Jazz Recommendations April 2016

Review: Founded in the early '70s by karaoke's accidental inventor Irv Kratka, Inner City Records's stamp on jazz was one of the strongest during its 15 year tenure. Paying respect to traditional and fusion, it caught the world's attention and admiration in a very special way. Super-Intendant selector Kev Beadle was one of its most influential pushers on this side of the pond, so he's the perfect man to select and secure the 14 label-defining classics you hear right here. A great starting point for any Inner City starter and a well-considered, dynamic collection for collectivists, this captures a unique moment in jazz that still sparkles and pops to this day.

Review: Forget the Hateful Eight, cos The Filthy Six are back in town with a new album! More Filth is the jazz sextet's third album, arriving via regular home Acid Jazz, and features their Michael Jackson cover "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin" which has already been burning up dancefloors. The rest of the album is geared towards the dance too, taking influence from Staxx as much as it does Blue Note or Prestige. Ray Charles was the inspiration for "Watch What You're Doing To Me", whilst the remainder is filled with what we've come to expect from Nick Etwell, Dan Drury, Mark Brown, Nick Nigel Price, Pete Whittaker and Simon Lea. A rock-solid rhythm section, smooth organ lines, tight brass and taut guitar.

Review: Adele Sebastian, a slightly obscure name to the masses, but a source of incredible talent and inspiration to loves of classy African jazz. She was already part of the Pan Afrikan People's Arkestra as a teenager in the 1970s, and unfortunately ever recorded one so album due to her premature death at the age of 27. Desert Fairy Princess, originally out on Nimbus West back in 1981, is a masterful piece of music, six sublime slices of smooth, upbeat jazz music with a distinctive tropical edge. The wonderful "Belize", for instance, has all the making of a classic jazz tune, but it's given an extra spice in the percussion, a little sprinkle of ethnicity to render it even more explorative and cinematic. Recommended; these will fly.

Review: If you're into ice cool, traditional jazz music, then it can't really get much better than The Oscar Peterson Trio. The band, aside from the legendary Oscar Peterson himself, is a large conglomerate of musicians whose output dates back to the early 1950s; that's right, almost three-quarters of a century worth of quality. Night Train is their 1963 album, and this reissue comes from Verve themselves, who have thankfully left the packaging the same as the original. There is something in here for all to enjoy, and while the sounds might not be as mad or as radical as Miles Davis or Herbie Hancock, there is definitely plenty to be enjoyed in this timeless and sensual collection of jazz songs.