Review: NATE08 - Twenty Seven (Needwant)

Mumbai musician, session bass player, producer, DJ NATE08 brings us the full follow-up to the 2022 album 'Furaha' with 'TWENTY SEVEN.

You'll remember the single, 'Where Are You Tonight' (see review HERE with Dishaan and Mallika) and the previous single, 'You're The Reason' featuring Mary Alexander, so the album is more of Nate's style "smooth, deep basslines and laid-back grooves" that's definitely got a soul-pop immediacy to it; and loads of featured artists.

Nathan Thomas (aka NATE08) position as a DJ with the underground soul/R&B scene gives his a privileged knowledge of who will suit his tracks like 'Call Me Back (featuring Sahirah) is particualry 'hit' radio whilst, at the other extreme, who can a song about 'Afterlife' (featuring Dappest) be so upbeat and joyous? (Ed. not quite the place here to discuss the different cultural perspectives of life and death).

 

'Waiting' featuring Benni Ola, is a curious mix of slowed down late-night vocals with a bouncy house groove with some bhangra influence: this this might be the one for an extended 12" mix.

And here's where the album peaks for dancefloor action with 'What Was It' (featuring Jamla Bucanon), 'Say The Word' (feat. Niomi), hot summer groove of 'Diamonds' and another potential hit, 'Stay'..

I said that this needs a vinyl release and you can now pre-order it now.

BUY LINK / PRE-ORDER VINYL: https://bio.to/TwentySeven

Title: NATE08

Title: Twenty Seven

Release date: 28th November, 2025

Label : Needwant

Catalog Number : TBC

Format: Vinyl (Black 140g) / Digital / Bandcamp

Review: Jazzanova - In Between (Deluxe Edition) (Sonar Kollektiv)

To conclude their year-long celebration of In Between, Jazzanova and Sonar Kollektiv proudly present the ultimate tribute to their landmark debut album: 'In Between (Deluxe Edition)'. This expansive collection captures the full legacy, creative impact, and ongoing evolution of a record that helped shape the sound of nu-jazz, broken beat, and future soul.

Originally released in 2002, 'In Between' redefined the possibilities of electronic jazz, blending intricate sampling with live instrumentation and featuring vocalists such as Clara Hill, Vikter Duplaix, Capitol A, and Ursula Rucker. Two decades later, its influence still resonates. The Deluxe Edition offers the most comprehensive exploration of this pivotal era in Jazzanova’s history—spanning nearly 70 tracks across five chapters...

1. In Between (Original Album)
The timeless 2002 debut that started it all—featuring iconic songs like No Use, Another New Day, Keep Falling, and Soon. A landmark blend of jazz, broken beat, soul, and electronic innovation. Described by PopMatters as “the essence and inexorable rise of the European nu-jazz sound” and hailed by AllMusic as “a work of real beauty” that elevated club culture with intricate musicality, In Between helped usher underground sounds into new spaces, far beyond smoky basements and coffee shops.

2. In Between Revisited: Jazzanova Live - see the YATM review HERE
Recorded live at Little Big Beat Studios in 2024, this session features the Jazzanova Live Band alongside guests Wayne Snow, Clara Hill, and HEEN. Together, they reimagine the album’s sample-heavy origins with full-band energy and deep musicianship, offering a vibrant new perspective on the original material.

3. In Between (Remixes) - see the YATM review HERE
The 2025 remix compilation brings together producers from around the globe to reinterpret In Between through fresh, forward-looking lenses. Featuring standout remixes by Jacana People, Eric Hilton, Crackazat, Satin Jackets, Kid Fonque, Groove Chronicles, The KBCS, DJ Slowz, Nautilus, Magro, and Paskal & Urban Absolutes, this chapter bridges generations and genres— from deep house and nu-disco to future jazz and Afro-tinged electronica.

4. Singles & Rarities Collection (Pre-In Between)
A curated selection of Jazzanova’s formative works leading up to In Between —including sought-after tracks like Fedime’s Flight, Atabaque, Bohemian Sunset, Caravelle, Coffee Talk, Le Jardin Secret, and That Night (Original Single Version). These early gems showcase the group’s deep roots in jazz, house, and Afro-Latin rhythms.

