Your latest Cosmic Jazz majors on contemporary British jazz (and two pioneers from the past), some new jazz from New Zealand, an inventive Japanese take on A Love Supreme and a more soulful end to the show, including a signature tune from  the late Ramsey Lewis.

1.  Binker Golding – (Take me to the) Wide Open Lows from Dream Like A Dogwood Wild Boy

We began the show with Binker Golding – a musician we have followed since his beginnings in Enfield, north London some years ago. Do not be put off by the opening of this tune – Golding is not a country and western artist, nor a rock star – he is a tenor playing jazz musician, and you’ll soon find out after the intro. Golding has recorded five duo albums with drummer Moses Boyd  -all of which we have featured on CJ – but his latest album, Dream Like a Dogwood Wild Boy, is something of a departure even for a self-confessed ‘line crosser’. The band is familiar though, with the wonderful Sarah Tandy on piano who provides one of her inventive features on this track, Billy Adamson on guitar who definitely adds something different, the excellent double bass player Daniel Casimir and powerful drummer Sam Jones. There’s lots of jazz of course, but don’t be surprised at the hints of Americana, blues and – dare we say it – rock too. Golding will be performing on the opening night of this year’s upcoming London Jazz Festival later this month.

2.  KOKOROKO – Tojo from Could We Be More

Another much-praised 2022 release came from octet KOKOROKO. Could We Be More, their first full length LP following an influential appearance on Gilles Peterson’s We Out Here compilation from 2018 and an EP in 2019. The new record follows the same path as previously – a blend of contemporary jazz, R&B, juju and Afrobeat. The group is led by trumpeter Sheila Maurice-Grey and features, saxophonist Cassie Kinoshi, trombonlist Richie Seivright, percussionist Onome Edgeworth, keyboardist Yohan Kebede, guitarist Tobi Adenaike-Johnson, bassist Duane Atherley and drummer Ayo Saluwu. The lead in track is Tojo – a blend of ambient sounds, dubwise bass and Afrobeat horns with an excellent trumpet break from Maurice-Grey.

3. Don Rendell Sextet – The Odysseus Suite part 4: Veil of Ino from The Odysseus Suite

Don Rendell was one of the elder statesmen of jazz in the UK. Until his death in 2015, he had worked with the cream of British jazz artists, most notably with trumpeter Ian Carr in the Don Rendell/Ian Carr Quintet. Over many years, we have featured the music of this very special band and included music from seminal albums like Shades of Blue (1965) and Dusk Fire (1966). If you’re familiar with the classic 1970 Lansdowne Recordings Greek Variations & Other Aegean Exercises by Neil Ardley, Don Rendell and Ian Carr then you’ll recognise the four compositions on this EP from the closing segment of that collection. The versions included here however, are taken from a separate session recorded around the same time and reveal that Rendell had a grander vision for them than simply to round off a collaborative album. Not only are the tracks here nearly 20 min longer in total than the Lansdowne sessions, they also include two additions to the personnel in Peter Shade on vibes and flute, and Rendell’s colleague from the recently-disbanded Rendell/Carr Quintet, Michael Garrick on piano.

4. Elton Dean Quartet – Dede-Bup-Bup from On Italian Roads (Live in Milan, 1979)

This is a really special new release from the excellent British Progressive Jazz label – also responsible for the Don Rendell track above. The 2022 release of On Italian Roads (Live at Teatro Cristallo, Milan, 1979) marks the only official release of saxophonist Elton Dean with the all-star quartet of Keith Tippet on piano, Harry Miller on bass, and Louis Moholo-Moholo on drums. Right from the beginning of this exceptional live album, the quartet plays with a brilliant, edge-of-your-seat ferocity with five original Elton Dean compositions. We’ve chosen one of the shorter ones – Dede-Bup-Bup – but the band on fire nonetheless. Dean is on tenor, alto and the little-played saxello with its wailing tone. The album is well worth looking out for, if only to hear Tippett’s percussive performance on the opening track Oasis.  This one is well worth exploring.

