Tuomo – Don’t Take It Too Hard/Ourselves (Jupiter) Finnish 7”
Tuomo seems to have his finger in many pies. Being part of Quintessence and Huba’s band amongst others on the Helsinki soul scene he now comes with his debut solo offering from his forthcoming ‘My Thing’ album. ‘Don’t Take It Too Hard’ is a fantastic early 70s sounding crossover soul stomper complete with luscious orchestration, jazzy keys and catchy vocal hooks. On the flip side he serves up a tasty mid-tempo bossa soul cut in the shape of ‘Ourselves’ which is reminiscent of Donny Hathaway. If the rest of the album is as good as this single I for one can’t wait for it to drop.      
www.myspace.com/organkane
www.texicalli.net

Rodrigo Sanchez – Black Berry/Jazz Thieves (Bassline) UK 7”
From Rodrigo Sanchez’ album ‘En La Playa Al Sol’ (Chinchin 2006) come the best two tracks on the resurrected Bassline records. ‘Black Berry’ is a gorgeous nu jazz piece with muted trumpet and flute touches along with stunning vocals from Brenda Boykin. The instrumental ‘Jazz Thieves’ has similar qualities and is definitely one for the dancers. 
www.myspace.com/rodsanchez

Moodymann – Technologystolemyvinyle (KDJ) US 12”
This one sided 12” from Detroit’s Moodymann is very loose and organic studio soul/jazz jam interspersed with programmed 4/4 beats to create a slow burning bomb. Trust me after a few plays this one will implant itself firmly under your skin.   
www.myspace.com/moodymann313

Christian Pommer’s Drum Lessons – Strings Of Life/Space Jam 2000.17 (Sonar Kollektiv) German 12”
Truby Trio, Fauna Flash and Voom:Voom member Christian Pommer takes on Derrick May’s techo classic ‘Strings Of Life’ and totally transforms it into a stunning piano laced jazz trio workout. ‘Space Jam 2000.17’ is equally as impressive though, a dark and moody slice of tech-jazz perfect for those late night sessions.     
www.myspace.com/sonarkollektiv
www.sonarkollektiv.com

Jerline & Friends – Best Of Friends (Streetsoul) UK CD
Soul DJ Andy Davies kick starts his new Streetsoul label in fine style with this Chicago rarity which he discovered on acetate whilst working at John Anderson’s Soul Bowl record shop during the mid 90s. After airing ‘Joy Trip (Part 1)’ on his radio show the track caused a huge buzz amongst the soul fraternity and has eventually resulted in this release. ‘Joy Trip (Part 1)’ is a majestic string fueled two stepper of the highest order but the album packed full of quality tunes covering northern, crossover and funk styles plus a great version of The Lovelites’ ‘Get It Off My Conscience’.    
www.streetsoul.com

Teressa Edwards – Days Ahead (Studio 45) UK CD
Teressa Edwards was born and raised in Trinidad but now resides in England. Her My Space page states that this is both her debut and second album so I’m a little confused! Whatever the case may be ‘Days Ahead’ is a solid R&B/soul set which showcases Tersessa’s sweet honey voice perfectly. She particularly shines on the nu-soul orientated tracks ‘No More’ and the title track, a simple but effective mellow groove with warm key chords.       
www.myspace.co/teressaedwardsdebut
www.studio45.org.uk

Nomumbah – Love Moves (Yoruba) UK CD
Nomumbah are Sao Paulo based trio Ale Reis, Rafael Moraes and Andre Torquato who drop their debut long player for Osunlade’s Yoruba records. ‘Love Moves’ is a beautifully produced album of deep house grooves incorporating heavy doses of Brazilian soul and jazz. Their version of Lo Borges’ ‘Tudo Que Voca Podia Ser‘, which initially appeared on Osunlade’s ‘Ibara: River Crossing’ compilation is exceptional, as are ‘Outono’ with it’s squelchy bass and electro key noodlings and the jazz-funk/broken-boogie flavour of ‘I Can Fly’. ‘Love Moves’ is really strong throughout though and deserves your full attention.     
www.myspace.com/nomumbah
www.myspace.com/yorubarecords
www.yorubarecords.com