Juno Recommends Brokenbeat / Nu Jazz November 2021

Review: It would be fair to say that De Las Colonias Del Rio De La Plata is something of a little-known gem. Recorded in two days in Buenos Aries back in the autumn of 1976, the album remains the sole recorded output of Argentine keyboardist and producer Jorge Lopez Ruiz's jazz-fusion outfit, Viejas Raices. The album itself has long been sought-after by Latin jazz collectors, hence this handy - if frustratingly limited - vinyl reissue. Musically, it's a blast from start to finish, with Lopez Ruiz's electric piano and ARP synthesizer sounds riding extra-percussive Latin jazz grooves and some seriously groovy upright bass. Alternately floor-friendly and pleasingly laidback, the album's funky beauty and impressive musicianship is only heightened by the lack of fiery horns.

Review: Adam Scrimshire's latest full-lenbth excursion - the Albert's Favourites founder's third in as many years, is an expansive, adventurous and entertaining affair, with a string of guest vocalists and musicians swinging by to lend a hand. After opening with a touch of Rotary Connection-inspired brilliance featuring Cleveland Watkiss ('The Pile'), Scrimshsire sashays between soft-focus, semi-acoustic soul ('Heron', featuring Miryam Solomon and the blissful 'In Circles' with Idris Rahman), breezy spiritual jazz ('I Hear You, I See You', with UK jazz royalty Nat Birchall and Faye Houston), becalmed ambient jazz (the Ursula Rucker-voiced 'Boldly') and a swathe of slick, decidedly laidback gems (see 'Morning Affirmation' and Pie-Eye Collective ambient collaboration 'Discussion').

Review:  Over the years, George 'E.A.S.E' Evelyn has made some very good downtempo music as Nightmares on Wax, as well as some killer club cuts. Even so, he's previously made little quite as musically refined as Shout Out To Freedom. Made in cahoots a giant cast-list of guest performers, the album's 15 tracks rarely surprise - we know by now that Evelyn will blend elements of soul, hip-hop, jazz, reggae and smooth grooves - but are still capable of genuinely taking your breath away. Basically, Evelyn is doing what he does best, only better than ever, with more extensive use of live instrumentation and some genuinely stirring orchestration. Highlights include the Balearic ambient jazz brilliance of 'Wonder', the low-slung, flash-friend soul shuffle of 'Own Me' and the sunrise-ready bliss of 'Imagineering'.

Review: Nubya Garcia is one of the icons of the current, thriving jazz scene. Her album Source was a deserving Mercury Prize-nominee and here she reworks it through a series of new collars with the likes of DJ Harrison, Moses Boyd, Dengue Dengue Dengue and Georgia Anne Muldrow. Each of the new versions retains plenty of the soul and invention of the originals but adds in a range of other influences that take them in a more driving, groove-orientated direction. The results are stunning, with plenty of great options for DJs who like to play slow and sensuous. The Kaidi Tatham remix of 'La Cumbia Me Esta Llamando' is our personal pick.

Review: Kiefer closes down his trilogy of EPs on Stones Throw with fantastic final offering, Between Days. This one takes on the ideas of transition, of growing old and rising fiends, looking for new purpose as life changes and trying to stay hopeful. It features a host of the beat maker's mates such as Sara Sithi-Amnuai on trumpet, Will Logan on drums and Paul Castelluzzo on guitar, and also includes some great covers of The Cure's 'In Between Days' and Roy Ayers's 'Everybody Loves The Sunshine.'

Review: British pianist, composer and arranger Greg Foat has long perfect this own unique take on jazz, and one in which he draws on both the classic sound next to inventing his own new language. This was true a decade ago when he put out his Dark is the Sun album. Recorded in Sweden with classic scoring techniques, it references luminaries like Bruno Nicolai, Michel Legrand and Serge Gainsbourg as well as UK jazz cats Michael Garrick, Keith Mansfield and Alan Hawkshaw. Hugely listenable, full of emotional highs and lush in sound, it remains an essential jazz record

Review: Tenderlonious has been turning out a diverse range of brilliant sounds with all sorts of projects in the last few years from his band Ruby Rushton to classical music with Pakistani quartet Jaubi and even deep house and ambient when he goes solo. Here, four years after his On Flute mini-album back in 2016, he serves up another album of his signature flute-lead sounds on the 22a label with elements of Detroit house, p-funk, synth grooves and more all featuring. 'Isaac's Theme' is a gorgeously deep and reflective flute solo while 'Neptune's Mood' ride on a broken beat. 'Still Flute' is a brilliant jazzy house tribute, presumably, to the St Germain classic.

