jazz
See: Beauty Pill release new video for The Damnedest Thing
Washington D.C.’s Beauty Pill have just released a new video for the track ‘The Damnedest Thing’, taken from their forthcoming ‘Please Advise’ album, out on May 8th via Northern Spy Records. The “damnedest Thing’ is this bubbling cauldron of African and eastern sounds, with this incredible sort of quasi-jazz drumming through the verses, and these …
Meet: We interview Gogo Penguin’s Chris Illingworth ahead of their self-titled album release
Here at Backseat Mafia, we caught up (socially distancing of course!) with GoGo Penguin member, Pianist Chris Illingworth. Talking about their new self-titled album set to be released in June, how he is spending his time during lockdown aswell as delving further into any gigs and concerts they have planned and just a general catch …
Track: Oscar Jerome – Your Saint, plus album news
From the source that keeps providing, the South London nu-jazz scene, comes Oscar Jerome with his highly-anticipated debut album ‘Breathe Deep’ (release date July 10th 2020 via Caroline International). You might know Oscar from his work as guitarist with the spirited afrobeat collective KOKOROKO, another emerging force from the Trinity Laban/ Tomorrow’s Warriors jazz hothouses. …
Album Review: Cassowary – Cassowary
Following hot on the heels of the new Thundercat album ‘It is what it is’ it just in terms of timing but style as well (and quality as well, let’s get that out there), with a new name, Cassowary, aka 25 year old Miles Shannon. He’s got form though, from playing piano on Childhood friend …
Album Review: Tom Misch & Yussef Dayes – What Kinda Music
In these almost unprecedented times for UK jazz, two of its foremost protagonists – Tom Misch and Yussef Dayes, have joined forces to make ‘What Kinda music’ which is out today via Blue Note / Caroline Records, apparently having crossed paths firstly as children before hooking up around the time of Misch’s 2018 debut album …
Premiere: Éyal Hai – I miss
The Side Project main man Éyal Hai, has stepped out of that particular guise to release a solo single ‘I Miss’ , which we’re absolutely delighted to premiere here on Backseat Mafia. On the song, Éyal says “I first recorded the song as a voice memo on my iPhone, at 3 AM in my small Brooklyn apartment …
News: Charles Tolliver announces Gearbox Records deal and new album
Charles Tolliver is a master of all trades. The New York-based trumpeter, active since the 1960s, is a leading player, educator, big band leader, composer, and founder of the one of the greatest jazz labels of all time, Strata-East. In Summer 2020, he will be releasing his first studio album in 13 years via Gearbox …
Track: Lettuce – House of Lett
Out on 8th May is the new album from Lettuce, following on from last years Elevate album that we liked an awful lot here at Backseat Mafia, and ahead of that they’ve released a new single, House of Lett. Of the track, bassist Erick ‘Jesus’ Coomes says “some of us like to freak outwith our beaks out, …
Track: Jneiro Jarel – Banana Peel (Cáscara De Plátano)
Out now, and taken from his forthcoming After a thousand years album, out later in the year on Far Out Recordings, is ‘Banana Peel’, the new single Brooklyn producer Jneiro Jarel. It’s been a long road for Jarel, who had an ischemic stroke while living and working in Costa Rica, shortly after signing the deal …
Track: Smoove & Turrell – Fade Away
Geordie funk/soul duo Smoove & Turrell have released a new track from their forthcoming album ‘Strato Bleu’, out on Jalapeño Records this spring. As ever, the pair have produced something thats funky, accessible and instantly loveable. It’s full of this incredible funky bass, shaft of guitar chords and keys man Mark Porter has gone to …