Change – Love 4 Love
Wonderful new work from Change – the international soul
combo who made some classic cuts back at the start of the 80s – still sounding
great all these many years later, but in a slightly different way! The balance
between all elements here is fantastic – as the music has all the best parts of
the group's earlier music, but also updates the sound a bit – in the way that a
combo like Incognito or Brand New Heavies were updating older soul music back
in the 90s, by grabbing all the strongest parts of the past, and fusing them
into a fresh lean groove. The songs are upbeat, positive, and full of the kind
of catchy hooks that Change always did so well – and titles include
"Friends", "Make Me Go Cray", "How Will We",
"Too Late", "Living Monday", "Love 4 Love",
"All My Life", and "Hit Or Miss". Also includes some remix
versions of older tracks – "Searching (Figo Sound version)", "Oh
What A Feeling (Figo Sound version)", "You'll Always Be A Part Of Me
(Figo Sound version)", and "It's A Girl's Affair (Figo Sound version)".
~ Dusty Groove
Azymuth – Light As A Feather (180 gram vinyl)
One of Azymuth's best-remembered albums from their American
years on Milestone – a really killer classic that beautifully blends Brazilian
and American styles of fusion! There's a simple, elegant feel to these tunes
that takes off nicely from the group's previous album for Atlantic in Brazil –
a pushing forward of the soulful sides of their style, but with just the right
blend of quirkier elements as well – one that still keeps the edge of the early
years, yet helps the group reach out with a wonderfully warm sound! Most tracks
are quite spare, and without any too-smooth polishing in production – and
titles include the classic "Jazz Carnival", a funky fusion classic if
there ever was one – plus "Light As A Feather", "Avenida Das
Manguerias", "This Exists", "Partido Alto", "Dona
Olimpia", "Amazonia", and "Young Embrace". (Limited
repress of 500 copies. Remixed and remastered version with download code.) ~ Dusty Groove
Ashley Henry – Ashley Henry’s 5ive
This might be the first we've ever heard from pianist Ashley
Henry – but given the quality of the set, we imagine that we might be listening
to his music for many years to come! Henry's got this wonderful conception of
rhythm – as if he's sometimes racing ahead of the bass and drums, and grabbing
up all these handfuls of notes – scattering them quickly in these broad waves
of soulful colors, while the bass of Sam Vicary and drums of Sam Gardner swing
in and keep things moving forward! There's a sense of freshness to this album
that reminds us of the time we first heard the music of Robert Glasper many
years back – even though Henry is a completely different stylist – as you'll
hear on titles that include "Deja Vu", "Altruism",
"Deimos", "St Anne's", and "Monk's Dream". ~ Dusty Groove
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