversing across decades and styles from free-jazz funereal marches, to carnivalesque excursions, broken piano rolls, and ear-splitting skronk, ICP Tentet show remarkable skill and chops in both their compositional craft and improvisational symbiosis. There's a playful undercurrent here that finds its home in some previously uncharted land between Mingus and Spike Jones.

Featuring numerous ICP regulars along with the brilliant Alan Silva on bass, and a return to the fold of the amazing saxophonist John Tchicai, Tetterettet is one of the best of ICP's larger group recordings; humorous, unnerving, and ultimately, quite beautiful. This limited-edition reissue marks the first time this album has been in print on vinyl since its initial release.

Founded in Amsterdam in 1967 by saxophonist Willem Breuker, pianist Misha Mengelberg, and percussionist Han Bennink, Instant Composers Pool (or ICP) was an independent free jazz label and orchestra that would go on to release over fifty albums featuring such pillars of the scene as Derek Bailey, Peter Brötzmann, Evan Parker, Jeanne Lee, John Tchicai, and Steve Lacy. Based around the concept that improvisation was, in fact, an act of instantaneous composition, ICP's legacy on improvised and free music is impossible to overstate.

A live performance from May of 1970 in Rotterdam, Groupcomposing features a North Sea-crossing ICP lineup of British free improv luminaries Derek Bailey on guitar, Evan Parker on saxophone, and Paul Rutherford on trombone, along with ICP mainstays Han Bennink, his brother Peter, Misha Mengelberg, and Peter Brötzmann. The first side, "Groupcomposing, Part 1" is a nearly all-out assault with the reeds trio and Rutherford's trombone blasting nigh-continuously for the album's first side, culminating in a blistering Peter Bennink bagpipes solo. "Part 2" acts at first as the comedown, beginning with a playful piano and percussion back-and-forth before meandering a dark, brooding, path of trill horns to the album's eventual, tense conclusion.

Recorded just a few years into the ICP's long tenure, it is hard to think of a release more representative of the label's musical principles – or, more broadly, of the power of free group improvisation – than the aptly-named Groupcomposing. This limited reissue marks the first time the album has been in print on vinyl in over forty years.

Rich in musical associations yet utterly singular in its voice, joyous with an inner tranquility, the music of Natural Information Society is unlike any other being made today. Their sixth album in eleven years for eremite records, descension (Out of Our Constrictions) is the first to be recorded live, featuring a set from London’s Cafe OTO with veteran English free-improv great Evan Parker, & the first to feature just one extended composition. The 75-minute performance, inspired by the galvanizing presence of Parker, is a sustained bacchanalia of collective ecstasy. You could call it their party album.

This was the second time Parker played with NIS. Joshua Abrams: “Both times we played compositions with Evan in mind. I don’t tell Evan anything. He’s a free agent.”

The music is focused & malleable, energized & even-keeled, drawing on concepts of ensemble playing common to musics from many locations & eras without any one specific aesthetic realization completely defining it.

“The rhythms that Mikel plays are not an exact reference to Chicago house, but that’s in there,” Abrams says. “I like to take a cyclic view of music history, can we take that four-on-the-floor, & consider how it connects to swing-era music? Can we articulate a through line? I dee-jayed for years in Chicago & lessons I learned from playing records for dancing inform how I think about the group’s music. The listener can make connections to aspects of soul music, electronic music, minimalism, traditional folk musics, & other musics of the diaspora as well. It’s about these aspects coming together. I don’t need to mimic something, I need to embody it to get to the spirit, to get to the living thing.”

For jazz fans, the sound of Parker’s soprano & Jason Stein’s bass clarinet might evoke Coltrane & Dolphy, even though they didn’t necessarily set out to do that & they play with complete individuality. Abrams sees a bridge to the historical precedent, too. “Since we first met in the 1990s, one of the things that Evan and I connected on was Coltrane’s music,” he says. “I hoped that we would tap into that sound world intuitively. In this case, I think that level of evocation adds another layer of depth, versus a layer of reference.”

Indeed, this is a performance in which the connections among the ensemble & the creative tension between improvisation and composition build into a complex mesh of associations & interactions. While the band confines itself to the territory mapped out by Abrams’ composition, they are remarkably attentive & responsive, making adjustments to Parker’s improvisations. When Parker’s intricate patterns of notes interweave with the band, the parts reinforce one another & the music rockets upward. Sometimes, Parker’s lines are cradled by the group’s gentle pulse & an unearthly lyrical balance is struck.

