4 Hero - Creating Patterns

The title says it all... Creating Patterns is noodle jazz for head-nodders. 4 Hero were at their peak at the start of the 1990s when they pioneered drum & bass, breaking all the musical rules with outstanding albums such as Parallel Universe and the patronage of up-and-coming artists such as Goldie and Nookie. Now the energy seems to have departed from the London twosome Dego and Mark Mac. On their fourth album they've retreated into the soft confines of electronic slush jazz, far removed from the gravity defying drum & bass classics such as "Journey From the Light". 4 Hero are taking over Incognito's role at Talkin' Loud records, producing polite dinner muzak with a modern day electronic twist. Even the presence of Jill Scott on "Another Day" can't raise the song-writing level above bland. 4 Hero have got too hooked up on being "serious" which means employing 16 piece string sections and Terry Callier. Much as they probably hate the thought, 4 Hero were best when they wanted to tear down the system with tracks like "Mr Kirk's Nightmare" rather than their ever-increasing desire to conform to what they believe is proper music. We need them to mess things up again.

1. Conceptions
2. Time
3. Golden Solitude
4. Twothesme
5. Another Day
6. Hold It Down
7. Unique
8. Something Nothing
9. Ways Of Thought
10. Eight
11. Blank Cells
12. Twelve Tribes
13. 2-BS-74638
14. Les Fleur
15. The Day Of The Greys

4 Heros Website

Get 4 Hero - Creating Patterns At Amazon

dl in comments...

Us3 - Come On Everybody (Get Down)

A single from their second album, "Broadway & 52nd" (1997).

Gilles Peterson Worlwide Website Opens

It's official! gillespetersonworldwide.com has officially opened for business. This is promising to be a great site for fans of Gilles and his "search for the perfect beat".

He has already uploaded a heap of podcasts to get you started, and will be highlighting new music from his Brownswood Recordings label.

Also, check out the Moblog and Message Board section for more info on the music we all love.

The Brand New Heavies Live On Conan 11-23-06

Stellar performance of Stevie Wonder's "I Don't Know Why (I Love You)" Live on Conan O'Brien Nov 23, 2006.

Us3 - Schizophonic

Us3’s fifth album Schizophonic sees producer Geoff Wilkinson’s rolling cast of rappers and musicians returning to the task of fitting the pieces of the jazz and hip-hop puzzle into one kaleidoscopic whole.

Building on the group’s mammoth 50-date/14-country European tour last year, the sound of ‘Schizophonic’ is a lively, raucous and uptempo affair with a heavy emphasis on live playing married to crunchy hip-hop beats. The album features two new rappers, Akil Dasan and Gaston, both of whom Geoff found at New York’s legendary underground hangout the Nuyorican Poets Café. Akil’s rhythmical mastery is put to the test on a variety of beats ranging from straight-up hip-hop to Brazilian sambas to straight-ahead jazz breaks. Gaston specialises in an intricate twisting wordplay that’s guaranteed to have you laughing hard, scratching your head, and snapping your neck all in the same breath.

All members of the Us3 live band are also featured, including the blistering trumpet of Chris Storr, the soaring saxophone stylings of Ed Jones, the funky muscle of double bass player "Level" Neville Malcolm, and the unique turntable mastery of DJ First Rate. Mike Gorman, Sean Hargreaves and John Crawford take turns at the pianists chair, while (60 year-old!) newcomer Ernie Cranenburgh lays down some truly beautiful jazz guitar.

‘Schizophonic’ bounces from the Brazilian samba school sampling ‘Kick This’, to the lyrical hip-hop sarcasm of ‘Huff & Puff’, through the 60s soul-jazz vibe of ‘Girls U Like’, to the furious jazz drums & Monk-like piano of ‘Get Busy’. Gaston recounts a desperate tale of child abuse in ‘Don’t Even Ask’ complimented by the delicate brushes, moody piano and brooding horns. And if you came to dance flip to the 21st century bossa groove of ‘Much 2 Much’. Schizo indeed.

Akil Dasan describes himself as an African-Judaic blend of multiple ethnicities and cultures, citing Stevie Wonder, The Roots, D'Angelo & Mos Def as major influences. An accomplished freestyler and musician (he plays guitar, keyboards and drums), Akil studied music and creative writing at Columbia University. Born & raised in Philadelphia he now resides in NYC. Eagle-eyed TV viewers will have spotted him last year on Missy Elliott’s "Road To Stardom" talent competition. Remember his name.

Gaston (alongside his twin brother Wiseguy) hosts the Words showcase & open mic sessions at the Nuyorican Poets Café in New York. A veteran of NYC’s underground hip-hop circuit, he has flexed his verbal dexterity alongside an entire who’s who of rap, exercising his razor sharp freestyle wit on many radio shows including Stretch Armstrong, Night Train, Underground Railroad, and WNYU.

The 8-piece live Us3 band will be touring again throughout 2006. Don’t miss them.

‘Schizophonic’. Multiple musical personalities have never been so much fun.

01. That's How We Do It
02. Kick This
03. Was It Love?
04. Huff & Puff
05. What's Goin' On In The World Today?
06. Much 2 Much
07. Girls You Like
08. If Only
09. Don't Even Ask
10. Jobsworth
11. Get Busy
12. K.I.S.S.Y.O.U.
13. 1-2-3-4u
14. Round The Glove

US3's Website

dl in comments...

Orange Pekoe - Organic Plastic Music

Orange Pekoe is a Japanese Jazz duo consisting of Tomoko Nagashima (lyrics, and all vocals), and Kazuma Fujimoto (guitar, composition, arrangement and programming).

The two first met through a university music club and started a band with other students, but soon broke off and started work as a duo.

They made big waves throughout the Japanese indie scene before being signed to BMG Records. Their first major label single release (Happy Valley) remained at #1 on radio air play charts for nearly two months. Organic Plastic Music sold over 300,000 copies, and reached #5 on the Oricon charts.

01. Introduction
02. Ai no Izumi
03. Taiyo no Kakera
04. Adaigo
05. 12 Months
06. Happy Valley
07. Sanctuary
08. Kioku
09. Yawaraka na Yoru
10. ONE AND ONLY DAY
11. bottle
12. Shinkaigyo
13. LOVE LIFE
14. tiny, baby

Orange Pekoe's Website

Get Orange Pekoe - Organic Plastic Machine At Amazon

dl in comments...

Something Real Music Video Omar

Omar's video to the single "Something Real". This is the official video from Omar's Management Team.

Pieces Of A Dream - Acquainted With The Night

British acid-jazz guitarist Ronny Jordan opens and closes Acquainted with the Night, this 12-song commemoration of Pieces of a Dream's silver anniversary.

Discovered by fellow Philadelphian Grover Washington Jr. when the band members were in their teens, the rhythm section does the late sax great proud with inspired guest shots by tenor men Kenny Blake and the ubiquitous Gerald Albright.

But Acquainted with the Night seems to really be the coming-out party for pianist James Lloyd. He wrote or cowrote three-fourths of the songs, and his maturity as a producer and soloist is evident, particularly the haunting "Trance." He also shines with Albright on "Off the Hook," which they definitely are.

The only odd blemishes on this otherwise worthy smooth-jazz celebration are the two vocal selections, both of which are inexplicably Diana Ross covers, featuring a surprisingly ineffective and seemingly unaffected Maysa from Incognito on "Upside Down," and a raw attempt at hip-hop on the theme from the 1970s movie Mahogany.

01. RU Ready
02. Night Vision
03. On That Note
04. Upside Down
05. Off The Hook
06. Brand Nu Start
07. Acquainted With The Night
08. Theme From Mahogany
09. Saxitude
10. Trance
11. Picture This
12. Silver Dreams

Pieces Of A Dream Website

Get Pieces Of A Dream - Acquainted With The Night At Amazon

dl in comments...

Acid Jazz Podcast #4

If you prefer to listen to this mix externally, use the links below the embedded player. And, of course, you can download individual tunes by right clicking on them. Enjoy!

Acid Jazz Podcast #4

External Player Links...

Winamp (M3U)
Real Player
Windows Media Player

Playlist...

