Juno Recommends Brokenbeat / Nu Jazz September 2020

Review: New edit label on the block Jazz N Palms is back for a second round of super smooth sounds aimed squarely at the summertime vibe. First up is "Latin Rollercoaster", a wonderful undulating slice of jazz funk that doesn't hide its chops where they've stretched out the groove but still flows beautifully. "Flying Over Corcovado" is a more mellow, string-swelling affair with swooning moods to make you all misty eyed. "M Squared" locks down into a cool, sax-fuelled groove that you could get down to as easily as kick back and relax. "Stay A While" completes this sumptuous set with a seductive, slinky groove peppered with flutes, blissful keys and some sweet slap bass. Need we say more?

Review: Introducing Deep Cutz, a new vinyl arm from well established UK label Masterworks Music run by 80's Child, the Warrington DJ who has played with anyone worth their salt. This first EP is a dazzling disco affair from Jehan and Donnie Moustaki who takes us into deep and atmospheric territory from the off with a lush intro. Moustaki then goes solo for the shuffling, dischevilled kicks of "Saturninan Beer", before Jehan's "Lady 2000" gets loose and lithe on some live drum sounds and serious jazz chords. "Cool Man Nazz" is a steamy late night collab and "Rock Bottom" is Moustaki's final solo cut - a fresh fusion of jazz funk, disco and house into an organic groove to die for.

Review: It's only six months since The Heliocentrics released their last album, 'Infinity of Now', but boy how the world has changed since then. To reflect that, this new collection of songs is more intense, dark, paranoid, uncertain and, well, angry. It makes for a typically out there record that pulls together disparate worlds and defies familiar conventions. There are moments of sweetness and light such as "Space Cake" but also pixelated realms of jazz complexity that glisten and glean. This is an album that will lead you to strange, thought provoking places, but will also greatly reward any time you spend there.

Review: Sven Wunder is a Swedish outfit who turned plenty of heads with their 2020 album Easter Flowers. World, fly, country and jazz all coloured its widescreen sounds and now Mr Bongo serve up two singles from it on a tidy and limited edition green 7". "Magnolia" is an epic prog rock track laced with a Balearic undercurrent and run through with intoxicating and world leads that take you on a real trip. "Lotus" then layers up live drums with more neat guitar playing as well s arching great riffs and Eastern melodies that intoxicate every step of the way.

Review: Legendary Norwegian eight-piece Jaga Jazzist are back with a new album that takes a plunge into myriad musical worlds. Post-rock, jazz and psychedelia influences all abound across the four lengthy pieces that make up the Brainfeeder released LP. It was recorded in just two weeks of focussed sessions with plenty of impromptu jams and never too much over-analysis, but plenty of experimentation. It is the band's first self-produced album and overflows with musical stories form the off with synth heavy pieces and afro tinged drum rhythms. Bandleader Lars says: "I felt that this album is a small symphony, each part containing its own rooms to explore."

Review: A warm welcome back to Jaga Jazzist, who finally return with a fresh album (this time on Flying Lotus's Brainfeeder imprint) after five long years away. As usual, the instrumental sounds offered-up by the long-serving Norwegian nine-piece are thrillingly hard to pigeonhole, blending the fuzziness of post-rock and the hallucinatory visions of psychedelic rock with elements of jazz and a myriad of influences from around the world. Check for example epic opener "Tomita", where warming spiritual jazz horns, Pat Metheny style vocalizations and glistening guitar motifs rise above a constantly changing space-rock groove, or the undulating, unfurling beauty of "Spiral Era", whose inherent dreaminess and musical intricacy is almost breath-taking.

Review: Armed with a vast array of instruments (both electronic and acoustic),Ed Hawthorne AKA Tenderlonious spent the COVID-19 lockdown making music in his South London flat. The result is "Quarantena", the 22a founder's third solo full-length. Musically, it's a glorious hotch-potch of analogue synthesizer-driven dystopian soundscapes (see opener "1984 (Part One)"), breezy electro-jazz ("Roco's Raga", the blissful and Balearic title track), shimmering new age ambience ("Falkor Flight", "Total Recall"), jaunty jazz-funk ("Lockdown Boogie", "Moment's Notice"), sun-kissed jazz ("COVID Blues"), and hard-to-pigeonhole, dancefloor-ready workouts ("Maskup/Gloveup"). Taken as a whole, it's far more downtempo and picturesque than his previous albums, offering genuine musical escapism tailor-made for these troubled times.

Review: Fittingly, the third drop from London's freshly minted Sola Terra imprint is a first full-length from Brighton seven-piece Ebi Soda, a band that helped launch the label earlier in the year via their self-titled debut EP. Like that set, "Ugh" is rooted in jazz - their mighty horn section is made up of some seriously skilled players - but also draws much influence from dub, drowsy neo-soul, ambient, echoing electronica and head-nodding downtempo grooves. Throw in stellar amounts of delay and reverb, not to mention some cacophonous, high octane drumming, and you have a hugely impressive set that marks the arrival of an undeniably impressive outfit. Recommended.