MUSIC

Compiled from ultra-rare dead stock pressed at a Soviet-era vinyl plant in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, this first-of-its-kind fully licensed album features a supreme selection of Uzbek disco, Tajik electronic folk, Uyghur guitar licks, Crimean Tatar jazz, Korean brass, and genre-defying styles from Soviet Central Asia. Drop the needle, and you're not just hearing rare Soviet dance music. You're journeying along the Silk Roads, revisiting raucous USSR disco nights, and immersing in grooves that inspired Soviet youth to envision a different future, ultimately unraveling the Iron Curtain from within. Слушать громко! __________ Ostinato Records is proud to announce Synthesizing the Silk Roads: Uzbek Disco, Tajik Folktronica, Uyghur Rock & Crimean Tatar Jazz from 1980s Soviet Central Asia, an unprecedented new anthology of revolutionary, rarely heard dance music from the former USSR. Synthesizing the Silk Roads is the soundtrack of a little-known revolution where Soviet DJs’ demand for homegrown music inadvertently reshaped world history. It spotlights Central Asian crossroads that bridged east and west, making more than a modest contribution to global culture. Drop the needle, and you’re not just hearing rare Soviet dance music. You’re journeying along the Silk Roads, revisiting raucous USSR disco nights, and immersing in grooves that inspired Soviet youth to envision a different future, ultimately unraveling the Iron Curtain from within. In the summer of 1941, as the Nazis invaded the USSR, Stalin ordered a mass evacuation. Sixteen million people were put on trains bound eastward to Soviet Central Asia, especially Tashkent, Uzbekistan’s picturesque capital. Among those onboard were gramophone engineers who later established the Tashkent Gramplastinok plant in 1945. This factory became central to Soviet record production, part of a network of plants churning out 200 million records by the 1970s. Rare dead stock of 1980s vinyl from this plant, shut down in 1991, forms the backbone of our groundbreaking 15-track compilation, complemented by live TV recordings and curated in collaboration with Uzbek label Maqom Soul. Fully licensed directly from the artists or their families and meticulously remastered, these songs – all recorded in Tashkent – unveil a diverse tapestry of sounds from Soviet Uzbekistan and its neighbors. More than a sanctuary, Tashkent was a crucible of sound. Nestled between Europe and Asia, its legacy as a key hub along the ancient Silk Roads gave it a cosmopolitan flair for centuries. As a mainstay of Soviet recording, it welcomed artists from across the Asian expanse of the USSR. Uzbek disco divos, Tajik women artists, Uyghur bands from Kazakhstan via Xinjiang in western China, Tatar musicians from the Crimean peninsula, and even a Korean orchestra found their voice in this vibrant scene. After Stalin’s death in 1953, the Soviet music scene opened up. Jazz clubs blossomed, rock venues infatuated with Deep Purple emerged, and by the late 1970s, 20,000 disco clubs sprouted across the USSR. Despite mandatory one-hour ideological lectures before DJs began their sets, these clubs, fueled by synthesizer dance music, became catalysts for new worldviews. Disco clubs were cash cows and the rise of “disco mafias” marked some of the first instances of private commerce in the Soviet Union. These underground networks capitalized on the lucrative disco club scene, trading in western clothing, vinyl records, and alcohol. This burgeoning capitalism played its own role in reshaping youth perspectives and contributing to the USSR’s eventual collapse. Tashkent’s musicians often had access to a wider array of technology than their Moscow counterparts. Thanks to Uzbekistan’s Bukharan Jewish community, leading importers of state-of-the-art music tech from the US and Japan, artists on this compilation were crafting sounds on Moog and Korg synthesizers, creating the signature sonic palette that emerged from the region. While artists like Natalia Nurumkhamedova believed Uzbekistan under the Soviet Union ushered “the heyday of art and culture,” artistic expression came at a price. Some featured artists faced KGB beatings, gulag imprisonment, or forced psychiatric treatment. Yet their resilience shines through, typified by Original Band’s disco hits recorded after their leader’s release from prison. The iron curtain of Soviet secrecy has long obscured fascinating cultural narratives. Synthesizing the Silk Roads lifts that veil at last, revealing an unexpected and still extraordinary musical revolution.

