Quite an unusual project from Jazzanova – a mixture of older tracks and newer ones, all brought together for an erotic German stage production! The theme of the show really unifies the tracks in a great way – bringing out qualities in Jazzanova's music that we've never noticed before, especially as their own tracks come into play with other numbers from different Sonar Kollektiv artists. There's a groove here that's straightforwardly slinky, and often a bit funky too – one that shakes off some of the too-abstract moments that sometimes get in the way with recent Jazznova projects, and focuses on the most cohesive part of their groove! Titles include the Jazzanova tracks "Behold These Days (Berlin 74)", "This Is The Place", "Glow & Glare", "Theme From Belle Et Fou", "That Night (Live At The SK Office with Clara Hill)", "Keep On Making Me High", and "Am I Losing You" – plus "Maybe Now" by Clara Hill, "Just A Lil Lovin (DJ edit)" by Outlines, "Flickermood" by Forss, "Sun In My Candlelight" by Wahoo, and "Caprice" by Extended Spirit. CD

A sublime mix of tunes put together by Jazzanova to celebrate the 5th anniversary of their groundbreaking radio show – one that features 6 completely exclusive tunes, plus a wealth of other great bits from a variety of different artists! The vibe here is laidback and mellow, yet still plenty soulful – almost in the Secret Love territory explored by Jazzanova in earlier years, but with a fair bit more electricity overall, and a really global sort of consciousness in the soulful vocals on the tunes! Even when things get a bit abstract, they're still plenty funky – and there's a crisp, crackling sensibility that unites all the different tracks in the mix. 20 tracks in all – including "Just A Lil Lovin" by Jazzanova & Outlines, "In The Remix (Starship interpretation)" by Capital A, "Candlelight" by Wahoo, "Or At Least" by The Slapped Eyeballers, "Excelsior" by Ame, "Intermission" by Soulphiction, "Flashback (Jazzanova's mashed bag)" by Fat Freddy's Drop, "Skitsophrenic (part 2)" by Leroy & Darnell, "Nowhere (Atjazz Astro Black mix)" by Clara Hill, "My Vision (Dixon edit)" by Agora Rhythm, "Sun Of A Beach (London mix)" by Pharoah Roche, "Beatzeps" by Jaslopski, "Step Off" by Arken, "I Just Wanna Sing For You" by Norman Weeks & The Revelations, "So Long" by Nicola Kramer, and "No Memory Of Time (reggae version)" by Eva Be with Joe Dukie. CD

Excellent work from one of the most important production teams of recent times! Jazzanova have sharply defined the modern European taste for Brazilian and Latin-inflected grooves on the dancefloor – beginning in the mid 90s with work for the (then) new Compost Records imprint, and working up to present days with countless remix efforts for other artists. Sadly, Jazzanova have yet to cut an album of their own work – and this double-length set is probably the best full way to experience their rich talents. It features 20 tracks in all, many with a strong Brazilian or bossa flavor, and most with a tight dancefloor approach to jazz. Titles include "We Who Are Not As Others" by 4 Hero, "Soul Power" by Marcshmellows, "Carajillo" by Truby Trio, "Get Into My Groove" by Incognito, "Amazon Adventure" by Azymuth, "Words Of Love" by Soul Bossa Trio, "Welcome To The Party" by Har-You Percussion Group, "Planet Of Breaks" by Visit Venus, "Burnin" by Tate's Place, "Toda Tersafeira" by Soul Quality Quartet, "Circe" by Ursula Rucker, "Fifths" by Ski, and "Complete Life" by Liquid Lounge – all remixed by Jazzanova! CD

Sublime grooves from the first few years of the 21st Century – all work by other artists, but all strongly given the Jazzanova touch – and brought together here in one excellent package! Jazzanova are one of the few remixers that we'll automatically skip to when scanning a set – because they've got a way of expanding a tune while still loving the original – deepening elements that were almost overlooked by the original artist, in a way that makes us kind of wish they'd do more as full-fledged producers! In the meantime, though, we've got this great set to get us through – as it includes a wide range of tracks from different sources – including some especially hard to find singles that are now way out of print. 10 tracks in all – including "Song Of Will (Jazzanova's rhythm happening" by Eddie Gale, "Besteiras Do Amor (Jazzanova rmx)" by Marcos Valle, "Our Time Is Coming (Jazzanova's guestlist mix)" by Masters At Work with Roy Ayers, "Wonderlove (Jazzanova rmx)" by Heavy, "You Ain't Really Down (Jazzanova's Hey Baby rmx)" by Status IV, "Let It Go (Jazzanova rmx)" by Shaun Escoffery, "Black Heart (Jazzanova's white soul dub)" by Calexico, and "Honest (Jazzanova's honestly yours rmx)" by Nuspirit Helsinki. CD

Killer modern mixes of tracks from Azymuth's great Woodland Warrior album! Like the other titles in this series, this one takes a core of basic Brazilian jazz tracks – then gives them a modern production twist, with help from remixers like Jazzanova, 4 Hero, Roc Hunter, Yellow Productions, Flytronix, and others! The original album's a killer, and the remixes open it up even more by giving the tracks a cool abstract junglist quality that emphasizes their darker sides. Azymuth's always been a forward-thinking combo, and it's great to hear their work taken to the next level on tracks like "Amazon Adventure", "Ah Voce Nao Sabe", "Chameleon", and "The Quest"! CD

Contemporary grooves with a cosmic undercurrent – some wonderful tracks from the Kindred Spirits label – a real 21st Century heir to spiritual modes of expression from the 60s and 70s! As with the first volume in this series, the styles here are heavy on influences from jazz – especially in the keyboards – but also bring in a fair bit of current sounds as well – broken beats, choppy rhythms, and spun-out instrumental bits that are often in the spirit of the post-4 Hero generation. The few warmer, mellower moments flesh out the record with a fair bit of spirit – and although some of the tracks have been out on other Kindred Spirits releases, there appear to be others here exclusive to the set. Titles include "Raw War" by Mweslee, "Dirtdegree" by Tom Grago, "Holdin Up" by Rich Medina, "Wonderlove (Jazzanova rmx)" by Heavy, "Till Tomorrow" by Rednose Distrikt, "Moving In Circles" by Nomo, "Door Of The Cosmos (12" mix)" by Build An Ark, "Spread" by Meikbar, "Roll On" by Flowriders, "Dickriders" by INT, and "Say What" by Chico Mann. CD

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