01 Groove Collective - Everybody
02 DNote - Same Mistake
03 Instant Cities - Make Up Your Mind
04 Liquid Soul - Equinox
05 Deadbeats - Made In The Shade
06 O.M.U. - Desert in Your Eyes
07 Smoove - Ceefax
08 Em Zeh - Woortsport
09 Perception - Serious Love
10 Palmskin Productions - Spock With A Beard
11 Monday Michiru - Higher
12 Incognito And Carleen Anderson With Ramsey Lewis - Trouble Don't Last Always

Candycream

Just found out about this band from Germany, some very smooth sounds happening here, reminiscent of Incognito and BNH. Well worth checking out...

Candycream, that´s "soul für deine seele" (soul for your soul) straight from Frankfurt/Germany. The 8 piece band plays a groovy mixture made of Soul, Funk, Jazz, Disco, House and Latin.

Candycream was founded in late 2003, and since then the band history has been straight forward, inspired by the love for the music of the 60ies and 70ies as well as modern lounge-, jazz- and soul-styles.

In 2005 Candycream won the title "Best Band Jazzrock" at the German Rock - & Pop Awards in Hamburg/Germany, and furthermore received the silver-medal in the category Soul & Funk. Every sound in this group is handmade and played live - no tricks or samples are used!

Candycream performing "Love what you do" live in birmingham, england.



Listen to Candycream - Summertime (Chill Version)


Candycreams Website

Candycreams Myspace Page

Tribaljazz - Tribaljazz

A big thanks to lemo for this one, a very nice find :-)

Tribaljazz, the brainchild of legendary Doors drummer John Densmore, blends and fuses improvisational jazz, beats and world music. In the end, what you hear is, truly, Tribaljazz. The band features John Densmore on drums, co-founder Art Ellis on Soprano / Alto Sax and Flute, two master African drummers, an upright bass player, a world- class pianist and a multi-instrumental percussionist.

"For thirty years I've been saying I was a jazz drummer before I got into The Doors. In the years since then, I still claim to be a jazz drummer. The problem is I've never actually made any jazz records. Finally I am putting my sticks where my mouth is. I soon joined forces with Art Ellis, A veteran jazz performer and composer. Art had been producing his original Afro/Jazz music with Jimmy Haslip of the Yellowjackets, as well as performing as opening act in festivals with Sting, King Sunny Ade, Milton Nascimento and many others. Forming the nucleus of what has become the Tribaljazz project, we began reworking the wonderfully melodic lines of Art's music into a synthesis of world rhythms and acoustic classic jazz that pleases us both. The result was the infusion of a "tribal" sound with accessible, heartfelt jazz tunes." - John Densmore

Tribaljazz is an acoustic jazz quartet engine, fuel-injected with the percussion power of several African Master drummers. Tribaljazz brings a provocative and energetic new voice to the Jazz and Jamband world. Tribaljazz is an experience - it's a seductive groove, with driving rhythms, that draws a wide eclectic audience - from Jazz aficionados and Classic rockers, to cutting edge Jamband followers without age or demographic limits.

"Our goal is to cut across all boundaries of musical tastes and reach the widest audience possible. Because Tribaljazz relies heavily on improvisation, the music continues to grow while staying fresh and alive. Ultimately, Tribaljazz wants to make each performance as exciting as possible, while maintaining the artistic depth and integrity which makes it interesting to us as performers, and hopefully to our audiences as well." - Art Ellis

01. Skytrails
02. Blues For Bali
03. La Tormenta
04. Vegetable Wizard
05. Orange Midnight
06. The First Time (I Heard Coltrane)
07. Piano Interlude
08. Lyria
09. Violet Love
10. Riders Of The Storm
11. Violet Love
12. Bonus Track 1

Tribaljazz's Website

Tribalsjazz's Myspace Page

Get Tribaljazz - Tribalsjazz At Amazon

dl = http://rapidshare.com/files/2269115/trib.trib.rar.html

Totally Wired In Dub

Totally Wired In Dub is more or less an effective dub reggae compilation -- mainly because it features the classic "Blessed in Dub" by Gregory Isaac, as well as cuts from Bobby Ellis and Benjamin Zephaniah -- but it overlooks too many high points and vital artists to be truly called essential.

01 Dread Flimstone & Michael Prophet - Fight Jah Children
02 Napthali - Ammunition Dub
03 Emperors New Clothes - Welcome To Your World
04 Madrak Featuring Devon Russell - Social Living
05 Yabby You - Deliver Me From My Enemies
06 Gregory Isaacs - Blessed In Dub
07 Manasseh Meets The Equalizer - One Small Step
08 Tommy McCook & Bobby Ellis - The Blazing Horns
09 Benjamin Zephaniah - Rudie Dead
10 The Hazardous Dub Company - Real Dub
11 Madrak - Et In Arcadia Ego
12 Wildcat - Space Station Wildcat
13 African Head Charge - Yes 1

Get Totally Wired In Dub At Amazon

dl in comments...

Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool

Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool is one of the compilation albums from the Red Hot project. This fifth entry in the Red Hot AIDS Benefit Series was heralded as the "Album of the Year" by Time Magazine upon its release in 1994 by GRP Records.

The Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool project provides a meeting place where artists of several generations and styles can meet and create a musical dialogue. Where does fusion flow into funk? Where does the controlled anarchy of hard be-bop feed into the adrenaline-rush of hard core hip-hop? The answer to these questions and more are found in the spirit of collaboration and discovery on Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool.

In addition to the straight ahead jazz and rap elements found with on this extraordinary recording, gospel vocals, blues guitar, scat singing, R&B, soul and other African American art forms hug and tug and pull at each other, like relatives at a long overdue reunion. Gender, age, and race are bridged in the three-way effort by Us3, Tony Remy, and Joshua Redman (son of the legendary Dewey Redman). Up-and-coming talents meet one of their heroes in the case of Groove Collective's joint jam with funk master Bernie Worell. Ditto for Me'Shell N'degéOcello's musical studio encounter with Herbie Hancock. Two men from two different eras but with surprisingly similar ears for music join forces in a track by Donald Byrd and Gangstarr's Guru. Add the differences of language and culture into the equation when you consider the distances spanned by Ron Carter's collaboration with Afro-French rapper MC Solaar.

The list goes on and on, including contributions by Michael Franti, Digable Planets with Lester Bowie & Wah Wah Watson, The Pharcyde, Roots with Roy Ayers, Incognito, Carleen Anderson with Ramsey Lewis, Umar Bin Hassan and Abiodun Oyewole (formerly of The Last Poets) with Pharoah Sanders, Don Cherry with Watts Prophets, and Branford Marsalis.


Disc one

01. Time Is Moving On - Donald Byrd with Guru + Ronny Jordan
02. Un Ange En Danger - MC Solaar + Ron Carter
03. Positive - Michael Franti / Spearhead
04. Nocturnal Sunshine - Me’Shell NdegéOcello featuring Herbie Hancock
05. Flyin’ High In The Brooklyn Sky - Digable Planets with Lester Bowie + Wah Wah Watson
06. Stolen Moments - United Future Organization (UFO)
07. The Rubbers Song - The Pharcyde
08. Proceed II - The Roots + Roy Ayers – 5:52
09. Trouble Don't Last Always - Incognito + Carleen Anderson with Ramsey Lewis
10. Rent Strike (DJ Smash Remix) - Groove Collective + Bernie Worrell
11. The Scream - Us3 with Joshua Redman + Tony Rémy
12. This Is Madness - Umar Bin Hassan + Abiodun Oyewole (formerly of the Last Poets) with Pharaoh Sanders
13. Apprehension - Don Cherry + The Watts Prophets

Disc two (Bonus CD)

01. A Love Supreme - Branford Marsalis
02. A Love Supreme - Alice Coltrane
03. The Creator Has A Master Plan (Trip Hop Remix) - Pharaoh Sanders

Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool Website

Get Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool At Amazon

dl in comments...

Acid Jazz Podcast #3

If you prefer to listen to this mix externally, use the links below the embedded player. And, of course, you can download individual tunes by right clicking on them. Enjoy!

Acid Jazz Podcast #3

External Player Links...

Winamp (M3U)
Real Player
Windows Media Player

Playlist...