An iconic rare groove heresy with alternative and avant-garde badassery! Weldon's masterpiece, still widely influential in the world today! This is a masterpiece of Weldon's, which is still widely influential in the world today! The original is almost impossible to find for less than $1000. It is also a masterpiece of 70's jazz with gems of music with incandescent performances. The eloquent and spiritual spoken word piece "Time Capsule" opens the album, and it is heretical from the start. Feelin' Mellow" is a heartwarming soul number co-written and performed with Johnny King of the FATBACK BAND, a masterpiece that reflects the loving feelings of Weldon, who wrote the lyrics. The album's most popular song, the rare groove classic "Deja Vu," is an impressive piece of vocal jazz in the Latin manner, with a space-like tone of the electric piano and tricky soloing. The simple singing and Weldon's philosophical lyrics are beautifully synchronized with the spacy orchestration, and the result is a wonderful mixture of acidic intensity and popularity!　Other great songs include "Watergate-Don't Bug Me!" and "Bananas"! This album is also a bridge to the prestigious Strata East and RCA label's trilogy. This is a masterpiece among masterpieces, filled with pop, experimentation, lively and vivid performances that make you bleed when cut, and Weldon's passion for music. It's like a piece of spectacular storytelling!

This is the 7th album released on his own Nodlew label, after having worked for RCA and Strata-East!　This is a crossover jazz masterpiece released in 1989, featuring mainly sessions from the 80's as well as rare recordings from the early days of Steve Grossman's participation!

A mega-rare album is reissued. This is a tremendous property from the famous "Outernational Sounds", which has been conducting ambitious excavation releases across spiritual jazz, jazz funk, and Indo jazz, including rare works related to Nimbus. This is a reissue of a legendary independent album released in 1979 by Betty Lou Landreth, a female jazz singer from Oklahoma who also performed at clubs and worked as a backup singer in studios. This is the only album that features talented session players such as The Funk Brothers, a Motown session group, and Marcus Belgrave of Detroit's Tribe Collective. This is a cult album of jazz vocals with a fierce blend of unfathomable mysteriousness and excessive energy that engulfs all kinds of audiences into another dimension.

More than once Jay Richford and Gary Stevan’s Feelings has been described as the greatest library record ever released. Of course Be With can’t be seen to be playing favourites, but we have to admit, it’s pretty good. Insanely rare and immensely sought-after, it’s a tough funk, street jazz masterpiece coveted for many years by collectors of all musical genres. Groove-laden bass, irrepressible horns, sweet flute lines, warm Rhodes, lush string arrangements, blaxploitation-styled wah-wah guitars and so, so much more make this one of the finest instrumental soul LPs of the 70s, if not of all time.

Following the success of the 'Tokyo Glow' and 'Funk Tide' sets, Wewantsounds once again teams up with Tokyo-based DJ Notoya for a breezy selection of Funk and Boogie recorded in Japan for King Records in the 70s and 80s. Most tracks here are making their debut on vinyl outside of Japan and the album, like its predecessors, has been designed by Optigram's Manuel Sepulveda and is annotated by DJ Notoya. The audio has been newly mastered in Tokyo by King Records and remastered for vinyl by Colorsound in Paris.

- New Addition in the Wewantsounds Japanese Music Compilation series
- Compiled and annotated in Tokyo by DJ Notoya
- Unique access to King Records' vault
- Most tracks Making their Debut Outside of Japan
- Artwork by Optigram's Manuel Sepulveda

Tracklist
A1 BUZZ - Garasumado ガラス窓 2.35 (1974)
A2 Mami Ayukawa - Sabita Gambler 錆びたギャンブラー 3.53 (1987)
A3 Johnny Yoshinaga - The Rain 雨 5.47 (1978)
A4 Keiko Toda – Fade In 溶明 4.15 (1983)
A5 Koji Kobayashi - Bokura no Date 僕らのデート 3.08 (1978)

B6 Yuko Imai – Hotel Twilight 4.49 (1988)
B7 Kumiko Sawada – Your Love’s Away ユア・ラブズ・アウェイ 4.23 (1979)
B8 Masatoshi Kanno - Day By Day デイ・バイ・デイ 3.32 (1976)
B9 Yuji Mitsuya – After Five At Café-Bar 4.49 (1984)
B10 Fujimaru Band - Paper machine 2.29 (1977)

FIRST EVER VINYL REISSUE OF ROY HAYNES'S 1971 LP 'HIP ENSEMBLE' MIXING SPIRITUAL JAZZ AND FUNK AND RELEASED ON MAINSTREAM RECORDS. FEATURING THE BONUS TRACK, "ROY'S TUNE," REMASTERED AUDIO, THE ORIGINAL GATEFOLD ARTWORK AND NEW LINER NOTES BY KEVIN LE GENDRE

Wewantsounds is delighted to reissue Roy Haynes' 1971 LP 'Hip Ensemble,' recorded in New York for Bob Shad's Mainstream Records and featuring Hannibal Marvin Peterson, George Adams, Teruo Nakamura and Lawrence Killian. Together the musicians create a superb mix of jazz funk and spiritual Jazz showcasing Haynes powerful drumming and creativity. "Hip Ensemble" is reissued here for the first time on vinyl since 1971, in its original gatefold artwork with first generation photos and includes the bonus track "Roy's Tune." It comes with newly remastered audio and a 2-page insert featuring new liner notes by Kevin Le Gendre.

