Blue Affair

London-based Jazztronica duo Blue Lab Beats make their full-length Blue Note Records debut with Motherland Journey, an album years in the making that is a celebration of pushing boundaries, taking risks, and overcoming adversity. Following their appearance on 2020’s acclaimed Blue Note Re:imagined project, and their 2021 EP We Will Rise, the new album is a star-studded affair featuring the duo—producer NK-OK and multi-instrumentalist Mr DM—joined by collaborators including Ghetto Boy, Kiefer, Kofi Stone, Tiana Major9, KillBeatz, Teni Tinks, Poppy Daniels, Emmavie, Jackson Mathod, Kaidi Akinnibi, Ego Ella May, Pip Millett, Dylan Jones, and Jerome Thomas.

Diamond Mine is a considerably more quiet affair. Beginning with the very Dylan-esque "God and Country," a darker, introverted mood is set by their minimalist approach and slow tempos.

This first solo release from tenor sax player Junior Cook came at the midpoint of his six-year tenure with the Horace Silver Band. It's a relaxed affair, paced a couple of notches below the intensity of a typical Silver date. Still, with Cook's front-line partner in the Silver group - trumpeter Blue Mitchell - on board, along with Silver's rhythm section, the 1961 session has a definite affinity with the hard bop style of the more famous parent group. There are also links to the cool tones of Miles Davis' early-'50s Blue Note releases and to the transitional work of the mid-'50s Max Roach-Clifford Brown Band. If the overall approach is subdued, this generally works to the music's benefit by bringing out the finer points of Cook's and Mitchell's' playing…

The bebop legend rebounded from drug busts and jail time with this stellar streak of 1961–65 Blue Note LPs: "Doin’ Allright," "Dexter Calling," "A Swingin’ Affair," "One Flight Up" and "Gettin’ Around." His tenor teams with Freddie Hubbard, Paul Chambers, Philly Joe Jones, Kenny Drew, Donald Byrd, Bobby Hutcherson and more on "You’ve Changed," "It’s You or No One," "Soul Sister," "Modal Mood," "Ernie’s Tune," "The Backbone," "Darn That Dream," "Manha De Carnaval," "Shiny Stockings" and more! Blue Note.

The talented young pianist Jacky Terrasson and his trio (with bassist Ugonna Okegwo and drummer Leon Parker) find something new to say on a few standards (including a rare up-tempo version of "For Sentimental Reasons") and introduce five of Terrasson's originals. Although he has does not have an original style yet, Terrasson displays a great deal of potential for the future. Highlights include "I Should Care," "Just One of Those Things," and a medley of his "Reach" with "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes."