Review: More than just a school concert, 1975's Rocking Grass was a sensation. On one fine estival day, The College Andre-Grasset auditorium overflowed, leaving hundreds spellbound. Registering its impact, Jean-Yves Quesnel and colleagues immortalised the show into a recording, transforming Rocking Grass into Phono Grass.Sessions at College Edouard-Montpetit's studio captured the energy of a shifting musical landscape in Quebec; and pianist Benoit Sarrazin, unknowingly recorded mid-performance, later became a professional musician. The album's original songs, 'Le Roi Muffe' and 'Bright Moments', embodied the era's creative freedom, with the latter later sampled by DJs and featured on Canadian Racer. Originally pressed on a 500-copy run, 1001 est Cremazie become a prized collectible; now it's much more readily available.
Review: In celebration of 50 years in the performing arts, Idris Ackamoor presents Artistic Being for Record Store Day 2025-a powerful blend of jazz, spoken word and activism. Featuring the voices of acclaimed actor Danny Glover and stage legend Rhodessa Jones, this record captures highlights from the Underground Jazz Cabaret, which was performed during Black History Month 2024 at The Lab in San Francisco. Co-produced by Ackamoor's Cultural Odyssey, the release fuses poetic storytelling with evocative musical textures while reflecting on social justice, identity and resilience. Artistic Being is a profound statement from a visionary artist.
Review: Blue Foundation returns with another lush and immersive album that deepens their signature blend of dream pop, shoegaze and ambient electronics. Crafted over three years by the much loved Danish duo Bo Rande and Tobias Wilner, Close to the Knife explores themes of melancholy and introspection through layered textures and haunting vocals from Wilner and Nina Larsen. Guest appearances from Scarlet Rae, Helena Gao, and Sonya Kitchell enrich its emotional depth, while contributions from Chinese experimental noise band Wang's Xie Yugang and drummer Federico Ughi add complexity to this shapeshifting soundtrack.
Review: Born in Kent and central to the UK's 70s jazz modernism, Neil Ardley composed with the precision of a scientist and the vision of a cosmic philosopher. This long-overdue reissue from Analogue October captures a project that translates planetary orbits into a nine-note harmonic systemitoo vast for acoustic instruments, brought to life instead through early synthesisers. 'Arcturus' and 'Spiral Nebula' interlace fluid sax work from Barbara Thompson with John Martyn's signature reverb-drenched guitar, while Geoff Castle's synths evoke deep-space drift. 'Rainbow Four' channels modal funk, and 'Neptune' floats into ambient abstraction. Produced at Morgan Studios with a full ensemble of jazz heavyweightsiTony Coe, Ian Carr, Billy Kristian, Richard Burgess, and Trevor Tomkinsithis is a record that swings between science fiction and symphonic elegance. For all its high concept, it remains rooted in groove and human touch. A meticulous AAA cut from the Decca master tapes seals the experience: a bold and beautiful reminder of how far British jazz once dared to travel.
Review: Sensory Blending hears Finnish artist Jimi Tenor and Italian group Aura Safari team up for an impromptu studio shebang in Perugia, Italy, after Tenor's storied but clandestine performance at a Hell Yeah party. Despite no prior connection, the musicians quickly found common ground, forging a vivant fusion of jazz-funk, tropicalia and soul. Tenor's psychedelic style gelled Aura Safari's faster, intuited approach, resulting in such tracks as 'Bodily Synesthesia,' 'Bewitched By The Sea' and 'Lunar Wind', each of which connect seductive grooves and ghost noted keys. Possibly performed live at select events later in the year, the record is a perfect storm of recorded "live feel" Balearica.
Hohnen Ford - "I Get Along Without You Very Well" (2:56)
Matilda Mann - "There Will Never Be Another You" (3:10)
Dodie - "Old Devil Moon" (2:56)
Puma Blue - "It's Always You" (3:13)
Poppy Daniels - "I've Never Been In Love Before" (4:33)
Ife Ogunjobi - "Speak Low" (4:20)
Benny Sings - "Time After Time" (2:45)
Stacy Ryan - "Like Someone In Love" (4:27)
Matt Maltese - "My Funny Valentine" (2:59)
Mxmtoon - "I Fall In Love Too Easily" (3:15)
Grentperez - "But Not For Me" (2:10)
Delaney Bailey - "While My Lady Sleeps" (4:33)
Review: This staunch collection of songs compiled by Decca hears the very best works of jazz trumpeter Chet Baker "reimagined" by a varied selection of international talent, celebrating the legacy of one of American jazz's coolest ever piston-valvers. It's no surprise that Baker earned himself the name "Prince of Cool" as the concept of cool overtook the jazz world in the 50s and 60s; likewise, the artists chosen to reimagine Baker's many sweet treats here each epitomise that same offhand effortlessness which typified Baker's playstyle. Highlights include Dodie, who leads with a Latin percussive rekeying of 'Old Devil Moon', and mxmtoon, who brings equable guitar lurches to Baker's rather lost-his-cool confession of loving excitement, 'I Fell In Love Too Easily'.
Review: In Sommerhausen is a historical live recording from the Bavarian State Conservatory of Music in Wuerzburg, Germany, made on May 17 back in 1969. It has the talented Gunter Hampel on vibraphone, bass clarinet and percussion and is a session that also highlights the work of alto saxophonist Marion Brown, an unsung hero of the jazz avant-garde. Brown's lyrical, improvisational style is evident all across these tunes, and he is backed expertly by Hampel's rich instrumentation. Both of the deeply expressive musicians speak from the soul here while tracks like 'Malipieros Midnight Theatre' are laden with found sounds and percussion that may remind of the great Don Cherry.