Drummer Mikel Patrick Avery is locked-in, playing with hellacious long-form discipline, feel & responsiveness. Jason Stein’s animated, vocalized bass clarinet weaves in & out with Lisa Alvarado’s harmonium to state the piece’s thematic material; the pulsing tremolo on the harmonium brings a Spacemen 3 vibe to the party. Abrams ties together melody & rhythm on guimbri, a presence that leads without seeming to. Like his bandmates, he shifts modes of playing frequently, improvising & then returning to the composed structure.

“As specific as the composition is, the goal is to internalize it & mix it up,” Abrams says. “The idea is to get so comfortable that we can make spontaneous changes, find new routes of activity, stasis & byways every gig. It’s like a web we’re spinning. If someone makes a move, we all aim to be aware of it, make room for it. Experiencing & listening is what it’s about, & Evan supercharges that.”

& “supercharged” is the word for this album. With Parker further opening up their music, descension (Out of Our Constrictions) is the sound of Natural Information Society growing both more disciplined and freer, one of the great bands of its time on a deep run.

Aguirre edition: Mastered by Helge Sten, Audio Virus, Oslo. Lacquers by Dubplates & Mastering. Liner Notes by Theaster Gates. LPs pressed on premium audiophile-quality vinyl at Pallas Records. US 2xLP edition available thru Eremite records.

Geschmackvolles Doppelalbum mit herausragenden Sängerinnen. Wenn es allein um die Vokalkunst geht, dann ist die Jazz-Welt fest in weiblicher Hand. Man denke nur an Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald oder Nina Simone. Aber auch Sängerinnen jüngerer Tage, zum Beispiel Sarah Vaughan oder Diana Krall, beeindrucken nicht minder mit ihren verzaubernden Stimmen. Grund genug für das französische Label Wagram, die renommiertesten Sängerinnen der letzten Jahrzehnte mit auf einem Doppelalbum zu vereinen.

Originally released in 1964
LIMITED TO 400 COPIES

Originally released in 1967 by Ember Records
LIMITED TO 400 COPIES

In March 2020, both Nichol Thomson and Shawn Lee found themselves at home without a live gig in site. Lee called up Thomson and said: "Now is the perfect time to make our smooth jazz trombone album"! Nichol laughed but Shawn... well, didn't! The pandemic was prime time to get smooth and jazzy!

The two had already been working together the past few years on Shawn Lee and Andy Platts' Young Gun Silver Fox project. Nichol Thomson's horn arrangements have become an important element of their sound so a collaboration between the two musicians was both natural and organic. Taking a lyrical reference from the Steely Dan song "Home At Last", The Superhighway Band was born.

Their debut album "Studio City" has become the perfect vehicle for the two multi instrumentalists to flex some collective musical muscle and kick some serious Yacht Jazz ass! Thomson handles the bass, keyboards and trombone while Lee holds down the drums, percussion and guitars. The album features the tightest horn section in show business comprised around the nucleus of Nichol Thomson and trumpeter Tom Walsh. The record features other top flight musical guests Elliot Mason, Matt Cooper, Nigel Hitchcock, Andy Ross, Jim Watson and Sean Freeman all bringing their magic touch to the proceedings. You can hear their mutual love of all things Jazz Funk and West Coast music: George Duke, CTI Records, The Brecker Brothers, Seawind, Quincy Jones' productions, The Crusaders, they all resonate in the grooves of the Superhighway sound.

If you haven't come across Nichol 'The Gift' Thomson before, he has played with some musical heavyweight: The Eagles, Level 42, Chaka Khan, Grace Jones, Tina Turner, Tom Jones to name a select few. Shawn Lee has this to say about his fellow Superhighway man: "Nichol is such a gifted player/writer/arranger. He never ceases to blow me away. Making this music has been deeply satisfying and fun."

Shawn Lee has released nearly fifty albums in his eclectic career so far. The Superhighway Band has returned Shawn to the music of his youth and represents an important piece of his musical puzzle. Nichol says: "Shawn is a walking library of musical knowledge. When you add in his insane left-field sense of humour, you're in for a seriously gratifying couple of months of record making."