5. Nat Birchall Unity Ensemble – Unity from Spiritual Progressions

Nat Birchall has recorded multi-tracked solo efforts in recent years, but this new release marks his return to group recording with a new band, the Unity Ensemble.  On Spiritual Progressions he’s joined by long time musical partner Adam Fairhall on piano, plus the bassist in Nat’s group for several years, Michael Bardon, with Paul Hession returning on drums (he was part of the group who recorded Live In Larissa a few years ago). The ensemble is completed by percussionist Lascelle Gordon and the result is a really fine album that’s well worth exploring. Birchall has commented that “This particular group of musicians has a very unified sound, each player has a very individual sound and concept but they all come together in this group and blend incredibly well. Making music with this band is pure joy.” Here at CJ we can only agree and the first track Unity endorses that view of a complete group cohesion that’s much more than the sum of their parts. Highly recommended.

6.  Takuru Okada – A Love Supreme from Betsu No Jikan

Now time for a bit more left field music: this is like no other take on Coltrane’s classic A Love Supreme. With jittery electronica and percussion effects throughout, the version opens with a chord that could take us to Coltrane’s vocal refrain but instead wanders around a series of recessed sax and keyboard figures before finally closing with a spectral version of the tune. This new 2022 album Betsu no Jikan features artists from both within Japan and abroad including Shun Ishiwaka, Carlos Nino, Sam Gendel, Jim O’Rourke and Marty Holoubek with an appearance from Haroumi Hosono formerly of the Yellow Magic Orchestra. Okada’s approach is subtle and with many influences over the course of the whole album. It’s worth checking this one out – you can find it here on Bandcamp.

7. Goldsmith Baynes – Teo Reo from E Rere Rā

Alanna Goldsmith from New Zealand (Aotearoa) and Mark Baynes from the UK have worked together for over ten years and this 2022 project is a celebration of that collaboration. Singer Alanna Goldsmith comes from the Tairawhiti region on the east coast of Aotearoa’s North Island where her former band Wakakura were a favourite at jazz festivals across the region. Pianist Mark Baynes is originally from Hampshire, England  but he’s studied with vibes legend Gary Burton at Berklee and and performed with a wide variety of musicians including saxophonist Eric Marienthal. Nine of the eleven songs on the album are in Māori with lyrics that lean to the poetic and with a deep grounding in Māori culture. Goldsmith notes, for example, that one song, Hei Kawe i a Au is taken from a whakataukī, or proverb, that translates as ‘Let me be carried by the easterly breeze’ and is suggesting that we shouldn’t be in a hurry, but to wait until the time and conditions are right.” The musicians involved in this project are Hikurangi Schaverien-Kaa on drums, Alex Griffith on electric bass, Tom Dennison on acoustic bass, Riki Bennett and Cameron Allen on saxophones, with Jono Tan on trombone, Mike Booth on trumpet and Kim Paterson on flugelhorn and trumpet. You can find this intriguing album here on Bandcamp.

8. Oskar Lavën – Cold Old Mould from Questions in Red

The second of our journeys to New Zealand couldn’t be more different. Oscar Lavën is a product of the Wellington jazz scene and has appeared with – among others- John Beasley’s MONK’estra and the Wellington Mingus Ensemble He’s performed worldwide and is a real multi-instrumentalist, being equally adept on trumpet, clarinet and bassoon. On his new album Questions in Red, the focus is on the tenor sax  where he’s accompanied by award winning drummer John Rae, bassist Patrick Bleakley, trumpeter Mike Taylor and pianist Ayrton Foote. The variety of different styles that appear on the album may suggest that Lavēn has still to find his voice, but the the range is typical of his musical searching. Two tunes make reference to, firstly, Ben Webster (Rasp) and then Ornette Coleman (Jesus Saunters Across the Hudson Wielding a Plastic Saxophone)  and there are more styles explored as the album progresses. A digital only release at the moment, this album is worth checking out.

9. Mavis Staples – Why Am I Treated So Bad from Live: Hope at the Hide Out

Released on US Election Day in 2008, this album of freedom songs is a late-period triumph for singer and social activist Mavis Staples. Staples introduces her set with a preacher-like invocation: “We’ve come here tonight to bring you some joy, some happiness, inspiration, and some positive vibrations! We want to leave you with enough to last you for maybe the next six months” and that’s just what the crowd at Chicago nightclub the Hideout get. At the age of 69 when this album was recorded, Staples was still in fine voice: the range isn’t there but she uses what she’s got to excellent effect on a growling version of Ramsey Lewis’s Wade in the Water. There are spirited renditions of I’ll Take You There and Freedom Highway in which the three-piece band of Rick Holmstrom on guitar, Jeff Turnes on  bass and Stephen Hodges on drums are used to great effect. Our choice is Staples’ take on her father Roebuck ‘Pop’ Staples’ classic Why Am I Treated So Bad – also made famous by Cannonball Adderley on his album of the same name from 1967 – and featuring Joe Zawinul on Fender Rhodes.

