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Veteran sambistas Jair Rodrigues and Elza Soares are joined by two of the new wave - City Of God star Seu Jorge and Luciana Mello plus 40 (yes 40) of Brazil’s best musicians to reinterpret 11 classic samba songs plus a couple of new ones. My pick is Seu Jorge who does a geat version of Dorival Caymmi’s ‘Samba Da Minha Terra ‘ . Refreshing. Graham Radley

Samba is sometimes characterised outside Brazil as an endless explosion of larger ensemble percussion as witnessed at the Rio carnival. However, this is only part of the story and one that ignores its more modest roots. Samba is a more complex mix of multiple tempi, sometimes slow and mournful and sometimes faster and uplifting. What is beyond doubt is that despite modest beginnings when it was largely rejected by the Brazilian middle classes, samba has become the national music of Brazil and so many sub-genres have evolved as a direct result of samba’s pervasive influence. This present compilation celebrates just a fraction of the numerous facets of samba at a time when there is a vigorous re-investigation of its origins and golden era from the 1930s through to the 1950s. Stars of the calibre of Marisa Monte and Joyce have recently devoted whole albums to reworking specific samba styles. Of the artists on ‘Sambistas’ the album is broadly divided between established veteran sambistas such as Jair Rodrigues, Elza Soares and Jair Oliveira and newer upcoming singers including ‘City of God’ actor/singer Seu Jorge and Luciano Mello.

For the former Jair Rodrigues made his name in the 1960s as part of a famous television/recording duet with arguably Brazil’s greatest ever female singer Elis Regina on the ‘O Fina da Bossa’ show and LPs. Here he offers a delicious old school samba on ‘Juizo final’ a song co-written by samba legend Nelson Cavaquinho while his impassioned vocals also featiure on ‘Batuque nacozinha’ with lovely flute and collective vocal accompaniment. Elza Soares is best known for her 1960s recordings and marriage to Brazilian footballing legend Garrincha. Her versatlitiy is displayed on the laid back ‘Minhas madrugadas’ and on the uptempo ‘Incompatibilidade de genios’, which is a contemporary samba from the 1980s that was a hit for the crack songwriting pairing of Joao Bosco (who sang the original) and Aldir Blanc. Old and new stars alike combine on the rootsy ‘Samba da doca’ with Seu Jorge and Jair Oliveira sharing vocal duties on this homage to the brassy samba gafieira style. Rising star Luciano Mello contributes three songs of which the evergreen ‘Falsa Biaana’ impresses and re-affirms the songwriting skills of Bahia’s most distinguishged wordsmith, Dorival Caymmi. This is an authentic slice of samba that champions its roots and one hopes that a second volume will follow, perhaps with two of its greatest veterans Martinho da Vila and Paulinho da Viola as active participants. Tim Stenhouse

Qu’es aquo l’occitan? What is Occitan? If this language looks unfamiliar, then it is because Occitan is part of the Romance family of languages, similar to Catalan and Spanish, but was spoken throughout the south of France until the 1789 revolution after which time it was largely relegated to the countryside and instead what we know call French took over as the national language. Marseille-based group Moussu T are part of a cultural and linguistic revival that champions the use of the language and on releasing their latest album, ‘Home sweet home’ have used this as the backdrop to their folksy-retro sound which is given a cosmopolitan twist with a mixture of acoustic instrumentation (banjo, washboard) and more exotic sounds (Brazilian berimbau and the Medieval-sounding cougourdon).

Social and cultural themese comprise the majority of the songs and catchy they are too. Tipifying proceedings is ‘Mar e montanha’ which praises the people and places that make up the linguistic boundary that is Occitania while ‘Camarada’ evokes the literary heritage of the troubadours (an early example of we might crudely refer to now as crooners)and ‘Labour song’ adds in references to the Spanish civil war. Marseille is an extremely cosmopolitan city in the twenty-first century with its inhabitants are made up of multiple identities from North Africa to Italy, Greece and further afield. The Cuban-inspired song ‘A la Ciotat Pt.2’ features guitar and vocal ensemble whereas on ‘Lo Chaple’ the legendary Marseille group Massilia Sound System are sampled on a track that questions what has been done to this city. On the country-folk of ‘Il fait beau’ and the ballad of the title track, one wonders whther the band has been influenced by the dust-bowl era of folk singers from Woody Guthrie onwards. In sum this is one of the year’s most pleasurable listens from a truly original band with a highly distinctive repertoire. Qu’es aquo l’occitan? It’s the language of Occitania! Tim Stenhouse

Toots Hibbert is one of the institutions and founding blocks of Jamaican popular music, singing for over forty years, and this welcome re-issue provides us with an opportunity to take in his early ska offerings reocrded at Federal studios. This was in fact the Maytals’ second album following on from ‘Never grow old’ for Coxsone at Studio One and is a delight from start to finish. Soulful is a word that aptly describes the music on this album and ‘Love is a special feeling’ gets proceedings off to a storming start with its catchy groove. Minor key ska is to the fore on ‘It’s you’ which unsurprisingly was issued as a 45 and features the distinctive group harmonies. Uplifting melodies abound on ‘You make me feel the way you do’ with lovely trumpet while the influence of deep southern US soul is felt on ‘It’s no use’. There is no lessening of quality on the generous six bonus tracks and of these ‘When I laugh’ impresses.  Percussive drumming on ‘Bam Bam’ rounds off a milestone album in the evolution of reggae. Detailed sleeve notes courtesy of Steve Barrow and original cover photos make for an indispensable re-release. Tim Stenhouse

