Jorge López Ruiz
El Grito Suite Para Orquesta De Jazz

Some records just stop you in your tracks. They resonate with you and feel instantly familiar like an old friend, even on the first listen. SOYUZ's third album ‘Force of the Wind’ is one of those records. It holds all the trademarks, beauty, and eccentricities of classic Brazilian recordings, from the 60s and 70s, that we have come to love. Think artists such as Milton Nascimento, Lô Borges, Burnier e Cartier, Arthur Verocai et al. But this record wasn’t made in Brazil and is in fact a brand-new release.SOYUZ (which translates as 'union') is a creative collective from Minsk, Belarus, led by composer, arranger, and singer, Alex Chumak, multi-instrumentalist, Mikita Arlou, and drummer, Anton Nemahai. SOYUZ's previous albums explored and reimagined the legacy of jazz-oriented, non-English-language pop music of the 20th century. For their third album, there is a stronger focus, and it is influenced by 70s Música popular Brasileira and building bridges from it to present-day Belarus. Alex notes that from the moment he first encountered Brazilian music, he found in it a kind of concentrated emotion that felt as if it were familiar to him from his childhood. This non-verbal emotion and connection between the listener and musician echoes in the music, regardless of understanding of the language the album is recorded in.‘Force of the Wind’ includes songs sung in Russian and Portuguese as well as instrumental compositions. Its musical palette is both acoustic and electroacoustic: rich warm Rhodes piano, soaring string arrangements, and a controlled drum swagger sounding both relaxed yet super tight. Alongside Alex's sublime vocals, that grace the majority of the tracks, the album features guest performances by multi-talented musician and vocalist Kate NV and rising Brazilian star, Sessa. Alex also recently arranged a number of tracks on Sessa's highly praised 2022 album 'Estrela Acesa'.On the album, the trio is joined by a cast of friends; NY-based musician of Turkish origin percussionist, Cem Mısırlıoğlu, classically trained composer, Simon Hanes, who aided with string arrangements and conducting the string players, Netherlands-based Brazilian multi-instrumentalist, Gabriel Milliet, on flutes. With the collaboration of these friends SOYUZ have created nine songs/suites that are subtle and plenitude and like the best albums, leave you aching for more.‘Force of the Wind’ is an enigma, Brazilian yet not Brazilian, vintage yet still contemporary, out of sync with modern culture yet completely relevant and necessary.

For the past 20 years Nostalgia 77 has become a catch all for the musical life of Benedic Lamdin. His schizophrenic offerings range from songwriting sessions, soundtracks, excursions into Soul and in this case Jazz. The Loneliest Flower in the Village is an album that sees Lamdin reunited with longtime collaborator and arranger Riaan Vosloo and experienced veterans from a host of Nostalgia 77 projects.'It had been a long time since we'd gigged or recorded so the idea was as much a little reunion in the studio as any grand plan to record an album' says Lamdin. 'The idea wasn't to do anything new (the material is both a few originals and a few covers), more just hear these players and their easy familiarity with each other after the disruption of Covid'.Playing a clutch of originals by Riaan Vosloo and James Allsopp and covers by long term influences from South Africa such as Chris MacGregor and Abdullah Ibrahim, the emphasis is on strong melodies and open reaches for the soloists. The title track draws upon the song written by South African bassist Johnny Dyani and the result is spectacular; British jazz at heart but awash with references to South Africa and its strong jazz heritage.'I'm pleased to say that I think this record is the best account of how the band (playing in this lineup since about 2010 ) sounds live. Full of energy and ranging from serene to firing on all cylinders.'

Classic One definitly a must have by Blue Note 1962 Dexter GORDONGo (reissue)Ermitage Italy

Touching Bass continue to prise open a distinct, exciting lane for themselves as a label home for forward-thinking, soulful music with the progressive second album (and third project) from Danish/Tanzanian trio, Athletic Progression — Jonas Cook (keys), Jonathan J. Ludvigsen (drums) and Justo Gambula (bass).'cloud high in dreams, but heavy in the air' sees the Aarhus-based band dive deeper into their intricately fused world of experimental, groove-based music. Recorded over the course of one week in Copenhagen in 2019, bringing together songs that had been marinating and evolving during their live shows, they finally felt ready to eternalise them in the studio. The rest of the album was written in in the studio, turning iphone memos of ideas from soundchecks into songs and improvising. The album serves as a time machine snapshotting processes and different times of Jonas, Justo and Jonathan's lives both personally and as a group, a current expression of past experiences.The album is mixed by Eric Lau (KOKOROKO, Yussef Dayes, Mansur Brown) and celebrates freedom and spontaneity at its core, beautifully capturing those playful moments where jams become songs. The title (which comes from Brother Portrait’s verse on “Extended Technique”) echoes that playfulness, while also contemplating on the realities of life and its important decisions.Sonic touchpoints include the space-leaning electronics of Brainfeeder’s Flying Lotus and Thundercat, the glowing dexterity of JD Beck & Domi and BadBadNotGood and jazz-fusion’s boundless nature, with rapper/poet Brother Portrait supplying the feels of London.Like all of our favourites they’re a band best experienced live, blessed with an uncanny ability to make three instruments sound fuller than most. As a result, they’re already familiar faces on Danish national television, have sold out multiple shows both at home and in Europe (supporting Moses Boyd and Alfa Mist) as well as receiving two Danish Music Awards and one Critic Award for ‘Best Musician’ between them.Outside of their own music, they’ve also played alongside talented contemporaries including Kaidi Tatham, Charlie Stacey, Erika de Casier and Taylor McFerrin in New York.With this album, a 20+ date European tour and a number of other exciting projects ahead of them, Athletic Progression are on the cusp of growing beyond their native Denmark and onto the global stage.

The ‘Abroad EP’ catalogues a period of time spent travelling Japan in the spring of 2019. Throughout the course of the month-long trip, Rudy carried around a portable recorder, capturing various sounds that caught his ear. That collection of found sounds would eventually become the foundation for the EP, each track utilizing a handful of different recordings ranging from bird calls in Tokyo’s Yoyogi Park, to windchimes in the coastal town of Kawazu. The EP took a full year of patient, daily work to complete, during which time Rudy invited a diverse group of collaborators in to help finish the songs. Throughout the recording process, harp, saxophone, and violin parts were added to create a unique blend of organic and electronic sounds.