NEW RELEASES: THE DINING ROOMS – DO HIPSTERS LOVE SUN (RA)?; JOE FARNSWORTH – MY HEROES; ROMAN COPPOLA – MOLTO GROOVY CHRISTMAS

THE DINING ROOMS – DO HIPSTERS LOVE SUN (RA)?: A SOUNDTRACK OF COSMIC FUNK, ABSTRACT JAZZ & CINEMATIC AVANT GARDE

Maybe the hippest album we've ever heard from The Dining Rooms – something we probably could have guessed from their evocation of Sun Ra in the title! And while that title seems a bit obtuse – maybe even a joke – the music here is right on the money, and some of the most serious, most spiritual the group has ever given us – quite far from some of the easier dance-styled sounds we know from their early years. There's still a lot of samples and electronics in the mix, but they're used in extremely thoughtful ways – and often sourced with more interesting material, too – so that there's a core of 70s cosmic jazz and fusion that seems to drive the record, which also comes through in the group's own keyboards as well. The approach isn't entirely jazz, but not far off at times – and titles include "Interstellar", "Light Time Tales", "Marte"," Love Story", "Saturno", "Devil's Moon", "Once Were Warriors", and "Sergio Leone Asteroid".  Dusty Groove

JOE FARNSWORTH – MY HEROES

Drummer Joe Farnsworth pays tribute to the greats of the 50s and 60s – Elvin Jones, Roy Haynes, Art Blakey, Max Roach, and others – in a smoking set that features his longtime musical companions Eric Alexander on tenor, Harold Mabern on piano, and Nat Reeves on bass! There's a vibe here that's different than other recent dates from this well-matched team – as the players are definitely trying to skew their sounds differently with each number dedicated to a different drummer – especially Alexander and Mabern, who really match Farnsworth's energy as he changes things up. Titles include "Syeeda's Song Flute", "Two Bass Hit", "Reflection", "George's Dilemma", and "Cute". ~ Dusty Groove

ROMAN COPPOLA – MOLTO GROOVY CHRISTMAS

One of the coolest, grooviest Christmas records we've heard in years – a set that's the first-ever effort from Roman Coppola's Molto Groovy Productions – and which has a mod 60s vibe all the way through! The styles here are steeped in the best Italian soundtrack modes from years back – cool keyboards, fuzzy organ, funky basslines, and lots of offbeat instrumentation that really transforms the tunes – almost as if someone like Piero Umiliani or Ennio Morricone recorded a whole album of Christmas instrumentals! The sound is perfect – even better than you might suspect from the cover – and you can take it from us, as we're not easily fooled by "fake" retro projects – and really tip our hat to these guys for getting the instrumentation, arrangements, and production just right. Most titles are familiar songs, but done in very unusual styles – and tracks include "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town", "Joy To The World", "Jingle Bells", "Sleigh Ride", "Feliz Navidad", "Little Drummer Boy", "Silver Bells", and "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas".  ~ Dusty Groove