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Antoine or Tonio Rubio has been an ever busy musician, composer and performer since the early 1960s in the French scene as far as one gets information on this man. He performed with LES GOLDEN STARS in the 60s and had gone solo by 1973 when he recorded the album reviewed here. And it is a fantastic album if you love black funk music from the dirty back roads of big American cities mixed with electric jazz and fusion rock that once was hot by the time it was initially developed out of the slowly fading free jazz of the later 1960s. Both directions join together on this record in an utterly captivating way making this album become a journey through landscapes of sound rather than a collection of musical pieces. The tunes are mostly instrumental with a few wordless choirs and voice performances thrown in here and there in support of the delicate instrumental arrangements that are able to conjure an atmosphere so haunting and obscure it may swallow your soul. But there is much more to experience here. Funny pop tunes as well as devastating dance tunes that make you spin around like mad and when Tonio Rubio and his band let their creativity discharge into these hypnotic funk tunes each listener will be grooving and moving. This is a rather colorful record made to get you into the groove. Other than that it would be appropriate background music for 1970s action and crime movies if not even erotic flicks. Everything here is well performed and the sound for this reissue has been carefully restored. So be welcome to explore the smoldering dark psyche jazz corners and the dead end streets where dirty ghetto funk eruptions pour out from the smokey clubs with Tonio Rubio and his nameless companions.

Repress.

Take one of the oldest library labels of the world, entrust its incomparable catalogue to the expert hands of two records scouts and sampling enthusiasts, and you get Cavendish Rarities, an exceptional 12-inch vinyl gathering brilliant producers who made the reputation of this prestigious Music Library founded in London in 1937.
For the first time for Beatsqueeze Records, Mister Modo and Ugly Mac Beer have selected 13 original tracks impregnated with vintage spirit and cinematographic atmospheres, signed with Cavendish in the 70's by Trevor Duncan, Ray Davies or Dennis Farnon.
A unique compilation on vinyl only edited by two passionate crate diggers, for all music lovers in perpetual quest of rare pearls and fans of great old school sound!

Original 70's Tracks From Cavendish Music Library
Selected By Mister Modo & Ugly Mac Beer

p&c Cavendish under licence to Beatsqueeze Records 2015

All tracks Published by Cavendish Music Library

Okay, as the title already suggests, this compilation is made entirely of early 70s library music which was recorded for so called music libraries from whose stores, movie makers and TV producers could license certain titles for their productions. In most cases the compositions were a conglomerate of popular music genres such as funk, psychedelic, rock and soul. I have experienced a few French productions of that kind before, but now it is time for some Italian stuff. I am quite pleased with the turnout of this compilation. The material grooves and steams throughout the whole record. There are mind ripping fuzzed out guitar leads that push you into a state of trance from which you may hardly escape. It begins quite relaxed with a composition of Giuliano Sorgini aka RASKOVIC, a prolific face in the Italian scene who has also worked with Alessandro Alessandrini aka BRAEN (psychedelic and prog freaks may know the project BRAEN'S MACHINE). The song itself is a good start to warm up your lazy bones with a straight beat, nice acoustic guitars, organ and piano lines. The organ replaces the vocals in this case as the lead melody maker. Easy to groove along and easy to enjoy. Stefano Torossi brings in a forceful beat and striking bass line ornamented with a laid back psychedelic lead guitar and a few spacey sound effects. The fuzzed out lead guitar will melt your soul while your body shakes from the rhythmical impulses of bass and drums. Feels like typical exploito psyche from that era, a straight composition forcing up constantly until it breaks down. If Amedeo Tommasi had added vocals to his composition, it would have been a typical steaming white boy northern soul hit as you may expect it from the British or American late 60s scene, think of STEAM with their Nana hey hey kiss him goodbye' anthem. The organ swirls and flashes around on a hard pumping, highly energetic rhythmical base made up of a hypnotic bass line, an explosive drumming and an aggressive electric piano. Gianni Mazza next takes it a bit more easily with a smoothly floating tune that shows this wonderful bloopy fuzz lead guitar late 1960s acid pop brought to fame. The power of the rhythms increases, some playful intersections appear and the lead guitarist goes wild. The drummer must be a true beast. Phreakin' awesome. It is a steady up and down of dynamics here that leaves no air to breathe for you. NARASSA whose real name is Alessandro Brugnolini takes the thread where Gianni Mazza left it with an ever grooving rhythm section, a heavy organ to back up the buzzing fuzzed out rhythm guitars and a totally loose acid rock lead guitar. Where is my mind gone by now Oh, do not ask, it is just gone with the flow of colors. If I wanted I could go on raving about this beautiful piece of music now, a compilation of the hottest library groove rock tunes from the early 70s but I rather tell you that all following tracks are in a similar vein as the first five compositions and definitely such a joy to dive into as a friend of funk influenced exploito acid rock and beat. Each not gets played with an enormous passion and the simmering lead guitars are for sure not of this earth. We would surely know the one or another participating instrumentalist from some of the bigger Italian rock heroes of the era but I have no real clue who plays on this compilation except for the composers' and project leaders' names. Anyway, this will capture your soul and let you freak out throughout the whole playing time. Dance your mind away.