10. Ramsey Lewis – The “In” Crowd (Live) from The In Crowd Anthology

Jazz pianist Ramsey Lewis died on 12 September this year. He had a very successful career (too successful it would seem for some  jazz purists), but it is difficult to disregard someone who has recorded  with Max Roach, taught jazz at a Chicago university, hosted a long-running and syndicated jazz show (Legends of Jazz) and received the Jazz Masters Award at the US National Endowment for the Arts. It is true that the quality of his prolific output was variable and his covers of pop tunes may not please every Cosmic Jazz  fan but his crossover successes did, however, have their moments none more so than The “In” Crowd (Live). It became a favourite for jazz dance floors and long before that was a Top Ten hit in the US. (probably not a recommendation in some jazz circles).  Do not be deterred – it’s  upbeat, catchy and atmospheric with the live crowd providing an essential, dynamic input. Recorded in 1965 at the Bohemian Caverns Nightclub in Washington D.C. with drummer Isaac ‘Redd’ Holt and bass player Eldee Young. This is one to enjoy and dance to.

More Cosmic Jazz coming soon.

A new Cosmic Jazz with jazz new and old. Neil’s selected all the tunes this time round and the mix includes new music from the Brian Molloy Quartet, Nat Birchall and Mark de Clive Lowe, a special new Jean-Luc Ponty reissue and a recently unearthed treasure from the New Jazz Orchestra. Let’s go…

1. 108 Gongs – 108 Gongs (extract) from 108 Gongs/East Asia Travelogue

First off is some atmosphere – with Neil back from Singapore, it seemed appropriate to kick off with something from Asia and the 108 Gongs group go deep into their Indonesian heritage with this Balinese gamelan extract. Why 108? It’s a holy number in Zen Buddhism and a number of other world religions too – 108 is the number of Tibetan holy books, the number of steps at many Buddhist temples and the number of times a bell is rung in Japanese temples to signal the end of the year – and so on. Despite popular mythology, 108 is not a Fibonacci number – but that’s a whole other story. But what about the band themselves? Unfortunately, the sleeve notes on this excellent compilation reveal nothing…

2. Brian Molley Quartet feat. Krisha Kishor – The Crocodile and The Plover from Intercontinental

And on we go – to Scottish saxophonist Brian Molley and his Quartet. This time for their fourth album they have tabla player and percussionist Krishna Kishor in tow – and the results are transformational. The quartet first worked with Chennai-based Kishor while touring India in 2017, performing a headline show together for Madras Jazz Festival and Intercontinental was recorded remotely between Glasgow and Chennai in 2021. Kishor will travel to Scotland for the first time in summer 2022 to perform as part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Molley has a great singing tone on tenor and the quarter provide admirable support – Tom Gibbs (piano), Brodie Jarvis (bass) and Stuart Brown (drums) have been with Molley for three albums now and it shows. But the wild card is the addition of Kishor who adds rather more than just another musical layer. Instead, he drives the quartet into  different territory as can be heard on Vasudeva’s Invitation which started life as a folk tune from Tamil Nadu. We’ll ease you in with the first track on this recently released album, but expect more in subsequent shows. The album is available (of course) on Bandcamp – check it out right here.

3. Nat Birchall – Acknowledgement from Afro Trane

We’re big fans of another UK saxophonist, Nat Birchall. Once part of Matthew Halsall’s group, Birchall has led his own groups and – like John Surman – has multi-tracked his sax along with percussion, bass, synths and more on several recent releases. This is the third in that format and – bravely – he kicks off this album with his very lyrical take on John Coltrane’s iconic Acknowledgement from A Love Supreme. It’s not exploratory but it is rather beautiful and allows Birchall to overdub both tenor and soprano parts. It all works – and, as if this wasn’t enough, there’s another brand new album just announced. Without the restrictions of Covid, this one is a group performance – look out for Nat Birchall and his Unity Ensemble’s  Spiritual Progressions release in August.