In recent time there has been an extensive re-evaluation of soul-jazz organist Reuben Wilson and of his incursions into jazz-funk for Cadet. While the high point of his career remains ‘Love Bug’ cut for Blue Note in 1969, Wilson went on to record a series of albums for the label including this offering in 1971. In contrast to previous albums, ‘Set us free’ was more expansive in its use of instrumenation with added percussion courtesy of congocero Ray Armando, jazz harp, reeds, vocals from female trio Essence and the arrangements of Wade Marcus. The title track is an Eddie Harris composition wh ich is an excellent vehicle for Wilson to stretch out. By this time soul music was in full flight and it should come as little surprise that Wislon should cover two popular songs of the era, ‘Mr Big Stuff’, a hit for Jean Knight and Marivn Gaye’s ‘Mercy mercy me (The Ecology)’, which had only recently been released at the time. Soul fans will find much to appreciate in these covers with vocal chants from Essence embellishing the sound. There is some easy listening material as on ‘We’re in love’ and blues-inflected pieces such as ‘Sho-nuff mellow’ with guitar solo which is, perhaps, the most faithful to the overall Wilson sound. Tim Stenhouse

Jeremy Steig was a relatively little known flautist whose main claim to fame came much later in the 1990s when the track ‘Howlin’ for Judy’ was a hit on the jazz dancefloor scene. This compilation brings together the two albums he recorded for Blue Note and Solid State while under the control of Liberty. The title track is a wonderful piece of left-field inspired jazz and in truth nothing quite matches this. However, ‘Mint Tea’ evokes the influence of Roland Kirk and is an extended excursion for Steig. Throughout proceedings Steig is accompanied by a pared down accompaniment of Eddie Gomez on bass and Don Alias on drums and percussion. The recordings might have benefited from the occasional variation of piano or guitar. There is no questioning the skill of Steig, or the intensity of his playing as witnessed on ‘Alias’. However, as whole this compilation is little too one-dimensional and one is left wanting a temporary rest from the relentless flute improvisations. Tim Stenhouse

The Three Sounds underwent a major stylistic change after mid-1967 with an accompanying minor change in personnel. Until then they had performed as classic jazz trio with a bluesy feel and had recently recorded the superb live album ‘Live at the Lighthouse’ in June 1967. Thereafter strings were added, flute and vibes introduced, and the drum pattern was more akin to that of the emerging funk sound pioneered by James Brown. Chicago-based producer Monk Higgins was clearly influenced by the soul orchestrations of the windy city and ‘Elegant Soul’ is a superior example of soul and jazz styles merging. Aided by the writing of fellow producer See Ervin and separate songwriter Virginia Bland, compositions range from extended workouts to tight blues-inflected grooves. The longest of these, ‘Sittin’ Duck’ weighs in at over nine minutes. For jazz fans the strings are far from intrusive as illustrated on ‘Do it right now’ with occasional background chants. A left-field winner is to be found in ‘African Sweets’. All in all arguably the best of the late period studio recordings Gene Harris and the band made for Blue Note. Tim Stenhouse

Whether as a member of the classic Jimmy Smith combo on seminal albums such as ‘Midnight Special’ and ‘Back at the Chicken Shack’, or as a leader in his own right, Stanley Turrentine recorded his very best sides for Blue Note. In this 1961 recording, the group is pared down to a trio with then wife Shirley Scott on hammond organ and the excellent Roy Brooks on drums fresh from explorations in the Horace Silver band. It is a testimony to the ensemble playing that there is a depth to the overall sound and Scott would return to the trio format in the early-mid 1970s on albums for Cadet and Strata East respectively. The opener ‘Baia’, a Brazilian tune penned by Ary Barraso, was covered by John Coltrane and here Turrentine only plays a latin theme at the beginning and ending of the piece. He clearly knew how to play with the melody and extract the maximum from it. A trio of US songbook tunes including ‘My Shining Hour’ and ‘Yesterdays’ displays Turrentine’s ability to stretch out on a tune. Larry Young would in the mid-late 1960s take a leaf out of Shirley Scott’s dramatic style of playing. An all round effort from Stanley Turrentine who would continue to record the tenor-organ format for another few years. Tim Stenhouse

Sonny Clark was a pianist who recorded almost exclusively for Blue Note and typified the superior late 1950s bop on the classic ‘Cool Struttin’ as well as performing as sideman on Jackie McLean’s ‘A Fickle Sonance’, Dexter Gordon’s ‘Go’ and Stanley Turrentine’s ‘Jubilee Shout’. By the early 1960s he was fighting a drug addiction that would take his life in January 1963. In 1961, however, when this album was made, Sonny was on top form and surrounded by an enviable line up of the cream of Blue Note studio musicians including Billy Higgins on drums, Charlie Rouse on tenor and Tommy Turrentine (brother of Stanley) on trumpet. The opener ‘Somethin’ special’ is a blues-inflected piece with melodic solo from Rouse and the clear lyricism of Turrentine. Miles Davis’ and John Coltrane’s modal explorations were in the early 1960s being digested by the jazz community and ‘Melody for C’ is a fine example of this.