01 Down To The Bone - Brooklyn Heights
02 The New Jersey Kings - The Latin One
03 Emperors New Clothes - Eyes That Burn
04 Pippa & The Four From The Top - Countdown (Calendar Countdown-Disco Conundrum)
05 Jive - All Of My Life
06 Cleveland Lounge - Good Thing
07 Silent Poets - Little Way Of Difference
08 Secret Vibes - Dazzling
09 Greyboy featuring Karl Denson - Greys Groove
10 The Rhythm Section - Waiting For The Sun
11 Liquid Soul - Dysfunction
12 Dynamo Productions - Hey Yeah!

Marc Moulin - Entertainment

Belgian keyboardist Marc Moulin has been a jazz craftsman for more than three decades. A leader in the field of acid jazz, he began his career by playing the piano in the '60s throughout Europe. During the following decade, he established a band known as Placebo. By 1974, he had made a trio of albums, influenced by such masters of jazz as Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock. One of those early releases, Sam Suffy, has withstood the test of time and is still popular decades later with aficionados. Before the '70s had passed, Moulin switched gears; working with the band Telex, his style shifted to electro pop. With bandmates Michel Moers on vocals and Dan Lacksman on synthesizer, he put out five albums that spawned hit singles like "Rock Around the Clock," an electro pop version of the song originally made famous by Bill Haley & the Comets, and "Moscow Diskow," which won fans in discos as far away as Australia and Brazil. By 1992, Moulin again pulled a switch, this time turning to a sound that was more ambient with the release of Maessage. As the calendar flipped forward to a new millennium, Moulin flipped back in time to the place where he'd started: jazz. He signed with Blue Note, a label fond of pushing boundaries, which allowed him to freely combine his proclivity for the electronic sound with his jazz roots.

The title is already a giveaway. With his new album “Entertainment”, Marc Moulin steps back into his version of the limelight. Some 100,000 people in 40 countries fell for the electro-jazz of his previous album “Top Secret”. A host of compilations (80 and counting) listed it under Lounge, somewhere between Air and Henri Salvador. The success of “Top Secret” only confirmed what Moulin has been doing since the seventies already: exploring a fusion whose only vocation is to get back to the essence of early jazz. In Moulin’s world, that means dance music – nay, entertainment – rather than the modern, sublime yet pained art form of the be-boppers. And “Entertainment” is Moulin’s most accomplished album, an elegant demonstration of his status as the Godfather of Electro-Jazz.

The album opens with a homage to the legendary Horace Silver. On the track called “Silver (Who Stole the Groove?)”, the voice of Horace can be heard inviting us to, “We'd like to have you all join in with us on this one and help us find the groove”. Moulin takes this invitation, first heard on the album “Doin’ the Thing – Live at the Village Vanguard” (1961), as his own. It highlights another thing he shares with the American pianist, a bulletproof sense of humour. The second track, “Preface”, confirms his passion for writing and calligraphy (and “Calligram” gets a mention on the fourth track). Vowels get their few minutes of fame in “Y.U. (The Vowel’s Tune)” while “Irony” is a direct reference to one of Moulin’s best-known character traits.

Laid across some supple grooves, the sparkling clarity of the tunes runs like a silver thread through an album whose electronic side is implicit rather than in your face. At what point does a groove become a song? The inspired trumpet of Bert Joris (muted or open, which might or might not be a reference to Miles and Chet) graces almost every track. The feline voice of Christa Jérôme raises the tone, while the new kid in town – Flemish percussionist Peter Schneider - provides his palette of swing.

With Moulin on keyboards and directing, the result is a quartet with drive and distinction. The spirit of organist Jimmy Smith is alive and well, as Moulin claims his “soul”. He adds pointillist splashes of organ with rare gusto. “They’re like furry drops,” he says himself, true to the spirit of Belgian surrealism. Huh? This taste for the oddball is already evident on the cover that features his dog Sadie, supposedly the bastard daughter of Nipper (remember His Master’s Voice?). Sadie has a master that will keep us entertained – and dancing - over the coming months. 100%.

01 Silver (Who Stole the Groove?)
02 Preface
03 Y.U.? (The Vowels Tune)
04 Calligram
05 Irony
06 Easy
07 Le Grand Voyage
08 What Was It Again?
09 Where Is It?
10 There Comes a Time

Marc Moulin's Website

Get Marc Moulin - Entertainment At Amazon

dl in comments...

Exodus Quartet - Way Out There

Formed in 1991 by Eric Hilton and Fari Ali, Exodus Quartet sought to recreate the sound of Washington, DC's Exodus acid jazz club. Their only album, 1996's Way Out There, featured many guest musicians and was released following a plethora of compilation appearances. Hilton went on to co-found Thievery Corporation.

01 Introduction
02 What's That
03 Gatos
04 Perfect Vibe
05 Red
06 18th Street
07 Summer Soulstice
08 Trance Jazz
09 Orbit
10 Corcovado
11 Groove Gumbo
12 Taxi Ride
13 Our Man in Havana
14 Tribute to Mr. Cool

Get Exodus Quartet - Way Out There At Amazon

dl in comments...

Jamiroquai - Love Foolosophy (Alternative Version)

Talkin' Loud Sampler Volume 2

01. Hide And Seek - Urban Species
02. Hungry Like A Baby - Galliano
03. Colibri - Incognito
04. You've Got To Move - Omar
05. Back To The Real World - K-Creative
06. All I Have In Me - Young Disciples
07. Marxman (Theme) - Marxman
08. Qui Semme Le Vente Recolte Le Tempo - MC Solaar
09. Serious Love - Perception
10. I Commit - Powell, Bryan
11. Take Me Now - Payne, Tammy
12. Apparently Nothin' - Young Disciples
13. There's Nothing Like This - Omar
14. Prince Of Peace - Galliano
15. Always There - Incognito

dl in comments...

[re:jazz] People hold on

Video has been filmed during a concert in Berlin , September 2006.
Directed by Markus Bader (markusbader.com). "People hold on" is from the new [re:jazz] album "Expansion" on INFRACom!. http://www.rejazz.de, http://www.myspace.com/rejazzde http://www.infracom.de

Acid Jazz Podcast #2

If you prefer to listen to this mix externally, use the links below the embedded player. And, of course, you can download individual tunes by right clicking on them. Enjoy!

Acid Jazz Podcast #2

External Player Links...

Winamp (M3U)
Real Player
Windows Media Player

Playlist...

01 Exodus Quartet - Groove Gumbo
02 Galliano - Nothing Has Changed
03 Cloud Nine - Luvbug
04 Soulive - Vapor
05 Urban Species - Religion and Politics
06 A-One - Dont Hold Your Breath
07 Fertile Ground - Peace And Love (Jazztronik Version)
08 Silent Poets - Save The Day (Restless Soul Moontime Mix)
09 Neaco - Petelabass
10 MC Solaar - Qui Semme Le Vente Recolte Le Tempo
11 Urban Species - Blanket
12 Directions In Groove - Same Like B3

Wagon Cookin - Appetizers

The name Wagon Cookin comes from a genuine railway wagon which once ran on the great Trans-Europe-Express at the beginning of the century and is now situated in the foothills of the Sierra de Gredos, near Madrid, where Javi and Luis Garayalde used to live until 2003. The two brothers have been cookin up music together since they were kids. Both are extradordinarily gifted musicians of known prestige that are searching for that special and differentiating sound.

The first result of their ambitions was the album Appetizers released in 2002 on their own label. Out of Madrid this Spanish duo have delivered this refreshing debut. Again utilising the sound St Germain revolutionised, Wagon Cooking bring together traditional jazz instrumentation, live vocals and the driving rhythms of the lush European house scene. A colourful and thrilling album, this excellent debut, like the Barrio Jazz Gang, is equally at home in intimate or hospitality settings, and again for those who enjoy the likes of Down To The Bone, St Germain, etc. Recommended.

01 Intro
02 Natural high
03 Salt & Pepper
04 Earth
05 No Complications
06 Appetizer
07 Magic
08 Mar
09 El Primero Con Cuchara
10 Con Un Daiquiri
11 El Segundo Servir Muy Caliente
12 Stretch your mind
13 Hotter than fire
14 One way no way

Wagon Cookin's Website

Wagon Cookin's MySpace Page

Get Wagon Cookin' - Appetizers At Smoke CD's

dl in comments...

