Ahmad Jamal
Jamalca

Released in 1982, Spaces features alto saxophonist Steve Coleman and cellist Muneer Abdul Fataah writing with Hammond as the Doug Hammond Trio, with guests Byard Lancaster (Alto Saxophone, Flute) and Kirk Lightsey (piano). It's an album is full of strong, succinct statements that, according to Musician Magazine (Cliff Tinder, 1982), belie an abstract, soulful approach to free jazz. The exhilarating cello and angular horns show each player's experience and artistry while the heady, asymmetrical rhythmic concepts of Hammond and Steve Coleman add a playfulness to the dissonance. Creative, dynamic, modern, Tinder notes that Spaces gives any jazz master a run for their money.

The extended family around London's Total Refreshment Centre (TRC) connects continents and generations, creating the rich relationships on Transmissions From Total Refreshment Centre. It's an eclectic and electric collection drawing on new school jazz, hip hop, dub, soul, funk, and drill. Top players from London, Chicago, and Melbourne seeking out new collaborations, new ways of working, or just new tunes, always coming back to that central truth - that we all need each other. 180-gram LP.

In the storied and woefully under-celebrated history of Los Angeles Jazz, community has remained the beating heart and driving force. In the 1960s, Horace Tapscott's Pan Afrikan People's Arkestra and Union of God Musicians Ascension Association connected local jazzmusicians. More recently, Los Angeles' new Jazz Renaissance has flourished both on a local and global scale through steady collaboration and mentorship of the next generation. Take a close look at the current jazz landscape, and it soon becomes apparent that the Inglewood-based Katalyst Collective are the new torchbearers of this tradition. Founded in 2014, Katalyst Collective has never been one for labels. Rather than strictly a live act, they've acted as an incubator for a fresh crop of local talent, helping hone the voices and talents of individual members, while collectively advancing like a phalanx. Each "Kat" writes their own solo material, and everyone contributes and works together on each project, feeding off the communal energy.The group's LA bona fides are clear- between the nine members, there are affiliates and alumni of the aforementioned Pan Afrikan People's Arkestra, as well as USC, UCLA, and Cal State Northridge's music programs. You've heard them link with iconic Angelenos, such as MNDSGN, Anderson .Paak, SiR, & Kendrick Lamar. You may have seen them backing jazz icons like Roy Ayers, Gary Bartz, and Lonnie Liston Smith. You’ve felt their impact on projects from superstars like Lupe Fiasco, Jay-Z & Solange. With little public fanfare, their guest appearances and collaborations have quietly become highly sought after among the jazz and pop cognoscenti.Leading up to the group’s upcoming collaboration with Adrian Younge and Ali ShaheedMuhammad for Jazz Is Dead, the Katalyst Collective have poised themselves as the next breakout stars of Los Angeles' rapidly expanding Jazz universe - a small army of creative firebrands, each burning more brightly together.

Pressure. The invisible hand that has the potential to propel or paralyze, to create beauty or despair. Pressure mounts. Builds. Until it reaches a tipping point, after which, things shift and change finds us.

Australian 9-piece Spiritual Jazz group Menagerie announce their highly anticipated third album ‘Many Worlds’, released 15th January 2021 on esteemed U.K label Freestyle Records.Menagerie is the Melbourne-based Jazz ensemble founded by producer, songwriter, guitarist, DJ and recording artist Lance Ferguson, also the driving force behind The Bamboos, Lanu, Rare Groove Spectrum and Machines Always Win.Recorded at Union Street Studio by award-winning engineer John Castle, ‘Many Worlds’ features some of Australia’s finest musicians, including pianist Mark Fitzgibbon (a regular performer at Gilles Peterson and Patrick Forge’s original Dingwalls sessions), drummer Daniel Farrugia and renowned saxophonist Phil Noy (The Bamboos).Inspired by both the post-Coltrane generation of the 70’s, labels like Strata-East, Impulse! and Tribe, along with the current ‘New Wave Of Jazz’, Menagerie aligns with the world of Kamasi Washington, Shabaka Hutchings and Nubya Garcia, whilst also bringing their own unique twist.