Chip Wickham
Cloud 10 (Clear Vinyl)

This double LP release features one of Miles Davis’ final great bands: John Scofield on guitar, Bill “The Other Bill Evans” Evans on saxophones, flute and electric piano, Darryl Jones on bass, Al Foster on drums, and percussionist Mino Cinelu. Miles was back in amazing form (“incandescent and iridescent as ever,” critic Greg Tate noted), when he mounted the stage at the Theatre St-Denis during the Festival International De Jazz De Montreal in July 1983, and this revelatory performance has been lovingly mixed and mastered for its first ever release, on vinyl for Record Store Day 2022. (A CD will be part of the next edition of the Miles Davis Bootleg Series, focusing on the 1981-1985 period, later in the year.)What It Is includes tracks from that year’s release Star People, the Marcus Miller tune “Hopscotch” and the song “Jean-Pierre” that appeared on 1982’s We Want Miles. The recordings of “What It Is” and “That’s What Happened” were so well thought of by Miles that he utilized them for his 1984 release Decoy, but in heavily edited form and this release would include the first release of them in complete form. Packaged in beautiful gatefold packaging, the album features liner notes penned by the incomparable music journalist Greg Tate and represent some of his final writing.

A decade after it first surfaced on CD and digital, Kaidi Tatham's superb contribution to Jazz:Refreshed's now legendary 5ive series of mini-albums has finally made it onto vinyl. We don't expect these to hang around in stock too long, in part because it's one of the most consistently on-point and musically expansive sets in Tatham's vast catalogue - and that's saying something. For proof, check the soulful bruk-up business of 'To My Surprise' (reminiscent of the best of the collective Bugz in the Attic project he was a big part of), the fluid, spiritual jazz-funk brilliance of opener 'Don't Hide Your Love' and the expansive, up-tempo excellence of 'Organic Juggernaut', where fluttering flutes, squelchy bass and sparkling pianos catch the ear.

Les 12 premiers volumes des très populaires séries Spiritual Jazz ont permis de découvrir une multitude d'enregistrements historiques, rassemblant une variété d'œuvres des années 50 aux années 80 par des artistes du monde entier. Avec le volume 13, Jazzman s’intéresse à ce qui se passe MAINTENANT.Sur 24 morceaux, la label présente un aperçu des représentants contemporains du jazz spirituel, des musiciens qui ont l'intention d'apporter quelque chose de personnel à cette musique tout en reconnaissant l'importance de ceux qui leur ont ouvert la voie. On retrouve sur cette compilation de la musique enregistrée au cours des 20 dernières années et provenant de 15 pays différents, y compris des classiques modernes des vétérans Steve Reid et Idris Ackamoor, qui constituent un lien vital entre les maîtres du passé et la nouvelle génération pleine de talents. Plusieurs des artistes qui figurent sur cette compilation, comme Cat Toren et David...Jazzman present their overview of the contemporary exponents of Spiritual Jazz; musicians who are intent on bringing something personal to the table, as much as they recognize the importance of those who have paved the way for them. Features music recorded within the past 20 years and from 15 different countries, including modern classics from the likes of Vibration Black Finger, Wildflower, Angel Bat Dawid through to veterans such as Steve Reid, providing a vital link between the past masters and the enlightened new generation.

Influential jazz collective Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids return with their epic opus, ‘Shaman!’, featuring original 70s Pyramids member Dr. Margaux Simmons on flute Bobby Cobb on guitar, long-term associate Sandra Poindexter on violin, Ruben Ramos on bass, Gioele Pagliaccia on drums and Jack Yglesias on percussion. The band transitions from the political and social commentaries of 2018’s acclaimed ‘An Angel Fell’ into more introspective themes.