Back catalogue: Jazz

Review: Miami's Far Produce are fresh faces, but their sound is full of respect for times past, building on classic soul jazz by bringing it a modern instrumental twist. Led by two Studio City, CA natives - Addison Rifkind on guitar and Michael Duffy on drums - Fat Produce deliver a veritable cornucopia of fruits and groceries to chew on here. 7" A-sider 'Sticky Beets' turns our inners red, as we're led to imagine chowing down on the perfect beetroot yield and the funky euphoria that inevitably follows ingestion of such a delicacy. B-sider 'Son!', meanwhile, draws on an amalgamation of several Bay Area-inspired grooves - Duffy is a walking rhythmic encyclopaedia - set against an improvised, on-the-fly groove first laid down by Rifkind, whose hook-worthiness is unmistakable here.

Review: Darvid Thor, Henry Jenkins and Hudson Whitlock (of the bands Karate Boogaloo and Surprise Chef) founded the low-key Frollen Music Library in 2021. Now aided in kind with a public release of their works by Spasibo Records, a heartwarming dialogue is facilitated between two isntitutions by way of a new four-track EP. Hand-picking four sweet treats from two earlier releases put out between 2021 and 2022 respectively - 'By The Phone (You Rang?)', 'Jaw Breaker' and 'Sei Cardigani Di Ball' all hailing from the former's Sweet Treats Vol. 1 compilation and the final track '1/4 Cup Of Sunflower Oil' from the following year's The Fretted Neck' album - these tracks are laid-back, nonchalant refractions of talent, across which the aforementioned cycle through said covers of Ennio Morricone, Pierro Piccioni and Piero Umilliani's standout score cuts with ease.

Review: The Blue Land is Matthieu Bordenave's follow-up to his ECM trio debut and sees the addition of British drummer James Maddren, enhancing the ensemble's airy textural canvas with a more urgent, animated feel. Pianist Florian Weber's improvisations set the tone, displaying inventive tension and release. Bordenave's saxophone weaves a lyrical narrative, punctuated by bassist Moret and Maddren's perceptively timed contributions. The album strikes a delicate balance between tonal and abstract elements, as heard on the ominous title track and the meditative 'Cyrus.' With nods to Coltrane's 'Compassion"'and Jarrett-like piano, the ensemble delivers an intriguing and collectively expressive set of chamber ensemble pieces.

Review: Soul vocalist and covers extraordinaire Vanessa Fernandez - in other worlds known as Vandetta - throws a curveball with Remember Me, seguing through a fabulous mix of R&B classics, including 'That's the Way of the World' (Earth Wind & Fire), 'Lovely Day' (Bill Withers), 'You're the One I Love' (Barry White), 'Kiss' (Prince), not to mention a smattering of contemporary pop and soul numbers numbers such as Lenny Kravitz's 'I Belong To You', Tom Misch's 'It Runs Through Me', and Portishead's 'Roads'. Proving a wide-ranging knowledge of soul music that is difficult to match (the genre is often subject to staid interpretations, remaining too fixed to certain traditions or places), Fernandez takes on an all-embracing approach to her chosen sound and in doing so enlists a diverse cast of instrumentalists to help her along the way: Tim Pierce (guitars), Alex Al (bass), Victor Indrizzo (drums), Jeff Babko (keyboards), Felipe Menolio (acoustic guitars), and Luis Conte (percussion).

Review: Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie! was recorded in 1961 on Verve, and it captures all-time jazz great Ella Fitzgerald as most people of the time got to hear her live, backed up by a quartet. There are some essential soulful standards included in this set such as 'A Night In Tunisia' and 'Cry Me A River', while the title track is a sprightly burst of swinging sunshine typical of the early bebop period. Faithfully transferred from analogue tapes and pressed to heavyweight vinyl, this is a fine document of Fitzgerald's immense talent and natural charisma in its rawest form.

Review: What drives Amaro Freitas in life is experience. In 2020 the pianist, who hails from the Northeastern Brazilian coastal city of Recife, was drawn to Manaus, located in the Amazon basin, some 4600 kilometers to the west. His experience in that lush wilderness led him into a new realm of musical creation, one rooted in magic and possibility and tempered by a sense of stewardship for the earth's bounties and a connection to the Satere Mawe indigenous community. Crucial to the experience for Freitas was the maintenance of a true exchange of knowledge. According to Freitas, in the resulting album, Y'Y (pronounced: eey-eh, eey-eh), he pays "homage to the forest, especially the Amazon Forest, and the rivers of Northern Brazil: a call to live, feel, respect, and care for nature, recognizing it as our ancestor." This album is an artful conversation between its traditions, rooted in the unique sounds and rituals found in Afro-Brazilian and Indigenous cultures. With Y'Y, Freitas further codifies his fresh, 'decolonized' interpretation of Brazilian jazz, one that may well shatter preconceived notions of what jazz can be.

Review: Amaro Freitas, hails from Recife, Brazil, and is propelled through life through by searching out different experiences. Venturing to Manaus in the Amazon basin in 2020 before starting work on this album, pianist Freitas immersed himself in a transformative journey that influenced his musical creation profoundly. Collaborating with the Satere Mawe indigenous community, his album Y'Y pays homage to nature and ancestral wisdom. Through tracks like 'Mapinguari (Encantado da Mata)' and 'Uiara (Encantada da Agua) - Life and Cure,' Freitas weaves tales of powerful spirits and mystical encounters. Incorporating elements from Afro-Brazilian and Indigenous cultures, the record is a significant exploration of connection, tradition, and the incandescent power of enchanted spirits.

Review: Limpe Fuchs is most known for being something of a percussive genius. Here though she surprises in all the right ways with a trip into her classical roots and a pair of tracks played on the piano. Though her musical journey has been vast, recorded piano performances have been rare. Yet, on this 45rpm, she defies both time and anticipation, delving deep into the piano's soul. With rhythmic finesse honed as a percussionist, each keystroke bears her unmistakable imprint. Join Fuchs on this captivating late exploration of the piano world and you will be savouring every note of a distinct and unfiltered artistic encounter.