4. The New Jazz Orchestra – Shades of Blue from Western Reunion, London 1965

In the mid-60s London scene, the NJO was one of those big-band groups that (at some time or other) included almost everyone of note on the English scene at the time. Behind it all was composer Neil Ardley, but included in this lineup are Ian Carr, Barbara Thompson, Jon Hiseman, Trevor Watts and more. With an average age of just 23 this was their first album, recorded in March 1965 before an invited audience in London. At different times the band included Harry Beckett, Jack Bruce, Michael Gibbs, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Henry Lowther, Don Rendell and Frank Ricotti – British jazz heavyweights all. This release comes courtesy of Mad About Records and the vinyl version is available on Bandcamp right now.

5. Count Buffalo and the Jazz Rock Band – Mago-Uta from WaJazz: Japanese Jazz Spectacle Vol 1

It’s sometimes difficult to keep track of all the excellent Japanese jazz reissues currently available. Aside from the excellent BBE label Tony Higgins/Mike Peden J Jazz compilations we’ve selected from on previous shows and the individual Jazz Masterclass album releases that have followed these, many others have appeared too – and this is one to definitely look out for. Count Buffalo was led by drummer Akira Ishikawa and featured some notable Japanese jazzers in the lineup, particularly Takeru Muraoka on saxophones. Mago-Uta is also known as Komoro Maga-Uta and is based on a traditional Japanese melody. There’s another very different version of Mago-Uta on an excellent Japanese reissue from Hosan Yamamoto – check it out on Youtube here. WaJazz is a superb compilation from Yusuke Ogawa on his own Universounds label and worthy of comparison with the three BBE 2CD compilations. Do note that the full versions of all tracks are only available on vinyl – there is no complete DL version. Needless to say, you can find it on Bandcamp…

6. Don Pullen – Warriors from New Beginnings

Don Pullen is one of Neil’s favourite pianists, and is both an ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ player – often at the same time. He can play very lyrically and then switch to those multi-tonic Coltrane chords and that unique ‘unzipping’ piano style with its superficial resemblance to Cecil Taylor’s playing. This is a more restrained version of a tune Pullen first recorded at full tilt in a side long piece with Chico Freeman on saxes, Fred Hopkins on bass and Bobby Battle on drums on one of those excellent Black Saint records – check that one out here. This take comes from his return to Blue Note in 1989 on the New Beginnings record with the superb Gary Peacock on bass and Tony Williams on drums. Pullen may appear indulgent in his approach to the piano and so if you’re a newcomer, the place to start is this record – then work your way back to the lovely duo records with George Adams and Pullen’s remarkable solo performances on piano. Neil was lucky enough to see him perform in a trio with Hilliard Green on bass and Cindy Blackman (now Santana) on drums in 1992 before his early death in 1995 from lymphoma.

7. Noori and his Dorpa Band – Al Awal from Beja Power!: electric soul and brass from Sudan’s Red Sea coast

Neil is indebted to Joss Yerbury at Ballantine Communications for this one – a first western release for music from Port Sudan on Africa’s Red Sea coast and the centre of Beja culture. The music is performed by Noori and his Dorpa Band with the unique tambo-guitar at its heart. Combining a traditional four stringed instrument with the neck of an electric guitar added, Noori’s music has a surprisingly jazzy centre – listen out for the improvisation on this track, Al Awal. The EP is available now on Bandcamp and will be on general release later this month.

8. Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express – Happiness is Just Around the Bend from Closer To It!

Now here’s an under-rated Hammond B3 organist. Brian Auger is now 82 but still involved in music – and listening to Cosmic Jazz! Oblivion Express were formed in 1970, releasing several albums of which Closer To It! is one of the best. Over the years Auger has performed with a huge number of jazz artists – including Ronnie Scott, Tubby Hayes, Frank Foster, John McLaughlin, Tony Williams and Carlos Santana. Closer To It! even contains a really good version of Marvin Gaye’s iconic Inner City Blues – more B3 magic! Auger toured in 2014 with his son Karma and daughter Savannah – here they are live at the Baked Potato Club, Hollywood in 2004 with a neat version of Compared to What.

9. Jean-Luc Ponty – In the Fast Lane from 12in single/Storytelling

Now this one brings back memories! Neil first heard In the Fast Lane on a Jez Nelson Jazz FM show sometime in 1989, recorded it from the radio and listened to it often as part of a Somethin’ Else cassette compilation. He was really pleased to see it re-released in late 2021 on vinyl with an Opolopo cover of the tune on the B side. Originally appearing on Ponty’s Storytelling album, In the Fast Lane is a triumph of the then leading edge midi technology with the Synclavier and violin meshing together over a hypnotic offbeat groove. The track was a huge success on UK jazz dancefloors and a perennial hit at the famous Dingwalls nights in Camden, London. Listening to this track you can just see Perry Louis and his JazzCotech dancers strutting their stuff! Unfortunately, the 12in is now sold out and so there’s only the DL version available from, of course, Bandcamp. Do check it out – and the two Opolopo recreations too.