The great bassist Oscar Pettiford live in Hamburg 1958, second chapter. Fine melange of modern mainstream, cool jazz and hard bop, with Jimmy Pratt (dr), Hans Koller (ts), Dusko Goykovich (tp), Michel Hausser (vib), Attila Zoller (g), Roger Guerin (tp) and Armin Rusch (p), heard here in a second previously unknown Pettiford session from Germany. Comes as carefully mastered longplay CD and 2-LP vinyl set (gatefold), including photos of the event by Susanne Schapowalow and new liner notes by Arne Reimer, with Goykovich and Hausser sharing their memories of the time. Certainly Pettiford's best recorded live performance on the European jazz scene in excellent sound quality!

The great bassist Oscar Pettiford live in Hamburg 1958, second chapter. Fine melange of modern mainstream, cool jazz and hard bop, with Jimmy Pratt (dr), Hans Koller (ts), Dusko Goykovich (tp), Michel Hausser (vib), Attila Zoller (g), Roger Guerin (tp) and Armin Rusch (p), heard here in a second previously unknown Pettiford session from Germany. Comes as carefully mastered longplay CD and 2-LP vinyl set (gatefold), including photos of the event by Susanne Schapowalow and new liner notes by Arne Reimer, with Goykovich and Hausser sharing their memories of the time. Certainly Pettiford's best recorded live performance on the European jazz scene in excellent sound quality!

50 years ago, Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass released the iconic album, Whipped Cream & Other Delights. In celebration of its momentous 50th anniversary, this classic of American pop music is once again available on CD and vinyl, remastered and better than ever!
Sales/ Marketing / Promo Points:
50 years ago, Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass released the iconic album, Whipped Cream & Other Delights. In celebration of its momentous 50th anniversary, this classic of American pop music is once again available on CD and vinyl, remastered and better than ever!

... And they are four! Parma Brass released his fourth CD, and betting everything on "live": Swingin 'Christmas is not just a collection, but a real live concert in which one you'll find gospel and spiritual songs, arranged by the group to create a unique sound with the beautiful voices of ELENA GIARDINA and FABRIZIO BERTA. The recurring themes are that of Christmas, from White Christmas until to Oh Happy Day, but there are incursions in the musical, with pages from Sister Act, and in the large repertoire of songs badged Burt Bacarach.

Ein weiterer Schub Frank Sinatra Vinyle. Diesmal "Come Dance With Me" und "Come Swing With Me".
Remastered und auf 180g Vinyl inkl. Download-Voucher.

Ken Vandermark - reeds
Christof Kurzmann - electronics [loopp]
Jasper Stadhouders - bass
Tim Daisy - drums

One of the 'main' groups of saxophonist extraordinaire. Ken Vandermark,
New album, new bassist; and even more energetic. Made to Break's live performances amazed audiences all over Europe and North America, which will continue this fall, accompanied by their new record 'Before The Code'.
Quartet instrumentation constituting the basis for improvisation of unprecedented flexibility and immediacy, making Made to Break a unique act in the world of free jazz.

Recorded by Christoph Amann, on November 11th, 2014, at Amann Studios, Vienna.

Harry Pussy emerged out of the Florida swamps in 1993. Formed by Adris Hoyos and Bill Orcutt, the duo became legendary for their volatile live shows, which often devolved into violent clashes with audience members. Obliterating the lines between hardcore, noise and free jazz, the unclassifiable Harry Pussy were at once all of these things and none of them.