Roy Haynes who passed away last November at age 99 is one of the undisputed giants of Jazz. Born in Roxbury, Massachusetts in 1925, Haynes started drumming during his teenage years before moving to New York in 1945 where his career took off. He went on to play with the likes of Charlie Parker, Miles Davis and Lester Young, becoming an institution over the decades. 

In the late 60s, after a stint with the John Coltrane's quartet, he put together the Hip Ensemble, a small group featuring the young turks George Adams on sax, Hannibal Marvin Peterson on trumpet, Japanese bass player Teruo Nakamura, Lawrence Killian on percussion together with German pianist Carl Schroeder on Fender Rhodes.

Bob Shad, who had worked with Haynes in the 50s when he was running EmArcy, saw the group live in New York one night and decided to sign them on his label Mainstream Records as he was starting to produce jazz again after a few years releasing psychedelic rock. His idea was to plug into the new modal and jazz-funk scenes that was flourishing at the time and Haynes was also experimenting with.

The album "Hip Ensemble" reflects this new direction with a superb mix of spiritual jazz, as heard on the rendition of Stanley Cowell's theme "Equipoise" (which had originally appeared on Max Roach's 1968 album "Members Don't Git Weary") or the more uptempo "Nothing Ever Changes For You My Love" both drenched in Schroeder's Fender Rhodes and showcasing gorgeous solos by Schroeder, George Adams and Marvin Peterson. Complementing the group for this session were Mervin Bronson, adding a touch of Fender bass and a second percussionist, Elwood Johnson.

Side two is even groovier with the relentless "Satan's Mysterious Feeling" followed by "You Name It," two compositions by George Adams fuelled by the Funky Drumming of Haynes in full flight, the ideal backbone for the players to lay out their inspired solos (including Haynes' explosive one).

We've added "Roy's Tune" as a bonus track which was recorded at the same session but not included on the original album - it briefly came out on a low key Mainstream compilation two years after. The track is another fascinating breakbeat that has strangely never been sampled even if Roy Haynes' drums have appeared on many hip hop classics by De La Soul, Dilla, Pete Rock or Q Tip over the years. "Hip Ensemble" has been remastered for vinyl by Colorsound Studio in Paris and is a timely reminder that Haynes is one of the greatest jazz drummers of all times.
 

The reissue of 1972's Italian jazz funk classic, directed by Il Maestro Piero Umiliani. Trumpetist Francesco "Cicci" Santucci and saxophonist Enzo Scoppa cut their teeth in the late '50s, playing with the Italian group Modern Jazz Gang, along with other Italian jazz greats such as Sandro Brugnolini and Amadeo Tommasi. In June 1971, "il maestro" Piero Umiliani made his Sound Workshop recording studio in the heart of Rome available to them, so that they could create an album under his supervision. The result was Olimpiade, a jazz-funk album featuring Franco d'Andrea on electric piano (who would go on to play with the group Perigeo a year later), and Belgian musician Joel Vendrokenbrak on organ. It should be noted that this session was also released on Dire, under the name On the Underground Road, but is here reissued for the first time with its magnificent original cover. A poster of the artwork and a printed insert featuring the Sound Workshop studio are also included with this reissue.
 

The acclaimed and highly sought-after LP by Hailu Mergia and the Walias, Tche Belew, an album of instrumentals released in 1977, is perhaps the most seminal recording released in the aftermath of the 1974 revolution. The story of the Walias band is a critical chapter in Ethiopian popular music, taking place during a period of music industry flux and political complexity in the country. Hailu Mergia, a keyboardist and arranger diligently working the nightclub scene in Addis Ababa, formed the Walias in the early 1970’s with a core group of musicians assembled from prior working bands. They played Mergia’s funk- and soul-informed tunes, while cutting 45rpm singles with various vocalists. While the Walias performed at top hotels and played the presidential palace twice, their relationship with the Derg regime was complex, evidenced by the removal of one song from the record by government censors. Decades later, Hailu Mergia was surprised to see the album fetching more than $4,000 at online auctions (it helped that the most popular of all Ethiopian tunes “Musicawi Silt” appeared on the record). Now everyone has the chance to listen again―or for the first time―to this timeless pillar of Ethiopian popular music.

