JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the life and music of Chuck Mangione.
Category: jazz
New Video: Kassa Overall Shares Swinging, Bop-like Arrangement of “Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)”
Kassa Overall is an acclaimed Seattle-born and-based Grammy-nominated, Doris Duke Artist Award-winning, jazz drummer, emcee, vocalist and producer, who as a child drum prodigy taught himself to make beats on an MPC and ASR 10 he acquired at a Seattle Police Department auction. Over the course of his 20+ year career, Overall has firmly cemented a unique sound that sees him seamlessly blending jazz, hip-hop and avant-garde experimentation across six, critically applauded mixtapes and albums.
Throughout his career, Overall has crafter material that’s simultaneously innovative and accessible, pushing the boundaries of genre while remaining deeply engaging.
His last bit of recorded output, 2023’s ANIMALS explored the complexities of his identity as an artist and as a Black man in America, while featuring collaborations with an eclectic array of artists including Danny Brown, Lil B, Vijay Iyer and JOVM mainstay Nick Hakim.
Adding to a growing profile as a sought-after collaborator and one of contemporary jazz’s most exciting artists, Overall has toured and recorded with Geri Allen, Jon Batiste, Steve Coleman, Vijay Iyer, Terri Lynne Carrington and Gary Bartz. His production work can be heard on albums by the likes of Theo Croker, Arlo Lindsay and Danny Brown among others.
The acclaimed Seattle-born artist’s fourth album CREAM is slated for a September 12, 2025 release — both digitally and on vinyl — through Warp Records. The album reportedly sees Overall paying homage to the twin passions of his youth — hip-hop and jazz drums in the tradition of Elvin Jones. The eight-song album sees the acclaimed musician and producer transforming beloved, hip-hop classics by The Notorious B.I.G., Wu-Tang Clan, Dr. Dre, A Tribe Called Quest, Digable Planets and Juvenile into rhythmically adventurous, witty and sublime jazz-inspired standards.
“This album is almost a boomerang response to all my previous work. No edits, no overdubs no samples or drum machine,” Overall says. “Just a great group of musicians playing together. It just so happens that the compositional material we are drawing from is rap records I grew up on!”
CREAM’s first single “Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)” is a breakneck, 15/4 Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie-era bop-like arrangement that draws from Digable Planets’ 1992 smash-hit “Rebirth of Slick,” which manages to pull out and restore the swing of the original sample, Art Blakey‘s “Stretching.” While mischievously managing to retain elements of the smash-hit song and its source material, the arrangement sees some subtle changes: the conga pattern from “Rebirth of Slick” becomes a drum break and the lyrics “we be to rap what key be to lock” are turned into a drum fill, and the sax melody turns into an explosively expressive solo.
Overall learned the classic hip-hop song from the inside-out during a year-long stint on the road opening and touring with Digable Planets as their drummer. Overall says, “It nods to Digable Planets’ smooth flow and Art Blakey’s ‘Stretching.’ Knowing the song so well, I was able to flip the script with odd time rhythms and utilize many elements from the original, from vocal parts to production details. This one is high energy and still crispy.”
New Audio: Cochemea Shares Soulful and Meditative “Ancestros Futuros”
Acclaimed multi-instrumentalist, arranger and composer Cochemea Gastelum comes from a long line on musicians on both sides of his lineage. Over the past 25 years, Gasteum has built a distinct and accomplished career as a soloist and arranger/composer, collaborating with an eclectic array of artists across a wide range of genres — from his lengthy stint with Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings to the likes of Kevin Morby, Run The Jewels, Jon Batiste, Amy Winehouse, The Roots, Archie Shepp, Mark Ronson, the legendary Quincy Jones and a lengthy list of others.