Review: Polish quartet Bloto finally unveil their highly anticipated album on the superb Astigmatic Records. This red hot band come on hot from the off and combine heavy instrumentals, hip hop inspired drums, manic keys work and hugely expressive sax solos into insane jazz grooves and improvised workouts. It's a dense, challenging sound but one that reveals more with each and every listen and will surely appeal to jazz fans from across the ages. Thankfully, there is the odd moment to breath such as the creepy electronics and subversive sounds of 'Prostactwo' and dark, late night steppers like 'Autentyzm.' Cool cover art, too.

Review: This year has been packed with new music from Japanese jazz-funk revivalists Nautilus. After a series of well-received 7"s and an album, Refrain, back in May, they now return with two more of their superbly well crafted and musical singles. 'I Can't Make You Love Me' is all splashy cymbals and tight jazz drumming, with noodling Rhodes chords and the icing on the cake - a vocal from Nanami Shimizu. Flip it over for 'Solitude' which is a much more sparse and slow jam where there is room between the beats for the starry-eyed chords and keys to real make their mark. This is golden stuff once more from this fine collective.

Review: You'd be hard pushed to find a 7" that packs more of a punch than this one this month. 'Bongo Song' by Koncos is much more raw and real than many tunes that use the word bongo on their name. It has a punk-funk bass line that is super sleazy and gritty. The scintillating drums bristle with energy and the explosive chords are just as edgy. The bongos ride up top and bring a looseness to the groove that makes it have an ever wider appeal. Flip it over and you will find the Kensington & Haus remix, which utterly flips the script. It is a languid, dubbed out wobbler with neat, knotted guitar riffs, splashy cymbals and a much sunnier disposition

Review: Fresh from dropping another essential seven-inch with his regular Sound Combo band, Misha Paniflov has joined forces with fellow multi-instrumentalist Shawn Lee for a string of collaborative singles. This "45" sports two genuinely impressive cuts, each full to bursting with quality live instrumentation. It opens with 'Sigmund Jahn Bossa', a superb fusion of late 1960s library jazz (think Roy Budd's score for Get Carter and you're in the right ballpark), bustling bossa-nova and spiralling psych-funk. Over on the flip the pair continue to deliver lounge, influenced, tongue-in-cheek thrills via the cheap, Sideman drum machine rhythms, tumbling guitars, elongated Hammond organ chords and hazy backing vocals of 'Aquaria'.

Review: Sometimes the simplest ideas are those that get the greatest results. This split 12" from East London cinematic jazz combo Portico Quartet and Polish pianist Hania Rani is a fine example. The two artists exchanged tracks, with the resulting reworks appearing on this superb seven-inch. The Portico Quartet's version of Rani's 'Nest' is simply superb: a dreamy, otherworldly drift through sunrise-ready jazz in which waves of undulating analogue synthesizer sounds, immersive chords and flotation tank vocal samples flutter attractively on a breeze of languid jazz drums. Rani's interpretation of Portico Quartet's 'With, Beside, Against' is arguably even more impressive. Sparse and minimalistic, it sees her add twinkling piano motifs and her own evocative vocals to a slowly unfurling, widescreen jazz workout. In a word: stunning.

Review: Musical polymath Misha Paniflov is Estonia's answer to Bruno 'Patchworks' Hovart - a hugely talented multi-instrumentalist and producer whose steady stream of solo and collaborative releases are never less than superb. Here he reassembles his 'Sound Combo' quartet for two workouts that blur the boundaries between jazz, jazz-funk and cinematic soul. A-side 'Moonscape Waltz' is rather lovely, with alternately sparkling and fuzzy guitar solos and twinkling electric piano sounds gently surfing a swelling waltz rhythm. It comes backed with a suitably jaunty and sun-kissed B-side, 'Few Layers For Smith', where restless electric piano motifs, jazzy drums and organ chords are joined by glorious saxophone flourishes on a slow build towards a gorgeous climax.

Review: Given that both have eclectic musical tastes and play a multitude of instruments, it makes perfect sense that Misha Paniflov and Shawn Lee have ended up working together on a handful of seven-inch singles. 'Volkswagenesque', the opening gambit from the pair's latest "45", is another strong sonic statement. It boasts the sun-kissed warmth and laidback vibe heard on many of Lee's productions, with the duo wrapping glistening guitars, gravelly funk-rock solos, spacey synths and warming bass around a languid, percussion-rich rhythm track. You'll find more weighty, beautifully played percussion on flipside 'Miles Away', a more low-slung and dancefloor-ready affair that features some excellent electric piano playing from Lee.