With their new album 'Rhapsody', the extraordinary vocalists Ifedayo Gatling, Dennis Bailey, and George Marage are able to fully explore the entire range of music that influenced them. The follow-up to their acclaimed 2022 release 'Look Up!', the record is a dive into a lesser-known but hugely important era in the evolution of gospel music. Starting in the mid-1960s, local gospel groups and singers began incorporating elements of popular soul and funk styles and in 2006, Chicago-based reissue label Numero Group released Good God! A Gospel Funk Hymnal. HGT’s longtime friend and mentor Eli "Paperboy Reed" approached the group with the idea of digging through the Numero catalog and recording some of the gospel funk material, reinterpreted in their own way—from the high-energy, old-school soul of “God’s Been Good to Me” to the hip-hop-inflected “Get Involved.” The Harlem Gospel Travelers story began when Gatling and Marage met while studying under Reed's tutelage. The group put out their debut LP, 'He’s On Time', to rave reviews in 2019, earning them high profile fans like Elton John and landing them festival slots everywhere from Pilgrimage to Telluride Jazz. Originally a quartet, they brought in Bailey and reconfigured as a trio prior to recording Look Up!, their first album of all original material. At a moment when the world is reconsidering the concepts of genre and category and who’s allowed to participate in which traditions, HGT are squarely on the cultural pulse. “We always found it difficult to stay in this one lane of what people think gospel is supposed to be,” says Gatling. “This record allowed us to hear people that were innovators in their own time, pushing how gospel music sounded, and now we've created this project that is message-wise gospel, but the feeling and the sound can be whatever you want it to be.”

Isao Suzuki, who became a popular bassist after “Blow Up,” released his fourth TBM album. The profound groovy sound he has created with the genius Kenji Mori and others has never faded away over time.

Easily one of the most coveted and sought-after of all jazz LPs is the elusive Holy Grail that is Roy Brooks' Ethnic Expressions. It's not just rarity that makes a record of this nature so desirable, nor is it the compelling music within -- sometimes, like a Van Gogh or a Picasso, it's the personality of the artist himself that's inexorably entwined with the record itself that lends a fascinating, mesmeric and mythical quality that simply can't be contrived. The sixth release in Jazzman's Holy Grail series is an attentive reissue of one of Detroit drummer Roy Brooks' two LPs for the tiny Im-Hotep label out of New York. This Jazzman release is in conjunction with P-Vine Records of Tokyo, whose Japanese reissue has already vanished with only a handful having reached these shores late in 2009. Ethnic Expressions was recorded live in NYC in 1973, and exhibits a powerful message of black consciousness and spiritual freedom. This is post-Coltrane progressive jazz of the highest order! With a cry to his African roots, Brooks' music combines modal, rhythmic and Afro-centric jazz with politics, spirituality and positive vibes. The result is deep, esoteric spiritual jazz that any fan into real-deal, vibrant jazz will require as essential listening.

An all-star project featuring Cadejo, pianist Seok-chul Yoon, saxophonist Oki Kim, and vibraphonist Mothervibes, all active in the Korean jazz scene! Analog recordings using vintage equipment recreate the Korean jazz sound of the time. This is a great album not only for the Korean jazz scene, but also for library music and frontier psychedelic music lovers!

PSYCHEDELIC ROOTS FROM ADDIS ABABA from the sizzling Addis Ababa nightlife scene, this group shines an experimentalism based in the virtuosity of rooted traditions. swirling masinko (one-stringed fiddle), wah-wah violin, bass krar grooves, heavy riffs of goat skin kebero beats, and powerful mellismatic lead African diva vocals, QWANQWA keeps the people rapt in celebratory attention.

A trio of Moroccan brothers, coming together here with a very groovy sound – rock at the core, with some very trippy elements and harmonies on some of the best cuts – but also tinged with some slight traditional instrumentation as well – used to flavor the tunes and really make them stand out from more Anglo styles of the time! The songs are all original, and nicely different than other Mid-East pop work we know from the time – maybe a bit headier overall, on titles that include "Hey Di Dam Dam", "Leili Twil", "El Harib", "Sebar", and "Galouli Ensaha"