Originally released on Siltbreeze, their self-titled debut album reveals an antagonistic and visceral approach to music: Hoyos' self-taught, wild-style drums and shrouded screams tangling with Orcutt's high tension blues guitar. As David Keenan writes in the liner notes, "Harry Pussy played at such a heightened speed-of-thought climactic future-primitive peak that they outstripped technique so completely that people thought they couldn't actually play at all."

From the opening blasts of "Youth Problem" to the spasmodic, electro-convulsive take on Kraftwerk's "Showroom Dummies," Harry Pussy is an absurd and devastating statement. Twenty-plus years later, rock'n'roll's collective ears are still ringing. This long out-of-print vinyl release is recommended for fans of The Dead C, Royal Trux and Mars.

A gritty bodacious masterpiece!
Johnny Cash With His Hot and Blue Guitar was not only Cash's debut album, it was also the first full-length LP released by Sun. The LP's twelve tracks include one side of his debut single, 'Cry, Cry, Cry,' along with two of his best-known recordings, 'Folsom Prison Blues' and 'I Walk the Line.' Backed by 'The Tennessee Two,' Luther Perkins on guitar and Marshall Grant on bass, the tracks are spare, direct and intense. Cash's distinctive 'boom-chicka' rhythm propels every song as his commanding voice captures and holds the listener.

Though Cash had been at Columbia for several years by the time this LP was originally released, he recorded and released such a tremendous amount of music between 1955 and 1958 at Sun Studios in Memphis, that Sun Records was releasing his work long after he had defected to a new label. Featuring 12 fantastic recordings with his Tennessee Two and others, including The Ballad Of A Teenage Queen', his wonderful take on Goodnight Irene', and the immortal Big River'. Repressed in a beautiful limited edition picture disc LP on DOXY.

ambiq, the Berliner instrumental trio of Max Loderbauer, Claudio Puntin and Samuel Rohrer, emerged onto the scene not long ago with a self-titled arjunamusic LP (AM703) of impressive sonic distinctiveness and technical ability. Drinking from a deep pool of influences that includes free improv, early electronic music and spaced-out dub, the trio does what any great ensemble should set out to do: it becomes more than the sum of its parts, a single organism with its own unique expressive vocabulary and perspective. Proving that their debut was no fluke, the ambiq trio has already re-convened for a second full length bubbling over with new timbral combinations, and with a sophisticated interpretation of the ancient art of tension and release.
From the opener "The Spur," no time is wasted ushering us to our seats and bringing us to a world where strange new tonalities seem to breathe freely: the nimble percussive shuffle, set in relief against a cascade of detuning electronic tones, is a fascinatingly introspective intro (incidentally, it is actually followed by a piece entitled "Introspective Kitchen," which expands the mood of the preceding track with cleverly delay-effected woodwind, remote organ swells and yet more shivering percussion.) Once the lessons from these preliminary exercises have sunk in, the band then embarks on a more motoring, danceable journey entitled "The Mother": Rohrer's drumming, as always, is taut and confident, while Puntin's clarinet evocatively hovers with a kosmische feel that is all too absent from the realms of "post-rock" and electronics-aided improv.
The interplay between Puntin and Rohrer eventually develops into the main dialogue of the album, though the sound events surrounding it change continuously enough to keep this a fully memorable and downright cinematic experience. On "Parton's Double Vision", the lush "space violin" quavers familiar to vintage sci-fi fans play the support role, and the closing "Consolation" features a lulling bed of electronics that elusively shift in character the more attention one pays to them. With all this in mind, the new ambiq LP is as wonderfully cohesive as its predecessor, but never monotonous in the mood it conveys: the miniature piece "Naked George," for example, is as full of humorous melody as the other pieces are full of investigative curiosity. Another short piece, "Mytoprill," is guided by queasy modular synth strains that impart a delirious kind of funhouse ambience.
Plenty of music exists for the open-minded, but not all of it has the ability to initiate the process of opening minds in the first place. ambiq does have that ability, and have come up with a musical formula that will melt away the defenses of the most hardened techno fanatic or avant-gardist, seeding new ideas not beholden to any one genre or lifestyle.
REMIXES of this album by Margaret Dygas & Thomas Fehlmann will be released in 2016. (AMEL-EP710)

