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Jazz on the Road

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010

This Saturday, Jazz on the Road bring us an ‘Afro Jazz Special’. With a theme such as that, I’m sure you can conjure up some kind of image of the night that awaits you. I’m also sure you realise that this image won’t even come close to the actual live experience.

Featuring live…

UNITED VIBRATIONS
Reppin’ our extended family… UV have built up a reputation for turning pavements into parties. Their music is 12tone. Expect to be infected by their tight sounds, raw flow and dangerously contagious vibes.

AWALE
Awalé is a London based Afro Gypsy Funk musical project with members from Tunisia, France, Cuba and England. Musically, Awalé draws on these influences whilst reflecting the diversity of multicultural London.

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… As if this wasn’t enough, just for good measure, there will also be jazz dance performances from Maki & Kola (Jazzcotech Dancers) to keep us tantalized and some heavy sound selections from Tony Nwachukwu (CDR) and Koichi Sakai (Afrobeat Vibration).

Jump on board the train… Freedom awaits you!

Sat 20th February 2010
at The NEW Empowering Church
1a Westgate Street, London E8 3RL
Door opens: 21:00 – 4:00
Entry: £6 before 22:00, £8 thereafter

Facebook Event Page

Sofrito Tropical Soundclash!!!

Monday, February 15th, 2010

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As I opened my front door to a spine-chillingly cold blast of Arctic air this morning I found myself thinking ‘When the rass is this winter going to end?’ Thankfully, the warmth and wellness of an equatorial existence was closer than I’d imagined as my inbox opened and a warm breeze carried news of the next Sofrito Tropical Warehouse bash!

Those that know tend to know about Sofrito’s functions, their heavyweight bills, heavier dubplates and contrastingly light-footed crowds have brought them much attention on these shores and beyond. Add to that a scorching release schedule and a propensity for rooting out excitingly unknown locations for their events and you have all the information required to confirm your attendance at their next session.

March the 6th is a big one, here’s the blurb:

“For our first party of 2010 we are very proud to present an exclusive DJ appearance from QUANTIC alongside many special guests!

Taking control of an amazing new two room warehouse space in the heart of Dalston, we’ll be playing the best in hot and heavy Tropical sounds in a costeño style!

We are bringing together the peerless Family Atlantica (featuring Luzmira Zerpa and Jack Yglesias) and Quantic to present the heaviest Vallenato and cumbia sounds in an exclusive live set that you won’t be able to see anywhere else!  The raw sound of the Caribbean coast, bringing together Afro-Venezualan sounds and the folkore of Colombia.

All this alongside a live set from Afro Latin masters Drymbago, DJ action from Quantic himself and the Sofrito Soundsystem plus some special guests!

Tickets are £10 in advance (plus £1 booking fee)”

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So there you have it. Cheat winter and get your heat on. In the meantime, here’s a mix lovingly sculpted by the soft hand of Sofrito, taking in rhythms from Colombia, Benin, Trinidad, Angola as well as an exclusive track from Quantic’s Sonido del Valle project…

Download Tropical Warehouse Mix

Event: Heads High vs 12 Tone

Friday, February 12th, 2010

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I actually missed the first session of 2010 in favour of swimming in warm Caribbean seas. Reports said it was a good one though and now i’m back on the team for Feb, there’s one more reason to make the eastern pilgrimage and round out the weekend in style.

12 Tone Brass Band is growing from strength to strength and keen followers will notice that their already heavy repertoire is steadily expanding with every session. Those who are able are recommended to pass through next Sunday for shiney new beats, brassy heavy treats and turntable heat…

Event: Jay Electronica

Friday, February 5th, 2010

Just like London buses, when there are no decent gigs for a while, we’ve come to expect that tons of them will come at once and all together. This seems to be the case for the first quarter of 2010 as yet another* super booking arrives via Mean Fiddler and The Outfit Agency who present to us, Jay Electronica at the Jazz Cafe.

Gracing our shores after a long break and much work, this is set to be a roadblock.

This New Orleans born rapper has trailblazed his way into a scene that has been somewhat lacking to say the least. Not only did his first percussionless joint, Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge) bring a fresh perspective to hip-hop’s repetitive production templates (that every rapper seems to have exhausted to the core), Jay’s lyrical style has also been validated by many veterans of the game such as Rakim, NaS and Mos Def. To be honest, we should have known that any rapper affiliated with Miss Badu would be no less than dope.

Jay will be filling the Jazz cafe for two days, with the first (17th Feb 2010) being hosted by Benji B of 1Xtra/Deviaion fame and the second (18th) by 1Xtra and Def Jam UK’s DJ Semtex.

I’m sure that Jay’s performances will take no prisoners, so be ready to feel the force. POW!

Jazz Cafe, 5 Parkway, London, NW1 7PG
Dates: Wednesday 17th and Thursday 18th February 2010
Doors: 7pm
Price: £20adv. Tickets are guaranteed to fly, so jump on it.

Jay Electronica’s Myspace.

Jay Electronica’s Twitter.

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* See previous posting for Robert Glasper’s UK tour dates. On the 13th of Feb, Dam Funk will also be performing at Brixton’s Plan B… Event details here.

Event: Glasper in LDN

Friday, February 5th, 2010

I do realise that I’ve been going on about this dude for a minute, so I shall keep this post short and sweet. The Robert Glasper Trio is in town.

There is no need for me to breakdown why this jazz pianist, double-bass and drum outfit is worth catching; if your into good music, this should definitely be good enough to lure you out of hibernation.

I’ll cut to the chase. Firstly. you can catch them tomorrow (6th Feb 2010) amongst a whole host of other super artists at Gilles Peterson’s annual Worldwide Awards at the Garage… And secondly if you prefer Glasper and his crew 100% undiluted, then you can catch them at Ronnie Scott’s next Monday and Tuesday (8th and 9th). See below for more details.

Look out for the drummer, Chris “Daddy” Dave. This guy is sublime.

See you there…

Click here for details of Robert Glasper at Worldwide Awards.

Click here for details of Glasper at Ronnie Scott’s.

Robert Glasper Myspace.

Event: Heads High vs. 12 Tone 2010!

Sunday, January 3rd, 2010

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As the flyer says, you know the drill by now. 12 Tone Brass are hot (if you don’t believe me watch the video below), Heads High are heat, add them together and you’ve got extreme snow melting capabilities….we’ll see you there (Vibe sell hot drinks too so no excuses!)…

Don’t know 12 Tone Brass? Allow them to introduce themselves…

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