Be With Records present the first ever official reissue of Kimiko Kasai with Herbie Hancock's Butterfly, originally released in 1979. The positively sublime and very rare Butterfly LP, recorded in Tokyo in 1979 by Japanese songstress Kimiko Kasai and jazz legend Herbie Hancock. Due to its super-rare status as a Japan-only release, this exquisite collection of covers never got the recognition it deserved at the time, despite incredibly inspired performances from Kimiko, Herbie, and the supremely talented musicians assembled for the project. From heavenly drummer Alphonse Mouzon and renowned organist Webster Lewis to bassist Paul Jackson, reedman Bennie Maupin, and the master percussionist Bill Summers, the legendary performers crafted amazingly good vocal versions of Herbie/Headhunters jazz-funk. Unsurprisingly, it has been heavily in demand for many years. The LP opens with Kimiko's highly desirable version of "I Thought It Was You", an elegant take on Herbie's own anthem. Other superb re-workings include the delicately soulful "Butterfly", jazzy groover "Sunlight", the smooth and sexy "Tell Me A Bedtime Story", and the beautiful ballads "Maiden Voyage" and "Harvest Time". A wonderful example of perfectly understated and masterful jazz-funk soul fusion that shouldn't be missed, the set closes with a jaw-dropping version of Stevie Wonder's "As". This lovingly curated reissue enables a long overdue reappraisal of this hitherto unavailable masterpiece.

Japanese jazz and rare groove masterpiece re-released on clear lime yellow colored vinyl!
A single stroke of the drum will numb your whole body. Japan's super funky drummer, Akira Ishikawa, runs through the wonderland of grooves!

Akira Ishikawa is a superb funky drummer born in Japan. He is highly regarded in many fields for his ability to travel freely through jazz, rock, and African music, fuse them together, and create his own unique musical style. His career is lined with masterpieces of jazz-rock and rare groove, but this album is especially favored for its outstanding selection of songs and poignant musicality. The album includes "Let's Start," a tight cover of Fela Kuti's Afro-funk, "Bongo Rock," a dynamic song with drum breaks, and "Pick Up The Pieces," a jazz-funk version of the Avebury White Band's classic. Pieces," a jazz-funk version of the Avebury White Band classic, and many other monster tunes that are hard to believe were recorded in 1975. Supported by such virtuosos as Kiyoshi Sugimoto, Hiromasa Suzuki, and Ken Muraoka, the album also shines.
text by Yusuke Ogawa (universounds/Deep Jazz Reality)

Distance as a measure of time and place informs Kelly Finnigan’s, A Lover Was Born with a grit and grace that turns passion into virtue. The latest solo release from The Monophonics frontman roots itself in the best traditions of midwest soul labels like King, Curtom, Dakar, and the Bodie Recording Company. A Lover Was Born is a testimony that these deep cut grooves are not resigned to nostalgia, instead, they are at the burning heart of longing and hope. The journey Finnigan takes listeners on over Lover’s eleven tracks echo the state of motion and growth since his solo debut, The Tales People Tell (2019). These two records bookend a prolific period of output, including a pair of Monophonics albums, a Christmas album, a mixtape, and a full slate of producing other artists (The Ironsides, Alanna Royale, the Sextones). “There’s nothing like making records,” says Finnigan. “It feels like that’s my purpose — the reason I was put on this earth.” Written in California, Ohio, and Staten Island, Kelly Finnigan collaborated with old friends in and outside the studio. “I enjoy working alone but it’s not how you want to make a record…almost everybody I brought in for this album I’ve worked with, toured with or spent a great deal of time with.” Max and Joe Ramey (The Ironsides), Jimmy James (Parlor Greens), Sergio Rios (Orgone), Joey Crispiano (Dap Kings) and Jay Mumford (aka J-Zone) all contribute to the overall sound of A Lover Was Born. Dramatic influences like Isaac Hayes (check out the piano on “Be Your Own Shelter”) and Jerry Ragovoy are chopped and folded into Northern Soul uptempo numbers to create stompers like “Get a Hold of Yourself” or “Chosen Few”. Finnigan’s take on Deep Soul is captured brilliantly on “Walk Away from Me” and “Love (Your Pain Goes Deep)”, while Boom Bap pervades on hard hitters “His Love Ain’t Real” & “Cold World”. Slower songs such as “Let Me Count the Reasons”, the emotional “All That’s Left”, and the soul-stirring album closer “Count Me Out” show the honest and tender side that has become Finnigan’s calling card. All the while, the voice is raw and earthy — in the best tradition of R&B shouters like Otis Redding, Lee Moses, and David Ruffin. The songs on A Lover Was Born reconfigure the spliced and sampled DNA of hip hop (extracted by crate diggers like Dilla and RZA) to create something new, underscoring both the spectrum and depth of soul while making a case to the timelessness of Finnigan’s sound.

