A record that makes us go "Damn!" – and has us really falling in love with Secret Night Gang even more than on their debut – and we really liked that album a heck of a lot! This time around, the group have woven together this richly soulful vocal approach with laidback funk, all at a level that feels wonderfully righteous and very spiritual – as if some of the spirits of Roy Ayers in the 70s have seeped into leaner funk arrangements – all with a slightly cosmic current around the edges that seems to electrify all the core elements in a really great way! We love how the vocals flow and rise together, which is a very unique approach – and titles include "Every Nation", "Things Will Work Out", "Don't Know What Tomorrow Brings", "One & Only", "When Will The Sun Rise Again", "Do For You", "Out Of My Head", and "Never Ever". CD

High Pulp have some pretty heavy jazz guests this time around – a killer lineup that includes work from Jeff Parker, Kurt Rosenwinkel, James Brandon Lewis, and Brandee Younger – all musicians who definitely deepen the sound, while still letting the core combo bristle with all the funky edges of their previous work! The jazz soloists are working in a territory that's not strictly jazz – more the post-styles of labels like Brownswood or International Anthem – but also given a different sort of spin in the manner we've come to expect from High Pulp. Titles include "Dirtmouth", "Never In My Short Sweet Life", "Robert Pollard", "Solanin", "Unified Dakotas", "Fatigue", and "Bad Infinity". CD

A contemporary Cuban group, but one who fit easily in the long cultural legacy of Havana – as the combo have a way of taking timeless modes and making them come alive again in all new ways – often really stripping things down to their roots, with an intimate, earthy presentation that you wouldn't even find on classic Cuban records from many years back! In a way, the style here is similar to some of the recent Gilles Peterson/Brownswood Records projects from Havana – really tapping into the overlooked richness that still flows from the city's corners with a group like this – heavy on percussion, working in a variety of rhythms, often with guitar or tres in the mix – and topped with some wonderfully soulful vocals. Titles include "Caridad", "Na Na Saguey", "Devuelvame La Voz", "Rumbarimbula", "Gaston's Rumba", and "Chichiribako". CD

A great little collection that seeks to put the Bristol scene on the map – and to show the kind of inventive jazz the city's been offering up in recent years! The compilers aim to demonstrate that Bristol has as many newly-creative acts as the sort that have been bubbling up in London on labels like Brownswood – and the range of material here really shows a similar way of blending newer ideas and older execution – especially strong in the rhythm department, and with an effortless mixing of acoustic and electric modes. If you've been digging sounds from Comet Is Coming, Nubya Garcia, and Joe Armon-Jones, this set is a great place to take that interest further – on work that includes "Bergson" and "Jabba" by Waldo's Gift, "3.3 Encke Ups" and "Sea Of Apathy & Indifference" by Run Logan Run, "Flump (Ishamel Ensemble rework)" and "Grook" by Snazzback, "Owl" by Lyrebird, and "Bourdain" by Alun Elliott Williams. CD