In contrast ‘Midnight Mambo’ pays homage to the big band Latin sound of Machito and Tito Puente and illustrates how easily jazz could incorporate Afro-Cuban rhythms. Ike Quebec guests on the ballad ‘Deep in a dream’ and as ever it is the economy of style that impresses one with the tenor’s playing. Sonny Clark was an underrated pianist whose main influences were Bud Powell and Horace Silver in the evolution of bop and the soulful licks of the blues, but who by the early 1960s had a clearly individual style. It is a tragedy that he was unable to experience some of the innovations that took place in jazz from the mid-1960s onwards.
Tim Stenhouse

Great album of seriously heavy music.  The album flows beautifully and showcases some great music makers from more exposed names like Benny Sings, Tiombe Lockhart and Heavy through to relatively unknowns like Flako & Shaunise, Sandie Black and Oliver Day Soul.  Deep joy comes from the Japanese god that is Mitsu The Beats with dabbling by Dwele and the monster track here courtesy of Coultrain with ‘Girl of my Dreams’ - a killer jazz groove.  All in all, the albums just proves that in today’s financial climate there can still be great music made and great music released.  Top marks start to finish. Steve Williams

Love this, there’s a nice raw feel to the production so the music and songs can shine centre stage and they do superbly. The feel is folk meets singer songwriter meets subtle rock but it’s the songs and their delivery (Roddy Womble takes most lead vocals) that make this enchanting and moreish. Guests include Norman Blake and Francis MacDonald of Teenage Fanclub, Philip Selway of Radiohead, Heidi Talbot, Donald Shaw of Capercaille, Andy Cutting (BBC folk musician of the year) and Michael McGoldrick. Have a listen to ‘Into The Blue’ or ‘Moments Last Forever’ – magic. Graham Radley

Soundtrack to the film Tropa De Elite (Elite Squad) composed by Pedro Bromfman. The film tells the story of two childhood friends who decide to join Rio de Janeiro’s Military Police Department and in turn they then try out for a Special Operations Squad whose mission is to take down the drug-lords that plague the city. The music reflects this urban scenario with a mix that features MC Junior, MC Leonardo, Bateria da Rocinha, Barbatuques and styles that range from ambient to thrash punk. Excellent. Graham Radley

Terrific one man blues band who is a fine singer, guitarist and blues harpist. He’s not against inviting some classy friends to join him either including David Bromberg and Mike Katz with my pick going to to his take on Rory Gallagher’s ‘Going To My Home town’ joined by Brian Miller on mandolin. Great stuff. Graham Radley

A celebration of 50 years of bossa nova, this 14 track compilation has a well rounded selection with Elis Regina, Carlos Lyra and Joao Donato among the artists helping to flex those limbs. Nostalgia for all the right reasons. Graham Radley

Great mix of artists on this collection with Jamal Porto and Rasha from the Sudan, Les Orientales, Souad Massi and Maurice El Medioni from Algeria, Zaman from Palestine, Zein Al-Jundi from Syria, Charbel Rouhana and Hani Siblini from Lebanon, Mousto Largo from Morocco and Tiris from Western Sahara. Superb traditional music, highly recommended. Graham Radley

Adriano Adewale might have been born into one of the world’s biggest urban sprawls (Sao Paulo) but his music is deeply rooted in a rural Africa and its offshoots around the world. The name of this debut album “Sementes” (meaning ‘seeds’ in Portuguese) is both apt and evocative. For me, the overwhelming feeling is a sense of organicness (the album feels like it has been nurtured rather than composed) and also a very natural acoustic quality to the recording. You can feel the hands of the musicians, not the producer or the technology. Nothing feels forced or out of place. It really is a beautiful, sumptuous, sound. The album’s artwork by Claire Curtis really sets the scene too using woodcuts and subtle natural painting.  When Adriano selects his instruments for each track it’s with the surety of knowing the exact sound required. In our minds the interplay of wood, skin and seeds paints rippling landscapes of sound; I hear (or is it see?) stands of dry grass, bubbling rills, clattering rushes, dusty plains broken by smooth hills, distant forests washing up against purple-tinged mountains, diamond -crusted indigo skies, thick water-storing trees, cattle, villages, birds, rocks, paths that disappear into hollows, bleached bones, vibrant green shoots in red soil, men, women and children, generations of peoples, endless stories rooted in the earth.

Add the unmistakeable springs of musical water that burst forth from Kadialy Kouyate’s kora, Marcelo Andrade’s sometimes playful, sometimes mournful flute and saxes and Nathan Thomson’s fluid double bass and all these stories come to life. This is music that each can listen to and take something personal away from: each person their own landscapes, their own stories.  This is just my overriding experience of this album. However, there are other voices here too. Virtuoso guitarist Antonio Forcione adds his talent to one track and the album’s producer, Gilad Atzmon adds his accordion and clarinet to various tracks also.

