Mark de Clive-Lowe, Shigeto, Melanie Charles, Hotel San Claudio, Soul Bank Records ***1/2

There is superb production skill throughout on this dreamy collaboration that finds Melanie Charles as hip as a soul-into-jazz singer as any around at the moment who certainly oozes cool on 'MFT' as the sonic background swirls around. And on …

Published: 23 Mar 2023. Updated: 13 months.

There is superb production skill throughout on this dreamy collaboration that finds Melanie Charles as hip as a soul-into-jazz singer as any around at the moment who certainly oozes cool on 'MFT' as the sonic background swirls around. And on 'Kanazawa' the big song of the record, very much a club anthem in the making, the sort of track somebody could do a frenetic remix to but which more than stands on its own legs.

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Mostly a very much middle-of-the-evening lounge record rooted in the customised world of de Clive-Lowe's broken beats milieu you'd be happy to listen to the record if there isn't a live act on in a cafe bar - certainly a record for listening to with friends in a public space as opposed to one for angsty listens on your tod worrying about the state of the planet stuck helplessly doom scrolling all night long at home. De Clive-Lowe's keyboards touch start to really engage on 'Bushido' and the whole album is bookended by 'The Creator Has A Masterplan'. Part II of the classic is streaming ahead of the album's full release. Charles impresses again on 'Love Is Everywhere'. Drummer producer Shigeto (Zach Saginaw) provides a certain wow factor and it's a good intro to what he can do here building on a stylish underground Detroit hinterland.

Shigeto, Mark de Clive-Lowe, Melanie Charles, photo: press

Hotel San Claudio is out on 24 March

MORE READING AND LISTENING:

  • Dig Shigeto going back a bit on 'MCW' - on Bandcamp, above, 2019

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Alex Weitz rocks the cradle on the dream jazz of Harlem Lullaby

Bit of an instant classic here in composition tunefulness terms drawn from Rule of Thirds (Outside In Music, 28 April). Not in case you were wondering a version of the Junior Mance blues of the same name (covers of that would be very welcome by the …

Published: 23 Mar 2023. Updated: 13 months.

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Bit of an instant classic here in composition tunefulness terms drawn from Rule of Thirds (Outside In Music, 28 April). Not in case you were wondering a version of the Junior Mance blues of the same name (covers of that would be very welcome by the way) but an original instead from on-the-up-again US saxist Alex Weitz. Classic, how come? Because it sounds like you have heard it before but chances are you haven't. It taps a timeless sense that often is found in acoustic heart on sleeve jazz of the 1950s, 60s and beyond - in other words tunes that seem to evoke however subjectively the essence of modern jazz distilled especially to a harmonic and ''feel'' sense no matter how much the tempo is taken right down to drift along softly. Weitz swerves away from being overly fogey-ish, derivative or cheesy. Tonally a candy store but not twee in terms of the not too vibby tenor sound think the bracing burr of the Blanchardian Brice Winston a bit - Joshua Redman maybe even more. Guests on the new album include pianist Emmet Cohen, drummer Ari Hoenig, Wyntonite trumpeter Marcus Printup and guitarist Yotam Silberstein. The bass solo on the track by Ben Tiberio works very well. 'Harlem Lullaby' pianist is Tal Cohen who detours into the realm of the Romantic composers about two minutes before the end and that blending works as he vaults octaves and goes ornate up into the nosebleed end of the piano sprinkling a tincture or two of tinkling as unexpected balm while teetering there. Alex Weitz, photo: press