5. Remixed (2003 Album)
The legendary 2003 remix album returns, gathering celebrated reworks from that era by artists such as Madlib, Kyoto Jazz Massive, Bugz in the Attic, King Britt, Vikter Duplaix, DJ DSL, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Domu, Moonstarr, Stereolab, and more. A defining snapshot of early 2000s nu-jazz and broken beat culture.

In Between (Deluxe Edition) is more than a retrospective—it’s a deep-dive anthology celebrating Jazzanova’s expansive sonic universe, their constant reinvention, and their enduring impact on global club and jazz culture. This is In Between—past, present, and future—assembled for the first time in its entirety.

The intro to 'That Night' really sums up the evolution of the whole project from the original release to the 4 additional formations: you can recreate the excitement of the times and the 12" remixes that litterally lit up Soho (and the rest of the known) Record Shop world. Vikter Duplaix, Stereolad or Madlib - this is generational!

Not cheap, but it'd make someone a very nice seasonal present.

BUY LINK: In Between (Deluxe Edition) | Jazzanova

Artist: Jazzanova

Title: In Between (Deluxe Edition)

Release date: 21st November, 2025

Label : Sonar Kollektiv

Catalog Number : TBC

Format:  Vinyl / Digital / Bandcamp 

Review: Lance Ferguson’s Rare Groove Spectrum - Rare Groove Spectrum Vol. 3 (Tru Thoughts)

New  Zealand-born, Melbourne-based multi-hyphenate Lance Ferguson presents new album Rare Groove Spectrum Vol.3, a soulful, live-band journey covering classics and rarities in funk, jazz, latin, soul and beyond, fusing crate-digger sensibilities with modern studio craft.

We already acknowledged that the Australian music scene owes much to Lance Ferguson for high ligthing Melbourne with Kylie Auldist in the Bamboos, Cooking On 3 Burners (don't miss their first album in 6 years - see review HERE), Machines Always Win, Menagerie, The Ferguson Rogers Process and the Rare Groove Spectrum that is now on Volume 3.

You'll recall the cover version Billy Elish's 'My Future' that features the vocals of Rita Satch (see HERE - and her album, 'Meet Me In The Garden' - see review HERE) but it's interesting to consider whether this was a ploy to introduce older soul-funkers to the work of Ms. Elish or to get youngsters to enjoy the older classics that Ferguson introduces us to.

I did see the other day on a Social Media post that Idris Muhammad’s 1977 jazz-funk crossover hit, 'Could Heaven Ever Be Like This' as "little known" - really!  Well, if it is, it won't be after this version that's very respectful to the original. And not far behind, early jazz-funk "hit" 'Caveman Boogie' (original by Lesette Wilson) gets a workout a you may remember Bugz In The Attic remixed Gene Harris' 'Losalamitoslatinfunklovesong' 20 years ago so that might have dropped off some folks' radar as being a top Latin Blue Note track so interesting to hear Lance's version as more of Brazil '66 bossa.

And clearly he's big on digging like any hip-hop kid, so the extremes range from Library "god", Keith Mansfield with his 1975 'Hot Source' as already done by Hot Source; here as 'Oz Bump' with a great sax solo - KPM royalty.

And closer to the source is 'Runnin' (Earth, Wind & Fire) - wayoooooooo etc - and 'Fourty Days' (Billy Brooks / A Tribe Called Quest) - vous le vous - and Jimmy McGriff's 'Dig It'. 

The album opens with 'Dominoes', nothing to do with Donald Byrd but the Jungle track and in the 'every day a school day' envelope as Lance "also shines a light on homegrown legends with “Song For Bobby”, originally by ‘70s jazz-funk outfit Pyramid, featuring a heartfelt solo by Ross Irwin in tribute to the late Bobby Venier".

