Dennis Mpale
Paying My Bills

After years of touring with Hugh Masekela’s band, and being exposed to the music of the Crusaders, George Clinton and his band, Parliament Funkadelic (they toured together). Gboyega Adelaja returned to Nigeria and very quickly became a sought-after keyboardist and session musician. Working on several projects with the Lijadu Sisters, Grotto II, Blackman Akeeb Kareem, Emma Dorgu, Shina Williams, Rick Asikpo and the Nyarku Twins (Basabasa) to name a few.This album is a synthesis of all these experiences. A classy statement of how far he had come and a few indications of what the future holds.

Originally released in 2006, this album sold more that 300.000 copies. It is now reissued by Schema Records in a new special edition, consisting of a 2-LP set, blue transparent colored vinyl enclosed in a gatefold sleeve Everything about this incredible album, that hit like a bolt from the blue at the time, has already been said. Mario’s deep and warm voice recalls the great soul and rhythm’n’blues music interpreters. Many will think of a black singer, while Mario comes from the town of Catania, Sicily. “Handful of Soul” ranges between jazz and soul, resulting in a very enticing music release, whose sound swings from smooth vocal melodies to rhythmic tracks to dance to. The singer and the producers successfully managed to find out songs that wouldn’t change the nature of Mario’s voice, that could highlight the deepness of his tone, yet in the same time would still be able to represent the artistic direction and the music lead followed by Schema Records.The love for r’n’b and soul, the styles of music mostly appreciated by Mario, brought him to listen to a certain music repertoire, in particular some of the most representative related artists (Earth, Wind & Fire, Donny Hathaway. Billy Paul, Luther Vandross, Lou Rawls, Aretha Franklin, Eryka Badu, Will Dowing...).The songs on this record have been played by trumpeter Fabrizio Bosso and his High Five Quintet, a strong all-star ensemble with an excellent interplay that involves some of the best musicians in today’s Italian jazz scene: Daniele Scannapieco on tenor sax, Luca Mannutza, Pietro Ciancaglini and Lorenzo Tucci, respectively on piano, double bass and drums, forming a solid rhythm section. Mannutza and Ciancaglini were also in charge of the arrangements. High Five are able to play Jazz in an instinctive way; they perfectly adjusted to this production in a natural way, making this album a very pleasant listening.

Diogo Silva, Nuno Fulgêncio and Rui Martins collectively go by the name Bardino. With their sound consisting of an inventive mix of electronica, rock, jazz, the Porto-based trio are pushing their sound into unchartered waters. A feeling that will be reinforced after experiencing their new album, ‘Memória da Pedra Mãe’.Their enthralling music draws upon the imagery of the beautiful and rugged scenery of their home country. ‘Centelha’ , their previous album (released by Saliva Diva in 2020) was recorded in Chaves, in the very remote region of Trás-os-Montes. Their 207 EP of the same name was created in the rustic heart of Serra das Meadas. In this latest offering, the mention of "Pedra Mãe" (Mother Stone), refers to a rare geological phenomenon popularly known as "breeder stones" found in isolated, deserted, and inhospitable places. On the inspiration of the new album, they explain that they want to refer to "the importance of collective memory in the cohesion and identity of communities and the process of creating new memories, a process that is both natural and conflicting, since it mirrors a tension between past, present and future".The album was recorded in the summer of 2023 at Arda Recorders in Porto and produced by João Brandão and Rui Martins. In this new material, Bardino's resources expand: Nuno Fulgêncio's drums, Diogo Silva's bass and Rui Martins' veritable arsenal of keyboards (acoustic and electric piano, various synthesisers) are augmented by the alto and tenor saxophones of Brian Blaker (who stands out in "Memória" and "Black Mica"), the guitar of Leonardo Outeiro (who features on "Punctum No 2") and, already indicating their affiliation with the Porto label Jazzego, Hugo Oliveira, who records as Minus & MRDolly (and is a guest on "Pedra Mãe") and Sérgio Alves, aka AZAR AZAR (who plays piano and Moog on "Tília"). Bardino's entry into the increasingly unavoidable Jazzego catalogue also reinforces their obvious links to a new wave of projects that have been experimenting with different tangents to the notion of "jazz", taking this music as part of a wider set of coordinates.Over the course of eight tracks, and clearly benefiting from the distinct imprint of the recognised quality work of João Brandão, one of Portugal's current best producers, Bardino presents dense, deeply cinematic music of the highest definition, in which the different instruments translate a broad emotional and visual landscape, with solos of enormous elegance arranged over grooves that induce the idea of movement. All the musical coordinates mentioned earlier are present, but perhaps in this new material you can feel a greater fluidity, certainly the result of honing the vision of the central trio through a vast experience collected on stages all over the country. And there are even echoes of a decidedly Portuguese songbook, as is so clearly felt in "O Semeador", something new in the range of aesthetic references embraced by Bardino. This is, in fact, music that thrives on a benign tension between past, present and future, in the sense that it embraces traditions and history, seeks a new framework in this diverse now and dares to project itself forward. Because the future is the best of all locations.