10. Mark de Clive Lowe – Love is Everywhere from Freedom

Mark de Clive Lowe has a new project – and this is one of two tracks available before the complete 2LP/2CD album is released next month. Recorded live at the now defunct Blue Whale in LA, Freedom is a tribute to Pharoah Sanders with Teodross Avery on saxophones, Dwight Trible on vocals, Corbin Jones on bass, Tommaso Cappelatto on drums and Carlos Niño on percussion.  De Clive Lowe is there on keys and subtle electronics, triggering them from behind his array of onstage devices. You could predict the set list – it’s all the Sanders classics including Upper Egypt, Thembi, Astral Traveling and more. We’ll leave you with the words of de Clive Lowe on one of his heroes: We gathered at Los Angeles’ Blue Whale jazz club to perform some of our favorite Pharoah compositions from a place of love, respect and gratitude for all the inspiration he’s brought to each of us. No one can play this music how Pharoah plays it – his expression is unique and imprinted on every one of his compositions in the deepest of ways. We can’t possibly improve on his mastery and share this music simply as a heartfelt thank you to Pharoah – we celebrate you, and are so grateful for all the timeless – and timely – music you have gifted to the world.

More Cosmic Jazz coming soon.

More excellent music available on Cosmic Jazz this week at a touch of that MixCloud tab. In recent shows we have played almost exclusively new music, or newly re-released music, but it was one of the re-releases that suggested maybe we need to go back into the past more often…

The show began with the summery sounds of the ever-youthful Marcos Valle and a stand out track from his Far Out Records come back album Nova Bossa Nova. Now re-released on vinyl 20 years after its original emergence, it still sounds as cool and fresh as it did in 1998. Valle is a Brazilian keyboard player, vocalist and composer who mixes bossa nova (with an emphasis on the nova) with jazzy keyboard sounds. is an essential album for your collection – Valle’s new tunes (like this one, Bar Ingles) sounding as good as the retreads of some of his favourites from the 1970s. The ‘half drop’ on this track when the music fades at the six minute point and then leaps back into life is truly life-affirming. Bar Ingles is one of those tunes that never fails to spread the feel good factor. The perfect opener to any show. And for those of you who haven’t seen Valle in concert, make sure you catch him if you can. His 2017 show at London’s Jazz Cafe was a real highlight of over 30 years of live gigs.

Still keeping that Brazilian vibe, UK keys player Jessica Lauren was up next. Simba Jike is a track from her most recent album – and very good it is too. It’s contemporary jazz with a a range of Brazilian influences. Almeria features a range of instrumentalists on percussion, woodwinds, marimba, flugelhorn, bass and drums with Tamar Osborn a standout on baritone sax. Next up, drummer and band leader Nick Woodmansey, aka Emanative, digs in deep on his track from the excellent double vinyl album Earth, released last year. Reflection features one of our homegrown heroes Nat Birchall, along with vocalist and frequent Emanative collaborator Liz Elensky. Also appearing on this excellent track is  Lauren was followed by a musician she has collaborated with – Emanative and another selection from his album Earth.

Here at Cosmic Jazz we love the lightness of touch demonstrated by UK group Me and My Friends on their track You Read My Mind. There’s a Ghanaian highlife influence here with Emma Coleman’s cello at the heart of this infectious track – it’s short, sweet and one you will keep on humming to yourself. It’s a tune we premiered here on CJ and it’s now been picked by none other than Gilles Peterson on his UK BBC6 show…

It’s Cannonball Adderley style but our next track this week was from Kenny Clark and Francy Boland’s brilliant 1963 classic Jazz is Universal. As Derek noted in the show, this was a jazz dance favourite back in the day and the kind of track that would get the Jazzcotech crew on the floor.  The band was created in 1961 by the US drummer Kenny Clarke and the Belgian pianist/composer Francy Boland. Many notable musicians passed through the ranks, including on this album the great Sahib Shihab, Zoot Sims and Jimmy Deuchar. Playing the track was a reminder of the jazz heritage that’s so important to us – there will always be more than contemporary jazz releases on CJ. Our show has no set format, we are bound to no-one and these freedoms will always be an encouragement to play great music from the past.