His previously released material has received praised from both critics and DJs. 2019’s All My Relations, the acclaimed multi-instrumentalist, arranger and composer’s critically applauded Daptone Records debut was a family reunion of sorts, uniting spirits, musicians and melodies across space and time. Leading a nonet, Gastelum and company employed drums, winds and vocals to create a deeply personal meditation on the interconnectedness of all things. Vol. 2: Baca Sewa expanded this exploration into the archives of family history, mythology and the cultural imagination.
Slated for a September 26, 2025 release through Daptone Records, Gastelum’s forthcoming effort, Vol. 3: Ancestros Futuros completes a triology while anchored in the cultural fabric that has nurtured him from the beginning. A Californian of Yaqui ancestry, Gastelum describes a central part of his work as “accessing ancestral memory that comes in different forms — sometimes when you visit a place, sometimes in dreams . . . it’s in our DNA.”
“For me it’s about seeking wholeness in these zones of fracture.” In fact, dreams play a vital role in his creative process., “A lot of melodies come to me through dreams,” he says. “I’ve kept a dream record for years, shaping the language into what I call dream scores.” One of these scores appears on the back over of Ancestros Futuros, reflecting the intuitive and layered nature of his work. This dream-guided approach carries into the album’s opening track, “Transmisíon del Soñar,” which serves as a “portal” between dimensions, echoing his connection with both the dream realm and the dynamic interplay of time and space.
His musical and spiritual synthesis is made possible through his deep reverence for the horn, and the music and traditions that precede him. Inspired by Eddie Harris, Yusef Lateef, Jim Pepper and Gary Bartz, Gastelum attempts to bride ancestral rhythmic traditions with forward-looking vision, to create a signature sound that’s both deeply rooted and expansive. With the new album, Gastelum continues to expand upon his work, effortlessly blending past, present and future into a ritual offering, in which memory, survival and imagination converge. The album’s material is also shaped by stories of survival and resistance.
The acclaimed multi-instrumentalist, arranger and producer gathered a core group of longtime collaborators, an octet featuring some of New York’s best percussionists and members of Daptone’s world famous rhythm section. Additionally, the album sees Gastelum collaborating with Daptone Records founder Gabriel Roth, a.k.a. Bosco Mann returning as producer and mixing engineer, recording the band live to 8-track analog tape.
Ancestros Futuros‘ first single, album title track “Ancestros Futuros” is a composition that sounds and feels simultaneously ancient and remarkably modern, meditative yet defiant. The acclaimed multi-instrumentalist, arranger and composer says “I was thinking about survival as a continuum connecting past and future connections,” which is a theme that echoes throughout his work. The song also draws from the story of a Yaqui midwife, who would bury the navels of newborns in the ground, so that future generations would rise and reclaim the land.
Throwback: Happy 83rd Birthday, Dr. Lonnie Smith!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 83rd anniversary of the birth of Dr. Lonnie Smith.
New Audio: Auckland’s The Circling Sun Shares Meditative and Yearning “Mizu”
The Circling Sun is an Auckland/Tāmaki Makaurau-based jazz collective featuring some of New Zealand/Aotearoa’s finest players, including
- Avantdale Bowling Club‘s and Nathan Haines‘ Ben Turua (acoustic bass)
- Ladi 6’s, Avantdale Bowling Club’s and solo artist in their own right, Julian Dyne (drums, percussion)
- Yoko-Zuna‘s, CHAII‘s, Avantdale Bowling Club’s and Dave Dobbyn‘s J.Y. Lee (sax, flute)
- Troy Kingi’s, Avantdale Bowling Club’s and Bailey Wiley‘s Guy Harrison (keys, trumpet)
- Opensouls‘ and Relaxomatic Project’s Cameron Allen (saxophones, keys)
- Carnivorous Plant Society‘s and Dave Dobbyn’s Finn Scholes (trumpet, vibraphone)
- Manuka Recordings’ and Summer Vee‘s Matt Hunter, a.k.a Kenny Sterling (percussion)
The Kiwi-based collective draws from and pays homage to progressive and deeply spiritual Afrocentric jazz. And while being reverent, their approach emphasis both authentic expression and innovation, making their work strikingly original and meditative.