“Abstract Forms” is a selection of rare as yet unreleased in any physical format Sandro Brugnolini recordings from the late Eighties and early Nineties. The sixteen electronic tracks were produced for television background use or synchronization and, thanks to their great intensity and suspense, are still perfect to be scored in any number of thriller sequences, connecting smooth jazz memoirs filtered with machines overplayed on videogame sounding backgrounds. The majority of these experiments are not only characterized by their use of electronic instruments, as dictated with the requirements of the time, they also have a specific rhythmic inventiveness that gives them their identity. One more time the Italian brilliant composer follows his strong drive in drawing inspiration from what technology can offer him.

When his mother brought Stanley Turrentine’s Salt Song LP back from a trip to Canada, Julien Lourau, then a teenager, was impressed by the scope of the sound and the groove of the saxophone. He was also charmed by the lush arrangements and funky sound of the record, typical of releases on the CTI label. Created by producer Creed Taylor, CTI left an imprint in the minds of 70s jazz fans much like Blue Note did in the 60s, and it even ended up releasing work by artists who started out on this mythical label such as Stanley Turrentine and Freddie Hubbard. The two even shared the same sound engineer, the great Rudy van Gelder.
Yet CTI, though highly prolific during its 15 years of activity, has not benefitted from the same aura as its predecessor. “To breathe life into this album, I listened to a wealth of CTI releases and discovered some I had never heard before. I noticed, oddly, that many of today’s musicians know very little about CTI - a label unfairly considered as minor.”

The choice of tracks was determined by Julien’s personal tastes, always keeping in mind a desire to help people discover them yet focusing on the joy of actually playing them too.

"The album is made up of 9 pieces. Mathieu Débordes got everything down to the nearest note before we even attempted to play them. CTI didn’t hold back in fuelling their compositions with brass and violins, but I erased this aspect and pared things down to a bass, drums and two keyboards."
English drummer Jim Hart, someone Julien worked with during his London years, propels the group - from hard-bop polyrhythms with “drum & bass” inflections to a reworking of classic Red Clay.

Sylvain Daniel on the bass and Arnaud Roulin on the analogue keys are two musicians close to the saxophonist, and that he met when they were students in 1999 while organising a master class at the Conservatoire de Nantes. Since then, they have become his esteemed companions.

The collaboration with young pianist Léo Jassef began on this recording, where he also plays the Prophet 5. The dynamic and overlap of the many keyboards played by Arnaud and Léo bring the record a richness of timbre and harmony that the strings and brass provided on the CTI recordings.
For the final track on the record, Julien called upon his friend of 30 years, guitarist Bojan Z, for a fresh, Gospel take on Love and Peace, a track recorded by Quincy Jones in 1969, which here, is dedicated to Bojan’s recently departed brother.

“When it comes down to it, this album really is as I had imagined it, with, luckily, a few unexpected turns. I created a playlist I then claimed as my own. But in the end, I must admit that I would have loved to have composed some of these tracks.”

Ben LaMar Gay's critically-lauded 2018 break out Downtown Castles Can Never Block The Sun was more like a greatest hits than a debut album, as it compiled the best of the prolific but obscurity-prone Chicago native artist’s previously unreleased music. Open Arms to Open Us will be our first release of brand new, freshly baked tunes by Gay, a collection recorded entirely at International Anthem studios in Chicago between March-June 2021.

Olindo Records is proud to launch sister label Música Infinita,
with its inaugural release, ‘The Message’ by Gerry Weil - a
forgotten cornerstone of Venezuelan jazz, greatly influenced by
‘Bitches Brew’ era Miles, Hendrix, Tower of Power and fusion of
jazz and rock. ‘The Message’ is packed with raw funk grooves,
big band horns, and Gerry’s gravelly Waitsian vocals.
Remastered with love by Frank Merritt at The Carvery, this
edition of just 500 copies features brand new artwork and an
extensive interview with Gerry.

