98.6 Degrees

The Heliocentrics - 13 Degrees Of Reality (2013) {Now-Again NA5097}
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© 2013 Now-Again Records | NA 5097
Jazz / Nu Jazz / Jazz Funk / Experimental / Neo-Psychedelia

In the intervening six years between Out There, the Heliocentrics' debut, and 13 Degrees of Reality, the U.K.-based ensemble backed Ethiopian jazz legend Mulatu Astatke on his Steps Ahead and live Timeless offerings. They also released a collaborative album with world-jazz pioneer Lloyd Miller. Whereas their debut set offered funk and hip-hop grooves refracted through the lens of vanguard jazz, this date is an exercise in dark rhythmic pulses and breaks, with jazz, rock, a wide array of world musics, hip-hop, and funk all playing supporting roles; it's led by the rhythm section – drummer Malcolm Catto and bassist/vibist Jake Ferguson.

Although Bebel Gilberto has been writing, performing, and recording since her childhood, this is only her second full-length solo album. The child of Brazilian legend João Gilberto and the celebrated singer Miucha, she comes by her musical talent honestly, but has honed and developed it carefully over the years, being careful not to overexpose herself or peak too early; as a result, she now emerges as a mature and fully developed singer despite her relative youth. Her eponymous sophomore effort is a delightfully warm and unaffected program of Brazilian pop, much (but not all) of it in a fairly traditional bossa nova style. There are electronic elements in the mix, but they are mostly kept in the background; instead of aggressive electronica or superimposed breakbeats, the instrumental accompaniment is mostly woven from organic percussion, acoustic guitars, bass, and piano.

More than twenty years ago, when the first episode of the Verve & Blue Note Today compilation came out, no one would have thought that the CDs would be so popular to this day. Then as now, the compilations are not only suitable for finding out about new tracks and artists from the jazz scene, they are also great listening pleasure. The colorful mix of well-known jazz artists and young talents this time includes the Blue Note artists Marcus Strickland, Kendrick Scott Oracle and James Francies, the Hollywood star Jeff Goldblum, Earth, Wind & Fire singer Philip Bailey, World Music Diva, who shone for the first time as a jazz pianist Angélique Kidjo, jazz prodigy Jacob Collier, the British high-flyer The Comet Is Coming etc.