Jazz | Fusion 135 Items

The first instalment in our new ‘Mr Bongo Record Club’ compilation series – a
selection of favourites, recent discoveries and sought after obscurities, which
form the basis of our DJ sets and our radio show of the same name. Including
cuts by Claudia, Cortex, Dave Pike Set, Fruko, Neno Exporta Som, Connie
Laverne, Barbosa and more.
The original concept for ‘Mr Bongo Record Club’ was a radio show that allowed
us to air our treasured record collections, recorded and broadcast once a
month. We wanted to create an outlet free from any genre or BPM restrictions,
not constrained by the need to beat-mix every record, a space where we could
play latest finds alongside favourites. The only self-imposed rule being that
it had to be played from vinyl.
We have always DJ’d across-the-board, but playing in an eclectic way hasn’t
always been easy. Recently DJ’s such as MCDE, Floating Points, Nick The Record,
Leon Vynehall, Four Tet, Jeremy Underground, Antal (Rush Hour), Sassy J and
Young Marco – to name a few – have opened things up with very diverse sets to
younger audiences; Brazilian samba-rock, next to modern soul, highlife, disco,
boogie, jazz, house, techno and beyond.
We’re seeing a rare groove like sensibility. A shift towards the attitude of
legendary club nights hosted by the likes of Mr Scruff and Gilles Peterson,
where you could hear house, hip hop, Turkish funk, boogie, jazz, dub and Latin
back to back. At the same time it isn't a nostalgic or retro movement, people
have a progressive attitude and a thirst for new-old music. It is a vibrant and
exciting time – we are proud to be a part of it.

Record Store Day 2021 Release.

Killer-Funk Compilation voller Highlights aus den Musikarchiven von Josef Weinberger Ltd. in London, mit 16 Tracks von seltenen Library-LPs auf Labels wie JW (Josef Weinberger/ Theme Music), IA (Impress) oder PM (Programme Music). Erste Auswahl unbekannter Titel von Toni Campo, Midas Touch, Trevor Bastow, Sidney Dale oder Vick Flick, zwischen Jazz-Funk, Soul Music, Proto Techno und arabischen Disco-Sounds - mit Open Drum-Breaks, fetten Basslinien und jeder Menge Brass/ Wah-Wah /Orgeln /Vibes /Flöten und elektronischen Effekten.Vergleichbar mit den besten Sounds von KPM, De Wolfe oder Bosworth.

Re-mixed and re-mastered at Gondwana's home from home, 80 Hertz studios in Manchester and reissued here due to popular demand, ON THE GO appears here in an extended format that adds three new tracks alongside the original album and appears on vinyl for the first time.

Limited edition of 300 copies for HHV Summer Of Jazz 2020!

Strut repress a classic from 2010, The Heliocentrics’ groundbreaking studio collaboration with Lloyd Miller, ‘(OST)’.
Recorded following their award-winning collaboration with Ethio jazz pioneer, Mulatu Astatke (Mojo magazine Top 50 of the year 2009, Sunday Times World Music Album of the year), pioneering UK collective The Heliocentrics resurfaced with another fascinating jazz enigma, ethno-musicologist, jazz maestro and multi-instrumentalist, Lloyd Miller.
Learning various instruments and immersing himself in New Orleans jazz through his father, a professional clarinet player, Lloyd Miller first trained himself in the styles of George Lewis and Jimmy Giuffre and cut his first Dixieland jazz 78 rpm record in 1950. During the late ‘50s, his father landed a job in Iran and Miller began to develop a lifelong interest in Persian and Eastern music forms, learning to play a vast array of traditional ethnic instruments from across Asia and the Middle East.
He toured Europe heavily, basing himself in Switzerland, Belgium, Sweden, Germany (where he played with Eddie Harris and Don Ellis) and, most famously, in Paris where he worked with leftfield bandleader Jef Gilson, a phenomenon in French jazz during the early ‘60s. Miller returned to the Middle East during the ‘70s, landing his own TV show on NIRTV in Tehran under the name Kurosh Ali Khan. His show became a national fixture and ran for seven years. More recently, his mid-‘60s album ‘Oriental Jazz’ has become a collector’s favourite.
Emerging from an acoustic jazz session in 2007 set up by Jazzman, the Heliocentrics collaboration was recorded at the band’s Quatermass Studios in East London during January and February 2010, a fresh, freeform mix of Eastern arrangements, jazz and angular psychedelics. The recordings involved a number of ethnic instruments that Miller played and studied throughout his career including the oud, Phonofiddle, Indian santur, Chinese shawm and wooden flute.
Lloyd Miller & The Heliocentrics’ ‘(OST)’ will be repressed on its original 2LP format, 1000 copies only.
LLOYD MILLER & THE HELIOCENTRICS – (OST)
Tracklisting

Warm and dark, psychedelic and yet grounded, uplifting but at times somber - Seu Jorge & Almaz self-titled album for Now Again.

