Juno Recommends Brokenbeat / Nu Jazz: February 2025

Review: Much loved Michigan techno and ambient virtuoso John Beltran wraps up the so far so excellent Back to Bahia 7 series with the a final volume that proves to be the most dancefloor focussed offering yet. Leading with 'O Patio,' Beltran shows his class with a blend of jazz-funk and MPB that comes with a rather sunny Ibiza-inspired twist while echoing the vibes of Latin greats like Robson Jorge and Lincoln Olivetti. On the flip side, 'Belle Isle' is a perfect party anthem for those outdoor sessions - think beach gatherings or cookouts and you won't go wrong. This has been a brilliant series and while it's a shame it's over, this is a fitting way to end it.

Review: After a ton of anticipation, Marc Mac's Visioneers project made a fine return late last year with a new album that delivered everything fans love and more. It was a mix of classic hip-hop reimagined, B-boy anthems and jazzy, funky lounge originals of the sort that are all staples of the Visioneers sound. The inclusion of guest musicians from around the globe added real richness to the compositions and now two of the standouts get cut to 45 rpm. 'Raid' is a nice laid-back funk roller with cute melodies over lazy drums that bring to mind a gentle afternoon in the park. Flip it over for 'Hurts So Bad' (instrumental) which is just as airy and organic.

Review: This 45rpm features alternate versions of tracks from Marc Mac's Visioneers project. As always with Visioneers, the album reimagined hip-hop's foundational sounds and often started from scratch and focused on a key sample from the original track. Whether recontextualising a classic or creating something entirely new, the hallmark of a Visioneers record is its live instrumentation, which belies Marc Mac's ability to manipulate hip-hop's signature swing with a new type of mastery. 'What It Mean' and 'Today' are both standout from the album.

Review: The MC was one of a kind. His legend lives on through his work which here gets served up on new label Doom in instrumental form. 'Saffron' (MF instrumental) is a silky late-night sound with warm melancholic chords and subtle boom-bap beats. On the flip, things get more jazzy with the expressive trumpets and more raw broken beat patterns of 'Arrow Root' (MF instrumental). It's a timeless and sophisticated sound that will woo any listener into a calming mood and comes on a limited 7".

Review: Five years on from their debut collaborative EP 'Frisina Meets Toco', modern Brasilian dance artists Gerardo Frisina and Toco return for a second faceoff, this time with liaising artist Luzia Dvorek serving as ringmaster. Centring on samba-infused jazz and deep house with mystical and folk influences, "deixa passar" translates from Portuguese to "let it pass", though the mood is certainly not outright passive. This delectably quartered slice of carnivalesque dance music is rather rich in sonic papaya juice, charting sustained vocal contrasts between Toco and Luzia against smoky and furnaced beats. Aperient track 'Deixa Passar' leans heaviest on languid piano, whilst dozier mists emerge on the B-side in the form of 'Ile' and its rework by Gerardo Frisina, bringing pan flutes, strings, breathy vocal counterpoints, cabasa shaker, and subtle bass undercurrents.

Review: Calling all locked-groove stickerers, needle twisters, and/or tonearm weight worriers, prepare your ears and needles for a wonderful trove of breakbeat bullion, ripe for the looping and the zealous hunching over. This modern rare groove emulation by Florence, 'Funky Song', lays down a phantasmically funky original breakbeat, fleshed out and swollen unto the most maximal of proportions. Then, don't forget, there's 'Let's Dance', which reworks Jimmy Bo Horne's 'Dance Across The Floor' for a rare and never-edited-before take on the perseverant, provocative hip roller of a track.

Review: A captivating blend of jazz-infused grooves, soulful melodies and laid-back vibes, delving into the heart of soul music with 'Lost' that sets the tone with its heartfelt vocals and melancholic melodies. On the flipside, 'Thank You' offers a message of gratitude and appreciation, its uplifting harmonies and soulful instrumentation leaving the listener with a sense of warmth and contentment. Expect a selection of tunes that evoke the golden era of soul, with warm instrumentation, rich harmonies, and heartfelt vocals. Whether you're a seasoned soul aficionado or simply looking for some feel-good music to soothe the soul, this compilation is sure to hit the spot.

Review: Berlin's Moses Yoofee Trio return with their first new material since 2023's Ocean. Recorded over ten days at Glaswald Studios in April 2024, with two additional tracks finished at Leiter's Funkhaus studio in Berlin, the album is available on vinyl. Produced with long-time collaborator oh.no.ty, the standout track 'WHIP.wav' showcases their sophisticated jazz, driven by Moses' fluid piano lines, Noah Furbringer's deft drumming, and Roman Klobe-Baranga's understated bass. The trio's minimalist approach distills their sound to its essence, letting their prodigious talents shine, focusing on "emotions, moments, and bangers."

Review: Damon Locks, the Chicago-based musician and educator, delivers a powerful and thought-provoking album that explores themes of Black liberation and cultural identity. 'List of Demands' is a sonic tapestry woven from spoken word, archival samples and intricate rhythms, a testament to Locks's deep understanding of music, poetry and social commentary. The album's title, inspired by Locks's work with incarcerated artists, reflects its central theme: a call for recognition, justice, and empowerment. Tracks like 'Reversed' and 'Distance' set the stage with their hypnotic rhythms and evocative soundscapes, while 'Holding the Dawn in Place' and 'Everything's Under Control' offer moments of introspection and reflection. Locks's vocals, often processed and layered, create a mesmerising tapestry of sound, his words weaving a narrative of resilience and hope. A powerful and timely work.