Rad - Gotta Be

Rose Ann Dimalanta, a.k.a rad., grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and began playing piano at the age of 4. In 1990 she completed her jazz studies at U.C. Berkeley. The West Coast music scene quickly got hip to rad.'s latin jazz chops and she was soon playing with legendary musicians like Pete Escovedo, Benny Velarde (Cal Tjader), Orestes Vilato (Santana), Ray Obiedo and David Garibaldi among others. Her move to Europe in 1991 marked the beginning of her solo career. With the encouragement of her husband and producer Michael Kirsch (co-founder of the Soulciety Record label), rad. became Rose Ann's solo project, a funk show spiced with latin flavors.

Rad's second release in 1994, "Gotta Be" was praised by critics, DJ's and fans alike. It’s release in Japan put the track "Venus Drops" (featuring the Tower of Power Horns) into the Japanese Billboard Radio charts. Guest appearances on "Gotta Be" by Tower of Power, funk legend Roger Troutman (Zapp), England's Galliano posse, and respected Jazz heavies like Howard Johnson (Miles Davis, Carla Bley) broadened her musical acceptance beyond dance, r&b, and jazz audiences.

01. Gotta Be
02. Trippin'
03. Digging the Bay
04. Come My Way
05. 432 f
06. Never Say Never
07. Venus Drops
08. So Complete
09. Sister
10. Lately

Rads Website

Get Rad - Gotta Be At Amazon

dl in comments...

Omar Hangs Out on Jodines Corner

For all you Omar fans out there, Jodine's Corner has just released a podcast entirely dedicated to the man himself, including an exclusive interview.

So head on over to this page and grab yourself a copy of this pdocast in the format of your choice.

Screen Acid: 18 Acid Jazz Takes on Classic Film & TV Music

Released in 1999, Screen Acid features many of the most popular acid jazz groups of the late '90s covering well-known film and television theme songs.

The James Taylor Quartet are most prominent on this album, performing six of the 18 songs and choosing some of the best-known theme songs such as "Mission Impossible," "Mrs. Robinson" from The Graduate, and "Dirty Harry."

Other performers include Lovetrain, Kozmic Truths, Akimbo, Snowboy, Pippa and the Four From the Top, Van Groove, Goldbug, Flying Squad, Sockadelic, Corduroy, Wipeout, and Mother Earth. These artists perform more obscure theme songs; however, the performances are still quite impressive even if the songs aren't too familiar.


01 The Professionals - Lovetrain
02 Theme from Starsky and Hutch - James Taylor Quartet
03 Dave Allen at Large (Blarney's Stoned) - Kozmic Trooths
04 Mission Impossible - James Taylor Quartet
05 Rollerball (Executive Party) - Akimbo
06 New Avengers - Snowboy
07 Countdown (Calendar Countdown/Disco Conundrum) - Pippa & The Four From The Top
08 Angels - Van Groove
09 Top of the Pops (Whole Lotta Love) - Goldbug
10 Sweeney - Flying Squad
11 Graduate (Mrs. Robinson) - James Taylor Quartet
12 Cricket (Soul Limbo) - Sockadelic
13 Heist (Money Is) - Corduroy
14 Allegretto Per Signora (From the film 'Le Foto Proibite Di Una Signora Per Bene') - Wipeout
15 Dirty Harry - James Taylor Quartet
16 Riot on 103rd Street - Mother Earth
17 Goldfinger - James Taylor Quartet
18 Austin's Theme - James Taylor Quartet

dl in comments...

Acid Jazz Podcast #1

Here's something new for your earholes. Our inaugural podcast. If you like what you hear, please let me know. If there is enough interest (aka, if I get enough positive feedback), I'll continue this on a regular basis. If you prefer to listen to this mix externally, use the links below the embedded player. And, of course, you can download individual tunes by right clicking on them. Enjoy!

Acid Jazz Podcast #1

External Player Links...

Winamp (M3U)
Real Player
Windows Media Player

Playlist...

01 The Brand New Heavies - Its Getting Hectic (feat. Gangstarr)
02 Greyboy Allstars - Fried Grease
03 Night Trains - Love Sick
04 Paolo Achenza - Samba Royale
05 Eastwest Connection - Cuppachino
06 Wagon Cookin - Mar
07 Ohm - Sweet Ohm
08 Galliano - Frederick Lies Still
09 Martine Girault - Revival
10 Ronny Jordan - See The New
11 The James Taylor Quartet - Grass Is Not Greener
12 Maysa - All My Life

Rewound, Refreshed & Re-uploaded

For those of you who have arrived late to the party, I extend a warm welcome. I have re-uploaded some of the previous albums that have since died. I won't be making a habit of this, so make the most of them while they live. You'll find the new link in the comments section of the following posts...

Galliano - A Joyful Noise Unto The Creator

The Story Of Acid Jazz - Disc 1

Talkin Loud 1990 - 1994 Disc 2

Skunkhour - Skunkhour

Brand New Heavies - Heavy Rhyme Experience Vol. 1

Galactic - Late For The Future

Tab Two - Belle Affaire

Sandals - Rite To Silence

London-based acid jazz quartet the Sandals only lasted for one album, but their ability to sign with a major label and score a pop hit with their single "Feet" was an early indication that trendy club music could comfortably move from the hipster fringes into the mainstream. Naturally, some despise them for this, but the group's two releases, the full-length Rite to Silence and the EP Cracked, are superb early-'90s dance records.

The roots of the Sandals are in the South London club scene of the mid-'80s. Ian Simmonds, Derek Delves, Will Blanchard, and John Harris were friends who met round the clubs, clothing stores, record stalls, and other focal points of the local nightlife. Delves ran a weekly club night called Violets that grew to include spoken word and performance art as well as painting and photography exhibits. In 1990, the foursome opened a stall called Rich and Strange in London's Trocadero, selling records, books, and clothes to like-minded hipsters. As they ran the shop, the foursome also began rehearing in its storage room, with Delves on lead vocals and percussion, Harris on various reed instruments, Simmonds on bass, and Blanchard on drums. (Interestingly, the group never had a full-time guitar or keyboard player, preferring to deputize friends on a song-by-song basis.)

Eddie Piller, owner of London's Acid Jazz Records, became the Sandals' manager in 1991, organizing both an exhibition of the group's artwork in Los Angeles' Marquart Gallery, and a set of demos with producers Paul Daley and Neil Barnes (also known as Leftfield) that attracted the attention of London Records. Although the group was dubious about the implications of signing with a major label, most of them were married and starting families, and so the lure of a large paycheck proved irresistible. London released Rite to Silence, preceded by the single "Profound Gas," in early 1994. The second single, "Feet," was a hit and the album got generally positive reviews. But the A&R executive who signed the Sandals left the company shortly after the album's release, and the band felt that his replacement neither enjoyed nor understood their music. After an EP, 1995's Cracked, that is now seen by some as one of the essential early documents of trip-hop, the Sandals recorded a new album with Luke Gordon, aka Spacer, who had produced the EP. London rejected the album and the group, already suffering internal dissent, split up in early 1996. Ian Simmonds went on to release several well-received, jazz-oriented solo records under his own name and the pseudonym Juryman, and formed his own ATL label, short for "All That's Left," a rueful comment on the group's fractious demise. Derek Delves worked with United Future Organization, while Will Blanchard drummed for both Dot Allison and Beth Orton.

01 Feet
02 Nothing
03 No Movement
04 Change
05 Ardens Bud
06 We Wanna Live
07 We Don't Wanna Be the Ones to Take the Blame
08 Lovewood
09 Here Comes the Sign
10 Profound Dub

Get The Sandals - Rite To Silence At Amazon

dl in comments...

4 Hero - Star Chasers (1998)

DisJam - DisJam

The Hamburg acid-jazz troupe known as disJam increasingly slanted their instrumental talents toward the electronica and trip-hop crowds. Formed in the early '90s, the band came together around keyboard player Ralf Petter, bassist Sascha Panknin, percussionist Oliver Schumacher, guitarist Volker Kurnoth, and reed player Ole Janssen.

The collective soon became popular on the continental acid-jazz scene, and recorded their self-titled debut album in 1995 (it also earned American distribution through Instinct's This Is Acid Jazz series). Gradually shedding instrumentalists as the focus turned to electronic music and dance-jazz fusion, disJam recorded three albums for Yo Mama, often with help from vocalists (the 1996 album Phuturing the Poetry of Lemn Sissay was a collaboration with Sissay, a Manchester poet). In 1998, the band -- basically down to a trio of Panknin, Petter, and Schumacher, plus new addition Christoph Kähler on vocals (occasionally) and guitar -- signed to Shadow Records and released Return of the Manchurian. Once again distributed in America, disJam returned in 2000 with Hybrid Honey.

