International Anthem US Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Since turning up in the Windy city a few years ago, spiritual jazz singer, clarinetist and composer Angel Bat Dawid has become a stalwart of Chicago's vibrant avant-garde scene. Here he delivers a debut album that should, if there's any justice at least, propel her towards international superstardom. Both her melancholic clarinet lines and distinctive singing feature prominently throughout, alongside sparse percussion, occasional Afro-futurist synthesizer motifs, harp and guitars - all of which Dawid plays herself. It's a virtuoso display that more than confirms her status as one of the spiritual jazz scene's most authentic voices.

Review: Mancunian saxophonist Alabaster DePlume's new long player is an introspective and meditative album exploring dignity, healing and self-discovery. Rooted in poetry and philosophical inquiry, the album brims with his soulful saxophone melodies and their uniquely evocative lyricism. Tracks like 'Oh My Actual Days' and 'Invincibility' convey resilience while 'Thank You My Pain' draws on mindfulness teachings. DePlume's compositions are inspired by personal growth and global injustices which reflect both individual and collective struggles. Add in his intricate instrumentation and these such deeply felt themes and you have a powerful statement.

Review: The International Anthem label continues to lead the booming jazz scene from the very front with a new album from bassist Dezron Douglas and harpist Brandee Younger. It is a comforting record, on with uplifting sounds and spiritual overtones that were all performed at a series of live-streamed gigs the pair hosted from their living room in Harlem, New York City. Incredibly, it was all done with just a single microphone, but that mic manages to capture every plucked string, every second of emotion. Was easy as the whole thing to listen to, that's not to say it is easy listening - there is still a world of craft and invention on show throughout.

Review: South Africa-based drummer Asher Gamedze looks into the relationship between time, music and history on this exceptional new album Turbulence and Pulse. This is a debut on this notable jazz label for this artist but those who follow free music closely will be familiar with his work such as his ZUZU debut album Dialectic Soul or last year's offering on Astral Spirits, Out Side Work. This album sees him again work with his core quartet from Dialectic Soul, namely South African musicians Thembinkosi Mavimbela on bass, Robin Fassie on trumpet, and Buddy Wells on tenor sax. It results in a soulful and accessible yet forward-thinking sound.

Review: This is the debut solo album by Italian-born, London-based composer, bassist and vocalist Ruth Goller. It was originally released in 2021 on Bex Burch's Vula Viel Records but quickly sold out with its detuned bass harmonics and dense vocal arrangements. Skylla introduced a sound both otherworldly and unplaceable and Goller's reputation soared as a result. That led to the critically acclaimed 2024 album Skyllumina on International Anthem while Skylla remains the genesis of her distinct style as it evokes the experimental energy of 1980s Downtown NYC or a Bjork-adjacent Icelandic project.

Review: Jeff Parker - best known as the longtime guitarist for the Chicago-based quintet Tortoise, and for being part of The New Breed - is one of the many jazz innovators in the International Anthem ranks, and as a result the Chicago based label has become one of the most innovative and essential out there in recent times. His own last album was in part responsible for that and now comes a follow up full player that is made up exclusively of his own solo guitar works. The composer and multi-instrumentalist draws on his love of Coltrane here as well as experimenting lots and pursuing ideas that took him outside of his comfort zone.

Review: Jeff Parker and his ETA IVtet are back with their first new music since 2022's Mondays at Enfield Tennis Academy. The album delves into improvised jazz grooves and features longtime collaborators Anna Butterss on upright bass, sax from Josh Johnson and Jay Bellerose on drums. The compositions are carefully crafted to capture the essence of a single night's setlist and reflect the unique atmosphere of the now-defunct Enfield Tennis Academy. Parker channels this space into a beautifully layered and dynamic piece that builds intricate, shifting textures from simple musical ideas that evoke a rich, immersive listen.

Review: Gilles Peterson remains a man with his finger firmly on the pulse and this is another album to prove it: International Anthem is a special double compilation highlighting the renowned DJ and curator's deep connection with Chicago's celebrated contemporary jazz label. Featuring selections drawn from Peterson's BBC 6Music, Worldwide FM and syndicated shows, the collection showcases standout tracks from the label's first decade and also included is an exclusive, previously unreleased live recording from Worldwide FM. Pressed on "Frozen Lake Michigan" coloured vinyl, this Record Store Day exclusive is part of International Anthem's "IA11" series-celebrating 11 years by honouring their past while shaping the future of boundary-pushing global sounds.

Review: American DJ, producer and electronic musician Evan Shornstein, AKA Photay, is perhaps best known for his work on labels like the uber-exalted Ninja Tune, highly respected Astro Nautico, and super-good Mexican Summer. And at times (well, on 2022's On Hold), he's worked with telephone hold music samples. Forget all that, though, because here he teams up with the similarly visionary-minded Carlos NiNo for a masterclass in atmosphere and laidback, slick, immersive tones.

It's hard to really put your finger on what's happening with An Offering. In some ways, it's contemporary classical, or at least it makes you feel like you're listening to an orchestra warming up, possibly playing incidental parts to augment some narrative playing out on an audibly large stage. In other ways, this is highly experimental business that occupies a space in a kind of instrumentally-unique ambient world. Jazzy, strange, ethereal, and utterly mesmerising.

