New Grooves — CDs  

A beautiful project from the contemporary underground scene in LA – a record that shares lots of energy and musicians with recordings by Build An Ark and Life Force Trio! Dexter Story's the main force behind the record, but the set's a strongly collaborative effort – and features keyboards from Mark De Clive-Lowe, flute from Derf Reklaw, strings from Mighel Atwood-Ferguson, vocals from Dwight Trible, and key studio work from Carlos Nino! Story's vocals and overall conception are wonderful – soaring and soulful, with some slight cosmic touches that give the record a bit more crackle than related projects – a sound that's still steeped in spiritual jazz elements, yet which also really opens up as the set rolls on. There's a wonderful sense of variety to the tracks – due to the shifting lineup – but the overall feel is still very cohesive, and an amazing demonstration of Story's bold musical vision. Titles include "Seasons", "Into The Hour", "Love Force Trio (part 1)", "Underway", "Water Bearer", "Paddle Boat", "Bloop Drip", "Gyre Song", "As Is", "God Sun", and "Suijin".

The most spiritual album from Nostalgia 77 in years – a real return to some of the modes he was exploring with his octet a few years ago – especially some of the more jazz-based styles that really made those records sparkle! The album's all instrumental – quite a change from the previous highly vocal record from Nostalgia 77 – and instrumentation is a very righteous blend of the leader's bass, plus reeds, trumpet, percussion, and lots of Hammond and Fender Rhodes – used in these mellow-flowing styles that really further the exploratory style of the music. As before, Riaan Vosloo's got a really expressive style to his writing – rich colors that are completely sublime in the hands of the group – on titles that include "Algernon", "Zippy Slipper", "Angels & Demons At Play", "Sunrise In Mexico", and "The Taxidermist".