Review: Ludivine Issambourg - Above The Laws (Heavenly Sweetness)

When you're talking about name dropping album guest artists, to misquote a film, "You had me at Brian Jackson"!  Yes, Gil Scot-Heron's famous keyboardist/flautist partner is on this album and he's not even the primary flautist as  Ludivine Issambourg continues to pay tribute to the Law family on 'Above The Laws'.

This album follows her 2020 release, 'Outlaws (A Tribute To Herbert Laws)' and there were not many folks above the Law (family) back in the 70/80s on the jazz funk scene (by coincidence, only yesterday, I was reading on the rear cover of NYPA's 1977 album, "Special thanks to Eloise Laws for her sex background vocals"!)

Getting back to Jackson, he's on here with a version of 'Angel Dust' on vocals and keyboards and it was noticed on his recent BBE album and live at WeOutHere Festival this year when he did some tunes made famous by both of them (notably 'The Bottle') and it was evident how much he sings like Gil; and Louie Vega got him to guest with him and his band, Elements of Life, on stage too that was a magical experience).   And like 'The Bottle', the track 'Angel Dust' is a dark story that doesn't match the original Fairy Tale story book use of the title.

And when I say "jazz funk", I mean "FUNK" has an equal billing, check 'Hop Scotch" (featurng Laurent de Wilde on keys) and ACT label regular, Nils Landgren on 'bone with 'New Morning'; and when it comes to name dropping, who hasn't he worked with over that past 30 years?

So, you'll remember last night, no word of a lie, looking at me copy of Ronnie Law's 12" 'Let's Keep It Together' (from the album 'Fever' 1976, UAG 20007) and here's a Afrobeat version of 'Fever' featuing Céline Bonacina (on sax) and where Issambourg shows off how magic she is on flute.

Apparently, she's going on an extensive European tour next year to promote the album and this is going to be really big before that happens; Flute Gangs and Jazzdance DJs, there's a new heavenly sweetness in the air to dance and spin to, Ladies and Gentlemen, Ludivine Issambourg!

BANDCAMP - Listening Pary - Above The Laws

November 7, 2024 at 6:00 PM GMT

Artist: Ludivine Issambourg

Title: Above The Laws

Release Date : 8th November, 2024

Catalog Number : TBC-

Label : Heavenly Sweetness

Format:  Black vinyl 180g LP / CD / Digital / Bandcamp

Review: Fred Spider presents.. Chakalaka Jazz - A Selection of South African Gems (Heavenly Sweetness)

Heavenly Sweetness have got Fred Spider to put together a compilaton called 'Chakalaka Jazz', a selection of South African gems' and gems they are.

DJ Spider, aka Fred “Voom Voom” Spider moved from France to Spain and kept heading south until settling in Cape Town in 2010 where he set up Voom Voom Records to re-issue rare soul, funk, disco, boogie, and jazz.

'Chakalaka Jazz' firmly concentrates on jazz (Ed. no surprise there then) and perhaps, unlike some other compilations of South African Jazzkind, as Fred lives there, he's been able to digg for those musical nuggets that featuring locals, exiles and expats with "a reverent nod to the golden years of the '70s" and spiritual awakenings; although the actual tracks span 1969 to 2003!

So don't expect Hugh Masekela (the "father" of South African jazz), Dollar Brand/Abdullaah Ibrahim or Soweto boot bashing as these tracks are more at the The Indigenous Afro-Jazz Sounds Of Phillip Tabane And His Malombo Jazzman end of obscurity (and pricey).

Clarence Wilson, Gibson Kente, The Soweto Boys, The Drive, The Cliffs featuring Mankunku Nogozi, The Four Sounds, The Jazz Ministers, The Tailfeathers (thier track, 'The Tailfeathers' is pretty 70s soul-jazz funk and as obscure as you're likely to get) are all new names to me and it's all exceptional.

Cassidy Clarke Band's 'Doctor AL' is prime 70s Rockford Files era TV theme (like The Clarke / Duke Project but better!) and picking up on the current love of spiritual harp (Ashby - Coltrane - Alina Bzhezhinska - Amanda Whiting), you've got Zim Ngqawana's fabulous 'Kubi'; very Coltrane, John & Alice!

Not so keen on the chanting parts of closing track, the 13 minute long 'Magwaza' (Johnny Dyani) but the solos are as good as any Riverside/Blue Note/Impulse!/Prestige etc classics so, this is clearly YATM's 'Album Of The Week'.

Artist: Various Artists

Title: Fred Spider presents.. Chakalaka Jazz - A Selection of South African Gems

Release Date : 1st November, 2024

Catalog Number : -

Label : Heavenly Sweetness

Format:  2 x LP / CD / Digital / Bandcamp

Review: K.O.G - Odo Sronko feat. Pat Thomas (Pura Vida Sounds / Heavenly Sweetness)

K.O.G is back with a monster track, 'Odo Sronko' featuring Pat Thomas!

