Back catalogue: Funk Soul & Jazz

Review: Placebo isn't the indie band you're thinking of, but rather a jazz and progressive rock band from Belgium that is headed up by the legendary keyboardist and composer Marc Moulin. This 12" is a three track collection of live tracks recorded way back in 1973 from a live TV performance the group made. 'Planes' is a busy one with spy-theme leads and dramatic trumpets next to racing rhythm sections. 'Only Nineteen' is a more mellow groove but one that still explodes to life on rousing riffs and synth work. 'Showbiz Suite' closes out in mysterious fashion and keeps you coming back for more.

Review: Last year Impex released a high-end reissue of Friday Night In San Francisco, one of the most seminal recordings of acoustic guitar performance from Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin and Paco De Lucia. Now they're following that up with Saturday Night In San Francisco, a sequel to this landmark release painstakingly pieced together from original 16-track live session tapes by Al Di Meola and his team. Great care has been taken to capture the stunning musicianship at work from three of the all-time greats of acoustic guitar, and the album comes with a new essay and never-before-seen photos which deepens the experience for anyone wishing to celebrate raw musicality at its best.

Review: For a brief period in the mid 1970s, Massachusetts was home to some of the world's most cutting-edge free jazz musicians. Chief amongst these were multi-instrumentalists Michael Cosmic and Phil Musra, a duo who not only played on each other's albums, but were also the men behind the expansive World's Experience Orchestra. Here, Now Again Records attempts to shine a light on their remarkable story by reissuing two exceedingly rare LPs, Cosmic's thrillingly out-there Peace in the World (complete with legendary 21-minute freak-out "Arabia") and the Phil Musra Group's Creator Spaces. Thrillingly, they've included a previously unreleased version of "The Creator is So Far Out" on the latter disc, while CD3 contains an extended live version of World's Experience Orchestra's "The Prayer", which has been hidden in the vaults for over 45 years.

Review: Originally released in 2001, the album contains ten high-quality pop songs from the jazzy popsters with a pleasant sense of style and spirit, which were described as "standard cafe music" at the time of its release. Now considered an underrated city pop gem, the album is reissued on vinyl for the first time. Highlights include 'Kiss' a smooth and easy-listening track, 'Feel Like Makin Love,' a spacey ballad; 'FM', a soulful and AM-sounding pop song with a touch of dance music; and 'CDG' a beautiful ballad with piano and cabaret stylings. With its catchy melodies, sophisticated arrangements, and unique blend of jazz and city pop elements, Paris Match's second album is a must-have for fans of the genre. The vinyl reissue offers a chance to experience this underrated gem in its full glory.

Review: Evan Parker's latest work continues to explore the sonic intricacies of solo improvisation, delving into the depth of his saxophone's expressive potential. Throughout the album, Parker's distinctive approach to free jazz is on full display, weaving in layers of rhythmic complexity, unconventional sound manipulation, and a raw exploration of texture. The tracks possess a singularity, drawing listeners into the subtle tension between calculated structure and wild, spontaneous experimentation. While Parker's legacy within the jazz avant-garde is undeniable, this release proves his ability to push further, creating an atmosphere that is both alien and familiar.

Review: Long-serving progressive jazz bassist, poet and bandleader William Parker has enjoyed a long and fruitful career, with many within free-jazz considering him to be a true great of the style. Even so, he's never recorded or released anything this ambitious before: a vast box set containing no less than 10 brand-new, previously unheard albums, all of which were composed and recorded between 2018 and 2020 and have women's voices at their core. It's hugely ambitious, not least because the various suites that make up the 10 albums vary in tone and style, mix free improvisation with more considered compositions, and make use of musical sounds from all four corners of the world, as well as extended solo works for piano and voice. It's a staggering achievement all told.