Review: Resavoir's return is a reflective piece that evokes the haze of distant memories. Originally commissioned by Chicago's Public Media Institute for their 2020 Quarantine Times publication, the track now sees wider release following Resavoir's 2023 self-titled LP which came after their 2019 debut of the same name. Composed by bandleader Will Miller in collaboration with designer Crystal Zapata, it draws inspiration from the 1960s and 70s Italian film composers like Piero Umiliani and Alessandro Alessandroni. The track blends Miller's piano and synthesiser with Lane Beckstrom's double bass and Peter Manheim's drums to make for a wistful, cinematic soundscape.

Review: International Anthem has become one of the contemporary jazz scenes most crucial labels. It deals in the most cutting edge sounds in the genre as well as offering up fantastic fusions with sounds from the world's hip-hop, R&B and broken beat. Here they look to Charles Stepney for an album that he recorded back in the 1960s in his Chicago basement. He played all the instruments himself and across four sides of vinyl he serves up his so-called and signature "baroque soul" sound with widescreen arrangements, innocent melodies and curious rhythms.

Review: International Anthem continues to serve up inspired debuts from some of the more intriguing members of Chicago's jazz and experimental music communities. The latest comes from multi-instrumentalist, composer and improviser Macie Stewart, who has delivered what's being dubbed "a companion piece for moving through life". At the heart of the album is Stewart's use of both piano and 'prepared piano' (a technique where various items such as coins and pieces of felt are attached to the instrument's strings). These picturesque and occasionally melancholic musical motifs come wrapped in atmospheric field recordings and sensitive string quartet arrangements. The results are rarely less than memorable, mesmerising and magnificent.

Review: At 27, Tomin Perea-Chamblee is a Brooklyn-based multi-instrumentalist and bioinformatician already celebrated for his complex harmonies and rich compositions. A product of the area's pre-gentrification era, Tomin has played with various notable jazz-adjacent musicians and now his debut solo album, Flores para Verene / Cantos para Caramina, is a tribute to his family and heritage which blends his personal influences with his own creations and reflecting both tradition and innovation. Flores para Verene features solo clarinet and trumpet renditions of classics by jazz icons, Cantos para Caramina showcases Tomin's original compositions dedicated to his sister, Caramina, using synths and keyboards, and overall the record merges intimate, lo-fi recordings with melodic abstraction. An accomplished record for sure.

Review: Tom Perera-Chamblee is one of New York's more interesting jazz musicians - a long-term, genre-bending member of Brooklyn's DIY music community whose creative efforts have to be balanced with a day job as a 'bioinformatician' (we have no idea what that entails, but it sounds fairly weighty). A Willed and Conscious Bias is the multi-instrumentalist's debut album and was recorded with an impressive ensemble of independent musicians and fellow rising stars of alternative jazz. Musically, it's undoubtedly exceptional, drawing as much influence from contemporary musical culture as jazz of old - all inventive rhythms, slowly unfurling solos, soul-fired electric piano stabs and heady spirituality. For proof, check out the gentle musical flowering that is 'Love' and the jazz-funk and fusion-infused warmth of 'Life'.

Review: In classic jazz style, this collaborative three-way debut album brings together three musicians at the top of their game: SML members Gregory Uhlman (guitar and effects) and Josh Johnson (saxophone and effects), and sometime Louis Cole, Sam Gendel and Chaka Khan collaborator Sam Wilkes (bass and effects). Musically, what the trio offers is undeniably unique, with International Anthem describing the album as "a jazz-informed take on progressive electro-acoustic chamber music". Certainly, there's much to enjoy, from the tracked bass, guitar and sax loops and subtle changes of 'Mavis' and the dreamlike ambient jazz of 'Arpy', to the bubbling cosmic jazz of 'Frica' and a stunning, off-kilter instrumental cover of Magical Mystery Tour-era Beatles number 'The Fool On The Hill'.

Review: Uhlmann Johnson Wilkes is the debut album from Gregory Uhlmann, Josh Johnson and Sam Wilkes, a collective of three versatile improvisers, arrangers and producers whose work spans jazz, rock and experimental. Across 11 instrumental tracks, they explore a jazz-informed take on progressive electro-acoustic chamber music that brings beauty, melody and rhythm to the fore. The record was conceived during live shows and a home session in Los Angeles and features Uhlmann's mournful fingerpicked guitar, Wilkes' bass chording and Johnson's effect-laden saxophone. Their arrangement-minded improvisation results in some nicely otherworldly textures as they push their instruments to create a spacious, lyrical sound.

Review: Panama '77 is the debut album from Chicago-based drummer Daniel Villareal, and it lands on a label he's orbited for a little while, International Anthem. Having participated in projects like Dos Santos and Ida Y Vuelta, he's now flying solo with a project described by the label as "a vibrant and verdant suite of multi-textural, jazz-laced psychedelic instrumental folk-funk." We couldn't have put it better ourselves, as Villareal's incredibly intricate percussion skitters around an incredible panoply of productions. It's as though you're taken into the beating heart of the charismatic musician's world hopping between jams, gigs, sessions and skits, riding in the back of his vintage baby blue Merc on 18th Street.