Welcome to an eclectic mix of new jazz sounds from the UK, the USA and beyond. We’ve added in a Brazil-flavoured coda too with a classic tune that didn’t quite make it to the last show – and included thanks to our friends who have provided new music for the show.
- Slowly Rolling Camera – When the Sun Comes Out from Silver Shadow
First up is new from UK group Slowly Rolling Camera. They’re on Edition Records and have just released their latest album Silver Shadow. As the name of the group suggests, their music is characterised by a widescreen cinematic approach that’s apparent even on the characteristically short tracks on this new release. The core trio of the group include Edition Records founder Dave Stapleton along with Deri Roberts on drums and percussion and Elliot Bennett responsible for sound design and production. On the new album they’re joined by Jasper Høiby on bass, Josh Arcoleo on sax, Stuart McCallum on guitar, and Verneri Pohjola on trumpet. If you like The Cinematic Orchestra or GoGo Penguin then SRC deserves your attention. Neil thinks this is their best release yet.
2. Neil Cowley Trio – Father Daughter from Entity
It seemed appropriate to follow this with a tune from the new album by pianist Neil Cowley who appeared to ‘press pause’ in 2017. After 12 years and six well received recordings, the Trio went quiet with Cowley exploring new collaborations incorporating electronica and neo-classical sounds. But for this new release Entity, he’s back with bassist Rex Horan and drummer Evan Jenkins (and a little electronic manipulation). The record is available right now from the usual outlets and – of course – here on Bandcamp. Cowley says of his new music: I went into the session not entirely sure of how much I should bring with me from my recent musical experiences. To cover all eventualities I brought pre-recorded synth and drum machine parts to play along to, feeling that these could still serve my compositions well. But it was immediately obvious that these pre produced ideas just interfered with the human connection between us…. nay, our reconnection! The result is well worth listening to – melodic piano trio with something of an EST vibe. You’ll enjoy it. Thanks to Julie from R!otSquad Publicity for this one.
3. Tommy Smith & John Taylor – Pure Imagination from Love Unrequited
This stunning music comes from 2003 but has only just been released. Laid down straight to tape in Avatar Studios in New York City by celebrated engineer James Farber, Love Unrequited is an EP of uncommon beauty. The Scottish saxophonist was in NYC recording his Evolution album with saxophonist Joe Lovano, pianist John Taylor, bassist John Patitucci and drummer Bill Stewart but these newly revealed impromptu duo recordings have a quiet delicacy that is really rewarding. John Taylor was probably best known for his work with the trio Azimuth on a series of three ECM records, of which the first has just been re-released in ECM’s Luminescence series and is highly recommended. Tommy Smith has said of John Taylor that he was a scholarly man with the kindest heart who projected the purest, most exquisite piano sound that ever dawned in the jazz world. One note from John could debase your soul. Sometimes hyperbole can indeed be all that needs to be said – do check out Love Unrequited here on Bandcamp. And if this tune seems strangely familiar – then it is. Pure Imagination comes from Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory – music by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley – and there have been other cover versions, including this one from pianist Monty Alexander. Rob Adams – thanks for this one!
4. Kurt Elling & Sullivan Fortner – Ana Maria from Wildflower Vol. 1
More delicate vocals and a record that has seemingly emerged out of nowhere – again on Edition Records. This is another of those impromptu collaborations that yielded a six-song, surprise EP which was recorded, mixed, mastered and released within a single week. Vocalist Elling and pianist Fortner work through each of the tracks without having a concrete musical plan — as Elling noted: not even a decided set of compositions (let alone any group rehearsal) — led to a play of kismet and serendipity. Thankfully Sullivan Fortner is exactly the dedicated musical genius I expected and needed him to be. Our choice is the wonderful Ana Maria – a Wayne Shorter composition that first appeared on his Native Dancer album with Milton Nascimento, For more from Elling and Fortner, listen to this video of their take on Mumford and Sons’ After the Storm.
5. Wayne Shorter – Infant Eyes from Speak No Evil
The aforementioned Shorter, who died earlier this year, was one of the most important composers in jazz – and this is one of those most important compositions. Infant Eyes first surfaced on one of Shorter’s classic Blue Note albums from an amazing run in the 1960s. Speak No Evil (1964) may well be the best of these, with The Penguin Guide to Jazz selected it as part of the suggested Core Collection and calling it by far Shorter’s most satisfying record. Infant Eyes typifies Shorter’s elliptical approach to composition with a wandering melody moving around piano arpeggios. Shorter’s tenor is as distinctive as always: as Richard Williams in his measured obituary in the Guardian indicated, he developed a more restrained and epigrammatic style based on oblique melodic angles, a porous tone and an instinct for dramatic understatement. He could fill space with squalls of sound, but silence was an equally potent weapon. More than this, Shorter understood and completely took on board the lateral thinking of his mentor Miles Davis who once asked him, Wayne, do you get tired of playing music that sounds like music? Shorter kew exactly what he meant. And if you don’t have a copy of Speak No Evil, you can easily get hold of the newly released Classic Vinyl Edition 180g vinyl all-analog edition from your local record store.
