Black Pool Boulevard
Blackpool Boulevard instantly feels like our new favorite late night track.
João Donato – The New Sound of Brazil
João Donato de Oliveira Neto is a Brazilian jazz and bossa nova pianist from Brazil. He first worked with Altamiro Carrilho and went on to perform with Antonio Carlos Jobim and Astrud Gilberto.
He recorded for the first time with Altamiro Carrilho. Soon after he joined a band led by violinist Fafá Lemos that played in Brazilian nightclubs. His first solo album came out in 1953. He led the bossa nova band Os Namorados which performed songs such as “Tenderly”.
Donato became arranger and pianist for the band Garotos da Lua and was joined by João Gilberto. After moving to São Paulo, he played in the Luís César Orchestra and the band Os Copacabanas. In 1956 he recorded an album for Odeon that was produced by Antonio Carlos Jobim. Donato wrote “Minha Saudade” with Gilberto, and it became a hit.[1] In an interview during the 1970s, Gilberto said Donato inspired the creation of bossa nova.[1]
Jobs at nightclubs decreased when customers said they couldn’t dance to his music. Musicians, too, found the music difficult to learn.[1] Unable to find work in his home country, he left Brazil after his friend Nanai, a former member of Os Namorados, offered him a job in the U.S. During the next decade, he recorded with Mongo Santamaria, Tito Puente, Astrud Gilberto, Bud Shank, and Cal Tjader. His hits included “A Rã,” and “Caranguejo”, both recorded by Sergio Mendes. His album A Bad Donato (1970) was recorded with jazz bassist Ron Carter He was music director for Gal Costa in 1974.
Moods – Music Saved My Life
A talented, little publicized Dutch artist who mixes soul, jazz & chill-hop beats. Moods has a unique style that makes his 2021 release “Music Ruined My Life” a great purchase on vinyl.
The Blaze – Faces
The Blaze are the French Paris-based music and video duo Guillaume and Jonathan Alric. The duo are cousins who are mostly known for their cinematographic videos. Guillaume Alric and Jonathan Alric began making music together when Jonathan, who was at film school in Brussels, asked Guillaume to work with him on a music video soundtrack.
Their distinctive integrative method involves producing sound and visuals at the same time, creating an especially strong link between music and image. In January 2016 they released their debut video, “Virile,” on Brodinski‘s Bromance Records. It won the UK Music Video Award (UKMVA) for Best Alternative Video – International in 2016]
On 7 April 2017 they released their debut EP, Territory, on the new Animal 63 label (headed by management and publishing company Savoir Faire and Believe Digital). The EP’s six tracks included “Virile” and “Territory.” Their “Territory” music video, released in February 2017, produced and directed by themselves, won the Film Craft Grand Prix at the 2017 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity,[4] Best Director at the Berlin Music Video Awards[5] and the Best International Dance Video UK MVA.[6]
Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio – I Told You So
The Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio was founded in 2015 and originally consisted of keyboardist Delvon Lamarr (Dumas) on Hammond B-3, guitarist Colin Higgins and drummer David McGraw. Soon after guitarist Jimmy James (Williams) replaced Higgins. All members had been active instrumentalists in the Seattle music scene. With the help of Lamarr’s wife, Amy Novo (AKA “Shortcake Mafia”), acting as manager and booking agent, the group was solidified. Originally a drummer and trumpet player, Lamarr switched to organ at the age of 22. He said he picked up the instrument naturally by observing organist/keyboardist Joe Doria, whose band Lamarr was drumming in at the time. James and McGraw had previously co-founded “The True Loves”, a Seattle-based nine-piece soul band.
The band’s music is rhythm-based and rooted in the 1960s and 1970s soul-jazz, funk and blues styles, reminiscent of Booker T. & the M.G.’s and The Meters. Plaid room records says… “the DLO3 specialize in the lost art of ‘feel good music’. The ingredients of this intoxicating cocktail include a big helping of the 1960s jazz organ stylings of Jimmy Smith and Baby Face Willette; a pinch of the snappy soul strut of Booker T. & The M.G.’s and The Meters; and sprinkles Motown Records (Detroit), Stax Records (Memphis), the blues, and some cosmic Hendrix-style guitar. It’s a soul-jazz concoction that goes straight to your heart and head makes your body break out in a cold sweat. Live, the band’s fiery and intuitive chemistry is unstoppable, brimming with improvisation, instant composition, imaginative takes on classic tunes, and a booty-shaking back catalog of soulful gems”. Bandcamp also injects… “feel good music? It’s a booty-shake blend of 1960s soul-jazz, slinky New Orleans funk, vintage instrumental soul, and a splash of acid-rock guitar”. The songs are typically developed by improvisation over heavy organ grooves. Bandleader Lamarr described it as “soul music with a strong jazz influence”. He credits their ‘sound’ to the chemistry of the band members.
