Tuesday, April 22, 2014

NEW RELEASES: KYOTO JAZZ MASSIVE - ABSTRACT JAZZ JOURNEY; TRI 4TH - FIVE COLOR ELEMENTS; ROOT SOUL - DESTINY REPLAYED

KYOTO JAZZ MASSIVE - ABSTRACT JAZZ JOURNEY

Kyoto Jazz Massive take us on an abstract jazz journey – in a style that echoes the same energy of the other volumes in this series from King Street – but with the greater sense of depth that we'd expect from KJM! The music here is often in the best spirit of the group's own work – upbeat, joyous, and with this really positive vibe – a contemporary club approach that still has very open ears for all the best sounds of the classics, yet which is always willing to move things forward as well! Tracks were selected and mixed by Shuya Okino and Yoshiiro Okino – and titles include "Dreams (exclusive version)" by Lady Alma Project, "A Wonderful Place (KJM recreated)" by Blaze presents UDAUFL with Ultra Nte, "Beautiful Life (Jose Carretas Son Liva voc rmx)" by Stephanie Cooke & Diephuis, "Pick It Up (Sean McCabe club voc mix)" by Carolyn Harding, "Afrik Bounce (orig)" by Groove Assassin, "Lost Without You (orig)" by Bah Samba with Anna Cavasos, and "Look Ahead (KJM recreated)" by Shuya Okino with N'Dea Davenport. ~ Dusty Groove

TRI 4TH - FIVE COLOR ELEMENTS

A cool combo from the Japanese club jazz scene – but one who's even more acoustic and classic-sounding than most of their contemporaries! The vibe here is right up there with the best groups we love on the Ricky Tick label – an acoustic quintet that's heavy on trumpet and tenor, laid out over soaring rhythms from piano, bass, and drums – all pure jazz all the way through, with a definite 60s sort of vibe – and a very strong focus on upbeat numbers and groovers! The trumpeter, Yusuke Orita, is especially strong – and blow these brilliantly bold lines on flugelhorn as well – and drummer Takao Ito has this romping quality to his kit that really keeps the whole album moving along strongly. Pianist Daisuke Takeuchi adds in some nice lyrical touches – and titles include "Harvest", "Everybody Knows That", "Flash By Flashback", "Hope For World Peace", "Session A", and "Last Dancer".  © 1996-2014, Dusty Groove, Inc.


ROOT SOUL - DESTINY REPLAYED BY ROOT SOUL - SHUYA OKINO (KYOTO JAZZ MASSIVE)

A wonderful reworking of a wonderful record – as Root Soul take on all the tracks from Shuya Okino's Destiny record – and delivery them with an old school funky club sound! The instrumentation is great – live and very spontaneous, with an energy that takes us back to vintage Salsoul or some of the best Philly club work of the 70s – or a bit like Brand New Heavies at times, especially on the tracks that feature N'Dea Davenport on vocals! That great singer appears on three of the album's excellent tracks – alongside other work from Navasha Daya, Diviniti, and Pete Simpson – who each get a few tracks too. Titles include "Destiny", "Still In Love", "Look Ahead", "Let Nothing Change You", "Deep Into Sunshine", "Give Your Love A Chance", "Just Do It", "Take A Look At Yourself", and "Sun Will Rise". ~ Dusty Groove


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