I was watching videos of the Pharoah Sanders concert a few days after the end of the recent We Out Here festival. He was evidently frail and unwell, perhaps even uncomfortable after not setting foot on stage for three years.  

However, even through a phone screen, you couldn't help but get goosebumps once he blew into the saxophone. His charizma, aura, and sheer emotion, as always, shining through. Sadly it was to be his last. The torchbearer of Coltrane's legacy and his one true heir, passed away just a few weeks later. 
  
Born Farrell Sanders in Little Rock, Arkansas, Pharoah picked up the saxophone in his teenage years. He briefly moved to the West Coast to study art, before going to New York to take part in an exciting new jazz scene led by his idol, and later mentor, John Coltrane. Alongside Eric Dolphy, Archie Shepp, and Albert Ayler, he would become one of the most sought-after saxophonists in what was dubbed - avant-garde jazz. Pharoah Sanders joined Coltrane in 1965 and spent the next two years as his protege. After Trane's passing, he continued to take his music to new dimensions, furthering his journey into African and Eastern philosophies and eventually, becoming the face and driving force of what is now known as - spiritual jazz. 

From Alice Coltrane to Floating Points, Pharoah would collaborate with numerous musicians over the decades. However, for this tribute, I decided to focus on strictly his solo output and showcase the mastery of the albums he recorded for Impulse!, Strata East, and Theresa from the late sixties to the early eighties.

Rest in Jazz Pharoah Sanders (Oct 13 1940 - Sept 24 2022)

Tribute to PHAROAH SANDERS - Selected by Spacewalker

Cocktail Classics and The Seasonal Sounds of Winters Wanderlands

Moving through the morning with an eclectic mix of records from Quantic.

Rinse FM Podcast

Quantic - 28 October 2024

Next in our Mr Bongo’s Record Club mix series, we are excited to welcome Mexican-French, DJ, radio host and deep digger, Sabor A Mi (Sophie Legay Peñaloza).

With a culturally rich well of lived experience through her Mexican and French roots, Sophie’s borderless approach to DJing sees her join the dots through all manner of genres. Underpinned by a love of Afro-Latin rhythms her sets tell stories that link anything from salsa and cumbia, to Latin house, Dembow and beyond, all with a motive to make you dance. Her Rinse France residency is one to check and with DJ sets across Europe and Latin America including Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide Festival, people have been fast turning onto her talents.

This two hour mix showcases Sophie’s signature style:

“This mix was conceived in two parts, an introspective part where the intention was to transport you into a conscious listening experience, then gradually show a more danceable, groovy atmosphere, showing us the richness of Latin, Afro-descendant and mixed music across its genres and eras. It includes many genres that, in the end, were carried by racialized communities. Some tracks carry profound messages, whether through lyrical or musical composition, this mix is full of little details where I share a part of my soul with you. The songs selected are melodies that have influenced my childhood, and my personal development right up to the present day.

They're all favourites of mine, but if I had to pick just a few..:
- Lucia Gutierrez - Morena: This song is particularly close to my heart, as it denounces the problem of classicism and race facing Mexico, my country of origin.

- Richard Bona - Bilongo: One of the finest examples of fraternity between Africa and Cuba.

- Alain Peters - Rosée su Feuilles Songe: A treasure of Maloya music from Reunion Island, whose origins lie in slavery.

- Natalia Lafourcade - Maria La Curandera : A song composed from a letter written by Mexico's greatest healer, Maria Sabina. It has become the feminist anthem of all Latin America."

Big thanks to Sophie for the mix, be sure to give her a follow to keep up to date with her gigs and radio shows.

Mr Bongo Record Club Guest Mix - Sabor A Mi

“imagination” by Sonokinesis – a deeply moving R&B-Soul-Gospel track that blends spirituality, emotion, and the power of imagination. With smooth, soulful melodies and heartfelt vocals, this song invites you to let go and immerse yourself in a world of faith, passion, and inner strength. Perfect for moments of reflection, comfort, or pure inspiration.

#imagination #Sonokinesis #RnB #Soul #Gospel #Spiritual #DeepVibes #EmotionalMusic #Inspiration #Faith #SmoothVocals


imagination

A mix I originally made ahead of Lovebox Festival 2015.

In Between

L.O.V.E. And You And I

Love In The Park Mix

A mix for Giles Peterson's Worldwide radio show
by Horse Meat Disco's James Hillard and Luke Howard 

Giles Peterson Mix 1

We were asked to record a short mix for our brothers from Polyfon Records for their broadcast on Erfurt's Radio F.R.E.I. We decided to go for Funk and Boogie from Brazil, Libya, Belgium, France, Turkey and the US. We hope you enjoy this very short mix! 

KALAKUTA SOUL RECORDINGS @ RADIO F.R.E.I, Erfurt

Celebrating the release of Havana Club Rumba Sessions, Gilles has put together a blend of tracks from Cuba, with a focus on tracks from the 1970s and 80s. 

Discover more about the tracks over at Vinyl Factory:
http://www.thevinylfactory.com/vinyl-factory-releases/vf-mix-45-gilles-peterson-cuba/


Buy here

Cuban Vinyl Mix

Here the full 3h Jazzanova DJ set by Alex Barck and Stefan Leisering, live recorded at Wedding Soul in Panke Berlin in Jan 2017. Many thanks to Alex, Stefan and Best Works! Enjoy listening!


JAZZANOVA

For almost twenty years the eclectic collective from Berlin has been busy producing, composing, arranging, remixing, djing and generally shaping our musical world – in the clubs, on the air, in the studio, live on stage, and with their label Sonar Kollektiv.