Review: Originally recorded in Rome with top-tier players like Giorgio Carnini and Giovanni Tommaso, this psychedelic library session bridges modal jazz, Latin percussion, and fuzzed-out funk. This reissue restores the 1970 cut in full, swirling through ghostly organ grooves and spiralling rhythm sections with a clarity that feels startlingly fresh. 'Psichefreelico (Sostenuto)' and 'Bacharachico' glide between dreamy lounge and scorched delay-drenched oddness, while 'Africaneidico' pulses with loose Afro-Latin syncopation. Mined from Italy's golden age of library music and remastered from mono tapes, it's a masterclass in instrumental storytellingivivid, woozy and totally transportive.
Review: Emanuele Cisi's Rushin' celebrates jazz in its purest form. It was recorded in just one inspired April weekend with Cisi leading a stellar quartet of Dado Moroni on piano, Nicolas Thys on bass and Jorge Rossy on drums. The full emotional range of the genre is on show here with swing, blues and spiritual depth rising up through the tracks which range from reimagined standards to soulful originals like 'Pharoah's Message'. Throughout, the album honours jazz greats such as Coltrane and Lee Morgan with Cesare Mecca guesting on trumpet and it all adds up to heartfelt performances rich in discovery and style.
Little Boy For So Long, Little Boy But Not For Long (10:00)
Arapaho (4:21)
Don't Get Around Much Anymore (12:10)
Review: American saxophone player and composer Clifford Jordan's 1990s Maple Shade Records albums are well thought of for their high-quality ideas. This release features a 1987 live quartet performance from a Baltimore jazz club in which Jordan delivers a mature, lyrical and swinging set encompassing standards like 'Round Midnight' and 'Don't Get Around Much Anymore' alongside his original compositions. The recording was meticulously captured with minimal microphones and high-quality cables so it achieves remarkable realism while blurring the line between live performance and studio recording. This is a definitive glimpse into Jordan's artistry at the height of his career.
Review: Stanley Cowell, the Ohio-born pianist and co-founder of Strata-East Records, delivers a landmark solo recording that cements his reputation as one of jazz's most forward-thinking musicians. Recorded in 1974, this session finds him at a pivotal moment in his career, blending acoustic and electric piano to push the expressive boundaries of the instrument. Tracks like 'Equipoise' and 'Prayer of Peace' balance intricate phrasing with deep spiritual resonance, while 'Maimoun' channels his lifelong engagement with African and Eastern traditions. Both meditative and technically dazzling, this album remains a defining work in solo jazz pianoian essential document of Cowell's artistry and Strata-East's commitment to uncompromising musical vision.
Exorcism: Clearing The Electromagnetic Field (20:29)
Heru: The Oaisis (8:03)
Black Stones Of Sirius (6:16)
Prayer (5:30)
Burial: String Quartet In E-Minor By David Ornette Cherry (6:50)
Chariots Of Expanision (People Could Fly) (7:24)
Review: Spiritmuse Records presents Journey to Nabta Playa, the dialogic result of Angel Bat Dawid and multidisciplinary artist Naima Nefertari, as they team up to honour the ancient Nubian astrological site of the same name. An ancient Neolithic site in Egypt's Nubian Desert predating Stonehenge, Nabta Playa incorporates a stone circle whose lithic configuration aligns with celestial events. Fittingly, then, this clash-of-titans record astrologises celestial electronics and divines ancestral predestinations, sewing a starry sonic tapestry - in Bat Dawid's terms "this is not just an album, it's a constellation". Picking up where Don and David Ornette Cherry left off with 'Bishmillah', and carrying out such further original, summative sonic burial and resurrection rites such as 'Black Stones Of Sirius' and 'Procession Of The Equinox', we hear a dance of featuring flute, clarinet, and vibraphone, and enraptured voice.
Review: Best known for his involvement in the Braen's Machine project alongside fellow film scorers Piero Umiliani and Alessandro Alessandroni - not to mention his work under the name Awake and Gisteri - maverick producer Rino De Filippi took a darker, introspective turn on the 1972 Flower Recs bloomer Condizione Umani. Jazz-pincered vignettes are heard piercing the fragile complexities of the mind, across a record whose shapeshifting veneer crosses streams of tension and revelation with an arachnid sleight of foot. With 'Crivellamento' standing out as a key marrying point of ritualistic percussion and avant-garde looseness, we're left spasmodic. Reissued again on standard and purple vinyl as part of the Sounds From The Screen series, we've an historic contribution on our ears from the Italian studio maestro.
Review: Quem E Quem is widely regarded as Joao Donato's finest work and a standout in the canon of Brazilian popular music, aka MPB. Blending American soul and jazz-funk influences with the gentle sway of samba and bossa nova, the album radiates warmth and subtle sophistication and Donato's tender vocals are framed by breezy flute passages, laid-back piano lines and guitar solos reminiscent of Pat Metheny. The result is a beautifully balanced collection of upbeat tracks and introspective moments with each evoking the tranquil pleasure of a sunset in a tropical paradise. Timeless and effortlessly charming, it remains a high point in Donato's enduring career.
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