The
Jazz Room Compiled by Paul Murphy
UK jazz dance hero Paul Murphy teams up with BBE Music to
deliver his first compilation on the label: a blazing selection of up-tempo
jazz titled ‘The Jazz Room’. Lauded by none other than Gilles Peterson as “the
original messenger of jazz who found almost every dancefloor classic”, Paul
began DJing in 1970s London. His passion and unique playing style placed him at
the epicentre of an emerging jazz-dance scene in the city, popping off in spots
like The Horseshoe (aka Jaffas), The Wag, The 100 Club, The Blue Note and The
Electric Ballroom, where he founded the now famous ‘Jazz Room’, after which
this album is named. Paul’s influence on UK Jazz culture simply can’t be
overstated, from his short-lived but much beloved imprint Paladin Records to
his unswerving support of home-grown talents such as Working Week, Morrissey
Mullen & Paz. As a DJ, his musical selections still live large in the
memories of those who experienced them. As Coldcut’s Jonathon More put it “Paul
Murphy used to play the most frenzied and far out funky jazz at my Meltdown
warehouse parties”. ‘The Jazz Room’ nicely encapsulates the reason so many
greats feel moved to wax lyrical about Paul Murphy’s ear for dance-floor jazz,
which is very clearly undimmed after decades behind the decks. Deftly mixing
contemporary sounds with trusted bullets that his 1980s audiences will remember
well, these tracks are vibrant and potent, with a couple of fiery live
recordings thrown in for extra energy and sweat.
Strata-Gemma
- Autunno 1
Exploratory Italian electronic jazz trio return with LP of
intense weather music. Hailing from Modena, the Northern Italian motor city,
Strata-Gemma produce a music of beautiful symmetry, intense craft and
surprising angles. Born as a club night, the trio grew out of jam sessions
where musicians would play over the records DJ/producer Billy Bogus spun. Their
name came about due to the core members finding shared inspiration in records
they considered “hidden gems” (gemma means gem in Italian) while paying homage
to the Detroit Jazz label Strata Records. Thus from a love of jazz and soul,
soundtracks and library music, Strata-Gemma were born. Where Strata-Gemma’s
2018 debut album had a lush, late-night ambience about it, Autunno 1 is more
intense and agitated, a reaction to extreme political and weather conditions.
As with all things Italian, Autunno 1 is both beautifully sculptured and filled
with wild passion while serving as an intense soundtrack to our fractured
world. Strata-Gemma are Billy Bogus (beats), Andrea Moretti (double bass,
strings) and Luca Cacciatore (brass, wind). For
Autunno 1 they are joined by
heavy friends on drums, synth and Hammond.
Petter
Eldh – Koma Saxo
Koma Saxo is a highly potent new five-piece produced by the
visionary Berlin-based Swedish bassist-producer Petter Eldh. The lineup brings
together five heavy jazz names on the Berlin–Nordics axis, including Eldh on
bass, Christian Lillinger on drums and the frontline of three saxes: Otis
Sandsjö, Jonas Kullhammar and Mikko Innanen. Despite the top-billing names,
make no mistake: this is not just another "supergroup", but a real
working band with their own sound and musical trajectory. Eldh's vision for the
Koma Saxo sound is one step ahead of what groovy avantgarde jazz could sound
like in 2019, involving postproduction work with the raw material recorded in
Helsinki in occasion of Koma Saxo's successful debut at the We Jazz Festival.
Both studio and live tapes exist side by side, and Eldh goes deep in molding
the final music to be heard on the upcoming Koma Saxo releases. The Koma Saxo debut LP on We Jazz Records is a revelation
for anyone seeking contemporary jazz music with edge and vision. From the
opener, the brief but fiery ‘Kali Koma’, right into the pastoral finale, ‘Så
rinner tiden bort’, Eldh & co are on it, like a tightly-knitted posse of
jazz assassins on the run. At times, the pieces fall gloriously apart, just
enough in order to be ripe to put back together again. Take ‘Ostron Koma’ for
example - from the intense opening seconds full of suspension, the track moves
forward with breathtaking swing, then onto full-on free breakout, to be born
anew. In addition to scorching originals by all members of the
band, Koma Saxo tackle a handful of carefully-picked and highly inspirational
borrowed tunes from Finnish legends Matti Oiling, Edward Vesala and the Swedish
composer Olle Adolphson. Tense, swinging music, hymns full of genuine serenity
and charisma, allowing Koma Saxo to never sound self-indulgent.
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