When K.O.G have been on YATM, it's been as a featured artist like La Yegros featuring K.O.G (see review HERE) or David Walters featuring K.O.G (see review HERE) but at last, there's the follow-up to Zone 6 (see review HERE) and this time the featuring artist is Pat Thomas!  

Yes, it's Pat Thomas (aka Kwabena Nyamekye Amoo-Mensah) of Pat Thomas and the Kwashibu Area Band and best mates with Ebo Taylor who between them are the best of Ghanian Highlife and Afrobeat for years.

Produced by Pura Vida's main man Guts and recorded in Ghana and Sheffield, this is a single from the forthcoming album, 'Don't Take My Soul' that's due out in September.

Artist: K.O.G feat. Pat Thomas

Title: Odo Sronko

Release Date : 6th June, 2024

Catalog Number : -

Label : Pura Vida Sounds / Heavenly Sweetness

Format:  Digital

Review: Cotonete - Victoire De La Musique (Heavenly Sweetness)

Those old jazz funk and acid jazz album can sound a little hackneyed?  The answer in 2024 is to looking a little further afield with Cotonete's new album, 'Victoire De La Musique' on Heavenly Sweetness.

Starting out in the 2000's this "supergroup" were  fans of Latin-jazz big hitters like Deodato, Lalo Schiffrin, Azymuth, Banda Black Rio but they only got going after a recent reunion at the behest of Melik Bencheikh of Heartbeat Vinyl in Paris.

The album 'Super-vilains' came out in 2019 and caught attention of remixes by Dimtri From Paris and Alex Attias and Canadian rapper Drake has even sampled them (and look what that did for Norma Winstone and owners of her 1970s album, no going for £350!)

For their follow-up album Heavenly Sweetness' GUTS has not only upped the ante, they are joined by names as famous as a Gilles Peterson VIP guest list like Far Out Recording's  Sabrina Malheiros Leron Thomas, Gystere Pesine and legend, 'The Man' Omar (can't believe it's almost exactly 10 years since 'The Boogie Volume 4' on Tokyo Dawn Records (see review HERE).

 

In addition to the heavenly (no pun etc) vocals by Omar on 'What Did You Run For', there's a tribute to French film OST royalty Francis Lai with 'Cinq Pour L'aventure at nearly 15 minutes long and the synth-funk-disco of 'O céu é preto' feat. Gystere (I can hear Dimitri sharpening his faders as I type.

That said, all 9 tracks are great and a very early contender for Album of the Year and conviently released to coincide with the first Bandcamp Friday of the year - you know what to do!

Artist: Cotonete

Title: Victoire De La Musique

Release Date: 2nd February 204

Catalog Number: -

Label: Heavenly Sweetness

Review: Souleance - Beautiful (Heavenly Sweetness/First Word)

Souleance, the pairing of DJ Soulist and Fulgeance have themselves paired up with record labels First Word and Heavenly Sweetness for their latest album, 'Beautiful'.

And it's quite obvious that this long standing collaboration of soul/hip-hop/jazz-funk and all things beats, have produced a 14 track album that is truely 'Beautiful'.

They can adjust to any style and they excel with the Latin beats like 'Wiggle', 'Felliz' and 'Mamãe Não Quer' (featuring Joao Selva) along with other contributions from 'trending' Kit Sebastian on 'Out Of Touch' and 'Lightweight' featuring Jenny Penkin (a track that's strong enough to be a single I'd say); perhaps next time label mate Léon 'Stress Killer' Phal will make an appearance (see review HERE).

And then their instrumentals are so strong like the space-synth-gospel house-funker 'Rapsodie' (like I said, they can 'adjust their style' and cram a lot into just one track!) and the best of the lot, party on down to that Booker T and the MGs inspired, 'La Fête'.

London's Jazz Cafe is hosting a 15th Birthday party for Heavenly Sweetness next week (11th October) showcasing Guts and David Walters live (see review HERE) and a DJ set from Souleance - it's the beautiful place to be.

This Souleance's fourth album in a little over 10 years and it's a beautifully executed that's also beautiful on the ear.

Artist: Souleance

Title: Beautiful

Release Date : 6th October, 2023

Catalog Number : -

Label : Heavenly Sweetness/First Word

Review: Léon Phal - Stress Killer (Heavenly Sweetness / Pura Vida)

On the face of it, Heavenly Sweetness/Pura Vida having a album led by a Franco-Swiss saxophonist Léon Phal might seem a little bit out of their comfort zone; but this ten track debut on the lable picks up from his last with the benefit of some label mates.

