Frédéric D. Oberland - Même Soleil (2021 Nahal Recordings)

FLUID RADIO (UK) - 'Même Soleil sees multi-instrumentalist Frédéric D. Oberland in fine form. The music spirals into an uninterrupted stream of complexity, high detail, and originality; an ongoing battle between heaving dissonance and harmonic breakthrough. Despite its sketchy underworld, Oberland concentrates on narrative and drives the music forward with a real sense of momentum, keeping it on a barely-visible road that’s been littered with effects pedals and dark-glowing synths, but also infused with jazz-inspired, sharp-edged horns.'

FISHEYE MAGAZINE (FR) - "Bien que pouvant être appréciés séparément, le livre de Gaël Bonnefon et le disque de Frédéric D. Oberland forment l’unité de Même Soleil, (...) oeuvre totale laissant s’échapper des horizons où le possible passe encore par l’humain. Où le sang et la chaleur n’ont pas peur de côtoyer la nuit et l’acier, le chimique et l’organique. Dans toutes ses constituantes, elle est aussi une invitation aux radicalités existentielles. Une ode pour les enfants aux semelles de vent qui n’attendent pas qu’on leur ouvre les portes pour s’enfuir."

THE QUIETUS / ROCKFORT (UK) - 'richly rewarding third solo album'.

UNDERSCORE MUSIC MAGAZINE (UK) - 'There’s a sense of intimacy to the way Oberland has been allowing his music to develop over the last tumultuous year. Whereas global unease in the past may have attracted the artist to the scene, here he finds himself attempting to process developments internally from an uncomfortable distance. Horns and wavering flute abound, and the rattle and stomp of ritual echoes throughout; music collapses as quickly as it can coalesce, like thought forms whose very intangibility provide a dangerous allure.'

GONZO CIRCUS (NL) - 'Wie de andere projecten van Frédéric D. Oberland (denk ann zijn aandeel in onder meer Oiseaux-tempête en FOUDRE!, maar ook als oprichter van het door ons geliefde NAHAL-label), een beetje kent, weet waarschijnlijk al wat voor muziek verwacht kan worden: meeslepende.'

SOUL KITCHEN (FR) - "Voilà un disque à écouter en solitaire pour voyager de l’universel à l’intime et inversement. Dès la première écoute on est fasciné par ce maelstrom sonore qui fait jaillir des images saturées de blancs éclatants, de noirs profonds. On pense parfois à la trilogie des Qatsi car cet espace sonore est une invitation à la méditation et à la réflexion."

THE LETTER (UK) - 'Oberland loods the senses with varied musical styles, from the middle-Eastern Jazzy vibe on opener Augures to chugging guitar and feedback on Un Feu Rebelle. Bonnefon's visuals, like grainy film stills, blurry and high contrast, carry a voyeuristic allure with a dangerous underlying narrative.'

BAD TO THE BONE MAGAZINE (FR) - 'Alongside photographic book by Gaël Bonnefon, it's a global art piece, a journey in songs and pictures in the pure Oberland's atmosphere.'

1. augures 10:27

2. quatre épaves d'acier 04:07

3. en cercle immergé 02:04

4. un feu rebelle 06:35

5. ravages 06:41

6. à notre nuit 10:42

All music composed, performed and recorded by Frédéric D. Oberland between March 2020 and March 2021 at Magnum Diva:

analog synthesizers, mellotron, machine drum, flutes, alto saxophone, duduk, vocals, percussion, field recordings, electric bass & guitar

Mixed by Jean-Charles Bastion at Mer/Noir

Mastered by Harris Newman

Photography by Gaël Bonnefon

Design by Sprflxgrfzm

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Jahaziel Arrocha - A Marte (2021 River Down Records)

Creative music from the soul of Panamá.

We are committed to the development, documentation and expansion of the sound of Panamá.

1. Celideth 01:08

2. Lugares y Rincones 19:11

3. Son risa 02:25

4. El manso avispero 02:16

5. A Marte 06:56

Jahaziel Arrocha - saxofón tenor

Aquiles Navarro - arturia microbrute (track 5), drums (track 4)

Miguel Ortíz - drums (track 4)

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Paula Langthaler - Double Happiness (2021)

In times like these, we hang on to every inch of joy we get. The songs on this album are composed around this desire and aimed to spark some light moments to swing towards the future.