L’Illustration Musicale, Sonimage, Técipress-In Editions (Timing), Musax, Freesound, Montparnasse 2000 in France but also De Wolfe and Chappell in England, every of these sound illustration labels have in common to bring out as a legendary spectre the name of Jacky Giordano and his aliases. Widespread practice in the library music world, Joachim Sherylee, chosen for the In Motion album, is one of his plentiful aliases (with José Pharos, Jacky Nodaro, Gruppo Sounds, Rubba...) used by the french composer, that we regain as well for Black Devil with Bernard Fèvre or even for the Shifters with Yan Tregger.For his enthronement on the mythical English label De Wolfe, it's under the obscure name of the Rubba collective that Jacky Giordano aka Joachim Sherylee sneaked in the londonian De Wolfe studios with the companionship of British colleagues such as John Hyde (aka John Saunders, James Harrington, Astral sounds or even Wozo) and his wife Monice Hyde (aka Monica Beale), Alan Howe (aka John Collins), Robert Poole and Tim Broughton.Published in 1980, the In Motion: Modern Progressive Group Sounds Played By Rubba LP and its minimalistic and utilitarian red record cover which contains 13 tracks, mainly composed by Joachim "Giordano" Sherylee and was never reissued since then. This record became cult over time; it will have taken that the Hip-Hop world seizes it in order to dig out from the disregarded and underestimated musical gems graveyard. First of all with beatmaker Madlib and Freddie Gibbs in 2011 with the track “Thuggin'”, in which he sampled the track “Way Star”, also used more recently by Mil and the rapper Westside Gunn on his track “Brains Flew” by (1964 Version).Nearly 40 years after, the Farfalla Records label, after publishing Timing Archives, presents another aspect more progressive and psychedelic of the multi-faceted composer Jacky Giordano by fully reissuing at last this coveted, mysterious and mesmerizing "Rubba". Very desired by crate-diggers, In Motion appears in the want-list of plenty enthusiasts in this enigmatic world of the library music. (Erwann Pacaud)

After two hip-hop albums (Got To Get Down in 2016 and Impact in 2017), the unpredictable Afro Latin Vintage Orchestra comes back to its fundamentals with a new instrumental album: MORPHEUS which repositions the band in the spirit of their previous spatial, almost cosmic albums Last Odyssey (2012) and Pulsion (2015), both released on Ubiquity Records and acclaimed by spiritual and fusion jazz lovers, library music fans, as well as rare grooves diggers (ALVO’s first 4 vinyl albums now being out of stock).Each new ALVO new release is a millesimal which evolved and learned from its predecessors. Masta Conga, who’s still leading the herd, has for main purpose to explore the musical space-time, gaining ground on never before revealed tracks, followed by his now faithful team of atypical and farseeing musicians.Compared to Miles Davis and his On The Corner by Wax Poetics, the band dives again in this “realm of psychedelia and beyond”, in particular with the contribution of Indian musicians. Twirling around violins, superimposed patchy keyboards and effects, just as if their conductor wasn’t already sufficiently influenced by Pierre Boulez and others such as Hiroshi Murakami…The result is however more uncluttered and loaded with multiple vibes than its predecessor Pulsion, which already carried the ceremonial characteristics of cult movie soundtracks. Tracks “Moksha”, “Air” and “Morpheus” are the perfect demonstration, and far beyond their names. Simple grooves, lunar, but terribly efficient, emphasized by a mix that puts focus on these fiddly contributions of ethnic instruments, on percussions and horns on a drip of delay, reverbs and other space-echoes.On the other side, the very rhythmic “Descarga Uno”, “Descarga Dos” and “Super Dopamine” show that the Parisian crew hasn’t lost its good habit to look around latin, ternary, and syncopated rhythms, in the ALVO only style!A new millésime, a Grand Cru maybe, but for sure to taste and appreciate in all weathers including space ones.

Discover Le Deltaplane, fifth album by Andre Solomko, and third produced on Favorite Recordings, pursuing a collaboration that started more than 5 years ago.Born in Ukraine in 1965 and now based in Finland, Andre Solomko is primarily a rich and engaging personality, but above all, a brilliant saxophonist, composer and engineer, whose contagious passion cannot leave anyone indifferent. After beginning a meteoric career in USSR, fate led him to Finland, where he started the adventure Vinyl Jam, a label / studio / group. It resulted in two self-produced albums that will capture the attention of some international collectors, including Pascal Rioux (founder of Favorite Recordings). Between 2012 and 2014, they released 2 albums together, Où es-tu maintenant ? and Le Polaroid, hailed by many tastemakers and meeting notable success in Japan.Following Le Premier Disco Sans Toi, an acclaimed single released earlier this year and unveiling two new compositions with Disco flavors, Andre Solomko and Favorite Recordings also proudly present Le Deltaplane. Fully composed and arranged by Andre Solomko, the 6 tracks of the album are deeply infused with his longtime passion for Jazz-Funk and Movie-Soundtracks, this time also injecting more influences from WestCoast and Modern-Soul music.Andre’s backed again by a team of great musicians, recording and producing the album in analog like he always did. As for vocals and lyrics, he teams up with Charlotta Kerbs, a young emerging and talented singer from Helsinki.Andre Solomko, an artist who spreads love like in the good old days!