Review: Fresh from the release of two tip-top 12" singles on Handy Records and Wolf Music, Malik Kassim brings his trademark Retromigration sound to the freshly minted LYAM label. Typically warm, woozy, bass-heavy and with plenty of musical details - think Ron Trent, with a dash of the Burrell Brothers and the Detroit deep house swing of Andres - all four cuts are superb examples of the Dutch producer's approach to dancefloor dynamics. Highlights include the laidback, club-ready bump of 'Heat it Up', where undulating acid lines and synth-sax catch the ear; the shuffling, broken house sparkle of 'You Want That' (a genuinely sumptuous late-night delight smothered in spacey synth solos); and the mid-tempo, jazz-funk style title track, where loose-limbed live instrumentation and emotive solos come to the fore.
Review: One of the soul scene's most influential DJs, it's little surprise that Colin Curtis' Jazz Dance Fusion compilations on Z Records have been so impressive. He's dived even deeper into his vast record collection on this third volume, serving up a fine array of both classic cuts and sought-after obscurities. There's naturally plenty of Latin jazz on show - the backbone of the jazz-dance scene since the 1970s - but also forays into spiritual jazz, Hammond-heavy dancefloor workouts (see the sweaty 'Yatra Ta' by Martin Johnson), soul-jazz (JuJu), energy-packed percussion jams (GeeW) and Afro-Latin fusion (The Drive).
Review: During the British jazz-dance scene's late '70s and early '80s boom, there were few DJs that the dancers loved more than Colin Curtis. Still DJing today after 50 years behind the decks, Curtis was a natural choice to put together Z Records' first compilation dedicated to jazz-dance, jazz-funk and fusion sounds. The album is something of a stunner, all told, full of deep selections, floor-burning favourites and high-grade workouts. There's naturally plenty of Latin jazz flavours on show, high-octane thrillers (See Eric Kloss's "The Samba Express"), swinging jazz-funk (check the superb Charles Earland track) and the kind of extended wig-outs that just make you want to bust some serious shapes.
Review: For their latest full-length exploration of the world of spiritual jazz - the label's seventh, in total - Jazzman has decided to focus on artists and performers whose Islamic faith influenced their work. Given that many jazz greats were early converts to the spiritually charged Ahmadiya school of Islam - Kenny Clarke, Art Blakey, Ahmad Jamal and Yusuf Lateef included - there's plenty of fine material for Jazzman to explore. Highlights naturally come thick and fast, with standouts including the Persian jazz-fusion of Emmanuel Abdul-Rahim's "Kalamari Suite", the haunting flutes and intoxicating bongo rhythms of Sabu and Sihab Shahib's "Nus", and The Lightmen's celebratory epic, "All Praises To Allah (Part 1 & 2)".
Review: BBE Music, DJ Amir and 180 Proof records present 'Creative Musicians, featuring remixes by Waajeed and Henrik Schwarz. Taken from the forthcoming new album 'Strata Records - The Sound of Detroit - Reimagined by Jazzanova'. The esteemed German producer enlists the rather Gil Scott-Heron sounding Sean Haefeli as vocalist on these sessions. Waajeed's remix of 'Creative Musicians' goes down a sublime, Detroit style hi-tech soul route, while Henrik Schwarz takes the track into emotive, late-night jazzy house territory. To give you proper context, they have included the much loved original version by the Lyman Woodard Organization.
Review: Two new slices of disco edit heaven from Swedish remix king Beatconductor, courtesy of the GAMM label. Herbie Hancock's fusion disco epic "Saturday Night" gets rejigged with a DJ-friendly, Salsoul-style drum intro before launching into its samba-soul main section, while Afro-Cuban jazz king Mongo Santamaria has his piano-led gem "Espiritu Libre" again remixed with a percussive intro built in to allow for perfect mixing.
