Tracks from Volker Meitz, Lonnie Liston Smith, Tweak, Extended Spirit, Sven Van Hees, Minus 8, Groove Armada, Yonderboi, Bobby Hughes Experience, Rozzo, Femi Kuti, Le Wax, and more. CD

A bold move forward for Re:Jazz – a record that's even more cohesive than their first few, and which shows them emerging much more strongly as a group! As before, the approach here has the combo offering soulful jazz versions of tunes from the more popular side of the spectrum – but unlike before, there's a warmly flowing sense of energy that unites the whole record – an approach that's often topped by the vocals of Inga Luhning, an expressive singer who really gives the record a good focus – even though the record also features a bit of guest singing by Alice Russell and Ernesto. There's a sense of power and entitlement to the music here that goes way beyond the earlier releases – almost as if the band have stopped being tentative about their efforts, and move confidently forward with a sense that their music is really making a difference. Titles include "People Hold On", "Gabrielle", "Finally", "Rock It", "Too Many Holes", "Promised Land", "Back Home", "Not About Me", "Plastic Dreams", "Return To Damara", and "Stewed". CD

From the dancefloor, to the jazz combo, and back again – the Re:Jazz project takes a surprising twist with this remix follow-up to their brilliant first album! On that outing, Re:Jazz re-made recent dancefloor tunes in new jazz-based versions – going for the warmest, most soulful elements of the tunes – and placing them in a tradition of acoustic jazz dance classics. Here, those re-made versions are given a re-mix treatment – but in a very careful way, one that really preserves the jazzy magic of the originals! It's confusing, we know – but once you catch the warm grooves of the set, you won't care about where they're coming from – as the sum of the total is far greater than any of its tremendous parts! And speaking of parts, the set features remix work by Nicola Conte, RAS, Swell Session, Les Gammas, Dublix Inc, Jazztronik, Bugge Wesseltoft, Yukihiro Fukutomi, and others – on tunes from the original album that include "Style", "Second Sight", "Arena", "People Come Running", "Quiet Nights", "My Love Is Higher", "Torch Of Freedom", and "Release Your Mind". CD

We totally loved Reel People's Seven Ways To Wonder album – and this special remix set is equally great – a package of wonderful new versions that features work from a host of hip producers! The set has all the soulful spirit of the original album, but also takes off in some more spaciously soaring modes too – a mix of British cosmic touches and classic instrumental roots – both of which really show up in some of the mixes here! Vocals are by Omar, Tony Momrelle, and Tasita D'Mour – and titles include "Outta Love (4 Hero rmx)", "It Will Be (Kyoto Jazz Massive rmx)", "Love Is Where You Are (The Realm rmx)", "Alibi (Rasmus Faber rmx)", "Amazing (Jon Cutler's distant music mix)", "Upside (Bugz upside mix)", "Upside (Pete Kuszma rmx)", "Love Is Where You Are (Orto rmx)", and "Anything You Want (Domu rmx)". 12 tracks in all! CD

Richly soulful sounds from Nicola Conte – his first album for Far Out Records, but a set that shows the spiritual journey he's been on for the past decade or so on a variety of other labels! Conte has really matured into a jazz visionary – using the same energy here with live musicians that he used to bring to studio projects – in a warm blend of classic soulful styles, with work from an excellent lineup that includes Zara McFarlane and Myles Sanko on vocals, Alberto Parmegiani on guitar, Timo Lassy on tenor, Simon Mullier on vibes, Milena Jancuric on flute, and Ameen Saleem on bass. All players are wonderful – pushing past anything we might have expected – and McFarlane is especially great on the record, almost hitting heights that feel like Dee Dee Bridgewater back in the day! Titles include "Arise", "Dance Of Love & Peace", "Flying Circles", "Freedom & Progress", "Soul Of The People", "Into The Light Of Love", "Umoja Unity", and "Heritage". LP, Vinyl record album

Keyboardist Kamaal Williams has given us some great records under his own name – and here, he turns in a stunning set for the DJ Kicks series – a record that's overflowing with a mix of cosmic jazz, soul, and club from some of Kamaal's key contemporaries – mixed with a few great contributions of his own! All the criss-crossing of styles that we love in Williams own music is present in his selections on this set – and there's a majestic flow that really shows an understanding of all the changes in the underground during the past decade or so – as Kamaal takes us on a musical journey through its landscape of sound! Titles include "Hey There" by Steve Spacek, "Buggin Out" by Seiji, "Summer Madness SA" by Karriem Riggins, "Stuck (orig)" by Peven Everett, "Southern Freeez" by Freeez, "Ein Kola Bitte" by Ratgrave, "Peace & Love's Comin" by Phil Asher, "He's So Crazy" by Wbeeza, "Pregnant" by Awanto 3, "It's All In The Groove" by City People, "Lowrider" by Yussef Kamaal, "Nuts" by Dego, "Cause I Love You" by Diggs Duke, and the cuts "Strings (ATL)", "Snitches Brew (live)", and "Shinjuku (DJ Kicks)" by Kamaal Williams himself. (Funky Compilations, New Grooves) CD

