Yoni Mayraz
Dybbuk Tse!

Favorite Recordings presents Jazz Traficantes by LE DEAL, a new musical adventure from the finest French jazzmen with Florian Pellissier (Piano & Fender Rhodes - Camaraõ Orkestra, Cotonete, Aldorande, Setenta), Yoann Loustalot (Flugelhorn – Bruit Chic, Old & New Songs, Aerophone, Lucky Dog), Théo Girard (Upright Bass – Pensée Rotatives, Discobole) and Malick Koly (Drums - The Wallace Roney Quintet). Needless to say, they’re used to play all over the globe and quite often to New York. During one of these trips to the Big Apple, they discovered that the legendary Van Gelder studio (where most of Blue Note, Verve and CTI albums were recorded) was still active and opened so they decided to book a few days session.Here is the story told by Florian Pellissier: “The tracks had been written the night before. We were going to run through them and then record. A simple plan. Van Gelder had passed a while back, but he left the keys and secret codes with his faithful assistant Maureen before heading off to create the right sound up in heaven. Nothing had changed in the atmosphere or configuration, not even the way the mics were placed. The studio and its wooden beams still exuded New York’s sixties jazz, dimly lit streets and clubs where anything might happen past midnight. Maureen knew just how to capture the ambiance of the sessions and bottle the energy without spilling a drop, taking infinite care to collect each cymbal tone, drum roll and trumpet phrase, without losing a single vibrating bass string or the slightest keyboard pause.”Indeed, the four contrabandists succeeded to deliver an outstanding album, filled with themes that’ll get stuck in your head, just like in the 19 minutes long performance “Mexican Junkanoo Suite” and its three parts. But more than just beautiful melodies, LE DEAL truly managed to bring a sense of drama to their compositions, going into the deepest emotions through gutted arrangements, improvising with great attention to the articulation of their ideas. From the beginning to the end, musicians and engineers did their best to emulate the proper vintage sound. Jazz Traficantes could prove once and for all that French Jazz can indeed cross the borders.

French multi-instrumentalist Teddy Lasry's story is noteworthy not just in regards to the music he released, but in the ways that he approached the craft of composing and experimenting with sounds and sonics. Always intrigued with the capabilities of instruments, their groove and their feel, it was very much his family’s influence that helped to fuel these lifelong affections. As a performer in a Parisian cabaret, Teddy’s father Jacques would mingle with giants like Serge Gainsbourg and Charlie Chaplin (impressed by his ability to improvise, Chaplin wanted him to become his accompanist, but the pianist politely refused). Jacques and his wife (Teddy’s mother Yvonne), would later become members of the innovative experimental group Les Structures Sonores, and surround their children’s lives with sounds. Electronic music was still in its infancy and Les Structures Sonores, with their resonators that produced long, mysterious tones, were deemed ‘cosmic’. It was the era of the launching of the first Russian Sputnik and every time a radio or television station wanted music for their science fiction programs, they turned to one of their compositions. Showing a natural ability with multi instrumentalism, Teddy was rewarded with a spot in the band, allowing him to really explore unconventional methods of composition. Following a brief stint with Ariane Mnouchkine's avant-garde Théâtre du Soleil after graduating school, Teddy joined the pioneering prog band Magma, with whom he would record three groundbreaking records during the early 1970s (According to former member Laurent Thibault, their album Mëkanïk Dëstruktïẁ Kömmandöh and its sound were strong influences on David Bowie during the recording of Low and Iggy Pop’s The Idiot at Hérouville). Despite the successes with these projects, Teddy was constantly searching for new ways of expressing himself through music, leading him into the beginnings of a solo career that would last the better part of three decades. Teddy’s transition into his solo career came with contrasting fortunes, in that he was now becoming a music to image composer but with the unfortunate realisation that his eyesight was gradually worsening (due to being diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa at an early age). Nonetheless, his solo career would begin in 1975, and for the rest of the decade, his sound would become increasingly mired in electrified Funk-Fusion and its endless sonic possibilities. The resulting music would serve to highlight Teddy’s love affair with the possibilities found within tireless instrumentation, with the flute and particularly synthesisers becoming a mini-obsession of his (he once spent a 7,000 Francs loan, which was meant to be spent on fixing his roof, on synths). To this day Teddy continues to record and experiment with music, a passion which in many ways has never left his side, even at the age of 75. His career was one that was fuelled by innate curiosity and an intrinsic desire to discover new methods of expressionism, be it through the realms of Jazz-Funk, ambient electronics, Swing music or indeed through the medium of instrumentation itself. On this compilation, we look to encapsulate the essence of his innovative sound, and from start to finish a sense of his ingenious approach to composing structure and mood is made abundantly clear. The funk-jazz fusion style that embodied the majority of his 70s work is on full display here, with the vibrant flute driven "Los Angeles", the Miles Davis inspired "Blue Theme", the progressive and driving "Chamonix", and the deeply intricate "Krazy Kat", along with one of his finest 80s slow jams, "Funky Ghost". Two cuts off the ‘Back To Amazonia’ album are also featured (Teddy’s last album including his Prophet T8, Yamaha DX7 and Oberheim drum machines). "Raising Sun in Bali" and the title piece both emphasise an ever-present passion for synthesisers. "Birds of Space", a standout track off the e=mc2 album, closes the comp, and is a fitting way to end this journey.Pulled together in close collaboration with Teddy and his family, this collection of songs looks to introduce new listeners to his work and we are proud to present this limited and carefully remastered compilation on vinyl, including extensive liner notes.

