Fridaze Jazz Cuts

The JazzNOTJazz Podcast is certainly worth mentioning this week as its full of really cool Jazz mixes from various guests. It also features all things good for your ears. Jazz Funk Boogie Disco Reggae Latin Brazilian Hip Hop, Breaks and all that good stuff. I really enjoyed the volume 4 mix recently which features some killer cuts. Click here to listen to this mix. On the topic of Jazz Podcasts, check out one of my favorites by Arthur Borgin. Great easy listening stuff.

On the gig front, here is some fantastic news! Marshall Allen plays at the Cafe Oto with the full Sun Ra Arkestra for two exclusive UK shows.

The Sun Ra Arkestra

Cafe Oto, London

Tue 20th Oct 09

22 Pounds / 35 Pounds two day pass – Well worth it!

This is an extremely rare chance to see one of the most influential big-bands of all time play in a small intimate setting. Allen assumed the position of Arkestra Musical Director in 1995, following the ascension of Sun Ra in 1993 and John Gilmore in 1995. Marshall continues to be committed to the study, research, and development of Sun Ra’s musical precepts and has launched the Sun Ra Arkestra into a dimension beyond that of mere “ghost” band by writing fresh arrangements of Sun Ra’s music, as well as composing new music and arrangement for the Arkestra. He works unceasingly to keep the big-band tradition alive.

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And keeping it on a Sun Ra-esque tip, this came as great news. Jazzman have released this beautiful little 7” package from no other than Philip Cohran -bandleader, scholar, Sun Ra sideman and father to members of the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble entitleled The Zulu 45s Collection! Jazzman really do dig deeper and are constantly striving to provide us with rare treats. This time selecting 6 excellent and super rare Afro-centric jazz 45s from Cohran’s back catalogue. This comes packaged into a color box, with detailed notes and original art paper sleeves. Quality as usual from Gerald – you need this!

PHILIP COHRAN and the ARTISTIC HERITAGE ENSEMBLE - Jazzman

And now check out these amazing Blue Note Record Sleeves!

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This comes from the guys over at Jelly Jazz who have also have a great podcast that goes out forthnightly or so on Mixcloud that delves into Jazz Funk, Soul & Breaks. Mark Issac is the man behind these podacsts. Interesting stuff and of course a great way to hear new and quality music!

More as usual again next week. But for now its of to the Electric Picnic (that aint no place to be down) to see the likes of this man and co. Can you call this Jazz??

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Peace!

Roy Ayers - Uno Melodic

The label is Uno Melodic Records and was home to some of the most classic productions in the early Jazz Funk and Disco period. Soul Jazz Records have recently been issuing some of the labels rarer releases such as the ‘Ladies of the 80′s’ LP which features the classic ‘Turned Onto You’ and Roy’s own LP  ‘Lots of Love’ which features the much loved track ‘Chicago’ (amongst other dancefloor nuggests).

Another release the label is quite well known for is the classic LP released by Sylvia Striplin entitled ‘Give Me Your Love’ which was entirely produced by Roy himself who seemed to focus his production on female artists around this time and features ‘You Cant Turn Me Away’ a two step classic. Two other female artists included Bobbi Humphrey who put out the essential cut ‘Baby Dont You Know’ and Ethel Beatty who recorded one of our favorite cuts ‘I Know You Care’ which can all be listened to below. A classic label, one master producer, rare releases and timeless pieces of music all make the Uno Melodic label worth mentioning. Check it out!!

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Matthew Halsall is from Manchester and plays trumpet like nothing we’ve heard in a while.  He just hooked us up with a great mix which is available to download at 320Kbps below…

Big shout out to Fruitman for hooking us up with a great interview with Mancunian Maestro Matthew Halsall a few weeks back.  Matt was nice enough to follow up with a really nice jazzy mix for us too which we present here for your listening pleasure.  The 25 year old trumpeter, composer, arranger, DJ, producer and band leader is one to watch during 2010.  We haven’t been this excited about a Jazz record since Soil N Pimp dropped ‘Wheel within a Wheel‘ back in 2006.  The track below has been on heavy rotation in ChoiceCuts HQ for some time now, a beautiful track that’s definitly wrapped up in the late ’50s Miles sound but has Matthew’s own style very much in there too…

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Halsall picked up the trumpet at just 6 years old after being taken to a jazz gig by his parents. From the age of 14 Matt has toured the world playing in France, Italy, Spain, Russia, Holland, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Australia and America.

His debut album ‘Sending My Love’ was released in October 2008 on the newly formed independent jazz label Gondwana Records. The album received rave reviews and heavy airplay from the likes of Gilles Peterson (BBC Radio 1), Stuart Maconie (BBC 6 Music), Tom Robinson (BBC 6 Music) and Mike Chadwick (Jazz FM).

