Brokenbeat / Nu Jazz Recommendation July 2014

Review: Last year, the Expansions label kicked off a wonderfully intriguing 10" series featuring classics from soul music's rich canon complemented by contemporary cover versions and so far it's seen Blue Note troupe Quasimode tee off against Johnny Hammond and Bembe Segue challenge Norman Connors. A third edition duly arrives and hints Expansions are really enjoying the creative challenge the concept allows them with the jazz funk classic "Zaius" from Eddie Russ joined by a cover from the celebrated UK funk veterans Incognito. Originally appearing on the 1976 LP See The Light, "Zaius" is a blinding example of why Russ is described a master of the keyboard and it's complemented well by Incognito's B Side cover which appears on vinyl for the first time. Don't sleep!

Review: Bonobo's North Borders album just keeps on giving... Here we find one of its many highlights, "Ten Tigers", getting a floor-minded rework by Bonobo himself. Retaining most of the original aspects, he's added a slightly heavier dynamic that's idea for all floors. Also on a remix-flex is UK starlet Maya Jane Coles who flips "First Fires" into a treacle-thick, bass heavy house driver. And if that's not quite enough, Bonobo has also given us a brand new track... "Duals" is a bright, breezy and skippy broken beat affair that's laced with myriad uplifting textures and counter melodies. In a word? Dreamy. Ten (tigers) out of ten.

Review: It would be fair to say that Martyn's previous albums were characterized by a claustrophobic feel, with his instinctive blends of techno, house and dubstep shrouded in dense, often murky textures. It's interesting, then, that The Air Between Words - his third full length, and first for Ninja Tune - is a much breezier, more accessible affair. The trademark hard-to-define eclecticism is still present, but there's newfound maturity to the musical flourishes and bold grooves. The result is an album that pleasingly refuses to settle on one groove, tempo or style, variously touching on jazz-influenced percussive techno ("Drone"), symphonic ambience, folksy electro-pop (Inga Copeland collaboration "Love of Pleasure"), woozy, rave-influenced dancefloor electronica ("Forgiveness Step 2") and saucer-eyed Balearica (the thrilling closing track, "Fashion Skater").

Review: If anyone knows how to swing, it's Parov Stelar. He's been whittling this trad jazz-sampling stick so long it's sharp enough to tattoo an atom. "Clap Your Hands" is proof... An infectious hook, complete with the all-important dusty crackles, we're then dropped into a lolloping groove that refuses to quit. Further on we swing even harder to happy-slapping Ellington-session "The Duke" and get all sleazy and smoky on the muted trumpet-driven "Speed Demon" before flipping the switch on the epic Moby-style piano-tinkling euphoria session "The Sun". Clap your hands and clap them hard... Parov's smashed this.

Review: Amazingly, it's 25 years since George 'E.A.S.E' Evelyn and then production partner Kevin 'Boy Wonder' Harper sat down and recorded "Dextrous", their monstrous, bleep-era classic on Warp. A quarter of a century later, Evelyn is still going strong, though the grooves have mellowed a lot in that time. Here, Warp celebrate the producer's epic career with a much-deserved retrospective. All the familiar favourites are present, from the rush-inducing thrill of early dancefloor smashers "I'm For Real" and "Aftermath", to the sinewy downtempo goodness of the decidedly Balearic "Les Nuits", the blazed hip-hop dub of "195 Llbs" and stoner soul of "70s 80s".

Review: Culled from the opening moments of Mr Scruff's recent collaboration-heavy Friendly Bacteria long player, "Render Me" now has a chance to shine in the spotlight on a 12" that comes brandishing some true dancefloor potential. That's thanks in no small part to the pair of Andres remixes that hog the A-Side with the drummer from Detroit showcasing to the maximum why he's getting more and more remix commissions these days. In his hands "Render Me" becomes a languid, jazz brushed delight with the main version that bit better thanks to the retention of the vocals from Denis Jones. The Scruffster gets involved too, with a moody yet organic feeling 2-step 12" re-tweak on the flip which sits well next to Royalty and AD Bourke's total bomb of a remix that turns the track into widescreen electro-pop with extra Chicago house fizz for good measure.

Review: Last seen presenting a retrospective of the past six years of recordings for the Staubgold label, Bogota's finest composer Eblis Alvarez returns to the Soundway label with Salvadora Robot, a rather fine fourth studio album as Meridian Brothers. Very much in line with the oddball nature of previous Meridian Brothers albums, Salvadora Robot is perhaps Alvarez's most ambitious set to date with each of the ten tracks delving deeper into the tropical rhythms of South America and twisting different Latin music styles into wild new shapes. Everything from Bossa Nova to Dominican Republic merengue via reggaeton is treated with dizzying skill by Alvarez for a most interesting album.

Review: Hot on the heels of his No Beginning No End album, Jose returns with yet another arresting tale of modern day soul. His distinctive baritone humming with raw emotion he covers a broad soundscape that includes contemporary off-beat fracturisms ("U R The 1"), dreamy psychedelia ("Were Sleeping"), heavy bluesy rock ("Anywhere U Go") and Bonobo-style string drama ("4 Noble Truths"). Far-reaching, arresting and delivered with real authenticity, Jose's repertoire is as spotless and creative as it was when Giles Peterson first signed him 10 years ago.

Review: J walking is illegal in some countries and US states... Mercifully it's not in the UK. Which is great news for all fuzzy funk, future retro and psychedelic jazz fans. A long awaited return to the album format, J Walk lays down a diverse-but-consistent collection of instrumentals that capture the most imaginative fusion of rich melodies, analogue instruments and cosmic motifs. The bluesy space-age flurries of "World Inaction", the upbeat Italo-punk frenetic fire of "Electric Dancing Song", the liquid twangs and shimmers of "Mexicali Hoodoo", the trembling Theremin backbone of "Yesterday's Crowd"... Everything J Walk has conjured here will resonate with every possible reference in your musical library. An illegally good listen.