New Grooves — CDs  

Singer Sarah Linhare's has Messages From The Future – delivered via this sweet little set of spacey future soul! Sarah's voice pulls you in pretty quickly, with genuine soul. The production is by Kenlo Craqnuques and a couple of guests, who all manage to blend soft, airy atmoshere with some fairly thick beats and other denser textures. The sounds work well together and the songs are memorable, so this one works out pretty darn well! Moonstarr produces a couple tracks, with additional guests Think Twice, Wayne Tennant & Anthony Pageot. Titles include "Grapefruit", "Sarinha", "Other Side", "Dirty Business", "No Question", "Step Up", "Move Along", " I Get Scared" and "Only Human".

Vintage Argentinian tangos and more by Trio De Cajon – plus contempary club-ready adaptations by many of the finer club soul and downtempo producers, remixers and dance music collectives from around the world – including Mo' Horizons, Mark Farina, Up, Bustle & Out, Flevans, Vigilante, Argenis Brito and more! The double CD package does a great job of presenting the more traditional sounds of Argentina and Uruguay with The Trio De Cajon originals – as well as some great contemporary interpretations. Disc one is the originals – and the titles include "Malena", Carnaval De Mi Barrio", "Mariposita", "Afiches", "Viva Jujay", "Juan Del Monte" and more. Disc 2 is the remixes: with "Viva Jujay" by Stimming, "Carnaval De Santiago" by Mo'Horizons, "Mariposita (GLA mix)" by Mark Farina, "Milonga Sentimental" by Jonny Drop, "Carnaval De Mi Barrio" by Adriano Konialidis, "Viva Jujay" by Flevans, "La Arenosa" by Argenis Brito (Senor Coconut), "Milonga Sentimental" by Jonny Drop and more. 27 tracks on 2CDs.

Features work by The Field, Soliquid, Nathan Fake, Ricardo Tobar, Phonogenic, Marc Marzent, Justus Kohncke, and others.

The Verve vaults are open again – and as with other Remixed sets, they've let in a host of hip talents to change up their classics! This time around, the results seem even better than before – thanks partly to a very strong array of mixers, including some of our own personal funky favorites – but also thanks to a change in remixing styles for this sort of work – an added complexity, and respect for the originals – so that the tunes aren't just simple smatterings of old vocals over contemporary beats! Titles include "Cry Me A River" by Dinah Washington remixed by Truth & Soul, "Everybody Loves The Sunshine" by Roy Ayers remixed by 9th Wonder, "Gimme Some" by Nina Simone remixed by Mike Mangini, "There Was A Time" by James Brown remixed by Kenny Dope, "California Soul" by Marlena Shaw remixed by Diplo, "Take Care Of Business" by Nina Simone remixed by Pilooski, "Bim Bom" by Astrud Gilberto remixed by Psapp, "Dilo Como Yo" by Patato & Totico remixed by Antibalas, "Evil Ways" by Willie Bobo remixed by Karriem Riggins, "I Get A Kick Out Of You" by Ella Fitzgerald remixed by Cinematic Orchestra, and "Tea For Two" by Sarah Vaughan remixed by Chris Shaw.

One of the few albums ever from percussionist Francisco Mora Catlett – a player with a decades-long legacy of performances with jazz legends Max Roach and Sun Ra, as well as Detroit electro genius Carl Craig! The album's got a wonderful sound that links together these 2 sides of Catlett's career – righteous acoustic jazz at the core, but augmented with bits of electronics, some of which are played by Carl Craig on synth and "space programming"! Arkestra member Marshall Allen is also in the group – playing alto and flute – and other instrumentation features twin trumpets from John Douglass and Dwight Adams, keyboards from Craig Taborn, and lots of percussion from Francisco himself. The sound is outside at some points, but always swings back to a warmly spiritual vibe – and Catlett's compositions are as ambitious as the performances on the set. Titles include "Baba Lu Aye", "Suny", "La Luu Banche Barasuayo", "Space Chord Progression", "Voodoo Papa Legba Mapotelo", "Saints At Congo Square", "Pa'Los Mayores", and a Carl Craig/Craig Taborn mix of "Baba Lu Aye".

An all-star effort from Sergio Mendes – one that follows nicely on the comeback energy of his previous Timeless set! Like that one, this album has Mendes dipping heavily into contemporary soul modes – picking up a bit of R&B, bits of hip hop, and bits of a few other styles – then folding them back into music from his Brazilian roots! The blend is almost a 21st Century update of the mix of soul and bossa that Sergio forged in the 70s after his initial Brasil 66 work on these shorts – and the balance struck here is surprisingly strong – possibly even better than the sound of Timeless. Guests include Will I Am, Siedah Garrett, Ledisi, Carlinhos Brown, Vanessa Da Mata, Gracinha Leporace, Natalie Cole, and Lani Hall – and titles include "Catavento", "Morning In Rio", "The Look Of Love", "Dreamer", "Lugar Comum", "Odo-Ya", "Waters Of March", and "Funky Bahia".

A beautiful little group – one who play with a lot more subtlety than you'd guess from the "freedom" in their name! The ensemble's a perfect match of pianist Francesco Tristano, bassist Carlo De Rosa, and drummer Francisco Mora Catlett – a really well-balanced trio that seems to have equal focus on the work of all three instruments, both from a melodic and rhythmic perspective! At times, the percussion of Catlett really seems to open up the tracks – but at others, the sensitive piano lines of Tristano, with almost a Bill Evans sort of care – move things along in this mellow glow that's totally great. Tracks are all long, and develop beautifully with this balance of sonic tenderness and rhythmic pulse – and titles include "Barasuayo", "5xmax", "Dean", "C2izo", "Blue People", and "Earth Tones".