MUSIC

Produced by Linval Thompsonp, Revolutionaries' 1979 dub masterpiece has been reissued in 180g weight.

Originally released on Hit in 1977, "The Best Of Freddy McKay" is not a best of album but Freddy McKay's third album, recorded at Channel One and Harry J's studio and backed by the Revolutionaries. The Best Of Freddy McKay" is not a best of album but Freddy McKay's third album, recorded at Channel One and Harry J's studio and backed by Revolutionaries.

Pablo Moses's deep roots reggae, released in 1980, is a quietly feverish, isolated Rastafarian masterpiece. Official vinyl reissue.

Flesh Of My Skin is the most hallowed of all those reggae albums which remain unavailable, and Keith Hudson's key achievement in a career launched when as a fourteen-year-old he recorded members of The Skatalites on his Shades Of Hudson rhythm. Originally released in 1974, after a series of solid-gold productions for Ken Boothe, Delroy Wilson, John Holt, U-Roy and the rest, it projects Hudson's removal from JA to London and New York studios and transatlantic audiences, and inaugurates a sequence of albums - classics like Pick A Dub, Brand, Playing It Cool - which show his troubled experimentalism better suited to the LP than the cardinal 7" reggae format. Anchored here by Santa Davis and George Fullwood from the Soul Syndicate - alongside musicians like Augustus Pablo, Count Ossie and Leroy Sibbles - Hudson's mood is tormented and dazed, as on titles like Darkest Night, My Nocturne and Testing My Faith he struggles for Black senses of commitment - political, existential, religious - at its breaking point. Magnificently and deadly serious, hauntingly unique, unmissable and unforgettable.

From London, UK, comes a new star in the Dub world! Electro-funk producer Lord Tusk's reggae dub name, Sons of Simeon, has finally released his killer debut! The tenth release from Riddim Chango is the debut 10" single from London, UK-based producer Lord Tusk's reggae dub label Sons of Simeon. Funkin Even's Apron label and John Rust's Levels label, as well as working with legendary US MC Mos Def on an album and releasing a Vaporwave album under the name Sun Runners, Lord Tusk is known as a big sound system fan. He is also known to be a big sound system fan. Lord Tusk's killer Dub/Stepper was mastered at Transition Studios, known for their work with DMZ. The sound of the sound system is guaranteed stable!

Another killer release on Numero, and another killer package. Ten incredible albums culled from the deepest, weirdest co-op of record enthusiasts ever gathered under one banner. We’ve spared no expense packaging these, pairing the idea of the Art of Compilation with living and breathing art, creating little fortune cookies baked in a factory of forgotten dreams. Video games, pyramids, trading cards, matchbooks, mazes, lottery tickets, film canisters, yearbooks, and various other exercises in design absurdity. + Jackets are patterned with alchemy and astrology symbols + Fold-out maze of gold foil and metallic ink + Origami sleeve transforms into magnetic pyramid sculpture P-Funk and Prince & the Revolution led the world through the last stellar evolutionary stages of soul music as it was transmogrified through the pulverizing lens of the 1980s, when African-American culture gave way to an advanced African-Interplanetary civilizations. Self-actualized artists and visionaries followed, reflecting and refracting their own interpretations as if translated by Samuel Delaney or Octavia Butler. This unwieldily titled collection documents ten successful experiments in privately-issued scifi soul music, lonely transmissions from a planet in a state of cultural fugue. Packaged in a one-way portal to the further limits of expression. Some assembly required.

A1 E. Willey Von Huff-N-Puff - Just Wish You Were Here
A2 Walter Hawkins - Metropolis
A3 Same Womb - Alibi Eyes
A4 Cause And Effect - You Make Me Feel Brand New
A5 Candle Tribe - Candles

B1 T. Dyson & Company - First Time
B2 LaRhonda LeGette - Now You Sit Alone
B3 Iron Force - Stay
B4 Errol Stubbs - Spaced Out On Your Love
B5 Severed - Real Life

Don Drummond (1932-1969), the great trombonist and original member of Skatalites, remade the killer number Last Call! In the 80's, the song was remixed by Jah Shaka, and this re-recording featuring veteran DJ Ranking Joe is just as tense and killer!

This is the first release from the tape archives of Rashied Ali (1935-2009), the American avant-garde jazz drummer who played in a duo with John Coltrane and with such greats as Peter Brötzmann and Jaco Pastorius. These two sets were recorded in the spring of 1967, and are extremely rare and coveted by fans! Gatefold chip on jacket, high quality RTI pressing, perfect quality.

Gil Scott Heron, the black minstrel known as "Black Dylan" and one of the pioneers of jazz poetry, released his second masterpiece on Arista in 1975, which has been reissued in analog format! It is a masterpiece dedicated to the struggle against apartheid, nuclear power, and black liberation. Spiritual soul/funk. This is a piece of music that makes you feel a certain heat in its peaceful and groovy sound!