The acclaimed collective’s sophomore album Orbits is slated for a July 11, 2025 release through Soundway Records. The highly-anticipated follow-up to 2023’s critically applauded, full-length debut, Spirits reportedly sees the collective balancing melodic immediacy with harmonic depths with motifs that gradually unfold into complex, multi-layered arrangements. The material takes sonic cues from the mid 70s, channeling the genre-blending, genre-defying energy of Rashaan Roland Kirk and Yusef Lateef‘s Atlantic Records-era period while brining the bubbling synthetic textures on Spirits more fully into focus. Along with that, a standout feature throughout the album is the collective’s collaboration with the Love Affinity Choir, which isn’t a mere flourish or embellishment, but as the material’s textural and narrative force.
Simultaneously layered and ethereal, the choir’s harmonies and melodies float through the material like a celestial current — at times grounding, at times transcendent. Lyrically abstract yet spiritually grounded, Love Affinity Choir’s vocal contributions express universal themes of love, peace, escapism and awe, all while guiding listeners through a shared cosmic journey.
Orbits’ latest single “Mizu,” is a dreamily meditative and breathtakingly beautiful song sees the Kiwis paying homage to Brazilian jazz while intricate percussive motifs and bubbling and gurgling synths help shape the song’s melodic phrasing while propelling the song forward. Love Affinity Choir’s vocal contributions give the song a deep spiritual yearning; the sort of yearning reminiscent of John Coltrane while also being a deeply needed moment of calm and beauty in our mad, mad, mad world.
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New Audio: JOVM Mainstays L’Eclair Team Up with Pink Slifu on Jazzy “REPLICA M001”
With recorded output that includes 2018’s full-length debut, Polymood, 2019’s Sauropoda, 2020’s Noshtta EP and 2021’s Confusions, the acclaimed Swiss-based group L’Eclair, founded and led by Bulgarian-born siblings Stef and Yavov Lilov firmly established themselves as masters of mind-bending, cosmic-leaning groove.
Along with two live sessions for KEXP, which amassed over 900,000 views combined, the Swiss-based group have built up an international following, while landing on the playlists of adventurous listeners and DJs seeking deep grooves.
The acclaimed JOVM mainstays, highly-anticipated fourth album Cloud Drifter is slated for a June 20, 2025 release through Innovative Leisure. Meticulously crafted over the last four years, Cloud Drifter is a decided and radical departure from the group’s long-held instrumental approach, with teh album’s material featuring vocals from a wide and eclectic array of frequent collaborators that they’ve worked with over the past handful of years, including Pink Slifu, Girl Named GOLDEN, Gelli Haha, A Ghost Column, and more.
Having toured with The Cinematic Orchestra and W.I.T.C.H. — including writing and recording W.I.T.C.H.’s 2023 effort Zango and The Cinematic Orchestra’s forthcoming album this year, as well as production work with Varnish La Piscine and Maston, the Lilov brothers have assembled a vast network of likeminded musicians. And across the entire album, they keenly curate a cohesive vision incorporating many disparate contributions.
In the lead-up to Cloud Drifter‘s release later this month, I’ve written about two of the album’s previously released singles:
- “ODESSOS,” which featured Phoebe Coco‘s and A Ghost Column’s ethereal vocals paired with twinkling and oscillating synths and a dub-inspired motorik groove. While being one of the most club friendly songs the acclaimed Swiss outfit has ever released, “ODESSOS” is a bold, sonic left turn that retains the group’s long-held penchant for crafting mind-bending, expansive grooves. And perhaps more than ever, the track manages to convey the freewheeling, improvisation-driven and infectious energy of their live shows.
- “VERTIGO,” a synth-driven, deep house instrumental that sounds like a synthesis of the material off 2021’s Confusions, Larry Levan-era house and krautrock, anchored around the Swiss unerring knack for hooks and mind-bending groove.