Darkjazz/ Experimental/ Electro. This split consitutes an exciting collaboration of these two French experimental/avant-garde/dark jazz acts. In mutual respect and appreciation, both DALE COOPER QUARTET and WITXES selected a track of their split companion and created a fundamental and independent rework of around 20 minutes length. Based upon parts of Witxes' ""The Apparel"" -- from the last album ""A Fabric of Beliefs"" -- and afternoon summer recording sessions, the DALE COOPER QUARTET's ""Le Strategie Saint-Frusquin"" contains the classic sounds of the Quartet: ambient soundscapes, lazy jazzy rhythms, drone and distorsion guitar and a deep saxophone breath. Being mostly instrumental, the deep tone of Ronan Mac Erlaine's voice comes to ease the stormy start of the music piece. A grainy and blissful track that resembles music coming through of a 50s radio speaker, letting dark jazz flooding the room. ""Pisces Analogue"" is a new WITXES piece based on ""Nourrain Quinquet"", a track from ""Quatorze pieces de menaces"" by Dale Cooper Quartet & the Dictaphones. In five movements, the track explores the interstices and cracks of the dark, minimalist, lurking, cycle-evolving original piece. It offers to take a look at some of its nooks, focus on a few of its endless micro-universes and jump from one to another in a flash. Just like swimming in a puzzling dream. If there is anything in common with previous Witxes output, it is a strong sense of motion as well as narration to be seized by the listener. Though this piece uses heavily processed instruments takes from ""Nourrain Quinquet"" as well as a few typical Witxes field recordings, it is Witxes most synthetic work to date. It was written, recorded and mixed in 3 weeks during summer of 2014 in Lyon and co-produced by Michael Mysak. CD: digipak, Vinyl: thick gatefold sleeves, 180g vinyl, different colors, free download code.

The jazz genre spawned a couple of quite colorful subspecies that were part of important pop cultural movements to let the ordinary man escape from the daily grind. Two of the most prolific pop jazz spheres were Exotica Music which accompanies with the Tiki Culture omnipresent throughout the 50s and early 60s and Space Age Music, a rather pop oriented accessible style with hints of swing and vocal jazz spiced up with quite mind altering sound effects. 'Moon gas', a cooperation between pianist / organist Dick Hyman and singer Mary Mayo, hits the center of the space age genre directly and shows a diversity of aspects from rather dreamy tunes with melancholic and really haunting vocal melodies courtesy of Mrs. Mayo to groovy, swinging compositions that invite you for an easy dance. Still you have to turn your mind from all these strange little sounds that whistle and sparkle around the rather uncomplicated easy listening jazz pop compositions. The songs alone would certainly be on par with the best contemporary hit tunes of their age but what really makes them outstanding is this combination with the sound world of a space laboratory or commando bridge of a starship. 1963 definitely was a year where the USA found themselves in a challenge with the Soviet Union about the predominance in space so this type of music fit well with the dreams of the average man to explore distant galaxies even it was only in his mind. About six or seven years later when psychedelic rock had reached a peak and the music was ready to leave the earth behind these early sounds were developed into space rock by groups such as Hawkwind. In 1963 we are still far away from this and what Dick Hyman, Mary Mayo and their fellow, yet unnamed band members create is a rather smooth and calm affair that still pushes your mind towards certain borders of reality. All these funny noises transport you into a world of huge computers with flashing lights onboard of interstellar space ships traveling from one galaxy to the next. You will get a feeling that this album contains nothing but vocal jazz music with a cooled down temper beyond all the arrangements of bleeping, rattling and swooshing. But I am certain you will be enchanted by all the sweet melodies right away and soon drift into a futuristic dream when you spin this little record. The musicians interact tight and professional while Mary Mayo sings with a very distinctive and harmonic style which pets your senses. If you want to take a relaxed trip to the stars I invite you to grab a copy of this classic album.

