Soul Jazz

Notes: This book celebrates over 100 years of photography in the Caribbean. From calypso kings to Vodou priests, revolutionaries to dictators, colonialism to independence, slave trade to tourist paradise - the many uses and abuses of the Caribbean are vividly captured here.

The image of the Caribbean is as much a creation of the outsider as it is the complex identity of its people, a melting pot of races created out of the participants of the 400 year slave trade - enforced Africans, indigenous Caribbeans and their colonisers - French, Spanish, Dutch, English.

From luscious and beautiful backdrop of tourism and hedonist retreat, to colonial outpost and revolutionary threat within North America's backyard, the complex identity of the Caribbean stands at the intersection of tourism, the detritus of the slave trade, the decline of colonialism and the region's tropicality.

The regions politics span an almost constantly changing path of ideas, radicalism and revolutionaries - from Castro's Cuba and Michael Manley's Jamaica, to the violent right-wing dictatorships of Haiti's Francois 'Papa Doc' Duvalier and the Dominican Republic's Rafael Trujillo.

The hundreds of fascinating and unique photographs featured here illustrate more than one hundred years of Caribbean history, culture and industry as well as the subsequent diaspora of its people to America, England, Canada and elsewhere.

Introduction by Paul Gilroy. Edited by Stuart Baker.

Paul Gilroy is the author of There Ain't No Black in the Union Jack: The Cultural Politics of Race and Nation (1987), The Black Atlantic: Modernity and Double Consciousness (1993), Black Britain - A Photographic History (2004) amongst others.

Stuart Baker is the editor of a number of photography and design books all of which deal with culture and identity including Punk 45 (with Jon Savage), Dancehall (with Beth Lesser), Kanaval: Vodou, Politics and Revolution on the Streets of Haiti (with Leah Gordon), Voguing (with Chantal Regnault), Bossa Nova, Freedom, Rhythm & Sound (both with Gilles Peterson) and more. He is also the founder of Soul Jazz Records.collection.

Review: "Fever" is one of Horace Andy's biggest hits. Amazingly, it has never been given its own release so Studio One has done the right thing and put it out on a super loud 12" for the first time. It first landed way back in 1973 before Andy rose to contemporary fame appearing with Massive Attack on five of their albums, but still hits hard. The lush vocals sit well in the swinging drums and bass, and makes it a sure fire dance floor destroyer that won't hang around. Comes accompanied with a Cedric "Im" Brooks instrumental version on the flip.

Review: Soul Jazz Records' new must-have compilation "Kaleidoscope" does a great job in celebrating the vibrancy of the UK's fast-growing contemporary jazz scene. For some reason the vinyl version of the release omits the two tracks featured here, hence the label offering them up on a limited-edition 12" single that they say will never be repressed or reissued. The A-side features Sons of Kemet member (and renowned tubist/trombonist) Theon Cross's "Candace of Meroe", a bustling affair that riffs on the polyrhythmic Afrobeat sound of Tony Allen and Fela Kuti whilst taking it in a decidedly jazzier new direction. Over on the flip psychedelically inclined duo Pokus delivers "Pokus 1", a wonderfully low-slung and spaced-out affair that adds mind-altering, mutilated electric piano motifs to a deliciously weighty, low-slung groove.

Notes: 'Cuba: Music and Revolution: Original Album Cover Art of Cuban Music: Record Sleeve Designs of Revolutionary Cuba 1959-90 ' is a stunning new deluxe 250-page large format hardback book compiled and edited by Gilles Peterson and Stuart Baker (Soul Jazz Records) that features many 100s of stunning and unique Cuban record sleeve designs made since the Cuban Revolution led by Fidel Castro in 1959. These album covers have rarely been seen (nor heard) outside of Cuba and show a rich previously hidden history of both music and design.

'Cuba: Music and Revolution' is the first ever book about Cuban record sleeve design and has been five years in the making, made in full co-operation with the Cuban government. The record sleeve designs reflect both the rich cultural Latin musical legacy of Cuba, as well as the political and aesthetic influence of revolutionary Communism, which manifests itself both in the music created on the island and the artwork of the designs included here.

