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LP in printed inner sleeve. The Joy of Coincidences is the debut album from the intriguing Barcelona-born and raised musician and singer-songwriter of British and German descent. The songs are stories and related feelings that reflect upon mankind observed through our eyes in different circumstances. This reflection is told through intimate music coming from folk-inspired pop.



The Joy of Coincidences is the debut album from the intriguing Barcelona-born and raised musician and singer-songwriter of British and German descent. Within the midst of movement, noise and chaos of the city, Bianca Steck searched for calmness and silence in order to write these twelve songs. Whether in a bar, on a tram, under a tree in a park, on a bench or on the balcony of her little apartment in Brussels overlooking the square, there must always be room for curiosity regarding the world we live in. Hence, this album was born through her compelling need for a conscious observation of our society and surroundings.



The songs are stories and related feelings that reflect upon mankind observed through our eyes in different circumstances and the consequent understanding of ourselves along this process. This reflection is told through intimate music coming from folk-inspired pop. Rooted in classical tradition, Bianca Steck chooses instruments such as harp, cello, double bass, upright piano, and flugelhorn and blends these warm sounds with synths, omnichord, drums, electric bass... in a very delicate way in order to create a dreamy landscape of sound. This carefully chosen music together with lyrics that tell real down to earth stories seen through the eyes of her imaginary world are the realm of this work.



BiancaSteck sees coincidences as small and playful interruptions of our everyday concerns, of life. We live in extremely uncertain times where many worries reign over our minds and there needs to be some kind of lightheartedness to move forward, to survive. Within all this complex spiral of thoughts, in the Joy of Coincidences the essential seed of simplicity prevails over the existential crisis.



The album is produced together with Catalan pianist and composer Nil Ciuró and features guest appearance Hania Rani with whom Bianca Steck toured as a support act across London, Paris, Berlin, Utrecht, Antwerp and other European cities and venues.

All demos were recorded in her apartment in Brussels with very simple means and were later on recorded in a studio in the mountains of Catalunya.

Bárbara Salazar aka Barbarelle is an experimental multidisciplinary artist from Buenos Aires, known for her conceptual work as a DJ, creative director, and curator.

‘Celesta’ marks Barbarelle first foray into composing and producing her own music; a debut that reveals the intimate, heartfelt territories of her creative universe. The culmination of years of composing for herself - ‘behind closed doors’ - ‘Celesta’ is a deeply personal, self-guided masterstroke of beguiling, free-flowing ambient soundscapes and DIY electronics. With ‘Celesta’, Barbarelle artfully transitions from ardent music aficionado to fully-fledged artist, unveiling an enchanting sonic world that has quietly matured over time.

‘Celesta’ is an exquisite odyssey of sound, assembled from fifteen tracks recorded between 2022 and 2024 in Buenos Aires and Los Angeles. Conceived as spontaneous and intuitive explorations, many of these tracks were recorded in one take without technically-minded premeditation. The product of organic experimentation rather than concrete intention, ‘Celesta’ is an authentic, candid record of emotions, memories, and profound interiorities.

Over time, the pieces in this tapestry found a common thread: a conversation with the ethereal, defined by emotional intensities and softly spoken utterances. ‘Celesta’ is an invitation to immerse yourself in soundscapes that merge to the point of dissolution, evoking the transparency of water and the lightness of a dreamlike world that transcends matter. Like the song of a siren, the voice becomes just another instrument, beyond language yet full of significance. A collection of songs that feels like opening a secret diary; a direct pathway to the centre of the heart.

In addition to her work as an artist, Barbarelle is the founder of Atlas, a platform dedicated to active listening through radio, live performances, listening sessions and more. She is also known for her radio show of the same name on Dublab, where she shares her unique approach to sound with eclectic selections and interviews with the likes of Air, BADBADNOTGOOD, Lucrecia Dalt, Juana Molina & more.

Unearthed from the neolithic tar that eventually swathes all history, Aerial M"s early-98 Peel Session is once again among us. Compared to the studio takes, played strictly and singly by Aerial/Papa M-astermind David Pajo, these versions swing from the necks of road-burned players, breathing more bestially than their canonical cousins, glinting "pon the dark metallic roots that fed all of Pajo"s best guitar lines, winding thru time immemorial.

Rico Friebe wrote three songs, Rico Puestel produced them and that ain't going wrong!