The whole album is great and will maintain Ferguson's favoured position on Craig Charles' 'Funk & Soul' Radio Show (BBC 6 Music) along with Huey Morgan, Gilles Peterson, Colin Parnell and loads more as it's much more than a 101 to jazz-funk-soul dancefloor greats. 

BUY LINK: Rare Groove Spectrum, Vol. 3 | Lance Ferguson

Artist: Lance Ferguson’s Rare Groove Spectrum

Title: Rare Groove Spectrum Vol. 3

Release date: 21st November, 2025

Label : Tru-Thoughts 

Catalog Number : TRU471

Format: LP / Vinyl / Digital / Bandcamp 

Review: Or Kantor - Snake Island (Anova Music)

"'Snake Island' is more than an album—it's a mythic, imagined soundtrack to a film that only exists in memory, rendered in tones that shimmer like heat on stone", Anova Music know the twang is the thang!

If you remember Bubble Wrap Trap's album 'Enter The Bab' (see review HERE) and Shakti Soundsystem genre-blender of album (see review HERE), you might have some inkling of Or Kantor's cinematic OST to a film that never was as a tribute to a Mediterrean spaghetti western that surfs and psychs with spoken word poetry, twangy guitars and 60s mod-organ.

So this is 'Snake Island' that has built and evolved from Kantor's debut album, 'Sarda Sarda' (see review HERE) and you can throw Herb Alpert and Mulatu Astatke in with his other named influences, Gábor Szabó (jazz electric guitarist), Omar Khorshid (Eygptian electric guitar) and Dorothy Ashby (spiritual jazz harp); there's a touch of Delia Derbyshire going on too!

The spoken word poetry is a bit Twin Peaks meets Jeb Loy Nichols which is scary and a treat all at the same time, I can see why you'd want to 'Escape From Snake Island' (the closer and "all guns blasing" monster of the ten track album) but don't be put off as you'd want to buy a ticket to this "Fantasy Island" in the first place: remember Hervé Villechaize as Tattoo?

PS. For those that don't know, Johnny Sharoni, A&R at Anova Records, met Kantor during a tattoo session which led to his first album being released: you couldn't make it up.

BUY LINK / PRE-ORDER: Snake Island | Or Kantor

Artist:  Or Kantor

Title:  Snake Island

Release date: 21st November, 2025 

Label : Anova Music

Catalog Number :  TBC

Format:  Vinyl LP / Digital / Bandcamp

Review: SHOLTO - The Sirens (DeepMatter Records)

SHOLTO's musical vision of sirens, being the every day tale of "a number of women or winged creatures whose singing lured unwary sailors on to rocks" is as dreamy and cinematic as the cover artwork!

There's been much anticipation of "cinematic maestro" SHOLTO's as the follow-up to 2024's double album, 'Letting Go Of Forever' (see review HERE).  

Being his third album in three years he's not running out of ideas and I think it's fair to say the 'The Sirens' is even deeper into the cinematic as a soundtrack to the film without a film, 'The Sirens' and the "themes of duality, temptation, and emotional dislocation, in SHOLTO’s words, “blurring grief with groove, seduction and surrender”".

We know that SHOLTO is based in Hackney (Ed. which is not London's version of Hollywood) where he's joined by Syd Kemp (bass), Clementine Brown (strings) and Rachel Horton Kitchlew (harp) which makes the sound so much bigger.

Singles like 'Tied To The Mast' that brings to mind the story of JMWTurner's famous painting, 'Snow Storm, Steam-Boat off a Harbour's Mouth' or is it Odysses lashed to the mast; John William Waterhous et al? Either way, there's the 'after the storm' moment of calm as the harp generates the 'sea mists' .

What really gets this album deep into the romantics are the strings and the use of the harp that is perfectly embraced on the lead single ‘Persephone’s Perception’ that "sets up the mythological themes of the album, reimagining the Greek goddess’s descent to Queen of the Underworld as a choice!  A steady, rolling groove, low-slung bass, and euphoric string break set up a call-and-response between shadow and light, with SHOLTO embracing the beauty".