Cuban music is the source of much Latin music in the 20th century. Salsa, the all-encompassing Latin music that came out of New York in the 1970s, and soon spread across Colombia, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and elsewhere, owes all of its success to the Cuban music on which it is fundamentally based.

These record sleeves help document the dramatic change in Cuba's identity from that of 1950s tourist paradise to socialist state. Following the Cuban Revolution in 1959, the United States imposed a trade embargo which exists to this day, and as a consequence the many 100s of Cuban records featured here have rarely been seen outside of Cuba.

The book is edited and compiled by Gilles Peterson, BBC broadcaster, record label owner, DJ, record collector, founder of Worldwide FM and Stuart Baker, founder of Soul Jazz Records. Together they have edited two earlier critically-acclaimed music and design books 'Freedom, Rhythm and Sound - Revolutionary Jazz Cover Art 1965-83' and 'Bossa Nova and The Rise of Brazilian Music in the 1960s'.

In conjunction with the deluxe book, Soul Jazz Records will be releasing an album also compiled by Gilles Peterson and Stuart Baker, charting the rise of Cuban music in the 1970s and featuring many of the artists who appear in this book.

Review: The incomparable team at Soul Jazz are kicking off a brand new series here that serves up some of Studio One's most party ready bombs. The first issue features tunes that are bailable on 12" for the first time ever. And that tune is Marcia Griffiths' 'Feel Like Jumping' which by anyone's standards is a stone cold classic. It is often though to be one of the best reggae tunes ever commuted to tape. An absolute poster that will get the floor bumping with all the key elements. It is served up here with a specialist dub version on the flip for a more melon-twisting vibe.

Review: Curated as part of the iconic street artist's Tate exhibition this year, The World Of Keith Haring unites many of the talented souls Keith knew, or was inspired by, during his prolific rise as one of the most vital cultural spokesmen through the 70s and 80s. Soundtracking the gritty downtown NYC streets he made his first mark on, this limited collection captures the whole melting pot from b-boy culture with cuts such as "E.T Boogie" and "Bump N Grind", raw boogie and soul ("Over & Over") and pure drama ("The Guardian Angel Is Watching Over Us"). A powerful collection as striking and relatable as his own signature.

Review: Curated as part of the iconic street artist's Tate exhibition this year, The World Of Keith Haring unites many of the talented souls Keith knew, or was inspired by, during his prolific rise as one of the most vital cultural spokesmen through the 70s and 80s. Soundtracking the gritty downtown NYC streets he made his first mark on, this limited collection captures the whole melting pot from b-boy culture with cuts such as "E.T Boogie" and "Bump N Grind", raw boogie and soul ("Over & Over") and pure drama ("The Guardian Angel Is Watching Over Us"). A powerful collection as striking and relatable as his own signature.

Review: Asha is undoubtedly one of the most rare spiritual jazz albums around. It was originally self-released by its creator, Flautist Lloyd McNeill, back in 1969. Only 500 copies were ever pressed, and although Soul Jazz first put out a reissue on their Universal Sound sub-label in 2011, copies of that now change hands for large sums of money. It remains a beguiling and hugely atmospheric set, with McNeill's alternately haunting and jaunty flute solos wrapping themselves around a variety of deep and rich jazz grooves. Highlights are plentiful, from the poignant piano figures and breezy flutes of "Two Thirds Pressure", to the charming up-tempo strut of "Effervescence".

Review: Soul Jazz has previously dug deep into the back catalogue of American flautist Lloyd McNeill, reissuing a number of albums including two made with his acclaimed jazz quintet. Their latest rummage through the vaults has resulted in the reissue of one of his most sought-after sets - 1976 private press LP "Treasures", original copies of which now change hands for significant sums online. It remains a fine album, all told, with McNeill's breezy, ear-catching flute solos rising over backing tracks that are variously sublimely sun-kissed (the bright pianos and cheery madrigal mood of "Salvation Army"), suave and swinging ("As A Matter Of Fact") and effortlessly soft and seductive (the unfurling beauty of "You Don't Know What Love Is").

