Back catalogue: Broken Beat/Nu Jazz/Nu Soul

Review: Long based sax supremo Nubya Garcia's debut album was a real thing of beauty so it only makes sense it now gets revisited by a team of super remixers for this special Record Store Day release. Presented on limited edition turquoise marbled vinyl it opens with Makaya McCraven's airy and floaty light remix of 'Source' before DJ Tahira layers up 'Stand With Each Other' with ethno-grooves that are loose and off kilter. That tumbledown vibe continues on the scruffy deep house version of 'Together Is A Beautiful Place To Be' by Shy One before big jazz house feels from Mark De Clive-Lowe close things down.

Review: This self-released EP features two newly recorded compositions from the much lauded saxophonist, composer and bandleader Nubya Garcia. She stated that inspiration came from producers such as Ben Hayes, Tom Misch, Joe Armon- Jones, Jake Long and Maxwell Owin (whom she has recently surrounded herself with) and that this release feels like a positive evolution from her last EP. There was an electronic vibe that she wanted to explore and that is rather evident on When We Are. The record also comes with B-side remixes from two generations of London's finest producers: K-15 and Maxwell Owin. The record offers a snapshot of the artist she is today and the organic musical languages she continues to form with her long term collaborators Femi Koleoso, Joe Armon-Jones and Daniel Casimir. A trademark fusion of gospel, soul, broken beat, Afro-Caribbean and Latin styles that Garcia has deftly crafted into her own.

Review: Although she's already released a couple of stunning EPs and mini albums, "Source" marks the first genuinely full-length excursion from award-winning saxophonist, composer and producer Nubya Garcia. This is genuinely exciting news, not least because Garcia's deliciously contemporary and forward-thinking sound draws on a myriad of styles and sounds whilst remaining firmly rooted in jazz. For proof, check opener "Pace", where her dancing sax solos and breathlessly piano solos ride a loose-limbed groove that thrillingly intensifies as the track progresses, or the 12-minute "Source", an all-star fusion of organic steppers reggae rhythms, echo-laden percussion hits, reverb-laden vocalizations, weighty dub bass and lashings of evocative saxophone solos. In truth, the rest of the album is equally as ambitious and entertaining, making it a genuine must-have.

Review: Second time around for Nubya Garcia's sought-after set "Nubya's 5ive", a killer crossover jazz set that's been changing hands for serious sums of money since it first appeared on vinyl in May 2017. This timely repress is identical in almost every way to the original release, meaning you now don't have to break the bank to cop a copy. Highlights are plentiful throughout, from the dancing saxophone refrains, skittish jazz drumming and meandering Rhodes lines of "Lost Kingdoms", to the sunshine, piano-fired brilliance of bona fide summer anthem "Red Sun", via the slow-build epic that is "Contemplation". Happily, you get two takes on floor-filler "Hold", too.

Review: To red and black splatter vinyl comes Nubya Garcia's latest full-length record Odyssey, out of which which a nascent batch of volcanic red jazz, dub and hip-hop fusions effuse. Produced by Garcia in collaboration with London legend Kwes, Garcia returns with Joe Armon-Jones (keys), Daniel Casimir (bass) and Sam Jones (drums), also enlisting the aid of such featured guests as Esperanza Spalding and Georgia Anne Muldrow. Leading with the felsic dance that is 'The Seer', across which what sound to be microtonal saxophone improvisations move across dark interregnums and moodily rapacious razzes, the ensuing album is equally as explosive and never settles or sets, despite its molten presentation.

Review: Nubya Garcia is one of the icons of the current, thriving jazz scene. Her album Source was a deserving Mercury Prize-nominee and here she reworks it through a series of new collars with the likes of DJ Harrison, Moses Boyd, Dengue Dengue Dengue and Georgia Anne Muldrow. Each of the new versions retains plenty of the soul and invention of the originals but adds in a range of other influences that take them in a more driving, groove-orientated direction. The results are stunning, with plenty of great options for DJs who like to play slow and sensuous. The Kaidi Tatham remix of 'La Cumbia Me Esta Llamando' is our personal pick.

Review: Tenor saxophonist, bandleader and composer Nubya Garcia returns with her sophomore album, Odyssey, her second release on the Concord Jazz imprint, out in September 2024. Backlit by a decidedly crimson red, Garcia comes back by the likes of Kwes. and Joe-Armon Jones for a full dozen tracks of epical spiritual jazz travails. Laconic yet ipso facto expressive, Garcia remarks of the record that she felt that it ended up 'transversing so many things'; rather than settling on just one universe as a homeward base, Garcia finds freedom in the continual movement between universes. Led by the tense but no less joy-inflective 'The Seer', on which moods of broken jazz, and that of a treacherous but sagacious journeys, is evinced, Odyssey kicks things off on a larger-than-life note.

Review: For every artist who reaches immense heights early into their career, a second album brings much anticipation, and the exceptional tenor saxophonist Nubya Garcia's Odyssey, is no exception. Musicians of the calibre of Garcia and her band have been honing their craft forever, and like this double album's name, all musically travel long and hard paths... Those that arrive at Garcia's deliciously distinct compositions on the legendary Concord Jazz record label, home of that other pioneer Esperanza Spalding, who guests on 'Dawn'. Garcia's luscious orchestrations fuse jazz with d&b, Latin, r&b, dub and beyond, in thoughtful syncopations and intriguing harmonics that speak of journeying. So, relish the funky intro of 'Set it Free' and Garcia's sultry tones with Richie's sweet and endearing siren-like vocals... On 'Seer' enjoy Garcia's precision, locked in heavenly reverbs and echoes playing off Jones' junglism and Armon-Jones' keys in a free jazz blast, and on 'Clarity' let Garcia, with her sisters-in-brass Maurice-Grey and Turton interweave Casimir's Bass in a luxurious cinematic embrace. Garcia with Kwes produce this adventure, one that undoubtedly will receive even more accolades. Odyssey, an album for lovers of all manifestations of jazz excellence to collect and treasure.