Antonio Carlos & Jocafi, the legendary duo from Bahia whose music has embodied the soul of Brasil for over five decades, return with a bold new collaboration: 'Jazz Is Dead 026'. Introduced to Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad by Beto Barreto of Baiana System, the meeting was instant magic. “The first time we met, it was like family,” they recall. That kinship led Younge and Muhammad to invite the duo to Los Angeles, where they carried a handful of ideas and created new songs on the spot—an intuitive, improvisatory process that defines the Jazz Is Dead ethos.

With this release, Antônio Carlos & Jocafi reaffirm their creative vitality while introducing their timeless Bahian spirit to a new generation. “Adrian’s love for Brasil is greater than that of many Brazilians,” they say, noting how deeply he listens, studies, and channels the rhythms, stories, and feelings of their culture. The result is an album that bridges Salvador’s Mercado Modelo with the global stage, weaving Bahia’s folkloric traditions into Jazz Is Dead’s analog soul.

TRACK LISTING

1. Rala-Bucho
2. Canarin Da Alemanha
3. Menino Tororó
4. Tá Com Medo Por Quê?
5. Bacáxá
6. Oxóodô
7. Um Abraço No Adrian
8. Nunca Mais (feat. Loren Oden)
9. Loca Pasión (feat. Loren Oden)

'The Midnight Hour' is comprised of Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Adrian Younge, alongside a tight rhythm section and a full orchestra. This album is Black excellence: an ode to the cultural sophistication that the Harlem Renaissance established for its people. Featuring: Cee Lo Green, Eryn Allen Kane, Estelle, Raphael Saadiq, Keyon Harold, Questlove and more. Recorded and mixed by Adrian Younge at Linear Labs, the preeminent analog studio of Los Angeles, CA.

TRACK LISTING

1. Black Beacon
2. Mare Feat Ladybug Mecca
3. It's You Feat Raphael Saadiq
4. Questions Feat. CeeLo Green
5. So Amazing Feat Luther Vandross
6. Gate 54
7. Do It Together Feat Bilal
8. Redenph In B-Minor
9. Better Endeavor
10. Smiling For Me Feat Karolina
11. Don't Keep Me Waiting Feat Marsha Ambrosius
12. Bitches Do Voodoo Feat Angela Muñoz
13. Possibilities Feat Eryn Allen Kane
14. Mission
15. Dans Un Moment D'errance Feat Laetitia Sadier, Questlove And Keyon Harrold
16. Love Is Free Feat Eryn Allen Kane
17. Together Again Feat NO I.D. And James Poyser
18. Feel Alive Feat Karolina And Loren Oden
19. There Is No Greater Love Feat Loren Oden And Saudia Yasmein
20. Ravens

Jazz Is Dead announces another offering of top-shelf recordings taking listeners on a journey through the funky sounds of Ghana all the way to down to the psychedelic soul and samba of Brazil. Produced by label founders Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Jazz Is Dead Series 3 features new analog recordings from living legends Ebo Taylor, Hyldon, Dom Salvador, Antonio Carlos e Jocafi, Carlos Dafé, Joyce e Tutty Moreno as well as an unreleased LP from The Midnight Hour: Lost Tapes.

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A
1. MORENO - THE MIDNIGHT HOUR
2. 0S ANCESTRAIS - DOM SALVADOR, ADRIAN YOUNGE & ALI SHAHEED MUHAMMAD
3. AMOR ENFEITICADO - CARLOS DAFÉ & ADRIAN YOUNGE
4. OBI DO WOA (IF SOMEONE LOVES YOU) - EBO TAYLOR, ADRIAN YOUNGE & ALI SHAHEED MUHAMMAD

SIDE B
5. MENINA DO TORORO - ANTONIO CARLOS E JOCAFI, ADRIAN YOUNGE & ALI SHAHEED MUHAMMAD
6. VANÁ ETÊ - JOYCE E TUTTY MORENO & ADRIAN YOUNGE
7. VIAJANTE DE PLANETA AZUL - HYLDON & ADRIAN YOUNGE
8. ATLAS - ADRIAN YOUNGE

A native of Los Angeles, Henry Franklin came of age while the city was producing a crop of exciting jazz talent. Frankin’s lasting impact on jazz can be evidenced by the long list of legends who sought him out for tours and recording sessions, Stevie Wonder, Bobby Humphrey, Freddy Hubbard, & Pharaoh Sanders to name a few. Franklin’s solo output is best remembered for his two solo outings with the Black Jazz label- “The Skipper” & “The Skipper At Home”. Together, they form one of the most compelling diptychs in the entire post-bop canon. Recognised by his peers and contemporaries, Franklin’s entry for Jazz Is Dead gives the living legend his flowers and recognises the contributions The Skipper has made as one of jazz’s most influential heartbeats.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: The imperative jazz-revival series continues in earnest. Henry Franklin updates crucial material from "The Skipper" and "The Skipper At Home", aided and abetted by Ali Shaheed Muhammad & Adrian Younge. A tour de force of modern jazz expression!

