Category: Jazz

Rewind Review: Jean-Claude Vannier – Electro-Rapide (2011)

Jean-Claude Vannier is considered one of the greatest French pop and orchestral composers ever, having created a mountain of music in his time – much of it “library” music used as incidental music in film. He also released two albums with fellow legend Serge Gainsbourg (Histoire De Melody Nelson and L’Enfant Assassin Des Mouches).

Electro-Rapide is full of short, weird, funky tracks, many of which were never released until this 2011 compilation album from Finders Keepers Records saw the light of day. “Bombarde Lamentation” is such a track to open the album, immediately making this collection a treat for Vannier’s fans.

“L’Ours Paresseux” is a showcase for Vannier’s rhythm section (Pierre Alain Dahan on drums and Bernard Lubat on percussion). “La Girafe Au Ballon” was originally recorded for children’s TV shows but has a bass groove from Tony Rubio that you could drop into any sexy spy movie from the late 1960s. “Claquez Klaxons” is another previously unreleased track original made for death penalty protests in France.

Believe it or not, “Saturnin et Le Vaca Vaca” is a theme song to a children’s show about a real-life baby duck. The short and sweet “L’Automne À Barbès Rochechouart” is Vannier’s tribute to a Metro station in an African community in Paris. “Qu’est-ce Qui Fait Courir Les Crocodiles?” is Vannier’s attempt to write a theme for a comedic film. It works, and I’m surprised it hasn’t been reused as a sitcom theme by now.

“La Douleur De L’Orchestre” is another previously unreleased track. It’s a weird, somewhat melancholy tune using a full orchestra he kept around after recording other tracks. “Thème 504” was released as TV and film library music in 1968, but not used for such a thing until 1989’s Comédie d’été. “Le Ballet Des Accoucheuses” is a vocal track using a choir of pregnant women to snap, tap, chant, and breathe beats throughout it.

“Road to Cuba” was written, according to the album’s liner notes, “…in the taxy that drove me to the studio. I’ve never been to Cuba.” Indeed, there isn’t a hint of Cuban, Caribbean, or Latin music in it, but it’s still fun. “Je M’appele Géraldine” was another TV theme Vannier wrote that was later re-recorded multiple times, including one version with lyrics.

“L’Éléphant Équilibriste” is another children’s TV show theme that playfully lumbers around your speakers. The album ends with a reprise of “Bombarde Lamentation” recorded in 1973 and not released until 2011.

This is a fun collection and a neat addition to your library music archive if you’re into that sort of thing. If you’re not, this might spark your interest in that vast, still mostly unknown genre.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Various artists – DJ Notoya Presents Tokyo Pulse

Famous crate digger DJ Notoya has put together another excellent compilation of rare Japanese city pop and funk tracks from 1974 to 1988 – Tokyo Pulse. Some of these tracks were only released as a single or a demo, and never on a full album.

Starting with Naomi Chiaki‘s “Yoru E Isogu Hito,” the compilation drops you into the funky flotilla right away. It helps that Chiaki’s backing band is Godiego, a highly successful prog-rock band in 1978 Japan. Steve Fox‘s bass groove almost carries as much weight as Chiaki’s voice. Yumi Murata‘s “Ranhansha” is a great disco track that belongs in about a hundred movies from 1979. The horn, piano, and synth arrangements in it are all solid.

L-E-V-E-L were an all-female city pop trio who got help on their 1981 album eve and the track “Bagdad No Atari Nite” from none other than Masahide Sakum – creator of the legendary TR-808 drum machine. “Lake in the Forest” by GAM (Great American Music Band) is a weird blend of reggae and synthwave that somehow works despite all odds.

Nami Shimada‘s 1988 track, “Mitsumeteirunoni,” is bright city pop that makes you think that Japanese pop singers were light years ahead of U.S. ones in the 1980s. Tiffany wishes she had a single this cool. Bread & Butter cook up “Memory” from their 1974 album Barbecue. It’s fully of groovy hand percussion, porn music guitar, and even a wicked harmonica solo from Satsuya Iwasawa.

“After Image” is a stellar find, as it comes from Minoru Koyama‘s only album, 1980’s Hard to Be a Man. The bass walk on it by Mike Dunn is top-notch. “Island Cuckoo” by Chikara Ueda & The Power Station doesn’t team Ueda with the Robert Palmer-fronted 1980s band, but that doesn’t matter because it’s a solid jazz-funk track with sharp keyboard work from Ueda. The compilation ends with HIgurashi‘s “Anata Wa Doko Ni Irundesuka,” which could’ve been a Bond movie theme in another life.