Review: It may only be January, but we already have a strong contender for 'compilation of the year'. Put together by devout crate-diggers and Cuban music enthusiasts Gilles Peterson and Stuart Baker, Cuba: Music & Revolution: Culture Clash in Havana 1975-85 celebrates a particularly fertile moment in the Caribbean country's musical development - one in which the country's traditional salsa and mambo sounds were being fused with a variety of other styles, most notably Brazilian tropicala, and the funk, soul and disco sounds emerging from the U.S.A. The results, as showcased via 23 tracks stretched across two CDs, are incredible, pitching traditional Cuban vocals and percussion sounds with heavy bass, life-affirming horns, futurist synthesizer flourishes and wah-wah guitars. Throw in detailed, eye-opening sleeve notes, and you have a genuinely must-have compilation. Bravo!

Review: Gilles Peterson's obsession with Cuba is long running and well documented over various compilations from across the years. His latest focusses on Experiments in Latin Music from 1975 to 85 and the title suggests it will be the first of an ongoing series on Soul Jazz, compiled in collaboration with Stuart Baker. Across three vibrant sides of vinyl all manner of grooves are offered up, some more traditional, some bravely out there, all drawing on the jazz, funk, Brazilian tropicalia and disco - mixed with classic Latin and salsa - which made it to the island in the 70s.

Review: Way back in 1976, now legendary U.S jazz drummer Steve Reid and his band, The Legendary Master Brotherhood, headed into Studio WE in NYC to record what would become "Nova" - a near-legendary debut album that has since become a cult classic. Featuring a mix of punchy free jazz and free funk, the set is still regarded by many jazz-heads as Reid's defining work. Here it gets a fresh reissue on limited orange vinyl, with Soul Jazz Records doing their usual bang-up job on the mastering and packaging. There's much to admire throughout, from the fizzing dueling trumpet and sax solos of breezy opener "Nova", to the spiraling spiritual jazz intensity of "Free Spirits - Unknown" and the free-jazz epic "Sixth House".

Notes: Get down with the get down! Fantastic new season colours in Soul Jazz Records' classic 12" Record Bags (holds about 30 LPs). Fantastic for DJing, impressing your stylish friends or just 'carrying stuff'.

Notes: Get down with the get down! Fantastic new season colours in Soul Jazz Records' classic 12" Record Bags (holds about 30 LPs). Fantastic for DJing, impressing your stylish friends or just 'carrying stuff'.

Review: During the 1950s and early '60s, the peoples of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo were in the midst of a colossal struggle to gain independence from the European colonial masters. This provided a suitably fertile backdrop for a little known musical revolution, which was taking place in the two countries' clubs and live venues. The result was a distinctive and previously largely unheralded style called "Congolese rumba", which mixed elements of Latin, African and jazz music into a thrilling new sound. It's that sound that's celebrated here on one of Soul Jazz's most eyebrow raising - and, let's face it, interesting - compilations for some time. The music is largely inspired and infectious, while the lengthy accompanying booklet tells the story in vivid detail.