Adriano says that the album is a reflection of his surroundings, his experience of living in London, his childhood in Brazil, his friends. However, it also addresses his wider environmental concerns, issues of faith and also African-Brazilian and European identity. It is well known that after spending time in Africa he rid himself of his previous surname - Pinto - and decided to choose for himself something that better reflected who he was, who he wanted to be and so the two new surnames: Adewale (from the Yoruba culture of West Africa) and Ituana (from the indigenous language and cultures of Tupi-Guarani in central South America).  Without interviewing him personally, I can’t tell how he approached each individual track, what the tunes mean to him personally, what his story is, but I can try and give my impressions; ultimately you must come up with your own.

The album starts off with the sprightly Sempre, featuring Adewale’s smile-inducing vocals (I’ve no idea what he’s saying, but it sounds uplifting!). Throughout the track (and the whole album) his drumming never dominates the whole sound of the band, even when he’s crashing around a whole variety of percussion instruments. It’s always the band and the album that come first, never “Look at me: I’m a Drummer”. Sign of a good bandleader in my book.  Next is the serene, timeless Domingo featuring Kadialy Kouyate’s stately kora playing and, later, Marcelo Andrade’s flute (loving the subtle accordion and clarinet lines from Gilad Atzmon also) over an understated percussive figure and repeated bassline. Quite hypnotic.

Comboio has a more obvious Brazilian start with its bouncing surdo 2/4 beat, busy tarol (a rattly Brazilian snare drum) and martial reeds but then descends into something darker, Atzmon’s clarinet being particularly unsettling; maybe that’s city-life, I don’t know, but it ain’t for me!  Family Album starts with the sound of Adewale calling out, as if to family, friends - nobody seems to answer. Has everyone gone away? Slowly kalimba, kora and flute start to speak into the space as other voices, whispers, ghosts maybe, appear from the thin air. Listen, make up your own story . . .

Assim is another of those musical soundscapes that makes you want to lay back in the shimmering heat, close your eyes and drift off down the river created by the crystalline kora and thick, pulsating double bass, whilst Adriano’s udu (clay drum) nudges at you like a huge fish and the zephyrs of Gilad’s clarinet spin you in circles, round and round, down the river, toward the horizon . . .

Passa Por Mim cracks along, driven by the peculiarly dry quality of the pandeiro (Brazilian tambourine played on the skin) over a jaunty flute melody.  Telefone, in my ears, is a midnight jazz-tango - if not in rhythm, then in emotional tone; with Andrade’s soprano sax rising up into the air like a voice lifted in both love and lament - gorgeous! Beautifully underpinned by the rest of the band and with extra accompaniment from Atzmon’s lush, romantic accordion, as close as the warm, dark, pressing night.  Encanto - has one of the catchiest melodies on the album, alto sax and clarinet uniting as one over Thomson’s throbbing bass-line and Kouyate’s kora. Adriano’s ‘old boss’, Antonio Forcione, contributes some wonderful guitar solos on this track which makes you wonder what they’d come up with if the guitar and kora were allowed to spar directly against each other.  Sementes closes with a short track called Together, featuring Adewale on pipes (I think they are long bamboo tubes hit at the ends with a flat paddle to produce a percussive but quite eery sound almost like a giant guitar being plucked) and also Kadialy Kouyate’s vocalisations over soprano sax and Maasai flute from Thomson.

I’ve mentioned Thomson’s double bass which infuses the album with a warmth and presence similar to that found in the work of someone like Danny Thompson. But if you read the credits carefully you’ll notice that he also contributes standard flute, an alto flute and a Maasai Flute to the album, as well as Kalimba (thumb piano).  At first the album felt ‘friendly’ to my ears, but didn’t leap out; with each fresh listening, I hear more and more layers and see more details in the landscape. Fresh horizons open up, I elaborate my stories. It gets deeper, richer.  My recommendation? Buy the album, stay at home, go on a journey. Glyn Phillips

With the fiftieth anniversary of the advent of the bossa nova sound we have a timely reminder in this five CD box set of Stan Getz’s contribution to the genre. Bossa nova mania hit the US in the mid-1960s as both and musical and dance craze, and every conceivable artist from pop to easy listening music recorded their fare share. Within the jazz sphere the likes of Dizzy Gillespie and the Paul Winter sextet were more successful than most. However, the unquestioned master interpreter was Stan Getz. Over a series of five albums he explored its various forms and in so doing showcased some of the new and classic composers of Brazilian music, notably the creative genius that was Antonio Carlos (more affectionately known by Brazilians as Tom)Jobim. Bossa nova and Getz were made for each other and the music fitted like a glove into his expanding repertoire. When re-assessing the albums as a whole, the vastness of the enterprise readily becomes apparent. Getz recorded all five LPs within a two year period before setting off on lengthy tours round the globe to popularise the sound. Of the earliest recordings, the debut, ‘Jazz samba’ has a special place. From the opening bass solo on ‘Desafinado’, it heralded a new wave of sound that would have an unprecedented impact on music.

