'Displaced Diaspora' by Moses Boyd Exodus

Perhaps surprisingly, 'Displaced Diaspora' serves as the debut solo full-length album from one of the most prominent names in UK jazz.  And that's a comment made in no way to dismiss any of the three projects with saxophonist Binker Golding as part of the duo Binker & Moses, or any of Boyd's EPs including 'Absolute Zero', 'Time and Space' and 'Footsteps of Our Fathers'.

Boyd's long list of collaborations rattle off like a who's who of London's finest - you can hear the prodigious Boyd drumming on complete projects from Daniel Casimir's 'Escapee' (jazzre:freshed, 2017), Jasmine Power's 'Stories & Rhymes EP' (2016), Nubya Garcia's 'Nubya's 5ive' (jazzre:freshed, 2017), Zara McFarlane's 'Arise' (Brownswood Recordings, 2017) and Joe Armon-Jones's 'Starting Today' (Brownswood Recordings, 2018).  This brief list alone represents some of the UK's landmark and finest releases in contemporary jazz, all boasting the Moses imprint.

So you can perhaps see why it might be said that 'Displaced Diaspora' has been hugely anticipated.

Released on Boyd's own imprint - Exodus - the nine-track project sees Boyd taking centre-stage backed by a dream team of collaborators, many of which include the aforementioned artists including Armon-Jones, Garcia and Golding; Zara McFarlane guests on the quintessentially late-night jazz lounge number, 'City Nocturne', and Terri Walker trades vocals with rapper Louis VI dishing out a home-grown slice of London nightlife with 'Waiting on the Night Bus'.  In no way to be outdone by his guests, Boyd still knows just how to steal the show as he does with 'Drum Dance', 'Axis Blue' and 'Rye Lane Shuffle' serving as strong album highlights.

It's become almost cliché to continually cite UK jazz as a thriving hot bed of talent and while we'll all continue to embrace new names and projects from artists emerging from the pack, Moses Boyd will be a name we'll be able to count on for years to come.

Blue-in-Green:PODCAST - episode #2_MISTA VEE

Welcome to Episode_#2 of the Blue-in-Green:PODCAST which are released on the first, second and third Mondays of the month. This podcast series runs in conjunction with the online radio station, Blue-in-Green:RADIO which celebrates 21st century soul, jazz, funk, Latin & hip-hop music. These shows are designed to give you some insight into the incredible range of talented presenters we're so lucky to host from all over the world.

This episode sees us venture to Melbourne, Australia to speak to the creator and host of CONFESSIONS OF A CURLY MIND, which airs Fridays at 5pm(UK). Such a pleasure to talk to Vahe as we delve into the creation of the show, some of the artists that have become so synonymous with him and talk about his own musical endeavours.

From the curly mind of the genius that is Melbourne, Australia's MISTA VEE. A fantastic trip that's as likely to celebrate 90s R&B as it is the very best in contemporary, nu-soul and R&B. He's a writer, he's a musician and we're thrilled he's bestowing his talents onto us - Vahe's marathon-like shows spotlighting the remixes, b-sides, collaborations and unreleased tracks of his heroes continues to grow in acclaim and are as extensive a collection as anyone could piece together.

u.k.j.a.z.z.

The prominence of UK jazz and the increasing amount of emerging new artists each year has been cause of great excitement for music fans for a while now.  Blue-in-Green:RADIO airs its special, 'u.k.j.a.z.z.', Tuesday 15th January @ 8pm(UK) celebrating this emerging crop of young and game-changing talent.  We look at some of the high-profile names like Moses Boyd, Jake Long, Joe Armon-Jones, Nubya Garcia, Blue Lab Beats, Mansur Brown, Yussef Dayes, Kamaal Williams, Maxwell Owin, Jasmine Power, Triforce and Trope.  Below is a rundown of some of the ground the show aims to cover...

TuneIn: https://bit.ly/2LBK0BD

Jazz Re:freshed
Jazz Re:freshed is potentially the best first port-of-call for anyone looking for an introduction to emerging new UK jazz talent.  Aside from exquisite releases from artists including Maisha, Daniel Casimir, Tommaso Cappellato and 1000 Kings, the record label and live music patron's 5ive series has always garnered great attention due to the incredibly high standard of the releases and the exceptional talent involved: Nubya Garcia, Rosie Turton, Richard Spaven, Ashley Henry, Trope, The Sure Co, Kaidi Tatham and Triforce all boast projects within the now-revered five-track framework.

YAM Records
As a beloved Peckham record store, YAM Records have continually presented fans with a stunning array of new music but with the record label extension of their brand, they have also been able to present stunning releases which continue their "celebration of local talent".  'Idiom', the collaborative effort by Joe Armon-Jones and Maxwell Owin was released in 2017 and is such a project that deserves your attention.  The six-track release features Owin on production and bass, keyboards by Armon-Jones, drums by Jake Long and guests Oscar Jerome on guitar for the title track and saxophonist Nubya Garcia on 'Tanner's Tango'.  An excellent project that demonstrates the versatility of the new crop of London's finest.

