Jazz Recommends Jazz November 2020

Review: Picking a standout album on Blue Note would be like trying to pick a favourite grain of sand on the beach: impossible, and pointless. The jazz label stands head and shoulders above the rest with unflinchingly high quality releases carrying on throughout the decades. Even so, many people would pick this classic deepness from pianist Duke Pearson as one of its finest hours. Along side the Duke himself, Bobby Hutcherson plays the vibes, Patato Valdez is on congas, Bob Cranshaw slaps the bass, Mickey Roker is on drums and Sam Brown plays guitar to make for an absolutely killer collection of smooth grooves.

Review: This one dates back to 1975 and is a much cherished record. It was keyboardist Roland Haynes' only album but was played by a fantastic selection of jazz cats with Carl Burnett, and Henry 'The Skipper' Franklin, Ornette Coleman, Don Cherry, Hugh Masekela and many others all featuring. Riddled with dealing Fender Rhodes sounds from Haynes and plenty of wah-wah's pedal work, cascading electric pianos and notes of 70s-era Miles Davis, it is a fulsome jazz trip of the highest order. Sooth yet spiritual, challenging yet accessible, it's a golden record from a golden time so don't snooze on this super limited reissue.

Review: Innovative multi-percussionist Kahil El'Zabar has put together a superb full length here. Composed, arranged and conducted by the man himself, it's a powerful listen that conveys the turbulent state of the United States in 2020. It's not all bleak, with a certain sense of hope managing to shine through fantastic turns by the late Hamiet Bluiett, as well as Corey Wilkes, Tomeka Reid & the James Sanders String Qt. The jazz here is spiritual, melodic and improvised with a mix of urgency and drama and love and hope all going to the fore throughout. This is an essential listen for all jazz fans, old and new.

Review: Placebo isn't the indie band you're thinking of, but rather a jazz and progressive rock band from Belgium that is headed up by the legendary keyboardist and composer Marc Moulin. This 12" is a three track collection of live tracks recorded way back in 1973 from a live TV performance the group made. 'Planes' is a busy one with spy-theme leads and dramatic trumpets next to racing rhythm sections. 'Only Nineteen' is a more mellow groove but one that still explodes to life on rousing riffs and synth work. 'Showbiz Suite' closes out in mysterious fashion and keeps you coming back for more.

Review: Jazz Is Dead is a series that welcomes contemporary musicians to revisit jazz storied of old. This collection challenges Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad to utilise vintage equipment to create new master soundscapes, and they really come correct. Roy Ayers, Gary Bartz, Marcos Valle, Azymuth, Doug Carn, Joao Donato, & Brian Jackson are some of the legends who feature and the album is a free flowing delight that touches on soaring and soulful highs as well as bossa-tinged shufflers and plenty in between.

Review: For fans of spiritual and cosmic jazz, the release of a new studio album from the Sun Ra Arkestra is big news. While the legendary ensemble has continued to perform worldwide since the passing of bandleader Sun Ra in 1993, the vast majority of their releases have been either live albums or archival recordings. Swirling, then, is a significant step forwards for the collective under the stewardship of Marshall Allen. Musically, it's as far-out, poetic, otherworldly and exciting as you'd expect, with new versions of live favourites such as 'Door of the Cosmos', 'Rocket Number 9' and 'Satellites Are Spinning' being joined by interpretations of lesser-known Sun Ra compositions and fresh Allen originals.