The Beatles are on the cover of the "2023 Ultimate" year in review issue of Mojo – and if there's a stronger testament to their omnipresent legacy at our fingertips today, we can't think of it! Paul and Ringo open up about the unlikely new single "Now And Then" and so much more, in an issue that also includes an excellent roundup of Mojo's selected 75 best albums of the year, interviews with Damon Albarn of Blur, Bono and Adam Clayton of U2, features on Geddy Lee, Warren Zevon, Elliot Smith's pre-solo breakout work with Heatmiser, Gruff Rhys, Anohni, Martin Carthy and more. Also includes a free CD – with tracks by Young Fathers, The Tubs, Anohni & The Johnsons, Wilco, Rickie Lee Jones, the dearly-deparated Jaimie Branch and lots more. 15 tracks in all. Magazine

The cover feature pays tribute to the great Pharoah Sanders – one of our all-time favorite jazz musicians, and someone who gave the world so much wonderful music during his time on the planet! But that's just the tip of the iceberg – as there's all sorts of weird and wonderful features here – a look at downer garage psych, photos from Leni Sinclair, a jazz roundtable with Makaya McCraven and others, ambient composer Ernest Hood, The Hi Rhythm Section, and lots lots more! As always, Maggot Brain has a great way of criss-crossing different scenes and styles – opening things up tin so many great ways. Heck there's even a great feature on a Louisville band reunion – served up by our old pal Ken Katkin! Magazine

The great Maggot Brain keeps on growing and growing – really reaching mind-expanding territory this special seventh issue, at a level that goes far beyond the large features on Lou Reed and Loaded pictured on the cover! There's a wealth of different shorter features, mixed with artwork and other articles too – bits on Lee Scratch Perry, Pastor TL Barrett, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Dane Wareham, The Goats, and the late 80s underground noise scene around Detroit – plus an especially strange feature on Doug Henning and his relationship to glam rock in Canada! As always, its less the topics than the way they're handled that makes the magazine so great – and Maggot Brain is definitely one of those publications that really rewards a cover-to-cover read – like the old classics Grand Royal, Wax Poetics, or even Motorbooty. Magazine

A big double-length issue of The Wire – one that offers a very detailed look back at the musical year of 2023 – but from that decidedly leftfield perspective that makes the magazine so great year after year! There's special features that include "Beyond Bandcamp", "Practical Uses For AI", "Modern Antiquarians", and "The Gaza Effect" – plus other more standard features on Fred Frith, Laetitia Sadier, and the usual huge number of reviews – as well as the great Linton Kwesi Johnson on the long-running Invisible Jukebox feature! Magazine

That's Bjork on the cover, and she gets a nice feature inside this issue – as do the Penguin Cafe Orchestra, really presented with some great attention to detail and the way they arrived at their very unique sound! There's also a photo essay of a performance by Be Your Own Pet, a very long Gen-X graphic memoir by Marcellus Hall, the debut album of Wayne Phoenix, the two-wheeled skills of Chelsea Wolfe, the electronics of Pauline Anna Strom, the compositions of Annea Lockwood, and lots lots more – all presented with the crisp crackle that makes Maggot Brain so great! Magazine

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With Benny Green on piano. CD

A fantastic lost slice of work from reedman Yusef Lateef – a performance recorded at the legendary Ronnie Scott's club in London, with backing from a trio that features the wonderful Stan Tracey! Tracey was a committed modernist who really helped shape the sound of the UK scene at the time – and his pairing here with Lateef is wonderful, as Stan seems to bring out some of the most spiritual, most exotic sounds from the saxphonist – shaping the music with his own creative and angular work on piano. Yusef blows flute, tenor, shenai, and xun – and overall, the whole thing's got a vibe that really takes us back to the brilliance of his late 50s sessions for Savoy – done with the same mix of modernism, exoticism, and soul. Titles include "Song Of Delilah", "Last Night Blues", "Yusef's Mood", "Angel Eyes", and "Blues For The Orient". LP, Vinyl record album

Features Marcin Wasilewski on piano, with Slawomir Kurkiewicz on bass and Michal Miskiewicz on drums. CD

The groovy Brit piano player lays down a set of standards like "April In Paris", "Spring Song", "It Might As Well Be Spring", "Summertime", "The Solway In Summer", "Summer Wind", "Early Autumn", "September Song", "Forever Autumn", "When Winter Comes", "Winter World Of Love", and "June In January". CD

The first-ever album from the legendary Hi-Lo's – a landmark indie debut that went onto transform the sound of vocal harmony in the 20th century! The record's got a subtle brilliance that's hard to catch at first – a way of putting together the tunes that's often only slightly different than some of the group's contemporaries, but which already shows the rich talents that leader Gene Puerling would bring to later vocal experiments with Singers Unlimited in the 70s. As with most of the group's famous records, backings here are by Frank Comstock – perfectly poised on the gentle tunes, and nicely jazzy on the more swinging ones! Titles include "June in January", "Little White Lies", "I Don't Want to Cry Anymore", "She's Funny that Way", "Whatever Lola Wants", "Island of Desire", "You Brought a New Kind Of Love", "Fools Rush In", "Have You Met Miss Jones", "Where Are You", and "You Can't Hardly Get Them No More". CD

A later percussion ensemble album by Max Roach – one done in the style of some of his earlier 60s percussion experiments, but with a fuller scope, and a more serious feel overall. The ensemble was first formed in 1970, but recorded here with a very ambitious tone as part of Columbia's classical/jazz crossover experiments of the late 70s – with percussionists that include Omar Clay, Roy Brooks, Fred King, Ray Mantilla, Warren Smith, Freddie Waits, and Joe Chambers. Titles have a variety of styles – some more tribal, some more jazz-based, and others with almost a 20th century avant feel. Tunes include "Onomatopoeia", "Glorious Monster", "January V", "Caravanserai", "Rumble In The Jungle", and "Epistrophy". CD