“REPLICA M001,” Cloud Drifter‘s latest single features experimental rapper Pink Slifu audaciously spitting swaggering yet breezy bars over a lush, dreamy bit of film score-meets-jazz club jazz that opens with a swelling and swooning, cinematic strings before quickly morphing into a slow-burning, late night swing that effortlessly follows the ebbs and flows of his unique cadence. While recalling Digable Planets and Ishmael Butler‘s various other projects, “REPLICA M001” reveals a supremely talented band that can seemingly play anything — and at any time.
Throwback: Happy 99th Birthday, Miles Davis!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 99th anniversary of the birth of Miles Davis.
Throwback: Happy 101st Birthday, Marshall Allen!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Marshall Allen’s 101st birthday,
Throwback: Happy 111th Birthday, Sun Ra!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 111th anniversary of the arrival of Sun Ra.
New Audio: Stockholm’s Yesterday’s Princess Shares Soulful and Swaggering “Not Today (Maybe Tomorrow)”
Stockholm-based instrumental soul duo Yesterday’s Princess — Fredrick Bergsten and Marcus Larsson — can trace their origins back to 2010: Bergsten and Larsson met and struck up a friendship on making music and crate digging for records to sample for hip-hop beats. Idolizing Pete Rock, J Dilla, Madlib and Da Beatminerz the pair invested in the gear their heroes used with SP1200’s and MPC’s becoming a foundation of their early creative endeavors.
As their tastes grew, the limits of sample-based music became increasingly evident, so they began incorporating organic instrumentation into their work. But they eventually ditched sampling altogether.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the pair decided to officially collaborate together as a project, rather than just making music side-by-side, which led to the formation of Yesterday’s Princess. For the Swedish-based duo, Yesterday’s Princess is a vehicle for them to explore their desire to create an all-encompassing atmosphere, led by tone, production and well-trained ears for the perfect loop.
“Growing up as hip-hop producers and both being schooled audio engineers, we value sound almost as greatly as the music itself,” the duo explain. “Tone is very important yet often forgotten – music is what you hear and tone is a huge part of that. Chops have no value if it touches no-one, and what touches you might be the tone of the instrument, rather than the note it played.”
Although most contemporary groups in instrumental soul tend to adopt a throwback approach to the production and mixing process, Bergsten and Larsson have deliberately eschewed it; instead, they opted for a cleaner sound that takes adventure of digital production techniques. “We wanted to make the mix big and full with a modern soundscape,” the duo says.
The project’s original demos were created around drum sample packs from A.J. Hall, which were also sampled by The Alchemist, Nas and Ari Lennox. Hall was then brought in to rework the breaks into full parts. “After that we re-recorded all instruments to fit the swing of the new drums and hired a bassist to replay some of our basslines [sic],” the Stockholm-based describes their creative process.
Slated for a July 25, 2025 release through Root Records, the Swedish duo’s forthcoming, four-track, debut EP, Not Today (Maybe Tomorrow) reportedly sees the pair drawing from the groundbreaking library music style pioneered by the KPM and Music de Wolfe music libraries, as well as psychedelia, modal jazz, and Swedish folk and prog music. And because of their foundations in hip-hop, the material sees the duo crafting hooky melodies and riffs to anchor the overall spaciness of their arrangements.
The EP’s second and latest single, EP title track “Not Today (Maybe Tomorrow)” is a hooky bit of modal-tinged, neo-soul jazz, featuring twinkling Rhodes, a supple and strutting bass line and jazzy boom bap drumming. The track recalls the likes of Surprise Chef, Weather Channel-styled jazz, but with a cool, sophisticated swagger.
Throwback: Happy 88th Birthday, Ron Carter!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Ron Carter’s 88th birthday.
Throwback: Happy 126th Birthday, Duke Ellington!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 126th anniversary of Duke Ellington’s birth.
Throwback: Happy 108th Birthday, Ella Fitzgerald!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 108th anniversary of the birth of Ella Fitzgerald.