01. Intro
02. Wake Up
03. Peter Bond
04. When Its Cold
05. Point Black
06. Softboiled
07. Stoned On War
08. Junk
09. Strange City
10. The Storyteller
11. Denmark
12. Outro

Get DisJam - DisJam At Amazon

dl in comments...

Koop - Koop Islands

Welcome to Koop Islands. A place where music and life swing to a slightly different drum.

It's been four years since we last heard from the Stockholm based duo of Oscar Simonsson and Magnus Zingmark. Their album Waltz for Koop slowly but surely found it's way into the hearts of more than 160,000 record buyers across the globe. Then followed the world tours, the two sets a night at the Blue Note in Tokyo and hundreds of remixes, until finally last year they found themselves back in Stockholm able to begin work on what was to become Koop Islands.

Where Waltz For Koop was steeped in a modern - and modernist - take on 60s jazz and Swedish songstressess from the time (Monica Zetterlunds name was mentioned more times than the group thought was fair), Koop Islands has - despite its name - very little to do with romanticising the Stockholm archipelago. Rather, it goes much, much further south west, all the way down the caribbiean for inspiration. That's where you'll find Koop Islands on their imaginary world map.
Also, Magnus and Oscar realised that sometimes the only way forwards is to go as far back in history as possible. "I think we can do that," says Magnus. "Our music is created in a post-sampling world where everything is possible. Even time travel. That's why we just laugh if someone calls what we do retro."

So back they went. Back to the swing of the 1930s, the exoticism of forgotten orchestras and entertainers performing on late 40s yacht cruises to Jamaica. The characteristic Koop vibes now joined by marimbas, furious gene krupaesque jungle drums (just listen to them rip on Forces... Darling) and an ever present Cape Verdean Blues with just a hint of Mento that would have made islanders in European exile, like the recently salvaged Lord Kitchener & His Friends, nod in approval.

This journey in time and music is what forms the foundation Koop Islands was built on...

"We play jazz", says Oscar. "It's as simple as that. We can't do pop, electronica, techno or whatever because we're just no good at it. Knowing this and having accepted it we can basically do whatever we want. If we wanna explore and pick up pieces from, say, 1929 - we can." On their travels towards Koop Islands they were joined by their inner circle of friends, some of whom you might remember from Waltz For Koop.

The amazing Yukimi Nagano with her free flowing vocals and her male counterpart - the criminally underrated Mikael Sundin. Ex-Galliano main man Rob Gallagher tells a heartbreaking tale that weaves together tennis ace Björn Borg with the sad story of the passing of a mother.

And, last but no way least, on the album's title track the Norwegian singer-songwriter Ane Brun heads out on her virgin tour of the Islands. Even though Magnus and Oscars hearts and souls are filled with exotic and eclectically swinging sounds the whole album was recorded in their own tiny studio on Stockholms Södermalm.

If you listen very carefully you can hear the number 4 bus go by on the snowy street outside.

01. Koop Island Blues (feat. Ane Brun)
02. Come To Me (feat. Yukumi Nagano)
03. Forces ... Darling (feat. Earl Zinger)
04. I See A Different You (feat. Yukumi Nagano)
05. Let's Elope (feat. Mikael Sundin)
06. The Moonbounce
07. Beyond The Sun (feat. Earl Zinger)
08. Whenever There Is You (feat. Yukumi Nagano)
09. Drum Rhythm A (Music For Ballet Exercises)

Koops Website
Koops MySpace Page

Get Koop - Koop Islands At Amazon

dl in comments...

Jazzhole

From the Jazzhole's second album, ...And the Feeling Goes Round, a feel-good cover of the classic Earth, Wind and Fire song, featuring singers Michelle Lewis, Marlon Saunders, and Rosa Russ, rapper Ahmed Best, as well as founding members Warren Rosenstein, Kevin DiSimone and John Pondel, as well as Pete Mark and Julio Acosta. Jazz bassist Scott Colley was a guest player on this early track. Directed by Jim Gabour.

Various - Acid Jazz And Other Illicit Grooves

Label: Polydor
Released: 1988

Compiled by Gilles Peterson

01 - Jalal - Introduction.mp3
02 - Ace Of Clubs - Ace Of Club.mp3
03 - Jalal - Jalal.mp3
04 - Push - Traffic.mp3
05 - Aja (Acid Jazz Alliance) - Shaft In Action.mp3
06 - Jalal - Jalal.mp3
07 - Galliano And The Jazz Renegades - Six Sharp Fists.mp3
08 - Night Trains - And Now We Have Rhythm.mp3
09 - Jalal - A Refreshing Interlude.mp3
10 - Rhythm Blades - Doin'It Naturally.mp3
11 - Push - Traffic [Dub].mp3

dl in comments...

Brownswood Recordings - New Label on the Block

Brownswood Recordings is a brand new indie label set up by Gilles Peterson (who has previously been responsible for Acid Jazz Records and Talking Loud) and Heavyweight. From their website...

We thought it was high time to open up the channels and start releasing some fresh new music. Brownswood is a low-key operation and a labour of love. We just want to put out great, soulful music, no matter where it's from or what the style.

Gilles is still flying around, dropping unexpected dancefloor gems on party people around the globe. And his Worldwide show on BBC Radio 1 is still a weekly staple for music heads tuning in for anything from moody techno to upfront soul to vintage folk. But there's more music out there than one man can play, andThumb Ben Weestbeech definitely more than a tiny label can release. Still, we plan to put out some choice gems for our collective listening pleasure.

Releases range from the explosive sounds of groundbreaking Japanese live act Soil & 'Pimp' Sessions - modern jazz, rough around the edges, adrenalin charged, unadulterated entertainment..... to the lush, beat laden orchestral sounds of The Heritage Orchestra. Then there's the much heralded Bristol based soul kid, Ben Westbeech, who dropped his highly anticipated debut single 'So Good Today', backed up by killer remixes from Domu and Osunlade. Oh yeah - and killer compilations like the soon to be released Brownswood Bubblers, the first in what will be a top shelf series of new music hand-picked by Gilles. This one is particularly soulful and delicious, we think you'll agree.

So thats Brownswood Recordings. It could go any way. The common thread is that we like all this stuff. A lot. And we hope you do too.....

You can also check out their MySpace page at www.myspace.com/brownswoodrecordings

Citrus Sun - Another Time Another Space

Incognito founder Jean Paul "Bluey" Maunick focuses on an instrumental smooth jazz sound with the creation of Citrus Sun. The band's first (and only thus far) project Another Time Another Space was released in 2001.

Maunick recruited Average White Band member Jim Mullen for the guitarist role, along with Incognito members drummer Richard Bailey, bassist Julian Crampton, and the horn section of Ed Jones (sax), Fayazz Virgi (trombone), and Dominic Glover (trumpet). Rounding out the line-up is pianist Tim Vine from Simply Red.

"I created this project to show the importance of smooth jazz in our musical culture," explains Maunick who conceived and produced Another Time Another Space. "I knew Jim Mullen would be the perfect catalyst for this project. He's the perfect guy to help me fuse the subtle elements of Latin, funk and jazz within a context of cool atmospheres and sparse melodies."

Though Maunick calls most of the musical shots for Incognito, he took a more collaborative approach with Citrus Sun. Maunick encouraged the band to co-produce, write songs and play live to track. "When I produce Incognito, I dissect every sound and focus on sonic perfection," says Maunick. "Here, I took on the Quincy Jones role, organizing and encouraging, but just letting these guys get into the studio and kick it. This was an opportunity for these guys to show what they can do."

Maunick is well tenured in the role of producer. Along with all of Incognito's releases, he has produced major artists like Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, George Benson and Maxi Priest.

Citrus Sun is the second Incognito offshoot project. In 1999, Maunick produced and released a Maysa Leak project entitled Inner Shade.

01. Make Me Smile
02. Tanya's Song
03. Budapest
04. Another Time, Another Space
05. Where The Wind Blows
06. So What Can I Do?
07. Blue Orchid
08. Somewhere, Nowhere
09. What It Is
10. Full Circle
11. Mellowed

Get Citrus Sun - Another Time Another Space At Amazon

Citrus Sun At Rice Records

dl in comments...

