Myele Manzanza - Crisis & Opportunity Vol. 1 / London (April 2, 2021 DeepMatter Records)

DeepMatter are excited to announce 'Crisis & Opportunity, Vol.1 - London' by Myele Manzanza

World-renowned drummer/composer, & producer/beatmaker, Myele Manzanza, has proved that he's an artist who continues to dissolve the borders between modern jazz and electronic beat production. Having released three solo albums, and racking up tours and collaborations with Jordan Rakei, Theo Parrish, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Recloose and Amp Fiddler amongst others. Myele is already developing a strong live presence in his new London base; his quartet has shared stages with the likes of Hiatus Kaiyote, The Bad Plus, Alfa Mist, and drawing packed houses to top venues such as The Jazz Café and Ronnie Scott’s.

Tapping into the vibrant scene of his adopted home, Myele now readies his next project on DeepMatter Records.

'Crisis & Opportunity' Vol.1 - London features a top tier cast of young London based talent including Ashley Henry (piano), James Copus (trumpet), George Crowley (tenor saxophone), Benjamin Muralt (bass) and additional contributions from the legendary Mark de Clive-Lowe (synths), with Myele Manzanza (drums) captaining the ship.

Born out of Myele’s necessity to direct his creative energy in a productive direction and maintain his growth as an artist during the 2020 Covid 19 lockdown, 'Crisis & Opportunity’ is a reflection of the time we currently live in as a global society. The EP draws the global health crisis, the parallel economic crisis as a consequence of the necessary lockdowns, and the broader racial crisis brought to the forefront as a result of the death of George Floyd. Whilst it has been a difficult time for Myele Manzanza as an artist, it’s offered him opportunities to pause, reflect, and set new creative directions.

Weaving his unique blend of forward-thinking genre-bending jazz, broken beat, electronica and world music, Manzanza drives ‘Crisis & Opportunity’ through a set of original compositions inspired by the city of London which he now calls home. 

1. Big Deal 2 (Bigger Deals)

2. Portobello Superhero

3. Brixton Blues

4. London

5. Crisis & Opportunity

Drums - Myele Manzanza

Piano - Ashley Henry

Trumpet - James Copus

Tenor Saxophone - George Crowley

Bass - Benjamin Muralt

Synths - Mark de Clive-Lowe

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Mark de Clive-Lowe - Live at the Blue Whale (ROPEADOPE RECORDS / MASHI BEAT 2017)

Mark de Clive-­Lowe delivers an outstanding 4 track EP recorded live at Los Angeles' Blue Whale jazz club. The EP finds MdCL revisiting the grand piano, putting his first instrument front and center with his technological world of keyboards and electronics. It's his signature amalgamation of acoustic sound sparring with new technology, joined by a world­-class crew: Josh Johnson (Miguel Atwood-Ferguson / Wayne Shorter) on sax and flute, Brandon Eugene Owens (Robert Glasper/Terrace Martin) on bass and Gene Coye (Thundercat/Flying Lotus) on drums. 

The instrumental EP opens with an original composition, 'Evergreen'. Solo piano sets the mood as the composition evolves into a head-nodding, beat-driven journey of improvisational conversation. As the music progresses, we hear MdCL programming beats and electronics live and on the spot – manipulating and sampling his own piano, keyboards and Johnson's sax – creating a musical palimpsest inspired by hip hop's sampling aesthetic. Only here, the samples are all organic - performed, captured and manipulated completely on the fly. 

The following tracks pay homage to three of MdCL's heroes – Yusef Lateef firstly on the loping 'L+H' – inspired by Yusef's 'Love + Humor' with Owens and Coye underpinning the groove while MdCL and Johnson play and become live samples themselves. Sun Ra gets honored the EP's centerpiece – an 11 minute exploration of his composition 'The Golden Lady' – once again, MdCL's piano is the central focus here, leading the way through a mystically evocative soundscape that reimagines the great master. Johnson switches to flute here bringing his playfulness and musical guile to the mix with the piece culminating in an intoxicating blend of beats, live samples and acoustic band. We close out with an interlude of Ahmad Jamal's 'Swahililand' – most famously sampled for De La Soul's 'Stakes is High' by iconic producer J Dilla. 

It's a real treat to hear MdCL and band in full-­flight live show mode with none of the safety nets of studio production. Live at the Blue Whale hints at what's more to come from a truly individual musician.

Mark de Clive-Lowe - Live At The Blue Whale (ROPEADOPE RECORDS 2017)

Mark de Clive-Lowe delivers an outstanding 4 track EP recorded live at Los Angeles’ Blue Whale jazz club. The EP finds MdCL revisiting the grand piano, putting his first instrument front and center with his technological world of keyboards and electronics. It’s his signature amalgamation of acoustic sound sparring with new technology, joined by a world-class crew: Josh Johnson (Miguel Atwood-Ferguson/Wayne Shorter) on sax and flute, Brandon Eugene Owens (Robert Glasper/Terrace Martin) on bass and Gene Coye (Thundercat/Flying Lotus) on drums. 

The instrumental EP opens with an original composition, ‘Evergreen’. Solo piano sets the mood as the composition evolves into a head-nodding, beat- driven journey of improvisational conversation. As the music progresses, we hear MdCL programming beats and electronics live and on the spot – manipulating and sampling his own piano, keyboards and Johnson’s sax – creating a musical palimpsest inspired by hip hop’s sampling aesthetic. Only here, the samples are all organic - performed, captured and manipulated completely on the fly. 

The following tracks pay homage to three of MdCL’s heroes – Yusef Lateef firstly on the loping ‘L+H’ – inspired by Yusef’s ‘Love + Humor’ with Owens and Coye underpinning the groove while MdCL and Johnson play and become live samples themselves. Sun Ra gets honored on the EP’s centrepiece – an 11 minute exploration of his composition ‘The Golden Lady’ – once again, MdCL’s piano is the central focus here, leading the way through a mystically evocative soundscape that reimagines the great master. Johnson switches to flute here bringing his playfulness and musical guile to the mix with the piece culminating in an intoxicating blend of beats, live samples and acoustic band. We close out with an interlude of Ahmad Jamal’s ‘Swahililand’ – most famously sampled for De La Soul’s ‘Stakes is High’ by iconic producer J Dilla. 

It’s a real treat to hear MdCL and band in full-flight live show mode with none of the safety nets of studio production. Live at the Blue Whale hints at what’s more to come from a truly individual musician.

1. Evergreen 09:02

2. L+H (For Yusef Lateef) 04:08

3. The Golden Lady (For Sun Ra) 11:29

4. Swahililand (For Ahmad Jamal) 03:13

Released February 17, 2017 

Mark de Clive-Lowe - piano/keys/live electronics 

Josh Johnson - alto sax/flute 

Brandon Eugene Owens - bass 

Gene Coye - drums 

Recorded live at The Blue Whale, Los Angeles March 18, 2016