ambiq, the Berliner instrumental trio of Max Loderbauer, Claudio Puntin and Samuel Rohrer, emerged onto the scene not long ago with a self-titled arjunamusic LP (AM703) of impressive sonic distinctiveness and technical ability. Drinking from a deep pool of influences that includes free improv, early electronic music and spaced-out dub, the trio does what any great ensemble should set out to do: it becomes more than the sum of its parts, a single organism with its own unique expressive vocabulary and perspective. Proving that their debut was no fluke, the ambiq trio has already re-convened for a second full length bubbling over with new timbral combinations, and with a sophisticated interpretation of the ancient art of tension and release.
From the opener "The Spur," no time is wasted ushering us to our seats and bringing us to a world where strange new tonalities seem to breathe freely: the nimble percussive shuffle, set in relief against a cascade of detuning electronic tones, is a fascinatingly introspective intro (incidentally, it is actually followed by a piece entitled "Introspective Kitchen," which expands the mood of the preceding track with cleverly delay-effected woodwind, remote organ swells and yet more shivering percussion.) Once the lessons from these preliminary exercises have sunk in, the band then embarks on a more motoring, danceable journey entitled "The Mother": Rohrer's drumming, as always, is taut and confident, while Puntin's clarinet evocatively hovers with a kosmische feel that is all too absent from the realms of "post-rock" and electronics-aided improv.
The interplay between Puntin and Rohrer eventually develops into the main dialogue of the album, though the sound events surrounding it change continuously enough to keep this a fully memorable and downright cinematic experience. On "Parton's Double Vision", the lush "space violin" quavers familiar to vintage sci-fi fans play the support role, and the closing "Consolation" features a lulling bed of electronics that elusively shift in character the more attention one pays to them. With all this in mind, the new ambiq LP is as wonderfully cohesive as its predecessor, but never monotonous in the mood it conveys: the miniature piece "Naked George," for example, is as full of humorous melody as the other pieces are full of investigative curiosity. Another short piece, "Mytoprill," is guided by queasy modular synth strains that impart a delirious kind of funhouse ambience.
Plenty of music exists for the open-minded, but not all of it has the ability to initiate the process of opening minds in the first place. ambiq does have that ability, and have come up with a musical formula that will melt away the defenses of the most hardened techno fanatic or avant-gardist, seeding new ideas not beholden to any one genre or lifestyle.
REMIXES of this album by Margaret Dygas & Thomas Fehlmann will be released in 2016. (AMEL-EP710)

The first impression was that I could be going to listen to a sexy piece of exotica music from the heydays of the tiki culture back in the 50s and early 60s but then I checked the year of production and it said 1971. Also this is a European production, from France to be more precisely. Nino Nardini was a master of library sound productions for movies, TV series' and other events back then and this album is him taking his turn on what legends like Martin Denny and Frank Hunter created for the ultimate listening experience about ten or twelve years back when people intended to escape from the struggle of all day's life and the fear of the cold war turning hot through dreamy music that combined an easy and relaxed jazz with jungle sounds and colorful melodies creating an atmosphere of exotic places. Especially the flashing female humming choirs were typical for that old exotica music. Nino Nardini refreshes those - in 1971 already ancient - musical values with more contemporary elements of hot blooded funk and especially its wild percussion patterns, sweet wahwah guitars and an ever present rocking rhythm section. Blues and psychedelic rock flow gently into the mix to expand the effect on your imagination. The whole music here is lush with great arrangements. Grandiose string patterns often vest the atmosphere of great mysticism in a garment of lust for life and let the listener discover a peaceful world of swirling colors. The earthy rock aspect of the music then urges to come to the fore when the time is right before you seem to get lost on Eden's island spiritually just to get yourself back to the smoky urban clubs where the air is heavy and the sweat drips from the ceiling. All in all this is a beautiful soundtrack for fans of both worlds, the urban funk of the early 70s and the dreamy exotica music of the 50s and 60s. Both worlds get close to each other and at some points pervious towards each other. 'Jungle obsession' is a fine example of well executed library music of the 70s and indeed plays a not existing movie in your head with all different moods. Sheer excitement if you can catch the flow.

Richard Hawley follows his hugely successful UK tour with the release of 'I Still Want You', the second single to be lifted from his massively acclaimed new album 'Hollow Meadows'. The single includes a beautiful live, acoustic recording of album cut 'Tuesday PM' on the b-side.

Legendary Modern Jazz album from Germany and the true holy grail of European LPs. First session recording by the internationally awarded pianist Walter Strerath and his brilliant sidemen from 1969, originally released with a beautiful silk-screen printed cover on the tiny Jazz Groove' label in an edition of a few hundred copies only. Outstanding self penned tunes by the trio and Hans Thomas (trumpet/ fluegelhorn) plus Christian Lindner (saxes). A monument of a jazz album with originals booking in at 3.000$ on ebay. Remastered 2008, 1:1 fold out cover (punched!) with original liner notes.

