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Zongo Junction: Madoff Made OffListen to “Madoff Made Off” Here BUY HERE Brooklyn’s Afrobeat band, Zongo Junction enliven a whole new meaning of the a world-wide scandal with “Madoff Made Off.” The transglobal soundscapes confuse the senses with Kings of Leon guitar riffs moving into congas and
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Raphael Gualazzi: Reality and FantasyListen to “Reality and Fantasy” here BUY HERE (US) BUY HERE (Italy) Italians are not known for their Art Tatums and Fats Wallers, but this jazz savant is amplifying his ivory skills throughout the Old Country in unheard forms that leak sounds of a New Orleans classic. An encyclopedia of early Ragtime and BeBop, stride [...]
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Captain Planet: Lagos Speedway & Ram Ad AnifinitumListen to “Lagos Speedway” here BUY HERE The African sounds of Captain Planet‘s Speakin’ Nuyorican EP is a salsa fiesta partnered with a a hip-hop record. The Brooklyn-based DJ returned to Bastard Jazz Recordings to give us more where 2005′s Gumbo Funk EP came from.
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Nôze: C’era Una Volta & Remember LoveListen to “C’era Una Volta” here BUY HERE In a little studio in romance-filled Paris, France, Nicolas Sfintescu and Ezéchiel Pailhès go as Nôze. There, lyrics of love (and lust), pumping pianos and loony horns resonate with an unlikely jazz-meets-electro flair. The French-men have a knack for gypsy jazz, and even a bit of reggae.
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El Michels Affair : C.R.E.A.M.It’s almost Friday so I thought I’d bring a little R&B groovin’ to our weekend. I happened upon this “cinematic soul” act by accident last week and cannot stop listening. El Michels Affair is the creation of two former band mates Leon Michels and Nick Movshon. They along with eight other former members of the [...]
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Song of the Day : [09/19]Nouvelle Vague is French for New Wave, a more than appropriate name for the musical artists as making covers of new wave tracks is clearly their forte, as well as post punk and punk rock. Their renditions of the songs absolutely do the originals justice, a rare talent in comparison with others’ not-so-successful attempts at covering bands. The French artists infuse jazz, bossanova, reggae, and even country and bluegrass influences creating beautiful interpretations that one would never guess to complement the originals so damn well. Their music would be most picturesque if ears could see. They’ve three albums of the “cover” sort and it is a hard decision if asked to choose a favorite – Nouvelle Vague (their self-titled debut album) released in 2004, Bande à Part released in 2006, and 3 released in 2009. Teenage Kicks from Nouvelle Vague’s first album is a playful, cheerful, female take on the original Undertones version; perfect for a sunny, laze-about-on-the-hammock day.
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Song of the Day : [08/14]A good portion of the universe should know about Little Dragon by now; they are far from little. The city of Gothenburg in Sweden [well, Sweden in general] seems to be the mother that births all catchy loveable music. The Knife, Jose Gonzalez, and Jens Lekman to name a few others. The lead singer of Little Dragon, Yukimi, has a jazz vocal background which is evident in her highly addictive soulful voice; the perfect main ingredient for such a musical meal. There are girls that sound black but are actually white, but this femme sounds black but is actually Japanese! Listen to one single song one single time and you’re hooked, no matter the mood you’re currently in or attempting to channel in the near future. This particular song speaks of the obstacle course we call life that stresses us then rests us, tests us and depresses us. Emotions darken and lighten as minds get lost over and over again just to find another way back with an entirely different view. Test is actually from their 2007 self titled [and first] album but don’t think they broke up and went solo llike all the rest; they released a new album recently by the name of Machine Dreams.
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Fat Freddy’s Drop : Flashback (Jazzanova’s Breathe Easy Mix)Fat Freddy’s Drop need no introduction but let me give you a bit of background on the collab between FFD and Jazzanova. They wanted to create a new feeling. “Flashback” is a heavily dub drenched souler, Jazzanova wanted something light, a house tune for club peak…