NEW RELEASES - COUTURE CHIC, THE PEDRITO MARTINEZ GROUP, THE REVELATIONS

COUTURE CHIC – VELVET BOSSA

Not entirely the bossa set you might guess from the title – but a mighty sweet session by a group with a very jazzy vibe – one who deliver some very unusual takes on tunes from the 70s and 80s! Couture Chic features a female lead singer, and a core keyboard of guitar, bass, and drums – but often augmented by jazzy keyboards, sax, or flute – some really nice touches that help keep things interesting as the group serve up some very fresh versions of songs by Depeche Mode, Everything But The Girl, Deep Purple, Village People, Survivor, and others. The approach might be a bit gimmicky, but these guys really seem to embrace the songs and make them their own – finding their own personal way to interpret tunes like "Eye Of The Tiger", "Smoke On The Water", "Personal Jesus", "Jump", "YMCA", "Hey Soul Sister", and "Missing". ~ Dusty Groove

PEDRITO MARTINEZ – THE PEDRITO MARTINEZ GROUP

Pedrito Martinez has a mighty cooking combo on this set – only a quartet, but a group that's more than strong enough to serve up some plenty powerful Latin jazz rhythms – which are then augmented by help from a host of famous guest stars! Pedrito's percussion is at the core of every track – supported with more percussion, piano, and electric bass – a tight unit that also has Martinez handling a fair bit of the vocals too! Yet each new track seems to introduce a new guest – including Wynton Marsalis on trumpet, John Scofield on guitar, and Steve Gadd on drums – who also co-produced the record with Martinez too. Titles include "Conciencia", "Lengua De Obbara", "Despues De Todo", "Musica", "Memorias", and "La Luna". ~ Dusty Groove

REVELATIONS – THE REVELATIONS

A sweet sound library set from the early 70s Italian scene – the only album ever issued by The Revelations – a one-off studio combo with a very funky approach to electric jazz! The album's dripping with plenty of soul – and in a way, feels more like a sweet European take on late 60s soul instrumental modes – complete with fuzzy guitar and lots of Hammond, played at a level that's somewhere past beat group grooving, but before some of the more stretched out jazz funk styles of the 70s! The whole thing's instrumental – and both the organ and guitar are awash in some really wonderful colors – full of feeling, in lots of different flavors – with a depth that goes way beyond the obscure origins of the set. Titles include "Blue 1971", "Lively", "Good Morning Mr Gleen", "Dedicated To J Hendrix", "Old Wa Wa", "Spanish Theme", and "Drops". ~ Dusty Groove