On his tour of Japan in early 1975, Miles Davis presented some of the most searing, electric fusion ever heard in concert. The performances on this 2CD set taken from an FM broadcast, hail from a January 22 gig at Shinjuku Kohseinenkin Hall in Tokyo. Staged ten days earlier than the February 1 shows at which his Agharta and Pangaea LPs were recorded, this includes some songs not contained on those albums, and spotlights one of the most adventurous bands Davis assembled.

The soundtrack to the 2015 animated motion picture, featuring new recordings of the Vince Guaraldi Classics: "The Linus and Lucy Theme" and "Skating." Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus and the rest of the "Peanuts" gang make their big-screen debut, like they've never been seen before, in state of the art 3D animation. Charlie Brown, the world s most beloved underdog, embarks upon an epic and heroic quest, while his best pal, the loveable beagle Snoopy, takes to the skies to pursue his arch-nemesis, the Red Baron.

From the imagination of Charles M. Schulz and the creators of the "Ice Age" films, "The Peanuts Movie" from Blue Sky Studios and 20th Century Fox is in theaters starting November 6th 2015. "The Peanuts Movie" soundtrack was created with the help of movie director Steve Martino and features new recordings of Vince Guaraldi classics: "Linus And Lucy" & "Skating" as well as the original score from Christophe Beck ("Frozen"). The soundtrack also features Grammy-nominated Meghan Trainor, who recorded an original song, "Better When I'm Dancin'," for the film which she has performed live on her 2015 headlining tour.

This is one release sure to please both adults and children alike!

To celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Peanuts brand, Peanuts Greatest Hits is an all-new compilation featuring 12 of the most memorable recordings from the beloved animated Peanuts TV specials, all with the sophisticated, yet accessible jazz stylings of the Vince Guaraldi Trio.

The album includes such favorites as the instantly recognizable "Linus and Lucy", the "Charlie Brown Theme" and the humorous "Little Birdie," and includes all new liner notes by Peanuts historian Derrick Bang.

Strictly Limited 180g LP (300 copies)

* Grammy-award winner Adrian Quesada (Prince, Grupo Fantasma, Brownout, Shawn Lee, Ocote Soul Sounds) meets
the Austin (TX) collective Epirus Quartet (The Temptations, Cayetano, DoSS, Roxy Roca, Diplomats of Solid Sound) for a series of timeless cross-over jazz sessions. Recorded live in Big Orange Studios, Transatlantic' radiates raw groove from needle-drop to needle-lift.

* Featured: Jazz FM, The Hedonist, Popaganda, SOUL magazine, So Pedrada Musical (Brasil), Paris Djs, Athens Voice, Deutschland Radio Kultur, Rockandroll Circus, Off Radio, musica-re, stop that sound

Calypso, kwela, highlife and bebop, a little rock n roll and an Indian mambo, a shango hymn, some Sun Ra-style cha cha cha. A lake in a Johannesburg zoo, a Chinese on the Harrow Road; astronauts and prostitutes, landlords, streetfighters and cricketers.

'As well as the appeal of this little-known music — inventive, precocious and fluent by turns — there's the pleasure of discovering the rich, frequently moving histories of the players, thanks to the exceptional sleevenotes... CD Of The Week' (The Observer).
'... matches the superlative standard of its predecessors' (Independent On Sunday).

The music and notes are presented alongside rare artist photographs by Val Wilmer.

Almost all of the afro-Cuban music in this compilation fell under the new marketing category 'salsa' (up till then it would have been simply called Latin music), and its cradle was New York City, where the tradition flourished amidst the constant mix of ethnicities and so many styles of music.

It was inevitable that afro-Cuban music would proliferate in new genres reflecting its new home. Afro-Cuban jazz was born in New York City, through the amalgamating creativity of musicians like Chano Pozo, Machito, Duke Ellington and Dizzy Gillespie. Likewise Boogaloo in the mid sixties, coming out of Harlem, joining Guajira and son with soul, R and B and doo-wop.

The recordings on Son Cubano NYC were made over the decade beginning 1972, for the new Salsoul and SAR labels and their sisters Mericana and Guajiro. For the trumpeter Chocolate, the music has 'broader harmonies and touches of jazz phrasing, but never leaves the raices and cinquillo... Cuban music is natural - its essence is its raices [roots]'. For the singer Henry Fiol, 'New York salsa is a hybrid. When Cuban music moved to New York it added another flavour.'