Von seiner Arbeit in der explosiven frühen Hollywood-Punk-Musikszene mit seiner Band The Plugz über das Produzieren von Bands wie The Gun Club bis hin zur Filmmusik, seiner beachtlichen Schauspielkarriere und der Gründung von Fatima Records - Tito Larriva verdient den Titel, den ihm die LA Times einst verliehen hat, durch und durch: "Renaissance Man".

The Plugz, 1978 in Los Angeles von Tito Larriva gegründet, waren inspirierend für die frühe Latino/Latinx-Punk-Gemeinschaft und ihr "West Coast Punk" hatte einen anhaltenden Einfluss auf ganze Generationen von Rockbands.
Kenner der Latino-Kultur würdigten die Band für ihre unkonventionelle Version von "La Bamba" und ihren Einfluss auf die Chicano/Xicanx-Rocker in Südkalifornien.

Mit "Hombre Secreto", einer spanischen Version des 60er-Jahre-Klassikers "Secret Agent Man", brachte Larriva seine einzigartige Handschrift in die Filmmusik des Kult-Klassikers "Repo Man" ein. Seine Karriere ging von hier aus kontinuierlich und vielfältig weiter; zu den wichtigsten Etappen zählen seine Arbeit als Produzent des Cast-Albums der "Pee-Wee Herman Show" und des Debüts "Fire of Love" von The Gun Club, sein Einsatz als Schauspieler in David Byrnes "True Stories" und die von ihm 1984 gegründeten The Cruzados. 1992 entwickelte sich aus The Cruzados die Band Tito & Tarantula, mit der Larrivas intensive Arbeitsbeziehung zu Robert Rodriguez und Quentin Tarantino begann. Er spielte in einem halben Dutzend ihrer Filme mit, unter anderem auch in "From Dusk Till Dawn", wo sein Song "After Dark" und sein musikalischer Auftritt im legendären "Titty Twister Club" eine legendäre Rolle spielt.

Nun veröffentlichen Tito & Tarantula ihr mit Spannung erwartetes Album "!Brincamos!". Das neue Werk ist eine Soundreise, die die Tiefen der menschlichen Seele erforscht, durchsetzt von der rohen Kraft des Rock und dem reichen Erbe des Latino/Latinx-Punkrock. Jeder Track ist ein Beweis für die Fähigkeit Larrivas, Grenzen, Genres und Sprache zu überwinden und einen Sound zu kreieren, der bei Fans auf der ganzen Welt Anklang findet. Mit rohen Balladen und emotionalen Rock-Hymnen ist Larriva mit "!Brincamos!" ein musikalisches Meisterwerk gelungen, das die Geschichte von Tito & Tarantula mehr als würdig fortschreibt.

Neben der Veröffentlichung dieses Albums bereiten sich Tito & Tarantula derzeit auf ihre "!Brincamos!"-Europatournee vor, um ihre berüchtigten Live-Performances auf die Bühnen des europäischen Kontinents zu bringen. Die Fans werden eine Verschmelzung von Rock'n'Roll und cineastischen Welten erleben und Teil unvergesslicher Konzerte sein. Mit Titos intensivem Gesang und der unvergleichlichen Bühnenpräsenz der Band schickt diese Tournee sich an, eines der großen Highlights des Jahres für Musik-Enthusiasten zu werden.

Mit der Veröffentlichung von "!Brincamos!" und dem Beginn ihrer Europatournee im März 2025 laden Tito & Tarantula alte und neue Fans ein, sie auf dieser aufregenden Reise zu begleiten. Die Musik dieser Band ist ein Zeugnis für die Energie des Rock und den vereinenden, kulturellen Stolz der Latinos.

"!Brincamos!" erscheint am 14.03.2025 als Vinyl (aufgrund der Spiellänge des Albums fallen 2 Live Tracks weg), limitierte Vinyl mit einer separaten 10" incl. der Livetracks, CD und digital auf allen gängigen Streaming Plattformen

WHO IS ULTAN O’BRIEN? Ultan O’Brien is a fiddle player and composer from the wilds of County Clare in the West of Ireland. Ultan is a performer as well as a regular at sessions all of Ireland and can be found by chance in any pub in Dublin, Cork or some remote village on the edge of nowhere, flying jigs and reels around the room. Ultan was reared in the rich tradition of Irish music which is so commonly found and heard in Co Clare, but he also delves deep into sound art and experimental music. He has often been heard in the back of a car after a few pints quoting lines from Alvin Lucier or speaking at length about improvisation and its place in modern Irish music. Ultan O’Brien is a fresh and vital player who has much to offer with his unique approach and technique to a tradition so old and ever ready for a subtle change every 100 years or so. Ultan has played and recorded with people and bands such as Skipper’s Alley, Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin, John Francis Flynn, Slow Moving Clouds, Cuar, Laura Jurd, Martin Green, Natalia Beylis, Paul Roe and Nic Gareiss. ‘in its Ultan’s fiddle playing sincerity of tone it reminds me somewhat of those great caoineadh which were played with such elusive grandeur by Denis Murphy and Pádraig O’Keefe’ Adrian Scahill ‘lets the heart brighten and the feet tap’ Richard Hollingum -KlofMag


