A couple of BPM bangers, a couple of jazz bangers and the best compilation we’ve heard in yonks…
Having not been in print for yonks (potentially since the original release), Warp have this week reissued the first two albums from The Sabres Of Paradise, the trio of Andrew Weatherall, Jagz Kooner and Gary Burns. Their 1993 debut Sabresonic, and 1994 follow-up Haunted Dancehall both evolved out of the Friday night club residency they ran in the early nineties, a smoky medley of dub, ambient, acid and industrial hues. There is plenty of propulsive energy, but the way it moves between different modes of slow build is really evocative stuff. Both have been remastered from the original tapes by Matt Colton and they sound absolutely stacked.
The jazz crowd are hot! Firstly, Jacknife is a post-bop collection from saxophonist Jackie McLean. Recorded as two sessions in 1965/66, it was shelved for the best part of a decade (no idea why) before debuting in the mid-seventies. A lovely bounce.
Iconic pianist Horace Silver was greatly affected by touring Japan in the early sixties, and The Tokyo Blues is his gorgeous tribute to the country and the audiences that he met. Another record with a really gorgeous flow, from the elegant and precise to a more Latin roll. Lush.
+ Both have been re-released as part of the Tone Poet Vinyl series and have been mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analog master tapes.
Following a limited pressing for RSD back in 2023, Roy Ayers’ sunshine-drenched Stoned Soul Picnic is once again back on wax. Produced by Herbie Mann (and with a pretty scorching band to include Herbie Hancock) it has such light energy, with vibraphone floats and some wild and winding lead lines. It was the start of the road towards his jazz funk belters, a sort of sunny meander.
Lastly for this week, and I know we’ve already been talking about it quite a lot, but Maybe I’m Dreaming is the latest collection selected by Mikey Young (Total Control, Eddy Current Suppression Ring) and Keith Abrahamsson (Founder and Head of A&R at Anthology Recordings)... and we have just totally fallen for it! Private press homespun folk and soft rock that had been lost to the sands of time, full of late-night tape hiss and one-man studio dreams. Honestly, we can’t stop playing it, one of the best compilations we’ve heard in ages.
+ Available as a limited Dinked Edition.