A really beautiful record by young Chilean pianist Enrique Rodriguez – a set that's got little more going on than piano and keyboards, but which really makes the most of those elements! Rodriguez plays in a style that's not entirely jazz – maybe more moody instrumentals with a slight bit of rhythm in the background, but always at a gentle pace – so that the tunes have a flow that's really driven by the keys, which sound equally great, whether acoustic or electric! Some tunes glow with a soundtrack theme style, others have a deeper soul vibe – and titles include "Chao", "Estamos Bien Aqui", "Una Pared", "Mantener El Arriba", "Ambos", "Lograr Decidirnos", "Lo Que Somos", and "Ni Siquiera Se Si Quiero Encontrarte". (Jazz, New Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

Bebel Gilberto eat your heart out – Antena explored the same electric-bossa territory you did, nearly 20 years before your first big record! The group were a short-lived French outfit who were one of the shining jewels in the crown of the lovely label Les Disques Du Crepuscule during the early 80s – and were a real breath of fresh air in the post-punk years with their light and jazzy approach to the groove. As you'll hear in this set, Antena's style borrows a lot from the bossa, but also throws in some wonderful poppish touches – including jangly guitars recorded in a similar mode to some of the other French/European indie groups of the time, and a slight darkness in production that almost gives a Martin Hannett-like undercurrent to the whole set. The group's album Camino Del Sol has been lovingly reissued with a great set of notes, as well as a series of bonus tracks from an additional ep – making for a beautiful 14 track package that will really help you rediscover this nearly-lost group! Titles include "Sissexa", "To Climb The Cliff", "Camino Del Sol", "Bye Bye Papaye", "Noelle A Hawaii", "The Boy From Ipanema", "Seaside Weekend", "Frantz", and "Ingenuous". (Rock, New Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

Brilliant work from Blaze – one of the greatest groups ever in house music, never failing to please at any point in their rich 15 year history! This set has the group a long way from their New Jersey roots – grooving hard in a London mode, with strong elements of spacey soul layered out over some very well conceived house tracks. As usual, Blaze are far more soulful than most of their contemporaries – and in this set, they've gone way past the usual batch of dancefloor tunes, to create a richly varied set of tracks that sparkles like a classic soul album! Titles include "Time For Love", "The Grooves", "Better Days", "Afro Groove", "Lovely Ones", "Revolution Poem", and "Elevation". CD

A seminal set from Everything But The Girl – even if the record has them leaving behind everything that made them so unique back in the 80s! Gone are the jazzy riffs and retro elements – and instead, the lovely vocals and impeccable songwriting of Tracey Thorn are tied to more contemporary beats and rhythms – the real flowering of Ben Watt as a producer, as he mixes together spare, subtle elements into grooves that turn out to fit the EBTG aesthetic every bit as well as before! Titles include "The Heart Remains A Child", "Single", "Wrong", "Before Today", "Good Cop Bad Cop", "Mirrorball", and "Big Deal". LP, Vinyl record album

The title certainly gets it right – as there's a strongly unified sense of spirit here from Family Atlantica – even more so than on their debut album! As before, there's a range of global elements moving through the mix – currents of South American and African styles, given a slightly more contemporary European presentation – but somehow these guys have really found a way to put everything together with an even tighter, more cohesive sound – one that expands through jazzy solo work on tenor, alto, trumpet, and trombone – and which really draws a lot from the wide range of percussion and other instrumentation used by co-leader Jack Yglesias. The lovely Luzmira Zerpa handles most of the vocals – and some percussion too – and the album also features guest appearances from 70s legends Orlando Julius on tenor and Marshal Allen on alto sax. Titles include "Baiao Infinito", "Near The Ocean", "Efik", "Cosmic Unity", "Canto De Pilon", "El Rio", "Cacao", "Okoroba", and "Neti Neti". (Global Grooves, New Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

The title cut to Kyoto Jazz Massive's Mission album – given a whole new live here by Jax Medicine! The original tune builds in this really lovely modal style – grooves leaping over themselves, with a great piano solo in the middle – and warm horns from the group! The remix moves in a Larry Mizell sort of way – layering sound over beats, then making way for a very cool keyboard solo in the middle! (Jazz, New Grooves) 12-inch, Vinyl record

Wonderfully jazzy work from Micatone – a rich album filled with lots of lovely twists and turns, all of them coming off with a level of care and class that we wouldn't expect! The group's core is the instrumental combo – very heavy acoustic bass, drums, guitar, keyboards, vibes, and other jazzy sample bits – and some of the best tracks on the set feature vocals by singer Lisa Bassenge – singing in English, with a very accented tone, on moody and smokey tunes that really stand out from the usual retro jazz diva mode. The instrumental tunes are equally nice – a mixture of electronic club jazz and more classic elements – standing up quite well on their own with a depth of construction and solid instrumentation. Titles include "Plastic Bags & Magazines", "Sit Beside Me", "Another Road", "Sweet Child", "To The Sound", "Mon Coeur", and "Quiet Boy". CD

Brilliant work from this acoustic jazz combo – a set that's got all the classic elements you might expect from its cover, but one that also comes across with some of the fresher jazz styles you'd find on labels like Schema or Ricky Tick! The group are more of a large combo than a full orchestra – a very cool little lineup of trombone, trumpet, sax, flute, piano, bass, drums, and some extra added percussion – which often brings a Latinish undercurrent to some of the album's rhythms – usually with the same great energy you'd find in some of the Clarke/Boland projects of the 60s! The lovely Sofie Nordling sings on a number of cuts – mixing her sweet tones with the group's burning instrumental solos – and the album's an instant classic that we know we'll be digging for years. Titles include "The Runner", "Looking East", "Chapter One", "Swell", "New Friends", "The Search", "The Aggressive", "Sun", "Helsinki", and "Quiet Nights". CD

We've always loved vocalist Cecilia Stalin, no matter what the setting – but here, she might be in the best company ever – working with jazzy backings from Khari Cabral Simmons and other members of the Atlanta scene – on a record that's drenched in soul from the very first note! Stalin hails from London, was born in Sweden, and worked with Koop and other overseas acts – but she's also got this strongly soulful quality that's always made her a favorite with American listeners too – and here, working with Khari, she's almost returning the favor by giving a special sort of Atlanta spin to her music! The music's based on strong basslines from Simmons, and features lots of warm keyboards – and all the rhythms are live, with a spontaneous jazzy undercurrent that works perfect with Cecilia's lovely vocals. Our only complaint might be that we would have loved a full record from the duo – but the four songs here offer maybe more than most other full LPs. Titles include a great reworking of Jon Lucien's "Sunny Day", plus "He Loves You", "The Story Of Love", and "Norwegian Wood". LP, Vinyl record album

Sweet grooves and soulful tunes from this Philly collective – a surprisingly nice batch of tracks that sparkles with the spiritual depth of recent work from the London scene! The lovely Ellie Perez lends her lead vocals to about a third of the tracks on the set – making for some really great tunes that have a drifting cosmic feel, tripping lightly with lots of great keyboard work! Titles include "Come Alive", "Luscious", "On The Rize", and "Free My Mind" by Ellie Perez; "Between", "Koln Shivers", and "Spiders Etude" by Fractured Reverb Underground; "Hollands Tunnel" and "Blur" by Jazzheads; and "Loves First Night" by Barry Meehan. CD