Various
Blue Note Re:imagined II

This is the first ever reissue of the lost debut LP by Jamaican tenor saxophone player Fitz Gore and his experimental group The Talismen from 1975. The work was originally released on Gore’s GorBra label and delivers an introspective, sensitive form of Spiritual Jazz. Recorded live in West Germany, the personnel are “Shepherd” Fitz Gore with Ulrich Kurth (Piano), Gérard Ebbo (Bass), Philippe Zobda-Quitman (Drums) and Lamont Hampton (Congas).The LP includes versions of John Coltrane’s “Dahomey Dance“ and the Horace Silver classic ‘Song For My Father“. The reissue was carefully remastered in 2021 and features the original cover design with a two page insert of the original notes, completed by the inclusion of Fitz`s poem “Sketches of Pain“.

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.

Twice Grammy nominated, Melbourne-based group Hiatus Kaiyote returns to announce their new album Mood Valiant, out June 25th via Brainfeeder Records / Ninja Tune. Comprised of Naomi “Nai Palm” Saalfield (guitar, vocals), Paul Bender (bass), Simon Mavin (keys), and Perrin Moss (drums), the new album is the follow up to their 2015 album Choose Your Weapon, which Rolling Stone described as "a stunning step up". The new project comes after being sampled on songs by The Carters (Beyonce & Jay-Z), Kendrick Lamar, Anderson .Paak, Chance The Rapper, and Drake—with whom Nai Palm collaborated on his Scorpion album.The announcement of Mood Valiant also comes alongside the first single "Get Sun (feat. Arthur Verocai)" The new album has been in the making for six years, but that interval reflects more hustle than hiatus. The result is an album that relaxes into a groove: sunlit, sublime, masterful. Behind everything is Hiatus’ familiar sense of musical adventure, their knack for making the complex sound simple.The six year journey of the album originally began on the road, as they began to add new material to their live sets in while touring in support of Choose Your Weapon. By the fall of 2018, backing tracks had largely been laid, ready for Nai’s vocals. Then, during a brief swing through the U.S., Hiatus’s frontwoman was diagnosed with breast cancer. “That was a massive scare,” recalls Nai. Her mother’s death from the same disease was never far from her mind. Nai rushed back to Australia and into the hospital, where she underwent a life-saving mastectomy. As Nai recovered, the band turned back to their work with altered perspectives. Her lyrics, even those written before her illness, took on a prescient quality. It wasn't until a trip to Rio de Janeiro in late-2019 to work with legendary Brazilian arranger Arthur Verocai on "Get Sun" that the vibe of the entire album shifted.