Follow up single ‘Smooth Sailing’ was a bit different as it features vocalist Phoebe Coco who perfectly reflects the other world nature of the lure of the sea. Other guests include Thomas McBrien on keys ('Temptress') and you're definitely warned by 'Invisible Conductor of the Orchestra (Come With Me)' featuring the mysterious spoken vocals of Lea Petges.

There's even more foreboding whilst there's some proper Morricone 'Swampland Of The Soul' and 'Purple Flow' (Ed. this must have been recorded in Italy?) and talking of OST, Oscar ‘SHOLTO’ Robertson has proved himself as the latest link between the likes of Sven Libaek, Piero Umiliani and David Axelrod and those is the wake of bands/producers of Surprise Chef, Sven Wunder and The Cinematic Orchestra/Jason Swincoe like on 'Ghibli's Dream'.  

This is likely to be all over those DJ's of choice like Gilles Peterson, Lauren Laverne, Huey Morgan and Deb Grant (BBCR6), Jyoty (Rinse FM) and Tony Minvielle (Jazz FM) so recommended to get on the pre-order as demand will be high.

BUY LINK / PRE-ORDER: The Sirens | SHOLTO

Artist: SHOLTO
Title:   The Sirens

Release date: 21st November, 2025

Label : DeepMatter Records

Catalog Number : DMSH02

Format: Vinyl / Digital / Bandcamp

Drums, Keys, Guitar, Bass, Flute, Percussion, Vocals – Oscar 'Sholto' Robertson

Vocals – Phoebe Coco, Lea Petges

Bass – Syd Kemp

Piano & Keys – Thomas McBrien

Harp – Rachel Kitchlew

Strings (Violin, Viola) – Clementine Brown

Cello – Sebrina Lambert Rose

Flute – Arthur Sajas

Artist – Eloïse Labarbe-Lafon

Vinyl Designer – Liam Kay

Review: Ballin'TheJackOrchestra - Con Man Firmation (Trygger Music)

Whether you know the term "Ballin' the Jack" as the title of the popular song from 1913 or another railway themed definition, here's the Swedish jazz orchestra that confirms that there's plenty of jazz swing/blues with their trumpet player, Thomas Driving, (the train)!

"Young" Mr. Driving knows his chops and with Håkan Trygger (double bass and arrangements) and Charlie Malmberg (baritone saxophone) who are themselves 50% of the Choco Chatru Quartet (see review HERE) together with Ture Trygger (alto saxophone, Håkan's son), Anders Färdal (guitar) and Martin Wikström (drums) with trombone duties split between Dicken Hedrenius and Olle Eklind you get this unique combination.

But don't expect any of CCQ's 'concept' jazz (they've got their next album on the label coming out soon called 'Lost Christmas' - review coming soon) as this is, what they describe, a "no-generation-band" as the age range is 18-81 years old (Ed. there should be some reference to 'Palindrome'?)

If you do a search on 'Ballin' The Jack' you'll come across a huge selection of jazz history but this band has its roots in the Swedish band Gugge Hedrenius Big Blues Band in which Håkan played in for 10 years, Charlie since the 90s with the 'Jazz Ballroom Night' LP and Thomas for almost 30 years; whilst Dicken Hedrenius (Gugge's son) has been involved all his life.  Such was the band's standing, over the year it's attracted guesting jazz musicians, from across the pond including Mel Lewis, Hank Crawford, Sabu Martinez and more.

With this heritage, it didn't take much for Håkan to spot the potential for a merger (or could that be a 'con(man)firmation'?) of like minds and arrangements.  Like the title track, that you might think Benny Goodman doing trad jazz but it's more subtle than that as we find jazz guitar in the safe hands Anders, Martin's swinging drums and Dickin's trombone. 

And then, you'd think that this formation, with their love of Big Band/Orchestra Swing, would stick to this formula? So they do to an extent with 'Blues For Ronnie' (written by Ture and not a tribute to the original baritone sax player was Ronny Stennson, but for the jazz drummer Ronnie Gardiner – a fantastic person and drummer, originally from america but who has lived in Sweden for many years) with Thomas, Anders, Dicken and the drum'n'bass team standing out.

