Brokenbeat / Nu Jazz Recommendation March 2015

Review: PIAS call on the respected close talker Gilles Peterson to curate No Deal Remixed, a self-explanatory addendum to last year's well received album from Belgian jazz artist Melanie De Biasio. Given the Brownswood boss's profile, it's little surprise to find an illustrious cast of musicians and producers involved here. Peterson's cachet is clear from the off with Mark Everett of Eels coaxed into contributing his first ever remix, which stays quite reverential to De Biasio's original, but reinterpretations from Seven Davis Jnr, Clap! Clap! And Johnwayne take the Belgian in pleasingly different directions. Gilles gets in on the act too with a lovely broken Latin refix alongside man like Simbad!

Review: Nick Wisdom and AstroLogical's boom-bap boogie project has already been championed hard by the likes of Kaytranada, Nightmares On Wax and Soulection. Reaching album maturity, the Canadian duo paint their broadest picture on Big Luxury, an album that ranges from silky mid-90s west coast hip-hop ("Explosives") to lavish, jazz-maxed Amp Fiddler style future-soul ("Palmreader") via wonked-out broken beat bass ("Luv Ya"). Living up to its name in every way, Potatohead People are effectively celebrating everything that's great about dancefloor music in the last 30 years right here. As a result it will sound great for another 30 years to come.

Review: Since rising from the ashes of Loop Junktion in 2003, Japanese four-piece Cro Magnon have composed gem after future jazz gem. Now on their fifth album, the team come correct once again... V is an exercise in wide-armed, wide-screened groove magic as we flip from the lounge-lazing dreams of "Seductive World" to the off-beat Bonde Role-style jauntiness of "Bonita" via the frenetic, thunder-like Henrik Schwarz-style drama of "Patchwork Jazz" - and back again. Tighter than ever before, Cro Magnon albums keep getting better and better.

Review: The second of two massive Souljazz Orchestra reissues, Do Right! Music have remastered and repressed the Canadian band's third album as a reminder at how timeless and universally powerful their fusion is. From the surging sentiment and powerful message of the opener "Parasite" to the churchy unity and happy ending "Amen" through the dense politics of "People People" and "State Terrorism", Manifesto was a pivotal moment for the band as they dug deeper into the cultural dogma without losing any of their original funk and freeform spirit.

Review: Following the success of "Seventy Seven", Gerald Bonnegrace returns with another super-immersive journey into jazz and Afro tickled roots. Taking off where the last album left us, our focus is squared plainly on the authenticity of the sound, production and arrangement. From the Bob James' motif right at the end of "Once Upon A Time" to the more languid Hathaway-style narrative of "Manikou" via the heavy freneticism of "Jam Session" and Vadim-esque French hip-hop licks of "One Nation", there's much more consistency than the album title suggests.

Review: Massive reissue! Black Eye Friday, the fan-funded full-length Brassroots excursion, is the zenith of the London troupe's achievements thus far. Originally released in 2013, it comes complete with the covers that brought them to our attention in the first place ("Sweet Dreams" and the awesome Kyle/New Order mash-up) but ties them together with powerful originals, humorous skits and cool narrative twists. Up there with the Hot 8 and Youngbloods, Brassroots are premiere league horns men who have translated their energetic live experience into an equally sense-shocking album. If you haven't grabbed this yet, do it now.