6. Jazzbois – Casper from Still Blunted
We changed the pace with this track from the excellent new album from Hungary’s Jazzbois. Their fourth LP is Still Blunted and it’s a further distillation of the hiphop fusion beats that drive their music. Bencze Molnár on Rhodes and synth, Viktor Sági on bass and Tamás Czirják on drums return, but this time with trusted fourth ‘live’ member DomBeats who joins them on singles Shangri La and Chrome, adding sax to the mix. Jazzbois made thier Montreux Festival debut this summer and – if you’re in the UK – they headline at London’s Jazz Cafe in October. We liked their previous album Higher Dimension Waiting Room and this new one is even better. To Joss Yerbury at Ballantyne Communications -Köszönöm!
7. Ezra Collective – God Gave Me Feet For Dancing feat. Yasmin Lacey from Dance, No One’s Watching
Their last album Where I’m Meant To Be really delivered – and then Ezra Collective went on to be the first (and perhaps only) jazz act to win the 2023 Mercury Music Prize. Right from the beginning, we’ve promoted them as fine examples of the new wave of British jazz, with its all-inclusive approach to influences from hip hop, drum and bass, broken beat, afrobeat and grime and the resulting album was by far the best thing they’d done – until now. In addition to Yazmin Lacey, the new LP titled Dance, No One is Watching also features collaborations with Olivia Dean, M.anifest, and Moonchild Sanelly. God Gave Me Feet for Dancing is technically the second song to be released after Ajala which appeared in April. Later this year, Ezra Collective will embark on a tour that extends on through the autumn with a set at New York’s SummerStage in Central Park and then scheduled performances in England, France, Italy, Turkey, Germany, Ireland and elsewhere. The album will be at the end of September and Neil, for one, can’t wait. Order it direct from Ezra’s website right here.
8. Martin France – Spin Marvel from Jerwood Rising Stars/Now’s The Time
Martin France, the highly respected UK drummer, died recently and we wanted to acknowledge his importance to the European jazz scene. He performed with many jazz artists including Sidsel Endresen, Mike Gibbs, Lee Konitz, Joe Lovano, Kenny Wheeler, Victor Bailey and John Surman. He was part of Human Chain, a group that emerged from the ashes of Loose Tubes and included Django Bates, Michael Mondesir and Iain Ballamy. France was both drummer and sound explorer who explored sequencing and programming, blending electronic rhythms with his own improvising – all heard in the short 2002 track that we’ve selected which emerged from the 2002 Cheltenham Jazz Festival and also appeared on Kevin LeGendre’s excellent Now’s The Time compilation from the following year. This track also gave its name to France’s band Spin Marvel – their three albums are all well worth exploring if you can find them. Finally, read this moving tribute to Martin from one of his closest colleagues in jazz, saxophonist Mark Lockheart.
9. Claude Fontaine – Vaqeiro from La Mer
Los Angeles native Claude Fontaine mixes ‘60s French ye-ye pop, slinky Studio One reggae, and Brazilian tropicalia – Jane Birkin backed by Jorge Ben, maybe or Francois Hardy hooked up with Mulatu Astatke. Whatever, there’s a bunch of big names on this record – from Tony Chin (foil for the likes of King Tubby, Dennis Brown, Lee Perry, Jackie Mittoo, Sly & Robbie), appears on guitar, Ronnie McQueen, one of the co-founders of Steel Pulse on bass. Sergio Mendes’ percussionist, Gibi Dos Santos, and Ziggy Marley’s drummer, Rock Deadrick. La Mer is also out this month – and available in all three formats here on Bandcamp. It’s an eclectic mix and one well worth exploring. This amazingly eclectic album comes courtesy of Stephanie Weiss – merci beaucoup!
We end with a classic that was just too much to be squeezed into our previous Brazilian special. 1970’s Fôrça Bruta is a Jorge Ben album that is rather under the radar compared with some of his more well known recordings. The album features Trio Mocotó and the music relies on simple acoustic samba melodies, all held together with Ben’s characteristic vocals. Apparently under-rehearsed and recorded at night, Ben experiments with unconventional rhythms and elements of soul, funk and rock. Relatively rare outside Brazil, the album was released for the first time via the celebrated Chicago record store Dusty Groove in the US as late as 2007 and that same year it was named by Rolling Stone Brasil as one of the country’s 100 greatest albums. Oba, Lá Vem Ela (or Yeah, There She Comes) was one of Neil’s earliest introductions to the Brazilian musical universe and it remains a firm favourite – how can you resist that earworm of an opening line?
More from Cosmic Jazz soon.
Neil is listening to…
- Jaubi – Mosty
- Stanley Turrentine – Sister Sanctified
- Lonnie Liston Smith – Sais (Egypt)
- Ezra Collective – Ajala
- Wayne Shorter – From the Lonely Afternoons