Lotus : Synthbuljong

The European jazz/psych quartet Lotus’ debut release Synthbuljong is a force to be reckoned with. The band – which consists of percussionist Olaf Olsen (Fra Det Onde, Needlepoint), Chris Holm (Orions Belte, Sondre Lerches band), alto saxophonist Signe Emmeluth, and experimental electric guitarist Karl Bjorå – are not making your grandpa’s jazz music(unless grandpa was […]

Marc Moulin’s ‘Sam’ Suffy’

I first came across Belgian musician and journalist Marc Moulin back in 2014. I was visiting Neat Neat Neat Records in late April 2014 with my wife. We were there to pick up the LCD Soundsystem box set The Long Goodbye(a RSD 2014 release.) He still had a copy from the big day a week […]

Jazz/Psych Freak Outs ensue On Lotus’ Excellent “Synthbuljong”; Debut LP Out 8/30 Via El Paraiso Records

It’s been over 10 years since I first found that magical passageway that led to the door of El Paraiso Records, the Danish record label run and curated by Causa Sui members Jonas Munk and Jakob Skøtt. These two have built a library of sound with El Paraiso Records that is layered in progressive, thoughtful […]

“Black Narcissus” : Discovering Joe Henderson’s ‘Power To The People’

Despite not knowing all that much about jazz saxophonist Joe Henderson, his debut 1963 album Page One was one of the first jazz records I bought. Sure, there were a couple CDs I bought in the mid-90s when I wanted to broaden my musical horizons; there was Thelonious Monk’s Monk’s Dream(that one stuck), as well […]

Elephant9 : Mythical River

I discovered Elephant9 a couple years ago via the great and powerful algorithm. Spotify was playing in the house while I did my Friday afternoon cleaning. Not sure what I was listening to, but it ended so the great Spotify algorithm started spitting like-minded artists out at me. One was a song called “Sojourn” by […]

John Runs The Voodoo Down : Me, Miles, and The Portal That Is ‘Bitches Brew’

Even before I found myself going down the jazz rabbit hole(a hole I’m still dizzily finding myself descending into 15 years later) I knew of Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew. As a teen seeing that album cover by French painter Malti Klarwein perusing Musicland or Super Sounds, it would always make me stop and gawk. The […]

London Odense Ensemble : Live At Jaiyede Jazz Festival

When you’re as tight, forward-thinking, and exploratory as London Odense Ensemble it’s hard not to keep striking while the iron’s hot. The five-piece fusion/cosmic jazz collective is made up of Danish musicians Jonas Munk(guitar), Martin Rude(bass), and Jakob Skøtt(drums); as well as London-based Tamar Osborn(saxophone, winds) and Al MacSween(keyboards). A fruitful recording session back in […]

“Many Dimensions To Explore” : The Heady And Cosmic Sounds Of London Odense Ensemble

Photos by Casper Schärfe and Jakob Skøtt Of course if you’re a semi-regular here then you know of my love and adoration for El Paraiso Records. This label prides itself on putting out music you’re meant to plug into and vibe with on a molecular level. Jonas Munk and Jakob Skott, co-label runners and Causa […]

London Odense Ensemble : Jaiyede Sessions Vol. 2

London Odense Ensemble is the music collective consisting of Jonas Munk, Jakob Skott, Tamar Osborn, Martin Rude, and Al McSween. If you’re familiar with their 2022 album Jaiyede Sessions Vol. 1, then you probably already know that. But let me fill you in or remind you of where all these cats come from. Munk, Skott, […]

Birth : Born

There’s something transcendent about the album Born, the debut long player by California’s prog/psych outfit Birth. Southern California has been ground zero for a new wave of prog and psych bands in the last decade and a half, with heavyweights like Astra, Psicomagia, Monarch, Sacri Monti, and Earthless lighting the way to some kind of […]