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".

2022 repress of 2010’s GAF & The Love Supreme Arkestra’s debut album - another tour de force from this multi faceted band, showcasing its surprising chameleonic ease of play with multi references to space rock, free jazz and the raw German sound of the early 70's. Electric mantras meet hazy synthesizers and gaseous guitar drones float weightlessly into the cosmos. If Carl Sagan had a chance to listen to pieces such as “Shine” or the sublime “Decata na sunceto”, he would surely turn into their unconditional fan. Recorded, mixed and mastered by Jorge Lozano in 2009 at Gallinero Studio ( Los Realejos, Tenerife) Artwork: Felipe González Cabezas Originally released by Foehn Records in 2010

Theodore Lee Croker is an American jazz trumpeter, composer, producer and vocalist. He is a Grammy Award nominee, three-time Echo Award nominee, as well as a Theodore Presser Award recipient. As the grandson of trumpeter Doc Cheatham, Theo Croker has jazz music in his DNA. Escape Velocity is his fourth studio album, originally released in 2016. He was discovered by singer Dee Dee Bridgewater, who became his mentor and can also be heard on this album (“Love from the Sun”). Croker thinks big and plays big, along with his equally talented band. His songs are full of interesting twists and turns but remains very cohesive, ensuring that this album never gets boring. Escape Velocity is available as a limited edition on crystal clear vinyl and includes an insert with liner notes.

The second album from WAH, the collaborative effort led by guitarist Simon Henneman (Diminished Men) and drummer Gregg Keplinger (master drummer and Charles Gocher's doppelganger). WAH have created a modern masterpiece of modal, spiritual and free expression. Coming off like a late, classic RVG session for Impulse, Travellers Station is snarled with the force of a pummeling rock band by two artful leaders of Seattle's underground jazz scene. Travellers Station boasts ten musicians including bassists Luke Bergman and Carmen Rothwell, vibraphonists Bob Rees and Jacques Willis, horn players Ray Larson and Neil Welch, vocalist Katie Jacobson, and percussionist and co-producer Dave Abramson. The breathtaking energy of WAH's legendary NW performances is captured here with razor sharp production that finds room for fiery free jazz, psychedelic drone, big belting rhythms, and cosmic anthems. Fans of the classic era of '68-'78 (Strata-East/Human Arts/Sonny Sharrock/private/spiritual/BYG/loft) jazz scenes in America and France will dig immensely.

You may probably remember the name of Howard Wales due to his association with The Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia, but besides those important collaborations Wales has also produced some highly interesting solo material. Among it, one of the best jazz funk / psych fussion albums ever: Rendezvous With The Sun. Wales had played backing artists such as Ronnie Hawkins, Lonnie Mack, James Brown or The Four Tops as a session musician before becoming a member of psychedelic blues combo AB Shky, who moved from Milwaukee to the San Francisco Bay Area. He then explored the worlds that span somewhere between psychedelia and funk when forming part of Shades Of Joy, the band that recorded Alejandro Jodorowsky's Music Of El Topo LP in 1970. That same year he joined forces with Jerry Garcia and released the acclaimed Hooteroll? album.

Rendezvous With The Sun was released on Costal Records in 1976 and contained ten splendid jazz funk psych fussion songs, the mixture of different styles Wales is so good at. The musicians that contributed in the recording sessions where basically the same that had accompanied him and Jerry Garcia on the Hooteroll Band in 1972: Jim Vincent on guitar, Tom Donlinger on drums and of course Wales on keyboards, augmented by Pete Escovido on percussion and congas, Doug Killmer, Peter Marshall and Roger "Jelly Roll" Troy on bass, Bill Champlin on guitar, Pat Gleason on synth and seven horn players, including Martin Fierro, Jock Ellis, Chuck Bennet, Jane Woodworth and three members of Frank Zappa's Petit Wazoo ensemble: Gary Barone, Mike Altschul and Sal Marquez.

Part 2 of the title track was once compiled in a split single (Bruno Spoerri's 'Les Électroniciens' was on flipside) on Jazzman Records.

First ever vinyl reissue, with remastered sound and an insert with notes. Comes with a bonus 7" EP that features the two tracks from the mega rare, sought after Wales Costal Records single plus two previously unreleased gems. Limited to only 500 copies!

