Friday, January 27, 2017

NEW RELEASES: VICTOR ASSIS BRASIL – TOCO ANTONIO CARLOS JOBIM; LUXURY SOUL 2017 (VARIOUS ARTISTS); WE GOT THE JAZZ (VARIOUS ARTISTS)

VICTOR ASSIS BRASIL – TOCO ANTONIO CARLOS JOBIM

Unlike Jose Mauro, whose biography is almost completely shrouded in mystery, Victor Assis Brasil’s tragically short life is a better known story. He passed away aged just thirty-five, but by this point his status was already cemented as one of Brazil’s top players. Gifted his first saxophone by his aunt at the age of fourteen, his debut LP was recorded just four years later, alongside some mercurial greats of Brazilian jazz, Tenorio Jr and Edson Lobo. Following the release of his first two albums, Victor was granted a place to study at Berklee College of Music, and it was during this period he recorded toca antonio carlos jobim upon returning to Brazil in the summer of 1970. At a time in Brazil when the smooth n’ easy groove of the bossa beat no longer reflected the inflamed politics of a nation under the cosh of military dictatorship, Victor Assis Brasil morphed Jobim’s soothing originals into raw, deep jazz cuts, with the help of Brazilian legends Edison Lobo, Helio Delmiro and Edison Machado. The album’s influences spans both American continents, finding a meeting point for Latin jazz and North American post-bop, with Roberto Quartin’s perfectionist approach to sound elevating the already incandescent music to divine new heights. Includes: Só Tinha De Ser Com Você;  Wave; Bonita; and Dindi.

LUXURY SOUL 2017  (VARIOUS ARTISTS)

An excellent edition of this long-running series – one that's put together by the folks at Expansion Records – who've given us years of fantastic soul music – both in the world of reissues, and in the contemporary underground! This package brings together both – with a heavy focus on the label's great ear for the best of the best in the Neo Soul generation – underground artists who are making some excellent music that never gets any radio play or big label release, but which tops most of the mainstream soul on the market. And there's also some classic cuts, pulled from Expansion reissues – nicely balancing out the new work with some 70s soul. 3CD set features 35 tracks in all – and titles include "I Can't Forget About You" by Mather, "Your Love Is All I Need" by Alton McClain, "It's A Beautiful Day " by Fe Fea White with Jimi Morris, "All I Need Is You (5AM Jazzy Jam rework)" by Tom Glide, "I Need Your Love (Drizabone rmx)" by Sargent Tucker with Drizabone, "Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover" by Soulutions, "I Need You For Love" by Kim Tibbs, "Give Of Love" by Breakwater, "That's Love (Joey Nelson mix)" by Hannah White, "Moving On" by Faye B, "Let's Have A Good Time" by Andy Stokes, "Groove With You" by Lovell, "Asking Eyes (Phil Asher's west ten mix)" by Da Lata, "Wish You Mine (Ed The Red's funk soul mix)" by Ed The Red, "Now" by Camera Soul, "Take U Back (DJ mix)" by Joyce Irby, "Why Can't We Be Lovers" by Brandi Wells, "It's Your Love" by Ethel Beatty, "I Want You" by Rose Royce, and "Can't We Just Get Long" by Kashif. ~ Dusty Groove 


WE GOT THE JAZZ (VARIOUS ARTISTS)

A set that's mostly hip hop, with lots of jazzy instrumentation – but a package that also includes some great jazz tracks too – which allows it to effortlessly draw a line back and forth between older nuggets and the best of the contemporary underground! There's a crisp, hip vibe to the whole thing – as despite the Tribe Called Quest reference in the title, most of the work here is from the farther side of the spectrum of all styles included – the kind of well-chosen cuts that we'd expect from the folks at P-Vine, who put this whole thing together. Titles include "Clouds" by Gigi Masin, "Good Times" by Pat D, "Hip Hop First Of All" by Guts, "Humpty Dumpty" by Placebo, "Never Left" by Illa J, "In All The Wrong Places" by Kero One, "Six Aces" by Takuya Kuroda, "Get Away" by Think Twice & David Ryshpan, "One Day" by DJ Alibi, "Clin D'Oiel" by Jazz Liberatorz, "My Tunes" by Specifics, "Tohu Bohu 1" by Marc Moulin, "The Blessing Song" by Build An Ark, "Carry On" by King, "Appertif" by Green Butter, and "Warm Thoughts" by Flume. ~ Dusty Groove


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