A revival, a resumption, a revelation… call it as you wish, Ray Stephen Oche is now delivering his musical message: fire, fun, fury, talent and magic. This is music from the African heartland, dense, intense, a genuine fermentation of black African experience in sound, a translation of Ray Stephen’s essence into a soothing, meaningful balm for your eager auditory faculties. Such is this album of “dedications”.

**** DIZONORD DEADSTOCK ****This second-hand record is available through our collaboration with Parisian shop Dizonord, all items are in NM condition. Just add them to your order as you'll add any other releases. Limited quantities!Dizonord met Jean-Jacques Birgé from Un Drame Musical Instantané and GRRR label before Dizonord was created. Jean-Jacques is still a very active musician working for exhibitions sound designs and always fond of new technologies projects. These LPs are a paradise for samplers and Thurston Moore has always been a huge fan of Birgé who could be found on the famous NWW list !

Favorite Recordings proudly presents Recalling You, a dazzling Disco/Jazz-Funk new single EP by our longtime friend and label mate Andre Solomko.Born in Ukraine and based in Finland for a while, Andre Solomko is a rich and engaging personality, but above all, a talented saxophonist, composer and engineer, with contagious passion. Since they met 7 years ago, Andre and Pascal Rioux’s (founder of Favorite Recordings) collaboration resulted in 3 albums and a couple of singles acclaimed internationally. Primarily known for a sound mixing Jazz-Funk, with European Soundtracks, Pop and Soul influences, Andre Solomko’s skills for composition and production are much wider. Almost 2 years ago, he’s therefore demonstrated his versatility when delivering the hot Disco anthem “Le Premier Disco Sans Toi”.This first attempt definitely seduced many DJs and collectors, and it seems Andre enjoyed the trip too and decided to embark for it again with “Recalling You”. For this new single, Andre’s idea was to revive two of his past compositions, tailoring brand new glamorous Disco suit and arrangements for it. Backed again by a close team of musicians and the beautiful and charming vocals of Charlotta Kerbs, the new session was recorded live and analog as usual, and then brilliantly mixed in France by Jordan Kouby at Question de Son studios. It ended with what might be Andre Solomko’s best level of productions and sound so far.To make it short, “I Recall” and “Teasing You” felt in love and had a baby at the nightclub… here comes Recalling You, packed in a 45rpm 12inch vinyl edition and coming with a hot Dub edit by Charles Maurice on B-side.

A fantastic 5th album of the sensational french Jazz band from pianist Florian Pelissier, recorded at Rudy Van Gelder Studio (New Jersey, USA), mixed by Jordan Kouby at Question de Son (Paris) and mastered by Frank Merritt at The Carvery (London, UK). Hard Bop 2021 at his best, available as Deluxe Tip-On Vinyl LP! Florian Pellissiers tells the story:"How did we get here? In this tropical daze, contemplating the surrounding landscape, the luxuriance of nature, with the ocean and her ballet of gentle waves, caressing the sand - timidly gaining a few inches with each passing adagio. The temperature, as if perfectly adjusted to the most precise degree by an artful yet mercurial hand knowing full well that it could, with idle ease, sway the fragile quality of this luscious and suave atmosphere...However, just a few months before, the course had been set for New Jersey. More specifically; to Rudy Van Gelder's studio: one of jazz’s greatest unstitutions. This pilgrimage was to both celebrate and crown the twentieth anniversary of the Quintet. An unchanging line-up that yielded four albums, with this fifth recording intended to be our artistic culmination before moving onto something else. New adventures, on different roads perhaps. Van Gelder's studio, long revered to be a chapel for the artists who passed through it with it’s exceptional acoustics, was the place to be. Its woodwork seemingly encrusted with thousands of hours of Blue Note recordings, still pulsating with years of incantations from past sessions…now we too were going to make our own mark. By lighting the voodoo fire there, we would submerge the place in a collective trance. Dark and dense. Did we seek to summon voodoo? Of course not. It is the Loa of music who decides whether or not they will be present. Yet this record, or more, the one that I originally dreamt of, was so raw. The one I initially visualized to be messy, rich and spiritual actually clashed with the creative reality of the moment. The energy, the dynamics of the group were, at that time, not parallel with those tempestuous qualities so when we pushed, something resisted.We strived to sink into darkness - yet reality lead us back again and again towards an ever more sensitive space of grace and elegance. We arrived wanting to take out the machete, but finesse, in the end, called out to us. Obviously, the sessions saw new trails emerge, basked in a serendipitous and welcoming light. Rather than battling, we instead turned our compass towards the calmer latitudes of Capricorn and Cancer. It was then the Quintet embarked for tropical promenades in the newfound tranquillity of this legendary studio.So how did we get there? By not upsetting the creative forces that willed the powers of voodoo against taking our souls, at least this time anyway. From afar, my faithful creative daemons came galloping out, like gazelles, from the groove and gracefully forged a rhythm machine, encased with futuristic vibes that I myself then layered with synthesizers. At once intoxicated by all these sultry elements and ful filled by our orchestral solstice – I thought of Rio.And this one’s to my Rio."