David Virelles (born 1983) is a Cuban jazz pianist and composer. With “Antenna“, he releases his fourth album.

A fresh project from the Nilamaye crew — crossing currulao, art-rock and jazz.

Limited edition for Black Friday RSD 2016!

The immense output of Sun Ra and his many backing bands, coupled with the limited production of many of his releases has long defied dedicated collectors. Parallel to a vast list of LP releases, Sun Ra released numerous 45 RPM singles; one-off meteorites from his prolific cosmic journey. Working closely with Sun Ra LLC and Art Yard Records, it is with great pride that Strut presents a definitive collection of the rare singles released by Sun Ra across his illustrious career, spanning 1952 to 1991.

Released prolifically during the 1950s and more sporadically thereafter, primarily on the Saturn label, the 45s trace the development of Sun Ra’s forward-thinking “Space-Bop” and his unique take on jazz and blues traditions which remains unlike anything else from the period. As with his LPs, most 45s were only pressed in small runs and have since become extremely rare and sought after. Some have only been discovered in physical form in recent years; some were planned and penciled but allegedly never made it to vinyl and some appeared as one-off magazine singles and posthumous releases.

‘Singles: The Definitive 45 Collection’ will be released in two volumes on vinyl across two release dates. All formats feature fully remastered tracks, rare photos, poster artwork, extensive sleeve notes by Francis Gooding, an interview with Saturn Records founder Alton Abraham by John Corbett and detailed track by track and session notes by Paul Griffiths.

God knows how Micha Acher manages to be part of so many different projects at once: Besides playing and recording with Alien Ensemble, he also plays tuba in the band Millipede, contributes trumpet parts to the "Landlergschwistern" and the "Hochzeitskapelle" oh, and then there's also this other indie band he's been working with – a certain group called The Notwist.

On this great compilation you’ll find 16 early vocal & jazzy tunes from the Golden Age of Jive & Kwela in South Africa. All released originally on fragile shellac discs only, which is a very delicate material but the music survived thanks to the archives of ILAM. A truly great source of South African music is being preserved here for new generations, to inspire young and hopeful musicians and singers from all over the world. These treasures of musical genius were recorded in the glory years of Jive and Kwela, the years 1940-1965.
On side A it is not very difficult to recognize the similarities to American popular music like R&B and small combo close harmony singing. But most of all notice that typical South African swing, that Jive, that incredible smooth form of African Jazz on side B; Kwela!

The rarest and most treasured finds are collected here, some with the original spoken intros, ‘sketches’ as these were called. Characteristic conversations between the musicians, often in a humoristic slang, always extremely funny. The record is pressed to 180gram vinyl.

Moving from the southern African republic of Malawi to London at the age of fourteen, Malia spent her teenage years in the Big Smoke. She has recorded three albums in France with Andre Manoukian: Yellow Daffodils (2002), Echoes of Dreams (2004), and Young Bones (2007) - all originating in Manoukian’s Paris studio.

In 2010 she got to know the Swiss producer Boris Blank, who, since the 80s as part of the avant-garde duo Yello (‘The Race’, ‘Bostich’) with Dieter Meyer, has enjoyed great success. In 2012, Malia published a tribute to Nina Simone, Black Orchid, which won that year’s ECHO Jazz Award. In 2014, Boris Blank produced the eleven electronically shaped songs of her album Convergence.
Malia’s sixth studio album, Malawi Blues/Njira, sees her clear, incisive voice again amplified in a soul-jazz context. ‘A record that I’ve long wanted to make… Right now the time feels right for this… I wanted songs that reflected my awareness and ancestry’, she sums up the vibe of the ten tracks on Malawi Blues/Njira.
The album features thoughtful, mostly slow-paced originals, with sparingly orchestrated piano supported by guitar and percussion, amongst them an almost minimalistic cover version of the classic ‘Moon River’. Right from the outset, Malia with Malawi Blues/Njira looks back to the sound of her childhood.

The legendary Don Cherry with his great 1966 quintet featuring Gato Barbieri (tenor sax) Karl Berger (piano) Bo Stief (bass) Aldo Romano (drums) which can also be heard on three fine releases on ESP-Disk, and with the New York Total Music Company in 1968. Taken from an excellent radio broadcast for the first time in a glorious vinyl release.

