Forthcoming releases or from the end of last year and couldn’t quite squeeze into SHOOK 004.

Reviews by Ryan Proctor, Charles Waring, Ben Verghese, Jez Smadja and Andy Thomas

M9 -  144,000 (Dark Matter)
Brilliantly gloomy, M9’s debut solo album is an intense, moody listening experience reminiscent of early material from the Wu-Tang camp. Equally inspired by the streets of inner-city London as he is by Egyptology and Illuminati conspiracy theories, M9’s multi-layered lyricism finds a perfect match in the gritty production supplied by Chemo, Beat Butcha and Jon Phonics. Prepare to open your third-eye.
(RP) 5 / 5

Aaron Parks – Invisible Cinema (Blue Note)
The title alludes to the widescreen cinematic ambience that 25-year-old jazz pianist Parks – a former member of Terence Blanchard’s group – creates on a deeply engaging collection of atmospheric moods and grooves. Like Robert Glasper, Parks’ music looks beyond jazz for its inspiration yet remains rooted in the jazz tradition.
(CW) 4 / 5

Finn Peters – Butterflies (Accidental)
Abundant with beauty, the second longplayer from London’s premiere leftfield jazzman exudes a calm, sensitivity similar to Yusef Lateef. Delectable melodies, otherworldly rhythms with influences from across the planet feed Finn’s compositional guile.
(BV) 4 / 5

Bobbi Humphrey – Fancy Dancer (Blue Note)
Out of print for years, the female flautist’s classic jazz-fusion album from 1975 makes a welcome return on CD. Humphrey’s mellifluous flute outpourings are framed by some sleek and breezy funk-infused grooves masterminded by ace production duo, the Mizell brothers. The killer cut is the Latin-tinged opener, ‘Uno Esta.’
(CW)  4 / 5

Esther Phillips – Alone Again, Naturally (Reel Music)
The feisty soul vixen’s second LP for Creed Taylor’s CTI subsidiary, Kudu, finally gets reissued. Although it garnered a Grammy nomination back in 1972, the album – which kicks off with a fabulous rendering of Bill Withers’ ‘Use Me’ – has been criminally overlooked in recent years. Phillips’ edgy rasp of a voice never sounded better.
(CW) 4 / 5

Brother Jack McDuff – Gin & Orange (Dusty Groove)
Hammond hero, McDuff, serves up thick, tasty, chunks of greasy funk and finger-clicking jazz swing on a rare outing for Cadet from 1969. A mixture of studio and live material, it features telling contributions from Chess’s in-house arranger Richard Evans, guitarist Phil Upchurch and saxophonist Gene Barge.
(CW) 4 / 5

Various – Jazz Bizniz 4 (Counterpoint)
This series has maintained a consistently original vision of jazz, combining modal and straight ahead cuts with more recent jazz-influenced tracks taking things into Afrikan, soul, house or hip-hop territory. Check The Roots’ collaborator Maimouna Yousef on ‘Schizophrenia’ or L.A. afrobeat outfit Najite Olokun Prophecy, or cool-out to the classic sounds of Jeff Resnick.
(JS) 4 / 5

Richard ‘Popcorn’ Wylie – Extrasensory Perception (Dusty Groove)
Amazingly, this lost soul gem was the late Detroit soul man’s only album, cut for ABC in 1974 with producer, McKinley Jackson, and featuring songs Wylie co-penned with Motown legend, Lamont Dozier. Gene Page’s symphonic string charts – especially on ‘How Did I Lose You’ – bring a lush Barry White-feel to the proceedings.
(CW) 4 / 5

Shawn Lee & Clutchy Hopkins – Clutch Of The Tiger (Ubiquity)
Two men of mystery who share a thirst for breaks combine with aplomb. More bar and bedroom than dancefloor, the organ riffs in ‘Full Moon’, ‘Dollar Short’ plus flute in ‘Bill Blows It’ are the album’s strength, managing to stay fresh listen after listen.
(BV) 3 / 5

Jazmine Sullivan – Fearless (J Records)
Fearless is a largely original take on R&B but I think they’ve bitten Janelle Monae’s style (no bad thing) with the orchestral arrangements and the showtune styles of ‘Switch!’ and ‘Bust Your Windows’. Elsewhere, ‘Need U Bad’ is hot, ‘Dream Bag’ jumps on a Daft Punk track and ‘In Love With Another Man’ is the song Lauryn Hill never wrote.
(JS) 3 / 5

Introducing…The Perceptions (Freestyle Records)
The bomb drops from Adrian Gibson’s Freestyle Records. Formed to express their joint love of the heavier end of labels like Prestige and Blue Note, this London based group (formed by Neil Robinson on drums, Gary Crockett bass, John ‘Wilma’ Willmott sax/flute, and the mighty Snowboy on congas) enlist the services of the incredible Italian organist Sam Gambarini for an album of heavyweight Hammond jazz. The vintage recording process helps keep things deep. (AT)