The first-ever album of solo bass work from Kham Meslien – a player whose contributions have graced a number of different groups in recent years, but who maybe sounds even more powerful here on his own! There's a warmth to the music that makes the solo bass performance very different than the sort of set you'd hear on ECM – a lot more like French material of the 70s, especially some of the music of bassist Henri Texier in his youth – with colors and feelings that come from beyond the boundaries of jazz, but worked together with a warmth on the instrument that balances improvisation with a subtle sense of structure. Titles include "Ta Confiance", "Mauza", "The Alarm", "Kar Kar Kar", "Gnawen", "F Comme", and "La Saule Pleureur" – and Anthony Joseph makes a guest vocal appearance on "La Coleur". CD

The first-ever album of solo bass work from Kham Meslien – a player whose contributions have graced a number of different groups in recent years, but who maybe sounds even more powerful here on his own! There's a warmth to the music that makes the solo bass performance very different than the sort of set you'd hear on ECM – a lot more like French material of the 70s, especially some of the music of bassist Henri Texier in his youth – with colors and feelings that come from beyond the boundaries of jazz, but worked together with a warmth on the instrument that balances improvisation with a subtle sense of structure. Titles include "Ta Confiance", "Mauza", "The Alarm", "Kar Kar Kar", "Gnawen", "F Comme", and "La Saule Pleureur" – and Anthony Joseph makes a guest vocal appearance on "La Coleur". LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful music from Pietro Ciancaglini – the bassist of the excellent High Five Quintet, stepping out here as a leader on his own, in a very hip tribute to the late, great Charles Mingus! The music here is hardly the standard Mingus mode – even though many tracks were penned by Charles – and instead, Ciancaglini serves up some very cool small group takes on Mingus ideals, really reworking the original genius in a way that's more intimate – still very rich in feeling, but in very different ways than you'd get from the originals. His partners in the program include Daniele Tittarelli on alto, Max Ionata on tenor, Pietro Lussu on piano, and Walter Paoli on drums – and Javier Girotto plays baritone sax on a number of tracks as well. There's a warm, soulful feel to the record we really love – one that Mingus definitely would have approved of – and titles include "Homage", "Freedom", "Balarm", "Canon", "So Long Eric", "Reincarnation Of A Lovebird", "Nostalgia In Times Square", and "Haitian Fight Song". CD