The Jazz Label Series

It’s a New Day, It’s a New Dawn

I can’t believe it over a year since we last updated this blog. No excuses, We had other fish to fry. But, as the caption says: “It’s a New Day…” We had thought about updating of the music mixes of our mentor DJ2tee, but to be honest he has had enough exposure on the blog. If you want to check out his work, then this is the place: https://www.mixcloud.com/tony-todd/ Highly recommended, but then we would say that wouldn’t we! Instead we though we would concentrate on some of the Weird Jazz Collective musical melanges produced by ourselves and other mixmasters.

Firstly, we start with a mix by obscure UK DJ Uncertain Messenger. A shadowy figure, that to our knowledge, has never posted on MIxcloud. This mix appeared in our Dropbox by magic and features some old school downtempo stuff that UM used to play at Club Atlantis back in the day.

Next up, a mix features some old school jazz and hip-hop from Hamburg DJ Deutsche Byte and Wilmslow’s DJ Red Shift. If you like your hip-hop jazzy this mix will float your boat for sure. Some real classics in the mix!

For the next brilliant mix we hired Australia’s DJ Mr Lob to navigate you through dangerous latitudes of phantasmagorical music to an island where sweet tinges of sunset skies and dark woods harmonise with your musical soul. It is not down in any map; true places never are. Fire your torpedo’s of jazz Mr Lob, let no one in the musical doldrums be spared. Okay that was a bit pretentious, but the mix is brilliant. More excellence in mixing can be found here: https://www.mixcloud.com/MrLob/

Our guest mixer for another stellar mix was the man know as Nick Eachus AKA Nike Sparx who hails from Wallasey a town on the mouth of the River Mersey. Nick is know for his “Cabin Fever” mixes which present an eclectic mix of musical genres. Like those, this exclusive mix he has made for Weird Jazz Collective, features a wide-range of sounds and textures. If you like this mix, then check Nick’s output at: https://www.mixcloud.com/NikeSparx/

And, finally Weird Jazz Collective are proud to present a mix by DJ Hetty Morris. She is virtually unknown outside of her locality, but is worshiped by a small coterie of loyal fans. Hetty, who hails from Warwickshire in the UK is known primarily as the singer in the band “The Little Vagabond” who are known for their odd melange of folk and jazz music. Hetty for the most part, keeps off the radar, but Weird Jazz Collective, through an intermediary, managed to get hold of this exclusive mix. We hope you enjoy it. We did.

Catch Up! | DJ2tee

Not posted for a while. I’m currently researching for a historical novel. Well I should be, but sometimes music gets in the way, as only music can. Which is generally in a good way. I’ve been managing to fit in some real DJ work lately. That is – two decks and a bag full of vinyl, as opposed to a memory stick of MP3s. Having said that I still practice the way of the virtual selector. Below are some of my more recent mixes. So get in touch with your magical jazz bone by playing one of these, or even better all of them.

 

 

Film and Music | DJ2tee

If like me you love American “film-noir” and French “New Wave” then you will know what a huge effect the music has on the atmosphere of such films. And, unsurprisingly, the music most associated with these movies is jazz. This mix represents a selection of music from fifties and sixties films that I love. It features tracks from Miles Davis,  Joseph Gershenson,  Andrzej Trzaskowski,  Alex North,  Krzysztof Komeda and more.

So, sit back, close your eyes and imagine you are sitting in a smoky club in Paris. Up on the bandstand Miles Davis is blowing horn and at the next table Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jeanne Moreau are smoking Gauloise and drinking Absinthe. Fade to black….

---

I have to admit it! I have been rather lax with this blog of late. I have not been keeping you up to date on my latest musical mixes. Well, there is rather a backlog of other stuff you absolutely must check out, if you are a jazz music fan. So check out all the mixes below. If you like them, let me know, I love to get feedback.

---

Landmarks

A landmark is an object or feature of a landscape or that is easily seen and recognized from a distance. Landmarks can enable you to establish your location. For me, landmarks can mean more than one thing. For instance, I have always associated music with place. When I first moved to Leeds in the UK, I went out looking for music and the landmarks for me were the clubs that played jazz, latin and soul. Club nights like the Cooker and Casa Latina where you could hear Curtis Mayfield segued into Pharaoh Sanders via Marcos Valle. Predominantly, those heavyweight nights were run by Leeds Dig collective. DJ Lubi Jovanovic, Gip Dammone, Chico Malo and DJ Ez. These nights were landmarks in Leeds musical heritage and made a huge impact on my musical consciousness. This mix is dedicated to them and hopefully gives a little flavour of those incredible times.

Leeds Cityscape by Lizzie Prestt

International Jazz Day | DJ2tee

In November 2011, UNESCO officially designated April 30 as International Jazz Day in order to highlight jazz and its role of uniting people in all corners of the globe. International Jazz Day brings together communities and jazz enthusiasts all over the world to celebrate and learn about jazz and its roots. Each year on April 30, this international art form is recognized for promoting peace and dialogue among cultures. 

This year I will be taking part in International Jazz Day by spinning some of my favourite tunes on Ness Radio along with some of the world’s best jazz DJ’s.

