Juno Recommends Brokenbeat / Nu Jazz: November 2023

Review: A reissue of two historic, important cuts by The Ballistic Brothers. 'Blacker' and 'Cufabro Con Amigos' helped define the transitional crossover between early 90s funk and breaksy electronica in the UK. The Ballistic Brothers were the sonic thesis, antithesis and synthesis of Ashley Beedle and David Hill, both of whom later went on to work behind the scenes in the music industry, but whose earlier contributions are still duly noted. 'Blacker' appeared on their earliest album, The Balistic Brothers vs. The Eccentric Afros Volume 1, and was symptomatic of the sonic stirrings of breakbeat, acid jazz and broken beat at the time, channelling a string-laden suspense, and a wise, sampled vocal snippet from Gil Scott Heron. Heron's wisdom undercuts the track, and hears his musings on race and moral superiority.

Review: Bob James continues to innovate and remain revealing decades after first serving new standards in jazz funk. His latest album is another one that will connect with fans from across the ages not least because it features a rather prominent collaboration with the legendary hip-hop turntablist and producer DJ Jazzy Jeff who is best known for his partnership with Will Smith both in music and the hit US TV sitcom the Fresh Prince of Bell Air. Here Bob and Jazzy join up for 'That Bop' which is a thumping dance cut with big pano hooks that comes all those years after Jeff first samples James in something of a lovely full circle moment.

Review: Shout out to the Broadcite label for hitting the not so insignificant milestone here of 100 releases. They mark the occasion with a beautiful various artists assemblage of sunny broken beats, house and garage. It's a Wipe The Needle vs Venuz beats remix of Farah's 'Waiting' that gets things started with some shuffling bossa-tinged beats and jazzy melodies while a Ziggy Funk Refix of Colonel Red is a soulful house cut that will get hips swinging. On the flip, a Bruk Rogers rework is super hot and steamy with its plunging basslines and then the garage dons Groove Chronicles close out with their sublime remix of their own 'Higher Soul'.

Review: Medline is on a mission to serve up his own fresh cover versions of well known tunes from the movies, library music vaults, jazz funk scenes and worldwide rare grooves. He is one man who plays flute, guitar, keyboard, pads, drums, percussions and violin and lays down each part of the tune and then puts them all together with some extra studio touches at a later date. He mixes the music himself so that it is live sounding and vibrant, and then shares it with the world. These latest two cuts are heavy Afrobeat gems with cosmic synth work, psyched-out melodies and jazz invention that makes them captivating in the extreme.

Review: 2015 might not feel like that long ago, but in terms of the UK's jazz scene it's a lifetime. When Tenderlonious, Yussef Dayes, Nick Walters and Adrian Shepherd laid down Two For Joy, they lit the touch paper for the explosive resurgence of UK jazz as a young, hungry and inspired modern thing. It's a scene and community which has gone from strength to strength since, in what should feel like a relatively short space of time. But wind it back with this reissue of the acclaimed album and realise how potent the ideas were. It's jazz played by jazz players, but you can feel the looming influence of hip-hop and electronica informing the angles to make for a new approach which brought jazz screaming back into the wider population.

Review: Four years since their last album, German DJ duo and genre-benders Mo' Horizons have become renowned for their mastery of the latin, and the world at large. You probably already know their music without even realising: Ikea, Renault, Kia and over 500 different music compilations can all attest to the genius of Ralf Droesemeyer and Mark Foh Wetzler. Nu-club, bossa nova and Brazilian funk culminate together in groovy, one-of-a-kind tracks that combine the best of all worlds. 2000s euroclub aesthetics combine with ska guitar lines and killer Latin soul drums. No better is this demonstrated on single 'Anotha Bossa' with Guida da Palma, a feel-good carnival anthem.

Review: Mndsgn is back with a third installment in the Snax Records series which started back in 2019 with the eponymous first album, then took in Rare Pleasures back in June of 2021 and now reverts back to the original title for a trilogy outing. The prolific LA-based musician and producer cuts a little more loose and gets more free on this long player though retains all of the signature elements of his much-loved sound. It is full of rhythmic invention and plenty of bright melodic flair though it also has a whimsical sense of humour across its many bitesize but brilliant tracks.