Gondwana Vinilo y CD

Review: Mathew Halsall's Gondwana label is one of contemporary jazz's finest - a buy on sight imprint that deals only in quality. Enter this superb new album River Of Light from Ancient Infinity Orchestra. The band is made up of 14 members all lead by double-bassist and composer Ozzy Moysey. They are based in Leeds which has long disco had one of the Ukase most vibrant jazz scenes and this collective proves that with its mix of saxophonist Matt Cliffe with others on drums, bass, keyboards, harp, violin, cello, two tenors, alto, oboe, flute and percussion. This album taps deep into the spiritual jazz realm and is one of beauty, philosophy and meditative sounds.

Review: Reissued on Gondwana after an unexpected sea-change, Matthew Halsall's Bright Sparkling Light was originally conceived as a tour-only exclusive, its three exquisites, averaging seven to ten minutes per suite, serving only the most loyal and dedicated of fans eager enough to clasp their mitts around the limited edition at the time of his EU and UK tour in October-November 2023. Now, its rarefied airs get dropped; so too do the folk scramble to lend it a second listen, discovering Halsall's preference for hypnotic drones, tenor sax progressions crafted around lush flute loops, and portrayals of the artist's favourite rural location: Newborough Forest, both at daytime and nighttime. 'The Tide And The Moon' is the closing highlight, nicely closing the gap between dewey morning and crept-in crepuscule.

Review: The Danish electronic jazz duo Svaneborg Kardyb - consisting of pianist Nikolaj Svaneborg and percussionist Jonas Kardyb - performed a short session for NPR in May 2022, a few months before the release of their third studio album Over Tage. Four tracks of exquisite jazz melded with Scandinavian folk influences, with artwork from Gondwana Records' Daniel Halsall, are presented to us in beautiful silvery-clear vinyl format. With the highs lopped off and the intonations muted, this is a serene, expectation-buttressing album.