It’s pretty much new music all the way for this edition of Cosmic Jazz. Check out tunes from Lettuce, Kimana Beats, Yussef Dayes and more together with an Coltranesque performance from saxophonist Dave Liebman and the late Ritchie Beirach. Get stuck in!
- Lettuce – Rising to the Top from Cook
It’s not easy to equal the original version of Rising to the Top from Keni Burke, but we think one of our favourite funk outfits Lettuce have cracked it. Founded in Boston, US, Lettuce are lead by drummer Adam Deitch and we love this take on the soul classic from the latest album Cook. Released in December 2025, the eleven tracks include funk, soul, jazz, hip-hop and more. As we noted in January when we featured the title track, Lettuce have been described as groovy, soulful and fresh – and we’d agree.
2. Kimama Beats – Kyoto from Kimama Beats
Neil came across the Japanese husband and wife team – neo-soul guitarist Toshiki Soejima and trumpeter/multi-instrumentalist Nahokimama – in an online search for some new music. Their 10 track album was released in December 2025 on the new Sterofox label and includes this chilled example of their craft. Check our their Instagram pages and watch some video extracts. Kimama (気まま) means carefree or whimsical and this is certainly music with that chillax vibe. There’s an international flavour here to with German producer FloFilz, French pianist Bastien Brison, South Korean keyboard phenomenon Chill The World, and French bass player Monsieur Teddy all on board. You can order DL or the limited edition splatter vinyl right here on Bandcamp. Highly recommended.
3. Yussef Dayes Experience – Amami from Live from Mount Fuji
Drummer Yussef Dayes has been making waves since he appeared on the South London jazz scene in 2016 with fellow Londoner Kamaal Williams on the self-titled Yussef Kamaal album. Better still was the collaboration on Blue Note with songwriter Tom Misch, What Kinda Music. Then on Brownswood in late 2020 came the Live at Joshua Tree EP with the ambitious 19 track release Black Classical Music following in 2021. Since then, Dayes has released another live EP (recorded in the mountains above Malibu) which will be joined by this new recording due in March 2026. It features the extraordinary Japanese vocalist and sanshin virtuoso Minami Kizuki and Dayes noted that Kizuki came with her vibes, and we just tapped in. And it was literally that feeling of when you’re on edge and you’ve just got to be listening, you’ve got to be in the zone, regardless of the circumstances. The drummer is joined by his longtime collaborators Rocco Palladino, Venna, Elijah Fox, and Alexander Bourt. We’d recommend both this album and the Youtube video feature Yussef Dayes in Japan.
4. The Circling Sun – Flora and Fauna from Orbits (new DL edition)
New Zealand/Aotearoa’s finest The Circling Sun have released two albums that have been on Cosmic Jazz turntables in recent years. Second LP Orbits channels the cosmic energy of 1970s spiritual jazz, filtered through synths, layered percussion, and an eight piece choir of Maori and Pacific Island singers. The personnel on this album includes Cameron Allen on tenor and alto saxes, John Bell on cornet and tenor horn, Guy Harrison on synths and Julien Dyne on drums and percussion and this track comes from the new download that features an additional three tracks. You can find it here on Bandcamp.
5. Scrimshire – Unforgotten, Unforgiven (feat. Nat Birchall) from Paroxysm
Producer, multi-instrumentalist and DJ Adam Scrimshire’s latest album is available on download and vinyl with the record being available from just £1 – but we’d recommend that you pay more as 90% of that money will go to three charities – The Refugee Council, MAP (Medical Aid for Palestinians) and Earth Percent. The album includes various guests – all friends of Cosmic Jazz – including Nat Birchall, Idris Rahman, Tamar Osborn and Faye Houston. New music blog Backseat Mafia said It’s at this point that you realise the significance of Scrimshire’s ‘Paroxysm’… here we have an update, an extension of Sarathy Korwar’s ‘More Arriving’ or Kae Tempest’s ‘Let Them Eat Chaos’. We’re inclined to agree.
6. Quest – Redemption from Quest Live 1988 and 1991
Saxophonist Dave Liebman and the late pianist Ritchie Beirach formed Quest in 1981 with bassist George Mraz and drummer Al Foster. Later versions of the group had the equally talented Ron McClure on bass and Billy Hart on drums. You won’t find it easy to track down this extended take of the Billy Hart composition, Redemption where Dave Liebman very clearly channels his inner Coltrane – even Discogs doesn’t show it! Beirach is not as well known as he should be: for more information check out this excellent feature from UK Jazz News and then explore his very comprehensive discography.
7. Jazzanova – No Use (feat. Clara Hill) from In Between Revisited: Jazzanova Live
We end this show with an excellent tune from the live in the studio album from German collective Jazzanova. As far as Neil is concerned, Jazzanova don’t put a foot wrong – whether their studio albums or their remixes. This new record celebrate 20 years of Jazzanova’s groundbreaking debut album In Between with a new live reinterpretation. On its release in 2002, In Between set something of a benchmark for what would come to be known as nu jazz – a blend of jazz, soul, broken beat, and electronic music. The sample-based original now becomes an all-analog live set, recorded in the Little Big Beat Studios in Liechtenstein in front of an audience. Longtime Jazzanova collaborator and erstwhile Sonar Kollektiv recording artist, Clara Hill here returns to the classic No Use, delivering another lush performance. The record is available as a download from Bandcamp but the superb double vinyl version is now sold out on this site, although you may still be able to track it down elsewhere. Alternatively, watch the whole 80 minute recording here on Youtube – it’s just wonderful! This was one of Neil’s favourite releases from 2025 – very highly recommended.
More from Cosmic Jazz soon.