Gideon "Mgibe" Nxumalo
Early-Mart

The visionary work of avant-garde violin player Valentina Goncharova has recently come into focus thanks to two volumes of recordings presented on Ukrainian label Muscut. Those snapshots felt like a window into what must be a vast pool of work she carried out during her most prolific years, and this release on Hidden Harmony speaks to that. Recorded in 1988 by Goncharova with her sometime collaborator I. Zubkov, this suite of 10 parts embarked upon extensive experiments into recording processes and studio techniques, and the results speak for themselves. From Goncharova's angular playing style to the tapestry of electronic interference woven around, this is remarkable, experimental but also wholly engaging work finally unearthed for a broader audience.

Rare Spiritual Jazz Funk masterpiece reissued for the first time ever worldwide with the original 4 page booklet.Jothan Callins had played with Olatunji in the late 1960s, he both joined the Sun Ra Arkestra and founded his own Sound of Togetherness. The incarnation of the band featured on this 1975 New York recording includes Cecil McBee, Norman Connors, Joseph Bonner and Roland Duval.“Winds of Change” is generally compared to the Strata East style of Jazz.

BBE Music presents the seventh release in its highly acclaimed J Jazz Master Class Series: ‘Evolution’ by Shintaro Quintet. Recorded in 1984 and originally released on the private label Streetnoise Records, ‘Evolution’ is a perfect example of stately modal jazz with every one of its five tracks composed by band leader and bassist, Shintaro Nakamura.A cut from the album, ‘A Blind Man’, was included on the BBE Music compilation ‘J Jazz – Deep Modern Jazz from Japan 1969-1984’, and it’s a track that’s indicative of the album’s graceful blend of spiritual jazz and gently swinging minor blues waltzes, a style favoured by Nakamura that allows the band to stretch out and explore the strong melodic themes, lush arrangements and seductive rhythms.Recorded in New York, ‘Evolution’ features the great Japanese trumpet player Shunzo Ohno alongside a mixed Japanese-American band: pianist Jeff Jenkins, who brings a touch of McCoy Tyner’s percussive blues to the album, has worked with many jazz greats including Freddie Hubbard, Eddie Harris and Clark Terry; US-born Saxophonist Bob Kenmotsu, one- time member of Jack McDuff’s band has also recorded and performed with jazz guitarist Pat Martino; and drummer Fukushi Tainaka, who studied under Philly Joe Jones, completes the solid rhythm section with Nakamura and Jenkins.