Jazz Recommends Jazz September 2021

Review: Sonny Clark was a truly elegant pianist who played with his own style of soul. On his My Conception full length he really reached the peak of his powers and for that reason it is the next in the on going Tone Poet reissue series by Blue Note. A big casts of sidemen feature on the record next to Clark including Hank Mobley on tenor saxophone, Donald Byrd on trumpet, Paul Chambers on bass and Art Blakey on drums. The record is packed with highlights such as the sombre trumpet of the title track and the fiery brilliance of 'Minor Meeting.'

Review: The reissues of the seminal Black Jazz catalogue keep on coming thick and fast. This one focuses on the only group to ever have recorded on the label. The Awakening were one of the greats of the early 70s but never quite got their dues, which is said to be because of being held back by the Black Jazz label's distribution woes. Their early records are hard to find and expensive when you do and this, Mirage, was their second in 1973. It features a line-up of Chicago based musicians plus bassist Rufus Reid on a couple of tracks. Spiritual jazz, free jazz, soul jazz and fusion jazz all feature across the seven sizzling cuts.

Review: Ken Wheeler was a musician who was more than well schooled in the conventions of charts and dance bands. But for this project he cut loose and show a more improvisational skill and free will to go off-grid It's his debut album and was recorded with the John Dankworth Orchestra featuring a young John McLaughlin on guitar, Dave Holland on bass and various other talents who all helped make this such a fine example of modern jazz, big band and orchestral styles. Tunes like 'Propheticape' swell and build to tune peaks before all energy is dissipated and the trumpet is left to rebuild. 'Altisidora' is more quiet and subtle with oboes and gelt percussion setting the mood. 'Bachelor Sam' is a wandering wonder. Lovely.

Review: Manfredo Fest who is a blind genius pianist, and pop bossa evangelist alongside Sergio Mendes. Gilles Peterson/ Patrick Forge Brazilian Fusion Classic "Who Needs It" and "Jungle Kitten" from "Manifestations" in 1979 is released 7inch for the first time!

Review: The much loved and always essential Jazz Is Dead series hits instalment number eight here. The project was only conceived in 2020 by musicians and producers Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad and aims to work with jazz legends on new material. This time it is Gil-Scott Heron's famous partner Brain Jackson in the spotlight. There are plenty of languid grooves that float on airy drumming with acoustic piano and electric bass also weaved in. Afro-Cuban flavours colour closeR 'Ethiopian Sunshower,' which is the most sedate of the lot.

Review: This special Record Store Day drop is the first time that jazz drummer Roy Brooks's Understanding has been available on vinyl. It was captured live by the Left Bank Jazz Society at The Famous Ballroom in Baltimore on November 1st 1970 with trumpeter Woody Shaw, saxophonist Carlos Garnett, pianist Harold Mabern and bassist Cecil McBee. All the musicians turn in star performances that celebrates the talent and creativity of Black musicians. This limited edition 3 vinyl set comes with an all new essay and all proceeds from album sales will go directly to The Detroit Sound Conservancy.

Review: The Major Keys label takes classic album tracks and gives them the respect they deserve across their own 12" pressings. And few musicians deserve such special treatment as John Coltrane, who follows on from an early release on this imprint from Herbie Hancock. Now, the king known as Trane has his gorgeous 'Naima' served up in all its tender glory. On the flip is the much more uptempo and energetic 'My Favourite Things' with all its expressive and squealing trumpet leads and busy drums. Both come on this heavyweight slice of wax, exclusively for Record Store Day 2021.

Review: Performer, composer and educator Brandee Younger is an accomplished ensemble leader who has worked with the likes of Lauryn Hill and Phaorah Sanders. Here she is back at the front of her own troupe with an album that was recorded in New York City at the legendary studio of Rudy Van Gelder. The music is richly detailed contemporary jazz but with echoes of Black greats like Alice Coltrane and Dorothy Ashby. Legendary bassist Ron Carter appears as does Tarriona Tank Ball to make this a real jewel of a record.

Review: Eden Ahbez was a hippo and a dropout way before that sort of lifestyle became trendy in the sixties. He was a poet and composer who wrote 'Nature Boy,' a huge hit for Nat King Cole in 1948. His album Eden's Island from 1960 perfectly captures the world of exotic music from a unique perspective. It pairs wild jungle atmospheres and dreamy paradise beach islands with music rooted in folk traditions and relaxed, easy listening grooves with transcendent vocals, his own trademark wood flute and easy listening swing grooves. It is a movie for the mind. Psychedelic music before that was a thing.