Review: American bassist and composer Jaco Pastorius is influential in his field and a veteran of some 40+ albums, who started in the mid-70s - and in 2017 this album Truth, Liberty & Soul - Live In NYC The Complete 1982 NPR Jazz Alive! Recordings dropped as a scintillating showcase of his skills. It captures him playing with a 22-member strong band as part of George Wein's Kool Jazz Festival alongside the likes of Bob Mintzer, Jon Faddis, Lew Soloff and many more. It is an electrifying set with an extra 40 minutes that were never aired as pat of the original NPR broadcast of the show.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Scratch on front cover and creasing to corner of outer sleeve but otherwise in excellent condition***


American bassist and composer Jaco Pastorius is influential in his field and a veteran of some 40+ albums, who started in the mid-70s - and in 2017 this album Truth, Liberty & Soul - Live In NYC The Complete 1982 NPR Jazz Alive! Recordings dropped as a scintillating showcase of his skills. It captures him playing with a 22-member strong band as part of George Wein's Kool Jazz Festival alongside the likes of Bob Mintzer, Jon Faddis, Lew Soloff and many more. It is an electrifying set with an extra 40 minutes that were never aired as pat of the original NPR broadcast of the show.

Review: Picking a standout album on Blue Note would be like trying to pick a favourite grain of sand on the beach: impossible, and pointless. The jazz label stands head and shoulders above the rest with unflinchingly high quality releases carrying on throughout the decades. Even so, many people would pick this classic deepness from pianist Duke Pearson as one of its finest hours. Along side the Duke himself, Bobby Hutcherson plays the vibes, Patato Valdez is on congas, Bob Cranshaw slaps the bass, Mickey Roker is on drums and Sam Brown plays guitar to make for an absolutely killer collection of smooth grooves.

Review: Maiden Voyage was a Japanese-owned jazz club, near MacArthur Park in Los Angeles, from 1979 until 1983. In August 1981, alto saxophone legend Art Pepper, pianist George Cables, bassist David Williams, and drummer Carl Burnett played seven sets over three consecutive nights; musician and producer Ed Michel and Art's wife, Laurie Pepper, were there and tape rolled for every note played. Though he would pass away only ten months later, Pepper is known to have listened back to the tapes, taking meticulous notes on each performance and writing the likess of "the best solo I've played on this whole date - wow!!" and "This is worth the whole night!" Though some of the performances would find their way onto posthumous releases including Arthur's Blues, Art Lives, and The Maiden Voyage Sessions, now,all three nights can be heard in full, as they happened, for the first time. Produced for release by Laurie Pepper and Cheryl Pawelski, The Complete Maiden Voyage Recordings features 42 performances (23 previously unissued) plus all of the between song banter and stories from Art's three-night stand at the Los Angeles club on seven CDs. The 44-page booklet features photos, Art's original hand written notes and commentary, ephemera and a new essay from Laurie Pepper telling Art's story.

Review: Port Almond, the alter ego of Norwegian singer-songwriter Rune Simonsen, faced various challenges creating his second album Little Ships. After the success of their 2018 debut, the recording session for this one was delayed due to the pandemic and a devastating fire that destroyed LowSwing Studio. Despite setbacks, Simonsen and producer Guy Sternberg persevered, recording the album in September 2021 at Emil Berlin Studios and mixing at Hansa Studios. Featuring British trumpeter Tom Arthurs, Norwegian bassist Dan Peter Sundland, and Tom Krimi, Little Ships presents ten surrealist songs. The album, cut directly to vinyl without digital processing, includes exclusive art prints by Israeli artist Nir Evron in a luxurious gatefold cover.

Review: Few contemporary jazz songwriters have emerged with such demonstrative authenticity and clarity as Gregory Porter. Liquid Spirit continues where the prolific artist left us with Be Good and Water; soulful, funky and galvanised in honest emotion. Echoing foundation-setting singers such as Isaac Hayes, Curtis Mayfield and even further back to the likes of Sammy Davis Junior, Porter flings us from vibe to vibe with precision-written lyrics and emphatic delivery. Highlights include the double-bass slapping stomper "Liquid Spirit", the boogie-fuelled "The In Crowd", the Cullum-esque "When Love Was King" and the tear-jerking finale "Water Under Bridges." Beautiful business.

Review: Idris Ackamoor led The Pyramids from the early 70s, wielding his sax into parts unknown and creating some definitive Afrofuturist works in the process. At the truly spiritual end of the soul jazz spectrum, the concise catalogue of The Pyramids spans a short space of time but reaches far and wide. Now Strut have gathered together those early iconic works and remastered the three original LPs Lalibela, King of Kings and Birth / Speed / Merging, presenting them in a box set alongside an additional first-pressing of their live session for KQED TV in 1975. Packaged with a 12-page booklet featuring extended interviews with the group and a wealth of unseen photos, this is the perfect document of a groundbreaking force in spiritual jazz.