Broken Beat/Nu Jazz/Nu Soul charts

Review: Following 2014's When The World Was One, Halsall and the Gondwana collective continue their spiritual jazz adventure with another immaculate narrative. Now with much more vocal prowess, singer Josephine Oniyama plays a lead role in the story, adding consistency and personality to the Halsall's swooning, cinematic odysseys. Highlights include the Hathaway-style half spoken/half sung "Badder Weather", the frenetic double bass and brushed drum crescendos of "The Land Of", the (lark) ascending strings and oriental scales of "Cushendun" and the smoky, faraway Coltraneisms of the title track. Modern jazz doesn't get any more authentic than this.

Review: Matthew Halsall's Gondwana label is seeing a busy August what with the imprint flooding our jazz charts with reissues and, of course, new releases such as this wonderful collaborative effort from The Gondwana Orchestra and Dwight Trible. Trible's voice is like silk, running up and down the delicate waves of melodies from the collective, with "Colors" and "The Creator Has A Master Plan" both capable of making the toughest of audiences feel utterly uplifted. On the flip, "Love Is Everywhere" shines bright amid a flurry of flutes and intricate drum percussions, while "You've Got To Have Freedom" rides off a much smoother, deeper sort of vibe that's got a little funk at its core. Wicked.

Review: Since launching a few years back, Matthew Halsall's Gondwana Records has released some terrific albums from a string of talented but often little-known artists. This brilliant set is another. It comes from Hania Rani, a pianist, composer and producer better known for her collaborative work with the likes of Christian Loffler, Dobrawa Czocher and Hior Chronik. "Esja" is Rani's solo debut and sees her sashay between atmospheric, often poignant pieces that put her impeccable piano playing at the heart of the action. It's exceedingly elegant and picturesque, with Rani's subtle use of field recordings and crackling background noise only enhancing the listening experience.

Review: As part of his Gondwana label's 10th anniversary, masterful Manchester trumpeter and contemporary jazz trendsetter Matthew Halsall has put together a special deluxe edition of his beautiful "Colour Yes" album with thick reverse board sleeves, silver block letter foiling and two printed inner sleeves. First released in 2009, the album showcases Halsall's deeply emotive style across the 8 achingly good, supremely spiritual tracks that glow with gorgeous piano playing, gently lilting drums and his own fantastic leads.

Review: Before landing a privileged spot on the legendary Blue Note label, Manchester's GoGo Penguin had released a string of LPs, through Gondwana Records, that have become notoriously difficult to find. Moreover, they are respected by the very best of the contemporary DJs, including Worldwide FM's ever-present Gilles Peterson. This deluxe edition of V2.0, the ensemble's second studio album, will provide you both with a decently-priced copy of the vinyl edition, along with plenty of added bonus takes and interludes that were missing from the original cut. Thanks to subtle waves of electronica and improvisation, GoGo Penguin are putting the "contemporary" into jazz and, along with that, providing us with an LP that is changing conceptions of the genre for younger audiences.

Review: Manchester jazz and broken beat cats GoGo Penguin are masters of the long player, with several behind them on labels like Gondwana Records, Blue Note and Sony. It is now to the former they return with a Deluxe Edition of V2.0. As always their broken beats and magical musical interplay are on full show with pianist Chris Illingworth's classically-styled melodies next to the dance energy of the bas from Nick Black and stickman Rob Turner. Plenty of rich structural and harmonic ideas are explored in free form here with this version coming on gatefold translucent light green vinyl.

Review: Mercury Prize-nominated Portico Quartet are masters of fusing jazz, electronics and downtempo sounds and have been for several years, not least on their 2017 album Art In The Age Of Automation. The same label that put out to then - Mathew Halsall's Gondwana Records - is now reissuing it on limited edition clear vinyl. The album is richly immersive and steeped in ambient beauty and minimalist charm, with plenty of ethereal melodies and cinematic soundscapes that stretch out wide all around you. The detail is densely packed in and the richness of the sound really elevates this album into something quite spectacular.

Review: For their latest new album on Gondwana, and seventh full length overall, Portico Quartet draw on American minimalism and ambient music genres as well the work of the cult Japanese composer Midori Takada. They composed and recorded most of it last year and it features three movements of their typically elegant and graceful sounds. The tracks are all built around central, repeating tenets which weave in and out of one another to hypnotic and beautiful effect. Often reaching for the cosmos, the delicate drumming and serene pads all instantly grab your attention and then take you on beautifully immersive rides.

Review: The Danish electronic jazz duo Svaneborg Kardyb - consisting of pianist Nikolaj Svaneborg and percussionist Jonas Kardyb - performed a short session for NPR in May 2022, a few months before the release of their third studio album Over Tage. Four tracks of exquisite jazz melded with Scandinavian folk influences, with artwork from Gondwana Records' Daniel Halsall, are presented to us in beautiful silvery-clear vinyl format. With the highs lopped off and the intonations muted, this is a serene, expectation-buttressing album.