Friday, December 05, 2014

NEW RELEASES: JONAS KULLHAMMAR – GENTLEMEN ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK; ANTHONY NICHOLSON - FOUR; LORD RAJA - CONSTANT MOTH

JONAS KULLHAMMAR – GENTLEMEN ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE
SOUNDTRACK

A hell of a record from saxophonist Jonas Kullhammar – a batch of work that was originally done for the film Gentlemen, but a set that you'll be listening to long after the film has faded from the screens! The set may well be one of Jonas' most traditional jazz records – a set that really gets to show off his tremendous talents in a straight jazz setting – with a richness of tone, and overall sense of presentation that makes us feel like Kullhammar would have been a great addition to the Blue Note catalog in the 60s. Yet the music also has a very contemporary sense of vibrancy too – as Jonas works here with key modern partners Tobjorn Zetterberg on bass, Carl Bagge on piano, and Johan Holmegard on drums – plus tremendous work on half the record from musicians who include Swedish jazz giant Bernt Rosengren on tenor, as well as Goran Kajfes on cornet and Mattias Stahl on vibes. Kulhammar plays tenor, baritone, stritch, and saxello – and titles include "Le Boulevardier", "Montmartre", "Paris Art Ensemble", "The Bear Quartet", "So Long Henry", "Danish Blow", and "Gazell".  ~ Dusty Groove

ANTHONY NICHOLSON – FOUR

Maybe the best work we've ever heard from Anthony Nicholson – and that's saying a lot, given how much we've supported his music over the years! Anthony's a Chicago legend – an artist who's never gotten the fame he deserves on this side of the Atlantic, but a tireless force in the studio – and one of the few folks to really find new territory for the roots of Chicago house over the years! This album's got a wonderfully spiritual vibe – one that's delivered in a very simple, but effective way – as Nicholson banks his keyboards in just the right way to unlock their cosmic potential, but without ever trying sounding forced or too overdone. The album's got some guest work by Imani and Jaidene Veda, but most tracks are instrumental – and titles include "Genio", which is a great tribute to Jose Roberto Bertrami – plus "Return To Black Fusion", "Messages & Aliens", "Mother & Earth", "The Essence Say Hey", "Star", and "Chicago".  ~ Dusty Groove

LORD RAJA – CONSTANT MOTH


Cosmic sounds from Lord Raja – with tripped out electronic atmosphere, though compelling and beat driven, without ever traveling into predictability – one of the finer releases on Ghostly International in a while! Covers a lot of territory, from mellow, spacey soundscapes to frenzied footwork-inspired beats – with lots of space between. Includes "Yelleo E", "Van Go" feat Jeremiah Jae, "Pistol Refix", "Darwin", "Gottfried Semper", "Throw Them Out", "De Lia Lu Lu", "Red Sun", "Black Top", "Golden Gravity Birds" and more.  ~ Dusty Groove


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