Sunday, April 03, 2022

New Releases: Arpeggio Jazz Ensemble; The Electric Jazz Room; Spirits Rejoice; Dennis Bovell

Arpeggio Jazz Ensemble - Le Le (LP)

Recorded in the 1980's and snapped up upon arrival in Europe by the Soho Boho's, Acid Jazzuals,Cuboppers, Jazz Massivists and Mojo Jazzmuziker, "Le-Le" by The Arpeggio Jazz Ensemble is a unique one off Spiritual Soul-Jazz outing with Avant Garde touches and more than a hint of Afro-Cuban Orientalism.The percussion drenched title track has that special Worldwide Sound and the Cool Jazz Get Down Groove of "Wet Walnuts and Whipped Cream" is a DJ's delight, whether played over the Airwaves or to a crowded Dancefloor. An adventurous jazz outfit that has been playing around Philadelphia since its formation in 1979. The Ensemble was founded by Warren Oree, an acoustic bassist, producer and composer who continues to lead the band. Eclectic and far from predictable, on this album the Ensemble has embraced a variety of acoustic and electric jazz styles combining them with African and Middle Eastern influences and mixed together with the "New Thing" have managed to make a timeless underground classic.

The Electric Jazz Room - The Electric Jazz Room E.P. (feat. Walpataca & Vienna Art Orchestra) (LP)

Two Underground London Jazzfloor hits from Paul Murphy's Jazz Room Records.On the A side Latin Supergroup's wild and infectious "Caliente" with Paquito's Banging piano riff and heavy Bass Line action from Descarga originator Cachao overlaid with Driving vibes from Tany Gil and a Percussion Meltdown from Walfredo De Los Reyes. On the B side the Vienna Art Orchestra provide a dark and mysterious version of the Bud Powell classic "Un Poco Loco" keeping that Be-Bop Afro-Cuban vibe but adding that East of the Border darkness you'd expect from a sound recorded at the time the city was on the Cold War fault line. Gilles Peterson (Worldwide / Brownswood): "Paul Murphy found almost every jazz dancefloor classic. He is the original messenger of jazz. He opened the door to an alternative way of being a Dj. The rest is history.

Spirits Rejoice - African Spaces (LP)

A defining musical statement in South Africa’s jazz canon – pinpointing the moment of social and musical ferment in which the country’s terms of engagement with jazz were irreversibly changed. Forged when township kids were facing down bullets this is an electric mulberry funk – slick, intense and complex. Heavyweight 180g vinyl with remastered audio, inner sleeve with new photographs and additional liner notes by Francis Gooding. At a distance of more than forty years, the radicalism and significance of African Spaces can be seen more clearly. Ambitious, uncompromising, and resolutely progressive, it represents a unique high-water mark in South Africa’s long musical engagement with the newest developments in American jazz – a response to the cosmic call of Return To Forever, and an answer to Miles’ On the Corner. Spirits Rejoice drew together some of South Africa’s most abundantly talented and forward-thinking jazz players and created  a complex and challenging jazz fusion that shifted the terms of South Africa’s engagement with jazz towards new music being made by pioneers such as Chick Corea, Weather Report, John McLaughlin, Pat Metheny and others. African Spaces, their debut recording, is one of the key documents in the South African jazz canon. Emerging in the aftermath of the 1976 Soweto uprising, and taking its place alongside the crucial mid-1970s music of Malombo, Abdullah Ibrahim, and Batsumi, it is a defining but unsung musical statement of its era.

Dennis Bovell - Dubmaster: The Essential Anthology

A massive tribute to the long career of Dennis Bovell – the British artist who first rose up in the late 70s group Matumbi, then went on to share his production talents with a host of other artists in the decades that followed! This double-length set brings together a career-spanning set of tracks that all were handled by Bovell – a first half that features his own recordings under a number of groups, and a second half that features Bovell production and studio work with a range of other artists too – including some rare and unissued material, in a package put together by Dennis himself! Titles include the Bovell cuts "Choose Me" with African Stone, "Za Lon" with 4th Street Orchestra, "Blood Ah Go Run" by Matumbi, and cuts "Brain Damage", "Chief Inspector", "Dub Master", "Silly Dub", "Caught You In A Lie", and "Oh Mama Oh Papa" – all issued under Bovell's name. The second half features titles that include "African Queen" by Errol Campbell, "Africa Is Our Land" by Joshua Moses, "Take Five" by Young Lions, "Hooked On You" by Delroy Wilson, "Differentah" by Errol Dunkley with Julio Finn, "Silly Games" by Janet Kay, "Get Up Stand Up" by I Roy, and "Can't Go Through With Life (dancehall version)" by Marie Pierre. ~ Dusty Groove

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