September Sun
September Sun

What is this? Who are them? Free jazz? Psychedelic? This album has been recorded by jooking faryds folks that came up in the middle of June 2015 at the space-time door Guscio Studio, Milan. At the very beginning there was no plan to release this jamming jam until a birthday present changed their minds.

Though it's hard to pick a winner among the estimable Black Jazz catalog, this 1972 release from bassist Henry 'The Skipper' Franklin would have to be near the top of the list. Franklin got his start woodshedding with Latin maverick Willie Bobo in the mid-'60s and went on to play with The Three Sounds, but probably his most notable gig prior to this debut album was his stint in Hugh Masekela's band (that's Franklin playing bass with Masekela at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival). For The Skipper, Franklin assembled a crack outfit that included a horn section of trumpeter/flugelhornist Oscar Brashear (Bobby Hutcherson, Ry Cooder, Donny Hathaway) and tenor & soprano sax man Charles Owens (Buddy Rich, Horace Tapscott, John Mayall) along with a Masekela bandmate in electric pianist Bill Henderson and ace drummer Michael Carvin (Pharoah Sanders, Lonnie Liston Smith, Freddie Hubbard). This is such a unique, organic recording that it's hard to make comparisons; definitely a little fusion, a little '60s Blue Note feel, and the usual Black Jazz journey to the more lyrical, pop-inspired ('Little Miss Laurie') and funk-infused ('Plastic Creek Stomp') sides of jazz, but perhaps the best comparison is late-'60s Miles before he went electric. In any case, The Skipper is just a joy to listen to from start to finish, beautifully recorded by Black Jazz producer Gene Russell and blessed with some really fine writing, most of it by Franklin himself.

Beauty !

"L'art pour l'art n'existe pas, nous jouons dans le champs de la lutte des classes.La Fanfare interprète les chants révolutionnaires ouvriers-paysans internationaux. Elle recherche et intègre les musiques populaires basées sur la danse et la vie quotidienne.Créé en 1973, elle se compose de 12 à 17 musiciens tous bénévoles issus de milieux sociaux différents et ayant tous des niveaux musicaux très variés.Sa structure ouverte, son évolution constante, lui permettent d'accepter le passage de musiciens et de former ses propres participants, lui donnant ainsi un rôle de petit conservatoire populaire de type harmonie de village.Son refus des formes impérialistes de musiques (électrification à outrance) la rend parfaitement autonome dans toutes les situations.Soutien gratuit pour manifestations unitaires, grèves, luttes de quartiers, marches... soutien aux peuples en luttes.Soutien gratuit aux travailleurs de la terre devant les différents types d'expropriations.Défense du patrimoine naturel - Soutien aux luttes écologiques... (...)""La rueTerrain privilégié de la fanfareMémoire des luttes et des victoire populaires.A ne pas perdre.Retrouver, recréer, revivre, amplifier l'expression populaire.L'heure est à la lutte.Préparons les fêtes à venir."

Prolific multi-instrumentalist, producer, DJ, band leader, and 22a label founder and boss, Tenderlonious returns with a batch of new and old studio productions.'Hard Rain' follows hot-on-the-heels from the acclaimed Ruby Rushton album 'Ironside', but whereas contemporary urban jazz was the focus there, Tender's solo record marks a return to another of the multifaceted artist's skills: dope house and beat music that oozes futuristic funk.This sparse but perfectly-populated masterpiece takes inspiration from J Dilla and echoes elements of vintage Blaze, Larry Heard and Carl Craig. Warm and soulful, but also spacious and clean, Tender extracts maximum flavour out of just a few ingredients.