Wesley Snipes and the New Jack City crew I’m sure would appreciate the appropriation of the name for the nu jazz cause. A reboot is in the works apparently, which Mr. Snipes is wisely steering well clear of. There’s no connection to the movie with this mix however, there’s just a hell of a lot of amazing musicians brought together in one mix.

Ishmael Ensemble and Mammal Hands (from my beloved hometown of Norwich) kick off this mix with some freerolling edgy jazzy tunes, and big names of the UK scene, The Comet Is Coming, Moses Boyd, Ezra Collective, Vels Trio and Yussef Kamaal all feature. From the older jazz world, comes Herbie Hancock, Wadada Leo Smith, Andrew Cyrille and Brad Mehldau, all on absolute point still (even if I did dig out Maiden Voyage from way back when in Herbie’s catalogue). There’s brief dalliance with Radiohead as apparently people like them or something, and it’s impossible to make a mixtape without Tortoise, and this time also tracks from their guitarist, Jeff Parker’s other projects, like Chicago Underground Quartet. Modern legend Kamasi Washington’s Street Fighter Mas anchors the middle with a sample from Max Richter’s new Voices project as well.

New favourites I got to feature in this are Ashley Henry – mindblowing pianist, Resavoir – Chicagoans doing an amazing bluesy jazz thang, and the very awesome Tenderlonious – multi-instrumentalist and head of the wicked 22a Music label.

Tracklist is:

  1. The Chapel – Ishmael Ensemble
  2. Chaser – Mammal Hands
  3. Translator’s Clos II – Esmerine
  4. No Mas – Irreversible Entanglements
  5. Rye Lane Shuffle – Moses Boyd
  6. Strings Of Light – Yussef Kamaal
  7. Ascension – The Comet Is Coming
  8. Righteous Energy – Nate Mercer
  9. The World Is Yours – Ashley Henry
  10. Footprints – Ezra Collective
  11. Yussef’s Groove – Tenderlonious, The 22archestra
  12. Braids And Fractals – Ben LaMar Gay
  13. Batida – Chicago Underground Quartet
  14. Street Fighter Mas – Kamasi Washington
  15. The Wad – Vels Trio
  16. The Equator – Tortoise
  17. Worried Woman – Andrew Cyrille, Wadada Leo Smith, Bill Frissell
  18. Onyx – Jeff Parker
  19. Everything In It’s Right Place – Brad Mehldau Trio
  20. Everything In It’s Right Place – Radiohead
  21. Maiden Voyage / Everything In It’s Right Place – Robert Glasper
  22. Maiden Voyage – Herbie Hancock
  23. Yefikir Engurguro – Hailu Mergia
  24. Plantasy – Resavoir

And now you could read...

This is Jeff Parker (Tortoise) Akilter – for the brothers we all out here The Inside World The Sky Walker Best Albums List of 2015