180g vinyl, half speed mastered, heavy sleeve, obi Tracklisting LP A1. Hot House (Charlie Parker) A2. All The Things Your Are (Jerome Kern) A3. Red Carpet (Duke Ellington) A4. Bouncing With Bud (Bud Powell) B1. Embraceable You (George Gershwin) B2. Just One of Those Things (Cole Porter) B3. Mellow Dream (Ryo Fukui) Info We Release Jazz is so happy to announce the official reissue of Ryo Fukui’s New York sessions with Lisle Atkinson and Leroy Williams, the aptly titled album Ryo Fukui in New York, sourced from the original masters and available on limited edition 180 gram vinyl mastered at half speed for full audiophile sound, as well as on digipack CD. Recorded in February 1999 at Avatar Recording Studios in New York and inspired by Ryo Fukui’s idol and mentor Barry Harris, the fourth album from the famed Sapporo pianist captures memorable ses-sions with seasoned American jazz musicians (and frequent Barry Harris collaborators) Lisle Arthur Atkinson on bass and Leroy Williams on drums. Ryo Fukui in New York is pure bop heaven, glowing with poetic takes on classics by Charlie Parker, George Gershwin, Duke Ellington, Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, and Bud Powell, plus a supreme remake of Fukui’s very own “Mellow Dream". It’s expressive, soulful, and vibrating with a bouncing swing feel all the way through; every note falls exactly where it should, undeniable brilliance. Much like the other albums by the genius from Hokkaido, it’s got that “special something", hard to grasp, hard to describe, but 100% felt. Skills and heart, the Ryo Fukui way. Following his New York adventures, Ryo Fukui headed back to Sapporo, and more precisely to his jazz club Slowboat, where his newly acquired experience inspired numerous jam sessions and a full dedication to perfecting his craft. He sadly passed away in 2016, leaving behind a legacy of works that is sure to captivate jazz lovers for generations to come, and Slowboat, where the magics

Until Now, Jilala has been a much sought-after phantom in relation to their better-known musical and spiritual contemporaries, The Master Musicians of Jajouka. Culled from three and a half hours of 1965 recordings by writers/artists/poets Brion Gysin and Paul Bowles, the first batch of Jilala recordings were released on a 1965 LP that was scarce even upon its initial release. The second batch of recordings, which this LP has drawn from, came in the form of a CD by Baraka Foundation in 1998, which is also now long out of print.

The Jilala brotherhood — like the better-known Jajouka culture — has pre-Islamic roots in Sufi mysticism that span across northern Africa from Morocco to India. Jilala shares the kinds of small, portable instruments historically favored by nomadic cultures. Even among the more ardent aficionados of “world music” these recordings have seldom been heard.

In the original liner notes Ira Cohen provides a breakdown of the Jilala ensemble: “The instruments used are the shebaba, a long transversal cane flute, which leads the way; the bendir, a handheld drum resembling a tambourine without cymbals; and the karkabat which is a double castanet made of metal. On this record, there are usually three flutes, six drums and one pair of castanets.” In conjunction with the qraqaba – an iron analog to the wooden castanets featured heavily in the Flamenco music of the Roma people that also flourished over the centuries mere miles to the north in southern Spain.

These bendir drums provide a range very similar to that covered in contemporary popular music by the bass drum, snare, and cymbals that make up a standard drum kit. The Trance-inducing grooves were major influences on such bands as Led Zeppelin, Agitation Free, Can and the Rolling Stones. The collective rhythms are often reminiscent of early hip-hop.

"Nice dub by Sly & Robbie of their Master Of Ceremony album. A Bunny 'Striker' Lee production. 1978"

Co-produced with Carlos Niño and scoring a 7.5 on Pitchfork, Jamael Dean is a prodigious 20-year-old jazz pianist and producer who has collaborated and performed with Kamasi Washington, Thundercat and Carlos Niño. Jamael Dean's debut album is out now on the prestigious Stones Throw label. Influenced by his grandfather, the legendary soul-jazz drummer Donald Dean, as well as Sun Ra, Alice Coltrane, and Herbie Hancock, Dean is one of the most sought-after artists of the new generation. From the ethereal horn section, to the kaleidoscopic piano, to the chill-out microcosmic collage of sound, the vibes are tremendous. A chaotic cosmic soul-jazz masterpiece that mixes beat music, hip-hop, ambient and electronica. This is a masterpiece of chaotic cosmic soul jazz that mixes contemporary jazz, beat music, and experimental music, reaching out to listeners of many genres!

The Beaters – Harari was released in 1975. After changing their name, Harari went into the studio late in 1976 to record their follow-up, Rufaro / Happiness. In 1976 they were voted South Africa’s top instrumental group and were in high demand at concert venues across the country. 

