Juno Recommends Brokenbeat / Nu Jazz March 2020

Review: First Word's latest must-have 12" sees label regulars Tall Black Guy (AKA hip-hop beat-maker Terrel Wallace) and self-proclaimed "chop artist" 14KT (real name Kendall Tucker) remix each other's tracks. The latter steps up first to re-configure Wallace's Moonchild collaboration "I Will Never Know" as a folksy, bass-heavy chunk of slipped soul/jazz fusion dripping with folksy acoustic guitars and ear-catching vocals. Wallace repays the compliment on the flip, delivering a warm, crispy and R&B-influenced hip-hop soul revision of recent single "The Power Of Same", featuring the seductive vocals of Muhsinah. If soul, jazz and hip-hop all float your boat, this should be an essential purchase.

Review: It took Steve Spacek almost 13 years to deliver a follow-up to his acclaimed 2005 debut album "Space Shift". Happily, he's not made us wait nearly as long for "Houses", his sequel to 2018's brilliant, Eglo-released "Natural Sci-Fi". More importantly, it's arguably even better than its predecessor, with Spacek combining his weary, soft-focus and effortlessly soulful vocals with a rich, warm and woozy musical palette full of echoing Rhodes electric piano chords, sci-fi electronics, sub-heavy basslines and grooves that largely - but not universally - tend towards the deeper and more experimental end of the house spectrum. The results are every bit as inventive, enjoyable and forward thinking as you'd expect.

Review: When Gregory Porter first released "1960 What?" back in 2012, he'd yet to become the soul superstar we know and love today. The single was released in limited numbers first time round and, thanks to his elevation to star status, has become an in-demand collector's item - hence this timely reissue. It's every bit as classic-sounding as the majority of Porter's work, with the main man providing an impassioned delivery of conscious lyrics over a wonderful soul-jazz backing track. Serious contemporary dancefloor thrills are provided by Opolopo's superb flipside revision, which re-imagines the track as a bass-heavy chunk of jazz-house brilliance that rivals St Germain's "Rose Rouge" in its ability to send dancefloors wild.

Review: Despite selling out instantly on first press back in November 2018, it is only now that Nujabes' first solo album "Metaphorical Music" makes it to wax once more. This most spiritual of hip hop records - first released in 2003 - brings together downtempo, trip hop, instrumental, classic era boom bap, neo soul and funk into an accomplished collection of tunes that pack a dance floor as well as heartfelt punch. The album showcases some of the best music that the hip hop genre is capable of. Do not miss this, as it won't be around for long.

Review: DJ Deep & Romain Poncet bring their touch with these 3 remixes from the first and classic Cotonete album "Super-Vilains".

Review: When asked to cite examples of musicians that inspired the sound of his second album for Stones Throw, "Spiritual Sleaze", Rejoicer provided a list that included such disparate talents as Sun Ra, Aphex Twin, Eric Satie, Wu-Tang Clan, Ebo Taylor, Scientist and Steve Reich. It's perhaps unsurprising then that the collection of softly spun songs and off-kilter instrumentals that makes up the album is exceedingly hard to accurately describe. What's perhaps more surprising, though, is that it does have a genuinely coherent, languid, soft-focus sound that in many ways belies its multitude of contrasting influences. Don't just take our word for it, though - give it a listen and judge for yourself. Your ears will be amply rewarded.

Review: Trombonist and producer Rosie Turton is the latest rising star of jazz to be offered a volume in Jazz re:freshed's 5ive series of EPs. Her volume, which like its predecessors boasts a quintet of original compositions, is very different to its predecessors, mixing bustling jazz instrumentation (drums, trombone and sax, piano, double bass) with wild and free violin solos, occasional electronics and the odd bout of spoken word poetry. There's much to enjoy throughout, with highlights including the lolloping, hip-hop influenced swing of "Butterfly", the gentle Latin rhythms, electric piano solos and languid bass of "Orange Moon", and the soundscape ambient jazz bliss of "Stolen Ribs". As solo debuts go, it's a bit of a doozy.

Review: Three years on from the release of the last Collocutor album, a new line-up has headed into the studio under the watchful eye of founding member Tamar Osborn. The results are uniformly impressive, with Osborn's six new compositions largely exploring a deeper, more atmospheric blend of late night jazz. Of course, there are still mind-altering, heavyweight workouts to enjoy - see the discordant post-punk jazz-rock fuzz of "The Angry One", an aggressive blast of razor-sharp horns, squally guitars and sweaty drums - but in general the tracks that linger longest in the memory are those that shuffle menacingly in pursuit of bittersweet, slow-burn release. For proof, check out the brilliant "Pause", "Continuation" and the ultra-smoky opener "Deep Peace".

Review: Given that he's spent much of the last decade producing other artists, recording collaborative sets and performing live, you could say that Robert Glasper's latest solo set - his first, by our calculation, since 2009 - is long overdue. Of course, while it may be his name on the cover, it's still a collaborative affair, with the assembled cast list including a wealth of musicians, rappers and singers from the worlds of jazz and hip-hop, including (deep breath) Bilal, Herbie Hancock, Yasiin Bley, Buddy and Terrace Martin. To fit everyone and everything in (one thing Glasper is not short of is great ideas), the GRAMMY-winning pianist has presented it as a non-stop mixtape. It's a format that allows his widescreen, eclectic vision to come to life.