Various
The Music Company Greatest Hits - Blues And Spirituals

In a natural departure from their intoxicating signature new-wave-jazz-funk sound, reverberating with the essence of electro-street-soul in the UK, STR4TA’s ‘‘When You Call Me’ received early support from Rampage (BBC 1Xtra) and Deb Grant (Jazz FM) plus NTS, Mi-Soul, Solar Radio, KCRW (US), KEXP (US), Concrete Islands, CRACK Magazine, Nu-Funk (Spotify) also achieved Jazz FM playlist since its release in early April. Brownswood are excited to announce this release on 12” vinyl available instores on 8th July, with the B-side ‘Night Flight’ released digitally on July 1st 2022.In this celestial union, Peterson acts as the catalyst spurring Maunick into the studio with a handful of references from a bygone era, where the staple jazz-funkers of the late 70s like Freeez, Light of The World and Atmosfear collided with the rise of electro-funk production in the early 80s, the predecessor of the UK street soul sounds like Soul II Soul. A stalwart in the birth of UK street soul, Maunick produced some of the pioneers at the time, such as Steven Dante and Total Contrast. ‘Night Flight’ was inspired by Mike Collins’ Rude Movements and ‘When You Call Me’ was reminiscent of Loose Ends and Maunick’s mid-80s productions, he expresses; ‘That part of the 80s, where the drum machine kicked in, suddenly there was a sound that we who played soul, jazz and funk kind of understood and felt, but there was a coolness, a street element to it that really set it apart. That was down to its sparseness and the introduction of the drum machine, and it felt like the STR4TA story belonged to the 70s and the musical transition to the 80s.”STR4TA is the new wave jazz funk project pioneered by Gilles Peterson and Jean-Paul “Bluey” Maunick. Long-time friends and collaborators, STR4TA sees them mine new musical possibilities inspired by a shared formative era. Their debut album ‘Aspects’ was released in March 2021 to a rapturous reception, in the first material that Maunick and Peterson have released together in over a decade. With standout tracks ‘We Like It’ achieving over 1 million streams on Spotify, ‘Rhythm In Your Mind’ exceeding 12 weeks on Jazz FM’s playlist, and a remix EP featuring Melé, Dave Lee, Greg Wilson, Dave Aju & more released at the end of 2021. Heavily supported by BBC 6Music, The Guardian, Wax Poetics, The Vinyl Factory, CLASH, Télérama (FR), Radio Nova (FR), Rolling Stones Italy & Japan. STR4TA are in the studio working on their latest body of work tipped for release later in 2022, with selected live dates scheduled over the summer.

Juan Pablo Torres was one of the best trombone players in the Latin-jazz community of the second half of the 20th century.He was the director of Algo Nuevo and a member of Irakere, two of the leading exponents of Afro-Cuban jazz in the 1970s and 1980s. He has also directed various Cuban supergroups such as Estrellas de Areito and Cuban Masters.Almost all of his albums were made for Areito de La Habana, Cuba.‘Cuba Disco’ was the only album released in his name in Europe; recorded in Milan in 1984 and produced by Aldo Pagani. In Italy in the same year he participated in two records by Pino Daniele and one by Astor Piazzolla.Accompanied by his faithful Gruppo Algo Nuevo, with the addition of some guests such as the Italian jazz guitarist Angelo Arienti, his traditional Afro-Cuban vein is contaminated by disco and balearic moments; as in the case of the magnificent ‘Bermuda Triangle’ which anticipates the current atmosphere of Nu Genea.Limited edition. Released from the transfer of the original master tape.

We live in divisive times. Multiculturalism rises hand-in-hand with racial tensions, and politicians seem powerless to even bring people within earshot of their convoluted message. It’s time for a different perspective.On his second studio album, More Arriving, Sarathy Korwar blasts out his own vibrant, pluralistic missive for the world to hear. This is not necessarily a record of unity; it’s an honest reflection of Korwar’s experience of being an Indian in a divided Britain. Recorded over two and a half years in India and the UK, More Arriving draws on the nascent rap scenes of Mumbai and New Delhi, incorporating spoken word and Korwar’s own Indian classical and jazz instrumentation. This is a record born of confrontation; one for our confrontational times.With this album, Korwar expands his politicised narrative to envelop the entire diaspora. “This is a modern brown record. The kind of record that a contemporary Indian living in the UK for the past 10 years would make,”Korwar says. “This is what Indian music sounds like to me right now.” It all begins with the title: “More Arriving comes from the scaremongering around Brexit,” Korwar says. “It’s a tongue-in-cheek play on the fact that there are more people coming and you’ll have to deal with it!” Through this defiance, Korwar takes clear pride in the knotty mix of his identity – harking back to the new India of the Mumbai hip-hop kids, as well as identifying with London’s cultural diversity. “I want the idea of brown pride to come through,” he says. “My voice is one amongst a thousand, but this record is a snapshot of something much greater than myself. It’s the chance to send a message.

Lush melodic folk trio jazz by Norwegian pianist and composer Christian Reim recorded in 2001 & 2003, now available thanks to Jazzaggression Records.

REPRESSED 2021! "Alèmayèhu Eshèté is no less than one of the great voices of the heyday of modern Ethiopian music, the swinging sixties which, in this country, went on until the fall of the Emperor Haile Sellassie 1 in 1974. On a par with Tlahoun Gèssèssè, Bzunèsh Bèqèlè or Mahmoud Ahmed, Alèmayèhu is a star at the top level of the constellation that once lit up the wild nights in the capital."

**First time Officially reissue. Sourced from the original master tapes and housed in a deluxe gatefold cover. Edition of 500 copies** A body of evocative recordings included in Pupa O Crisalide with three different line-ups for this fantastic album by Enrico Rava which, thanks to Dialogo Records, finally sees the light for jazz lovers. Enrico Rava was the first Italian jazz artist to represent the country internationally, born in Trieste in 1939. A border city with a long history as part of Austria, an important port on the Adriatic see, a places influenced by different cultures. Rava's music at its best is a product of this city - a mix of Central European and Italian culture.'Pupa o Crisalide' is one of the most interesting works in Enrico's discography. It is a good summary of the first phase of his solo career, and contains tracks recorded with three different line-ups: an all-Italian line-up for the opener "Pupa O Crisalide" and the closer "Giromondo", recorded in Rome with Giovanni Tommaso, Bruno Biriaco, Franco D'Andrea, Michele Ascolese, Mandrake and Tommaso Vittorini - an Argentinian octet for the B-side of the LP, recorded in Buenos Aires, and finally an impressive American septet with Jack DeJohnette and John Abercrombie, to name a few for the A-side, recorded in New York.The musical style clearly reflects the composite nature of the album. The first half is funkier, edgier and more fiery, evidently influenced by the jazz-rock/fusion tendencies that were spreading at the time. The second is more placid, elegantly incorporating some Latin/samba elements into the alchemy.The two halves are held together by the similarity in timbre of the line-ups (which feature almost the same elements), and Enrico Rava's renowned trumpet style. Often compared to Miles Davis and Kenny Wheeler, his technique involves rarefied notes, full of atmosphere, and erratic melodic lines that surprisingly do not undermine the 'presence' of his trumpet sound. On the contrary, the charisma of Rava's trumpet seems to emerge precisely from this surprising balance of detachment and red blood.