Comprising former schoolmates guitarist and singer Selby Ntuli, bassist Alec Khaoli, lead guitarist Monty Ndimande and drummer Sipho Mabuse, the group had come a long way from playing American-styled instrumental soul in the late sixties to delivering two Afro-rock masterpieces. 

Before these two albums the Beaters had been disciples of ‘Soweto Soul’ – an explosion of township bands drawing on American soul and inspired by the assertive image of Stax and Motown’s Black artists. The Beaters supported Percy Sledge on his 1970 South African tour (and later Timmy Thomas, Brook Benton and Wilson Pickett). But their watershed moment was their three month tour of Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia) where they were inspired by the strengthening independence struggle and musicians such as Thomas Mapfumo who were turning to African influences. On their return, the neat Nehru jackets that had been the band’s earliest stage wear were replaced by dashikis and Afros. 

“In Harari we rediscovered our African-ness, the infectious rhythms and music of the continent. We came back home inspired! We were overhauling ourselves into dashiki-clad musicians who were Black Power saluting and so on.” Sipho Hotstix Mabuse, talking of the band’s time spent on tour in the (then) Rhodesian township from where they took their name. As well as expressing confident African politics, Alec Khaoli recalled, they pioneered by demonstrating that such messages could also be carried by “...happy music. During apartheid times we made people laugh and dance when things weren’t looking good.” 

The two albums capture the band on the cusp of this transition. One the first album Harari, Inhlupeko Iphelile, Push It On and Thiba Kamoo immediately signal the new Afro-centric fusion of rock, funk and indigenous influences. Amercian soul pop is not forgotten with Love, Love, Love and, helped along by Kippie Moeketsi and Pat Matshikiza a bump-jive workout What’s Happening concludes the album. The second album Rufaro pushes the African identity and fusion further, with key tracks Oya Kai (Where are you going?), Musikana and Uzulu whilst the more pop-styled Rufaro and Afro-Gas point to where Harari were headed to in years to come. The popularity and sales generated by these two classic albums saw them signed by Gallo and release just two more albums with the original line-up before the untimely death of Selby Ntuli in 1978. Whilst they went on to greater success, even landing a song in the US Billboard Disco Hot 100 in 1982, it was never the same again. 

“Harari’s music still speaks directly to one of my goals as a younger artist: to express myself as an African without pretending that I don’t have all these other musical elements – classical, jazz, house – inside me.” (Thandi Ntuli, niece of Selby Ntuli).

Unearthed by The Mighty Zaf for BBE Music, Into A New Journey by Ambiance is an impossibly rare and sought-after private label spiritual jazz masterpiece from 1982 with Latin, Brazilian and Afro overtones. Ambiance was the ‘nom de guerre’ of an ever-shifting jazz collective headed up by Nigeria-born, LA-tutored multi- instrumentalist, arranger, producer and photographer Daoud Abubakar Balewa.

Balewa studied composition and jazz improvisation at the feet of innovators such as Frank Mitchell (Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers), Jackie McLean (Blue Note) and other masters from the golden Blue Note era. Although he favoured alto, soprano and tenor, he was equally happy on flute, keyboards, and Latin and Brazilian percussion. What’s more, he had the knack of using musicians who were bold enough to welcome being part of such multi- faceted sessions: guitarist Jim Lum’s flexibility suits the theme of this album perfectly, as does prolific Japanese soul-jazz drummer Danny Yamamoto; the stunning Hawaiian pianist Kino Cornwell (Yamamoto’s colleague from funk-fusion supergroup Hiroshima); and the wonderful Jean Carn-like tones of Daoud’s wife, jazz vocalist Monife Balewa.

From the band’s reading of Joe Henderson’s modal masterpiece Black Narcissus, through the deep multicultural percussive jazz-dance workout that is the title track, and on to the three-octave vocal embellishments of Monife, on her own composition Something Better as well as on the Chick Correa fusion classic 500 Miles High, nothing here is generic, nothing taken for granted, nothing comfortable or predictable.

All of the half-dozen or so albums recorded and released by Daoud and Ambiance during just six years of frantic creativity between 1979 and 1986 are well worth seeking out, but in BBE Music’s opinion Into A New Journey is the pinnacle: spiritual jazz worthy of the very best practitioners of the genre, by an obscure group of ludicrously talented artists on a tiny, self- financed indie label with an equally tiny promo budget: that’s what great jazz is all about.

The gold standard for Hawaiian lounge miracles! This is the first analog reissue of Martin Denny's 1959 album "Hypnotique", the undisputed king of exotic fantasy music! Once you drop the needle, you'll be transported to another world... this record fully showcases space age music overflowing with imaginary appeal, armed with dripping melancholy and an exotic and fantastic mood. Limited edition of 1000 copies.

