Master Plan Inc (2013, Jazzman Rec)

All serious record collectors agree that finding rare records can be a difficult, time consuming and often expensive business. Finding previously unknown records takes this challenge to another level; another step further and you're into the realm of lost master tapes, acetates and demos in record company archives - take one step further still and you've just stepped into a black hole: the mysterious, unknown world of private recordings made by individual musicians, never before circulated beyond the four walls of their studio or home.

Such is the case with Master Plan Inc, a band from Chicago led by Fred Shorts. With just one single to their name - an uber-rarity rated at over $2000 - nobody had any idea that within the confines of a studio archive and Shorts' private residence there would be a wealth of other recordings on acetate, reel-to-reel tape and cassette.

Imperial Wharf Jazz Festival 2013

Thursday 19th September, 6–10 pm
Saturday 21st September, 1–10 pm

The Boulevard, Imperial Wharf, London SW6 2QD

Imperial Wharf not only offers a wide range of haute cuisine restaurants, retail and leisure opportunities but also hosts the highly acclaimed Imperial Wharf Jazz Festival.

The Imperial Wharf Jazz Festival has established itself as London's premier stage for some of Britain's finest musicians. The free event, held on the Boulevard at Imperial Wharf, presents some of the very best jazz artists in the UK and gives Londoners the opportunity to hear these great artists in a fantastic surrounding.

For more info click here 

Corduroy - Very Yeah (2013)

 Corduroy return to the stage this Saturday 21 September 2013 (O2 Academy, Islington, London, UK) with Matt Deighton from fellow acid jazzmen Mother Earth. For info and tickets click here

Having evolved out of cult 80s bands Boys Wonder and Doctor & The Medics, CORDUROY were one of the principal architects of the early 90s ACID JAZZ sound, releasing five albums between 1992 and 1999 for the Acid Jazz and Big Cat labels. Their Acid Jazz-era recordings have been out-of-print for many years. Each album is housed in a cute replica card sleeve within a stylish box set, which also sports a 16-page booklet featuring rare photos and new sleeve-notes from Corduroy bassist Rich Searle. In total, VERY YEAH boasts 22 non-album tracks, 17 of which are previously unreleased! 

Trombone Shorty - Say That To Say This (2013)

 

Troy ‘Trombone Shorty’ Andrews has God-given talent, natural charisma and a relentless drive to bridge music’s past and future. His third outing for Verve Records, Say That To Say This (Sept. 10), was co-produced by Andrews and kindred spirit Raphael Saadiq, and sounds like nothing else out there, as Andrews and his longtime band, Orleans Avenue – guitarist Pete Murano, bassist Mike Ballard and drummer Joey Peebles – continue their natural musical evolution. In a very real sense, the torch is passed from one great New Orleans band to another on the new album, which features the first new studio recording from the original members of the legendary Meters in 36 years, as they revisit their 1977 classic ‘Be My Lady,’ with Andrews singing lead and playing horns.

V/A - Brownswood Bubblers 10 (2013)

There's plenty bubbling up this time around – a rich range of contemporary tracks that show that our man Gilles Peterson still has his ear to the ground for the best new sounds around! The vibe is very soulful – and tracks are a wonderful blend of older modes and very fresh future elements – served up back to back in a way that few other collections could ever handle this well – the same sort of special feeling we get when we dig Gilles in a club or on the air! And even ten volumes in, the man's still opening up our ears to so much wonderful stuff – quite a feat, but that's why we've been digging his sounds for 25 years. 

Pink Martini - Get Happy (2013)

In their own words:

In January 2012, Thomas Lauderdale and our trusty audio engineer Dave Friedlander flew to Los Angeles to visit Thomas’s new friend, Phyllis Diller. While there, Thomas bought a dozen of Phyllis’s bright colorful paintings… and they recorded Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile”, which turned out to be Phyllis Diller’s final recording, and became the soundtrack for the many tributes to her when she passed away six months later.

Thus began the 18-month odyssey to record Get Happy, the long-awaited studio follow-up to 2009′s Splendor in the Grass, an odyssey which featured a calvacade of vocal royalty visiting our Portland studios, including exotic cabaret sensation Meow Meow, sunny French eccentric Philippe Katerine, the handsome and brilliant radio superstar Ari Shapiro, warm-hearted wunder-siblings The von Trapps, and a riveting appearance by the exquisite Rufus Wainwright!

John Zorn - Dreamachines (2013)

By Thom Jurek (AMG) 

Dreamachines marks the third part of a trilogy of sorts, influenced by the works and techniques of William S. Burroughs and Brion Gysin, who together developed the cut-up method Third Mind collaboration and other creative and improvisational strategies. As a composer, John Zorn has utilized their techniques and thought throughout his career; it has been most obvious in the cut-and-paste methodology of his Naked City group, and in the two previous tribute recordings to Burroughs and Gysin that preceded this one: the vanguard multi-part suite Interzone that appeared in 2010, and 2011's Nova Express.

Soren Bebe Trio - Eva (2013)

The fourth studio album from the internationally acclaimed popular Danish piano trio ‘Soren Bebe Trio’features a collaboration and guest appearance with the great American bass player Marc Johnson. Recorded in New York at Sear Sound Studios by master technician James Farber, the sound is simply as good as it gets. The band have recently seen an ever expanding international fan base and have began to build a musical following and reputation, playing in Brazil, USA, Morocco, Poland and also South Korea and Hong Kong in 2013. 

Frootful - Heavyweight (2013)

In 2011, Frootful released their debut album Colours on Freestyle Records to great acclaim, with everyone from Osunlade, Craig Charles and Diesler praising its modern-yet-retro blend of 60s soul, rocksteady, dance floor friendly jazz and R&B, whilst Jazz FM made it an Album Of The Week. The debut single taken from it, 'Fish In The Sea' became a club hit, and also featured in Steven Soderbergh's hit movie Magic Mike.

Fast-forward to 2013, and guitarist Nick Radford and crew return with an equally eclectic collection of songs and grooves that make up the new album, Heavyweight. The title originates from a soul night Nick used to play 45s at, but also tips its hat to the art of producing a record, in aiming to get an authentically heavy sound down - from the writing, engineering and recording, through to the final mixing and mastering. Co-producer Krzysztof Oktalski played a big role in getting such a sound down, himself a big Northern Soul collector, who worked with Larry Stabbins and members of Portishead on his Stonephace album (on Tru Thoughts).

Nils Landgren Funk Unit - Teamwork (2013)

This might well be the best Funk Unit that Nils Landgren has had gathered around him since 2010: technically outstanding, this is a group of team players who combine well with a great groove connection. James Brown meets Parliament meets Crusaders meets Funk Unit: that's one way you could describe the musical concept on"Teamwork". It is pure party feeling, the notes whirl coolly through the ranks, superb horn sets alternate with ecstatic solos, dance beats, smooth vocals and strong melodies, but there is also time for elegance and heartfelt blues. "Teamwork" is all that and then some, played by a dream team of sweat-inducing funk workers with soul in their blood.