ABOUT THIS WONDERFUL ALBUM: ‘This album, Dancing the Line, is my first solo album of music played on an alternatively-tune alto fiddle. I found that the resonance and growl of this lower tuned instrument sat me perfectly into the sound-world I wanted to be in, giving vibrancy to my own compositions and nestling into the traditional music I grew up with.’

"Supplicium" represents a perfect balance between tradition and modernity. On one hand, the lyrical concept and epic atmospheres transport the listener to the age of the Roman Empire, evoking visions of triumphant marches and blood-soaked arenas. On the other hand, the sound becomes increasingly technical and refined, with tight riffs, relentless rhythmic sections, and flawless production that enhances every detail. The album, crafted with meticulous care, succeeds in combining the brutality of death metal with highly complex instrumental passages, showcasing a band in constant evolution. With "Supplicium", ADE reaffirm their role as champions of a death metal where historical tradition and modern sound coexist, creating an experience that is both ferocious and captivating.

"Supplicium" represents a perfect balance between tradition and modernity. On one hand, the lyrical concept and epic atmospheres transport the listener to the age of the Roman Empire, evoking visions of triumphant marches and blood-soaked arenas. On the other hand, the sound becomes increasingly technical and refined, with tight riffs, relentless rhythmic sections, and flawless production that enhances every detail. The album, crafted with meticulous care, succeeds in combining the brutality of death metal with highly complex instrumental passages, showcasing a band in constant evolution. With "Supplicium", ADE reaffirm their role as champions of a death metal where historical tradition and modern sound coexist, creating an experience that is both ferocious and captivating.

‘Moonlight Concessions’ goes back to basics, a return for Throwing Muses to their esoteric off-kilter best courtesy of Kristin’s pin-sharp sketches and their suitably abrasive musical arrangements. The album follows their acclaimed ‘Sun Racket’ from 2020, a heady set filled with tough and tender tales spiked with surreal imagery. Produced by Kristin Hersh at Steve Rizzo's Stable Sound Studio in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, ‘Moonlight Concessions’ is a collection of snippets from everyday life writ large - think Raymond Carver Short Cuts, overheard conversations, recounted happenings and telling one-liners, all sewed together to illustrate the times as they slowly mature, fully peppered with original Muses’ vim and vigour. ‘Drugstore Drastic’ is a kerbside soliloquy caught en route to a more alluring rendezvous. Built on a brisk acoustic strum with a guitar sub-melody underpinning proceedings, it’s an unfolding tale of social awareness from a blurred sub-conscious. ‘Summer Of Love’ began as a bet with a guy for a dollar that revolved around the idea that the seasons don’t change us. The album opener, it’s a haunting baroque overture, bowed and brooding. ‘Libretto’s strings offset the acoustic ambience, the hot and cold of longing at the very heart of it, a thematic driver filed with warmth in a safe haven lubricated by tequila. Written in the differing South Coast environs of The Gulf Of Mexico and Southern California, ‘Moonlight Concessions’ pulls from the star clusters that light both, generating optimism and hope in varying degrees. Hersh explains, “In New Orleans the stars look greenish-blue, as it’s below sea level and swamp-lit. But on Moonlight Beach, they glow icy white. All these songs were written in these two glowy places, which helped our sonic technique find itself.”

NOW Music proudly presents NOW That’s What I Call Gold – The Ultimate Hits – this essential 3-LP set brings together 46 tracks by legendary artists with timeless anthems, celebrating some of the greatest hits of all time, including chart-topping classics and enduring favourites.



LP1 sets the stage with Queen’s electrifying ‘A Kind Of Magic’, followed by Philip Bailey & Phil Collins’ #1 ‘Easy Lover’. The Police feature with their #1 smash ‘Message In A Bottle’, while The Killers follow with their record-breaking anthem ‘Mr. Brightside’. The massive ‘Stick Season’ from Noah Kahan is up next before the first side finishes with Lana Del Rey’s stunning ‘Video Games’. Flip the LP over for contemporary classics from Coldplay and Duran Duran. Sinéad O’Connor’s ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ still sounds raw and breath-taking and is followed by classics from the Pretenders, Shirley Bassey, Dusty Springfield, and Soft Cell’s ‘Tainted Love’, one of the best-selling UK singles of the ‘80s, whilst another of those closes out the first LP: Ultravox with their masterpiece, ‘Vienna’.



