Germany

This is the first ever reissue of the lost debut LP by Jamaican tenor saxophone player Fitz Gore and his experimental group The Talismen from 1975.The work was originally released on Gore’s GorBra label and delivers an introspective, sensitive form of Spiritual Jazz.Recorded live in West Germany, the personnel are “Shepherd” Fitz Gore with Ulrich Kurth (Piano), Gérard Ebbo (Bass), Philippe Zobda-Quitman (Drums) and Lamont Hampton (Congas).The LP includes versions of John Coltrane’s “Dahomey Dance“ and the Horace Silver classic ‘Song For My Father“.The reissue was carefully remastered in 2021 and features the original cover design with a two page insert of the original notes, completed by the inclusion of Fitz`s poem “Sketches of Pain“.

Louisville’s finest, Beatmaker Dr. Dundiff presents his very first band project called SGJAZZ… After last year’s very successful collaboration “Cool” with Otis Jr. and his standalone project “Muneybeats”, Dr. Dundiff and Jakarta Records team up once more for the beatmaker’s next project called SGJAZZ, a supergroup formed and crafted by Louisville’s finest musicians.Dr. Dundiff (done different) is a Hip-Hop/Neo-Soul producer based out of Louisville, KY. Producing music since 2010, Dundiff has released a lot of music. Most known for his ongoing collaboration with Otis Junior and their their debut EP “1moment2another” on Jakarta Records receiving wide daytime airplay and recognition from French tastemaker Radio NOVA, as well as 1.500.000 Mio. Streams via Spotify.SGJAZZ however is a Neo-Soul/Jazz project: All single members and particpants play together as well as they have their own projects. The group spent off days at Dr. Dundiff’s studio in Louisville, KY, playing around and creating the first foundations of the record. Idris Frederick laid down multiple chord progressions over a course of a few days. Dundiff then chopped and arranged these progressions and played drums over them. From there on everyone else wrote their parts to rest of the music. This process was quite quick and efficient and the album was recorded within a few months already. Dundiff then reached out to up and coming vocalists J.Lamotta and longtime collaborator K.Raydio to each write to a song. Though this album is primarily instrumental, these two features further establish the vibe SGJAZZ effortlessly creates.

With SG JAZZ, Dundiff pursues his passion for jazz. SG stands for supergroup. The quintet plays jazz with a hip-hop state of mind. Classically trained jazz musicians – multi-instrumentalist Idris Frederick, Patrick Denney on bass, Anthony Keenan on guitar, Noah Reed on alto and tenor saxophone – are jamming with certified rap cats. SGJAZZ are not a random group of session players but five long-time friends who go way back. Their first album SGJAZZ Vol.1 was released on Jakarta Records, for their new project, SGJAZZ have signed with Melting Pot Music. On SGJAZZ Vol. 2, they are putting their idea of forward thinking and headstrong jazz into action without neglecting the groove. Not unlike Kokoroko (UK), Surprise Chief (Australia), Athletic Progression (Denmark), Butcher Brown (USA) or Fazer (Germany). The album & singles artwork has been created by Parisian illustrator MC Blue Matter.

In March 2020, both Nichol Thomson and Shawn Lee found themselves at home without a live gig in site. Lee called up Thomson and said: "Now is the perfect time to make our smooth jazz trombone album"! Nichol laughed but Shawn... well, didn't! The pandemic was prime time to get smooth and jazzy!The two had already been working together the past few years on Shawn Lee and Andy Platts' Young Gun Silver Fox project. Nichol Thomson's horn arrangements have become an important element of their sound so a collaboration between the two musicians was both natural and organic. Taking a lyrical reference from the Steely Dan song "Home At Last", The Superhighway Band was born.Their debut album "Studio City" has become the perfect vehicle for the two multi instrumentalists to flex some collective musical muscle and kick some serious Yacht Jazz ass! Thomson handles the bass, keyboards and trombone while Lee holds down the drums, percussion and guitars. The album features the tightest horn section in show business comprised around the nucleus of Nichol Thomson and trumpeter Tom Walsh. The record features other top flight musical guests Elliot Mason, Matt Cooper, Nigel Hitchcock, Andy Ross, Jim Watson and Sean Freeman all bringing their magic touch to the proceedings. You can hear their mutual love of all things Jazz Funk and West Coast music: George Duke, CTI Records, The Brecker Brothers, Seawind, Quincy Jones' productions, The Crusaders, they all resonate in the grooves of the Superhighway sound.If you haven't come across Nichol 'The Gift' Thomson before, he has played with some musical heavyweight: The Eagles, Level 42, Chaka Khan, Grace Jones, Tina Turner, Tom Jones to name a select few. Shawn Lee has this to say about his fellow Superhighway man: "Nichol is such a gifted player/writer/arranger. He never ceases to blow me away. Making this music has been deeply satisfying and fun."Shawn Lee has released nearly fifty albums in his eclectic career so far. The Superhighway Band has returned Shawn to the music of his youth and represents an important piece of his musical puzzle. Nichol says: "Shawn is a walking library of musical knowledge. When you add in his insane left-field sense of humour, you're in for a seriously gratifying couple of months of record making."