Brownswood Recordings
Brownswood Recordings has long been one of the most prominent beacons of UK jazz and it's proved to be a distinction re-enforced every year.  Taking their output for 2018 alone, the independent record label's year was showcased by releases from Jake Long's spiritual jazz project, Maisha ('There is A Place'), pianist Joe Armon-Jones and his debut album, 'Starting Today', and even Toshio Matsuura Group's 'LOVEPLAYDANCE' which was heavily bolstered by an exciting crop of UK talent including Nubya Garcia, Mansur Brown and Yussef Dayes.  Throw three albums by Zara McFarlane into the mix, Shabaka & The Ancestors, along with the label's own 'Bubblers' series of compilations, and it's veritable candy shop of jazz delights.

'Songs & Rhymes EP' by Jasmine Power
Welsh singer-songwriter, Jasmine Power, has a fantastic four-track EP from 2016 that we were desperate to include for this show.  Released in 2016, 'Stories & Rhymes' assembles the exciting combination of musicians which pairs Jasmine with bassist Daniel Casimir, trumpeter Harrison Cole, drummer Moses Boyd and Joe Armon-Jones on piano.  The title track also boasts a Hannah V remix which was released in 2017 and Jasmine followed that up in 2018 with the release of her stirring track 'Mr Weinstein Will See You Now' with Amanda Palmer.

Black Focus Records
Established by Kamaal Williams (aka Henry Wu) following the release of the cult-like classic 'Black Focus' by Yussef Kamaal, which paired Williams with drummer Yussef Dayes for the Brownswood Records release - Black Focus Records has seen releases by Williams himself ('The Return') as well as by guitarist Mansur Brown who released 'Shiroi' late-2018.  Brown who can boast work on the aforementioned Yussef Kamaal project and for Toshio Matsuura Group's 'LOVEPLAYDANCE' album, as well as being a member of Triforce looks to have a stunning career ahead of him so we'd urge fans to raid the releases of Black Focus Records. 

'Languages' by Georgia Lee Johnson

We closed 2018 highlighting the excellent new single release from Georgia Lee Johnson, 'Here's A Call', so it's only appropriate we open the New Year celebrating the release of Johnson's complete five track EP, 'Languages'...

Our single review for 'Here's A Call' touched upon the New York-based Dala Records and their ability to continually shift expectations of what fans might have come to expect of the label: whether it be the Northern Soul style encapsulated by artists like Camellia Hartman and Mel & Kim, the gritty soul of Billy The Kid with his 'Stay Strong EP', the gospel of Emily Rault's 'See The Light', the guitar-heavy rock of vocalist & trombonist Raymond James Mason, and now the suitably transcendent folk/soul of Georgia Lee Johnson.

Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, a passion for performing arts eventually brought Georgia to New York where the city's all-encompassing and all-inclusive musical aesthetic led her to new styles and collaborators, as well as to jazz's vibrant music scene where she met Dala Records founder, Billy Aukstik.

Johnson's debut album 'Wanderling' was surprisingly released mere months ago, in October 2018, which in itself is an excellent project elevated by songs like 'Come Back', 'Eye of the Storm' and 'So Much To Ask'.  The collaboration with Dala Records though marks a further particularly exciting venture and sees the singer-songwriter taking the definitive next step in her thrilling musical evolution. 

'Languages' was recorded over five days with Billy Aukstik serving as the project's co-producer as well as providing instrumentation through piano, synths and trumpet.  The project is further brought to life with a band rounded out by Matt Harvey on guitar, Miles Arntzen on drums, Jas Walton on flute and Renee Masse providing backing vocals.

Dala's signature analog sound, now paired with Georgia's exquisite vocal and warm-hearted song-writing delivers stunning results.  'Languages' is a real treasure where Georgia's personality and limitless talent shines throughout. 

Blue-in-Green:PODCAST - episode #1_La Molly

Welcome to Episode_#1 of the Blue-in-Green:PODCAST with episodes released on the first, second and third Mondays of the month. This podcast series runs in conjunction with the online radio station, Blue-in-Green:RADIO and these shows are designed to give you some insight into the incredible range of talented presenters we're so lucky to host from all over the world, and to celebrate that limitless joy that music gives us.

For our first episode, we're so thrilled to be able to chat to the creator of the Super Sonido Show which airs Tuesdays at 5pm(UK) on Blue-in-Green:RADIO. La Molly presents a warm, intimate and perfect hour of radio and we couldn't be happier to showcase her for this series.

"So, uh, what ARE you?" is probably the most frequently asked question of Denver based music lover La Molly. Like many Latinx people, La Molly has been on a search for what, or rather, who she is her whole life. Having grown up rather rootless La Molly turned to music and the Super Sonido Show. This radio show explores the blending of traditional sounds such as cumbia, champeta and Andean folklorico with modern technology and digital sounds, music that mirrors the identity search of many in the Latinx community. How can we both hold tight to our traditions and be present in modern society? The Super Sonido Show aims to provide the soundtrack to that question.