LP2 delivers a legendary lineup, including Billy Joel with his Grammy-winning ‘Just The Way You Are’ and Céline Dion’s powerful version of ‘All By Myself’. John Denver’s ‘Take Me Home, Country Roads’ and Paul Simon’s groundbreaking ‘Graceland’ are featured along with the pop genius of Electric Light Orchestra with ‘Last Train To London’. While on the other side timeless ballads from Elton John with ‘Tiny Dancer’ and Lewis Capaldi’s ‘Someone You Loved’ come ahead of Wings, Simply Red and ‘60s gems from Stevie Wonder, The Supremes and the peerless ‘Walk On By’ from Dionne Warwick.



LP3 opens with Neil Diamond’s universally beloved singalong anthem, ‘Sweet Caroline’ and Cliff Richard’s mid-70s classic, ‘Devil Woman’. Disco legends Donna Summer (‘MacArthur Park’) and Gloria Gaynor (‘I Will Survive’), lead into Sophie Ellis Bextor’s ‘Murder On The Dancefloor’ which became a smash for the second time recently. Ed Sheeran and Pharrell Williams had enduringly popular hits with ‘Galway Girl’ and ‘Happy’, and the side closes with the harmonic vocals of All-4-One and their beautiful signature song ‘I Swear’. The final side is packed with anthemic and uplifting classics kicking off with Spandau Ballet’s ‘Gold’, Survivor’s ‘Eye Of The Tiger’, and Take That’s soaring ‘Rule The World’. The remainder of the collection celebrates and showcases some of the ‘70s greatest tracks including Bonnie Tyler’s ‘Lost In France’, Marianne Faithfull’s poignant ‘The Ballad Of Lucy Jordan’ and Blondie’s era-defining and genre-defying #1 ‘Heart Of Glass’.



NOW That’s What I Call Gold is a must-have for all music lovers —packed with legendary artists, timeless hits, and unforgettable moments in pop. Don’t miss out on this golden treasure trove of musical brilliance!

Chaotic Shimmer is a collection of songs that vary in texture and genesis. The A side has a stronger sense of familiarity with the more rocking numbers, while the B side stretches out in more exploration. Some of the same electronic elements of 2024's Black Holes Don't Choke can be found in songs like "Music For The People" and "Caught Waiting". There is also a subtle nod to Minor Threat in the lyrics of "Caught Waiting". The track "Path I'd Like to Follow" is dreamy and meditative - channeling JJ Cale or late sixties San Francisco fog. The opening track is a rocket ship waiting to escape the dull confines of this singular consciousness, and it creates a space for the title track to transcend at will. All of the songs were recorded by Charles Moothart at his studio in Los Angeles. He wrote, performed, recorded, and mixed everything heard on this album. Reserving the right to do as thou wilt is rock and roll 101. The world is chaos, and chaos is creativity. To accept and embrace this is to tap in to the Chaotic Shimmer - a transcendent energy. Music is for the people. Charles Moothart is a multi-instrumentalist based in Los Angeles. He plays guitar in bands like FUZZ and Primitive Ring, as well as drums in GØGGS and Moonhearts. He was the touring drummer for Ty Segall's Freedom Band, as well as the Ty Segall and White Fence collaborative tours. Moothart has also released solo work under his initials CFM.

On her forthcoming record, Rose Cousins holds our hands as she guides us on a journey through the "conditions of love." Ever the emotional explorer, the acclaimed, Nova-Scotia-based folk artist seeks truth, in all its imperfection, in the depths of our most complicated of emotions: love. Co-produced with trusted friend and longtime bandmate Joshua Van Tassel, this new collection of songs sees Rose return to her first love, the piano. “Piano is where I feel the most connected. It’s the best partner in expressing the emotion I’m mining,” she shares. Rose’s work as garnered her two JUNO Awards (2013’s We Have Made a Spark & 2021’s Bravado), two Canadian Folk Music Awards, eleven East Coast Music Awards and one Grammy nomination (2018’s Natural Conclusion), along with praise from the likes of the CBC, No Depression, LA Times, Billboard, Folk Alley, and NPR, who raved “Cousins’ disarmingly fluid vocal tone has the ability to convey the most internalized feelings without an ounce of fuss.” Over the years, she has shared stages with Patty Griffin, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Jann Arden, Bruce Cockburn, Josh Ritter, Kathleen Edwards, Joe Henry, Aoife O’Donovan and Anais Mitchell, and her music has fittingly underscored scenes from notable TV shows including Grey’s Anatomy, Fire Country, Station 19, and Batwoman, along with several independent films.

