Jazz Recommends Jazz April 2019

Review: Warren Hampshire and Greg Foat return to Athens Of The North with their fourth album "Saint Lawrence"... and they do so by way of a guided tour around nooks and crannies of the Isle Of Wight. Recorded live with no overdubs in two churches near a small village on the island named Saint Lawrence, the album is the duo in their most honest and delicate form. Naked with nothing but the acoustics to wrap around them, they team up with a selection of local musicians to create one of the most beguiling and immersive narratives where each instrument trembles gently and each track is named after one of IOW's best kept secrets. Beautiful.

Review: Dedicated to the Hammond-heavy 1960s soul-jazz sounds of Jimmy Smith, Jimmy McGriff, Grant Green and Reuben Wilson, the Beat Bronco Organ Trio are a fresh outfit with classic inspirations. The Madrid threesome's debut single is something of a retro-futurist treat. We're really enjoying A-side "Easy Baby", a loose and languid fusion of ear-pleasing Hammond licks, laidback, breakbeat-driven drums and flanged jazz guitars that impressively increases in intensity throughout, culminating in a frenzy of sweaty drums and eyes-closed guitar solos. "Geriatric Dance", meanwhile, is even more up-tempo, with high octane Hammond and jazz guitar solos stretching out over a feverish funk drumbeat.

Review: In 1974, trained jazz pianist Edson Frederico quit his job as an arranger and musician on a Brazilian TV channel. Less than a year later he released his first and only solo album, the now sought-after "Edson Frederico E A Transa". As the sleeve credits for this limited Record Store Day reissue prove, it was never really a solo affair; in fact, the multi-talented pianist and organist was joined in the studio by a multitude of vocalists and musicians. The result is a warm and breezy set of songs that perfectly encapsulate the musical melting pot that was Brazilian popular music at the time (think samba, MPB, jazz-funk, fusion, soul, funk and '60s beat music). Frederico's impeccable electric piano and organ playing feature heavily throughout, though they never dominate. Superb stuff all told.

Review: We don't need further proof of the vibrancy of London's contemporary jazz scene - it would be fair to say that the press has that covered - but more has arrived courtesy of Cykada, a fluid collective of musicians that includes members of such lauded outfits as Myriad Forest, EZRA Collective and Where Pathways Meet. It's an impressive first missive featuring inventive and suitably mind-altering cuts that variously riff on spiritual jazz, fusion, space-rock, gypsy jazz and jazz-rock. Highlights are plentiful throughout, from the high tempo thrills of dancefloor rocker "Dimension Stepper" and the layered solo-fest that is spiraling workout "Realise", to the fuzzy and forthright epic "Third Eye Thunder", whose dueling saxophone and electric guitar parts whip up a suitably psychedelic frenzy.

Review: It would be fair to say that Dadisi Komolafe is not one of American jazz's better-known flautists, having appeared on just a handful of records in the early to mid 1980s. However, his sole album on Nimbus West Records, 1983's "Hassan's Walk", has long been a collector's item amongst serious jazz heads. Happily it has now been given the reissue treatment, with a re-mastering job that guarantees exquisite sound quality throughout. The album's standout moment is undoubtedly the 15-minute title track, where Komolafe's breezy, life-affirming and occasionally powerful flute solos rise above jaunty pianos, loose-limbed drums and memorable double bass. There's plenty to set the pulse racing elsewhere, though, with the vibraphone-sporting "Calvary" and Thelonious Monk cover "Round Midnight" standing out.