In 1969 Miles Davis put the world on notice with “Bitches Brew”; a bold statement that broke
every pre-conceived notion people had about jazz and music in general up to that point. Taking
this as inspiration, Gerry Weil decided to emulate Miles in 1971, but on Caribbean soil,
gathering a dream team of 15 Venezuelan musicians, most of which went on to become
renowned bandleaders in their own right, to record an avant-garde album that would later turn
into a coveted item amongst record collectors.
The album opens with “The Joy Within Yourself”, showcasing Gerry’s dexterous organ playing
within seconds, accompanied by stunning horn arrangements, a bluesy vocal by Weil himself
and a killer electric guitar solo by Vinicio Ludovic (Luisito Quintero / Arturo Sandoval).
Continuing with “The Bull’s Problem”, the LP settles into a jazz funk groove with a nasty rhodes
and bass combination alongside a heavy drums and congas exchange between Alberto Naranjo
(Los Kenya / El Trabuco Venezolano) and Freddy Roldán (Grupo Mango / Alfredito Linares).
Side A closes with title track “The Message”, a sort of funky anthem or mantra that describes
Gerry Weil’s attitude towards life. Its lyrics describe the way “squares” reacted against hippies in
the 70s when “all we want to give you is a little bit of love”.
On side B, “Johnny’s Bag” kicks off proceedings on a spiritual tone. This time Gerry’s on
acoustic piano, accompanied yet again by a beautiful, but equally powerful horn section
featuring a who’s who of Venezuelan jazzmen, such as Benjamin Brea on alto, Victor Cuica on
tenor, Rodrigo Barboza on trombone and Luis Arias on trumpet.
“What Is A Man” begins with a vocal duo between Vinicio Ludovic and Gerry before settling into
a funky groove underpinned by Michael Berti’s (Aldemaro Romero y su Onda Nueva / Jayme
Marques) booming bassline.
The album closes with “Little Man”. A meditative, yet grooving piece that could easily be found
on any of the best Blue Note albums from that same time period. The interplay between Gerry
on keys, Berti on bass and Naranjo on drums is simply stunning and provides a perfect ending
for the album.
Arriving in Venezuela from Austria as a 17 year old in 1957, Gerry has become one of the most
influential musicians his adopted country has ever seen. His compositions are now part of the
repertoire of Venezuelan jazz standards, but perhaps more importantly, Gerry’s career in music
education has seen him impart his music theory and piano teachings to at least three
generations of musicians. Still active at the age of 81, Gerry is a living legend and a true
testament to perseverance through music.

Joshua Abrams’ first album Natural Information from 2010, superb avant-jazz, newly remastered at Dubplates & Mastering.

In his book Powershift, published in 1990, writer and businessman Alvin Toffler predicted that the century ahead would be defined by speed and that time itself is destined to become our most valuable commodity. When Joshua Abrams recorded Natural Information, originally released by Eremite in 2010, he was reacting against such commodification of time and the diminishing attention span that accompanies it by offering music with an irresistible groove, rooted in the sinuous rhythms of the human body and the full play of our senses.

At the heart of this music is the sound of the guimbri, a North African three-stringed bass lute, which Abrams started to play following a visit to Morocco during the late 90s. Traditionally the instrument has a key role in mystical healing ceremonies. Abrams, already a well-established figure in Chicago’s vibrant musical communities, had no desire to repackage tradition. He recognized however that the involving, springy and percussive sound of the guimbri was just the right voice to communicate vital data, to relay the natural information we all need in order to get back in touch with the pulsating continuities of a world we all share.

With Natural Information Abrams entered a new phase of his musical life, extending an invitation to the trance, where time intersects with timelessness. He carried with him a wealth of playing and listening experience. As a bass player he had worked with a host of notable musicians including guitarist Jeff Parker and percussionist Hamid Drake, and had been a member of back porch minimalism outfit Town And Country and the improvising trio Sticks And Stones.

The guimbri is a shaping presence on this remarkable recording, but Abrams also plays bass, bells, kora, sampler and synthesizer. Sympathetic friends including guitarist Emmett Kelly, vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz and drummers Frank Rosaly and Nori Tanaka join him for the project. They set out not to contrive some neat hybrid but to enable coordinated energies and enriching influences to pulse and flow through living, breathing music. Ten years further into a century seemingly dedicated, as Toffler foresaw, to the survival of the fastest, the deep involving groove of Natural Information seems still more relevant, more illuminating, more vital.

Joshua Abrams: guimbri, mpc, percussion, harmonium, bass, bells, dulcimer, donso ngoni, ms20
Jason Adasiewicz: vibraphone
Emmett Kelly: guitar
Frank Rosaly & Noritaka Tanaka: drums

Joshua Abrams' second album with group from 2012, superb avant-jazz, newly remastered at Dubplates & Mastering.