Souffle Continu records is thrilled to present Byard Lancaster – The Complete Palm Recordings 1973-1974, the definitive 7 LP’s deluxe package of Philadelphia born jazz wizard Byard Lancaster including his 4 legendary albums released on Jef Gilson’s Palm Records in the 1970s, Us, Mother Africa, Exactement and Funny Funky Rib Crib, along with the first ever standalone edition of Love Always, a fifteen minute modal jazz beauty plus a 20 page booklet with rare photos and in-depth article about Byard Lancaster’s Parisian years by Pierre Crépon. At the beginning of the 1960s, at the Berklee College of Music, Byard Lancaster met some feisty friends: Sonny Sharrock, Dave Burrell and Ted Daniel. It is easy to see why he rapidly became involved in free jazz. Once he was settled in New York, he appeared on Sunny Murray Quintet, recorded under the leadership of the drum crazy colleague of Albert Ayler. In 1968, the saxophonist and flutist recorded his first album under his own name: It’s Not Up To Us. The following year he came to Paris in the wake of… Sunny Murray. He would come back to France in 1971 (again with Murray) and in 1973 (without Murray for a change). This is when he met Jef Gilson, the pianist and producer who encouraged him to record under his own name again. On Palm Records (Gilson’s label), he would release four albums: Us, Mother Africa, Exactement and Funny Funky Rib Crib. “Us”, the first of the four records was recorded on November 24th, 1973 with Sylvin Marc on electric bass (a Fender… Lancaster?) and the evergreen Steve McCall on drums. On the album, the trio works from the John Coltrane model; free jazz shook up by the timely contributions of the bassist, followed by a mesmerizing atmospheric music. Then, Lancaster delivers a sinuous solo path, which is a reminder of his unique tone. On the album’s companion single, the trio launches into great black music of a different genre which would lead the clairvoyant François Tusques to claim that Byard Lancaster is an “authentic representative of soul/free jazz”, to sum up this is Great Black Music! A few months after recording “Us”, Lancaster recorded “Mother Africa” along with Clint Jackson III, a trumpeter, partner of Khan Jamal or Noah Howard on other recordings. On march 8th, 1974, Lancaster and Jackson headed up a group composed of Jean-François Catoire (electric and double bass), Keno Speller (percussion) and Jonathan Dickinson (drums). Together, they create an immediate impression. From the first seconds of “We The Blessed”, they develop a free jazz which rapidly abandons any virulence under the effect of blues and soul based interventions. When Gilson’s composition “Mother Africa” begins, listeners are transported into the studio, listening to the musicians setting up: chatting and joking… Then comes the melody: a dozen or so notes of a repeated theme which is accelerated and deformed according to their whims… The jazz played by the association Byard Lancaster / Clint Jackson III is rare: creative AND recreational. “We the blessed”, is apt listening to this again today! The recording of “Exactement” required two sessions in the studio: February 1st and May 18th 1974 – in between the two dates, Lancaster recorded, alongside Clint Jackson, the excellent Mother Africa. Two names appear on the cover of “Exactement”: Lancaster (Byard) and Speller (Keno). Byard Lancaster wanted to be precise, moving regularly from one instrument to another: first on piano, which was the first instrument he learned. On “Sweet Evil Miss Kisianga”, his inspiration is first and foremost Coltrane (even if leaning more towards Alice than John), this announces the storm to follow. It is Lancaster’s horn-playing which really stands out: on alto (the sound of which is transformed by an octavoice on one track, "Dr. Oliver W. Lancaster") or soprano saxophones, as well as on flute or bass clarinet, the musician walks a tightrope making the most of all the risks he takes. Using the full register of his instruments, he has fun with the possibilities. Then, Lancaster invokes or evokes Ornette Coleman, Eric Dolphy and even Prokofiev, before going into a danse alongside Keno Speller on percussion. Above all, he has a unique sound. Byard Lancaster, on whatever instrument he plays and by continually seeking, always ends up hitting the right note… ends up by playing exactement the note he had to play. “Funny Funky Rib Crib” is an unforgettable recording (made up of several sessions dating from the middle of 1974) of creative jazz overwhelmed by funk and soul. If Lancaster had already made successful albums in the same genre – notably New Horizons, under the name Sounds Of Liberation which he co-led with Khan Jamal –, this one is an homage to James Brown and Sammy Davis enjoying the company of a host of guests including François Tusques (electric piano), Clint Jackson III (trumpet), François Nyombo (guitar), Joseph Traindl (trombone)… Funny Funky Rib Crib’s cover is a three-quarter profile portrait of the saxophonist (who can also be heard on flute, piano and even vocals), however, on the record, it is the whole group, inspired and frenetic, that tests the melodies of “Just Test”, “Dogtown” or “Rib Crib” – the two versions of which display leader Lancaster’s art of nuance. On both sides of the album, the group also moves into a calmer groove, infused by blues and soul, “Work And Pray” and “Loving Kindness” are meditative tracks where listeners can lay back and relax before asking for more: Funny Funky Rib Crib!!! The magnificent “Love Always” was originally released on the fourth (and last) volume of the Jef Gilson Anthology series released in 1975. Recorded on 8th March 1974, it is a beautiful 15-minute-long modal jazz piece. Four notes from the bass (the relentless Jean-François Catoire, who makes up the rhythm section alongside drummer Jonathan Dickinson and percussionist Keno Speller), and the group is up and running! On piano, Gilson shows the subtle tact of a sideman, leaving the lions’ share of the place to the horns. This allows us to hear the trumpet of Clint Jackson III and the alto (which sometimes sounds almost flute-like) of Byard Lancaster each staking their claim in a long hallucinatory march which moves from moments of direct exaltation to profoundly sensitive collective playing. And if further proof was required of the confidence that Byard Lancaster and Jef Gilson inspire, “Love Always” provides it on this one sided release exclusive to the box set.