Thereafter Brazilian music would be primarily associated with this fusion of jazz and samba. The collaboration with guitarist Charlie Byrd was very much a vision of bossa nova from an American perspective, but one in which the reflective musings of Byrd and the contemplative wailing of Getz were visionary on pieces such as ‘Samba Triste’. In contrast the big-band outing ‘Big Band Bossa Nova’ served as an introduction to the orchestral skills of Gary McFarland who delivered here on his early promise and included the additional talent of guitarist Jim Hall and pianist Hank Jones. Getz and Mc Farland were possibly inspired by the Gil Evans and Miles Davis collaboration on ‘Sketches of Spain’ and Getz is on top form on the original bossa tune ‘Chega de Saudade’ and the delightful ‘Bim Bom’. For sheer unadulterated pleasure, however, the album recorded with guitarist Laurindo Almeida, comprsing lesser known tunes is a revelation to this writer’s ears. This was a magical collaboration helped in no small measure by the outstanding Brazilian percussionist including Edison Machado on drums. This sound might now be termed hard bossa and it was ironic that it took a native of Sao Paulo (Rio being the home of bossa nova) to unlock the genie from the bottle. Tracks such as ‘Outra Vez’ and ‘Maracatu-too’ are testimony to this superlative duo in action. Of the reamining two albums, ‘Getz/Gilberto’ is of course a well loved old chestnut and one that includes the vocal genius that is Joao Gilberto. Nobody typified the voice of bossa nova better. Curiously, though, it was his then wife Astrid who scored a worldwide hit with Getz on the unforgettable ‘Girl from Ipanema’. A final album, following up on the earlier success of the Getz/Byrd album, ‘Jazz Samba Encore’, this time with the collaboration of guitarist Luis Bonfa, met with more critical acclaim. The 5 CD set is attractively packaged in case with separate digipak gatefold sleeves, original notes and graphics. No extra tracks. Tim Stenhouse

For almost a decade Stan Getz became associated internationally with the bossa nova sound. However, in 1966 he returned to a more straight ahead sound when recording a live album with Roy Haynes and Gary Burton in 1966. The following year he recorded his first studio set and this resulted in arguably his finest album of the entire decade contained herein. A new creme de la creme line up included a young Chick Corea on piano, the great Ron Carter on bass and Grady Tate filling in for an ill Roy Haynes on drums. Three of the five compositions were new with two from the pen of Corea (’Litha’ and ‘Windows’) and one from Mike Gibbs (’Sweet Rain’). Recorded by Rudy Van Gelder with the production genius of Creed Taylor, this is an outstanding outing that covers all of Getz’s musical moods. Melodicism is the name of the game on ‘Windows’ with Corea stretching out while on Dizzy Gillespie ‘Con Alma’ the piece is transformed into a waltz-like reverie. On ‘O Grande Amor’, a Vincius de Moraes and Tom Jobim song, Getz revisits briefly the bossa nova territory and pays tribute to the two writers who typified everything that was best in contemporary Brazilian music. Throughout Getz’s tenor playing is plaintive and warm, caressing the melody. By the time this album had been recorded, Getz was off on another tangent, this time exploring a harder north-eastern Brazilian sound live with Baden Powell. Tim Stenhouse

With a new line up comes a new lease of life and the recent live concert on Radio 3 augured well for the latest formation and new album of Dave Holland’s group. That this more than lives up to its promise is due in no small part to the fact that the line up rates as one of Holland’s finest ever. In particular it was a stroke of genius to have engaged the considerable piano skills of Mulgrew Miller in the band, thus breaking with the tradition of a vibes player that has endured for a decade or so. Trumpeter Alex Sipiagin adds new vigour while Antonio Hart cements his reputation as one of the finest alto saxopohone players around. Factor in the non-negligeable talents of drummer Eric Harland and Robin Eubanks on trombone and you have both a formidable and cohesive formation in place.

What really impresses on this release, however, is the sheer variety of styles that are covered. Extremely catchy and accessible is the groove-laden ‘Modern Times’ that bears the influence of Horace Silver in his Blue Note prime and this will surely garner radio airtime. Likewise the melodic title track, a tribute to drummer Ed Blackwell, ends the album on a high note. In between these two pieces there is the cool jazz of ‘Lazy Snake’, the Latin tinge that permeates ‘Sum of all parts’ on which the band effortlessly shifts from samba to hard bop, and the blues-inflected ballad ‘Processional’ that infuses warmth. By far the longest piece on the album, ‘Rivers Run’ has a decidedly free-jazz feel and is a tribute to saxophonist/flautist Sam Rivers. Holland has reinterpreted several compositions on this album that have been recorded previously by earlier formations and it is the extent to which these tunes have been reinvigorated in the new line up that makes this such an enjoyable experience. Expect this latest offering from Dave Holland to figure prominently among the end of year best jazz albums. Indeed in the fullness of time it may just be hailed as a contemporary classic. For the time being, though, it is a winner of an album from start to finish. Tim Stenhouse

From early beginnings at the Blue Note label, through the apprenticeship in Miles Davis’ seminal groups, and on to electronic wizzardry as part of the Headhunters, Herbie Hancock has condensed a great deal of diverse and vituosic music into a long career spanning five decades. While a single CD of his work can never truly claim to be comprehensive (even a double CD would only barely touch the surface), this CD does provide an overview to the multiple facets of his musical talents. The classic Blue Note sides are represented here by two pieces that illustrate the impressionistic lyricism of his compositions with ‘Maiden Voyage’ betraying the influence of Debussy and Ravel, while ‘Cantaloupe Island’ with its hypnotic repetition has become one of Hancock’s most sampled pieces and is the choice cut from ‘Empyrean Isles’. Chronologically the compilation skips almost a decade, taking in ‘Wiggle Waggle’, before focusing on the jazz-fusion sound of ‘Chameleon’ when Hancock was in his element exploring the outer limits of the synthesizer within improvised music.