1. Good Evening Dave 05:37

2. Second Identity 05:16

3. Nymphaea 07:07

4. Nicolas & Arnold 06:53

5. Double Happiness 05:18

6. Sirivannavari's Waltz 07:04

7. Xenon 05:17

8. Grand Canyon 06:46

9. Got To Be 04:40

10. Power Up 04:48

Paula Langthaler: piano & composition

Tobias Pustelnik: saxophone

Uli Langthaler: bass

Dusan Novakov: drums

Recording, Mixing & Mastering: Dusan Novakov

Artwork: Florian Tanzer

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Daniel Kartmann / Andrey Tatarinets / Daniel Vujanic - Crystal Forest (2021 Dub Cthonic)

Dub Cthonic are proud to present the debut album of Stuttgart-based improvising trio Kartmann/Tatarinets/Vujanic

1. Traurige Tropen 23:39

2. Neopharmakon 16:52

3. Antilia 05:26

Daniel Kartmann: drumkit, percussion, vibraphone, cornetto, live fx

Andrey Tatarinets: double-bass

Daniel Vujanic: electric guitar, electronics, synthesizers, found sounds

Recorded and mixed by Niko Lazarakopoulos @Beletage Stuttgart in the Summer of 2020

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The Joe Harriott Quintet - Formation Live '61 (2021 Jazz In Britain)

Recorded live in London before a studio audience on the 24th August 1961. Previously unissued.

By the time this EP is released 60 years will have elapsed since the recordings contained within it were made, and nearly 50 years since the untimely death of pioneering West Indian free jazz altoist Joe Harriott on the 2nd January 1973, aged 42. Only in the very recent past has Harriott started to receive anything approaching the accolades he undoubtedly deserved during his lifetime. For those new to Harriott’s revolutionary sound, this is a perfectly good place to start. All of the tracks - barring Dizzy Reece’s Shepherd’s Serenade - appeared in studio form on the Quintet’s now seminal albums Free Form and Abstract, which were recorded by the same lineup as featured here, save for Les Condon who replaced regular trumpeter Shake Keane for a brief period in the summer of 1961. This is one of only two currently known recordings to include Condon in the lineup.

Harriott’s concept for Free Form involved the blending of several different genres of music. Initially bebop, trad jazz and Harriott‘s Jamaican musical roots comprised the most prominent stylistic influences on the music, but even in the early experimentation of Free Form it is already possible to detect hints of 20th century classical and folk music which would become more significant elements as the idea developed over the Quintet’s next two albums Abstract and Movement. For those already well versed in Harriott’s ‘60s output there is plenty to marvel at and absorb. Something one is immediately struck by is how much of a likeness there is between these live versions and the original album recordings, despite their apparent ‘freedom’. Here one can now fully appreciate the ‘form’ of Harriott’s concept, which only becomes clear when comparing live and studio recordings. Each piece has a specific focused direction in which it is travelling, and some passages which previously seemed improvised are revealed instead to be incredibly well crafted and rehearsed ideas.

A quick word on the recordings themselves which were sent by a donor who wished to remain anonymous to Richard Moore at the British Jazz Sound Archive, and subsequently passed on to us. The tapes were transferred to digital by persons unknown some years ago and then sadly disposed of. As a result these tracks all emanate from that final transfer, and some minor issues with the transfers that could not be corrected at a later date are still present. This explains for example the increase in pitch at the beginning of Shepherd’s Serenade on Side B, as the deck used to make the final transfer got up to speed. We feel that this though is a very minor issue overall and should not detract from what is otherwise a stellar performance and a historically significant release. 

1. Formation 05:03

2. Coda 04:52

3. Shepherd's Serenade 02:46

4. Calypso Sketches 04:26

5. Compound (drum solo) 04:04

Joe Harriott - alto sax

Les Condon - trumpet, flugelhorn

Pat Smythe - piano

Coleridge Goode - bass

Phil Seamen - drums

Front cover illustration by Piergiorgio Cupellini

Audio provided by the British Jazz Sound Archive

Executive Producer John Thurlow

Produced by Matt Parker for Jazz In Britain Ltd.