Jamiroquai's New Single - Runaway

On 6th November Jamiroquai will release "High Times: Singles 1992-2006" - a singles collection containing hits from Jamiroquai's career to date.

The first single off this release is a brand new track called "Runaway", listen to it here...


share your files at box.net


...or download it here...

The details of the formats that will be available are as follows...

Compact Disc (Catalogue number: 88697019962)

1. When You Gonna Learn (3.47)
2. Too Young To Die (3.22)
3. Blow Your Mind (3.51)
4. Emergency On Planet Earth (3.34)
5. Space Cowboy (3.36)
6. Virtual Insanity (3.47)
7. Cosmic Girl (3.45)
8. Alright (3.39)
9. High Times (4.08)
10. Deeper Underground (4.41)
11. Canned Heat (3.46)
12. Little L (3.58)
13. Love Foolosophy (3.47)
14. Corner Of The Earth (3.56)
15. Feels Just Like It Should (4.34)
16. Seven Days In Sunny June (3.57)
17. (Don't) Give Hate A Chance (5.00)
18. Runaway (3.46)
19. Radio (4.12)

Total running time: 75:06

Special Edition Compact Disc (Catalogue number: 88697019912)

CD1 tracklist same as regular CD album. CD2 is a bonus remix CD containing the following tracks:

1. Emergency On Planet Earth (Masters At Work remix) (7.10)
2. Space Cowboy (David Morales remix) (7.52)
3. Love Foolosophy (Knee Deep remix) (8.27)
4. Little L (Bob Sinclar remix) (7.24)
5. Cosmic Girl (Tom Belton remix) (7.46)
6. Dynamite (Phil Asher remix) (7.40)
7. Seven Days In Sunny June (Ashley Beedle remix) (7.54)
8. Virtual Insanity (Salaam Remi remix) (5.41)
9. You Give Me Something (Blacksmith R&B remix) (4.02)
10. Supersonic (Restless Souls/Phil Asher remix) (8.26)

DVD-Video (Catalogue number 88697109979)

The DVD will contain the following full length music promo videos:

1. When You Gonna Learn (3.53)
2. Too Young To Die (3.29)
3. Blow Your Mind (4.48)
4. Emergency On Planet Earth (4.10)
5. If I Like It I Do It (2.53)
6. Space Cowboy (3.36)
7. Half The Man (3.40)
8. Light Years (3.59)
9. Stillness In Time
10. Virtual Insanity (3.54)
11. Cosmic Girl (3.51)
12. Alright (3.46)
13. High Times (4.12)
14. Deeper Underground (5.16)
15. Canned Heat (3.57)
16. Supersonic (3.56)
17. King For A Day (3.20)
18. Black Capricorn Day (3.31)
19. Little L (3.56)
20. You Give Me Something (3.21)
21. Love Foolosophy (3.46)
22. Corner Of The Earth (3.58)
23. Feels Just Like It Should (4.34)
24. Seven Days In Sunny June (3.57)
25. (Don't) Give Hate A Chance (3.50)

In addition to these videos, the following extra features will be available:

1. Making Of Little L
2. 4 x 8 minute clips from Charlie Lightning
3. Charlie Lightning mini-film

Groove Collective - People People Music Music

The Groove Collective have been laying down grooves that buzz and get the crowd dancing for over a decade now. ‘People People Music Music’ takes the listener on a musical journey around the globe beginning with the Afro-pop sound of Forgotten Travelers, and continues into the Cuban jam Tito (a tribute to the legendary Mr. Puente) and onwards to the smoky NYC jazz lounge vibe of Herbie Hancock’s Speak Like A Child and the club beats of What If and Set Up.

Special guests on the album include producer DJ Spinna, funk legend Fred Wesley, vocalists Eddie Bobé and DeLouie Avant, Jr., percussionist Tony Rodriguez, trombonist Reut Regev, guitarist Liberty Ellman and keyboardist Victor Axelrod.

01. Forgotten Travelers
02. DFU
03. What If
04. Eat No Space
05. Tito
06. KOG
07. MamboMongo
08. Outermost
09. 6 For Fred
10. Set Up
11. Centerfield
12. Speak Like A Child
13. Outermost (live)

Groove Collective's Website

Get Groove Collective - People People Music Music At Amazon

dl in comments...

The Poets Of Rhythm - Discern/Define

The Poets of Rhythm are a live funk and groove band from Munich, Germany whose approach to funk music is down and dirty. Though often classified as acid jazz, The Poets music doesn’t follow the heavily produced trend of the acid jazz genre, opting instead for a dirtier sound.

After releasing a string of singles for the Hotpie and Candy label and one hard to find LP on Soulciety Records, the Poets of Rhythm come correct on this long overdue worldwide release on Quannum Projects.
Founded a decade ago in Munich, Germany, these innovators in the rare groove style are seven and sometimes eight musicians deep with lead vocalist/percussionist/musical director Boris "Bo Baral" Geiger; guitarist/musical director JJ Whitfield; bassist Jan Krause ; organ/moog stimulator Till Sahm ; alto saxophonist Malte Muller-Egloff; alto-saxophonist Wolfgang Schlick; trumpet player Treetop; and drummer Max Whitfield.

After raising eyebrows on the "I Changed My Mind" single on the Quannum Spectrum recording backing up Lyrics Born and riding the wave of interest from early-21st century hip-hop fans in old-school funk and James Brown -era breakbeat, Discern/Define modernizes space jazz over big-beat, soul harmonies, and kinky guitar rhythms with psychedelic tendencies. But the luscious music aside, the overwhelming production by the Soul-Saints is what distinguishes this record from other faceless funk records put out in the '90s and the early 2000s.

With earthy room sounds that compliment the organic nature of the drums and bass with just a slight hint of feedback, all the best elements of classic soul and the liveliness of live hip-hop are blended together to give the record a timeless quality.

01 Discern/Define
02 Smilin' (While You're Crying)
03 Ham Gallery
04 Plus Plus
05 We
06 The Jaunt
07 Eulogize the Source
08 Fondle Rock
09 Moira
10 Guiding Resolution
11 Survival of the Freshest

Get The Poets of Rhythm - Discern/Define At Amazon

The Poets of Rythm Website

dl in comments...

The James Taylor Quartet - In the Hand of the Inevitable

The James Taylor Quartet are synonymous with the sound of classic Acid Jazz. Formed in 1985, they had instant success with the release of there debut single "Blow Up" which topped the indie charts and appeared in John Peels Festive 50 charts for 3 years running. Over the years they have released several acclaimed albums on the Acid Jazz label, from the debut mini album "Mission Impossible" through "The Money Spyder" to "In the hand of the Inevitable" "Extended Play" and "Living Underground".

JTQ also truly excel in the live arena. Their concerts are legendary experiences with their emphasis on live 'dance' music becoming a prominent key to the band's success, enabling them to establish a solid relationship between them and their fans. Over the years JTQ have gigged relentlessly, often playing up to 150 shows a year around the world and varying between week long residencies at London's Jazz Cafe and Birmingham's Ronnie Scotts to huge sell out shows at the 6000 capacity Brixton Academy.

James Taylor's prolific talent has been widely recognised and The Manic Street Preachers, The Pogues and The Wonderstuff have all benefited from his distinctive Hammond style on their albums and live shows. JTQ were also the house band on Gaby Roslin's UK TV chat show bringing them an even greater audience.

When the James Taylor Quartet are on their game, laying down guitar lines right out of the Melvin Sparks songbook ("3 Mile Island") or pounding out sweat-drenched B3 gems (the title-track), they create amazingly evocative music, as their unforgettable acid-tinged version of Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" proves. But then vocals appear and all that carefully-crafted mood flies right out the window in a breeze of quiet-storm-styled soul. Sometimes you just have to take the great with the mediocre, and that's the case with In the Hand of the Inevitable.

01. Love Will Keep Us Together
02. 3 Mile Island
03. Free Your Mind
04. Haitian Breakdown
05. Good Thing
06. Let's Get Together
07. Segue No. 1
08. Stepping into My Life
09. Whole Lotta Love
10. Journey
11. Sounds of Freedom
12. Keep on Moving
13. In the Hand of the Inevitable


The James Taylor Quartet Website

Get The James Taylor Quartet - In the Hand of the Inevitable At Amazon

dl in comments...

