jazz albums
Album Review: Emma-Jean Thackray – Weirdo; Grief grooves with funk-fueled resilience.
Emma-Jean Thackray’s new album Weirdo is a bold, technicolour triumph — deeply personal, fiercely original, and bursting at the seams with groove-laden jazz funk. Self-produced, self-performed, and self-mixed in the solitude of her South London flat, it’s the work of a visionary artist refusing to compromise. Across 17 tracks, Weirdo is a kaleidoscopic journey through …
Album Review: Lea Maria Fries – Cleo; Restless, poetic, genre-hopping brilliance from a singular new voice.
From the Swiss countryside to Berlin’s creative chaos and on to the quiet corners of Paris, Cleo, the debut album from Lea Maria Fries, feels like a journey through sound, place and self. A vivid, shape-shifting patchwork of jazz, soul, art-pop and spoken word, this debut is more than a statement—it’s an arrival. Fries, who …
Album Review: Ebba Åsman – When You Know; Soulful jazz with a modern edge.
Swedish jazz virtuoso Ebba Åsman returns with When You Know, her third full-length album and arguably her most personal statement to date. Known for her remarkable skills as a trombonist, Åsman takes a bold step forward by putting her voice front and center for the first time. The result is a smoky, melancholic blend of …
Album Review: Joe Armon-Jones – All The Quiet, Volume 1; A bold fusion of jazz, funk, and dub.
Joe Armon-Jones has long been at the forefront of the UK’s thriving jazz scene, blending deep grooves, exploratory improvisation, and an ever-expanding sonic palette. All The Quiet: Volume 1, the latest offering from his own Aquarii Records, marks his most ambitious project yet—part one of a two-volume release that pushes his sound into new realms. …
Album Review: KEG – Fun’s Over; Chaotic, unpredictable, and ultimately rewarding
It’s hard to pin KEG down. A seven-piece with the chaotic energy of a band half their size but twice as frantic, they operate somewhere between post-punk, jazz, indie, and outright absurdity. Their long-awaited debut album, Fun’s Over, only solidifies their reputation as one of the most restlessly inventive bands in the UK right now. …
Album Review: Kamasi Washington reaches new spiritual heights with defining album Fearless Movement
Kamasi Washington’s latest offering, “Fearless Movement,” out today, is poised to be one of the standout albums of the year, certainly in Backseat Mafia towers. The album not only showcases Kamasi’s unparalleled talent but also highlights the brilliance of the incredible collaborators who contribute to this musical tapestry. From the breathtaking flute solo by André …
Album Review: Slow Knife – A Hymn Supreme
Todmorden experimentalists Slow Knife have returned with a second album, the fully improvised two track long player, A Hymn Supreme. Taking its lead more than likely (as well as half of its title) fromJohn Coltrane opus, it’s explores spiritual jazz, but alongside noise electronics and lyrically explores the ‘authenticity of spiritual transcendence’. Part 1 lies …
Album Review: DoomCannon – Renaissance
‘Renaissance’ sees DoomCannon’s combine the social inspiration over the last few years, from the global pandemic to the worldwide outcry of the Black Lives Matter movement in the summer of 2020. Mixing this inspiration with his carefully honed musical talent has seen DoomCannon craft a concept album, that encourages us to dream of a fairer world …
Album Review: Almon Memela – Funky Africa : a South African soul-jazz classic revived.
Call off the search! The chroniclers at We Are Busy Bodies continue their significant excavation of the rich seams of seventies South African jazz with the release of Almon Memela’s ‘Funky Africa’ (remastered by Noah Mintz and available from May 6th). This classic slab of soul-jazz rare groove, hotly pursued by crate diggers, turntablists and …
Album Review: Ilmiliekki Quartet – Ilmiliekki Quartet : Essential atmospheric jazz
Trying to unravel the interconnections and collaborations in jazz is often like code-breaking. Players are likely to be in several groups at a time, they form their own units, perform solo, take a guest spot, record a one-off with new people to keep up that spirit of adventure. The four members of Helsinki’s Ilmiliekki Quartet, …