Jazz | Fusion 369 Items

Style is not a given. Not many musicians reach the level of artistic personality where you can unmistakably recognize them. It takes character, roots, honesty, soulfulness. Nathan Davis had style.
His tone on tenor was unique. So was his soprano sound and his distinctive approach to flute. His musical world was equally original and knew no boundaries.
This concert in Paris is audible proof that as a performer, his fluid phrasing, distinct articulation, booming bottom register, growls and shrieks were fuelled by tremendous drive and furious invention - the man was on fire!
These live sessions demonstrate the limitless invention of Nathan’s solos. Holding no punches, weaving signature phrases, shouts and riffs into his solos, he was a fierce and fervid performer. With a sort of hollow resonance at the heart of his reedy and warm sound, Nathan Davis was a highly original artist, from an era when having a distinct sound on your instrument was the grail of jazz artistry. Harold Land, Jimmy Heath, John Gilmore, Paul Gonsalves, Charlie Rouse, George Coleman, Booker Ervin, Clifford Jordan ... Jazz is made of such giants and Nathan Davis was one of them.

Includes one bonus track!

In the four years since Green’s initial release, Robohands, AKA. London-based composer/multi-instrumentalist Andy Baxter has released two more albums, quickly becoming a leading force in London’s growing Jazz scene. Compared to his post-bop, avant inspired contemporaries, Baxter’s music is laid back, a modern reincarnation of cool jazz that perhaps might feel more at home being called “chill” than “cool”. With repeating riffs, spacy delay, and warm synth pads, this album blurs the lines between jazz, funk, post-rock, and ambient music to create an album more concerned about mood than genre. Its original pressing sold out almost instantly, and with the prices they’re fetching on the second hand market, we knew we had to repress it! Don’t miss this limited edition repressing of Robohands’ ‘Green’ on limited edition clear green vinyl, available only from P-vine Records!

Their first album in 15 years!

Includes four bonus tracks.

Hollywood Spritz is a soundtrack to a police television drama from the '70s that doesn't exist, including a Jazz Funk rework of the Charlie's Angels theme. Italian DJ, composer and producer Federica Grappasonni, aka Mistura Pura, looks to the 70’s Golden Age of Hollywood TV and the accompanying music for inspiration.

Combining Jazz, Funk and Latin elements with Afro percussion, Mediterranean harmonies, minimal electronic effects, Hip Hop and Nu Jazz beats, Mistura Pura focuses her sound on the "action" element from these ‘70s soundtracks: scenes depicting danger or tension but also making sure to round it out with moments of love and fun. The presence of percussion in all the tracks with Afro, Latin American as well as Middle-Eastern and Hawaiian polyrhythms round out the album’s edges giving it a languid feel. "Hollywood Spritz" with it’s abundant Latin vibes would be a perfect accompaniment to a police drama set in LA, New York, Miami or any major metropolis with a vibrant Latino community. Another important aspect contributing to this musical work comes from Federica’s extensive, decades-long experience as a DJ digging and spinning rare grooves from Be Bop, Funk, Soul and Bossa Nova. Her familiarity and connection with notable players in the scene gave her acces to record with a talented group of musicians such as pianist Jessica Lauren (Hollywood Spritz, LA Sound 1976, Nuevo Jungo) known for her work in the London Acid Jazz scene, Cuban multi-instrumentalist Lorenzo Patrix Duenas (Looking For The Angels, Intro - The Angels Connection, Charlie’s Angels Theme), Italian Jazz pianist Alessandro Gwis (Angels On A Cruise, Jill Is Dancing In The Dark), Mediterranean flutist Carlo Nicita, the king of the Latin rhythms Hector Barez from Puerto Rico, the cool trumpet of Josh Evans (Nuevo Jungo), volcanic percussion work from Gennaro Scarpato (High Tide At Waimanalo beach), Nu Jazz drums from Lorenzo Tucci (Angels On A cruise, Jill Is Dancing In The Dark (with milonga drums)), with the combination of Lorenzo Feliciati (Angels On A cruise) and Marco Siniscalco (Hollywood Spritz) on Jazz bass, oud musician Jean Pierre Smadj (The Arab Connection), and young Italian pianist Alberto Napolioni (Sunset at Venice beach) rounding out the cast.

Sonorama is proud to release a legendary and sought after soul jazz LP that will send shivers down your spine. 77-year-old singer & pianist Freddy Cole, youngest brother of Nat "King" Cole and uncle of Natalie Cole, is a truly unique interpreter with an impressive career from 1952 until 2010. This very rare and privately pressed LP was recorded back in 1976 and finally gets its first remastered 1:1 reissue with original cover artwork (First Shot label), including such greats as "Wild Is Love", "Brother Where Are You" and "Live For Life".