The 1980s witnessed a two-pronged approach from the pianist. One the one hand he acted and performed in a retrospecitve of his earlier period in the film ‘Around Midnight’ and from this ‘Chan’s Song’, written by Jean Hancock, is featured. On the other Hancock fused hip-hop rhythms with jazz on ‘Rock it’ which became a sizeable chart hit and is included here with a live version. Of the last fifteen years ‘The New Standard’ is strangely omitted as is the duet album with Wayne Shorter. However, the recent tribute to Joni Mitchell is represented by two versions of ‘River’, the former a duet with Corinne Bailey Rae, and the second a live rendition including the vocals of the composer herself. Herbie Hancock has always strived to avoid being pigeon-holed into playing one type of music, incurring the wrath of so-called jazz purists in the process, and has featured on countless soul/pop albums including Stevie Wonder’s ‘Songs in the Key of Life’. Wonder repays the compliment with vocals on ‘St. Louis Blues’. The imminent UK tour promises to be a much anticipated revisiting of the pianist’s vast and eclectic repertoire. Tim Stenhouse

In this the fiftieth anniversary of the advent of bossa nova, it is, perhaps, pertinent to reflect on what followed directly afterwards. Bossa nova took elements of US jazz and refined (some would say watered down)traditional samba. Younger artists such as Jorge Ben had taken on board this fusion in earlier works, most notably ‘Mas que nada’, but were eager to explore and combine new American rhythms and associated closely with soul (and later funk). It is in this light that one should view ‘Jorge Ben (1969)’ as an album that marks the transition from the imitation of a prevailing musical trend (bossa nova)to the work of an innovator who would pioneeer what became known as samba rock and one that has long been a rare collectors item. By 1969 Ben had gained notoriety as a composer with ‘Cade Tereza’ featuring on a traditional samba album by ‘Os Originais do Samba’ (released on CD in recent years in Brazil)and with ‘Pais Tropical’ which became a hit for Wilson Simonal.

For ‘Jorge Ben’ the singer-songwriter enlisted the backing of Trio Macoto and this would be the first of a series of recordings together during which time Ben found his distinctive sound. Arrangements came courtesy of Rogerio Duprat, synonymous with the tropicalia movement, but here never over-intrusive and allowing plenty of space for Ben and Trio Macoto to stretch out. Evidently Ben had come under the influence of the then emerging black consciousness movement in the States and this is reflected in the ‘black is beautiful’ message behind ‘Criola’ and in the lyrics to ‘Take it easy my Brother Charles’, both instantly catchy songs. Perhaps the album’s highlight, however, is the stirring ‘Bebete Vaobora’ with solo guitar intro, impassioned vocals and sparse brass combining to wonderful effect. The signature tunes ‘Pais Tropical’ and Cade Tereza’ are faithfully reproduced whereas ‘Que Pena’ differs from the later 1980s hit duet between Gal Costa and Caetano Veloso in that it is taken a decidedly quicker tempo. For this re-issue excellent graphics with the original (and legendary)front and back cover are supplemented by detailed notes on the recording. By the time ‘Jorge Ben’ had been released, Ben had left his early works such as ‘Mas que nada’ behind and was intent on creating something closer to the roots of samba, but that at the same time would appeal to a younger audience. He would fully achieve his goal five years or so later with the release of ‘Africa, Brasil’. Tim Stenhouse

Following on from the catchy 45 ‘I feel good’ comes the album from Beres which is actually the first he has recorded in some four years. Hammond has always prided himself on his soulful vocals and indeed cut an album early in his career that is now considered a modern masterpiece with soul fans. During the mid-late 1970s he was an integral member of the Zap Pow band that cut some classic roots songs, but Beres has long since departed from that genre. Here he opts for a pop-reggae approach possibly aimed at the US market and this is a qualified success. Key songs include the theme driven ‘Dark clouds’ and ‘Talking Africa’ while his best vocal performance is reserved for ‘I’ll live again’. Sometimes the songs are just a little too sugar sweet for mainstream reggae fans and by offering fewer songs Hammond would have made the album more cohesive as a whole. Nonetheless Beres Hammond’s vocal credentials are impeccable and for long-term fans there will be something to cater for their tastes. Tim Stenhouse

Amid the mid-1980s digital revolution a number of new producers emerged and of these George Phang was among the most consistent. The first two volumes on offer testify to the calibre of singers and DJs who recorded under Phang. Volume one features dancehall favourite Barrington Levy with two cuts while Frankie Paul who was a pivotal figure in the digital era offers another brace of tasty numbers. Other younger singers would emerge from the mid-1908s onwards and of these Little John has stood the test of time extremely well. While DJs were less prominent from 1984, Phang still believed in their prowess and consequently Josie Wales and Yellowman are both featured here. Volume two adds quality singers such as Frankie Jones, Michael Palmer and Admiral Bailey. George Phang stuck to a similar format with his production chores and it certainly paid dividends in the dancehall. Another two volumes will follow. Tim Stenhouse