Talkin' of the blues, 'Mood Indigo' is a long time standard from lounge to charity shop so this might be the best version you've ever heard! And then, Duke Ellington's 'Prelude To A Kiss' sounds inspired by a downtown sleazy night club (perhaps it was) and 'Gee Baby, Ain't I Good To You' is the upgrade to a smokey jazz club with movie soundtrack aspirations.

But hang on, the tracks (like the band) are a mix of old and new. There's originals like 'Rena Hjärtat' ('Pure Heart', written by Håkan)) which is like an instrumental Chevalier Brothers big band without the vibes and bar room sweat (the campaign to get Daniel Kåse guesting on vibraphone starts here) and the boppy 'The Swedish Apple' (another written by Håkan) that's ready for the jazzdance.

At the time of release, we've had three supermoons events ('Harvest', 'Beavour' and 'Cold') and this album starts with a version of the blues standard 'Moonglow' that's a quicker version than Bob Freedman's (the one that appears on his 'Music To Strip By' album) and its a 'shared' track that sets the style for the rest of the album that needs to play on repeat to get the best out of it.

It's great to see Swedish jazz lineage go both ways here (with Håkan and Ture following Gugge and Dicken) and with exponents delivering a new take to a non-generational audience (much like when Gilles Peterson 'discovered' British Jazz 30 years after its peak).  What's that you say, "The Ornette Coleman Trio at the 'Golden Circle ' Stockholm?  I wonder!

BUY LINK / PRE-ORDER: https://tidal.com/album/472271824/u

Artist: Ballin' The Jack Orchestra

Title: Con Man Firmation

Release date: 20th November, 2025

Label: Trygger Music

Catalog Number : TM3

Format : Vinyl LP / Spotify / Tidal 

Review: Run Logan Run - LV:HRD (EP) (Ankh Sanctuary)

‘LV:HRD’ are broadcasting part 2 of thier Prey For Peace (2022)/LV:HRD/Ears trilogy, this is the 'small' band version of deeper studio jazz avant-industrial - receivers at the ready!

Bristol's music scene has also been on an edge, both musically and location wise, like  the many Larry Stabbins projects, Portishead, Get The Blessing et al.  And Run Logan Run is another as Andrew Neil Hayes (saxophonist/bandleader) and longtime collaborators BB.JAMES (vocals), producer Jonathan Wolf and new recruit, Ryan Thrupp (drums) as they get more experimental with this 4 track EP. 

After Hayes’ broke up the original band that released four albums prior to 'Prey For Peace' (the last one being produced by Riaan Vosloo, he of Nostagia 77 and 6161 - see  review HERE and HERE) he wanted to experiment and now "explores compassion amid chaos, touching on illness, grief, and loving through hardship".   

The use of auto-tuned sax/vocal hybrids ('Without Comma Enough'), punishing industrial grooves ('Skew Yew')  and psychedelic rhythmic interplay ('Wake And Shake') gives the whole thing a Bristolian post-dubstep apocalypse that is 'saved' by the 'straight' sax elements that sit alongside the weirdness of electronica that sounds like (sort of) melodica A. Pablo vs. Throbbing Gristle disco ('Shit Poems').

This is far more NTS that Jazz FM and makes JMMR's new album (check 'Resistence Is Fertile' - see HERE) positively mainstream!  Exciting stuff!

BUY LINK / PRE-ORDER: LV:HRD | Run Logan Run

Artist: Run Logan Run

Title: LV:HRD (EP)

Release date: 21st November, 2025

Label: Ankh Sanctuary

Catalog Number:TBC

Format: Digital / Bandcamp

Review: Jasper Van't Hof's Pili Pili - Selected Works 1984 - 2002 (NuNorthern Soul)

NuNorthern Soul are off the beach with an incredible retrospective of Jasper Van't Hof's Pili Pili!