With the release of Natural Information in 2010, Joshua Abrams entered into a new phase of his creative life, making music with a deep involving groove that communicates the pulsating energies of the human body and the incessant kaleidoscopic interplay of sensory perceptions. Represencing, recorded in Chicago in the summer of 2011 and originally released the following year by Eremite, was the next stride along this exhilarating path.

Once again Abrams gives a key role to the guimbri, a North African bass lute, which he had started to play during the late 90s following a trip to Morocco. Its sound when plucked is percussive, emphatic from moment to moment, yet also bouncy and rhythmically propulsive, as if naturally springing forward. A time-honoured instrument, used traditionally in healing ceremonies, the guimbri in Abrams’ hands offers an invitation to the trance, an expanded present where time intersects with timelessness. As the title Represencing suggests, this is uplifting music with a serious mission - to express that ongoing present and to give voice to our presence, here and now, within time’s continuous flow.

Once again, a fine selection of sympathetic friends help Abrams to craft this antidote to the current century’s compulsion to accelerate and its ever-diminishing attention span. They include saxophonist David Boykin, drummer Chad Taylor and guitarists Jeff Parker and Emmett Kelly. Lisa Alvarado plays harmonium on two tracks. She also provides a painting for the cover art which matches the music beautifully, vivid and vibrant, its interlocking geometry binding fragmentary perceptions into a coherent pattern, self-sufficient yet also clearly part of a far larger picture.

By 2012 this fascinating music was taking on a group identity, performed by Abrams with the Natural Information Society. That development was subsequently consolidated with the recording of Magnetoception, released in 2015. Represencing, however, conveys the excited air of an adventure unfolding. Reminiscent in passing of a variety of other musics - of tightly poised jazz, motoric rock and minimalism plus echoes from other cultural traditions - it remains nonetheless a singular statement by an artist rapidly finding his own distinctive voice. The music offered by Represencing is intricate yet direct, hypnotically repetitive yet constantly changing, built to last yet intimately present.

Joshua Abrams: guimbri, organ, ms20, harps, bells, harmonium, mpc
Lisa Alvarado: gong & harmonium
Mikel Avery: drums
David Boykin: tenor saxophone
Emmett Kelly electric & acoustic guitars
Nicole Mitchell: flutes
Jeff Parker: electric guitar
Tomeka Reid: cello
Jason Stein: bass clarinet
Chad Taylor: gong & drums
Michael Zerang: tambourine

Dave Pike Quartet Featuring Bill Evans: Pikes Peak. 180g. Limited Edition High-Definition Premium Vinyl Pressing
“This LP was vibraphonist DAVE PIKE’s second recording as a leader. Pike is joined by bassist Herbie Lewis, drummer Walter Perkins, and most notably pianist BILL EVANS. It was one of the pianist’s first sessions after the tragic death of his bassist, Scott LaFaro, and gives listeners a rare opportunity to hear Evans this late in his career as a sideman. The music is fairly spontaneous. An excellent if generally overlooked straight-ahead set.” (Scott Yanow) “

After years unavailable, this reissue presents this 1976 album in its full glory, with remastered sound and original artwork, including the rare promo poster.

Pressed on 180g vinyl. Once resettled in Lima, Peru, in 1974 after spending some time playing in a jazz quintet in Berlin, sax player Nilo Espinosa would put together the Nil's Jazz Ensemble, a top-notch array of local talent consisting of Pancho Sáenz (trumpet), Miguel 'Chino' Figueroa (keyboards), Oscar Stagnaro (bass), Andrés Silva (drums and percussion), Jorge Montero, Richie Zellon and Ramón Stagnaro (guitars). They recorded one single album that remains not only as one of the truly grails for collectors of Latin-American jazz but also as an outstanding piece of music on its own. The opening song "Reflexiones" is a mind-blowing jazz-funk number right up there with the very best of the genre, written by Black Sugar's former member Miguel 'Chino' Figueroa, featuring a fantastic work on trumpet and rhodes. The album also includes a cover of the rare groove classic "Hard Work" that could have easily sneaked into the funkiest side of the Prestige catalogue. Following the success of this album, Espinosa would expand his band to a big band format and tour local theatres and clubs in Lima, where jazz music was a popular genre at the time. Our reissue presents this 1976 album in its full glory, pressed on 180g vinyl with remastered sound and original artwork, including the rare promo poster.