A beautiful album. A jazz album. Hello, Summer is the third full length solo LP from the talented Pat Van Dyke—a recording full of soulful, upbeat and superbly well-thought-out arrangements that is destined for your heavy rotation bin for years and years to come. Van Dyke has upped the ante on this release, playing all instruments himself (with the exception of the horn section and featured soloists)—in addition to writing, performing, producing, recording, and mixing the record (mastering was left to K-Def). This is a completely confident and imaginative artist able to put his ideas on wax exactly as intended.

Hello, Summer places emphasis on the word album. Listeners are encouraged to carve out time to enjoy it with zero distractions. There’s nuggets to be found in each listen—whether it’s picking out your favorite horn arrangement, appreciating a flute solo or simply marveling at how fluidly everything comes together over the course of the album’s 11 tracks.

The vibe is summer. Windows are open and an ice cold beverage is in hand.

Pat Van Dyke has steadily built an impressive catalog over the years—his debut solo LP, Technicolor Hi-FI (Cotter Records, 2013), was praised by the likes of Bobbito Garcia and Gilles Peterson, and led to a 45 remixed by DJ Spinna. His follow up, Right On Time (Jakarta Records 2015), brought additional praise, attention and an even bigger audience. Pat then lended remix work to fellow Jakarta artists Benny Sings and Suff Daddy (remixing his track with Mayer Hawthorne). Van Dyke is also well known in hip-hop circles—a noteworthy album with underground mainstay John Robinson called Modern Vintage is highly recommended. He’s been featured by Wax Poetics, Flea Market Funk, The Village Voice, Okayplayer and more.

Enjoy this one!

Major Keys is a brand-new audiophile label focusing on fully licensed reissues of jazz classics, pressed on 12” for a fuller, louder version compared to the original album cut. What better way to kick of the series than housing Herbie Hancock’s imitable ‘Chameleon’ and ‘Watermelon Man’, loud and proud on either side of a 12” - remastered and cut by the engineer of the original Head Hunters LP from 1973.

Limited edition for Record Store Day 2018!

At the beginning of 2015 I approached Victor Greetham at The Agile Rabbit Pizzeria about programming a series of concerts at his spot in Brixton Village, an open air marketplace in the heart of Brixton (London, UK).

The premise being that I would bring a selection of great, strictly one hour long concerts every Thursday night, some of which would be completely improvised free form music. These performances came to be named “Agile Experiments”, paying homage to Victor & his venue for allowing us to expose the market's passing trade audiences to something they may well have never had an opportunity to hear before or ever again for that matter.

We implemented two simple rules for the performances:
1. We wouldn't discuss or plan anything around what we were going to play.
2. We would play for an hour straight with no breaks.

After a year of concerts in the market place, I organised 8 one hour long recording sessions in a studio with 8 different combinations of musicians I had had the honor of performing with over this period and we applied the same rules as we did for the live performances in order to document these happenings.

Two further years down the line, after sitting on these recordings trying to find a way for them to be heard, I am extremely pleased to announce a sequential release of two limited edition vinyls featuring 12 extracts from these raw & unpredictable performances.

I hope that you will truly enjoy these minutes of off-the-cuff cooperative creativity.

In good faith and love for people and music,

Dave De Rose

Alan Hawkshaw (piano/Hammond) and Shadow’s drummer Brian Bennett are responsible for some of the slickest, funkiest and most sought-after library records ever made in the UK, particularly ones recorded on the legendary KPM label. Their work has now become the go-to place for sampling in music today. Artists such as Dilla, Nas, and the xx, right through to the billion selling Kanye & Drake have taken Hawkshaw’s and Bennett’s immaculate beat-driven soundscapes for their own usage.

Their new album, in full, iconic KPM cover is a return to the laidback jazz-funk that helped Alan and Brian demonstrate their library chops. The album is classic Hawkshaw/Bennett. It swings, it grooves, moves and thrills with a flair these two have perfected over years.

Standout tracks such as "Hole In One", "In The Clouds", "Interchange", "Oasis", "On The Nile" and "Corcovado" are no mere excursions in nostalgia, for they carry lots of deft studio work that many a producer would give their right arm for. Hawkshaw’s arrangements allow the drums, guitar, bass, strings, Hammond, flute and brass to swirl elegantly around the 12 original tracks; a masterclass in recording.

Cut by Pete Norman, housed in a beautifully designed Richard Robinson sleeve and pressed at 180g by Record Industry in Holland, this release has been afforded the care and attention it rightly deserves. Essential.