The Music Revelation Ensemble gets some great work here on horns – as the album features guest work from both John Zorn on alto and Pharoah Sanders on tenor! Main sounds are by the core trio of James Blood Ulmer on guitar, Calvin Jones on bass, and Cornell Rochester on drums – all working in a mode that's definitely a 90s extension of Ulmer's harmelodic legacy from decades past. Sanders and Zorn each alternate tunes – so that between them, there's a sax on every number – making the album a quartet date in execution. Zorn's sharp edges are what you might expect in the setting – and Sanders takes on a bolder, less earthy quality in the group – in ways that really differ from his usual sort of guest appearance. Titles include "Law", "Suspect", "Devotion", "Sweet", "Proof", "My Prayer", and "Evidence". CD

A really great collection of jazzy groovers – one that effortlessly combines older material and newer recordings, all with a great ear that never tires in its pursuit of the groove! The blend of old and new is a bit like some of the collections we used to love from Gilles Peterson back in the last century – but Paul Murphy definitely has his own style and way of choosing a tune, and like Peterson, he has a great way of setting a new sort of fire with jazz – one that will burn strongly for generations to come! Titles include "Yatra-Ta" by Terje Terasmaa, "African Mailman" by Rhythmagic Orchestra, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Blue Mode, "Foot In The Door" by Onward International, "Zombie" by Art Ensemble Of Chicago, "Emnete (live)" by Imperial Tiger Orchestra, "4 Beat Cha Cha Cha" by Lucas Van Merwijk & His Cubop City Big Band, "Tribute To Mulatu" by Patchworks, "Koumba Fri Fri" by Mamelon, "Sorrow Tears & Blood" by Shola Adisa Farrar & Florian Pellissier Quartet, and "Mambo De La Pinta" by Art Pepper. (Funky Compilations, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

Excellent work by John Klemmer – filled with the kind of fire and emotion that you don't get on many of his other records! The set was recorded live at two different venues – and it's a choppy slightly-funky batch of modal soul jazz tunes, with an approach that makes it feel like a lost album on Strata East. On side one, Mike Nock is on Fender Rhodes, Wilton Felder plays bass, and Eddie Marshall is on drums. Titles on that set include "Blood Of The Sun" and "How Cum Ya Got Ta Rip Off Your Brothers?". Side two was recorded live at Montreux, and features more Fender Rhodes, plus backing by Cecil McBee and Alphonze Mouzon. Klemmer plays tenor with echoplex processing, and titles include "Free Love" and "Tree Of Forbidden Fruit". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic blend of spiritual jazz styles and electronic elements – served up here by the trio of drummer Betamax, keyboardist Danalogue, and saxophonist King Shabaka – the last of whom you might recognize as Shabaka Hutchings from a host of other hip projects on the contemporary London scene! Shabaka's work on tenor and bass clarinet really gives the record an earthy, organic core – which seems to let the keyboards really soar off into space, often with the sort of vibe that you'd guess from the group's name and the cover image on the record – in a wide flurry of live and amplified performance elements! At some level, the trio is almost London's answer to some of the jazz-meets-studio work from Chicago's International Anthem label – and like some of the groups who record for that imprint, these guys are all strong jazz musicians at the core – but performing at a level that's very beyond the ordinary. Titles include "Birth Of Creation", "Summon The Fire", "Blood Of The Past", "Astral Flying", "Super Zodiac", "The Universe Wakes Up", and "Timewave Zero". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic blend of spiritual jazz styles and electronic elements – served up here by the trio of drummer Betamax, keyboardist Danalogue, and saxophonist King Shabaka – the last of whom you might recognize as Shabaka Hutchings from a host of other hip projects on the contemporary London scene! Shabaka's work on tenor and bass clarinet really gives the record an earthy, organic core – which seems to let the keyboards really soar off into space, often with the sort of vibe that you'd guess from the group's name and the cover image on the record – in a wide flurry of live and amplified performance elements! At some level, the trio is almost London's answer to some of the jazz-meets-studio work from Chicago's International Anthem label – and like some of the groups who record for that imprint, these guys are all strong jazz musicians at the core – but performing at a level that's very beyond the ordinary. Titles include "Birth Of Creation", "Summon The Fire", "Blood Of The Past", "Astral Flying", "Super Zodiac", "The Universe Wakes Up", and "Timewave Zero". LP, Vinyl record album