Browse by Label: GONDWANA (UK)

Artist:	HALSALL, MATTHEW
Title:	Sending My Love
Label:	GONDWANA (UK)
Format:	CD
Price:	$14.50
Catalog #:	GOND 001CD

This is the first release by Gondwana Records -- a new independent jazz label based in Manchester, UK. Influenced by the likes of: Blue Note, Impulse, Strata East, Black Jazz, Soul Jazz, Jazzman and Tribe Records. Sending My Love is the debut release by Mancunian trumpeter/composer Matthew Halsall. Halsall has already proven his worth as a multifaceted musician -- he picked up the trumpet at just 6 years-old after being taken to a jazz gig by his parents, and from the age of 13, Matt has toured the world playing trumpet in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Australia, France, Italy, Spain, Russia, Holland and America. In more recent years, he has become increasingly drawn to creating his own music, and spends most of his time composing, recording and performing live. His current line-ups include: trumpet, saxophone, flute, harp, piano, double bass and drums. Matt has been described as a spiritual, free and meditative player who picks up from where the '60s modal explorations of Alice Coltrane, John Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders and Miles Davis left off. Sending My Love is an album descended from modal jazz forms -- the form allowing greater scope within the compositions for the performers to express themselves. Initial listening suggests that the pieces here are firmly rooted in the traditions of these jazz forms. Upon further listening, what becomes apparent is that Matthew's playing is informed by a vast and varied appreciation of many musical styles: DJ Cam, Guru, A Tribe Called Quest, Digable Planets and St. Germain are as likely to be heard as Pharoah Sanders or Yusef Lateef. These influences filter through the ensemble's performances, but at the same time, the band retain a strict understanding and use of jazz forms. The end result is a jazz record of authenticity which will appeal not only to the jazz community, but also to fans of the laid-back sounds associated with Tru-Thoughts and Ninja Tune. The album features a superb ensemble of Manchester-based jazz musicians, which includes Jon Thorne (bass) (Lamb, Badly Drawn Boy) and Roger Wickham (flute/saxophone) (Nightmares On Wax, Aim, Rae & Christian). Both players are also members of Matt's other band The Magic Bop, a collective of the Northwest's finest jazz musicians. Other members include: Luke Flowers (drums) (The Cinematic Orchestra), John Ellis (piano) (The Cinematic Orchestra, DJ Vadim), Sneaky (bass) (Fingathing, Mr. Scruff) and Stan Ambrose (harp) (Super Numeri).

Artist:	BIRCHALL, NAT
Title:	Akhenaten
Label:	GONDWANA (UK)
Format:	CD
Price:	$14.50
Catalog #:	GOND 002CD

This is UK-based Nat Birchall's debut for Manchester jazz label, Gondwana. Nat has earned a reputation over the past 30 years as an impeccable saxophonist. Initially inspired by the great horn men of Jamaica such as Roland Alphonso, Don Drummond, Tommy McCook and Cedric Brooks, Nat found his way to the music of Charlie Parker and John Coltrane, which in turn directed the development of his own voice on his instrument. His sound has been favorably compared to Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders and latter-day Charles Lloyd. His debut, 1999's The Sixth Sense, earned a four-star review in Jazzwise, finding its way into the "Albums of the Year" list. He has collaborated with Turkish folk-jazz percussionist Akay Temiz, has performed in a groundbreaking, mid-'90s jazz-hop group Corner Crew, and the heavy roots reggae troupe of Dubdadda. Currently performing with Matthew Halsall's various adventurous ensembles, Arun Ghosh's Indo-jazz ensemble, Jon Thorne's Oedipus Mingus project, and guitarist Gary Boyle's quartet, Nat is continually sought-after as a respected session musician. Akhenaten, meaning "effective spirit of Aten," was a Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt who attempted to compel the Egyptian population in the monotheistic worship of Aten, the disk of the sun in ancient Egyptian mythology. Over the four compositions that make up Akhenaten, Birchall's mastery of the saxophone flows throughout. The familiar jazz line-up of double bass, piano and drums perfectly complement his lead, and combined, they exude irresistible brilliance and a knowledge of the music's roots. Akhenaten is a spiritual journey that draws from aspects of the work of John and Alice Coltrane and evokes the reverent hush of Sanders' "Let Us Go Into The House Of The Lord," but all channeled through Nat's absolute focus. The opening motif of "Nica's Dance" sets the tone for the album, with a vibe that unfolds into a Coltrane-informed session. The sparse, free-form beginnings of second track "A Prayer For..." are given focus by Nat's horn, gradually developing into the laid-back, syncopated groove that is the album's title track, "Akhenaten." Finally, the fourth piece "Many Blessings," brings the album to its close with an air of sublime optimism. This is a softly glowing album of mystical jazz that flows like a river full of sunlight.