For his next release on Soundway Records, Los Angeles-based Dexter Story hooks up with long time friend and compatriot of music, the saxophonist, jazz composer, producer and band-leader Kamasi Washington. A fierce, rumbling electro Ethio-Funk groove provides the platform for an intense and powerful interplay between Washington on tenor sax and Todd Simon on trumpet. An instrumental cover version of Tilahun Gessesse's 1970s cut of the same name, it's Story's homage to the oppressed Oromo people of Southern Ethiopia. Backed on the flip by the one cut from Story's 'Wondem' long-player that did not make it to vinyl when the LP version was cut, Nia Andrew's sublime and atmospheric collaboration on Eastern Prayer will keep all those happy who grumbled at it's exclusion from wax first time around. This is a record that no lover of Ethio-Jazz, Afro-Beat or Funk should be excused for not owning.

Blues, soul, jazz, R&B and rock vocalist Etta James needs no introduction. An icon from early rock’n’rolls pantheon of divas, she has inspired 5 decades of listeners and fellow artists with her vocal stylings. From Janis Joplin to Beyonce, her expressive and gutteral style has been imitated, but never quite matched. Jackpot Records is honored to release this momentous record with the original album artwork and 4 bonus tracks (previously only available on CD).

The 4th Solo Album by Reknown Danish Film Music Compose Pederknow for Releases on Mo Wax, Ninjatune, Grand Royal, Ubiquity Records and his Scores , “Breaking Bad” Amongst Others. The New ALbum featues and Instrumental “original” Part and a 2nd Guest Version LP featuring Peders favorite danish singers: Coco from Quadron, Jonas Bjerre from Mew, Oh Land, Mikael Simpson, Jacob Bellens, Sleep Party People and more. The record is a return to more dusty and crunchy sound of his awardwinning debut “And He just Pointed to The Sky” from 2007 released on Ubiquity Records. Peder began his career as a scratch DJ, household remixer for the Beastie Boys and one half of legendary danish Comedy team “Gramsespektrum” (who released grammy awardwinning platinum albums in Denmark). Now he’s a singer that makes dusty David Lynchian 50s music from your sweet nightmare and a filmcomposer with music featured in “Breaking Bad". Plus as a director he was chosen for Saatchi & Saatchi’s New Directors Showcase, Cannes Lions 2014.. This is his 4th solo album and his first on vinyl The record includes an original version and a guest version hidden inside with allmost the excat same layout.

“Don’t Try You Are is the musical investigation of the
murder of a mysterious man in an indefinite country just after
a war. The location and the time are never explicit. L’ Anderer
is a stranger, a loner, it’s the brother Grimm by way of Kafka. It’s
the telestic soundtrack to a story of unspeakable evil, darkness
and human decay. Martin Perret’s music is the physical
state between Hope and Horror; Mesmerizing, futuristic and
visionary. It’s the soundtrack to a David Lynch Masterpiece, yet
to be written.”
Martin Perret is Switzerland’s busiest drummer at the
moment. As a Master’s student under the creative overlook from
drum genius Gerry Hemingway Martin has made a name for
himself as a very popular sideman, touring and recording with
Europe’s finest Jazz musician. His debut as a leader has
already received remarkable attention, not only in the Jazz but
also in the Rock and Electro World.

The last Henry Cow record made after the group had officially disbanded. I'm biased of course but I believe this was a milestone recording, and perhaps the closest we came to getting the music to sound the way we wanted on disc. Guest appearances by Irene Schweitzer and Anne-Marie Roeloffs.

Composer/arranger/producer Etienne de la Sayette is a frenetic globe-trotter and a relentless collector of musical instruments. Founder and headhunter of, among others, the Frix and Baeshi Bang groups, co-founder/saxophonist for Parisian Ethio-Jazz band Akalé Wubé, Etienne might mostly be a live musician, he manages nonetheless to find the time for audio production, remixes and synch music. 'Maputo Queens' is his first solo album, a deep afrojazz masterpiece for thoughful moods and after-hours atmospheres, with some masterful blends of spices from all over the globe.

First ever vinyl LP reissue of one of the best easy listening / jazz / groovy albums from Germany. Conceived and recorded in 1965 as (sort of) the soundtrack for advertising-designer, artist and photographer Charles Wilp photo sessions, it was composed by classical trained musician Siegfried Ulbrich, credited here under one of his pseudonym Marvin Martin. The album is a fantastic sequence of jazzy easy listening sounds, sometimes spiced with the actual sound of Wilp and his models speaking through the session, completed with female wordless vocals here and there and some electronic gimmicks - used with maximum care. Peter Thomas spoke favourably of these recordings, noting influences from A.C. Jobim, Frank Sinatra and Claus Ogermann. This LP was never commercialised in shops, but instead produced specifically for 16 organisations for whom Wilp had worked for, and copies of it were given away to employees and customers of those companies.

As a curiousity, Charles Wilp did the earliest photos of Nico when she started modelling in Germany, and also did the fabulous photos of 1960s punk legends The Monks when they were established in Germany.