Some of those seminal artists from the jazz canon are still very much with us. Once such is saxophonist Wayne Shorter, one of the great jazz composers. Several of his tunes have entered the realm of jazz classics – we think of Footprints, Infant Eyes, Tom Thumb and Adam’s Apple from his Blue Note years; Nefertiti and ESP for Miles Davis and Palladium and Plaza Real for Weather Report. Here he is from last year’s stunning 3CD + comic strip cartoon book release, Emanon, with a superb reworking of Adventures Aboard the Golden Mean (originally found on 2005’s Beyond the Sound Barrier album). Listen to how that spare, lyrical soprano tone matches perfectly with Danilo Perez’s latin piano. And it’s worth here trying to put into words what it is that Shorter is doing. The first thing is that, unlike some players, he has two completely different sounds on tenor and soprano saxes – but both are (perhaps uniquely) easily identifiable as Wayne Shorter’s sound. Tenor is gruff and thick while soprano is clear and liquid. If there’s a strong melody, he like’s to improvise around that – little ostinatos, lots of big intervals and spiralling chunks of sound. Shorter is one of the giants of jazz and will always be worth exploring.

There are violin players in jazz but they are not too common. A new name to many will be the Polish violinist Tomasz Chyla who leads a quintet. He is yet another of the young musicians on the burgeoning Polish scene and Circlesongs is his second album. The music is inspired by a variety of musical traditions – including choral music, with which Chyla is strongly associated. The track Stanko can only be a tribute to the great Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stanko who died last year.

This was followed by another young Polish artist Irek Wojitczack is a saxophone player, composer, arranger and a tutor at the Academy of Music in Gdansk. It is not right that European musicians should be judged by their association with more universally famous US musicians but it is irresistible to note that he has played with Dave Douglas and toured with David Murray. The sound of this young quintet has more than a touch of ECM artist Tord Gustavsen – see what you think.

This week’s show ended with more Polish jazz – this time from one of our favourites, Piotr Wojtasik, a CJ regular who was introduced to us by the ever-reliable Steve’s Jazz Sounds. The trumpeter’s latest album To Whom It May Concern is another quality release. There will undoubtedly be more from this album in week’s to come.

Finally, regular CJ readers will note that there’s an unusual degree of linkage in our listening choices this week. That’s because we were thrilled to get a copy of Sarah Tandy’s new album, Infection in the Sentence (out on 08 March) along with some thoughts on artists and tracks that have been important to her. We’ll be doing a feature on Sarah next week on the show – but, for now, enjoy below a taster of the new release and (in Neil’s choices) three of her favourite tracks.

1. Marcos Valle – Bar Ingles from Nova Bossa Nova
2. Jessica Lauren – Simba Jike from Almeria
3. Emanative – Reflection from Earth
4. Me and My Friends – You Read My Mind from Look Up
5. Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band – Charon’s Ferry from Jazz is Universal
6. Wayne Shorter – Adventures Around the Golden Mean from Emanon
7. Tomasz Chyla Quintet – Stanko from Circlesongs
8. Irek Wojitczack – Weselny from Play It Again
9. Piotr Wojtasik – Backatcha from To Whom it May Concern

Derek is listening to….

• Sarah Tandy – Under the Skin
• Freddie Hubbard – Red Clay
• Lee Morgan – The Sidewinder
• Jah 9 – Unafraid
• Akua Naru – How Does it Feel Now (Live Performance)

Neil is listening to…

• McCoy Tyner – Message from the Nile
• Robert Glasper Trio – No Worries
• Directions in Music – Impressions (live)
• Mark deClive Lowe – Memories of Nanzenji
• Theon Cross – Candace of Meroe

This week sees an emphasis on contemporary UK based artists with additional contributions from the US and Poland.  All exciting stuff available at the touch of the MixCloud tab (left).

Me and My Friends are a group who cross many boundaries – and that’s clearly evident on their new album High as the Sun to be released on 06 December via Split Shift Records. Their tune You Read My Mind provided a jaunty, lively opening to the show with its catchy riff on jazzy Ghanaian highlife. On this new album, the band reference other styles as well – Jamaican roots, soul, Afro-beat and the Ethiopique jazz of Mulatu Astatke. It was an uplifting and joyous way to start the show.