This is a gold mine for city pop fans and might lead you down several rabbit holes to find other stuff like it. Be prepared.

Keep your mind open.

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WSND DJ set list: Deep Dive of Lalo Schifrin

Thanks to all who helped me celebrate the birthday of the great film and TV composer and jazz musician – Lalo Schifrin. Here’s the set list:

  1. Lalo Schifrin – Mission: Impossible theme
  2. Olivier Messine – Prelude for Piano
  3. Charles Koechlin – Epitaph for Jean Harlow
  4. Dizzy Gillespie – Panamericana
  5. Duke Ellington & Johnny Hodges – Weary Blues
  6. Lalo Schifrin – Rhino theme
  7. Lalo Schifrin – My Shawl
  8. Lalo Schifrin – An Evening in São Paulo
  9. Lalo Schifrin – Chora Tua Tristeza
  10. Lalo Schifrin – Lalo’s Bossa Nova
  11. Henry Mancini – Days of Wine and Roses
  12. Shirley Bassey – The Liquidator theme
  13. Lalo Schifrin – The Big Valley theme
  14. Lalo Schifrin – T.H.E. Cat theme
  15. Dean Martin – I’m Not the Marrying Kind
  16. Lalo Schifrin – Troubador
  17. Lalo Schifrin – Mannix theme
  18. Gary Lewis & The Playboys – Way Way Out
  19. Lalo Schifrin – Tar Sequence from Cool Hand Luke
  20. Sally Stevens – That Night
  21. Bullitt radio spot
  22. Lalo Schifrin – Bullitt main theme
  23. Lalo Schifrin – Coogan’s Bluff main theme
  24. Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart – Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows
  25. Lalo Schifrin – Medical Center theme
  26. The Mike Curb Congregation – Burning Bridges
  27. Lalo Schifrin – Offertory Verse
  28. Lalo Schifrin – Dirty Harry theme
  29. Lalo Schifrin – THX 1138 main title and St. Matthew’s Passion
  30. Enter the Dragon radio spot
  31. Lalo Schifrin – Enter the Dragon theme
  32. Magnum Force radio spot
  33. Lalo Schifrin – Magnum Force theme
  34. Lalo Schifrin – Ape Shuffle from the Planet of the Apes TV show
  35. Lalo Schifrin – Golden Needles main title
  36. Lalo Schifrin – Milady’s theme from The Four Musketeers
  37. Lalo Schifrin – Flamingo
  38. Lalo Schifrin – Jaws (Roger Groove remix)
  39. Lalo Schifrin & Dizzy Gillespie – Unicorn
  40. Lalo Schifrin – Rollercoaster
  41. Lalo Schifrin – Return from Witch Mountain theme
  42. Lalo Schifrin – Middle of the Night
  43. The Amityville Horror radio spot
  44. Lalo Schifrin – The Amityville Horror main theme
  45. Lalo Schifrin – The Big Brawl main theme
  46. Devo – Doctor Detroit
  47. Lalo Schifrin – Tango main title

Come back next week for another Deep Dive!

Keep your mind open.

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Shuta Hasunuma projects an “AURA” with his latest single.

photo by Nathalie Cantacuzino

Tokyo-based artist and composer Shuta Hasunuma shares new single “A U R A” out today via Virgin Music Group. The track emerges from his ongoing project Shuta Hasunuma Philharmonic Orchestra, a contemporary “philharmonic pop orchestra” built around collective performance and the interplay of minimalist rhythm, vocal resonance, and layered sonic texture. “A U R A” draws out fragments of memory and sensation, a meditation on self-discovery set against a gently expansive worldview, moving from restless repetition into quiet, luminous stillness.

The single arrives just ahead of Hasunuma’s return to the U.S. for a rare run of solo performances, his first since 2019. He will play New York City at Public Records on June 13 and Los Angeles at Healing Force of the Universe on June 20, both preceded respectively by local DJ sets at The Lot Radio on June 12 and Dublab on June 18.

Hasunuma’s collaborative, interdisciplinary practice spans composition, installation, and genre-crossing work, with a wide range of collaborators including Jeff Parker, Ichiko Aoba, Arto Lindsay, Keiji Haino, Cornelius, Devendra Banhart, Foodman, and the late Ryuichi Sakamoto.

His work blends field recordings, electronic textures, and melodic composition into richly layered pieces, and in recent years has extended into video, sculpture, and installation, presented at domestic and international exhibitions and projects alike. His ensemble and solo music runs alongside soundtracks for stage productions and film.