Night Trains - Sleazeball

Digging deeper into the roots of Acid Jazz you will find the group "Night Trains". Originally a live band led by bassist and founder Hugh Brooker their first single was "Open Channel D". The group also appeared on Polydor's "Acid Jazz And Other illicit grooves" compilation with "Now We Have Rhythm", and on Acid Jazz's "Totally Wired 2" with "The Killer". That was 1987, when Acid Jazz ruled the club scene in London.

The band toured with Africa Bambata, a legendary rapper, who is also listed on some of their tracks of their first album "Checkmate", which was released in Europe and Japan in 1989. Because of personal problems Hugh Brooker stopped band activity for a period and formed "the Humble Souls" with Simon Anniki (AKA Wildski) erstwhile rapper with Norman Cook's Beats International. But things didn't run well with this group and Hugh Brooker revived his old group "Night Trains" recording the album "Loaded" in July 1992. The album was recorded in one week in Acid Jazz' West End studios.

But Hugh Brooker prefered more melody structures and live performances. That's the content of the third album "Sleazeball" (1994). The single "Lovesick" was a commercial success with a wide radio play. The album appeared in U.S.A. on the Instinct Records label under the title "Miles Away".

01 Sure Can't Go To The Moon
02 Hold Out For The Truth
03 Lonely Road
04 On My Own
05 Love Is The Teacher
06 Move On Out Together
07 What Good Is Love?
08 Smokey's Clown
09 The International Day
10 Lovesick
11 Sleazeball

Get Night Trains - Sleazeball At Amazon

dl in comments...

Incognito - Bees + Things + Flowers

"Bees + Things + Flowers" is an album with a difference. The album features new arrangements of four Incognito classics - Always There, Still a Friend of Mine, Everyday and Deep Waters - and covers of such great tunes as Roy Ayers’ Everybody Loves the Sunshine, Earth Wind & Fire’s That's the Way of the World, Summer in the City as well as a stunning remake of America’s Tin Man. There are also three brand new Bluey compositions.

Six tracks feature a 16-piece string section and the line-up of lead vocalists on this radio-friendly set is the strongest ever assembled for an Incognito album - Carleen Anderson, Jocelyn Brown, Maysa, Joy Rose, Imaani and Tony Momrelle.

Bluey describes the album as being "almost an unplugged affair, recorded the old-fashioned way with everyone playing live in the studio at the same time, and just a few overdubs afterwards. I’m really pleased with it, and to have so much vocal talent on one album is tremendous".

All of the vocalists excel on their respective tracks - Joy Rose, on her return to the band’s recording line-up after a couple of years touring the world singing with Sting, sets the standard with her interpretation of Everybody Loves The Sunshine; Jocelyn reprises Always There in a radically different new arrangement by Bluey; Maysa reinterprets Still A Friend of Mine with Tony Momrelle, as rearranged by Simon Hale and Bluey, and Deep Waters.

Carleen Anderson brings her own distinctive style to the excellent Summer In The City, originally a hit in the Sixties for the Lovin’ Spoonful, and the Bacharach-influenced arrangement of Tin Man; Imaani is stunning on the new Bluey composition Crave. And all of the vocalists come together for the fine remake of Earth Wind & Fire’s Seventies classic That’s The Way of the World.

01 Everybody Loves The Sunshine - Feat. Joy Rose
02 Everyday - Feat. Imaani
03 Summer In The City - Feat. Carleen Anderson
04 Always There - Feat. Jocelyn Brown
05 Raise - Feat. Jocelyn Brown
06 Still A Friend Of Mine - Feat. Maysa Leak & Tony Momrelle
07 Tin Man - Feat. Carleen Anderson
08 Crave - Feat. Imaani
09 Deep Waters - Feat. Maysa Leak
10 You Are Golden - Feat. Tony Momrelle
11 That's The Way Of The World - Feat. Maysa Leak & Carleen Anderson

Incognito's Website

Get Incognito - Bees & Things & Flowers At Amazon

dl in comments

Omar - For Pleasure

Omar Lyefook first came to prominence more than a decade-and-a-half ago, when his debut single for indie label Kongo Dance Mr. Postman/You And Me made him a hot name on Londons underground.

It was soon afterwards that the success of his Ohio Players-influenced love ballad, the much celebrated Theres Nothing Like This, led to his signing to Gilles Petersons Talkin Loud label. Omar released a couple of albums for the Phonogram affiliate during 1992/3, the first a re-working of his Kongo set for the wider audience, the second, Music, a vastly more orchestral and organic affair that highlighted Omars maturing as a composer, arranger and vocalist.

Thereafter Omar signed to RCA, for whom he cut two further albums that notched up acres of critical acclaim as well as introduced him to several of his musical heroes and heroines.

His 1994 album, For Pleasure, is a distinctive delight and a rare element. He collaborates on several tracks, with David Frank, the System (ESP), Christina Aguilera, and 98 Degrees. Beginning with the oh-too-short 'My Baby Says,' the album flows into the samba-flavored 'I'm Still Standing.' 'Saturday' has sinewy synth riffs that recall Parliament-Funkadelic's Bernie Worrell. Underscoring the British respect and appreciation of American R&B and soul music, Omar works with two legends from this genre. 'Outside' is culled from an unfinished multi-track tape made in the '70s found in Lamont Dozier's basement. It's smooth soul featuring vintage performances by Ray Parker, Jr., Sonny Burke, Jay Graydon, and Sonny Burke. Another Motown alumni, Leon Ware co-writes, contributes backing vocals, and keyboards on the soft pumping 'Can't Get Nowhere.' The dusky, jazzy 'Little Boy' has soft brushes and double bass. Omar's eclectic leanings reminds how much range, personality, and distinctiveness you'll find on pop albums of the past.

"It was a wicked vibe," says Omar about the acid-jazz scene, "There was a whole load of us, and I was lucky to come out that time with a whole group of people who felt the same way as I did. In London in the early nineties there was a lot of house music, a lot of samplers and sequencers. There wasn’t enough of that old-school live vibe, so that’s where me, the Brand New Heavies, Galliano, Young Disciples, and Gilles Peterson and Norman Jay too, were coming from. We all approached it from that way of thinking."

01. My Baby Says
02. I'm Still Standing
03. Saturday
04. Keep Steppin'
05. Magical Mystery Interlude
06. Outside
07. Little Boy
08. Need You Bad
09. Can't Get Nowhere
10. Confection
11. Magical Mystical Way
12. Making Sense Of It
13. For Pleasure

Omars website

Omars MySpace Page

Get Omar - For Pleasure At Amazon

dl in comments...

Online Radio Shows

Keep an eye on my sidebar, I've recently added a list of Acid Jazz flavoured record companies, and will soon be adding a list of online radio shows and podcasts I have found in my Acid Jazzy travels.


While you're waiting for that, head on over to JazzDJ's site for a taste of whats to come. He has an incredible 1 hour long acid jazz mix available that is guaranteed to get your head bopping.

Incognito / Always There 2006 (Audio)

Not a video as such, but a sneak peak at a new version of Incognitos classic "Always There". Featuring Jocelyn Brown on vocals, this tune is taken from incognitos much anticipated new album Bees + Things + Flowers, due out next month.

Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood - Out Louder

A little pre-release goodness for you today; M(S)MW's new album, due out at the end of this month, don't sleep on it, there's some serious groove happening here.

It's a match made not above nor below, but rather in some altogether hipper place: John Medeski + Billy Martin + Chris Wood + guitar guru John Scofield. On their new release OUT LOUDER, they make music not of this world, yet rooted in the earth tones of jazz, funk, and blues. Music from the heart, for the mind, and made to shake the earth, not to mention the body.

Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood first recorded together on Scofield's A Go Go (Verve 1998), a disc that has become a must-have classic. That project united jazz guitarist Scofield with the improvisational jazz trio Medeski Martin & Wood on material composed by Scofield and interpreted by all four musicians. OUT LOUDER the inaugural release for MMW's own Indirecto Records label is Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood's first four-way collaborative recording. "A Go Go was John's record and we were essentially sidemen, where OUT LOUDER musically comes from all of us" explains Wood. Scofield adds: "We've always hit it off as a foursome, and I wanted to see what would happen if we did something that was a true collaboration, where everyone could play completely free."