Artist:	HALSALL, MATTHEW
Title:	Colour Yes
Label:	GONDWANA (UK)
Format:	CD
Price:	$14.50
Catalog #:	GOND 003CD

This is the second full-length album from UK trumpeter/composer/arranger/DJ/Gondwana label-head Matthew Halsall on Gondwana. His debut album Sending My Love (GOND 001CD) planted him firmly on the UK jazz map, and earned him praise across the board. Solid airplay from BBC Radio 1's Gilles Peterson (the album figured in his top 40 albums of 2008), Stuart Maconie (BBC 6 Music), Tom Robinson (BBC 6 Music) and Mike Chadwick (Jazz FM) amongst others, culminated in a Maida Vale session for 6 Music. His debut offered a welcome return to form for UK jazz, and his second offering sees the committed performer and restless musician delivering six brand-new compositions. This time around, Matthew recruited the talents of Nat Birchall (sax), Adam Fairhall (piano), Gavin Barras (bass), Gaz Hughes (drums), Marek Dorcik (drums) and Rachael Gladwin (harp), delivering yet another consistent and brilliant release. The effortless swing of the title track really defines what it is about Halsall's vision of jazz that gives him the upper hand; this is timeless music, it owes nothing to the past -- sure, there are comparison points, but all lead to music which is indeed already classic. An undeniable clarity is present throughout, themes are balanced and already sounding fully road-tested. "Together" is a transcendental modal ballad which fuels the spirit of Stan Tracey's "Starless And Bible Black" and Neil Ardley's "Shades Of Blue" as performed by Don Rendell and Ian Carr's Quintet. Utterly beautiful. "Mudita" is the jazz-dance feature that will be a hit with the Sleepwalker and Soil & Pimp crowd; the spacial rhythm section plays like Bill Evan's classic trios, where the space between the notes almost means as much as the notes themselves. This not only shows a great respect for the past masters of modal exploration, but makes a bold step forward to re-establish British jazz as vital music as much in 2009 as it was in the mid-1960s. The addition of Rachael Gladwin's harp brings a sense of liquidity to the band, take it as read that Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane are honored forebears. By the album's close, the authoritative drive of this band truly seems to have transmitted themselves to a whole new astral plane.

Artist:	BIRCHALL, NAT
Title:	Guiding Spirit
Label:	GONDWANA (UK)
Format:	CD
Price:	$14.50
Catalog #:	GOND 004CD

This is the second album by UK saxophonist Nat Birchall on Gondwana Records. Birchall has always been something of an enigma, a sublimely soulful saxophonist hidden from view in the Northern hills. His debut album Sixth Sense (1998) first announced him to the jazz world as an urgent tenor saxophonist with a feel for pulsing, modal hard-bop. But it was his cult hit and now highly sought-after soulful slice of spiritual jazz Akhenaten (GOND 002CD) that suggested that the spirit of Coltrane was alive and well in Northern England. Acclaimed by the critics (MOJO for one hailing its "spacial sunship beauty" and "lyrical heat haze hypnotism") Akhenaten, together with Halsall's own releases Sending My Love and Colour Yes helped create the unique sound that the Independent On Sunday described as "rain soaked spiritual jazz from Manchester." Inspired by the legendary Jamaican jazz-influenced saxophonists Cedric Brooks and Tommy McCook, and by lessons with an enigmatic local player, Harold Salisbury, he began by playing with various bands including Akay Temiz's Zaman. Birchall led a hip-hop-influenced jazz band Corner Crew in the early '90s and started to make a name for himself on the local scene but felt unsatisfied with the music, despite some encouragement from the legendary record producer Tony Hall (Dizzy Reece, Tubby Hayes). Meeting trumpeter Matthew Halsall and a group of like-minded players (including pianist Adam Fairhall, bassist Gavin Barras and drummer Gaz Hughes) gathered around Matt & Phreds in Manchester proved an inspiration. Guiding Spirit opens with "Open Up The Gates," invoking the idea of huge ancient gates being opened to allow the procession through but with a subtext of acceptance and recognition. "Keep The Light Shining" is a sunny tune, while "Higher Regions" has something of a McCoy Tyner vibe and features harpist Rachael Gladwin on kora. "Going To The Mountain" is inspired by a simple phrase that Birchall heard Pharoah Sanders play which has an eastern feel. The uptempo "Becoming" is named for something Duke Ellington once said, that he liked to have his music always "in a state of becoming" and is enhanced by Fairhall's luminous solo. Finally the rubato "Guiding Spirit" hints at the hidden forces or unconscious decisions that for Birchall drive both life and his own deeply-felt music.

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