The Jazz Convention - Sound Briefing (2012)

The long-awaited return of The Jazz Convention – a group we first grew to love for a late 90s release on Schema Records – finally back here with a set that's an equally great cooker! As before, there's a strong 60s vibe to the music – heavy soul jazz and modal elements – in a blend that's somewhere between vintage Blue Note, and some of the more grooving music of the European scene. The front hornline is wonderful – Fabrizio Bosso on trumpet and Gaetano Partipilo on alto – working with spectacular rhythms from the trio of Claudio Filippini on piano, Giuseppe Bassi on bass, and Fabio Accardi on drums. Bosso's trumpet is especially great – as soulful and sparkling as ever – and titles include "Yes I Can No You Can't", "Hozic", "Silly Toy", "In Volo", "Endless Dream", and "Silversonic".  

© 1996-2012, Dusty Groove, Inc.

Nostalgia 77 & The Monster - The Taxidermist (2012)

Nostalgia 77 has been heartily championed by the likes of Gilles Peterson (BBC R1/6Music) and Jamie Cullum (BBC R2), for his solo work as well as collaborations with an eclectic list of talents including Jeb Loy Nichols (Island), Beth Rowley (Universal) and Alice Russell, among others. His latest album under the main Nostalgia 77 alias was 2011’s critically acclaimed ‘The Sleepwalking Society’, his most heavily vocal album yet, which saw him working with the velvet voiced German singer Josa Peit and showcasing his songwriting skills, to high acclaim and heavy tastemaker support including Guy Garvey, Nemone and Stuart Maconie on BBC 6Music.

Dead Capo - Sale (2012)

Dead Capo are a quartet that fluctuate between the classic sounds of jazz, the attitude of rock and the trepidation of surf. All of this seasoned with the cinema sounds of Rota or Morricone.

It's been ten years since their debut LP, Dísculo, made waves with the national critics in Spain. Their new album is once again surprising and the band sounds as fresh as when they started their journey at the end of the 90s. Sale combines an extraordinary energy with passages of meticulous precision and goes from wild to calm in a way that is both unexpected yet natural. Thelonius Monk, cartoons, cinematic landscapes, rock's past, Africa, surf and the ballad come together in an album as great as it is as unpredictable.

Timo Lassy - In With Lassy (2012)

A relaxed effort in the vein of the classic ”cooking session” tradition of modern jazz. That is, the band came in, took hold of the new tunes penned by Lassy and his trusty drummer/producer Teppo ”Teddy Rok” Mäkynen, and fired on all cylinders. The result? Some of the most swinging no-nonsense in your face and under your feet jazz you’ll likely to hear this year or during most of the others. No gimmicks needed here, this jazz is cooking. The LP includes free digital download code and poster.

The Life and Times of Hot 8 Brass Band (2012)

Hot 8 Brass Band’s second album, ‘The Life And Times Of… The Hot 8 Brass Band’, is out 12th November on Tru Thoughts, announcing the emphatic return of New Orleans’ premier purveyors of roof raising, jazz infused, funk and hip hop fuelled marching band music, straight from the heart and fresh from the second line parades.

This is Hot 8 Brass Band’s first new material since their acclaimed debut (2007’s ‘Rock With The Hot 8’, featuring their famous cover of “Sexual Healing”) put them on the global stage. In the years since – alongside their regular US headline shows, parades and community projects – the group have supported the likes of Mos Def, Lauryn Hill and Mary J Blige live, and played several international tours taking in Glastonbury festival, Roskilde and more. Highly respected among fellow musicians, they have guested on albums by the Blind Boys of Alabama and Basement Jaxx. Having appeared in Spike Lee’s original post-Katrina documentary When the Levees Broke, Hot 8 also featured in the follow-up, When the Creek Don’t Rise; and HBO recently included their remarkable story in the hit Treme television series. 

Tatham, Mensah, Lord, & Ranks (2012)

Musical families always evolve along unusual paths. The synergy that brings people together can be places, circumstance, school, college & family. In the case of Tatham, Mensah, Lord & Ranks the unifying force has always been the love of music. Having worked together in different configurations since the late 90′s this musical collective has grown stronger through separate projects coming together to enjoy the process and results of creating music. In 2010 based in different countries the 4 musicians/producers met up and began the first of four recording sessions lasting a week of almost continuous music. 

The Greg Foat Group - Girl and Robot With Flowers (2012)

It's been a year since the magnificent 'Dark Is The Sun' first enchanted listeners back in 2011 and the next installment of mesmerizing non-contemporary jazz by The Greg Foat Group with their new album Girl And Robot With Flowers is already out on Jazzman Records.

Evading the dreaded 'second album syndrome' with consummate ease, Girl And Robot With Flowers is a sonic soundscape of epic proportions that leaves Dark is the Sun in the dust while propelling the listener into infinity and beyond!

With a doff of the hat to sci-fi writer Brian Aldiss, we're whisked off on a thematic journey into the emotive and enthralling realms of cinematic jazz, seductive ambience and exciting, majestic drama. Often unpredictable and certainly never dull, British pianist/composer/arranger Greg Foat uses everything from brass bands and kettle drums, to Moog synthesizer and harmonium, to take us above and beyond the stratosphere of our senses.

London Jazz Festival

The London Jazz Festival, produced by Serious in association with BBC Radio 3, is the capital's biggest pan-city music festival, taking place annually in November. The Festival has long been acclaimed for showcasing a heady mix of talent from around the world. Widely acknowledged for delivering world-class artists and emerging stars, the Festival continues to take jazz to a massive audience, in one of UK's landmark music events. 

Henri-Pierre Noel - Piano, 1979 (reissue 2012)

On moving to Canada from his original home of Haiti, pianist and singer/songwriter Henri-Pierre Noel brought with him much of the tropical island's influences. The 'Kompa Funk' sounds of his homeland, alongside contemporary North American jazz and disco, run throughout both of Henri's albums recorded in the late 1970s; Piano and One More Step. Both were released on very limited private presses and have since become holy grails of the black music scene.

 Henri-Pierre Noel is an incredibly versatile musician who uses the piano in a very percussive and syncopated way, almost like a drum. This particular technique naturally brings disco and afro-funk elements into his unique brand of dance floor fusion.