In September 2008 he was asked to perform a special live session at the legendery BBC Maida Vale Studios for Stuart Maconie’s Freakzone show on BBC 6 Music to coincide with the release.

Following on from this Matt began work on his first co-production project with saxophonist/composer and arranger Nat Birchall. The album titled ‘Akhenaten’ was released on Gondwana Records on Monday 22nd June 2009 and features four beautiful tracks composed by Nat Birchall.

In July 2009 Matt flew out to Genoa to spend a week working with world-class producer, songwriter, DJ, multi-instrumentalist, orchestral composer, and cultural pioneer Nitin Sawhney.

Matt is currently finishing off his second album for Gondwana Records which is due for release in October/November 2009.

Matthew Halsall – ChoiceCuts Guest Mix by ChoiceCuts

Tracklisting:
1. Build An Ark – This Prayer: For The Whole World – Kindred Spirits
2. Pharoah Sanders – You’ve Got To Have Freedom – Theresa Records
3. Jazztronik – Colors Of Days – Flower Records
4. Timo Lassy – The More I Look At You (Feat. Jose James) – Ricky-Tick Records
5. Timo Lassy – The Call – Ricky-Tick Records
6. Art Blakey – Cubano Chant – Columbia
7. Mulatu Astatke – Ebo Lala – Soundway
8. Art Blakey – Oscalypso – Columbia
9. Ron Blake – Tom Blake (Yoruba Soul Samba Mix) – Freestyle

Just finalised the artwork last night for our first release. We think it is a special record and we have Didier from Timmion mastering it for us and Honest Jon’s in the mix for global distribution, more news on this next week with a free download to come. Expect the vinyl to hit the stores in the second half of April and CDs will be available for the tour next month in Dublin, Cork, Limerick & Galway.

If you need any more information please bear with us till next week and more will be revealed.

If you like your jazz you may well of heard of this Detroit collective known as Tribe already but if you haven’t then in your in for a treat as Soul Jazz have just released an anthology of their finer moments entitled ‘A Message From The Tribe’ and of course it’s fantastic. This release also coincides with Carl Craig’s produced album ‘Rebirth‘ which features the members of Tribe – Wendell Harrison, Phil Ranelin, Marcus Belgrave and Doug Hammond.

Tribe have influenced a hole lot of producers and especially one of our favorites, J-Dilla in particular. Here’s 2 classic cuts from the LP:

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The vinyl now comes as an expanded super-loud double-vinyl and heavyweight gatefold-sleeve (featuring all the extra tracks that never came on the vinyl), complete with limited edition free magazine, full sleeve notes and text. Dont sleep on it. Soul Jazz strike again!

When hip-hop trio Digable Planets emerged in the early 90s, their memorable moniker raised eyebrows. What, exactly, did it mean? The name sprang, they explained, from the notion that every individual is a planet. But the unique worlds that their tracks mapped out were not insular ones; as their Grammy-winning hit Rebirth Of Slick (Cool Like Dat)” would prove, the Planets were primed to connect with audiences weary of the aggressive posturing of gangsta rap.

Filled with literate lyrics, honey-smooth flow, and inventive arrangements, their albums Reachin’ (A New Refutation Of Time And Space) (1993) and Blowout Comb (1994) redefined hip-hop, and set standards for the generation of soul poets and innovative producers that followed, as the new anthology Beyond The Spectrum: The Creamy Spy Chronicles effortlessly reiterates. The group first took shape in the early 90s, in New York City. Former Seattle resident Butterfly (a k a Ishmael Butler) hooked up with Philadelphia native Doodlebug (Craig Irving), who was a member of New York collective Dread Poets Society, and Ladybug (Mary Ann Vieira), a Maryland denizen of Brazilian descent. Like the name chosen for their band, the new handles each member adopted also reflected a universal consciousness. Insects stick together and work for mutually beneficial causes, Ladybug observed in Essence. Doodlebug added, Humans are supposed to be the most intelligent beings on the planet, and yet we cant seem to come together in a peaceful manner.

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On their 1993 debut, Reachin’ (A New Refutation Of Time And Space), the threesome showed just how rich and vibrant the musical product of three distinctive minds working in harmony could be. Musically, they incorporated elements of funk, samba, and psychedelia into their street-savvy hip-hop; jazz, in particular, played a pivotal role. The group gave shout-outs to icons Charles Mingus and Charlie Parker, and sampled others, including Sonny Rollins and the Last Poets. Like hip-hop, they developed a language and style that was unique, noted Butterfly of their jazz forefathers.

