With Amino Belyamani on pinao. (Jazz, New Grooves) CD

A really great record from the Melbourne scene – a record that's got kind of a "jazz plus" vibe – in that it mixes live jazz instrumentation with some work on edits and a few electric touches – all in a style that's very much like some of our favorite London work in recent years! Don Glori heads the group on bass and keyboards – but the sound is served up in a really well-crafted blend of saxophones, Fender Rhodes, and lots of great percussion – sometimes with vocals, but often used more like an instrument than a lyrical delivery system – on tracks that are nice and long, and resonate with a mix of soulful and spiritual touches! Titles include "Voyager", "Fly Low, "Dawn Calling", "Pachinko King", and "After Hours". LP, Vinyl record album

(Neo Soul, New Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

With Slick Rick on the Alchemist mix! 12-inch, Vinyl record

... LP, Vinyl record album

Back in the first decade of this century, Build An Ark were one of the few groups to really carry forward the spiritual jazz legacy of the 70s – part of the same LA underground that rose up on Nimbus Records back in the day, and guided by the unstoppable power of Carlos Nino – who worked perfectly as both an instrumentalist in the group, and their producer! There were always some contemporary elements in the music, but maybe more surprising was the way that Build An Ark resisted all the remixing and programming that would often get in the way of the few others who tried for this territory – as they were always a committed spiritual jazz ensemble from the outset, not a club jazz act or a funk group. The package brings together all the best music from their out of print albums – a great 3LP run of titles that include "You Gotta Have Freedom", "John Coltrane", "Mother", "Build An Ark", "Door Of The Cosmos", "In The Park", "Sunflowers In My Garden", "Dawn", "Healing Song", "Love Sweet Like Sugar Cane", "World Music", "Our Cry For Peace", "Conversations", "Pure Imagination/The Tortoise & The Hare", and "When Ancestors Speak". (Jazz, New Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

A record that really helped push guitarist Ronny Jordan over the top – a set that took that sharp, clean sound that made him the 90s heir to the funky Grant Green sound – and updated it nicely with some help from DJ Krush! The record is one of the most successful blends of jazz and hip hop from the time – one of the few that really gets things right, and which knows when to lean into soul as well – and is maybe a key part of an early legacy that would later flourish in Blue Note projects from artists like Madlib and Robert Glasper! Titles include the killer "The Jackal (the illest mix)", which has Dana Bryant delivering a very hip spoken part – plus "S**t Goes Down (but I phunked up mix)", "Love I Never Had It So Good", "Season For Change (dawn of the season mix)", "Bad Brother (how ya like my wheel mix)", and a great remake of "So What (tuff n smooth mix)". (Jazz, New Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing record from Kyoto Jazz Massive – and about time, too! The Japanese collective has been bubbling under for years – doing some of the most groundbreaking production, remix, and single work of the current Japanese scene – and this album is really their first true full-length, a massive set of tracks with a soulful approach we never knew they had! The whole thing's amazing from the word "go" (which actually isn't the first word on the album!) – and the first few tracks are especially strong, all soulful numbers with vocals by guest singers that include Vanessa Freeman, Victor Davies, and Maiya James. After that burst, the album takes off instrumentally – stretching for the sky in a jazz-infused blend of beats and keyboards, occasional other instrumentation creeping into the mix at just the right moments. Titles include "The Dawn Introduction", "The Brightness Of These Days", "Mind Expansions", "Stargazer", "Eclipse", "Between The Lights", "Substream", "Shine", "ME Outroduction", and "Behind The Shadow". CD

Mighty nice work from Leones – an Italian duo, but one whose sound is a perfect fit for the Star Creature label – as they come across here with a really cosmic blend of drums and keyboards, often cut with plenty of jazz! The drums are live at most moments, which really opens up the flow of the music – and gives the whole thing a beating heart that's very different from more clubby material of this nature – a spontaneous groove that really has the keyboards stretching out with some solo moments, instead of just vamping along with the groove! The whole thing's nice and lean, and instrumental throughout – on titles that include "Dawn Of The Day", "The Fugitive", "Refresh & Smile", "Love The Sea You'll Be Free", "Last Sunset In The Savannah", and "The Running Gazelle". LP, Vinyl record album