Hasunuma has also developed a significant international art practice, with exhibitions at Pioneer Works in New York and Shiseido Gallery in Tokyo, where he received the 69th Minister of Education’s Art Encouragement Prize for New Artists. His credits include composing and conducting for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic opening ceremony.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Hasunuma’s debut on an independent U.S. label in 2006. To commemorate the milestone, he will perform “Shuta Hasunuma Double Philharmonic Orchestra” a 41-member large ensemble that brings his Philharmonic with a newly formed string orchestra, at Suntory Hall in Tokyo on August 6.

Stream “A U R A” now and catch Shuta Hasunuma live this summer.

June 18 – Dublab Radio (DJ)

June 20 – Los Angeles, CA @ Healing Force of The Universe (solo)

August 6 – Tokyo, Japan @ Suntory Hall (w/ Double Philharmonic Orchestra)

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Cody at Terrorbird Media.]

WSND DJ set list: Deep Dive of Dean Martin

Thanks to all who listened to my Deep Dive of the King of Cool, Dean Martin, on WSND. Here’s the set list:

  1. Dean Martin – Everybody Loves Somebody
  2. Sonny King – Vesti La Giubba (live)
  3. Nino Martini – I Carry You in My Pocket (in a Locket of Gold)
  4. Dean Martin – Welcome to My World (request)
  5. Lange-McKay Orchestra – Tea for Two
  6. Dean Martin & The Mills Brothers – Up a Lazy River (live)
  7. Perry Como – Catch a Falling Star
  8. Sammy Watkins – Everything Must Have an Ending
  9. Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis – Every Street’s a Boulevard (live)
  10. Dean Martin – A Girl Named Mary and a Boy Named Bill
  11. Dean Martin – I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry (request)
  12. Dean Martin – Alabamy Bound
  13. Elvis Presley – Love Me Tender
  14. Dean Martin – Pretty Baby
  15. Dean Martin – Volare (request)
  16. Dean Martin – Money Is a Problem
  17. Frank Sinatra – Willow Weep for Me
  18. Dean Martin – My Rifle, My Pony and Me (request)
  19. Rick Nelson – Travelin’ Man
  20. Dean Martin – You’re Nobody ’Til Somebody Loves You
  21. Dean Martin & Judy Holliday – Just in Time
  22. Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra & Sammy Davis, Jr. – We Open in Venice
  23. Sammy Davis, Jr. – Eee O Eleven
  24. Dean Martin – Ain’t That a Kick in the Head (RJD2 remix)
  25. Dean Martin – There’s No Tomorrow
  26. Dean Martin – Mambo Italiano (request)
  27. Dean Martin – C’est Si Bon
  28. Peggy Lee – Mañana
  29. Dean Martin & Nancy Sinatra – Things
  30. Dean Martin & Frank Sinatra – Guys & Dolls
  31. Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., & Bing Crosby – Mr. Booze
  32. Dean Martin – The Door Is Still Open to My Heart
  33. Dean Martin – Born to Lose
  34. Sandford Clark – Houston
  35. Dean Martin – Somewhere There’s a Someone
  36. The Silencers radio ad
  37. The Everly Brothers – Lovey Kravezit
  38. Patsy Cline – She’s Got You
  39. Dean Martin – In the Chapel, in the Moonlight
  40. Dean Martin – Somebody Loves You
  41. Dean Martin – Gentle on My Mind (live)
  42. Buck Owens – Cryin’ Time
  43. Dean Martin – Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head
  44. Dean Martin – I’m Gonna Change Everything (live)
  45. Dean Martin – It’s Magic
  46. Dean Martin & Conway Twitty – My First Country Song
  47. Dean Martin – Since I Met You Baby
  48. Dean Martin – L.A. Is My Home

Come back next week for another Deep Dive!

Keep your mind open.

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Rebelski takes you down some lovely “Roads” with his new single.

Unfolding from a place of quiet familiarity into widescreen cinematic scope, established composer and producer, Rebelski unveils his latest emotive single, “Roads.” A richly layered and immersive track that stands among the most expansive in his catalogue, the long-standing collaborator with artists including Doves, Peter Hook and The Light and Echo and The Bunnymen releases the single, rooted in cinematic, jet-age nostalgia, as he moves closer to the release of his latest album, Algorithms, on March 13, 2026.

Opening in recognizable Rebelski territory, “Roads” begins with a gently unfolding piano motif, intimate and reflective in tone before passing into territory built upon by a lineage of electronic and cinematic greats. Playing into stated late-20thCentury influences, Rebelski hints at David Axelrod’s orchestral soul, Boards of Canada’s hazy electronica and John Carpenter’s deeply affecting, narrative soundtracks in pushing forward Algorithms’ own, structured story.