We've had some great releases from NuNorthern Soul of late, like two remix EPs of Tambores En Benirras' 'Ondas Horizontales' (see review HERE and HERE) plus the stunning B.J. Smith 'Dedications To The Greats Vol. 4: Don't Be Cruel' featuring Joe Harvey-Whyte & Tamar Osborn (see review HERE) so when I say, in this office at least, the excitement of the news of a 'Selected Works' covering a near 20 year period of Jasper Van't Hof's Pili Pili as founded by the Dutch jazz keyboardist and bandleader.

Van't Hof has a big jazz heritage with albums alongside both US an European 'big heads' like Archie Schepp, Jean-Luc Ponty, Lol Coxhill, Philip Catherine, Larry Coryell, Joachim Kühn, Michael and Urszula Dudziak and many more so the formation of Pili Pili as an electro-acoustic Afro-fusion collective was a bit of a surprise, especially in 1984.

That said, don't be put off that it's only six tracks out of 11 albums on this 12".  Starting with 'Ile' from their debut album with is a bit like a Afro version of Chick Corea's Electric Band or the more World end of Weather Report the tracks are anything but 'standard'.

By 1987, 'Jakko Jakko' is more Afro synth pop vs. Yello and you can imagine this one being on any Sven Väth 'What I Used to Play' compilation or 'Life Size' (same year) that's basic percussion with Afro-football chant with the Nyabinghi; the band includes pecussionist from Benin and Mali (and at one stage, vocalist Angelique Kidjo).

'Hippo Hips' sounds like it should be the Afro-funker but no, that goes to 'My Gongoma' from 1985 that's heavy on the disco cowbell with echose of Manu Dibango the Cameroon/Paris fusion pioneer 20 years prior to the start of Pili Pili. 

The set ends with 2002's 'Soubatcha' on synth/kalimba/chant as Philophon goes Steve Reich which is another one set to dominate dancefloors as a early warm-up to the return of WOMAD next year (Ed. don't forget Hectic's Radio WOMAD overhight mix - HERE).

If you've already got the Ryo Kawasaki and Joan Bibiloni retrospectives on the label, this is a third must have to put next to their 12" of 'Pili-Pili' as 'Balearic' Coyote Double Drop edit from last year. 

Liner Notes music historian Matt Anniss. Artwork by Chris Maude.

BUY LINK / PRE-ORDER: Selected Works 1984 to 2002 | Jasper Van’t Hof’s Pili Pili | NuNorthern Soul

Earlier Volumes: 

https://ryokawasaki.bandcamp.com/album/selected-works-1979-to-1983

https://ryokawasaki.bandcamp.com/album/selected-works-part-2-1976-to-1980

https://joanbibiloni.bandcamp.com/album/selected-works-1982-to-1989

Jazz Cafe (London) Sunday 23rd November 2025: 6.30pm– (£150 – £195):  Angélique Kidjo and Alexandre Tharaud - Grammy-winning Angélique Kidjo and acclaimed French pianist Alexandre Tharaud unite to celebrate the French songbook. Together, they reinterpret classics by Édith Piaf, Serge Gainsbourg, Joséphine Baker, and other French gems in a unique live performance blending Kidjo’s dynamic voice with Tharaud’s masterful piano.

Artist: Jasper Van't Hof's Pili Pili 

Title: Selected Works 1984 - 2002

Release date: 21st November, 2025
Label : NuNorthern Soul
Catalog Number : NUNSSW004V for vinyl and NUNSSW004D for digital
Format:   Digital / Bandcamp

Review: Yuu Udagawa - Urban Physicality EP (Razor-N-Tape Records)

After two Yuu Udagawa releases in one month and and a 'Beat Sculpture' with a Coflo remix back in May, no surprise Yuu Udagawa needed to take a breath before coming back with a 'Urban Physicality' that's full of Gold's Gym heavy Razor N Tape dancefloor muscle!

Following on from the 'Golden Glow' EP (see review HERE) and the impressive 'Beats Sculpture' EP with the Coflo remix (see review HERE) but this is the best yet!

