Back catalogue: Funk Soul & Jazz

Review: Alabaster DePlume's latest album is a meditation on self-worth and healing, drawing from his poetry book Looking for My Value: Prologue to a Blade, he crafts 11 tracks that feel deeply personal yet universal. His saxophone, sometimes fluid, sometimes jagged, acts as both voice and emphasis on the likes of opener 'Oh My Actual Days' swells with sax and Macie Stewart's ghostly strings, a slow march toward reckoning. 'Thank You My Pain' turns its mantra-like refrain into a rhythmic meditation on discomfort. 'Invincibility' lifts into choral release, a breath after holding under water. The instrumental 'Prayer for My Sovereign Dignity' is an anthem for self-possession, while 'Form a V' channels the discipline of jiu-jitsu, inviting confrontation. Unlike his past, more improvisation-led works, this is tightly composed, arranged and produced by DePlume himself - and the result is direct, unflinching and deeply felt.

Review: Carlos NiNo & Friends' Placenta is a deeply conceptual and collaborative album, marking the fourth collection of their imaginative music released on International Anthem in recent years. Inspired by NiNo's experience of becoming a father again, the album is dedicated to the spirit of family, birth, and the experience of bringing new life into the world. Each track is a sonic exploration, from the soulful 'Love to all Doulas!' to the ethereal 'Moonlight Watsu in Dub.' NiNo's refusal to confine himself to genres is evident in the diverse sounds and textures woven throughout the album, reflecting his belief that friendships drive the greatest creative collaborations. With contributions from an impressive list of collaborators, Placenta is a prime example to the power of community and the boundless possibilities of musical experimentation. It's a heartfelt and visionary work that invites listeners on a transformative journey of sound and emotion.

Review: Jeff Parker's The Way Out of Easy harnesses his long-running ETA IVtet's residency at the Los Angeles creative music venue, ETA. Featuring saxophonist Josh Johnson, bassist Anna Butterss, and drummer Jay Bellerose, the album comprises four expansive tracks recorded live on January 2, 2023. Known for their transcendental, groove-oriented improvisations, the ETA IVtet's sound evolved over seven years, blending minimalism and polyrhythmic mantras. Engineered by Bryce Gonzales, who designed a custom mixer specifically for the group, The Way Out of Easy presents a pure, transparent auditory experience. The set begins with 'Freakadelic', a composition from Parker's 2012 album, before moving through meditative and richly textured pieces like 'Late Autumn' and 'Easy Way Out'. The album closes with a spontaneous dub/reggae groove titled 'Chrome Dome'. As the final chapter in ETA's history, The Way Out of Easy is a testament to the ensemble's deep creative synergy and the enduring spirit of the venue.

Review: Jeff Parker and his ETA IVtet are back with their first new music since 2022's Mondays at Enfield Tennis Academy. The album delves into improvised jazz grooves and features longtime collaborators Anna Butterss on upright bass, sax from Josh Johnson and Jay Bellerose on drums. The compositions are carefully crafted to capture the essence of a single night's setlist and reflect the unique atmosphere of the now-defunct Enfield Tennis Academy. Parker channels this space into a beautifully layered and dynamic piece that builds intricate, shifting textures from simple musical ideas that evoke a rich, immersive listen.

Review: Voices of Bishara Live at 'mu' captures a transcendent performance by Tom Skinner and his ensemble, recorded in January 2023 at London's "mu" club. The album, inspired by Abdul Wadud's seminal solo cello work, features Skinner on drums alongside a stellar lineup including Robert Stillman, Chelsea Carmichael, Tom Herbert, and Kareem Dayes. From the outset, the band delves into the depths of their repertoire with Skinner's composition 'Bishara,' a riveting exploration of rhythmic and tonal freedom reminiscent of Wadud's pioneering style. The album reaches its zenith with a mesmerizing 20-minute rendition of Wadud's 'Oasis,' featuring Carmichael's breathtaking saxophone solo. Skinner's compositions, infused with extended improvisation and juxtaposed with Wadud's works, firmly establish the band within the creative music continuum they honor. The album provides a poignant glimpse into the evolution of contemporary jazz and experimental music, highlighting both the band's reverence for tradition and their innovative spirit. Voices of Bishara Live at 'mu' is a powerful live performance and the enduring influence of musical pioneers like Abdul Wadud. It's a must-listen for aficionados of avant-garde jazz and experimental music alike.

Review: SML is the quintet of bassist Anna Butterss, synthesist Jeremiah Chiu, saxophonist Josh Johnson, percussionist Booker Stardrum, and guitarist Gregory Uhlmann. Together they present their debut album Small Medium Large, a collection of long-form improvisations recorded during two separate two-night stands at the beloved Los Angeles venue ETA. Forming the perfect locale in which to boost their initial rise, ETA is perhaps no longer a fitting name - with SML, we're no longer pondering this band's estimated time of arrival. Small Medium Large is a sublime assemblage of circulatory grooves and textural anomalies, at different moments recalling the synth-laced improvisations of Herbie Hancock's Sextant, the jagged dance punk of Essential Logic, the rhythmic revelry of Fela Kuti, the low-end elasticity of Parliament/Funkadelic, or the glitchy dub techno of Pole.

Review: International Anthem continues to serve up inspired debuts from some of the more intriguing members of Chicago's jazz and experimental music communities. The latest comes from multi-instrumentalist, composer and improviser Macie Stewart, who has delivered what's being dubbed "a companion piece for moving through life". At the heart of the album is Stewart's use of both piano and 'prepared piano' (a technique where various items such as coins and pieces of felt are attached to the instrument's strings). These picturesque and occasionally melancholic musical motifs come wrapped in atmospheric field recordings and sensitive string quartet arrangements. The results are rarely less than memorable, mesmerising and magnificent.

Review: Tom Perera-Chamblee is one of New York's more interesting jazz musicians - a long-term, genre-bending member of Brooklyn's DIY music community whose creative efforts have to be balanced with a day job as a 'bioinformatician' (we have no idea what that entails, but it sounds fairly weighty). A Willed and Conscious Bias is the multi-instrumentalist's debut album and was recorded with an impressive ensemble of independent musicians and fellow rising stars of alternative jazz. Musically, it's undoubtedly exceptional, drawing as much influence from contemporary musical culture as jazz of old - all inventive rhythms, slowly unfurling solos, soul-fired electric piano stabs and heady spirituality. For proof, check out the gentle musical flowering that is 'Love' and the jazz-funk and fusion-infused warmth of 'Life'.

Review: In classic jazz style, this collaborative three-way debut album brings together three musicians at the top of their game: SML members Gregory Uhlman (guitar and effects) and Josh Johnson (saxophone and effects), and sometime Louis Cole, Sam Gendel and Chaka Khan collaborator Sam Wilkes (bass and effects). Musically, what the trio offers is undeniably unique, with International Anthem describing the album as "a jazz-informed take on progressive electro-acoustic chamber music". Certainly, there's much to enjoy, from the tracked bass, guitar and sax loops and subtle changes of 'Mavis' and the dreamlike ambient jazz of 'Arpy', to the bubbling cosmic jazz of 'Frica' and a stunning, off-kilter instrumental cover of Magical Mystery Tour-era Beatles number 'The Fool On The Hill'.