Having previously light—touch released the first of the album’s singles, “Today,” in late 2025 (subsequently supported with attention from BBC 6 Music and BBC Radio 3) and followed-up with the motorik “Momentum” at the turn of the year, Rebelski detailed Algorithms as the final album in a considered trilogy. Recorded in studios and outdoor spaces across Manchester, Barcelona, and Shropshire, the album follows 2023’s Simplicity and 2024’s Monochrome to form a document of artistic preoccupation, musical experimentation and human connection to vibration, tone and timing.

In releasing “Roads,” Rebelski’s music reads like the soundtrack to an unseen film, playing along to journeys spooling through memory, landscapes seen and moments remembered. Working towards a body of work that challenges the narrative of inevitable technological takeover and leaves untied edges where robotized perfection could attain ‘perfection,’ human-first recording techniques ensure organic detail sits at the heart of each composition.

Rebelski says: “The music on Algorithms tries to occupy the spaces in between motion and stillness and action and pause, taking up its own territory with quiet but definite, assertive confidence. Various influences, from film soundtracks to groundbreaking synth composition have been woven into a framework that’s relevant to the present, trying to balance out feelings of retro warmth and the need to document human presence in the music with recognition of contemporary recording practices.”

Pursuing personal solo endeavors in between meeting the uncompromising demands of international touring, Algorithms was completed in stolen periods off the road while absorbing the influence of each country Rebelski counts himself lucky to pass through.

Keep your mind open.

[Travel over to the subscription box.]

[Thanks to Rob at Perspective.]

Review: Nick Schofield – Blue Hour

Inspired by Miles Davis‘ In a Silent Way, Nick Schofield‘s Blue Hour comes along just when we need it most. In a time when everyone is screaming (inward and outward, for right and wrong reasons depending on the individual) and everyone could use some grounding, Schofield helps us all stand still for a bit.

As the story goes, Schofield improvised and recorded the drum and synthesizer parts for the album in one day as he made his own riff of Davis’ classic album. Schofield then teamed up with trumpeter Scott Bevins who also improvised and recorded his parts in one day and without hearing anything Schofield had made beforehand.

The result is another stunning, beautiful record from Schofield. “Sky Cafe” and “Magic Touch” swell, soar, and soothe. The snappy, crisp beats of “Dream On” and its bright synths belong in a meet-cute scene from your favorite lost 1980s romantic comedy. “Goodnight Sun” and “Imagine Space” are almost krautrock-jazz with their looping synths and echoing trumpet.

“Natural Wonder” is like a lone trumpeter is playing across the street from a New Age bookstore that’s playing meditative synth music through their outdoor speakers. “Hidden Corner” will make you want to curl up in one with the song in your ears and a good book. The looping synths of “Hotel Cloud” relax you as Bevins’ trumpet carries your luggage while you chill out at the bar. “Kyoto Kiss” sends you from a hotel in the sky to a nice, modern spa in Japan where you’re in hurry to leave.

The album ends with the simply named “Times” to remind us that time can stretch if we let it. Time can become meaningless and nothing to worry about if we let it. The whole album reminds us of this in a time when we’re all rushed, grumpy, or just plain exhausted. We need albums like this to settle us.

Keep your mind open.

[I dream about you subscribing.]

[Thanks to Gabriel at Clandestine Label Services.]

Greg Loiacono & Stingray cover Sade on their new single.

Photography by James Joiner

Greg Loiacono & Stingray have released “Nothing Can Come Between Us,” a reimagining of the classic Sade song. Over the last two years, the Bay Area–based collective has been steadily building a following throughout Northern California, fine-tuning a retro soul sound that makes reinterpreting Sade a natural extension of their musical identity. A lone conga opens the track before the band falls into a magnetic groove, setting the stage for Loiacono’s falsetto vocal, which delivers the song’s themes of faith and trust with a palpable conviction.
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“I’ve been in love with Sade since hearing her for the first time as a kid in the backseat of my mom’s Chrysler Cordoba,” says Loiacono. “Something about hearing her voice and the band moved me deeply then and still does today. So when our drummer Michael Urbano brought ‘Nothing Can Come Between Us’ to the table as a cover for Stingray, I was delighted.”
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​Urbano adds: “When we first tried playing ‘Nothing Can Come Between Us,’ I jumped into the same groove and tempo from Sade’s recording. The band’s percussionist Vicki Randle immediately stopped and said, ‘Don’t play it like that, do something different.’ So I slowed it down, went quarter notes on the hat, and swung the kick feel. She smiled and said, ‘There ya go.’ Once she jumped in on congas over that beat, it felt like we had our own thing goin’ for the song. Greg’s falsetto performance, run through producer Damien Lewis’ tripped-out effect, is its own thing as well. I love playing this song live; it’s like casting a spell that slowly gets a hold of the crowd. It’s not immediate. It’s one of those things that brings them to us, rather than us going to them.””Nothing Can Come Between Us” is the third single released by Greg Loiacono & Stingray from sessions produced by Damien Lewis at 2200 Studios in Sausalito, CA. The first two tracks, “Hope We Get To Dance” and “Come Back Home,” were released in 2025 via RPF Records / Royal Potato Family.
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Stingray is led by vocalist/guitarist Greg Loiacono, who is also a founding member of the legendary San Francisco rock band The Mother Hips. He’s joined by drummer Michael Urbano, percussionist/vocalist Vicki Randle, bassist/vocalist Kofy Brown, keyboardist Danny Eisenberg, and guitarist Tom Ayres. The six-piece is currently headlining shows throughout California.