Those cats used their vernacular to communicate a new perspective. With unabashedly intelligent lyrical references to everything from Karl Marx (on the reggae-tinged Where I’m From) and Jimi Hendrix, to feminist bell hooks and poet Nikki Giovanni, the Planets boldly followed suit. Critics responded to the Planets debut platter enthusiastically. Reachin’ (A New Refutation Of Time And Space) is everything hip-hop should be: artistically sound, unabashedly conscious and downright cool, proclaimed Kevin Powell in a four-star review for Rolling Stone.

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And Digable Planets is the kind of rap act every fan should cram to understand. The record would eventually hit ..15 on the Billboard 200, break the Top 5 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and achieve Platinum sales status. Buoyed up by a bubbling bass line and curlicues of brass (the latter lifted from a sample of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers), and peppered with finger-pops, the sublimely chill single Rebirth Of Slick (Cool Like Dat)” became the albums biggest hit. It peaked at ..15 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, winning legions of fans across a variety of radio formats as well as in clubs. The track deservedly earned the 1993 Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. After touring extensively, accompanied by a live band, the trio returned to the studio, emerging in 1994 with their sophomore outing, Blowout Comb. Even more so than its predecessor, the Planets second full-length pushed stylistic boundaries. The group downplayed samples in favor of live performances: Dog It juxtaposed animated sax and vibraphone turns (by Donald Duck Harrison and Bill Lounge, respectively) with a slightly harder vocal style, while sultry, summery singing on Dial 7 (Axioms Of Creamy Spies)” evoked an air of vintage 70s soul. Special guests on the Blowout Comb sessions included Brooklyn rapper Jeru The Damaja (Graffiti) and pioneering female hip-hop DJ Jazzy Joyce (9th Wonder (Blackitolism)), who also toured with the group.

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Although Digable Planets dissolved in 1996, all three members have remained active musically. Butterfly went on to form the band Cherrywine, releasing the album Bright Black in 2003. He also composed music for commercial clients including Pepsi and Fila, and ventured into acting, with roles in film (the 2002 Sundance fave I Am Ali) and Off Broadway. Mecca the Ladybug now Ladybug Mecca dropped her new solo album, Trip The Light Fantastic, in June, 2005 on her very own record label Nu Paradigm Entertainment. She also composed the score for a short film entitled The Monster courtesy of Scenarios USA – Kids Creating Social Change in 2001. A segment of the film was featured on ABC World News Tonight with Peter Jennings. Working as Cee Knowledge, Doodlebug has been leading Philadelphia live hip-hop ensemble Cosmic Funk Orchestra since 2000. In addition Doodlebug is actively the CEO of the successful multimedia company 7 and a Cresent. But most importantly for Digable Planets fans worldwide, the original trio recently reformed to play a number of well-received live dates (including Lollapalooza 2005), and begin work on their first album in over a decade.

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Great news just in, we just confirmed the booking of legendary Hip Hop-Jazz outfit Digable Planets.
A favourite of ours ever since the double bass slapped on the infamous Rebirth of Slick (Cool like Dat) single. Digable Planets came on the scene circa 1992/93 when hip hop was flourishing with creative sampling and rhyming, every week there were great records coming out, be it De La Soul, Gang Starr, Organized Konfusion, Das EFX, A Tribe Called Quest, Black Sheep, Wu-Tang, Souls of Mischief, Cypress Hill etc..

Polo, Hilfiger & Timberlands were the brands everyone would sport and Yo! MTV Raps was watched religously by kids and adults all over the world. How times have changed in the last 15 or more years, but one thing about hip hop that is the rule of thumb no matter what era we are in is the following ‘if Hip Hop is executed well, its usually off the chain’ and Digables were that and more.

Jazzy and abstract with slamming productions, they epitomised the Jazz Hip-Hop fusion which was the flavour of the 92/93/94 era from New York. Digable Planets play for ChoiceCuts on Friday 23rd April with a full live band in Crawdaddy.

Remember this..

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this..

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and this..?

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See you in Crawdaddy on Friday April 23rd!

Bless the people over at Brownswood and of course Jose James & Flying Lotus for slipping this track out on the net to help promote their new offering. From the recently released Black Magic LP, Jose James is in fine form on this slow burner. Similar in vibe to some of Badu’s slow jams, hope you dig this. Go our and buy the album here.

Code by Jose James feat. Flying Lotus by ChoiceCuts

We have been following these guys since their first recordings and they delivered a superb live show for us last year in The Sugar Club, their new Lp came out last week – Rising Sun – and we just hawked this new single and video accompaniment on youtube

The new album is out on Strut Recordings and is probably at a record store near you if you still deal in format and if you want to download it, go to this link .

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Let us know what you think, sounds like a real progression from the last Lp which was top-notch