Search results: the katalyst

Review: On the latest instalment in their essential Jazz is Dead series, musical polymaths Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad have joined forces with Katalyst, a Los Angeles-based collective of musicians whose work is inspired by their 1960s Californian predecessors Afrikan People's Arkestra and Union of God Musicians Ascension Association. What's an offer is undeniably impressive and, at genuinely life-affirming, with the assembled cast doing a superb job of joining the dots between spiritual jazz, soul-jazz, horizontal jazz-funk and deeper, more sun-kissed flavours. Highlights are plentiful and include, though are no way limited to, the breezy 'Juneteenth', the languid dancefloor shuffle and sustained electric piano motifs of 'The Avenues' and the morning-fresh wonder that is 'Daybreak'.

Review: The Jazz Is Dead series finds Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad calling on a cast of collaborators to go deep on an album's worth of contemporary jazz. Past projects have featured Jean Carn, Brian Jackson and Gary Bartz, and now it's the turn of breakout LA collective Katalyst. Katalyst operate as a communal endeavour in the tradition of Horace Tapscott's Pan-Afrikan People's Arkestra, with all members pooling their compositions and ideas and helping each other grow as artists. Between them, the various players have been linked to MNDSGN, Anderson .Paak and Kendrick Lamar to name but a few, so you should have some idea of the quality at work on this latest entry in the crucial series.

Review: Jazz Is Dead continues its tradition of honouring jazz legends while pushing boundaries with Remixes JID020. Featuring dynamic remixes from contemporary artists, the album breathes new life into classics from the series. Mophono's reinvention of Tony Allen's 'Don't Believe the Dancers' pays homage to Afrobeat traditions, while Melanie Charles adds a refreshing ode to Blackness in her remix of Jean Carne's 'Black Rainbows.' Shabaka Hutchins' take on Henry Franklin's 'African Sun' merges West African rhythms with jazz modalities, creating a mesmerizing musical meditation. Throughout JID020, the spirit of collaboration shines, with artists staying true to their unique sounds while preserving the essence of the original recordings. This album not only adds depth to the Jazz Is Dead catalogue but also highlights the timeless appeal of jazz fusion and the power of cross-generational collaboration in keeping the genre alive and vibrant.