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Yoruaris - Ant and Grasshopper (August 2, 2021 Miare Music)

1. Ant and Grasshopper 46:48

Akano Shinahito as, fl

Yamashita Wataru gt

Suzuki Kazuya drs

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Alex Jenkins Trio - Tri​-​Cycle (August 2021)

1. Scarlet Lullaby 05:00

2. No Quarter 06:40

3. I Remeber Roy 05:40

4. Joie de Vivre 05:43

5. Barnlit Moon 06:34

6. Azul 04:39

7. Contrafiction 05:07

8. Wilderness of Mirrors 04:54

9. Lost Art of Daydreaming 07:23

Levi Saelua - Sax and Clarinet

Alex Reiff - Bass

Alex Jenkins - Drums

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William Parker - Mayan Space Station (2021 Aum Fidelity)

Following on the monumental Migration of Silence Into and Out of The Tone World box set earlier this year, composer, multi-instrumentalist, poet, griot, improviser and community leader William Parker will release an astonishing Pair of brand new trio albums which further expound on his profound and limitless vision: Mayan Space Station -&- Painters Winter. One of the iconic and enduring music leaders to emerge in the world over the last half century, Parker continues to raise the bar higher. As ever, AUM Fidelity is deeply honored & incredibly stoked (!) to present this work to you.

= Noting Here Again that there are strictly limited one-time-press LP editions of both new albums that we have on hand now! Please go to the AUM Fidelity site direct to grip those =

Mayan Space Station is William's first electric guitar trio album. The unparalleled rhythmic firmament created by Parker & Cleaver is matched by Mendoza in full flight. This is cosmic multi-hued blues, perfect for space and time travel.

William Parker first worked with Ms. Mendoza on a project entitled Thunder and Flowers for his July 2019 residency at The Stone in NYC. Her prodigious talents have illuminated many projects and recordings as both leader and collaborator over the past decade. As is clear here, she is committed to bringing expressivity, energy and a wide sonic range to the music. Gerald Cleaver is an exceptionally gifted poet of drum sound who can play in the deepest of pockets and manifest all manner of sound to perfectly fit contours within the most open of forms. Cleaver & Parker have worked closely on numerous projects, notably within the nonpareil full-improvising trio, Farmers By Nature, together with Craig Taborn. William Parker is in vibrant grandmaster blossom here on double bass – in both pizzicato & bow-as-prism modes.

Regarding the album title, Parker offers: “Mayan Space Station is a conduit for peace and inspiration. It is an oasis where sound and silence navigators stop for sustenance to replenish their imaginations. It is a fictional reality that is important to the myth structure of the Tone World chronicle. In a way, musicians, and definitely these particular musicians, Ava Mendoza and Gerald Cleaver, belong to the blood line of sonic travelers who, as Sun Ra described it, ‘travel the space ways.’ Re-inventing the process, allowing music to flow through their instruments.” 

1. Tabasco 05:39

2. Rocas Rojas 06:43

3. Domingo 07:09

4. Mayan Space Station 14:42

5. Canyons of Light 10:05

6. The Wall Tumbles Down 13:50

William Parker: bass, compositions

Ava Mendoza: electric guitar

Gerald Cleaver: drums

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William Parker - Painters Winter (2021 Aum Fidelity)

Following on the monumental Migration of Silence Into and Out of The Tone World box set earlier this year, composer, multi-instrumentalist, poet, griot, improviser and community leader William Parker will release an astonishing Pair of brand new trio albums which further expound on his profound and limitless vision: Painters Winter -&- Mayan Space Station. One of the iconic and enduring music leaders to emerge in the world over the last half century, Parker continues to raise the bar higher. As ever, AUM Fidelity is deeply honored & incredibly stoked (!) to present this work to you.