Their “very fertile musical world” (Time Out New York) “has dominated the jazz-dance and down-tempo scenes for the past few years, both with its own label and with countless remixes” (Phoenix New Times).

Spreading their sounds and ideas with inspired DJ sets, Jazzanova’s DJs were among the first DJs from Berlin in demand all around the world. Juergen von Knoblauch, Alex Barck and Claas Brieler broaden the music’s appeal as DJs, not only on tour through the best clubs and festivals around the world but also on their weekly Kaleidoskop radio show on Radio1.

www.sonarkollektiv.com/tag/jazzanova/


5YRS WEDDING SOUL

Five years of WEDDING SOUL, we look back on so far 60 shows of this small big event series. The jubilee is now celebrated according to the mood, with a two-day program, with exquisite guests, representing what WEDDING SOUL is: a well thought-out mixture of soul and funk-inspired music culture, the roots of these in the back, the present and the future in view. Always danceable and audible, surprising, new, and yet as if there had never been anything other than a connection between heart, dance, and soul.

www.weddingsoul.de

JAZZANOVA's Alex Barck & Stefan Leisering at WEDDING SOUL Jan 2017

“Saved My Life“ is a joint project led by label bosses Micky (The Healing Company) and Hermann (Tieffrequent)@the-healing-company

Micky Explains:

"He sent me a couple of demos a few years ago, I loved his music and immediately decided to release a twelve inch on the Healing Company. For that reason, we met afterwards several times in Berlin and became close friends. We found out quickly that we are kind of “soulmates”, made for each other, sharing the same sense of humor, politics, philosophy – and of course the same love for music. Even if we are both releasing mostly contemporary house music on our respective labels, our deepest love is for soulful music from the old days. We are fascinated by the lovely vibes of the past, this special touch of melancholia, emotion, deepness and playfulness that is difficult to put it into words – it is something you can feel much better when listening.

One day we had the idea to do some edits of long forgotten tunes we love. After a couple of studio sessions, the result was our first release, “A Piano Saved My Life“ with four piano-driven edits out of Jazz Funk, Italo Disco and some Balearic vibes. We released it as a small vinyl edition on my new sub-label “Piano Music“ and we got very surprised by the warm and positive feedback the EP had worldwide.
www.discogs.com/Saved-My-Life-A-P…e/release/9225354

Instead of just playing the compactos from beginning to end we tried another approach: avoiding fade ins and outs and doing a mix with a constant flow and vibe. This proved at the end much trickier as we originally thought, since one of the most charming aspects of old Brazilian music is also that you have very well produced commercial albums on the one hand and independent lo-fi recordings on the other hand – but just as good and worth to listen and play! 
After digging in our collections and choosing around 80 records, we reduced the selection to fit into a 90 minutes mix, creating a journey that spans some of Brazil’s most popular music genres: from classic Bossa Nova to MPB, Samba Soul, Samba Rock, Boogie, Disco, Forro, Tropicalia and Psychedelia, from 60 bpm to 140 bpm. Our selection is not dogmatic or academic, we are not presenting a certain time period, style or region – we even take a detour to Italy and France during the mix. What we want to present are records and music that are touching us emotionally, with their delightful vibes from the past, including songs from the early 70s to the early 90s, some well known and highly appreciated, some more obscure or completely unknown, some from reputable artists, some from “one-hit wonders “, who disappeared in the depths of time.

01. Elias De Lima – O Samba Que Guardei Pra Você (1973)
02. Jesse Pessoa – Chove Chuva (1980)
03. The Spins – The Valley Of Temples (1978)
04. Bolão ‎– Sem Querer (1984)
05. Paulo Braga – Barra Da Saia (1975)
06. Django – Samba Nova (1975)
07. Commanders – Boi Da Cara Branca (1978)
08. Você Canta O Sucesso – Olhos Coloridos (1983)
09. Mariano – Ciúme (1993)
10. Bebeto – Com Você Sou (1985)
11. Cid Belar – Questão De Pele (?)
12. Caú – De Bracos Abertos (1986) 
13. Moreira Jr. – Rasteira (1983)
14. Sônia – Adoia (1975)
15. Música Viva 83 – Brasil Especial (1983)
16. Maysa – Rasguei A Minha Fantasia (1974)
17. Marizinha ‎– Brincadeira De Amor (1979)
18. Regininha – Nas Tuas Mãos (1978)
19. Tino Gomes ‎– Raio De Luz (1987)
20. Dedé ‎– Sinceramente (1983)
21. Sabor De Mel ‎– Pra Rimar Com Amor (1981)
22. Directory ‎– Monday / Caipira Train (1983)
23. Neusinha Brizola – Rio De Janeiro (1983)
24. Dudu França ‎– Vem Dançar (Disco Mix) (1978)
25. Alvaro ‎– Povo Novo (1987)
26. Loalwa ‎– Pode Chegar (?)
27. Pery Ribeiro ‎– Abre Alas (1974)
28. Lena Rios ‎– Chapada Do Corisco (1978)
29. Zapatta ‎– Fiesta Macabra (1973)
30. Gilvan Fellip ‎– Alô Deus (?)
31. Sueli – Você (1973)
32. Sirino E Fagner ‎– Copa Luz (1971)
33. Elias De Lima – O Samba Que Guardei Pra Você (1973)

GOURANGA MIXTAPE: Saved My Life's Brazilian Mixtape

Record collector / DJ / Broadcaster / Producer / Brownswood Recordings boss / occasional remixer

Cuban Vinyl Mix

gillespeterson