It is splendid from beginning to end, top class groovy / easy listening sounds for your cocktail parties and night dancing and comes in a gorgeous gatefold sleeve reproducing the original artwork.

This is a stand-out performance by Carla Bley.

During the '60s and '70s, three distinguished gentlemen who had built their careers playing French-made exotic jazz (Roger Roger, Nino Nardini and orchestra leader Eddie Warner) met each evening in the Ganaro recording studio. They mainly experimented -or simply played- with keyboards that looked like prototypes of spaceships. Flying high on whimsical and joyful inspiration, the improbable trio used their strange instruments to sketch out the beginnings of something that, at that time, resembled the future of music. This collection presents some of the highlights that resulted from their light-hearted, electronic pop sessions.

Gilles Peterson has a special love affair with MPS. To be exact, it goes back more than three decades to the London of the 1980's when Gilles stood at the beginning of an exceptional career as DJ, Radio personality, and producer. At that time he was already interested in unusual and unique jazz recordings, and so he inevitably came across the record label from Germany's Black Forest (Schwarzwald), whose catalogue encompassed a large, totally distinct repertoire that had never been released anywhere else. Naturally, there was a long list of amazing interpretations of jazz classics from acknowledged jazz masters, but early on Gilles had developed the talent to dig deeper into the depths of the archives in order to ferret out the special features of the catalogue - occasionally discovering a obscurity - and bring them to the light of day.

He seemed to be able to effortlessly show a completely new connection between classic jazz recordings through the way they were chosen, assorted, and sequenced. Thus, every single title was imbued with a new energy, freshness, and, above all, timelessness, always with an eye on whether the chosen recordings would possibly be compatible with the needs of clubs. This present MPS compilation is an especially good example of Gilles Peterson's amazing talent. It delivers only a small, yet carefully chosen section out of the depths of the MPS archives.

Gatefold sleeve, features Wayne Shorter, Gary Clark, Jr., Herbie Hancock, Pharoahe Monch, Esperanza Spaulding etc.

Limited edition for Record Store Day 2018!

Django Deluxe´s unique music combines the traditional Gypsy-Swing of Django Reinhardt with more modern forms of jazz to dazzling effect. Swing however, pulses through it's veins, expressing their collective passion and esteem for Django – the greatest European Gypsy-Jazz legend of all time. At the same time however, they're four young men, living and creating music in the contemporary world of R & B and Hip-Hop. As Django Deluxe, they produce a timeless, vibrant, emotional music, which flows in the inimitable style of European Sinti-Swing, but with American Jazz infused into it. 7" single version featrues the track "Stina" only.

Raised on opposite sides of the Atlantic, these two artists have combined their talents to compose “Lost Myself.” This musical voyage blends New York hard-bop aesthetics and Reggae-inspired elements with the jazz of today for a fresh spin on jazz classics and original compositions.

Vocalist Shola Adisa-Farrar, a native of Oakland, California, was born into a family of artists and intellectuals. Shola began singing at the age of eight, influenced by her Jamaican upbringing and the soul and jazz classics that played in her home. At a young age, Shola garnered attention for her distinct raspy voice, which enabled her to perform a variety of musical styles as well as secure radio spots as a voice-over artist. After living in New York City for eight years where she earned a Bachelors degree in Music, she is now an established resident in Paris. Shola spends her time travelling internationally to perform and developing her musical style. This album is her exploration into Jazz.

Florian Pellissier, Parisian pianist and composer, is known for the authenticity and hard-bop style he brings to his music. A graduate of The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, Florian has spearheaded his own quintet along with the release of two successful albums: Le diable et son train (2012) and Biches Bleues (2014). Florian has also contributed his musical talent, which includes his command of the “Rhodes,” to jazz and funk projects such as Setenta, Camarao Orkestra, Chevere Que Son, Cotonete and GUTS.

During Shola’s year-long residence as a performer for Le Reservoir’s Sunday Jazz brunch, Hot Casa Records’ DJ duo introduced Shola to Florian, sensing the two artists would musically compliment each other. In July 2013, their musical collaboration began. Bonding over their love of jazz autobiographies, swapping music, and improvising together, a studio collaboration was born in the hidden basement of Colorblind Studio on Paris’s Left Bank.

The result is eight spiritually-tinged jazz tracks recorded live on analog equipment to maintain the “traditional” quality of the music, from sultry introspections to rhythmic compositions grounded in intense emotion. Included are jazz classics such as Feeling Good and I Have A Dream, a tribute to the music of Herbie Hancock that has influenced Florian since his formative years in New York, to which Shola penned lyrics.