Latin music was exploding in the City. You could hear deejays like Polito Vega playing on the radio at any time of day; you could go dancing any night of the week, throughout the boros, at clubs like Corsos, Casablanca, Bronx Casino, Ochentas, Club Cabrojena, Carlos Ortiz' Tropicana, Hunts Point Palace. And yet — held back because of the unmistakable Cuban personality of its music — 'the success of SAR was due mainly to word of mouth', as co-founder Sergio Bofill recalls. 'We didn't get airplay and found that we could do without it and still sell albums in the USA, Europe, and Africa'. This was still the period of the Cold War — when Eddie Palmieri was accused of 'communist salsa' for his song Mozambique (which isn't even salsa) — and the radio stations did their bit to suppress Cuban culture.
Within a few years — by the mid-80s — New York salsa was becoming stagnant: 'boring and monotonous', in the words of historian Max Salazar; for Charlie Palmieri, 'Europeanized' in its disavowal of improvisation. The music-making on this album was dismissed as old-fashioned. Actually — in the glory of its long, flowing, rootsy forms, in the irresistible spell it casts on dancers everywhere — it is timeless.

Al Angeloro

'Vibrant and beautiful almost beyond words, the fifty year old recordings being collected on Honest Jons' London Is The Place For Me series are giant and precious treasures of early black British music. Exquisite artistic achievements in their own right, they also throw light on the early development of post bop jazz in the UK.
Volume one in the series, released in '02 and subtitled Trinidadian Calypso In London, 1950-1956, features all-but-forgotten masterpieces of reportage, social commentary and louche wit from Lord Kitchener, Lord Beginner, the Lion, and other recently arrived young calypsonians. This second volume, subtitled Calypso And Kwela, Highlife And Jazz From Young Black London, concentrates on the same period but widens the geo-stylistic net.

'Featured musicians, caught early in their careers and still working within the rich contexts of their native folk musics, include trumpeter Shake Keane from St. Vincent, later a collaborator in Joe Harriott's free jazz explorations, but in '55 on Baionga in exuberant jazz-highlife mode; clarinetist Willie Roachford and trumpeter Harry Beckett, from Barbados, soloists in Ambrose Campbell's jazz-infused West African Rhythm Brothers highlife band; and from South Africa, alto saxophonists Gwigwi Mrwebi and Dudu Pukwana, together with two of Pukwana's Blue Note colleagues, pianist Chris McGregor and trumpeter Mongezi Feza.

'Mrwebi's Nyusamkhaya, which also features Pukwana, is a Fort Knox-certified 24 carat early kwela mothernugget, the man's Africanized Earl Bostic sound fully and gloriously developed. The bass player is Coleridge Goode, from Jamaica, who later played key roles with Harriott and with John Mayer's seminal Indo-Jazz Fusions project. Pukwana, Feza and McGregor add a township-jazz dimension to Nigerian Tunji Oyelana's Omonike.

'Jazz also gets lyric and stylistic look-ins on two early-mutant calypsos: Young Tiger's Calypso Be and King Timothy's Gerrard Street. Tiger ridicules the 'monstrosity' which is bop, but nonetheless includes a stirring bop-informed solo from Jamaican tenor saxophonist Sam Walker. Timothy instead celebrates the music, and London's modest then-answer to 52nd Street, Soho's Gerrard Street (but asks, 'Another thing I don't realise/Why they all have dark glasses on their eyes')

'Straightahead calypso at its finest comes on Kitchener's My Wife's Nightie — where, unembarrassed by his own infidelity, the singer demands of a one-night stand that she 'Come back with mi wife's nightie/Or I charge you for larceny' — and Lion's masquerade-spooky Kalenda March, catching a similar shiver-up-the-spine vibe as Beginner's awesome 'Fed-A-Ray' on volume one.

'Truth is, there are no standout tracks here. It's all wall to wall magic and beauty and loose-limbed dance rhythms. But Campbell's percussion-only Ashiko Rhythm — a mellow hand drums, thumb piano, and gong-gong workout on the basic shave-and-a-haircut/two-bits beat — and the Rhythm Brothers' delicate and lullaby-like closer Sing The Blues can't go by without mention.