Recorded in under a week at Shacklyn, MMW's fabled downtown Brooklyn studio, OUT LOUDER reeks of the scruffy, spirited basement in which it was created. "Something about being down there made the music that much grungier," says Wood. "It gave us that feeling of being a hungry garage band searching for the coolest licks and grooves without worrying about making everything perfect. We could just let it all hang out. Everyone was set up in the same room with all our amps and equipment, and you could feel what everyone else was playing that much better and really react to everything around you."

That, and the four musician's yen for jazz, funk, rock, soul and reggae, go a long way towards explaining why OUT LOUDER's deep grooves and sophisticated harmonies beg for closer inspection while simultaneously making you want to get up and dance. "People connect with grooves and funk, they feel it in their gut," says Medeski. "We understand complex harmonies, but in the end we know that you don't have to play all those notes to connect with people. The groove and spirit is what connects with people."

01. Little Walter Rides Again
02. Miles Behind
03. In Case The World Changes Its Mind
04. Tequila And Chocolate
05. Tootie Ma Is A Big Fine Thing
06. Cachaca
07. Hanuman
08. Telegraph
09. What Now
10. Julia
11. Down The Tube
12. Legalize It

MMW's Website
MMW's Myspace Page

Get Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood - Out Louder At Amazon

dl in comments...

Need Some More Denson?

Speaking of Karl Denson, if you are hungry for some live tracks (and KTDU is at it's best live), a virtually unlimited supply can be found at The Internet Archive. Check it out, you won't be disappointed...

Karl Denson's Tiny Universe - The Bridge

Karl Denson's Tiny Universe (KDTU) is a jazz/funk/rock group from San Diego, California. Members include Denson, Chris Littlefield, Brian Jordan, Ron Johnson, David Veith, and John Staten.

Bandleader, saxophonist, and main vocalist Karl Denson recorded with rocker Lenny Kravitz on his first two albums, Let Love Rule and Mama Said. After numerous world tours with Lenny, he parted ways seeking to pursue his jazz roots. This included recording four jazz albums on the German Minor Music recording label in a variety of configurations from trios to sextets. In addition to touring as a memebr of Fred Wesley's band he founded the premier San Diego jazz/funk act The Greyboy Allstars.

Saxophonist Karl Denson makes no bones about the fact that he plays a funky jazz tailor-made for people to get their groove on--and never more so than on The Bridge, an album that strays far from his jazz roots. Already known for his love affair with funk, both as a solo artist and as a member of the Greyboy Allstars, Denson adds some other interesting nonjazz wrinkles. A strong Afro-beat influence manifests itself in some slamming horn charts and percolating rhythms, particularly on "Elephants" and "Because of Her Beauty." Denson gets soulful on Curtis Mayfield's "Check Out Your Mind," doing a passable job with the vocals (several tunes here feature Denson singing) and embellishing it with sitar and surreal psychedelic production touches.

The album also benefits from a hot production job from Erik Newsome, who captures the nearly rock & roll energy and intensity of the KDTU live experience. This is definitely one for the fans who like it when Denson does his high-energy groove thing.


01. How Fine Is That
02. Because Of Her Beauty
03. The Answer
04. Bunny Playa
05. Freedom
06. Check Out Your Mind
07. Satisfied
08. The Bridge
09. Groove On
10. Rise And Shine
11. Elephants


Karl Denson's Website

Get Karl Denson's Tiny Universe - The Bridge At Amazon

Download link in comments...

Link Update

By request, a new link has been posted in the comments of Snowboy - Pit Bull Latin Jazz

Jamiroquai - Cosmic Girl

Performed at the 2006 Laureus Sports Awards held in Barcelona (Spain), on 22 May 2006.

The Young Disciples - Road To Freedom

The Young Disciples were a British/American Acid Jazz band formed in London in 1990 by Carleen Anderson (Vocals and keyboards), Marc Nelson (Bass, guitar and organ) and Femi Williams (Percussion and programming). Their most famous his was the single Apparently Nothin' (Talkin' Loud, 1991), and helped launch Anderson's solo career when the band split.

The group formed in July 1990 after the American Anderson and her young son relocated to London and met with Nelson. They signed to Talkin' Loud records and released their first single Get Yourself Together (Talkin' Loud, 1990). This was followed by Apparently Nothin' , which became a top twenty hit for the group and brought them to national attention. An album quickly followed, Road to Freedom (Talkin' Loud, 1991) and prompted their record company to quickly cash in on the success of their single by releasing a remixed version Apparently Nothin' (Talkin' Loud, 1992).

The group were part of the burgeoning Acid Jazz scene, and also maintained links with the British hip hop scene, with many up and coming rappers of the day recording with them - MC Mell'O', Outlaw Posse and Masta Ace all guested on tracks over their career. The group also remixed tracks for other artists, although in reality this was usually either Nelson or Williams or both.

Anderson left the group in 1992, using the success of Apparently Nothin' to earn herself a solo recording contract with the larger Virgin record company. Following this, the group disbanded, although the name was still used for remix production for many years. Nelson and Williams continued to work behind the scenes in the music industry.

01. Get Yourself Together (Pt 1 And Pt 2)
02. Apparently Nothin (Soul River)
03. Funky Yeh Funki (Mek It)
04. Talkin What I Feel
05. All I Have
06. Move On
07. As We Come (To Be)
08. Step Right On
09. Freedom Suite
10. Young Disciples Theme

Young Disciples Myspace Page

Get Young Disciples - Road To Freedom At Amazon

Download link in comments...

The Brand New Heavies (1999) - Saturday Nite

The Brand New Heavies - Never Stop

K-Creative - Q.E.D. (Question Everything Done)

Throughout the years, Ski Oakenfull has made a lot of impact in the acid jazz world. He first emerged on the scene in 1991 as a part of K-Creative, one of the initial signings to the then newly established Talkin' Loud Records.

Ski Co-wrote & co-produced K-Creatives debut album 'QED (Question Everything Done)', combining positive hip hop lyrcis with the classic acid jazz sound. After the albums release, the band toured extensively throughout Europe and Japan.

K-Creative only made the one album, but Ski went on to work with acts such as Raw Stylus, Galliano, Incognito and more recently in 2 Banks of 4.

01. To be free (Brother John)
02. Remember where ya came from
03. Q.E.D. (Question everything done)
04. Hook, Line & Sinker
05. K-Spelz Knowledge
06. Summer Breeze
07. Three times a maybe
08. Tynebomb
09. The new tower of babel
10. Back to the real world
11. Give ya the elbow
12. To be free (silent blues mix)
13. Back to the real world (ambient mix)


Ski Oakenfulls Myspace Page

Download link in comments...

Ronny Jordan - The Antidote

One of the acid jazz movement's most prominent guitarists, London-born Ronny Jordan is widely credited with returning the instrument to its rightful place as a major force in modern-day jazz; despite outcries from purists, few other artists of his era proved more pivotal in knocking down the long-immutable boundaries of contemporary black music.

The son of a preacher, Jordan's early musical history was rooted in gospel; his first public performances were with gospel groups, but the outbreak of Brit-funk during the early '80s led him to begin exploring other avenues of music, culminating in a fascination with jazz. A self-taught guitarist, his early influences included Charlie Christian, Wes Montgomery, and Grant Green, and when hip-hop began to take off, Jordan started exploring ways to fuse jazz and rap together.

Ronny signed his first record ideal with Universal Island in July 1991, and started work on his debut release, the Antidote. The rest as they say, is history. Ronny "crossed over" instantly with his first release, the first ever international jazz guitar pop chart hit, Miles Davis’s "So What" which was completed on the same night Miles Davis passed away."The Antidote" became a global smash not just because of "So What" - which became the definitive Acid Jazz tune - but also because of his signature tune "After Hours" - the first and most important smooth jazz guitar classic which introduced Ronny to the US market.

01. Get to Grips
02. Blues Grinder
03. After Hours (The Antidote)
04. See the New
05. So What
06. Show Me (Your Love)
07. Nite Spice
08. Summer Smile
09. Cool and Funky

Ronny Jordan's Website

Get Ronny Jordan - The Antidote At Amazon

Download link in comments...