Review: The sound of Medline exploring the deeper edges of electronic music, crafting a sonic landscape that's both hypnotic and evocative. 'The Edge' is a journey through atmospheric textures, pulsating rhythms and subtle melodies, creating a mesmerising soundscape that's perfect for late-night listening or introspective moments. The production is pristine, with each sound carefully crafted to create a sense of depth and immersion.

Review: Poet, novelist and musician Anthony Joseph shares his latest Afrofuturist opus; a seven-track album of defiant, zooming, return-to-source music, comprising arched spoken word, broken/Afrobeat and soul jazz. Built mainly around the core triad that is 'Tony', 'A Tuba For Janet' and 'Churches Of Sound', this LP has the pull and gravitas of a classic album about it; it channels the fluvial, downstream consequences of historic exploitation and erasure, mixed in with a revolutionary lyrical spirit, charged with the hard-treaded grace of dub and Pan-African funk. Described as an Afrofuturist poem by Joseph, there is talk of genealogy, secret languages and wizardry: our fave has to be 'A Juba For Janet', a dub narrative constructed around the titular Miss Janet.

Review: Kyoto Jazz Massive returns with a new era of sound. It has been 20 years since Eclipse and 19 years since Spirit of the Sun but now their highly anticipated second album, Message From A New Dawn, is finally here. This record marks an evolution of the line-up into a full band and blend of techno, jazz, house, boogie, soul, broken beats, fusion, Afrobeat, and more as Kyoto Jazz Massive presents their vision of the ultimate crossover electric jazz fusion, and featuring none other than the legendary Roy Ayers. It all adds up to a fresh take on their iconic sound, crafted to push boundaries and inspire the future of jazz.

Review: Laurie Torres is a Canadian musician and composer of Haitian descent and she spent years as a trusted collaborator for artists like Julia Jacklin and Pomme. In 2023, she shifted focus to her own solo work, resulting in her debut album Apres coup. Inspired by contemporary artists such as Tirzah and Valentina Magaletti, the album blends piano, drums, synths and field recordings to create a rich and meditative sound that was recorded at Studio Wild in Quebec. It reflects Torres' journey towards creative freedom and self-expression while exploring themes of introspection, marginalisation and the beauty of imperfection.

Review: One of Norway's finest jazz artists, Alex Figueira, shares a surprise mini-album via Jazzaggression, whose solar-punky, psychedelic description of the record is as gleeful as the implied beam of light which emanates from behind the artist's front-cover printed visage, and on which the warped art nouveau typography detailing its title wafts: "a vibrant fusion of tropical rhythms layered with a dazzling array of synth-driven psychedelia." Said to have played every instrument on the LP himself, Figueira's ends are irreverent and sun-soaking; his ultra-obscure Norweigan tropical music scene is married well to the all-improv, time-pressed nature of the recordings going in, all of which were immured and hothoused behind the walls of Utrecht's Studio Pelto.

Review: Pianist and composer Alex Monfort debuts his new album here and delivers a beautifully contemporary array of soul-jazz songs influenced by rap, hip-hop, alt-r&b and neo-soul. The album is denied by a blend of tightly broken beats and lovely Rhodes chords, soothing harmonies but most of all the rich vocals of Franco-Cameroonian singer Nina Tonji. Fans of the likes of Moonchild, Erykah Badu, Fatima and Eglo Records are sure to soak up the soothing sounds of 'Hypnotized', the romantic feels of 'Attitude' and late-night intimacy of 'Saison' amongst much more.

Review: Nitsua's new 7" featuring 'Slow Light on a Feather' was originally on their album Soul of the Sky, alongside a remix by Haruka Nakamura. The original is a dreamy, mellow track centred around a gentle piano that effortlessly embodies Nitsua's fantastical worldview with flute and piano performed by the artist also. Haruka Nakamura's remix complements the song's atmosphere in its own way, Starting with a guitar phrase and layering synths, guitar and piano it creates a more dramatic, beautifully crafted version. The remix perfectly merges the visions of both artists and makes for a fine different perspective.

Review: Solene and J. Rawls team up for a delicious pair of pelagic, coolant nu-soul and house nocturnes, crossing the sparse but oceanic space between genres. On 'Love Moon', the producer and singer respectively cover such intense themes as late-night reflectivity and good company: "nothing glam, it's just you and me..." Solene intones this sombrely, as the last syllable is heard to trail off into a surfactant mist. Meanwhile, 'Can't Catch Me In Love' raises the emotive drawbridge once more, hoisting supporting pillars of kick drum and serene pan flute, as flirtatious gingerbread taunts are heard in the chorus, not to mention musings on past relationship blunders.

Review: Sunaga T Experience is a solo project of the world-renowned famous Japanese DJ and producer Tatsuo Sunaga. He has dropped a wide array of sounds in single and album form including a great cover of Joni Mitchell's Blue album. His latest 7" marks the 100th release on Disc Minor and is named in honour of that. 'STE 100' is a lush, tender dinner jazz sound with muted horns and warm reeds over a meandering bassline. 'The Way Of The Dragon' is as lively a tune as you might expect given it is named after a martial arts movie. It has busy drums and jagged horn leads with plenty of percussive energy all carrying you away.

Review: Campania-based combo Asakaira has delivered a genuinely brilliant debut album here. Rooted in improvisation and the collective's combined love of jazz, Afrobeat, jazz-funk, hip-hop and the Afro-cosmic sounds that have long been a staple of Italy's underground music culture, the album's six original tracks (the seventh is an alternate 'Night' take on the jaunty, energetic and percussive 'Skijii') bristle with imagination and inventiveness. For proof, check the tropical disco delights of 'Night Tales', the head-nodding hip-hop-jazz of 'Chatting With You' and the dubby jazz-not-jazz shuffle of 'Moon Phases', a track that just intensifies and gets bigger as it progresses.