In their quest to hypnotize the planet, HBE have become world travelers. Performing extensively on 6 out of the 7 continents, this record is meant to bring the audience in on their international adventures as a band & family. With "Baggage Claim", "Exchange Rate," "Favella Funk" (dedication to Brazil) and "Saikou Shibuya Nights" (ode to nightlife in Tokyo) the band paints a picture of a group traversing the globe purveying their signature style and culture. The musical style of this record is grounded in the same full-on live brass sound fans have come to love with added instrumental and vocal accompaniments, including songs that range from classic hiphop to contemporary jazz, soul, and Brazilian maracatu. "A huge brass bridge of hypnotic polyphony connecting the cosmic jazz of Sun Ra's Arkestra with the urgency of hiphop and the sweeping emotional scale of a Curtis Mayfield blaxploitation opus" (Fader).

Soul Jazz Records new Sounds of the Universe: Art + Sound 2012-15 is a new double album CD (and two separate volumes of double-vinyl) featuring a line-up of some of the most forward-thinking and progressive artists and producers working with electronic music around the world today.
This lovingly compiled collection features a stunning array of contemporary artists: Chicago's Afro-futurist genius Hieroglyphic Being, Kassem Mosse (aka Gunnar Wendell/Siege of Troy), one of the most talked-about, respected artists in underground house and techno, out of Detroit's Moodymann stable comes Andres, also featured is Los Angeles-based Ras G, associated with the Brainfeeder label established by fellow producer Flying Lotus, and many more!
This new collection features a first CD of tracks recorded exclusively for Soul Jazz Record's bespoke Sounds of the Universe label. These were originally issued under their Art + Sound series between 2012 and 2015 as unique hand-etched and original commissioned art pieces (reproduced here) collectors' 12' singles - all pressed in micro-editions of 250 copies for each artist's release that were only ever available exclusively from Soul Jazz Records' boutique Sounds of the Universe shop in Soho, London.
The second CD features a fantastic set of all brand new exclusive tracks from the likes of Seven Davis Jr, Drexciya collaborator DJ Stingray, deep house virtuoso Mike Huckaby, Glaswegian noise-punk six-piece Golden Teacher, and lots more - all created and commissioned especially for this release. These songs are not available anywhere else in the world.
Together these 2CDs comprise an amazing selection of new progressive electronic music.
This album is released as double CD pack with slipcase and booklet. It is also available as two separate limited edition double vinyl editions in heavyweight vinyl and gatefold sleeves with full artwork + free download codes, and as a worldwide digital release.

There will be no digital release for these big dancefoor versions... strictly vinyl only!
Witching Hour - Jonny takes DJ Shadow's 'Midnight In A Perfect World' into Jungle/D&B territory
Inhale - Pink Floyd's 'Breathe' taken to the Soulecton dancefoors
Super Skunk - All-tme classic from Reprazent gets the Footwork/Juke treatment
Tempest 2 - The Doors get a beat-head makeover
Jonny Faith says: 'These were an exercise in taking some classics from my past and remoulding
them into the present day so they can fnd their way into to modern sets and dancefoors. Also, the
Reprazent and DJ Shadow ones in partcular are meant as tribute to two artsts/acts who had a major
infuence on me as a youngster. I used to listen to Shadow's 'Endtroducing' on my way to study my frst
music producton course back in Edinburgh, and it has a strong place in my musical psyche. And 'New
Forms' was THE record that really turned me on to Jungle/D&B, which became my obsession for some
years although downbeat and broken beat stuf was always there for me too'.
This is the frst release on Zorite Records, and the aim of the label is to put out vinyl only versions of
music for the DJs. So, frst up is Jonny Faith - a purveyor of Future Beats, Organic Sounds and Space
Age Synths, whose burgeoning career has seen him release well-received tunes on Civil Music and Tru
Thoughts.

For the first time on vinyl the great score composed by Charles Mingus for the legendary 1959 directorial debut of John Cassavetes Shadows. Much has been said about the controversial relationship between the two great masters.

'(...)The score encapsulates Cassavetes' and Mingus's unique approaches to both improvisation and composition in their respective media, illuminating the oppositional nature of jazz to mainstream cultural production and the underbelly of race relations in 1950's America' (Mingus, Cassavetes and the Birth of a Jazz Cinema - Ross Lipman)






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