soul jazz
Album Review: Blue Earth Sound – ‘Cicero Nights’: Beaming out of Chicago, a fresh and funky take on the smoother side of jazz.
Now here’s a refreshing take on Cinematic Jazz, an album which thrives on the musicians’ interaction rather than the overall widescreen vibe, on the chemistry fizzing between instruments rather than layering sounds for atmospheric effect. ‘Cicero Nights’ the debut from new Chicago based group Blue Earth Sound, released via the ever-reliable Deep Matter/Root Records, has …
Album Review: Yesterday’s Princess – ‘Tomorrow’s Yearning’: Library music influenced duo deliver a brisk, fresh debut set of soul-jazz teasers.
Bringing something new to the table where Library music sits as the prime influence is difficult but Swedish producers Fredrik Bergsten and Marcus Larsson might be onto something with their debut EP as Yesterday’s Princess ‘Tomorrow’s Yearning’, out now on DeepMatter. Both long time devotees of hip-hop sounds and the endless possibilities of samples and …
Album Review: Arjuna Oakes – ‘While I’m Distracted’: a lush, sophisticated contemporary pop soundscape, rich in soul-jazz understanding.
Even if you’ve picked up on any of singer-songwriter/pianist Arjuna Oakes’s previous offerings, it’s unlikely you would have predicted the scale and ambition of his debut album ‘While I’m Distracted’. Not that the New Zealander’s earlier EP’s lacked flare or impact. His first release ‘The Watcher’ from 2019 stirred things around with its exquisite blend …
Album Review: Arjuna Oakes – ‘While I’m Distracted’: a lush, sophisticated contemporary pop soundscape rich in soul-jazz understanding
Even if you’ve picked up on any of singer-songwriter/pianist Arjuna Oakes’s previous offerings, it’s unlikely you would have predicted the scale and ambition of his debut album ‘While I’m Distracted’. Not that the New Zealander’s earlier EP’s lacked flare or impact. His first release ‘The Watcher’ from 2019 stirred things around with its exquisite blend …
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: Dowdelin –‘Tchenbé!’: Lyon-based Beats and Creole-soul fusionists groove deeper.
It all started when fusion-centric producer/musician David Kiledjian met Martinican singer Olivya Victorin with the notion of sculpting something different, maybe some creole-voiced, beats-informed nu soul and the result… Dowdelin. Now two albums and a couple of EPs along the road comes their third LP ‘Tchenbé!’ (on Underdog Records) and signs of a subtle shift …
Album Review: Scrimshire –‘Music for Autumn Lovers’: a flowing, wholesome down-tempo soundtrack for the season and beyond.
November may be the month when there’s a deluge of new releases ahead of the Xmas drought but here’s a recording that deserves to be heard amongst all the noise. London producer/composer and label boss Adam Scrimshire’s new album ‘Music for Autumn Lovers’ (out now via Albert’s Favourites) may seekm unassuming but it makes for …
Album Review: Dora Morelenbaum – ‘Pique’: a dynamic new MPB voice which really delivers.
Anyone who caught Bala Desejo’s set-of-the-day at WOMAD UK in the summer would’ve already noted the dynamic Dora Morelenbaum flying in the front line of this exuberant nu-tropicalia band. A vocalist, instrumentalist and composer she’s been at the epicentre of the surge of MPB powering out from Rio in the last few years, not only …
Album Review: Mörk – Still Dreamin’: shape-shifting soul-jazz energy from the Budapest band.
Okay so we know that as far as new scenes go Rio gets touted as the upcoming centre of 21st century tropicalia pop and Geneva continues to excel in pushing its very individual avant / post punk refresh. Well, it now seems that Budapest may be building up to having its own moment with its …
Album Review : Don Glori – ‘Don’t Forget To Have Fun’ : Fresh, funky and inspired soul jazz from the revitalised and relocated multi-instrumentalist.
Now this is a bit different. An album of contemporary instrumental music shaped within the mundane pressures of the day to day, paying the rent, food on the table, making ends meet. Don Glori (aka Gordon Li) is a producer, multi-instrumentalist and composer originally out of Melbourne who has detached from Naarm’s vital scene to …