Review: 'Mojo Rocksteady Beat' is the new compilation of classic recordings from The Sound Dimenison, the funkiest group in the history of Reggae.
The Sound Dimension have recorded some of the most important songs in Reggae music; songs such as 'Real Rock', 'Drum Song', 'Heavy Rock',
'Rockfort Rock', and 'In Cold Blood' - all classic songs that have become the 'foundation' of Reggae music, endlessly versioned and re-versioned
by Jamaican artists since the time they were first recorded.
As the in-house band at Studio One in the late 1960s, The Sound Dimension also played alongside everyone from The Heptones, and Alton Ellis,
to Ken Boothe, Marcia Griffiths and more. Similar to their US counterparts, The Funk Brothers at Motown, and Booker T and The MGs at Stax,
The Sound Dimension recorded, on a daily basis, incredibly catchy and funky tunes matched by a seamless musicality.
Featuring musicians of the calibre of Ernest Ranglin, Jackie Mittoo, Eric Frater, Leroy Sibbles, Don Drummond Jnr, Deadley Headley and more,
the Sound Dimension existed from around 1967 to 1970 and all the recordings featured here were originally released during this period. For a band
with a fluid line-up, they had an amazingly consistent sound, laying down classic rhythms for the singers of the day at Studio One as well as stretching
out with their own recordings. Check out the amazing trombone of Vin Gordon, rightly re-named 'Don Drummond Jnr' by Sir Coxsone, honouring both
the musical abilities of the young Gordon, and that of his forerunner in the Skatalites and ex-Alpha Boys teacher. His sparring partner on horns would
usually be Deadly Headley Bennett.
The Sound Dimension featured a unique combination of musicians from different backgrounds, such as those from the original jazz big bands on the
island or players from the north coast hotel music circuit; listen to 'Park View' and hear the two unique styles of Eric 'Rickenbacker' Frater, with his
fuzz-box lead guitar, dueling with the jazz virtuosity of fellow guitarist Ernest Ranglin. After Jackie Mittoo officially emigrated to Canada in 1968
(although often continuing to return for sessions), keyboard duties were also supplied by the equally funky Richard Ace or Robbie Lyn, all against the
rhythmic bass-lines of the Heptones' own Leroy Sibbles.
None of this can explain the importance of this music. The melodies to their classic songs are a thousand times better known than the musicians who
originally created them. Played and re-played by every house band for every producer on the island, these iconic rhythms became the basis for dancehall
and laid the foundations for the future of Jamaican music. This album can be seen as a companion to the earlier Sound Dimension release 'Jamaica Soul
Shake' and together these two albums make a unique and definitive document of a seriously important set of recordings.

Notes: · This deluxe 200 page hardback 12”x12”book
features hundreds of stunning full size record
cover designs from the legendary Studio One
Records.
· Described by Chris Blackwell as The University Of
Reggae, Studio One is by far the most important
record label in the history of Reggae music, an A-Z
of Jamaican music as iconic as Motown was to
soul, or Blue Note for Jazz.
· The book features classic artwork from Bob Marley
And The Wailers, Horace Andy, Alton Ellis, Freddie
McGregor, The Skatalites, Marcia Griffiths, Burning
Spear, The Heptones, Toots and the Maytals and
many more artists all of whom launched their
careers at Studio One.
· As well as many classic sleeves there are
numerous rare designs, including a collector’s
section featuring many alternate, silkscreen and
rarely seen designs.
· As Jamaica approaches the 50th anniversary of
independence, this stunning deluxe book is a
timely look at Reggae music’s legendary record
label and the artists and musicians that it made
famous.
· The book also features an introductory essay by
Steve Barrow (author of ‘Rough Guide To Reggae’)
and is edited by Stuart Baker (Soul Jazz Records).

Review: There's a lot going on here, and a lot of pure goodness at that. Fans of the Soul Jazz imprint rarely shut up about the label's output quality, and this latest LP from Trees Speak - their second to date - is a case in point. A record that sounds as though it was raised on some of the finest outsider music from the 1960s, 70s and 80s, the whole thing is saturated in pop references but doesn't come across forced or lazy.

You don't have to listen hard to hear the kind of proto-electro and Krautrock that came from the likes of Can, Popul Vuh and Neu!, John Carpenter's movie scores or traits of the No Wave movement that took subterranean New York by storm a few decades ago. Stylistically, the result is a sonic place that has as much attitude as it does edge, equal parts grit and groove, funk and rock, soul and sleaze.

Review: If you're in the market for a beginner's guide to krautrock and "kosmiche", then the first two volumes of Soul Jazz's Deutsche Elektronische Musik series should be essential listening. This third volume - the first for four years - should be on that list, too. It arguably goes deeper than its predecessors, combining cuts from pioneering electronic and art-rock bands like Neu!, Cluster and Popol Vuh with tracks from lesser-known artists such as Michael Bundt, Dronsz and Achim Reichel. Musically, it's also far more diverse than its predecessors, containing as much space-rock and proto-punk as early electronic experimentation and droning alternative rock. As ever, the accompanying sleeve notes from author David Nobbs expand on the story in brilliant detail.