Adrian Younge Ali Shaheed Muhammad
Jazz Is Dead 9 (Instrumentals)

Back in! Love this one! Omar-S drops a real surprise and treat, in the form of the wonderful Street Soul jam 'What’s Good For The Goose' featuring the smokey vocals of Supercoolwicked; this track has become a favourite at Bongo HQ in 2021.

Andi OTTO / FS BLUMMEntanglelandPingipung! Germany

Ronnell Bright was in Paris for just a simple stopover during the European tour that Sarah Vaughan was doing to represent the United States at the Universal Exhibition in Brussels. This rare date was cut at Studio des Dames in Paris on June 5, 1958 for french Polydor label and it’s a stripped-down trio date with a nicely relaxed feel – one that has Ronnell Bright really opening up on the keys, in ways you don’t always hear on his material with singers. This session took place in a certain euphoria on Thursday of Corpus Christi, and you can feel the joy and dynamics in music. The other players in the trio are Richard Davis on bass and the English drummer Art Morgan.

Junius Paul, the The Amrican jazz bassist Junius Paul on International Anthem turn the page to a brand new chapter in Chicago Sound. Ism opens audaciously with the spiritual mic-check “You Are Free To Choose,” a track that features bassist Junius Paul alongside Vincent Davis (drums), Justin Dillard (piano), and Corey Wilkes (horns). This is by no accident. In many ways, “You Are Free To Choose” captures the spirit of Junius Paul’s artistic roots. Corey, Justin, and Vincent were among the multigenerational cadre of Chicago musicians present when Junius chose to follow his own path of creative discovery at the storied Velvet Lounge on the South Side of the city in 2002.Though he began learning his craft playing in church, Junius’s creative voice really developed during jam sessions at clubs like The Velvet alongside members of the AACM. It was iron sharpening iron, the most natural form of knowledge transfer. He explained The Velvet’s vibe in 2018: “It’s like in Africa.... If you had this society of diviners or medicine people, or you know, sages… The Velvet stuff is not secret; but there are certain aspects of it… if you weren’t there, you weren’t there.” The Velvet Lounge closed in 2010. But, of course, the spirit of the Velvet Lounge is not dead. “Tune No. 6,” recorded live at the Co-Prosperity Sphere in Chicago, is a sweet interlude here to remind us that jazz is alive, bristling with what’s yet to come.As Junius pushes forward as a creative musician, he is careful to carry with him the spirit and the knowledge he’s gathered from those who have come before him. He is very literally a bridge between generations of the Chicago vanguard, currently playing in a handful of combos with Makaya McCraven (who produced several of the tracks on Ism) as well as a few of Roscoe Mitchell’s working groups – most notably the Art Ensemble of Chicago – in addition to fronting his own band.