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Cryptozoo is an animated feature-film drama, written and directed by Dash Shaw, featuring the voices of Lake Bell, Zoe Kazan, Michael Cera and Louisa Krause. The film won the NEXT Innovator Award at Sundance, and premiered internationally at the 2021 Berlinale. It will be released on August 20 in theaters and on demand.This is John Carroll Kirby’s first time bringing his talents as a composer and producer to film scoring. His score resists easy genre classification, melding together sounds from New Age, exotica, library music, and the sweeter side of electronic music, and makes for a perfect match with artist and filmmaker Dash Shaw’s vibrant animated feature.

Gary Chandler (born in 1938) started playing professionally in 1960 in the thriving Columbus Ohio club scene with Hank Marr, Don Patterson and Benny Maupin. He worked in the Motown Revue from 1965-67 and led his own group for over a year. Over the following years Chandler joined the bands of Lou Donaldson & Charles Earland where he remained until the recording of his debut album.Producer Bob Porter, who decided it was time for the skilled trumpeter to make a record in his own right, provided him with an all-star line up of musicians to collaborate on the album. ‘Outlook’ features Idris Muhammad on drums (which means a frenzy of funky JB-influenced over-the-top soul-jazz drumming), on bass is the legendary Gordon Edwards (known for his work with James Brown, Weldon Irvine, Funk Inc., Aretha Franklin, etc.) and on guitar we have Cornell Dupree (you all know his opening riff on the intro of Aretha Franklin’s ‘Respect’). Last but least, we have the percussion duties which are handled by Buddy Caldwell (THE session musician for respected labels such as Prestige and who also collaborated on albums by Ceasar Frazier & Melvin Sparks)… speaking of Ceasar Frazier, he’s also featured on ‘Outlook’ with his trademark organ sound.‘Outlook’ is one long STEAMROLLER groove & one of the true lost soul-jazz-funk classics. Crate diggers and DJs have coveted “Baby Let Me Take You (In My Arms)” for years, but in truth, damn near every second of the album demands consideration as a sample. All of this is carefully overseen by engineer Rudy Van Gelder & producer Bob Porter (known for their work with Herbie Hancock, Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis…and many others).Gary Chandler’s first (and only) album was originally released in 1972 on Eastbound Records, super rare and fetching large sums on the collectors market, now finally back available as a limited deluxe vinyl edition (500 copies) featuring the original artwork and liner notes.

Brian Jackson JID008 is the first full album released by the great man in 20 years and it's a testament to his multifaceted talents that while there are moments throughout that hint at his game-changing history and track record, for the most part it reveals a musician whose considerable lessons learned from the past only serve to keep his eyes firmly fixed on the future. It's a masterclass in unbridled and open-minded creativity, no different from what Brian did half a century ago. The ease and comfort with which his ideas integrate with those of musicians a generation younger than him bears this out. To listen to this album is to hear a hot up-and-coming musician who also happens to be a major jazz-funk legend.

Not long after the dawn of her career, as a teenager in Rio de Janeiro, Joyce was declared “one of the greatest singers” by Antonio Carlos Jobim. Yet despite reputable accolades and the fact that she has since recorded over thirty acclaimed albums, Joyce never quite achieved the international recognition of the likes of Jobim, João Gilberto and Sergio Mendes, all of whom became global stars after releasing with major labels in the US.There was a moment when it seemed Joyce might be on the cusp of an international breakthrough. While living in New York, Joyce was approached by the great German producer Claus Ogerman. Ogerman had already played a pivotal role in the development and popularisation of Brazilian music in the 1960s, recording with some of the all-time greats like Jobim and João Gilberto, as well as North American idols like Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday and Bill Evans."I met him in New York City, in 1977”, recalls Joyce. “I was living and playing there, and João Palma, Brazilian drummer who used to play with Jobim, introduced me to Claus. We had an audition, he liked what we were doing and decided to produce an album with us.”Featuring fellow Brazilian musicians Mauricio Maestro (who wrote/co-wrote four of the songs), Nana Vasconcelos and Tutty Moreno, and some of the most in-demand stateside players including Michael Brecker, Joe Farrell and Buster Williams, the recordings for Natureza took place at Columbia Studios and Ogerman produced the album, provided the arrangements and conducted the orchestra.But mysteriously, Natureza was never released, and what should have been Joyce’s big moment never happened. As Joyce remembers, “I returned home, but Claus and I remained in contact, by letters and phone calls. He was very enthusiastic about the album and tried to hook me up with Michael Franks. He wanted me to go back to NYC in order to re-record the vocals in English with new lyrics, which I actually wasn’t too happy about. But then I got pregnant with my third child and could not leave Brazil. And little by little our contact became rare, until I lost track of him completely. And that was it. I never heard from him again."

The coming together of Jeff Mills and Jean-Phi Dary came from a collaborative project with the late great Tony Allen and created chemistry instantly. Both being cognizant of the skilled innate improvisation that was happening in small jam sessions, they conceived the concept for their collaborative project: The Paradox. They believed that this uncompromising freedom and the manifestation of new ideas allowed them to reach a higher level of spiritual consciousness within their work. Recorded in real-time; these compositions reflect captured spontaneous actions which concede honesty and truth.