Back catalogue: Funk Soul & Jazz

Review: The first ever release on the International Anthem label came by way of Rob Mazurek, genius musician of of the Jersey and Chicago jazz "schools". The trumpeter and multi-instrumentalist turned ever more avant-garde on this two-suite album, which was dedicated to the lunar cycle and heard him forgoing his signature brass for a monophonic cornet experiment, recorded at Chicago bar Curio. Documenting the performance, which was delivered alongside Matthew Lux on electric bass and Patrick Avery on organ, IA transport us right on back into the room with the trio, letting us in on a real-live experience of sidereal drones, selene harmonics and waning delays, paradoxically featuring in a suite which, both of whose titles suggest, always waxes crescent.

Review: Makaya McCraven's In The Moment marked his breakout, iintroducing the world to the Paris drummer, bandleader and producer's polymathic approach to jazz and beatsmithing. Recorded over 12 months at a single venue, nearly 48 hours of live improvisation were distilled into 19 dynamic tracks here; they were cut, remixed, and reconstructed by McCraven into organic, beat-driven soundscapes, riffing on the fervour of a music scene sustained in unostentatious settings. Namely, the nightlife scene of Chicago: these sessions captured a raw, unfiltered exchange among the city's top musicians during McCraven's time in Illinois, many of whom have since risen to the raft, not least McCraven himself.

Review: A new collaborative release from Chicago-based musicians Will Miller aka Resavoir and Matt Gold finds two long-time friends turning their shared obsession with 60s and 70s Brazilian music into something glowing, spacious and gently psychedelic. Both seasoned producers - Miller with credits for SZA and Whitney, Gold known for work alongside Makaya McCraven - they trade virtuosity for vibe here. Tracks like 'Canopy' and 'Dewy' float past on brushed drums, weightless keys and muted trumpet lines, inviting you into a world that feels humid and soft-edged, like a Sao Paulo sunrise seen through Chicago smog. 'Zero Gravity' lives up to its name with glassy guitar runs and smeared synths, while 'Diversey Beach' could pass for a bossa nova daydream refracted through ambient jazz. Nothing here tries too hard and that's the point: it's music for breathing, for early mornings or long windows of time with nothing to do. A quietly dazzling listen from two players unbothered by hype, weaving warmth and clarity into something slow-burning and completely their own.