Recorded in December 1976, Hear And Now was produced by drummer / keyboardist Narada Michael Walden (ex-member and session man for Journey, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Weather Report). The album – licensed by major label Atlantic – has been often dismissed by jazz purist and early days Cherry fans as a commercial effort. To be true it is a record that epitomize the ‘club’ tendencies discovered in the second half of the decade by many jazz and fusion artists. Led by the incredible ‘world’ rare groove of Universal Mother, the album is to be rediscovered in a different light.

Nothing innocent about this record – because the groove is hard and heavy, wild and trippy – a really heady brew of funky jazz and more psychedelic influences – all recorded with some weird sounds in the background too! The album's a great one from Japanese groove pioneer Takeshi Inomata – and it's almost a fusion of earlier 60s funky band jazz with some of the more tripped-out modes of the jazz rock era. Vamping rhythms and full-on organs are undercut by wiggy guitar parts and soaring organ lines – all augmented by spoken Japanese passages, sound effects, and production styles that abstract out some instruments into very unusual modes.

This is the most long-awaited reissue of this masterpiece from the most important spiritual jazz label, Strata-East! This miraculous album includes the masterpiece "Peace," which combines a peaceful worldview, modal sound, and black groove!

A gem of a record that fully expresses the beauty, power, and profundity of US spiritual jazz! The first work recorded in 1974 by The Ensemble Al Salam, led by saxophonist Khaliq Abdul Al Rouf. From the Afrocentric "The Sojourner," the prototype of Two Banks of Four, "Circles," the high-speed modal jazz "Trace Of Trane" dedicated to Coltrane, the thrilling and tense "Malika," the peaceful "Optimystical," and the masterpiece "Peace," which changes from a warm and soulful first half to a raging Brazilian, this is a record that I sincerely hope as many music fans as possible will listen to! In particular, the song featuring the vital female vocalist Beatrice Parker is like a jewel.

Kit Sebastian – composed of K. Martin and Merve Erdem – announce their new album ‘New Internationale’, set for release 27th September on Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder record label, and unveil lead single “Metropolis”.

Speaking on “Metropolis”, Kit Sebastian says “The hook of this track was influenced by how many famous Azerbaijani’s musicians (like Vagif Mustafazadeh or Rafig Babayev) approach their melodies, but played over a more western funk groove. We use the familiar Italian analog synth found in a junkyard and a mock-choir to create a choral texture. It ends with a samba section, with two drum kits, horn section and string section partially fed through an analog synth to process it.”

Lyrically, “Metropolis” portrays the immigrant experience, highlighting the pressures and disillusionments of trying to find control, meaning, and a sense of belonging in a seemingly indifferent and foreign world, all while grappling with the compromises between pursuing art as a profession and seeking stability. It is about projecting one's hopes and desires onto a new city, the naive sense of freedom this brings, and the inevitable disillusionment and desolation that follow.

‘New Internationale’—their musically irrepressible and emotionally sophisticated third album, and their debut for Brainfeeder—is deliberate in a way Kit Sebastian has never really been. They wrote most of it on the road, energised by the sounds they discovered as they magpied instruments during their travels—Turkish clarinet, santour, oud, gangsa, zither, harpsichord, and on and on. They cut most of the tracks in London during brief breaks, longtime drummer Theo Guttenplan and double bassist David Richardson joining a panoply of horn, string, and percussion players. And during a year off from the road, where K. and Merve could concentrate on making sure the pieces moved together, they decamped to the French countryside for two weeks, leaving the distractions and moodiness of home. They captured vocals for 14 songs there in only half that time. Both Kit Sebastian’s busy touring schedule and subsequent break from it allowed Merve to step fully into these songs and their ever-shifting shapes, her confidence and versatility rising in tandem.

