Neo Soul — All Formats  

A mindblowing collaboration – one that brings the soulful vocals of Nenah Cherry into play with the avant jazz sounds of The Thing – but all in a mode that's unlike anything either artist has recorded before! The mix of talents is no surprise – given that Nenah's dad is Don Cherry, whose own European work helped to set the tone for a generation – and also given that group members Mats Gustafsson, Paal Nilssen Love, and Ingebrigt Haker Flaten all have ears for styles that go way beyond jazz – including a surprisingly great taste for offbeat funk, which really comes to the forefront on this unusual set! Make no mistake, there's still plenty of jazz-based instrumentation – sharp reeds from Mats, heavy drums from Paal, and those magical moody basslines that we love so much from Ingebrigt – but they often get a bit more directed, and are augmented with slight added instrumentation at points – to provide a perfect foil for Cherry's righteous vocals – all with results that easily make the album one of the most unusual soul projects we've heard in years – on a par with equally creative efforts from artists like Meshell Ndegeocello, Erykah Badu, or Georgia Anne Muldrow. Titles include "Cashback", "Dream Baby Dream", "Too Tough To Die", "What Reason Could I Give", "Dirt", "Accordion", and "Sudden Moment".

A mindblowing collaboration – one that brings the soulful vocals of Nenah Cherry into play with the avant jazz sounds of The Thing – but all in a mode that's unlike anything either artist has recorded before! The mix of talents is no surprise – given that Nenah's dad is Don Cherry, whose own European work helped to set the tone for a generation – and also given that group members Mats Gustafsson, Paal Nilssen Love, and Ingebrigt Haker Flaten all have ears for styles that go way beyond jazz – including a surprisingly great taste for offbeat funk, which really comes to the forefront on this unusual set! Make no mistake, there's still plenty of jazz-based instrumentation – sharp reeds from Mats, heavy drums from Paal, and those magical moody basslines that we love so much from Ingebrigt – but they often get a bit more directed, and are augmented with slight added instrumentation at points – to provide a perfect foil for Cherry's righteous vocals – all with results that easily make the album one of the most unusual soul projects we've heard in years – on a par with equally creative efforts from artists like Meshell Ndegeocello, Erykah Badu, or Georgia Anne Muldrow. Titles include "Cashback", "Dream Baby Dream", "Too Tough To Die", "What Reason Could I Give", "Dirt", "Accordion", and "Sudden Moment".

A mindblowing collaboration – one that brings the soulful vocals of Nenah Cherry into play with the avant jazz sounds of The Thing – but all in a mode that's unlike anything either artist has recorded before! The mix of talents is no surprise – given that Nenah's dad is Don Cherry, whose own European work helped to set the tone for a generation – and also given that group members Mats Gustafsson, Paal Nilssen Love, and Ingebrigt Haker Flaten all have ears for styles that go way beyond jazz – including a surprisingly great taste for offbeat funk, which really comes to the forefront on this unusual set! Make no mistake, there's still plenty of jazz-based instrumentation – sharp reeds from Mats, heavy drums from Paal, and those magical moody basslines that we love so much from Ingebrigt – but they often get a bit more directed, and are augmented with slight added instrumentation at points – to provide a perfect foil for Cherry's righteous vocals – all with results that easily make the album one of the most unusual soul projects we've heard in years – on a par with equally creative efforts from artists like Meshell Ndegeocello, Erykah Badu, or Georgia Anne Muldrow. Titles include "Cashback", "Dream Baby Dream", "Too Tough To Die", "What Reason Could I Give", "Dirt", "Accordion", and "Sudden Moment".

A wonderful album of spiritual soul jazz – very much in the tradition of older groups from the 70s, but with a hip new edge that makes it one of the gleaming jewels in our NuSoul section! The band follow in the tradition of older east coast underground groups like Oneness Of Juju, but they also share some of the modern soulful influences of singers like N'Dambe or Laurnea – and lead vocalist Navasha Daya is one of our favorite new soul artists of recent years. The band mixes percussion, keyboards, trumpet, and vocals into a swirling mix that is as righteous and knowledgeable as it is soulful and funky. The band have two tracks on the excellent Jazz Biznez 2 compilation – but the whole CD's wonderful, and we can't recommend it highly enough if you dig spiritual 70s soul jazz with vocals. Titles include "Be Natural", "Broken Branches", "Let The Wind Blow", "Homage", "Colors Of The Night", "New Born Grass", and "Misguided Warriors".

A sublime debut from the up-and-coming Cecile McLorin Salvant – a fresh new jazz singer with really rich roots – and a vocalist who's equally at home with both contemporary styles, and modes from the earliest years of jazz! There's a really complex approach to this record – both stylistically and referentially – and Salvant wants to show right from the start that she's a force to be reckoned with – a singer who can resonate with the best of the contemporary jazz underground, yet one who's got a special attention to creative roots as well. The tunes are a really surprising blend of well-chosen nuggets and a few original numbers – and Cecile gets some killer backing from a creative quartet that features Aaron Diehl on piano and Rodney Whitaker on bass. Cecile's got a sound that's right up there with the best work by Dee Dee Bridgewater or Carmen Lundy in recent years – yet an approach that's definitely all her own as well! Titles include "Baby Have Pity On Me", "Woman Child", "Nobody", "Le Front Cache Sur Tes Genoux", "You Bring Out The Savage In Me", and "Deep Dark Blue".