The straightest of the recent new French Blue Note releases – but a pretty great batch of soul jazz tunes that's sort of a mixture of Duke Ellington soul and Dollar Brand spiritualism. The Malcolm Braff Combo is a quintet – featuring Braff on piano, plus trumpet, bass, drums, and percussion. A few tracks feature spare vocals in a spiritual style, added into the instrumentation of the combo in a style that blends well with the African tinges of the instrumentation. Titles include "Twin Dance", "Song Of Wonderful Things", "Deli Magni", "Budum Budum", and "Bitches Of Spain". CD

A sweet little record that's bristling over with that future past sort of vibe that makes the Star Creature label so great – 80s electronic elements coming into play with a more contemporary sort of groove – lean, mean, and right on the money all the way through! E Live is definitely a master on the keys – able to bring some jazzier elements into his lines here – as he steps out strongly in a mostly instrumental setting over some bassy beats and heady basslines – on titles that include "Mood Swing", "I Feel It", "Friday Night Flight", "Cadillac Breeze", "Traffic Jam", "Stranger Dayz", "You Got Me", "City Girl", "Slapadelic", and "Wise Up Rise Up". LP, Vinyl record album