Worldwide Awards 2010 London

A brilliant night at Islington with GP , his fans and the usual suspects line up:Mulatu, Lee Fields, Andreya Triana accompanied by Fink and Bonobo, El Michels Affair, Floating Points, d.o.p, Theophilus, Nailah and others, plus the sounds of djs including Lefto, darkstar and Gilles himself! Missed the Floating Points ensemble who kicked off the live shows (doors opened at 7) but I was there for Lady Drey who opened with the "keeper" and finished with "lost where I belong", the first single from her debut album. Simply mesmerizing...
Then awards and award winners, among them Mulatu (shame he didnt play), Robert Glasper and Sam Shepherd (aka Floating Points).
Robert Glasper (super cool) followed on stage and then the energy bomb called Theophilus London! Top moment for me was, however, what came next.... ta-dah: the mighty Lee Fields with el Michels Affair and the Expressions. Money is king, Ladies, Honey Dove...so tight, so strong, so emotional.
Dubstep orgy for the end, not my cup of tea :) Anyone stayed until 4? Thank u gp, see u all in Sete in July...

X-mas Treat

Super X-mas treat: two disc set with 26 old and new, original and remixed, reworked, reinterpreted jazz tracks by the great Nicola Conte.
Classy jazz and bossa nova! You've got to listen from beginning to end, such a nice flow and so hard to pick just 4 of them, but here they are...

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1. Mark Murphy-Stolen Moments (midnight mood reworks)

2. The Five Corners Quintet-Three Corners (for friends and relatives version)

3. Luisito Quintero-Our love

4. Nicola Conte Jazz Combo-Black Is The Graceful Veil

Kim Sun

He is often referred to as the Korean Elvis. A fierce guitarist and popular producer by the name of Shin Jung Hyun wrote this beautiful, melancholic song in the end of the 60s. From Stones Throw's lessons in global psych funk (and not funky psychedelia). Lower the lights now please for the man who must leave...

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Kim Sun- The Man Who Must Leave

Julien Dyne

Beats and bleeps and soulful vocals all the way from New Zealand: Julien Dyne just dropped his debut solo album on bbe and this tune featuring vocals by Parks is simply addictive...

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Julien Dyne - Fallin' Down Feat. Parks

Soul Shaker Vol. 6

Oh, I get a kick out of RecordKicks!
I’m a big fan of dj Nick Recordkicks and have been checking on his label in Milan since day one.

In the words of Craig Charles: "RK is like a great wine, it gets better and better with every passing year. If you are wondering why there has been a renewed interest in soul & funk over the past few years then RK has to take some of the credit!"

I think the man has great taste when it comes to contemporary soul/funk/grooves/dancefloor jazz with a distinctive old-style feel and his “Let’s boogaloo” and “Soul Shaker” series have accounted for many hours of shameless, uncontrolled dancing frenzy (not just for me, obviously…).

So, there it is! The sixth installment in the “Soul Shaker” series has just been released! And it’s good, good thing. Get a taste from these three really big tracks until you get your hands on the real thing.

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Gizelle Smith-June

Link Quartet-Purple Haze

Hi-Fly Orchestra-Roda de Samba

Natural Self

Natural Self (aka Nathaniel Pearn aka Keno-1 aka half part of Tru Thoughts' Broken Keys) knows the art of vibration pretty well. He's back with cooler, more future-looking electronica sounds infused with subtle melodies. "Midnight sun" co-written and sung by Elodie Rama and "Even planets get lonely" (what a title) are my favorite moments of the recently released "my heart beats like a drum" lp on tru thoughts.
Some sophisticated simplicity...

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Natural Self - Even Planets Get Lonely (buy)

Natural Self Ft. Elodie Rama - Midnight Sun (buy)

Uptown Funk Empire

Super powerful sunshiny disco-jazz cover of Pharoah Sanders' classic masterpiece "You've got to have freedom" by the Uptown Funk Empire, Bruno Hovart's (Metropolitan Jazz Affair, the Dynamics) latest project.
You've got to have it!

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Uptown Funk Empire - You've Got To Have

Lucinda Slim

If you’ve ever been to a Friday deep funk night at Madame Jojo’s in Soho, you may have seen her spinning some dynamite vinyls along with Keb Darge and Andy Smith. More than a hot dj girl, Lucinda Slim (aka Nia Saw) has also been a vocalist at Zap Mama and a collaborator of the Haggis Horns and the Dap Kings. “All This Time”, her first solo recording on MPM, is a haunting old school soul tune produced by Belgian producer Krewcial and played by The Lone Stars. New tracks will soon follow...

p.s Watch the girl wake up in her LDN apartment to find a box of vinyls delivered to her door…

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Lucinda Slim & The Lone Stars - All This Time