We were blown away when we heard ‘Body Blow’, the brilliant and blistering lead single lifted from Donny McCaslin‘s upcoming new album, I Want More. With just over a month to go until the album is out, the ingenious artist, saxophonist and composer has shared the final single from the record, ‘Stria’, an intoxicating track demonstrating yet again his versatility and virtuosity. Take a listen now.
I Want More is out on June 16th through Edition Records
Renowned and gifted multi-instrumentalist Yussef Dayes has been a key player on the London jazz scene for a long time. He has recently announced his debut solo album, Black Classical Music, releasing on September 8th through Brownswood Recordings, Warners and Cashmere Thoughts Recordings. Speaking about his upcoming album, Dayes comments:
“What is jazz? Where did the word derive from? Birthed in New Orleans, born in the belly of the Mississippi River, rooted in the gumbo pot of the Caribbean, South American culture & African rituals. Continuing a lineage of Miles Davis, Rahssan Roland kirk, Nina Simone, John Coltrane, Louis Armstrong ~ music that is forever evolving & limitless in its potential. The groove, it’s feeling, the compositions, the spontaneity, with a love for family, the discipline & dedication in maintaining the very high bar set by the pantheon of Black Classical Musicians. Chasing the rhythm of drums that imitated one’s heartbeat, the melodies for the mind and spirit, the bass for the core. A Regal sound for this body of music.”
Alongside the news, Dayes has unveiled the utterly brilliant title track, ‘Black Classical Music’, featuring Venna and Charlie Stacey. It comes with an accompanying video directed by Barka and you can watch it below.
Last month saw the the release of Nuc, the new collaborative record from Ligeti Quartet and incredible electronic contemporary composer, producer and musician Anna Meredith. Nuc sees Ligeti Quartet perform compositions from Meredith, including pieces arranged by viola player Richard Jones.
An exuberant and exhilarating record, Nuc sprouted from a conversation between Meredith and Jones who have been collaborating with each other for more than a decade. As the press release describes, Nuc “is a joyful, occasionally furious, never too serious, sometimes energetic and sometimes restful collection of tracks which dazzle with Anna’s signature compulsive harmonies, rhythmic shifts of gear and sparkling textures.”
Opener ‘Tuggemo’ kick starts the album majestically. The track was previously released as a single with an accompanying video directed by Ewan Jones Morris. Watch it below
Nuc is out now through Mercury KX
The announcement of The Horse, the new album from Matthew Herbert, made us tingle with excitement, all the more as the British artist, producer, composer and experimentalist had then shared the triumphant and propulsive lead track, ‘The Horse Has A Voice’, featuring Theon Cross. A collaboration with the London Contemporary Orchestra, The Horse is a star-studded album and in addition to Theon Cross, it also features contributions from guests Shabaka Hutchings, Evan Parker, Danilo Pérez, Seb Rochford and Edward Wakili-Hick.
Ahead of the album’s release on May 26th through Modern Recordings / BMG, Herbert has unveiled a second spectacular cut from it called ‘The Rider (Not The Horse)’, a track with horse bone percussion and bone flutes made from the full-size horse skeleton at the origin of the project. Here it is.
Yesterday saw the release of Deliverance And Spiritual Warfare, the debut album from Holy Tongue, following a trilogy of widely acclaimed EPs. Having recently expanded to a trio, with Susumu Mukai (Zongamin) joining percussionist Valentina Magaletti and producer and musician Al Wootton, Holy Tongue synthesize their disparate influences into a striking and singular record. As the press release describes, on the album we find the band “exploring their diverse influences, from the opening Andalusian catholic march to heavyweight dub via jazz, post punk, mystical percussion tracks and techno.”
To bring Deliverance And Spiritual Warfare to life, Holy Tongue enlisted guests Steve Beresford on prepared piano, and Abraham Parker and David Wootton on brass.
For a taster of what’s on offer, listen to ‘A New God Before Us’.
Deliverance And Spiritual Warfare is out now through Amidah Records
Brazilian piano virtuoso Amaro Freitas has unveiled a sublime new song, ‘Dança dos Martelos’, and a gorgeous live video accompaniment, filmed in Rio de Janeiro. Helder Tavares directed the effort and you can watch it below.