Sun Ra was a master of misdirection. Tape boxes wrongly labeled—whether by accident or design—are legendary among Ra archivists. One can speculate about the artist's intent or carelessness, but source misinformation abounds on Ra tape cases, album jackets, cassettes, ephemera—as well as in interviews. It's as if Ra, in furtherance of his own mythmaking, wanted to keep historians guessing.

This project began as a misidentified tape discovered by Michael D. Anderson of the Sun Ra Music Archive. The 7-inch reel, which contained a live Ra solo piano performance of 11 works—some recognizable, others not—was of stellar quality, and was marked as a 1979 Carnegie Hall date. But the program on the tape did not align with known facts (e.g., titles played, concert duration) which were chronicled in a Newsday review of Ra's appearance at Carnegie in September of that year. With a prod from writer/historian Ted Gioia and further research by myself, the tape was eventually identified as a mostly unreleased July 1977 performance by Ra at a downtown NYC "jazz café" called The Axis-in-Soho.

Experience Ghost In Us, Albert af Ekenstam's powerful return after an eight-year wait! With Scandinavia's most impressive voice, Albert blends raw post-rock with deeply moving singer-songwriter emotion, creating an album that radiates creative force. This isn’t just authentic music with a striking sound—it’s Albert’s soul, rediscovered and stronger than ever.

Fourth Page: Meaning of a Nest is the highly anticipated fourth studio album, and second with Edition Records, by renowned South Korean/ Amsterdam based drummer and visionary composer Sun-Mi Hong solidifying Hong’s position as one of the most inventive and creative drummers and musicians of her generation. Meaning of a Nest, embodies the album’s exploration of home and community, reflecting Hong’s decade-long journey from South Korea to Amsterdam and her efforts to build new networks and establish roots in a vibrant new environment.

Musically, Fourth Page: Meaning of a Nest offers an inventive and spacious soundscape, seamlessly blending meticulously crafted compositions with elements of improvisation. This fusion ensures each track resonates with authenticity and emotional depth. Hong’s unique approach grants her band members creative freedom within her structured frameworks, resulting in adynamic and genuine listening experience. Fourth Page: Meaning of a Nest stands as a testament to Sun-Mi Hong’s artistic evolution and unwavering commitment to artistic integrity, positioning her as a formidable presence in the European music scene and beyond.

The debut recording from one of jazz music's most revered pianists! First U.S. vinyl release!

All-analog remastering by Bernie Grundman.
"Byard is absolutely brilliant...highly recommended." - All Music

Originally recorded in 1960, briefly released in Japan in the early ’70s, it wasn’t until 1988 that Jaki Byard’s solo debut, Blues For Smoke, was widely released. Even then it was more of a secret handshake among fans than the catalog cornerstone it should have always been. Now, Candid has finally created the definitive edition of this lost masterpiece for all to experience.

Byard backed generations of jazz icons, including Charles Mingus, Art Blakey, Roland Kirk, and Quincy Jones.

As a bandleader and soloist, he went on to build his own catalog of iconic recordings across three decades while establishing himself as an educator and mentor to the next generation of artists, most notably, Grayson Hugh, Fred Hersch, and Jason Moran. Blues For Smoke is where it all began.

Recorded as a solo-piano showcase for Byard’s incredible gifts as a player, composer, and jazz historian, the exquisitely engineered session is given new life by Bernie Grundman’s sensitive remastering. With this release, Candid is hoping to make Jaki Byard’s very first album the rosetta-stone of jazz piano it was intended to be.

JP’s historic restoration carpentry has continued to be a baseline for his relationship to music; the yin to his yang, the Burt to his Ernie, the Dolly to his Porter. It was through this concurrent line of work that he met another twice-initialed singer with a penchant for old Americana music, obscure film, and overly elaborate ethnic meal preparations: one JD McPherson. The two became fast friends and would eventually, through many twists, turns, false starts, and biblically-proportionate plagues, enter a modest studio in Nashville to record Harris’ latest album.