A five track EP of 12" mixes of 'In Your Eyes', 'Recollection' and the title track plus not one, but two remixes of 'Urban Physicality' by Takuya Matsumoto; a 'special' remix and a piano mix.

What has been described as "moody deep house" sounds fun and jazzy to me - Carl Craig in San Francisco minimalism as in her 12" mix of Urban Physicality', brooding, yes, but "more alive" than she's ever been (perhaps). 

Which is then funny as Tokyo's Matsumoto gets as tough as Brooklyn, Bronx & Queens 80s style until he flips the vibe with the piano mix.

But I keep returning to 'In Your Eyes' with its loopy keys and cymbols of flutterng rain that make it have a beauty all of it's own.

BUY LINK: https://razor-n-tape.lnk.to/UrbanPhysicalityEP

Artist: Yuu Udagawa 

Title: Urban Physicality EP

Release date: 21st November, 2025

Label: Razor-N-Tape Records

Cat. No: RNTD128

Format:  Digital / Bandcamp

Review: Jambal - Men Of Average Nature (Independent)

Luxembourg-based jazz quartet Jambal link up with Kenai Shogun as a new collaborative alias of Luxembourgish / Brazilian rapper (f.k.a Culture the Kid) to release 'Men of Average Nature'; did someone say, "Roy Hargrove's RH Factor?" - thank you Mr. Trumpet Man!

Well that's what you'd be thinking after the opening track but beware, these are not 'Men Of Average Nature', they are long term friends that have manage to condence years of jamming together into these eight tracks.

Jambal and Kenai Shogun joined forces for this project after being scattred aroun Europe (London, Oslo, Amsterdam and Antwerp) only to blend their favourite genres back in Luxembourg.

So what are their favourite genres?  On 'Fair & Well' you might think potty mouth grunge rock rap jazz: "You what?", yeah, all in one track - Red Hot Chilie Peppers meets Modern Jazz Quartet (or more likely, JMMR - see review HERE).   

'Thalassophobia' is a track with more of a calm control and makes it easier to imagine all this energy was recorded at the prestigious Charles Stoltz’s studios as the album chills somewhat blending "jazz improvisation with sharp penmanship", 'Glon Cherry', 'Haunt Me, Curse Me' are far more jazzy, featuring Mateus Wojda on guitar and Ben Bley on trumpet respectively.

Don't be put off by the cover photo as Jambal takes the success of UK jazz groups, Ezra Collective etc, into their own 'out there' hip-hop, jazz and rap further with the addition of Brazilian rap; with a capitol 'S'; are they getting at the spelling of 'Brasil'? 

In fact, the Brasilian influence gets more obvious with 'Marinheiro' and 'non-radio edit' single 'Start Like This' - there's some nice lines on this from the rap and "Mr Trumpet Man" makes it  totally engaging and by now you're loving this album - it's only a shame that the Jack Kerouac beat poetry improv theory of 'typebeat' didn't get expanded into more Thundercat influenced Dub Lab - perhaps one for another day as these guys are so talented they could so do that genre!

Release party: 22.11.25. 20:00: JAMBAL ‚quickly becoming one of the most exciting voices in the grand duchy’s new wave of underground music and youth culture’ Stued Theater Gréiwemaacher Res. stuedtheater@gmail.com

BUY LINK / PRE-ORDER: https://ffm.to/men-of-average-nature-9782

Artist: Jambal 

Title:  Men Of Average Nature

Release date: 21st November, 2025  

Label : Independent

Catalog Number : TBC

Format : Digital  / Bandcamp

Compositions - Ben Bley, Arthur Clees, Mateus Wojda, Rolan Eberhardt, Luca Garofalo
Vocals, Lyrics - Matteo Griz Wolff
Trumpet, Synth - Ben Bley
Vibraphone, Piano, add. Percussion - Arthur Clees
Electric Guitar - Mateus Wojda
Electric Bass - Rolan Eberhardt
Drums, add. Percussion - Luca Garofalo
Recording - Charles Stoltz
Mixing - Charles Stoltz
Mastering - Miklós Kovács & Marci Fenyvesi