Seminal Japanese jazz album from 1971. Journeys through jazz fusion, soul and big band moods. Impossible to obtain in its original format, these days. Hozan Yamamoto was recognised as a "living national treasure" by the Japanese government in 2002. This highly sought-after album from the Japanese wood flute player is more upbeat and swinging than some of his other records. The big band he recorded this album with (Sharps & Flats) played a big part in the genesis of the album’s groove. Forming in 1951, they helped to make jazz popular in Japan after World War II. Yamamoto's flute lines weave over the heavy brass sound and groove, creating an MPS label blending of funky jazz and Japanese vibes. The closest comparison would be Dorothy Ashby's grooviest albums for Chess / Cadet – substituting Yamamoto’s flute for the harp. Licensed courtesy of Universal Music Group Limited.

The American jazz-funk/boogie group Ambiance, led by Nigerian player Daoud Abubakar Balewa, who played saxophone, flute and clarinet, was active in LA from the late 70s to early 80s. spiritual jazz funk/fusion masterpiece released by Ambiance in 1980! This is the first analogue reissue of this spiritual jazz funk/fusion masterpiece from the connoisseurs HIGH JAZZ! "Drift Up To Space" is an anthem with sweaty interplay that explodes from the very beginning, and "Devika" is a spiritual jazz fusion that blows a cool breeze with divine grace. Just By Chance" with the amazing female scat is also amazing!

This second album consists of covers of Nena Cherry's "My Love", Bim Sherman, Horace Andy, B.B. Seaton, and others. The impulse and sharpness of punk and dub are still intact, but the melodic side is also present, making this album more listenable than the first. This is a milestone of post-punk/dub, completed by Adrian's divine dub mixing of rhythms created by Eskimo Foxx, Krushal Tony, and George Orban, who were also active in Creation Level and Aswad.

Foundation Steppers" is their third album, following the shocking first and second albums, and includes their signature song "Some Love". The tingling sensation of the previous albums was overshadowed, and the sound was closer to roots reggae, with more warmth. Frontwoman Ali Up moved to Jamaica and had a session with Style Scott at the legendary Channel One and the tapes were mixed by Adrian Sherwood. The result is an album of the highest quality, approaching reggae while breaking with tradition with colorful synth sounds and a post-punk sense of production. This is the first vinyl reissue since the original release!

Leon Ware ( 1940-2017 ) is a singer-songwriter/arranger from Detroit who has been active since the 1970s and has released works on such labels as United Artists Records and Elektra, and is also known for his work producing Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye. 1940-2017). His latest album, his last, is out now on Be With. The album is a double-pack of songs by Ronald Bruner Jr, a drummer known as Thundercat's brother, Stephen Bruner, Kamasi Washington, Ariana Grande, and singer Taura Stinson, who also sings backing vocals for Usher.

After "Bristol Pirates" in '19, it's pirate radio all over again! From "Death Is Not The End", a great place to dig up antique music from all over the world, from pre-war blues to immigrant music and South American folklore, comes a super-impressive compilation of pirate radio commercials from the heyday of London stations between 1984 and 1993. Attack! This is a collection of about 10 years of pirate radio advertisements from the station, which is well known as a regular program on NTS Radio, and includes material provided by Simon Reynolds and the Pirate Radio Archive. "I find a recording of a pirate radio DJ set somewhere and listen to it whenever there's a commercial break. Most of the time, however, the people who recorded them stopped the tapes when the ads came on. It is truly a feat of hard digging, and the fact that most of the clubs, pubs, businesses, DJs, and promoters mentioned here no longer exist is a stiff antique... It is a historical documentary of the past, far from the present, and "the nostalgia associated with them has a certain It is a historical documentary about a past far removed from the present, and "the nostalgia surrounding them has a certain socio-historical significance" (Luke Owen, Death Is Not The End). This is a very valuable film that contains 40 air check scenes.

This is an analog reissue of the 1956 album "Exotica" by Martin Denny, the undisputed king of exotic fantasy music! Once you drop the needle, you're transported to another world... A monumental album that launched Denny's 30-year career and opened up a whole new genre of exotica music! As the tropical mood from the iconic artwork suggests, the album showcases the full range of fantastic space-age sounds that reek of exoticism and imaginary charm.

The title track, which uses the entire B-side, is excellent. The album was recorded in 1972, the same year as his masterpiece "Space Is The Place", and has been reissued on 180g Discipline 27-II!
The album includes "Pan Afro," a modern Afro-jazz masterpiece, and "Discipline 27-II," one of Sun Ra's best songs, which features Sun Ra at the center of a floating Saturn circle, delivering words to the people of this world from there. Especially the title track "Discipline 27-II" is one of the songs that fans cannot ignore. This is a great album with great artwork.