K.O.G. always sounds good but he's alongside Léon Phal's as guest on 'Stress Killer' - great lyrics for all of France and the rest of the world - jazzy hip-hop is here! For more K.O.G, there's 'Zone 6 Remixed EP (see review HERE).

On 'Something Inside' the band; Arthur Alard (Drums), Rémi Bouyssière (Double Bass), Gauthier Toux (Keyboards) and Zacharie Ksyk (Trumpet) is joined by Cameroonian born/LA based Lorine Chia on vocals.

The other tracks do have a mix of club and jazz club inter-meshed from a cover of 'Naima', the in your face, 'Fuck Yeah' and the title track which is a quirky bopper.

If you're new to the label, this is different but now we know that jazz is hip (after Ezra Collective have won the Mercury Prize this year), this is not as leftfield as it once was!

Artist: Léon Phal

Title: Stress Killer

Release Date : 15th September, 2023

Catalog Number : -

Label : Heavenly Sweetness

Review: David Walters - Soul Tropical (Heavenly Sweetness)

There's only on thing we love more than a David Walters release on Heavenly Sweetness and that's brand new 13 track album by David Walters on Heavenly Sweetness. 

This is so summer hot, like his other two albums on the label, we've got a few top name guests, Walters' style of Afro-Caribbean and Anglo-française vocals. 

The BIG track in the most Fela-like 'Jodia' that's got enough for the flute gang, a trumpet solo and a 'tribute' to 'Wade In The Water': did you hear me?  He slips into  'Wade In The Water'!

At the other extremes, the opener features label mate K.O.G. (see review of 'Zone 6' HERE) and I think they're going to pick this one as a single for it's summer love groove, there's the disco synth funk of ' No One' as a Captain Planet edit and Afro-spaceship poet Anthony Joseph and La Reyna get bass-deep on 'Toxic Tropic'.

The title track is clearly aimed at mass market french speaking radio and it's an easy cross-over to the dancefloor (think we'll be hearing this one regularly this summer) and 'Light' seems like his homage to Bob with some classic reggae 60s organ sounds and an I-Threes sounding backing.

The even higher highlights are the two tracks featuring Ballaké Sissoko & Vincent Segal, 'An Lot Soley' (this is particularly beautiful) and 'Klè' with the house funker. 'Don't U' (watch the remixers band on the door to do this one - but for now, this is going on the dancefloor chart as it'll turn heads) and jazz-dancers at the ready, 'Night In Madinina'.

David is such a talent (Singer, multi-instrumentalist, DJ, remixer, composer and TV host!) there's no chance this isn't fantastic but we're talking ever track!; 'Soul Tropical' is Mr. Walters own WOMAD genre. 

Artist: David Walters

Title: Soul Tropical

Release Date : 3rd March, 2022

Catalog Number : -

Label : Heavenly Sweetness

Review: K.O.G - Zone 6 Remixed EP (Heavenly Sweetness)

If you recall 'Zone 6, Agege' from earlier this year, you'll know K.O.G is a now a rising star with his own releases and through his collaborations with Nubiyan Twist, Scrimshire and ONIPA.

Heavenly Sweetness released the 15 track album which so suited their Afro/Jazz/Carib/Disco/Funky groove and this stands out as an Anglo Ghanian Fela stylee.

Kweku Sackey (aka K.O.G) has a gorgeous vocal that moves effortlessly between English, Pidfin, Ga and rap, poetry, soul and gospel.

So just to remind compilers of 'Album Of The Year' lists, here's a remix EP from the global dancefloor. 

I predicted back in the spring to mark your card for 'Ebenezer' as we're now in festive season and Aroop Roy takes a Fela to a disco party so we can get thiall the Scrooges outta town.

The Canadian Ghislain Poirier is as well travelled as Aroop and has just as many remix credits (most recently Gut's 'Kenke Corner') so no surprise that he was a top choice for 'No Way' which is just as fast as the original but heavier on the percussion making it another choice play for the dancefloor.

I said at the time that it would be a tough to decide on a single but I had no idea what Village Cuts (UK duo) could add to 'No Way' but we're Carib-bass heavy-Highlife and it's great or that Captain Planet (Bastard Jazz) who tweaks 'Shidaa' in a more jazzy hip-house with classy sax, organ and guitar arrangements.

The set is completed with the album vesions of 'Shidaa' and 'No Way' which makes this EP, a six of the best. In fact, don't wait to hear, “Hey! You boy”, get your 'Zone 6 Remixed' EP now! 

Artist: K.O.G

Title: Zone 6 Remixed EP

Release Date : 9th December, 2022

Catalog Number : -

Label : Pura Vida Sounds / Heavenly Sweetness

Format: 12" EP / Digital