Over the course of nine months in 2023, they recorded a sometimes lush, sometimes sparse, and sometimes jarring country album of Harris’ originals, loudly and violently squelching any attempt to pigeon-hole a song into any subgenre of country music. Only albums by Lee Hazelwood and an obscure folk album Waylon Jennings made when his hair was still short were allowed to be mentioned in reference. Featuring the guest vocals of Erin Rae, The Watson Twins, Shovels & Rope, and producer JD McPherson himself, the record is equal parts satire, reflection, and apology to those that would listen.

In a musical landscape of period-correct reproduction, “outlaw” internet posturing, and flavor-of-the-month variants on country,

“JP Harris Is A Trash Fire” burns bright as a dumpster in a Walmart parking lot on a moonless night; some will fear it, some will gravitate to its acrid warmth, and most will have no idea what to make of the situation. Harris has been steadily elbowing the definitive boundaries of “country music” wider with every album, both sonically and lyrically, and his latest piece of self described “Avant-Country” is no exception.

Lee Hazlewood made his bones producing and cowriting with guitarist Duane Eddy during the ‘50s, and then cemented his immortality with the classic sides he produced for Nancy Sinatra during the ‘60s. Over the past few decades, though, attention has turned to Lee’s idiosyncratic solo work, the heart of which he recorded for the Reprise label and his own LHI Records. Issued in 1968,

Love and Other Crimes is one of his Reprise releases, and it’s one of the weirdest records in his entire catalog. Recorded in Paris with such legendary Wrecking Crew members as guitarist James Burton and drummer Hal Blaine, Hazlewood sounds every bit the bon vivant (read: half drunk) as he swings from country ballads to lightly psychedelic pop highlighted by his rockin’ cover of Bonnie Dobson’s “Morning Dew.” Other highlights include “Rosacoke Street,” which presents him at his most psychedelic lounge lizard-esque, (think a Hunter Thompson character from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) and his moving “Wait and See,” an apology for bad behavior to an absent lover.

We’ve enlisted Mike Milchner to remaster this one for vinyl… don’t miss Lee’s stream-of-consciousness back cover notes, either. Pressed in sea blue vinyl limited to 1000 copies!

The late, great Calvin Keys’1971 debut album for the Black Jazz Records label announced the arrival of a new star in the jazz guitar firmament. Keys had spent the ‘60s backing up the crème de la crème of jazz organists—Jimmy Smith, Jimmy McGriff, Jack McDuff, Richard “Groove” Holmes—but for his first record as a leader, he was eager to play with a piano player instead. So he recruited one of the best—Larry Nash, who, besides being a member of the L.A. Express, played with everybody from Eddie Harris to Bill Withers to Etta James. Bassist Lawrence Evans, drummer Bob Braye, and flautist-songwriter Owen Marshall rounded out the group on Shawn-Neeq, which might remind some of Pat Metheny’s early work (Metheny acknowledges Keys as an influence), or Grant Green.

But what gives Shawn-Neeq extra depth is that it comes from the heart; as Keys says in Pat Thomas’ liner notes, which feature an interview with the artist: “My thing was, I write about some of the experiences that I’ve had in my life.” Keys became a fixture in the Bay Area jazz scene before he passed in April 2024; this is the album that started his journey. Another gem from the celebrated Black Jazz catalog, pressed in blue with black swirl vinyl limited to 750 copies!

The late, great Calvin Keys’1971 debut album for the Black Jazz Records label announced the arrival of a new star in the jazz guitar firmament. Keys had spent the ‘60s backing up the crème de la crème of jazz organists—Jimmy Smith, Jimmy McGriff, Jack McDuff, Richard “Groove” Holmes—but for his first record as a leader, he was eager to play with a piano player instead. So he recruited one of the best—Larry Nash, who, besides being a member of the L.A. Express, played with everybody from Eddie Harris to Bill Withers to Etta James. Bassist Lawrence Evans, drummer Bob Braye, and flautist-songwriter Owen Marshall rounded out the group on Shawn-Neeq, which might remind some of Pat Metheny’s early work (Metheny acknowledges Keys as an influence), or Grant Green.

But what gives Shawn-Neeq extra depth is that it comes from the heart; as Keys says in Pat Thomas’ liner notes, which feature an interview with the artist: “My thing was, I write about some of the experiences that I’ve had in my life.” Keys became a fixture in the Bay Area jazz scene before he passed in April 2024; this is the album that started his journey. Another gem from the celebrated Black Jazz catalog, pressed in blue with black swirl vinyl limited to 750 copies!