A pretty nice mix of tunes that falls under the retro lounge/bossa and acid jazz side of things – put together by the folks in 45 Dip, and featuring 2CDs worth of material groovy enough to make any party chill out with a solid soul vibe. The overall presentation is in that trendy Hed Kandi mode – but that also means that you're getting a good portion of semi-hit tunes at a nice low price, all in one sexy package. Titles include "What Do People Do All Day" by Aim, "Epoca" by Gotan Project, "Twilight Reservation" by Tim Love Lee, "Sweet Revenge" by Bobby Trafalgar, "Coming Out Of The Sky" by Space Hoppa, "Crazy Lounge" by Yasmine Tamara, "Beach Boy" by Disjam, "Tippy Tippy Toe" by Crackpot, "Green Tomatoes (wild turkey mix)" by 45 Dip, "East Side Story" by Soul Drummers, "Zambumba" by Zuco 103, "Carnaval Do Sao Vincente (LP mix)" by Cesaria Evora, and "Saturday Morning TV" by Sam Paglia. 29 tracks on 2CDs! CD

Richly soulful sounds from Nicola Conte – his first album for Far Out Records, but a set that shows the spiritual journey he's been on for the past decade or so on a variety of other labels! Conte has really matured into a jazz visionary – using the same energy here with live musicians that he used to bring to studio projects – in a warm blend of classic soulful styles, with work from an excellent lineup that includes Zara McFarlane and Myles Sanko on vocals, Alberto Parmegiani on guitar, Timo Lassy on tenor, Simon Mullier on vibes, Milena Jancuric on flute, and Ameen Saleem on bass. All players are wonderful – pushing past anything we might have expected – and McFarlane is especially great on the record, almost hitting heights that feel like Dee Dee Bridgewater back in the day! Titles include "Arise", "Dance Of Love & Peace", "Flying Circles", "Freedom & Progress", "Soul Of The People", "Into The Light Of Love", "Umoja Unity", and "Heritage". CD

The archive here appears to be Volcov's own record collection – but that's A-OK with us, because he's got some wonderfully groovy, wonderfully soulful, wonderfully under-discovered records he wants to share with us! The set's got a wicked blend of obscure tracks from decades back, and some contemporary cuts that share a similar vibe – music that's in a really special place between soul, jazz, and fusion – often with a cosmic vibe that gives the whole collection a very righteous sound! Liner notes are by Patrick Forge, who points out how obscure most of these tracks are, and what a special collection this is – and we definitely agree with his words, as most of these tracks are new to us, too. Titles include "Keep The Same Old Feeling" by Hot Quisine, "Do The Right Thing" by JOB, "Go (Chez Damien classic mix)" by The Urban Cru, "The Sound Of The Memory Of Many Living People" by Are & Be, "Arigo (Volcov edit)" by Manfredo Fest, "Turning On To Me" by Oneness Of Juju, "Footprints On The Sand (Shannon Harris Urbanicity reinterpretation)" by Chanan Hanspal, "Sophisticated Disco (Volcov edit)" by O'Donel Levy, "Simon's Melody" by The Antilles, "Part 4" by Shakazulu, and "Sun On My Back" by Bembe Segue. (Funky Compilations, New Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

An even deeper set than Medline's previous record – still very much in the mode of classic jazz and fusion styles, but done much more in his own voice as well – to a point where it's far more than just a rehash of familiar sounds from the 70s! Instead, Medline almost re-imagines keyboard jazz for the 21st Century – not like some of the nujazz or broken beat artists of a decade before, who were coming from dance music first – but instead very much on his own, without any need to lace a tune with a groove to get it across. Stainless Steele presents a rhyme on one track, but the rest of the set is instrumental – and titles include "When Truth Blasts", "Realm Of Barbelo", "Power To The People", "Old Souls Carnival", "Flying Dervishes", and "Wild Sour". CD

A wonderful collection of modern Nu Jazz takes on bossa, with 14 tracks in all: "Nacer Do Sol" by Kyoto Jazz Massive, "People From The Sun & The Earth (MKL vs Soy Sol Dark Sun mix)" by Calm, "Aracaju" by Modaji, "Plein Soleil (MAW mix)" by Yasushi Ide, "Illusion (Rollercone mix)" by Limbo Experience, "Candomble (Anthony Nicholson rmx)" byUtsumi, "Vai Minha Tristeza (FK & Eric Kupper jazzy vocal mix)" by Tom & Joyce, "Tres Bien" by Jazzanova, "Black Shrine (Waiwan mix)" by Chari Chari, "Searchin' (At Jazz mix)" by Little Big Bee, "Outro Lugar" by Salome de Bahia and "Ms Loneliness (Bougie Soliterre rmx)" by Jazztronik. CD

Kaidi Tatham takes on some of the best cuts from the Reel People label and makes them even better – adding all sorts of the jazzy keyboard work you might guess from the cover image, and definitely moving them into the territory of clubby fusion too! Almost all the cuts have a soulful singer in the lead – still kept to the forefront, as Tatham strips out some of the older elements, cleans up the cuts, and adds in lots of his own keyboards and rhythms – plus fresh bass and percussion too – all to really transform the tunes! Titles include Kaidi Tatham reworks of cuts that include "Pedigree" by Daz I Kue with Hadiya George, "All Of My Life" by Sebb Junior with Paula, "On The Road" by The Realm x Atjazz x Kelli Sae, "Fly" by Tony Momrelle, "I Want To Thank You" by Reel People with Mica Paris, "Don't Give Up" by Aaries, "Losin My Head" by Monkey Brothers with Shaun Escoffery, and "Save A Lil Love" by Reel People with Eric Roberson. LP, Vinyl record album