Back in stock: Jazz

Review: Cyrille Aimee has forged a formidable reputation as a jazz singer across the world, developing a tone which draws on her Dominican heritage as well as her guidance from the gypsy tradition in France where she grew up. While she's normally know for her arresting interpretations of standards and traditional classics, on A Fleur De Peau she's developed an album of her own material alongside NYC multi-instrumentalist Jake Sherman. Written in large part in the jungle in Costa Rica where she built her own home, Aimee developed her songs with Sherman's instrumental input resulting in a brilliantly varied and unflinchingly honest, open-hearted album which will make you re-evaluate everything you thought you knew about the finest of contemporary jazz singers.

Review: Ancient Infinity Orchestra is a 14-member jazz ensemble led by double-bassist and composer Ozzy Moysey, based in the bustling creative city of Leeds in the North of England. Their Gondwana Records debut 'River of Light' drinks deep from the well of spiritual jazz, finding special inspiration in the soulful sounds of Pharoah Sanders, Alice and John Coltrane - all of whom are mentioned in the brilliant track 'Pharoah Sings' - but also channels a certain Northern sensibility that can be heard in the music of Matthew Halsall or Alabaster de Plume. Melodic, warm and honest, this is music that is happy to wear its heart on its sleeve.

Review: Keyboardist Stale Storlokken leads the trio through six stellar compositions, showcasing hypnotic, magical, and razor-sharp polyrhythms. The album - the follow up to their acclaimed album Arrival of The New Elders - maintains the band's signature groovy mix of high-energy rock and power jazz while incorporating more structure and reflection and displaying a more diverse and mature approach. Recorded and mixed by producer Mattias Glava, Mythical River solidifies Elephant9's position as a contemporary, timeless and futuristic band.

Review: Critically acclaimed British jazz pianist, composer and arranger, Greg Foat has been making quite a bit of waves in the jazz scene as well as his groundbreaking albums that feature artists in other genres. His latest album 'Live At Can Rudayla Ibiza ', is an homage to the magical sound of the Mediterranean. Ibiza has long been known for its night life but perhaps not known as well outside the chill out scene sound, that the area has a sound all to itself. Inspired by his highly regarded and recent album with Gigi Masin, Greg Foat explores the themes further. Pool Side parts 1 and 2 shimmer with beautiful soundscapes that set the mood wonderfully. 'Dining Table Grooves' gives a hint at the late-night sounds to come in Ibiza while the sunset tracks close the album out with an almost chill wave sound that we absolutely adore. If you are looking for an album to put on as guests arrive to your beach home, this is the album you want to play. Greg Foat is a beacon of light for the future of jazz fusion.

Review: The Italian jazz scene of the 1970s turned up many gems but this is one of its lesser known treasures. It's an interesting and unusual collection from Folk Magic Band which was made up of 18 different members. They had their own alt set up in a Rome studio and were inspired by the free jazz movement of the day. As such there are pan-ethnic motifs next to the spiritual jazz of Pharoah Sanders and the wild orchestrations of Sun Ra and his Arkestra. It's intense and hard hitting in its quest to explore new musical ground.

Review: First released in 1970 and now reissued in conjunction with Light In The Attic and Future Days, Pete Jolly's Seasons first manifested on A&M Records as a series of live-composed melodies and textures, recalling the naturalisms of each passing season through their expression in jazz and funk. Starting naturally in spring before segueing into a verdant nature-scape, then briskly launching into a sandstorm, not long followed by an 'Autumn Festival' and an 'Indian Summer', the order of each season in Jolly's remit is not the same as their occurrence in reality; yet this is precisely what makes this early ambient, cool jazz opus so arresting; it's as though it came from another world.

Review: Pete Jolly's Seasons, first released in 1970, is an early example of, one could say,'"environmental' cool jazz and ambient music. Seasons never saw a significant commercial release, though they say that if one successfully articulates the spirit of the time, one is rewarded with fame regardless: the ensuing cult following in the years after felt almost inevitable, and now that its flames are being fanned again, we can say with surety that the West Coast jazz pianist and accordionist's efforts will continue to be rewarded once more. Cycling through each season in a jumbled order, yet revelling in every possible sensory twist and turn characteristic of each season, we're met with an album that not only straddles the jazz and pop worlds in unprecedented ways, but also serves a premonitory rendition of hip-hop; the album is a favourite sample source of such greats as Cypress Hill, Jay Dee and Busta Rhymes.

Review: The heady collaborative cocktail of Marc Collin and the late Olivier Libaux, who came together in 2003, led to the quiet storm that its Nouvelle Vague, a project with its heart set on a winner from the start: the fusion of post-punk songwriting with the form and instrumentation of bossa nova. Intended as a one-off, the success of the project came as a surprise, but the duo were hardly willing to let a good thing slide for the sake of dourer endeavours. As part of a retrospective, comprehensive reissues series on top of a new album, this repress of the first album takes us back to where it all began.

Review: Space is the Place! The classic piece - in a historically early version without lyrics - opens the album Paradiso Amsterdam 1970, which demonstrates how the Netherlands was first introduced to Afrofuturism - a pivotal moment in the Dutch jazz experience. It was always thought that the recordings of the long-awaited first concert that the Sun Ra Arkestra gave in the Netherlands were useless for an album release; after all, the entire Arkestra, booked by Hans Dulfer, marched among the massive crowd at pop temple Paradiso on 18 November 1970. As was their custom, they were rarely on stage where the microphones were neatly set up. Here, the Nederlands Jazz Archief trace the complete set of recorded tapes and compile an album on which the atmosphere of 53 years ago is made tangible once again.