NEW RELEASES: GATO BARBIERI – YESTERDAYS; HUGH MASEKELA – THE CHISA YEARS (RARE & UNRELEASED, 1965-1975); RON TRENT VS. LONO BRAZIL VS. DAZZLE DRUMS – (MANCHILD) IN THE PROMISED LAND

GATO BARBIERI – YESTERDAYS

A beautiful record from Gato Barbieri – almost a return to more traditional forms, but still graced with the searching, burning quality that made most of his early 70s sides so great! The tracks are all long and exploratory – and have Gato blowing with that tremendous tenor tone – a mix of late Coltrane and Pharoah, with some warmer, sentimental touches that really send us. The rest of the group includes George Dalto on electric and acoustic piano, Pretty Purdie on drums, and Paul Metzke on guitar – and most of the tracks feature added Latin percussion – not too much, but just the right amount to make them bounce along in a rhythmic groove. Totally great all the way through, and with tracks that include "Carinoso", "Marnie", "A John Coltrane Blues", and "Yesterdays". (Part of the Flying Dutchman 1000 Master Collection!) ~ Dusty Groove

HUGH MASEKELA – THE CHISA YEARS (RARE & UNRELEASED, 1965-1975)

The Chisa Years: 1965–1975 (Rare and Unreleased) is a compilation album by South African jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela. The album consists of 14 rare or forgotten tracks recorded by Stewart Levine and Hugh Masekela from 1965 to 1975 when they ran their own Chisa Records label. Thom Jurek of Allmusic wrote “In sum, there isn’t a weak moment on this entire collection. It’s appeal is wide and deep and one can only hope this is the first of many volumes of this material to appear. BBE Records has done a stellar job in making this slab available.” Dan Nishimoto of the Prefix Magazine stated “The compilation focuses on Masekela’s original idea of “African American Music.” From the early experiments of the Zulus (a group featuring M’Bulu) in mixing doo-wop, rhythm & blues and South African gospel and the mbaqanga/”Grazing in the Grass”-style work of the generically named Johannesburg Street Band to the clearly Fela-influenced Ojah (Masekela’s band in the mid-’70s, consisting of players from Ghana and Nigeria) and the ready-for-primetime belting of M’Bulu, each track reveals a multi-pronged effort to find and challenge the notion(s) of how African and American cultural forms could interact.”

RON TRENT VS. LONO BRAZIL VS. DAZZLE DRUMS – (MANCHILD) IN THE PROMISED LAND

Afro-centric house in its purest form, Manchild (In The Promised Land) is characterised by Lono Brazil’s golden voice and original poetry which paints a moving picture of urban deprivation and stolen childhood. Subtle synth chords shimmer behind the jazz influenced bass-line and warm percussion that seems to play ‘call and response’ with the vocal. Fresh from appearing on Boiler Room Tokyo back in April, talented and in-demand Japanese husband and wife duo Dazzle Drums provide a deep and tribal dub version of ‘Manchild’, steadily building up a compelling drum groove before taking flight into synth-heaven.