But rather than sounding stitched together from these assorted scenes, ‘New Internationale’ is a riveting synthesis of the sounds and styles that have long tantalised Kit Sebastian—French pop and Anatolian psych, vintage Tropicália and early rock ’n’ roll, with breezes of soul and prog blowing through the open windows of the pair’s collective imagination. 

For fans of: Sessa, Caetano, Veloso, Alabaster DePlume, Bala Desejo London has a bright new Brazilian talent in town, who goes by the name of MOMO. Not so new, actually. One of the recent generation of artists influenced by the Brazilian classics, from 1970s tropicália, Os Mutantes and Milton Nascimento. MOMO. releases his 7th album Gira, on Batov Records bringing together some very special musicians and guests from London’s bustling and hustling jazz community, with fellow Brazilian artists, recorded and cut to tape at East London’s Total Refreshment Center. A journeying collaboration which effortlessly swings, guided by Marcelo Frota’s soft yet reassuringly familiar vocal, with ruminative and explorative brass twists, Gira was recorded with friends and guests including Alabaster DePlume on tenor sax (in whose band Marcelo toured), Jessica Lauren on keys, Tamar Osborn on baritone sax, Nick ‘Emanative’ Woodmansey on drums, Carwyn Ellis of Rio 18 fame on piano, Magnus Mehta from Penya on percussion and Caetano Malta on bass. Gira is MOMO.’s eighth album yet his first recorded in London. After a musical odyssey that took him from his home of Rio de Janeiro to Angola, Michigan, Chicago, Spain and Lisbon, MOMO. now calls London his home, where he lives with his young family, and whose creative spirit has inspired him for the last three years. Unsurprisingly, therefore, the new album marks a real departure. His debut from 2006, A Estética do Rabisco was named one of the best albums of the year by the Chicago Reader and set Marcelo’s musical path in motion. His singer-songwriting talents have already earned him plaudits from royalty like Patti Smith and David Byrne and he was invited to participate in A Tribute to Caetano to mark the 70th birthday of Brazilian musical legend, Caetano Veloso. Inspired by seeing his young daughter breaking out in dance to some music at home, MOMO. thought, "I would love to make an album that she could dance to" and Gira was conceived. In recruiting his new London friends as collaborators, MOMO. rekindled the fun and feel of his earliest recordings in Rio, when he would invite people over to his studio and "just see what happened." And the best way to capture such spontaneous energy was to record Gira live. In this case, at London’s Total Refreshment Centre, a creative hub that is also a concert space, artist workshop and studio which has become a beacon for jazz music since its ‘warehouse’ inception in 2012 by promoter Lex Blondin. The title Gira means to move. "It made sense to start with the grooves, the patterns, then start filling in the melodies,” MOMO. explains. So drummer Nick Woodmansey, leader of the genre-melting jazz collective Emanative, along with co-founder of Penya, percussionist Magnus Mehta, and fellow Brazilian immigrant and bassist Caetano Malta, combine to anchor the resulting effortless grooves, while other contributors then spark the little touches of magic in its wake. Alabaster DePlume's saxophone adds an exotic touch to Oqueeei. Francesca Ter-Berg's cello adds a startling dimension to two of the longer improvisations, the superb opener Pára and A Walk in the Park. Rosie Turton's brash, brittle trombone embellishes Summer Interlude and the first single, Jão. Inspired by the early work of Tim Maia, the album's shortest song pictures a guy in a gafieira (where people go to dance to samba in couples), MOMO. explains, "just dancing and having fun." Fun is a hallmark of Gira. "You come, you play, we have fun," MOMO. told his collaborators. You can hear it so clearly on that simmering eight-minute-plus opener Pára, chosen as the second single: the way MOMO. savours its memorable vocal refrain like a tasty morsel while Jessica Lauren's keyboard vamp takes root and Tamar Osborn's deliciously resonant baritone sax echoes Ronnie Cuber’s trademark work for Eddie Palmieri on Harlem River Drive. Fun, too, is what MOMO. had in collaborating with his old friend Wado on the lyrics to six of the album's 10 songs. The third and final single Rio, for example, is a tribute to the city where MOMO. grew up and first learned to play the guitar. Appropriately, Carwyn Ellis of Rio 18 fame was invited to play electric piano and add his touch to the song. The album’s finale, the focus and title track, is ”like folkloric music, like a baião but with a London vibe.” Gira is a new departure for MOMO. While previous albums have always started with guitar and voice, Gira begins with the groove – yet succeeds sublimely in balancing this new emphasis on spontaneous improvisation and songwriting. “Life brought me to London and I think I’ve made my lightest album; it could only have been created here." When Brazil meets London, you can't help but move to the groove.