The sense of uplift continued with another tune from an artist based in Scotland. Evelyn Laurie has paid her dues over many years as an artist performing professionally around Scotland. Now she has put together her own self-produced album. She too has a love of many genres of music as seen in the interesting collection of songs from other artists to whom she’s given her own unique interpretations on the album  A Little Bit Of Me. The tune selected this week, though – I Love Your Smile – is one of her own compositions.

As usual, there were some music selections from Neil in Singapore, including this week the new release from UK alto sax player Camilla George titled The People Could Fly.  It’s a project based thematically around the Nigerian folk tales that George’s mother would read to her as a child. Of these, her favourite was one called The People Could Fly. In a recent interview, Camilla George commented: The cover illustration showed men and women flying over the cotton fields. The idea behind it was that some Africans were magical and had the ability to fly, but through long enslavement lost that ability to fly away. This image is bitter-sweet for me as it is a fantasy tale of suffering and is a powerful testament to the millions of slaves who never had the opportunity to fly away.” The new album is certainly a development from her first release Isang and extends her former quartet to include additional players. Many in the band are making quite a name for themselves in their own right,  Drummer Winston Clifford is pretty much a veteran of the scene but names such as Daniel Casimir on bass, Femi Koleoso on drums, Shirley Tetteh on guitar, Cherise Adams-Burnett on vocals and Sarah Tandy on piano/Rhodes should be familiar to regular listeners of Cosmic Jazz.

Up next on the show was a spiritual interlude featuring Nat Birchall’s Eastern (or perhaps Western depending on where you live) influenced A Prayer from the  excellent Cosmic Language album and Sarathy Korwar’s take on Abdullah Ibrahim’s classic Hajj from his superb new release Your East is My West. If you don’t known Ibrahim’s iconic original, check it out here. The late Hamiet Bluiett is on oboe and baritone saxophone, with the under-rated Carlos Ward on alto and the distinctive sounds of Don Cherry on his pocket trumpet.

We followed this with some interesting music from Poland.  Drummer Jacek Kochan is a veteran of the scene. Born in Poland, in the early 1980s he went to the US and then Canada before returning to Poland in 1995. There is an impressive list of US musicians with whom he has played and the tune Drop from the album Ajee is a free, unpredictable, exciting piece. Lukask Kokoszko leads a quartet of musicians from Krakow and Katowice in Poland that won the Grand Prix in an International Jazz Improvisation Competition.

Finally, another tune from current Cosmic Jazz favourites Maisha and their first full album There is a Place. Maisha are led by drummer Jake Long and on this recording the band also features – yes – Shirley Tetteh on guitar and Nubya Garcia on sax. This UK Jazz scene is certainly bringing out some versatile, world class jazz musicians.

1. Me & My Friends – You Read My Mind from High as the Sun
2. Evelyn Laurie – I Love Your Smile from A Little Bit Of Me
3. Camilla George – The People Could Fly from The People Could Fly
4. Camilla George – Carrying on the Runnings from The People Could Fly
5. Nat Birchall – The Prayer For from Cosmic Language
6. Sarathy Korwar – Hajj from Your East is my West
7. Jacek Kochan – Drop from Ajee
8. Lukask Kokoszko Quartet – Soulmate from New Challenge
9. Maisha – Kaa from There is a Place

Neil is listening to…

• Yussef Dayes and Alfa Mist (feat. Mansur Brown) – Love is the Message
• Ill Considered – Upstart
• Joe McPhee – Nation Time
• Sinn Sisamouth – Sronlanh Sreytouch
• Kylie Minogue – Can’t Get You Out of My Head

Derek is listening to: 

1. Gnonnas Pedro – Kandevie
2. Africando feat Gnonnas Pedro – Azo N’Kplon
3. Earth, Wind & Fire – Boogie Wonderland
4. Yasmine Kyd – Mandalay
5. James Francies – Sway

Cosmic Jazz explores the world of improvised music – as always, click on the Mixcloud arrow (left) to hear some great music and then check out our links to hear more and download or buy vinyl and CD. As we often do, we’re championing music from independent sources rather than the more usual global suppliers.

