NEW RELEASES - JOE HAIDER TRIO, WIDE HIVE PLAYERS, SNARKY PUPPY

JOE HAIDER TRIO - A MOMENT IN MONTREUX

A great little record from a pianist we haven't heard in years – but who still really warms our ears with his music! Joe Haider is a name we know from key sessions for the Ego Records label at the end of the 70s – and he's working here with frequent partner from those albums, bassist Isla Eckinger – a really amazing player with a sense of sound and space that really leaves us breathless! Together, the pair find a perfect space amidst the gentle drums of Jimmy Wormworth – a setting that rings out with the deep tones and careful phrasing that Haider brought to those earlier records – at a level that's perhaps a bit more traditional than before, given the album's heavy reliance on standards – but which still shows a really individual sense of phrasing, and that goes even double for Eckinger. Titles include "Some Other Blues", "You Don't Know What Love Is", "All Of You", "Dear Old Stockholm", "A Moment In Montreux", and "You & The Night & The Music". ~ Dusty Groove.

WIDE HIVE PLAYERS - TURNSTYLE

Maybe the best music so far from the Wide Hive Players – a group who draw keen inspiration from a 70s jazz generation, but make things fresh with their own sense of timing and rhythm – a kind of fluid yet laidback approach to soul jazz and funk! The legendary Calvin Keys is on guitar, to help give the younger players a sense of depth and history – but honestly, they're all pretty great on their own – with lead work from bassist/keyboardist Matt Montgomery and Hammond player Gregory Howe – who both wrote the tunes for the set – plus Doug Rowan on saxes, Mike Rinta on trombone, and both Thomas McCree and Josh Jones on drums. The horn parts are tight, but never too tight – just stepping and rolling over the core rhythms, which are played live in a way that's loose, but nicely funky too. Titles include "Left Coast Sangria", "All The Right Wrong Notes", "Turnstyle", "Winding Up", "Stained Glass Tribal Mask", "Where The Sidewalk Begins", and "Winding Dub". ~ Dusty Groove.

SNARKY PUPPY - FAMILY DINNER

Wonderfully organic grooves from Snarky Puppy – a soul combo who work here live, with a really spontaneous feel – and a sound that goes way beyond most other groups in the Neo Soul underground! The liveness of the presentation really comes through – a warmly collaborative spirit that has the musical assemblage joined by a range of guest singers who include N'Dambi, Lalah Hathaway, Shayna Steele, Chantae Cann, and others – all lending their wonderful voices to this really beautiful project! And in true celebration of the group's non-programmed approach, the set also comes with a DVD too – beautifully displaying the personal approach that comes through right in the very first notes of the music. Title sinclude "Deep", "Amour T'Es La", "Free Your Dreams", "Gone Under", "Too Hot To Last", "Turned Away", and "I'm Not The One". ~ Dusty Groove