= Noting Here Again that there are strictly limited one-time-press LP editions of both new albums that we have on hand now! Please go to the AUM Fidelity site direct to grip those =

Painters Winter features the reconvened trio communion of Daniel Carter, William Parker , and Hamid Drake. Carter & Parker have been perpetual space-ways traveling companions since first meeting & immediately beginning to channel music together in early 1970s NYC. Their work together in Other Dimensions In Music with Roy Campbell & Rashid Bakr for well over two decades manifest in bountiful music for the ages. They recently featured together in similar majestic open form on the album, Seraphic Light. Here, Carter again brings the full assembly of instruments he has for decades been a master of: trumpet, alto & tenor saxophones, clarinet and flute.

Likewise, Hamid Drake is a musician’s musician; one of the most in-demand drummers in the world. He is in command of a vast lexicon of drum languages, learned and absorbed directly. His frequent flyer miles could get him a ticket to Saturn and back. Drake & Parker launched their devoted “two-man big band” partnership in 2000 and haven’t stopped since. In trio with Daniel Carter, they’ve created one previous album together, Painters Spring, released that same year.

Drake has made mention of his awe that William could pick up any new instrument and make beautiful music with it from jump. The title track features Parker on trombonium, one of those many instruments that he plays beautifully on. The track “Painted Scarf” features Parker on shakuhachi, upon which he has clearly become a master as well.

Regarding this album’s title, Parker elucidates, “It speaks to those who paint with sound, in different landscapes, to celebrate the coming of the seasons: winter spring summer and autumn. Acknowledging the entire universe of world jazz music. Discovering the undiscovered.” And from his liner notes, “The music on this album is a tribute to the flow of rhythm as melody and pulsation. Laced with the joy and the bounce, the dance and the heartbeat. Giving a nod to all the music that has ever passed through us.." 

1. Groove 77 12:21

2. Painters Winter 08:25

3. Happiness 12:36

4. Painted Scarf 10:49

5. A Curley Russell 15:33

William Parker: bass, trombonium, shakuhachi, compositions

Daniel Carter: trumpet, alto & tenor saxophones, clarinet, flute

Hamid Drake: drums

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Archie the Goldfish - Water & Light (2021)

For the follow-up to our first instrumental EP, we wanted to record songs with words. We found the perfect person for the project: Nadia Basurto, a Catalan singer based in The Hague. Her warm, deep vocals and characterful non-native English pronunciation seemed to perfectly fit the songs, with their mixture of hope, uncertainty, change and displacement.

We had done a remix for Welsh bass player Aidan Thorne’s Duski band earlier in 2021, and he offered to return the favour by playing on a couple of our tracks. (It was a quid pro quo without any quids.) On ‘First Light’ and ‘Atlantis’, Aidan brings the spiritual jazz vibes, with his virtuosic, exciting and responsive double bass playing.

On the keys, we roped in our old friend Kishon Khan, the driving force behind Lokkhi Terra and leading light of a London-based global music community. Kishon’s organic, old-school Fender Rhodes sound and sensitive playing tied the other musical elements together and helped unify the different styles on the EP.

Finally, we think our own horn and guitar/bass playing are pretty good too, and central to the emerging Archie the Goldfish sound. (We particularly enjoyed the call and response passages on ‘Setting Out’ where it felt like old times spent on stage.)

These songs were all written at different times, but we hope that together they resonate with the spirit of the moment. They explore themes of positive and negative change, hope and regret, memory and anticipation, all through the imagery of Water & Light. 

1. On a Summer's Day 05:53

2. Setting Out 03:29

3. First Light 04:49

4. Changing Places 03:35

5. Atlantis 04:39

Graeme Flowers - trumpet and flugelhorn

Chris Bestwick - guitar, and bass guitar on tracks 1,2,4

Nadia Basurto - vocals

Kishon Khan - Fender Rhodes

Aidan Thorne - double bass on tracks 3 and 5

Sarah Winton - intro backing vocals on track 2

Produced by Chris Bestwick and Graeme Flowers

Mixed by Chris Bestwick

Mastered by Steve Kitch

Cover art by Alban Low

All words and music by Chris Bestwick

Published by Sentric Music Publishing

Released by Funkiwala Records

Distributed by Kudos

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