Various
Swing In The Films Of Woody Allen

Naná Vasconcelos was to become a world-renowned percussionist who retrieved the berimbau (a Brazilian single-stringed instrument, intrinsically linked to the Capoeira tradition) from its natural environment and raise it to a universal level.Agustín Pereyra Lucena, on the other hand, became the undisputed representative of Brazilian music in Argentina entering also the world of jazz, becoming a respected musician in Argentina and abroad, both in its interpretative and didactic facets.Two musicians who achieved an unmatched symbiosis with their respective instruments. Two masters who understood music differently from the rest of us, without barriers or prejudices.This encounter, as spontaneous and sincere as the music resulting thereof, was facilitated by the hyperactive producer, radio broadcaster and music journalist Arturo Cavallo. Vasconcelos had arrived in Buenos Aires to accompany the famous Argentinean saxophonist Leandro “Gato” Barbieri in the series of concerts held at the Teatro Regina and organized by Cavallo himself. Due to their obvious musical connection, he was introduced to Pereyra Lucena after one of the performances and instigated by Cavallo, the two musicians agreed to enter the studio the next day to record the songs that would eventually make up this album, subsequently released in Cavallo’s label Tonodisc. Without any prior arrangements, the session was an improvised exchange of ideas, all recorded in absolute darkness at Naná’s request.It would take years for these two musicians to meet again, remaining this record as the only document of a crucial moment in the beginning of their careers.

Gyedu-Blay Ambolley and Hi-Life Jazz is the new album from revered Ghanaian highlife and Simigwa Do exponent Gyedu-Blay Ambolley, known for his deep, soulful, and funky highlife sound and sometimes referred to as the “James Brown of Ghana.” Gyedu-Blay Ambolley and Hi-Life Jazz jumps right out of the blocks with 3 straight-up, groove-laden highlife numbers in Sankumagye, Yekor Ye A Yea and Enyidado, a spontaneous mix of Afro-soul and groove with Ambolley's deep tonal and vocal interventions giving a sense that the influence of Afro-American soul music is never far away. Things continue to heat up as the maestro and bandleader approaches various songs from the songbook of classic modern jazz. The rhythmic pulse within each standard is pushed and pulled, ensuring the original is recognisable yet rooted in Ambolley's ancestral home. In John Coltrane’s Love Supreme he proclaims “John Coltrane said love is supreme & we heard him in Africa very loud and clear.” Taking a very different but direct approach filled with Ghanaian swing Ambolley matches the colours and energy with a rhythmic dexterity and an African spiritual sensitivity that immediately draws you in, allowing a space for the spiritual to rise. The Wayne Shorter classic Footprints receives a similar treatment - it's a toe-tapping workout that leaves you wanting more. Round Midnite, a Thelonious Monk staple, has been covered so many times as a ballad yet here Ambolley gives things an uptempo re-work, a wholly unique inception that makes total sense when you hear it. All Blues by Miles Davis is a well-loved staple of jazz players the world over and is known as a vehicle for endless improvisations and here, in the hands of this master craftsman, is a mesmerising and unapologetic dance floor journey.

Wewantsounds is delighted to announce the reissue of Ziad Rahbani's cult album, "Bennesbeh Labokra...Chou?" released in Lebanon only and mixing arabic music with Jazz, Bossa Nova and other western influences. Hailed as an absolute classic, the album is the soundtrack to his eponymous play and has been highly sought-after by DJs and collectors around the world. Curated by Lebanese-born music expert Mario Choueiry from Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, the album is reissued on vinyl for the first time since 1978, featuring original gatefold sleeve, remastered audio and a 2 page insert with a new introduction by Choueiry.