A pretty incredible set from sax player Masato Nakamura, aka Masa – late of the trailblazing Japanese jazzy explorers Sleep Walker – here leading a new combo and some fellow Sleep Walker alum on a set of cover tunes selected by some of his (and some of our) favorite modern groove figures! The group brings fresh jazzy life a batch of all great tunes by Yusef Lateef, Julius Hemphill, Mary Parks (and Albert Ayler), Milton Nascimento and others. Beautiful stuff with timeless soul jazz inspiration – here's hoping Deep Cover isn't simply a one off project and we'll hear much more from Masa Sextet! Song selectors include Kyoto Jazz Massive, Patrick Forge (who also produces the album), Yoshihiro Okino of Kyoto Jazz Massive, Dilip Harris of Two Banks Of Four, Jurgen V Knoblauch of Jazzanova, Shuya Okino of Kyoto Jazz Massive and Gilles Peterson. Many of the numbers skew to the long side, with 7 great tracks the run a total of 55 minutes. Includes "Waiting For Marvin", "Look Into Tomorrow" and "Healing Is The Healing Force Of The Universe" (both with vocals by Bembe Segue), "Winds Of Change", "The Hard Blues", "Nem Premisou Mais Um Sol", and "Before Dawn". CD

Man, these guys keep blowing our minds again and again with each new album – stretching out even farther than before, yet still hanging on to all the best elements of their sound! This time around, Nostalgia 77 still have the bolder jazz style forged on their previous experimental recordings – but the groove is a lot more focused and dynamic – soaring out with the depth of a spiritual soul jazz session from the 70s – and often topped by some great vocals from Lizzy Parks, a wonderful singer with qualities that remind us of Dee Dee Bridgewater or Jean Carn back in their earliest days! The bass is right up front on most tracks – giving the tunes a darkly pulsating feel – and the instrumentation is mostly acoustic, and certainly spontaneous – a very welcome change from some of the stiffer, colder modes of the downtempo generation! Titles include "Quiet Dawn", "Arora", "Wildflower", "Stop To Make A Change", "Dreamers Dance", and "Little Steps". CD

More than just "works" from Sleep Walker – a collection of singles, remixes, and new tracks – all representing some of the best work from this ultra-hip club jazz combo! As with their full albums, the style here is jazz-based at the outset – played in a classic mode that has plenty of echoes of Impulse Records during the Coltrane generation – but forged into a tighter, leaner groove for the 21st Century – a mode that's sometimes rhythmic and aimed at the dancefloor, yet which never loses any sense of depth or creativity from a jazz perspective! Saxophonist Masato Nakamura contributes some incredibly great tenor and soprano work to the tunes – and Hajimi Yoshizawa's modal piano lines pulsate tremendously throughout. A few cuts are remixes, but still very much embody the Sleep Walker sound – with new instrumentation, as the group makes a live jazz take on the tracks they're supposedly remixing! Titles include "Quiet Dawn", "Wind", "River Of Love", "Eclipse", "Big Escape", and "Waltz For Moe (new take)" – plus Sleep Walker versions of "Don't Believe A Word" by Victor Davies, "Sim Ou Nao" by Jazzinho, and "Pathways" by Jazztronik. CD

A jazz pianist from the Barcelona scene, but one who's open to a host of other modes too – especially when he moves from keyboards instead of acoustic piano – which really opens things up to all sorts of wonderful sonic possibilities! The group's just a trio – with Ferran Puertas on bass and Eudald Font on drums – but the use of other keyboards, sometimes next to acoustic piano as well, really widens the sound and opens up the record far past piano trio jazz. There's definitely a few great groovers on the set, but the record's also got the sensitivity of a jazz record too – on titles that include "Lluna", "Mes A Prop", "Perspectiva", "Blau", "Terra", "Com Un Pingui", and "Sunday Disco Dawn". (Jazz, New Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

... CD