a New Star

Different worlds have always collided, vividly, in the sound of GoGo Penguin.

An anthology set of the group that launched the On-U Sound label with the first album and single, New Age Steppers were a collective with an evolving line-up, built around the driving forces of Ari Up (The Slits) and producer Adrian Sherwood. Their records featured contributions from several singers and players from the UK post-punk vanguard such as the Pop Group, The Raincoats and The Flying Lizards; colliding with established movers from the reggae world such as Bim Sherman, Style Scott and George Oban. Contains the following discs: New Age Steppers (1981), Action Battlefield (1981), Foundation Steppers (1983), Love Forever (2012), Avant Gardening (a new compilations of rare dubs, version excursions and unreleased tracks from the vault) plus 32 page book containing photos, ephemera and a new sleevenotes by Oli Warwick that trace the history of the group via conversations with Adrian Sherwood and other contributors.

Following on the massive success of last year's PBS special, Celtic Woman, a new special has been recorded at the historic Slane Castle. The wonderfully talented original members were joined by a sixth Celtic Woman, the New Zealand born International recording star Hayley Westenra. Hayley whose ancestors hailed from County Monaghan in Ireland brought another great dimension to the show. The music and songs were once again arranged and written by composer David Downes. The songs were a wonderful blend of old classics, contemporary hits and original material.

A New Kind of Dance, the sixth album by Reed's long-running quartet People, Places & Things, presents the same deft interactive rapport between alto saxophonist Greg Ward and tenor saxophonist Tim Haldeman; the same crisp rhythmic drive provided by the leader and bassist Jason Roebke; and the same indelible mixture of bluesy depth and measured freedom as its superb predecessors.

True Reflections… A New Beginning is the 2007 album by Jamaican singer Siccature Alcock, known under his pseudonym Jah Cure. This was released on VP Records.

The record, their third album, following last year's Wash The Sins Not Only The Face, and their second release of 2014 after a split with Thought Forms in April, marks something of a change of tact for the band. For starters, it's coming out via the band's own new imprint, Nostromo Records, following an amicable split with their previous label Matador. It's also been recorded by the well-worn, expert hands of Steve Albini, no less, at his Chicago studio Electrical Audio following a successful Pledge Music campaign earlier this year. Most significantly, it sees the band stripping back their sound and taking out a lot of the electronic matter, instead forging even more expansive songs (the album's centrepiece is the near-15-minute 'The Jungle') in raw, more live-feeling sonics. 'Blood Teachings' is a good case in point, with its Swans-esque heaving repetition providing a soundbed over which Rachel Davies unfurls a mesmeric vocal, not dissimilar to former Albini collaborator PJ Harvey, building to a razing, fuzzed crescendo.

Four-time GRAMMY-nominated jazz vocal star Karrin Allyson makes her Motéma debut with a witty, romantic and swinging take on songs that have become a part of our cultural fabric. Allyson's multi-faceted gem of a voice shines brilliantly with the distinctive pairing of impeccable jazz masters Kenny Barron and John Patitucci.

This CD mostly brings back a middle-of-the-road pop date featuring the beautiful voice of Marlene Ver Planck backed by a string orchestra arranged by Billy Ver Planck. The charts are sometimes overblown and more suited to Barbra Streisand than to Ella Fitzgerald although Marlene generally carries it off. But the program (which includes "Go Away, Little Boy," "The Music That Makes Me Dance" and "Hopscotch") is not significant from a jazz standpoint. Much better are five selections recorded especially for this reissue in 1995 for they swing a bit and match Ver Planck with a combo that often includes either trumpeter Joe Wilder or tenor saxophonist Phil Thompson. Marlene had continued growing as a singer during the intervening 15 years and the latter date finds her in fine form; pity that it oculd not have been paired with a jazz-oriented session.