One of the off shoots of the Buena Vista Social Club phenomenon, Omara Portuondo has in fact led a parallel career since the 1970s and recorded regularly in Cuba before and after the worldwide success of Cuban traditional music. This latest album sees Omara return to the classic Cuban repertoire with a number of guest musicians and singers. Portuondo had tended to shift between styles from bolero to feelin’ and has tended to stick to a more laid back from of Cuban music. Melancholic ballads sung in Spanish are acceptable up to a point provided there is variety elsewhere to compensate. On this album Portuondo invites a number of guest ranging from Cuban pianist Chucho Valdes and singer-songwriter Pablo Milanes, one of the pioneers of the nueva trova sound, to Camerounian singer and guitarist Richard Bona. By far the catchiest numbers on this album are the uptempo ones, particularly the pared down reworking of a Brazilian classic, ‘’O que sera’ in collaboration with its original composer and singer Chico Buarque. A reworking of Silvio Rodriguez’s ‘Rabo de Nube’ remains faithful to the original and the most impressive ballad is ‘Lo que me queda por vivir’. Tim Stenhouse

Colombia is a country of music aficionados whose indigenous rhythms serve as the base for multiple musical styles that are largely unrecognised outside of its borders. This compilation is thus a handy thermometre of the genres that have dominated in the decade between 1998 and 2007. On the Pacific coatline of Colombia one finds influences as diverse as west African highlife and Palm Wine, Cumbia and even Dixieland-style. A perfect illustration of the heady fusion of sounds is Grupo Bahia who, ithin a song such as ‘Cantare’, change tempi and rhythm several times. Key to the overall sound is the use of an African percussion instrument the malimba along with jazzy horns and a guitar solo Carlos Santana would be proud of.

In contrast the rapid currulao rhythm is exemplified by the best known artists on the compliation, Peregoyo y su Combo Vacana with ‘La Iguana’. For a long time Afro-Colombian rhythms were deingrated in the country and considered inferior to commercial salsa. However, in the late 1990s attitudes changed and a plethora of artists were encouraged to record. An outstanding example is the catchy ‘La Oya’ by La Revuelta that begins as a jazz-inflected intro, but quickly transforms into an infectous Afro-Colombian piece with chanted horns. With excellent recording quality and informative and detailed bi-lingual notes, mark this down as one of the year’s most enlightening discoveries. The CD fills an important gap in the Latin music market and one hopes there will be more music of this calibre to follow. Tim Stenhouse

Formerly on the collectable Blue Thumb label, this long deleted re-isssue captures Hugh Masekela in excellent form on what was originally a double LP from 1972 recorded in London. Co-produced by Crusaders producer Stewart Levine and composer/musician Caiphus Semenya, Masekela was forced to record in exile because of the political situation in South Africa throughout the 1970s. This album assembles a stellar group of American-based and exiled South African musicians. The former include bassist Eddie Gomez and pianist Larry Willis. Extended numbers predominate on this CD which is great value at almost eighty minutes. Among key tunes are the Willis composition ‘Inner crisis’ which has a Headhunters feel with Willis playing electric piano while Masekela’s ‘Maseru’ has something of a Latin feel to it and trumpet playing that recalls early Freddie Hubbard. Political themes were never far from Masekela’s repertoire and ‘Blues for Huey’ is a tribute one of the principal figures in the black consciousness movement in the States. A more reflective side to the ensemble is found on ‘The Big Apple’ with Larry Willis demonstrating the kind of keyboard skills on acoustic piano that would later be an integral feature of Jerry Gonzalez and the Fort Apache band. Hugh Masekela recorded for numerous labels and it is heartening to know that one of his most coherent albums is now available once again to a wider public. Tim Stenhouse

The late 1960s in Britain witnessed musical and fashion fragmentation into two opposite camps: mods and rockers. The former worshipped the soul-jazz sounds coming out of America, notably the hammond organ of artists such as Jimmy Smith and Jack McDuff that would invariably be heard on jukeboxes in condensed 45 format. Added to this influence was the gritty southern soul of independent labels like Stax in Memphis and the newly emerging sound of reggae from Jamaica. British studio arranger and keyboardist Alan Hawkshaw was soaking up all these influences and offered his own take on the new sound in 1968 with the project contained herein. The resulting album ‘The Champ’ and especially its title track would compare most favourably with music recorded across the Atlantic and in turn would be sampled two decades later by US hip-hop artists. Hawkshaw is best known for his arrangements of music for Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin, and later for his jingles and theme tunes on British television.

As leader, however, his finest moment came with ‘The Champ’, a series of tightly arranged and perfectly executed slices of jazz-inflected organ. Alongside the devastating title track, the Mohawks take on Wilson Pickett’s ‘Funky Broadway’ impresses. Little wonder, then, that another hammond organist, Reuben Wilson, should record the number for Blue Note around the same period. Otis Redding was arguably the most respected soul singer at the time and his ‘Sweet soul music’ is interpreted in fine soul-jazz fashion. Heavy bass and organ combine wonderfully on ‘Dr. Jekyl and Hyde Park’ while Hawkshaw stretches out on hammond on ‘Beat me til’ I’m blue’ which in many ways is a precursor to the sound he created for Serge Gainsbourg. Six bonus cuts are added of which the percussion heavy ‘Pepsi’ and New Orleans-inspired ‘Ride your pony’ stand out. Impressive gatefold sleeve and notes on Hawkshaw’s career round out a timeless classic that is finally available in both CD and vinyl formats. Tim Stenhouse

This release highlights the very worthy cause of the chronic lack of sanitation in Africa. This UK-based project is the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist Dean Brodrick and the music inspired by a trip to Mozambique. Calling in a number of guest musicians including Brazilian vocalist Monica Vasconcelos, themes are based around the concept of water. From a musical perspective the instrumentation is in large part Latin-tinged (though vocals are in Portugese) with the 1950s big band Cuban style of ‘Agua pura’ impressing. Jazzy mambo sounds permeate ‘Eu vivo neste mundo’ (’I live in this world’)while catchy accordion playing is a highlight of ‘Drinking water’. Clearly this is not exclusively a music project and its main purpose is to highlight the daily needs of millions of Africans. For every CD sold, one pound is donated to the campaign and equates to a lifetimes santation for an African citizen. Tim Stenhouse

Covering 1973-1975 this is funk & sato from Benin’s obscure labels often recorded in the most basic of ways. This is music for the people, people who want to dance to this raw mix of horns, guitar, organ on a driving bedrock of bass and drums. It’s amazing where all this brilliant music keeps coming from but you end up wondering how you’ve not come across it before. Thanks AnalogAfrica – keep them coming. Graham Radley

Until recently Benin was a relatively unknown country from a musical perspective and our knowledge was restricted to present day diva Angelique Kidjo. However, during the 1970s independent labels released some sumptuous music and the first volume of a two-part series by enterprising UK label Analog Africa is devoted to one of the key bands of the era in Benin, Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou. Myriad influences come to play in this intoxicating mix, but elements of Nigerian juju and Afro-Beat, US funk and soul and Latin rhythms are all evident. However, the distinctive sound of Orchestre Poly-Rythmo is due to the voudous religious component in the form of the indigenous sato drums and the disonnant guitar riffs that are omnipresent on these recordings. Key tracks include the brass-laden ‘Se we non nan’, the juju-influenced ‘Assibari’ and the funk riffs on ‘Aho ba ho’. Weighing in at seventy-five minutes, this is an excellent value compilation of one of Africa’s least known bands. Tim Stenhouse

Sam Rivers strided the stylistic gap between post-bop and free jazz to great effect on a series of classic albums in the mid-late 1960s for Blue Note such as ‘Fuschia Swing Song’ and ‘Contours’. In addition he was briefly a member of Miles Davis’ band and as a sideman featured on the superb Larry Young album ‘Into Something’. This late 1960s release featured a fascinating line up of four horns and no piano with Rivers shifting between tenor, soprano and flute. He enlisted a stellar cast of Julian Priester on trombone, James Spaulding on reeds and Cecil McBee on bass. Tracks cover a wide variety of styles from the melodicism of ‘Paen’ and the beautiful flute duet with Spaulding on ‘Involution’ to the freedom of Afflatus’. One hopes that the vastly underrated album ‘A new conception’ is re-issued a some point to complete the Rivers repertoire on Blue Note. Tim Stenhouse

Located predominantly in central Transylvania, gypsy music has combined Romanian as well as Hungarian melodies, and the folk songs from the region have served as the inspiration for Hungarian classical composers of the calibre of Bartok and Kodaly. In fact by virtue of their nomadic lifestyle and marginal status, gypsy music tends to cut acorss national boundaries. On this latest edition, which updates a previous compilation of the genre, we have a rich variety of sounds. Internationally the best known band is Taraf de Haidoucks and as the first part of their name might suggest, there is something of an oriental flavour to their music. This is typified on ‘Parlapup (Sa va spun de un bautor)’. There is a tendency for gypsy communities to reside in the same street and consequently these are referred to as ‘musicians’ street. Instrumentalists of note abound and are exemplified here by clarinetist Mielu Bibescu on ‘Mite mite’ accompanied by guitar and Toni Iordache playing the uniquely sounding kunan (a kind of zither with Middle Eastern origins) on ‘Cantec si Breaza (ca la fantanele)’. Musicians often play at weddings to earn a living and have an instinctive knowledge of the repertoire. Moldavian brass band Fanfare Ciorcalia fuse traditional and contemporary folk sounds (adding drums) and here contribute two excellent songs ‘Alili’ and ‘Kan marau la’. For an authentic introduction to grass roots gypsy music from central Europe, this compilation should be your first port of call. Tim Stenhouse

Previously chronicled in the original studio edition which has earned critical acclaim and introduced many to his music, Bhattacharya has pioneeered the use of the slide guitar within the field of Indian classical music and became a ‘pandit’ or master at the age of forty. Furthermore he has come to prominence equally as a member of the revived and renewed line-up of Shakti under the aegis of John McLaughlin.

This latest CD features an entirely new selection of pieces recorded live in trio format, but indoors with, as a bonus, the live studio concert on DVD. Excellent audio and visual quality enable the viewer to appreciate the trio’s ensemble playing and of the five lengthy pieces, the opener ‘Usha’ and ‘Aanadan’ stand out as particularly fine examples of Bhattacharya’s craft. The only drawback is there is no interview with Bhattachrya explaining how he has adapted the Hawaian slide guitar to Indian classical music. That would have greatly enhanced our understanding. Otherwise an excellent illustration of one of the new masters of Indian music.Tim Stenhouse