Jazz Fusion Review Round-Up

First published in Songlines Magazine issue 191, October 2023.

Nowadays, the line separating jazz from instrumental hip-hop can be incredibly fine, given the amount of influence that has passed back and forth over the past 50 years. Budapest-based trio Jazzbois embrace this permeability with their third album, Higher Dimension Waiting Room (Blunt Shelter Records, 34 mins). Here, the hip-hop and jazz are completely entwined, from the dreamy, lo-fi synths and fluttery piano to the broken beats and funky bass. It’s light and fun with a sci-fi edge, chilled-out but with enough groove to keep you dancing. Special props to Tamás Czirják, whose drumming consistently brings the fireworks.

Production duo Abderraouf B. Grissa & Dan Drohan also sail the jazz-hip-hop continuum with their first collaboration RBGxDD (Uno Loop, 41 mins). Together they make a dance-oriented jazz that isn’t afraid of venturing ‘out there’. Live instruments and samples merge seamlessly, guiding us through different zones – from rolling blues grooves to dubwise spacescapes to Latin psychedelia to a sound effects record – without ever losing the carefully-curated unifying vibe based on those two home styles. This musical journey hits more like an exploratory mixtape than your usual jazz album, and is none the worse for it.

Another album that hops between genres at will is the reissue of Ambiance II Fusion’s 1985 record Come Touch Tomorrow (Freestyle Records, 39 mins). The ensemble revolves around Nigerian-born saxophonist Daoud Abubakar Balewa, whose classic instrumental soul-funk absolutely oozes 80s production, with its heavy reverb, gated snares and ultra-smooth sax. Strangely enough, this album sounds like tracks from several different albums stitched together. Some tracks are live (or live-sounding) and others are studio recordings; some tracks seem to bear little stylistic resemblance to those around them – sometimes there’s reggae, or bossa, or even pure synthwave with no saxophone to be heard. It’s as if the album itself is a little unsure of what it wants to be.

New York-based Greek vibraphonist, electronicist and drummer Christos Rafalides makes an ode to lockdown in Home (Emarel Music, 50 mins), recorded in improvised home studios across the world in the spring of 2021. Each of the seven tracks features a guest musician, and each bring their own slant on Rafalides’ malleable jazz, whether that’s Middle Eastern from outi (Greek oud) player Thomas Konstantinou, light Latin from pianist Giovanni Mirabassi or space-age Caribbean from steelpan player Victor Provost. The latter is a particular highlight, providing a real complement to the vibraphone. Not all the collaborations work as well as that, but Rafalides’ musicianship shines throughout.

But if you only have enough space in your ears for one jazz fusion album this month, make it Peter Somuah’s Letter to the Universe (ACT Music, 41 mins). The young Ghanaian trumpeter’s second album takes a celestial, spiritual approach, creating a cosmic jazz with elements of bebop and post-bop, big band, jazz-rock, highlife and, of course, hip-hop. Miles Davis is an ever-present reference, and there are guest turns from Ghanaian stars such as highlife legend Gyedu-Bley Ambolley and up-and-coming Frafra kologo player and singer Stevo Atambire of Alostmen. From the superb trumpet playing to the intelligent compositions and arrangements, this is a brilliant album – there’s surely more great things to come from Peter Somuah.

Lamia Bèdioui & Solis Barki - Fin'amor

First published in fRoots issue 371, May 2014

Lamia Bèdioui & Solis Barki
Fin’amor
Libra Music (55 mins)

Okay, I’ll admit it: when I first received this record I was sceptical. The surrounding publicity explains how the artists explore the ‘primal’ connection between the human voice, percussion and didgeridoo through a repertoire including traditional North African, French and Eskimo songs. I hope I’ll be forgiven for imagining a collection of new-age soundscapes with shades of cultural insensitivity and very little substance.

But I ask you, dear reader, to avoid my mistake. Greek-based Tunisian singer Lamia Bèdioui treats the traditions she draws from with the musical respect they deserve while still maintaining her own sound throughout. Although the album contains pieces from, or influenced by, a wide range of cultures, none of the tracks seem to jar with each other; instead, they work together in a style that smoothly changes and transitions throughout the duration of the album.

Greek multi-instrumentalist Solis Barki provides almost all of the instrumental backing here, including 26 types of percussion as well as didgeridoo and a few pitched instruments. With such focus on the use of percussion, it would be easy to drown vocals and otherwise delicate musical statements with a wall of power, but Barki does a good job of keeping the instrumental arrangements impressively subtle (and without resorting to the new-age soundscape), allowing Bèdioui’s vocals room to soar unrestricted. The only other musician featured is Dimitris Chiotis, who plays a modified Cretian lyra (fiddle) on one of the album’s highlights, 'Ellil Yitaouel', written by the legendary Egyptian composer Mohammed Abdel Wahab.

Fin’amor really is a well-made and well-thought-out record. Give it a chance and don’t be put off by the blurb – it delivers far more than it promises.