Jazz Recommendations September 2016

Review: Spiritual jazz ten-piece World's Experience Orchestra were founded in 1975 by musician-producer John Jamyll Jones, recording their debut album, The Beginning Of A New Birth, in a church basement the same year. Made up of two long, experimental, Sun Ra style workouts, the album is now considered a hard-to-find classic of the genre. This double-vinyl reissue not only boasts the original album in all its' far-out glory, but also the outfit's even more obscure 1980 follow-up, As Time Flows On. This was recorded live at a gig in 1977, and offers a smoother, more soulful take on their inspired, spiritual sound (see the wonderful "Rain/Nine Degrees Of Cold" and Terry Callier-ish "Woman" for proof).

Review: Contemporary jazz saxophonist Nat Birchall prefers to do quality over quantity. The talented instrumentalist first appeared in 1999 but has only released a handful of album to date, with the latest two - including this new album - coming out on London's excellent Jazzman imprint. Birchall really does make that sax scream and suffer, and the opener "Nicha's Dance" has to contain the best sax solo that we've heard in a long while on these charts. "A Prayer For" is moodier but nonetheless brilliant in its execution, while the lead tune "Akhenaten" is funkier and down to earth, leaving "Many Blessings" to deliver the late night G&T vibes. Chapeau..!

Review: Stateside have produced quite the compilation here, literally thanks to a vault of rare and Brazilian funk and disco from the larger-than-life Warner imprint. Where do we even start? Well, there are eleven solid Brazilian dance grooves by the country's finest talents, and most of them hard to come by on vinyl these days. There are too many favourites on here, but the ones that we've left ton repeat are: Gilberto Gil's carnival anthem "Today Menina Baiana", the gloriously deep and tropical "Maria Fumanca" by Banda Black Rio, Azymuth's "Circo Marimbondo", and the jazz-funk masterpiece "From The Lonely Afternoon" by Flora Purim. Sublime.

Review: Originally released in 1973, Space Is the Place is undeniably one of Sun Ra's most seminal albums. Like many of his recordings he employs an all-star cast of supporting musicians. Guests on the album include John Gilmore, Marshall Allen, and June Tyson. The album was also adapted for the screen, written by Ra and directed by John Cooney in 1974. An Afrofuturist opus by a true master, Sun Ra and his Arkestra explored new forms of jazz, taking audiences on a trip to outer space and beyond on such classics like the epic title track, the sublime sax fuelled "Images" and of course; who could forget the amazing "Rocket Number Nine". Timeless.

Review: Miles Davis and Marcus Miller's third and final fusion session, Amandla brought the partnership's triptych to a delightful close in 1989 with some of the most upbeat and funkiest compositions and jam sessions of the set. With Miles's trumpeteering and Marcus's iconic slap-bass going toe-to-toe on each track, the pair mischievously play chicken with each other as both hop and skip between the spotlight. The same can also be said for the devilish arrangement as we flicker from game show funk ("Jilli") to epitaph soliloquies ("Mr Pastorius") all within a tangible 80s production context. This has aged remarkably well.