Browsing Tag

Modern Jazz

BE became the airwaves’ answer to antifreeze with her modern jazz-soul single, ‘Mr Winter’

Some voices are made to console, to smooth the edges of existence with nothing more than a phrase, a note, a breath. BE has one of those voices. In Mr Winter, she employs her timelessly graceful vocal lines to command attention and allow intensity to ebb and flow through effortlessly euphonic harmonies

The single instantly settles you into its easy, sublime smooth grooves of easy-listening soul. If you’re looking for a single to console you through the winter and touch your soul with warmth, look no further than this modern jazz-tinged masterstroke, which ensures that there’s no time for complacency. The transitions in tempo and the evolving intricacies within the time signatures ensure you stay enduringly arrested by the expressive instrumentation, which shines alongside the vocal centrepiece of the record.

Every progression is a revelation within Mr Winter, one that will cradle you within the cinematic sepia-tinged vignette of winter blues. With artful flourishes by the smorgasbord and endless virtuosic touches in the instrumentation, the only question the track will leave you with is when will BE become the household name she deserves to be.

BE’s artistry is shaped by a passion for connection, authenticity, and empowerment—values she carries into her work beyond the studio. A seasoned collaborator and a creative force in her own right, she has worked alongside artists such as Emeli Sandé and Priya Ragu, led songwriting retreats that have been hailed as profound and transformative, and even taken her artistic journey to the wild, embarking on solo expeditions that blur the lines between personal challenge and creative expression.

With her recent rebrand, she steps further into experimentation, bridging her natural, earthy sound with an adventurous, expansive presence.

‘Mr Winter’ was officially released on January 17th and is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergas

Dion Kerr showcases their experimentalism with “Cosmos”

https://bacerecords.bandcamp.com/track/cosmos

Kicking in with some proper old style TR808 drum sounds before a set of mildly discordant piano and brass chords, ‘Cosmos’ by Dion Kerr is nine minutes of jazzy instrumental, a series of repeating motifs, moving through arrangements and phrases, alternating saxophone and experimental guitar courtesy of collaborator Jeff Parker.

Here using an original composition from his days at the Manhattan School Of Music, Kerr deconstructs and recasts the piece into an improvisational modern big band arrangement, marrying old school drum machine beats, cassette tape saturation, and experimental modern jazz.

‘Cosmos’ is from Kerr’s new album ‘Ivy’, available to preorder from his Bandcamp page.

Review by Alex Holmes.

AP Project – Hi. Ro. Mi.: Modern Jazz Fusion at its Finest.

Jazz has never been the most accessible of genres. Yet, with the magnetic pull of the fluidly explorative soundscape which is AP Project’s latest single “Hi. Ro. Mi”, that issue may become a thing of the past.

The Jazz Fusion single abstracts elements from Hip Hop, Blues, and RnB before infusing them into a work of dizzying distinction.

With Hi. Ro. Mi., you not only get the perfect introduction to AP Project’s deft instrumental mastery. But you also get to experience the mesmerism of surrendering yourself to a rhythm without knowing which way or how fast you’ll be pulled along. The refusal of the Modern Jazz Fusion artist to leave any amount of predictability between the notes is most felt when the soundscape surges into jaw-droppingly intricate piano melodies which carry the perfect dose of Jim Jones-style frenetic energy.

You can check out AP Project’s single Hi. Ro. Mi. for yourselves via SoundCloud now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast