NEW RELEASES: JAMIE CULLUM – INTERLUDE; RON BLAKE – COCKTAILS AT DUSK: A NOIR TRIBUTE TO CHRIS CONNOR; HENRY KAISER / RAY RUSSELL - THE CELESTIAL SQUID

JAMIE CULLUM – INTERLUDE

The hippest, coolest work we've ever heard from Jamie Cullum – a wonderful collaboration with Nostalgia 77, who bring a lot of deeper jazz tones back to Cullum's music! The members of the group shift from track to track, but really give the whole thing a soulful vibe that's been missing from some of Jamie's work in the past – a move back to his roots in jazz, with a sensibility that almost even steps farther back – and links him to hip 60s British talents like Georgie Fame or Zoot Money. Cullum's voice is wonderful, as always – but it's especially great to hear it in a setting like this, which is quite far from some of the more poppy directions he'd been heading on previous records. Titles include "The Seer's Tower", "Walkin", "Don't You Know", "Interlude", "Lovesick Blues", "Come & Get Me", "Out Of This World", "Make Someone Happy", "Good Morning Heartache", "Sack O Woe", and a version of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" done with Gregory Porter. ~ Dusty Groove

RON BLAKE – COCKTAILS AT DUSK: A NOIR TRIBUTE TO CHRIS CONNOR

A really unique little album from pianist Ran Blake – and that's saying a lot, given that all of his music is pretty darn unique! The album features Blake at his warmest – serving up a tribute to the vocalist Chris Connor, but at a level that's mostly instrumental – as a good number of the tracks just feature Ran on solo piano – creating dark, moody shapes from the bare bones of songs that were a big part of Connor's famous 50s recordings for Bethlehem Records – really blue, melancholy numbers that sound completely different in Blake's hands, but which have the same sort of haunting feel as Chris' vocal versions. Laika Fatien sings on 3 of the album's 13 tracks – with a very mellow, almost icy style that we've never heard from her before – and 2 more tracks feature Ricky Ford on tenor, playing with an approach that's surprisingly well-suited to Ran's piano. Titles include "All About Ronnie", "Why Can't I", "Where Are You", "Moon Ride", "Driftwood", "Speak Low", and "Go Way From My Window". ~ Dusty Groove

HENRY KAISER / RAY RUSSELL - THE CELESTIAL SQUID

Two avant guitar giants – coming together here in an album that's got a decidedly progressive feel overall! The record's quite forward-moving and focused – with almost a rockish energy at the bottom – no surprise, given that both Henry Kaiser and Ray Russell have plenty of ties to that side of the spectrum – and almost revive a sort of 70s prog mode here as they jam together with a larger group that includes reeds from Steve Adams, Aram Shelton, and Joshua Allen – plus acoustic and electric bass, and work from two drummers – Weasel Walter and William Winant! The album's way more of a jam than you might expect – but also certainly has enough out moments to appeal to longtime fans of that side of the music of Kaiser and Russell. Titles include "Disinterested Bystander", "That Darn Squid", "In Another Life", "Gukten Limpo", and "The Enumeration".  ~ Dusty Groove