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Upcoming Shows:​
3/21 – Templeton, CA – Club Car Bar
5/17 – Big Sur, CA – Hipnic XVII
6/20 – San Luis Obispo, CA – Live Oak Music Festival

Keep your mind open.

[Nothing can come between you and the subscription box.]

[Thanks to Kevin at Calabro Music Media.]

Top 25 albums of 2025: #’s 10 – 6

Here we are at the top ten albums I reviewed last year. The choices get tougher as the numbers get lower. Let’s get to it.

#10: The Limiñanas – Faded

A salute to forgotten models, actresses, singers, and to lost friends, Faded is another solid album from the French psych-rock duo. It has all the elements you want from The Limiñanas – wild guitars, heartbeat drums, smoky vocals, and a sense that they’re re-creating something you’ve forgotten.

#9: Blackwater Holylight – If You Only Knew

It was great to get a new recording from Blackwater Holylight last year (and a new full-length album is already on the way), and If You Only Knew marked a turn toward shoegaze for them. I’m all for it. The heavy guitars and deep, often sad lyrics are still there. Perhaps doom-gaze is a better description of it. Then again, why bother describing it? Just let overwhelm you.

#8: Frankie and The Witch Fingers – Live at KEXP

I’ve been waiting for a live Frankie and The Witch Fingers album for a little while, and this recording of a raw, raucous show for KEXP didn’t disappoint. It’s difficult to capture their live show energy, but they did it. The fact that they open the show with “Brain Telephone” (an oldie) makes it even better.

#7: Roi Turbo – Bazooka EP

This, simply put, is the best house music record I heard all last year. It makes you crave a longer record. These guys are having a lot of fun and thankfully they invited us to the party.

#6: Joe Alterman & Mocean Worker – Keep the Line Open

This jazz-funk-trip-hop record is a delight from start to finish as pianist Joe Alterman and producer / DJ Mocean Worker pay tribute to funky legend Les McCann. Every song is highly danceable and will brighten any time of day.

Up next, the top five, which includes two welcome returns, another legend, electro upstarts, and brash post-punks!

Keep your mind open.

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Top 25 albums of 2025: #’s 25 – 21

It’s time for my annual review of my favorite albums of the previous year. Who made the top 25 (or 40+) albums I reviewed? Read on!

#25: GoGo Penguin – Necessary Fictions

This is a solid jazz / prog album full of great beats and slick piano work. It was a pleasant surprise to discover it and this band last year.

#24: Beta Voids – Scrape It Off EP

This is a wonderfully nuts punk EP with songs about women kicking ass, people named Alan, and how much toxic masculinity sucks. A full LP from Beta Voids is in the works, so watch out before they run you over and laugh on the way out of town.

#23: Ric Wilson – America Runs on Disco EP

Speaking of good EPs that came out last year, here’s another. Ric Wilson is still somehow a secret force despite being a top-notch producer, songwriter, rapper, and cheerleader for the overly maligned city Chicago (Don’t believe what you hear. Go spend a couple days there, especially in the summer.). This EP is funky and joyful, which was exactly what we needed when it was released and still need right now.

#22: Bonnie Trash – Mourning You

On the opposite side of the spectrum, here’s an album about grief that’s one of the heaviest records of the year. The lyrics cut deep if you’ve lost a loved one, or even witnessed someone’s grief from afar.

#21: Dusty Rose Gang – A-One from Day One

Just when you thought rock might be taking a vacation for a little while, along comes this quartet to deliver one of the best straight-up rock records of 2025.

Who makes the top twenty? Tune in tomorrow, gang!

Keep your mind open.

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