Juno Recommends Brokenbeat / Nu Jazz February 2021

Review: Like all material released on Original Gravity, this tidy two-tracker from percussionist/band-leader Nestor Alvarezn and producer Neil Anderson sounds like it could have been recorded decades ago but is in fact brand new. It first appeared earlier in the year and has now been granted a second pressing, this time on coloured vinyl. A-side 'Midnight in Havana' is a heavyweight Afro-Cuban treat, with roaring horn lines and energetic organ lines leaping above a weighty, low-slung groove piled high with Latin percussion. The pair get cheeky on the flip, re-imagining Happy Mondays' classic 'Kinky Afro' in an easy listening salsa style, complete with bi-lingual lead vocals and sweltering trumpet solos.

Review: Emanative is an artist known for his love of collaborating with others. He has worked with Bex Burch during the lockdown and now this new EP is the meeting of those minds pressed to wax. Nick Emanative initially provided Bex with a hazy, 808 / African-inspired sketch and things were taken from there with a back and forth dialogue resulting in an afro tinged house groover with post punk-esque vocal, Ghanaian Gyil xylophone and synths and tape delay from Hector Plimmer. It makes for a fascinating pair of tunes.

Review: Jazz N Palms let loose with noter of their impossibly sunny and freeform new EPs. It packs in five more iconic tunes that have all been reworked, retouched and edited by the in house team. They're the sort of joyous jams you'd hear in more grown up spots in Ibiza and at monthly warm-up sets at the Ronnie Scott's (London) jazz concerts held at Pikes. Latin, funk, jazz, bossa, beats and soul all collide here with big brass sounds, organic percussive energy and sunshine to spare. The playful porno sounds of 'La Ola' is our pick.

Review: When it first appeared digitally earlier in the year, DJ Spinna described Deborah Jordan's first album in nine years, See in the Dark, as an, "instant future classic". As it now lands on vinyl for the first time, we have to say we wholeheartedly agree with his assessment. Sitting somewhere between neo-soul, broken beat, nu-jazz and future R&B, the set sees Jordan deliver impeccable, effortlessly soulful performances of her own songs with the help of an impressive cast-list of musicians and a string quartet. Brilliant from start to finish, its multiple highlights include the slow and seductive shuffle of 'Stay With You', the piano ballad 'Fear', the stunning R&B brilliance of 'Machine' and effervescent bruk-up number 'You Should Know'.

Review: Applied Arts party promoter and Cashmere Radio co-founder Ed Longo has spent much of the last 12 months criss-crossing Europe for recording sessions with a wide array of jazz-leaning musicians. The result is "The Other Fantasy", a debut mini-album that's said to be, "conceptualized around the quest for otherness in the schizophrenia of the digital age". Regardless of the concept, the resultant music is rarely less than magical, with Longo and his collaborators effortlessly joining the dots between jazz-funk, fusion, boogie and '80s soul. Highlights are plentiful, from the Dayton style early '80s jazz-funk perfection of "Love On The Line" and drowsy new age ambient/jazz fusion of "Arcadian Dream", to the synthesizer-powered '80s smoothness of "A Palm In The Closet" and horizontal bliss of "Trouble In Paradise".

Review: Two years ago, Early Sounds Recordings co-founder Pellegrino S. Snichelotto dished up a debut mini-album that brilliantly joined the dots between Daniele Baldelli style Afro-cosmic grooves and jazz-funk. This is his first outing since and explores similarly sunny and meandering sonic territory, beginning with the languid guitar solos, jaunty electric piano riffs and Tullio de Piscopo style percussion of "Astri & Riflessi". Smoother and deeper dancefloor jazz-funk flavours are provided by "Zodyaco", "Libra Position" is a dub-driven affair rich in spacey synth solos and heavy bass, and "Genti Del Mediterraneo" is a riotous dancefloor workout rich in crunchy Clavinets, elastic slap bass and wild electric piano solos. It is, then, every bit as essential as its fine predecessor.