Various
Outernational Live From Studio Two Abbey Road

Oh! Friends of good nature!A thousand welcomes of great warmth from Ka Safar! And that, at a truthfully splendorous time, for hither, by crying throws comes the birthing of our own very first long playing reference, named ‘Ancient Tribal Hearts’. And beyond even that, as echoed by the Brace Heads upon the Great Iberian Deer, through her smouldering grace and benevolence, arrives our bounty, to you,dear listener!Ancient Tribal Hearts: An age in the making - such as the great pyramid’s themselves! From the seminal morning of the first Ka Safarian sunrise, to the falling of this past Hunter's Moon, a lowly tuneful scribe burned oil those many nights at his great tablet made of precious and magical metals, forging hieroglyphic pathways where the Ka Safarians would gather, and from thence, make their unanimous and untold journeys onward, outward, inward, allward...The transit to Pangea is set!Oh! Blessed friends!Pray, let us now step aboard this wondrous ship!Ka is the Spirit, and Safar is the Journey.Your devoted scribe,Humanji Di’Pangea

MADLIBShades Of Blue (reissue)Music On VinylFormat: 180 gram audiophile vinyl 2xLP

Surprise Chef’s music is based on evoking mood; their vivid arrangements utilize time and space to build soundscapes that invite the listener into their world. The quintet’s distinct sound pulls from 70s film scores, the funkier side of jazz, and the samples that form the foundation of hip hop. They push the boundaries of instrumental soul and funk with their own approach honed by countless hours in the studio, studying the masters, and perhaps most importantly, the “tyranny of distance” that dictates a unique perspective to their music.Hailing from just outside of Melbourne, Australia their first two albums, All News Is Good News and Daylight Savings amassed a die-hard fanbase and brought their sound from their home studio to every corner of the globe. The band is now signed to Big Crown Records, joining a lineage of contemporary and classic sounds that have influenced Surprise Chef’s music since their formation in 2017.Surprise Chef is Lachlan Stuckey on guitar, Jethro Curtin on keys, Carl Lindeberg on bass, Andrew Congues on drums, and Hudson Whitlock—the latest member who does it all from percussion to composing to producing. Their self proclaimed "moody shades of instrumental jazz-funk" have a bit of everything: punchy drums, infectious keys, rhythm guitar you might hear on a Studio One record, and flute lines that could be from a Blue Note session. But when you step back and take in the entirety of their sound and approach, you'll hear and see a group greater than the sum of its parts.In many ways Surprise Chef embodies the idiom "the benefits of limits." They were limited in that there weren't many people making or talking about instrumental jazz/soul/funk in Southeast Australia, let alone putting out records. This left them to develop their sound and approach in a kind of creative isolation where a small circle of friends and like-minded musicians fed off each other. "Being in Australia, being so far away, we only get glimpses and glances of this music’s origins," Stuckey says. "But hearing a label like Big Crown was one of the first times we realized you could make fresh, new soul music that wasn't super retro or just nostalgic."This approach is on full display throughout their new album Education & Recreation. Tracks like “Velodrome” pair chunky drums with an earworm synth line that has all the making of something you would find on an Ultimate Breaks & Beats compilation while numbers like “Iconoclasts” show their knack for tasteful use of space. From the crushing intro of “Suburban Breeze” to the floaty mellow bop of “Spring’s Theme” Surprise Chef has weaved together an album that takes you through peaks and valleys of emotion and provides a vivid soundtrack that will pull you deeper into your imagination. There is a beauty in the vast space for interpretation of instrumental music and they are adding a modern classic to the canon with this new album. Turn on the record and enjoy the ride, wherever it may take you.

John PATTONSoul ConnectionJazz RoomAmerican jazz man 'Big' John Patton taste bout his career playing piano but move to the organ in the mid sixties. At that time he worked with Lou Donaldson for Blue Note and ended up releasing some 15 solo albums. By 1984 he was still on top of his game and dropped Soul Connection, a five track suite fusing soul and funk with jazz in deeply vibey fashion. It has become a much sought after classic by those who know but this reissue from Jazz Room means you won't have to play a pretty penny for it. With assistance form a strong backing band, this is one of Patton's funkiest works.

Linda FREDRIKSSONJuniperWe Jazz FinlandLinda Fredriksson (they/them) shares their debut solo album "Juniper" on We Jazz Records, 29 Oct 2021. Linda (of Mopo and Superposition) has been working on the compositions heard on the album for several years, composing them mostly on guitar, keys and by singing. Only later have they been arranged for the band heard on the album, including Fredriksson on saxes and various instruments, Tuomo Prättälä (of ilmiliekki Quartet) on rhodes, moog and piano, Minna Koivisto on modular synth, moog and OP, Olavi Louhivuori (of Superposition) on drums, and Mikael Saastamoinen (of OK:KO and Superposition) on bass, plus featuring the Swedish artist Matti Bye on piano.