Killer work from this funky Finnish combo – a group who celebrate a strong decade in music with this really wonderful set! The Blassics bring in all the right sort of influences from African funk of years back, especially Ethiopian music – and they spin out tracks that are often nice and long, and which feature some tremendous jazzy solos from the horn section – players stepping out from the ensemble for individual expressions, and not just vamping with the rhythms! The rest of the instrumentation is great too – well-crafted, and shaded with all sorts of tones that really deepen the music in personal ways, and don't just echo styles of the past. Titles include "Afrohustler", "Special Occasion", "Ruff Strut", "West Side Glory", "Swazi Funk", "Yeketema Set", and "Hagerun Geleba". CD

Jalen Ngonda's a hell of a soul singer, and he's working here in a stunning setting that really does justice to his fantastic voice – a larger set of arrangements than you'd usually hear on a Daptone Record, in a way that rises up with a really majestic sort of vibe! Ngonda's got a way of mixing raw and smooth that almost brings to mind Marvin Gaye – and we don't use that sort of reference lightly – yet he can also slide into more of a sweet soul style too, which creates this range of expression that really deepens the record in a great way! And speaking of vibe, there's some nice vibes in the backings – and cool strings, excellent basslines, and tight percussion – on titles that include "Just Like You Used To", "So Glad I Found You", "Rapture", "It Takes A Fool", "Come Around & Love Me", "What A Difference She Made", and "Give Me Another Day". CD

Jalen Ngonda's a hell of a soul singer, and he's working here in a stunning setting that really does justice to his fantastic voice – a larger set of arrangements than you'd usually hear on a Daptone Record, in a way that rises up with a really majestic sort of vibe! Ngonda's got a way of mixing raw and smooth that almost brings to mind Marvin Gaye – and we don't use that sort of reference lightly – yet he can also slide into more of a sweet soul style too, which creates this range of expression that really deepens the record in a great way! And speaking of vibe, there's some nice vibes in the backings – and cool strings, excellent basslines, and tight percussion – on titles that include "Just Like You Used To", "So Glad I Found You", "Rapture", "It Takes A Fool", "Come Around & Love Me", "What A Difference She Made", and "Give Me Another Day". LP, Vinyl record album

A contemporary record, but one we'd rank right up there with the moodiest, most exotic African funk albums of the 70s – especially the gems we've discovered through the Ethiopiques series! These guys play in a style that certainly references Ethiopian reeds and keyboard work of the 70s, but with a groove that's even funkier too – an understanding of the possibilities of a deep funk combo, but expressed through a much richer, more organic vibe – so that nothing's ever forced or faked at all, and the music is wonderfully captivating throughout. Production is perfect for this sort of set – and titles include "Pinch Of The Death Nerve", "Viking Of 5th Avenue", "Cave Of Brahma", "Night Of The Sorcerer", and "Suur Toll". (Global Grooves, Deep Funk) LP, Vinyl record album

A really unique album from pianist Jon Batiste – a set that's straight jazz at some points, a bit Crescent City at others, but always with a feel that's very individual – and one of the freshest new styles we've heard in years! Jon's instrumental tracks are wonderful – full of rich feeling and color that comes not just from his own work on piano and other keyboards, but also from the quintet's instrumentation – which occasionally features tuba used in this unusual bassy-bottom mode – alongside great alto from Eddie Barbash. Some numbers are vocal tracks – with lyrics that are personal, and surprisingly powerful – usually relatively simple, but integrated with the instrumentation at a level that's very different than the usual jazz vocal mode. Titles include "It's Alright", "Lonely Cry In Manhattan", "D Sharp Movement 1", "The Spirit Is With Us", "Express Yourself", "Let God Lead", "San Spirito", and "Naima's Love Song". (Jazz, Deep Funk) CD

Superb work from this hip Japanese trio – and a set that really opens up with some stronger jazzy currents than some of their other work! The group still have that strongly rhythmic pulse of their studio sides, but they also bring in lyrical modes that explode with all sorts of bold colors and tones – work that's especially reliant on the keyboards of Mariko Kakabayashi, a player who's equally well-suited to electric and acoustic expressions – next to the bass of Shigeki Umezawa and drums of Toshiyuki Sasaki, the latter of whom arranged all the material on the set. Tracks are nice and long – and the set features a great version of "Expansions", plus "Sweet Love Of Mine", "The World Is A Ghetto", "Eye Of The Hurricane", and "Stone Ground Seven". (Jazz, Deep Funk) LP, Vinyl record album

The first-ever full length album from vibist Max Beesley – and a much-needed expression of some of the deeper ideas that he's always had in his music! Max was an artist who first started making waves during the earliest years of acid jazz on the UK scene – but like the best of his contemporaries, he's really grown a heck of a lot since then – to a point where he's able to deliver a cinematic funky jazz masterpiece like this – a record that's got plenty of his own great work on vibes, amidst heavy drums, funky basslines, and sweet keyboards – all set up in larger arrangements that have a sense of majesty we never would have expected in Beesley's music! Titles include "Saturn's Dust", "We'll Always Have Yesterday", "Fire", "Sergio's Bag", "Ice", "Snake Oil", and "Zeus". (New Grooves, Deep Funk) CD

The first-ever full length album from vibist Max Beesley – and a much-needed expression of some of the deeper ideas that he's always had in his music! Max was an artist who first started making waves during the earliest years of acid jazz on the UK scene – but like the best of his contemporaries, he's really grown a heck of a lot since then – to a point where he's able to deliver a cinematic funky jazz masterpiece like this – a record that's got plenty of his own great work on vibes, amidst heavy drums, funky basslines, and sweet keyboards – all set up in larger arrangements that have a sense of majesty we never would have expected in Beesley's music! Titles include "Saturn's Dust", "We'll Always Have Yesterday", "Fire", "Sergio's Bag", "Ice", "Snake Oil", and "Zeus". (New Grooves, Deep Funk) LP, Vinyl record album

A really transformative album from the trio of Medeski Martin & Wood – a set that helped re-open possibilities for jazz organ expression in the 90s, while also bringing back the instrument in some of his best old school modes as well! Around the time of the set, many folks thought of the organ as an instrument in jazz that was a bit dated – not exactly true, and an opinion that was definitely changed once John Medeski was able to open up on the keys on a record like this –using other keyboards too, in the core trio with Billy Martin on drums and Chris Wood on bass. There's plenty of other elements in the mix too – and Medeski can soar like Larry Young one minute, groove like Jimmy McGriff the next – on titles that include "Shack", "Tea", "Chinoiserie", "House Mop", "Paper Bass", and "Chubb Sub". (Jazz, Deep Funk) LP, Vinyl record album