After starting to explore the world of jazz a bit more seriously around '95, I quickly started to catch up on what had been happening in the last fourty years, and at the same time immersed myself in London's, Nu-Jazz heyday. It was a heady time for the forward looking black music lover. Monday nights at Bar Rumba for Gilles Peterson's weekly, The Jazz Cafe in Camden, Plastic People in Shoreditch and Sunday nights at Brixton's Bug Bar; all regular haunts where classic jazz dance and rare groove rubbed shoulders with beat science, the sounds of Brazil were never far away and Fela said hello to underground hip hop. It was a fine time to be alive.
Roll on 30 years and if I'm in the mood for a jazz moment I'll generally, with a few notable new millenial exceptions, dig out my old Flying Dutchman or Impulse albums rather than listen to artists trying to replicate the sounds of the greats and a long gone golden era. In 2024 I want new generation twists, oddball blends in this golden age of fusion and electronic experimentation.
I stumbled across Lyberachelulo a couple of years ago when he released his Train Chimes Climb the Attic Charter album, which somehow managed to join the dots between field recording rich ambient jazz and the snappily entitled monster groove - "Collapsed Castle in the Woods with Flying Saucers", which I had on repeat for weeks. Well last week he dropped WyndSpring his sophomore LP and I'm happy to report it's similarly adventurous and just as well crafted.
A rudimentary bamboo marimba made by director of operations Andrew Gibbens is the thread that ties the tracks together. Gibbens then kicked things off by recording a plethora of percussion, alongside Rhodes and bass, in response to the sustained winds blowing through East Tennessee - now there's a conductor. He then enlisted some familiar names from the debut alongside some new recruits to flesh out his framework. The ensuing meteorlogical jazz joys stretch from gusting spaced out jazz rock all the way to becalmed, folkier, new age cloud gazers, largely eschewing grooviness for a more whimsical low gravity approach to better catch the air currents. Start at the start and get off at the last stop.
Next up is ØKSE who I only stumbled across last week but am already eagerly anticipating their sophomore. It's an international crew: NYC based drummer Savannah Harris, Danish saxophonist Mette Rasmussen, Haitian electronic musician Val Jeanty, and Swede Petter Eldh on bass, synths and sampler - rear view mirror gazing this isn't; hard grooving it certainly is. This is take no prisoners, railing against the machine, hard out jazz with sweat coming through the speakers, if they rock up at a venue near you get your ticket early.
If that wasn't enough they've invited four rappers - ELUCID, billy woods, Maassai and Cavalier along for the ride, and whoever handed out the invites knows their shit or lives in Brooklyn. All of them have the swagger and personality to ride the bumping beats, clattering drums & nu-jazz punk attitude. Despite Maassai having a more, albeit saying something soulful moment, the band don't give her an easy ride for a moment.
TSMM is usually more chilling than illing, but if you've let you're digital detox slip, doom scrolled one depressing headline too many and find yourself sick to the teeth of the handful of rich and powerful men swinging their tiny dicks about and making life unpleasant for everyone else, then switch off your phone, hit play on this LP and let it all out. The ambient escapism and Balearic balminess will be here waiting for you tomorrow.
Head over to the Slow Jazz Playlist for more, forward looking, independent jazz eclecticism
You can listen to the playlist on various streaming services - just click here.
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