Back catalogue: All genres

Review: ,Joe Bataan has been busy in East L.A. with Orquesta Rene for this new Latin jazz double 7" courtesy of Steady Beat. It features four all new pieces drenched in soul and percussion, starting with 'So Fine' (feat Big Sandy), a mid tempo groove with vocal longing and languid horns. 'Mestizo' is a more steamy and intimate piece with sung-spoken lyrics and glowing, golden chords. 'Mom & Dad' (feat Claudia Lennear) has s steamy shuffle to its rhythms and classic Latin percussive sounds next to a call and response vocal and 'Time After Time' closes with a sentimental feel.

Review: Peggy O'Keefe's 1966 recording, made during her six-year residency at Glasgow's Chevalier Casino, captures the Australian-born pianist's true musical talent. Her rendition of 'Cubano Chant'ioriginally popularised by Art Blakeyiremains a stand-out, a highlight in jazz dance circles ever since. Praised by jazz legends such as Cleo Laine and Oscar Peterson, O'Keefe's piano playing is rich with skill and passion, demonstrated to full effect in these two tracks. Now rediscovered and presented on 7", this gem has been hidden away for nearly six decades but is now ready for a new audience.

Review: Opa's Goldenwings returns to vinyl after 50 years, offering a remastered take on the 1976 fusion masterpiece that has long been a coveted gem among jazz-funk collectors. Released by Craft Recordings via Jazz Dispensary's Top Shelf series, this album showcases the legendary collaboration between the Fattoruso Brothers, Airto Moreira, and Hermeto Pascoal. Goldenwings blends Latin rhythms, intricate synth work, and lush vocal harmonies into an exhilarating fusion experience. Tracks like the funk-forward title track and the cosmic 'Totem' highlight Hugo Fattoruso's mastery of layered keyboards, while 'Corre NiNa' and 'African Bird' bring a joyful and folk-inspired energy. The album's centerpiece, 'Tombo,' features an impressive suite that leads into the dancefloor-ready closer, 'Groove.' With all-analogue mastering by Kevin Gray and pressed on 180-gram vinyl, this reissue offers a pristine listening experience, complete with the original album art. Goldenwings is a fresh discovery for a new generation of listeners so this reissue will be a much needed one.

Review: Opa's Back Home was first reocrded in 1975 but not released until 1996; it was the fourth and final album by the esteemed Uruguayan fusion band, whose preferred admixture was usually some melted pot of funk and samba, making for an impressive heuristic building on their intuitive recalling of their mutual upbringing in South America. Mysteriously (for reasons unknown to the band), Opa's debut was shelved and remained so until the mid-1990s. But the story goes that it was recorded after renowned label producer and owner Larry Rosen heard the band playing in a Brooklyn nightclub; with this in mind, Back Home makes for an ironic title, since the sonic turn expressed by the band is not one of homesickness, but rather that of an immersion in New York's metamorphous music scene ('Brooklynville' has an instant proto-hip-hop vibe, if not for its original urban field recording, then certainly for its bulbous broken funk twang). Now reissued on vinyl and CD via Far Out, you won't want to miss this round trip.

Review: Originally released in 1980 on the Alberika label, Orchestre Les Volcans du Benin Vol. 1 has long been a 'holy grail' LP for Afro-Cuban aficionados. It now sees it's first official reissue on Acid Jazz Records, with four infectious tracks across the two sides, including Oya Ka Jojo - latin dancefloor dynamite and a DJ must-have. Remastered by Nick Robbins at Sound Mastering and presented in a wonderful colour sleeve, it's an opportunity to finally own this special and highly sought after LP.

Review: This second instalment of Jazz Room's Pure Latin re-releases comes in the form of Orquesta Mayombe's masterpiece, Con Ritmo Del Tambo. First emerging in 1980 and now considered to be a classic example of Nu Yorican El Barrio sound, this is an essential record for fans of Tata Vasquez. Featuring Afro-Cubano jazz heavyweights including Chocolate Armenteros, Jose Mangual, Mauricio Smith, and Orestes Vilato, as well as an astounding seven-person percussion section, it's safe to say this release packs a punch. Travelling through ten dazzling, floor-filling cuts of Afro-Cuban via New York Jazz age tracks, this is a must-have for fans of Latin jazz.