I hope you will take some time out to listen and support one of music’s greatest artforms. Not only will you hear music that moves your feet, you will also hear music to move your soul. In my selection, expect to hear John Coltrane, Archie Shepp, Art Blakey, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Charles Mingus and many more. So please give the music a listen, as Art Blakey said: “Music washes away the dust of every day life”.

Scenes of Jazz Life

A bit like waiting for a bus, you are expecting a DJ2tee mix, then suddenly two come at once!  Volume One features music for millennials or perhaps made by millennials. All the tracks are bang up to date with post-modernist vibe. It starts with a winning groove from beat scientist Makaya McCraven, son of jazz drummer Stephen McCraven (Sam Rivers, Archie Shepp) and Hungarian folk singer Agnes Zsigmondi. Justin “Justefan” Thomas features on vibes. The vibes continue with Mexico’s Incognito Traveller followed by master drummer Herlin Riley. Delta Saxophone Quartet create beauty – GTQ create funk. Mosaico get hip with some beat vocals – Larry Stabbins of Working Week fame, channels Coltrane. Beautiful vocals from Dionne Bennett complement Jason Rebello’s pianoistics. Florian Pellissier covers Harold McNair’s The Hipster, then we end with an excellent track from Cuban pianist Alfredo Rodríguez. 

Volume Two features some old favourites and some new favourites. Generally, a more straight-ahead jazz feel to this mix, although we begin with a funky session from African Roots of Jazz featuring current hip cat Carlos Niño. Next up a couple of big bands, firstly trombonist Scott Reeves Orchestra, then the Swiss Jazz Orchestra featuring Mike Mainieri & Peter Erskine. Following that some modernism from Empirical’s new album “Connection”. Then we get into an elephantile vibe from sax player Derf Reklaw (The Pahrohs), possibly dedicated to the next artist Hannibal Lokumbe. Ian Shaw then vocalises sweetly on a cover of Traffic’s Low Spark of the High Heeled Boys followed by our finale an amazing track from Open Source Trio featuring Bulgarian pianist Momchil Atanasoff.

 

Roy Ayers – Fire Weaver | DJ2tee

My new mix is a tribute to Roy Ayers, one of my favourite musicians. Roy was born in 1940 and hails from South-Central Los Angeles. Roy started recording as a bebop sideman in 1962 and rose to prominence when he joined jazz flutist Herbie Mann in 1966. In the early Seventies Roy formed the band Ubiquity and became one of jazz-funk’s leading proponents. My musical choices on some of the many tracks Roy wrote or played on as a sideman. I have avoided the usual favourites, but I couldn’t resist Everybody Loves the Sunshine! At seventy-five Roy is still going strong and I can personally vouch that his live act is stunning. A true giant!

Brother Yusef | DJ2tee

I have always known Yusef Lateef’s music from back in the day. But, recently I have been rediscovering what a musical phenomenon he really was. For those not familiar with Lateef here’s a short biography.

Yusef Abdul Lateef, October 9, 1920 – December 23, 2013) was an American multi-instrumentalist, & composer. Although working predominantly in the idiom known as Jazz, Lateef wanted to be known as a musician rather than a “jazz” musician. Lateef’s main instruments were the tenor saxophone and flute, but he also played bamboo flute, shanai, shofar, xun, arghul and koto. He was a true innovator studying “Eastern music” and blending it with western influences to create a new genre. Yusef “played world music before world music had a name.”

Well if you want to hear why I love his music, I have posted a mix on Mixcloud which gives a little of his essence. I am only really disturbing the surface of a deep well of brilliance, so I advise you to search out his albums and discover for yourselves what a musical genius he was.

Dr. T’s Medicine Show | Mixcloud

 

Roll up! Roll up!! The holiday season is almost upon us, so it’s time to sample Dr. T’s patented jazz medicine. Guaranteed to cure all ill’s from melancholia to dysfunctions of a personal nature. You will be amazed by the effectuation of this wondrous product! Do not hesitate to try this stupendous jazz melange!

Featuring:-

• Tom Waits-Step Right Up
• Screamin’ Jay Hawkins-Alligator Wine
• Partikel -Clash of the Clans
• Wayne Escoffery-No Desert
• Sean Khan-What Has Jazz Become?
• Snarky Puppy-Binky
• Cory Henry-Someday We’ll All Be Free
• Nicole Mitchell / Tomeka Reid / Mike Reed-Light on the Path
• The Apples-Killing
• Bobby Hutcherson-People Make The World Go Round
• Bobby Matos-The Creator Has a Master Plan
• Carmell Jones-Carmell’sBlack Forest Waltz
• Bobby Cole-A Perfect Day
• Mike Taylor Remembered-Timewind
• James Booker-Junco Partner
• Stick McGhee & His Buddies-Drinkin’ Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee
• McCoy Tyner-New Orleans Stomp
• Professor Longhair And His New Orleans Boys-Hey Little Girl
• Shelly Manne-Afrodesia
• Ron Westray-The Jiggy
• Sing Sing Penelope-James Bond
• The Five Corners Quintet-Shake It
• C.W. Stoneking-The Love Me Or Die