We began with the Jelle van Giel Group from Antwerp, Belgium and a track from their debut 2015 album Songs for Everyone. Van Giel on drums leads a septet with trumpeter Carlo Nardozza sometimes reminding us of Matthew Halsall – those same long legato lines over a modal rhythm base. The atmospheric guitar on this track is from Tim Finoulst. Check out this album and their second release The Journey at the ever-reliable Steve’s Jazz Sounds. Strongly recommended – have a listen to music from both albums here on Soundcloud. Guitar and trumpet also features in the second track this week – this time from Poland and Emil Miszk, one of the many young up and coming musicians making waves in European jazz at the moment. The guitarist in Miszk’s Sonic Syndicate octet is Michał Zienkowski.

The music from UK based harpist Alina Bzhezhinska may sound familiar – it’s her take on Alice Coltrane’s Blue Nile, coincidentally also played in an excellent version by the aforementioned Matthew Halsall. Again, you can find that version here on Soundcloud. Supporting Bzhezhinska on this debut album released earlier this year is the excellent Toni Kofi on soprano sax.

So then on to two stars of the current UK jazz renaissance, Binker and Moses. Whilst their name might suggest everything from a betting agency to a team of dodgy solicitors, Binker Golding and Moses Boyd are two of the most influential musicians on the scene. After winning the MOBO Best Jazz Act in 2015, the pair have now appeared on countless releases and are festival headline acts. And it’s no wonder when they can conjure up a sound like this – The Birth of Light is Moses Boyd’s opening drum solo from their most recent album Alive in the East?, recorded live in June 2017 at Total Refreshment Centre in East London with sax legend Evan Parker (among others) in support. It’s worth listening to the whole album as one piece – check it out and download here from Bandcamp.

Staying in the UK, up next is the excellent Jessica Lauren and a track from her 2018 release Almeria. Lauren is joined by more stalwarts from the UK scene – the baritone saxophone of Tamar ‘Collocutor’ Osborn and percussion from Richard Ọlátúndé Baker, Phillip Harper and drummer Cosimo Keita Cadore. And, of course, you know where this excellent new album can be found – right here on Bandcamp. Staying firmly grounded in East London but with a worldwide sensibility is Nick Woodmansey, a UK drummer recording as Emanative (photo above. His long-awaited album is another recent release – and it doesn’t disappoint. There are African, Indian and Middle Eastern influences and a galaxy of contributors – including Idris Ackamoor of US spiritual jazz legends The Pyramids, ex-Fela keyboard player (but Hackney-born) Dele Sosimi, key protagonist from Manchester’s jazz scene Nat Birchall, India-raised Ninja Tune artist Sarathy Korwar,  The Heliocentrics’ Malcolm Catto and Flying Lotus collaborator Ahu. Woodmansey notes on the Bandcamp site (of course!) that I remember reading something Sun Ra said that has stuck with me. For most cultures and tribes music is not about the technical quality but it’s about expression, communication and the joy of playing. For me it’s about the vibe rather than technical perfection – if it sounds good, it is good. And, as jazz artists through the decades have demonstrated, this spirit is at the heart of the music. Use the Bandcamp link to listen to and buy this excellent example of all that’s best in new British jazz.

You can clearly hear that spirit in our final track this week from Singapore’s finest, The Steve McQueens, on a tune from their most recent Terrarium album. More atmospheric guitar here – this time from the superb Andrew Lim. Vocalist Ginny Yip is adept with the jazz standards as her own compositions as evidenced in a recent live performance.  In fact, she’s said that her favourite singer is Betty Carter – and you can hear it in her voice. Carter is perhaps not as well known as she should be – for a taste, check out Neil’s listening choices this week. The Steve McQueens will be premiering their new album here in Singapore next month – watch this space.

1. Jelle van Giel Group – A New Beginning from Songs For Everyone
2. Emil Miszk and the Sonic Syndicate – Hate No More from Sonic Syndicate
3. Alina Bzhezhinska – Blue Nile from Inspiration
4. Binker and Moses – The Birth of Light from Alive in the East
5. Jessica Lauren – Kofi Nomad from Almeria
6. Emanative feat. Nat Birchall and Liz Elensky – Reflection from Earth
7. The Steve McQueens – Like Coltrane from Terrarium

Neil is listening to:

• Betty Carter – My Favorite Things (live)
• David Murray feat. Saul Williams – Blues for Memo
• Bugge Wesseltoft and Prins Thomas – Norte do Brasil
• Willie Nelson – Summer Wind
• William de Vaughn – Be Thankful for What You Got