This is a great reissue package which features two albums from the little known jazz saxophonist/flautist Guttorm Guttormsen. ‘Soturnudi’ and ‘Albufeira’ which were originally released in 1975 on MAI and 1979 on Octave respectively both make reference to Latin and spiritual jazz. The results are devastating, particularly on the firing dancers ‘Ny Latin’, ‘Sol Fa’ and ‘Sors Samba’. Guttorsem is equally at home though on the mellower cuts such as the modal ‘Soturnudi’, ‘Poset’ and the melancholy ‘I Ro Og Mak’. With both of the original albums being extremely rare do yourself a favour and pick up this superb CD.

Andy Allen

Trumpeter with Metropolitan Jazz Affair Stephane Ronget steps out on his own to deliver the immaculate jazz set ‘One Leg Dancer’ for the faultless Heavenly Sweetness label. Amongst others he is accompanied by John Betsch on drums on a set of largely self penned tracks (other than his great versions of Billy Paul’s cult classic ‘East’ and John Coltrane’s ‘Spiritual’). From the funky opening cut ‘Five Tigers’ you know this is going to be a rewarding listening experience and things just get better with the beautiful waltz ‘Antoines’, the heavy percussive dancer ‘NY Timbuctu’ and the aforementioned ‘East’ and ‘Spiritual’. Also look out for the 10” which features tracks from the CD plus a stunning Afro-beat flavoured remix of ‘East’ by Patchworks.

Andy Allen

Somehow Busy People’s debut single ‘The City/‘Someday’ passed me by but thankfully both of these superior broken-soul nuggets are included here. With a whole host of top performances from guest vocalists such as B-Zar, Aminata, Yann, Justin Chapman, Lisa C, Lai Cheun and Jen (all of which are new names to me) ‘Never Too Busy’ continues the broken-soul vibe with other strong moments such as ‘Make It Happen’, ‘Bling Bling’, ‘Get Out’, ‘Not Me’ and ‘Final Words’. This has got to be one of the most consistent albums I’ve heard for sometime so don’t delay, pick up a copy today!

Andy Allen

It may have been ten years between the release of Incognito’s debut album ‘Jazz Funk’ (1981) and their second ‘Inside Life’ (1991) but since then Bluey and his collective have certainly made up for it as ‘Tales From The Beach’ marks their 13th release. As always the production is faultless and although there’s nothing unexpected here it will no doubt please their legion of fans. For me though the real winner on this set is ‘Feel The Pressure’, an infectious jazz-funk meets broken-beat monster co-produced by Ski Oakenfull and featuring Tony Momrelle, Imaani and Joy Rose on vocals.

Andy Allen

Although Inverse Cinematics have been providing us with top quality productions and remixes since 2002 surprisingly ‘Passin’ Through’ is their first long player. It’s been well worth the wait though as this is a fantastic collection of new material (other than the inclusion of the anthemic ‘Detroit Jazzin’’) which effortlessly fuses elements of deep house, jazz and hip-hop. ‘Sundrops’, ‘Sambatime’ and ‘Don’t Give Up’ are all heavy hitters in the vein of the aforementioned ‘Detroit Jazzin’’ but not to be overlooked are ‘Interplanetary Motivations’ and the title track, two slow motion chuggers, plus the jazzy hip-hop jam ‘Take It Back To 86’ featuring Jebidiah.

Andy Allen

Joey Negro and the crew return with their 3rd Sunburst Band album and as with ‘Here Comes The Sunburst Band’ and ‘Until The End Of Time’ it’s packed with outstanding disco delights and boogie bombs. It features vocal performances from the likes of Leroy Burgess and Yolanda Wynns but even better are the Pete Simpson fronted cuts such as the outstanding ‘Our Lives Are Shaped’ and a killer version of David Bowie’s ‘Fashion’. Diane Charlemange graces the classy groove ‘Put A Lyric In It’ and the immaculate stepper ‘Movin’ With The Shakers’ which comes off like a Jones Girls track. Other standouts include ‘Turn It Out’ featuring Taka Boom which is reminiscent of early Level 42 material and ‘Dusk’, a clever if somewhat cheeky cut obviously inspired by Maze’s ‘Twilight’.

Andy Allen

‘Jim’, Jamie Lidell’s follow up to his hugely successful 2005 set ‘Multiply’ sees him journey further into soul territory. He’s ditched much of the electronics in favour of a full backing band, resulting in a real 60s inspired sound. This is particularly evident on the uplifting cuts ‘Another Day’ and ‘A Little Bit Of Feel Good’, both of which could well see some pop chart action, the Sam Cooke influenced ‘All I Wanna Do’ and ‘Green Light’ which is reminiscent of Al Green. The highlight though is ‘Figured Me Out’, a wonderful 80s electro-boogie styled outing which is destined to be huge on the underground dance floors.

Andy Allen

The Stance Brothers are brothers Isiah (vibes/keys) and Dwayne Stance (bass/guitar) plus drummer/percussionist Byron Breaks. Produced by Teppo ‘Teddy Rok’ Makynen (Teddy Rok Seven/The Five Corners Quintet/Nuspirit Helsinki), ‘Kind Soul’ is the trio’s debut album and features a fine selection of funky jazz cuts. ‘Steve McQueen’, ‘Jay’s Lament’ and ‘Roll Call’ from the singles are included but better in my opinion are the string laced boogie flavoured ‘Bright Moments’, the conga driven ‘Upside The Head’ and the cosmic Roy Ayers influenced ‘Mean Spirit’.

Andy Allen

Spoonface’s velvet tonsils have graced numerous productions over the past few years from house and broken-beat to R&B. His debut album follows a slightly different path though, focusing largely on acoustic folk orientated material. Of which ‘We Don’t Need To’, with its’ Spanish guitar flurries works particularly well but also check the mellow digital soul cut ‘It’s All Love’.

Andy Allen

Percussionist Francisco Mora Catlett follows up his superb ‘River Drum’ album (Premier Cru 2005) with the equally impressive ‘Outer Zone’. As with ‘River Drum’ this set combines deep/avant-garde jazz with elements of Latin. It kicks off with the spaced-out intro ‘Space Chord’, a theme he returns to throughout the album, before moving into masterpieces such as the fierce ‘Saints Of Congo Square’, ‘PaLos Mayores’, a tough fusion excursion and the mellower ‘La Lu Banche’. Releases on Premier Cru are not always easy to come by but do some digging and your efforts will be greatly rewarded!

Andy Allen