TRACK LISTING

1. Karibu
2. The Griot
3. People's Revolution
4. Memories Lost
5. Feedback
6. Café Nero
7. African Sun
8. A Song For Sigrid

Founded in 2014, Katalyst Collective has never been one for labels. Rather than strictly a live act, they’ve acted as an incubator for a fresh crop of local talent, helping hone the voices and talents of individual members, while collectively advancing like a phalanx. Each ‘Kat’ writes their own solo material, and everyone contributes and works together on each project, feeding off the communal energy. Leading to the group’s upping collaboration for Jazz Is Dead, Katalyst has poised themselves as the next breakout stars of Los Angeles’ rapidly expanding Jazz universe - a small army of creative firebrands, each burning more brightly together.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Avenue
2. Daybreak
3. Corridors
4. Summer Solstice
5. Juneteenth
6. Dogon Cypher
7. Reflections

Music exists in movement and change, but before any part of it can be pinned down for analysis, it’s often moved and taken on a new face. The transformation is often driven by culture as forward-thinking people avoid the proverbial paths in search of revolution. Even though our pioneers prophesied that the revolution would not be televised, the message has permeated. It’s spreading like wildfire and leaders are defined by those that speak first: Jazz Is Dead. Music is the universal language and we are the interpreter of sound, a message that has been lost in transcription.

Under Jazz Is Dead, younger artists are elaborating upon conversations started decades ago; jazz icons are utilizing vintage equipment to create new masters with Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad; the same equipment that recorded their coveted catalogs. The vitality embedded in the new masters epitomizes our quest for new life in music: Jazz Is Dead. This compilation features legendary artists Roy Ayers, Gary Bartz, Marcos Valle, Azymuth, Doug Carn, Joao Donato, & Brian Jackson, who will each have their own individual release, working alongside Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad. 

TRACK LISTING

01. Hey Lover (feat. Roy Ayers)
02. Distant Mode (feat. Gary Bartz)
03. Nancy Wilson (feat. Brian Jackson)
04. Conexão (feat. João Donato)
05. Down Deep (feat. Doug Carn)
06. Apocalíptico (feat. Azymuth)
07. Não Saia Da Praça (feat. Marcos Valle)
08. Jazz Is Dead (feat. The Midnight Hour)

Marcos and the other Brazilian luminaries Adrian and Ali hosted for Jazz Is Dead, are able to create an entirely different sound and feel using the exact same palette. Throughout the album Marcos sings in his trademark percussive and melodic style (“wa-di-do-bem, ba di da we da bem”), a distinctly Brazilian take on vocalese. Like the sweet and foreign sounds coming out of his mouth, Marcos and the other Brazilian luminaries Adrian and Ali hosted for Jazz Is Dead, are able to create an entirely different sound and feel using the exact same palette. “It was really interesting how we can play the same instruments, listen to the same music and they can still have their distinctly Brazilian flavor that we admire so, so, so much,” Adrian effuses. “And to just hear our influences mix with theirs and to make something brand new is a dream come true.”

TRACK LISTING

1. Queira Bem
2. Isso É Que Eu Sei
3. Oi
4. Viajando Por Aí
5. Gotta Love Again
6. Não Saia Da Praça
7. Our Train
8. A Gente Volta Amanhã

The shadow that Gary Bartz casts over the last six decades of progressive Black music, and his continued dedication to same, makes him a logical and very welcome contributor to the Jazz Is Dead label. An alto saxophonist steeped in the history and tradition of his instrument who is also restlessly experimental and not prone to purism of any kind, he enjoys both the respect and admiration of his peers and the hero worship of several generations after him – including Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad, which inevitably led to Gary Bartz JID 006.

A look at his body of work reveals dalliances with bebop, hard bop, free jazz, spiritual jazz, soul jazz, jazz-funk, fusion and acid jazz, all while resolutely remaining unmistakably Gary Bartz. There's early work with Eric Dolphy and McCoy Tyner in Charles Mingus' Jazz Workshop, work with Max Roach and Abbey Lincoln, a stint in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, and also one with Miles. There's his groundbreaking and highly influential Ntu Troop albums of the early ‘70s and his jazz-funk work including two classic albums with the Mizell Brothers, one of which supplied A Tribe Called Quest with a sample that was smooth like butter. And while on the subject of samples, the Bartz catalog has provided hip-hop and other genres with a rich source of them, and artists who have gone to his well when producing beats also include Black Sheep, Jurassic 5, Casual, RPM, Warren G, Photek, Statik Selektah, Chi-Ali, 3rd Bass, Showbiz, ZTrip, Young Disciples, and many others.

The socio-political content of much of Bartz’s work, particularly during the early ‘70s, is another factor that has captured the attention of and influenced many. He was wide awake to the pressing issues of his day, which sadly haven't changed much in a half-century—long before the term "woke" was ever coined—which adds continued relevance and resonance to albums like the two Harlem Bush Music LPs. Speaking his mind and expressing thoughts and feelings lyrically and vocally were a consistent aspect of his work during this era, but even with all this there's always still a space within Gary's oeuvre for the celebration of simple and beautiful basic truths. “Working with Gary Bartz epitomizes the ethos behind Jazz Is Dead,” says Younge. “He’s a luminary that has contributed so much to music culture, for decades. His musical ability is expanding with age and we’re honored to be a part of his world.”

"Day By Day" brings Bartz full circle by placing him in a more modern context which he contributed to creating in the first place. It takes certain sonic cues from Muhammad's old group, A Tribe Called Quest, while also calling to mind neo-soul a little bit. But the icing on the cake is the unexpected and gorgeous vocal chorus which is like the sun coming out and which once again harks back to an element familiar to Mizell fans. With its propulsive bassline steadily prodding the track along, "The Message" is strongly rooted in classic ‘70s modal jazz and serves as the spiritual and emotional centerpiece of the album. The instrumental interplay and textures would have been perfectly at home on the Black Jazz label even though there's also a certain almost intangible postmodern, 21st century approach to that style, perfectly in keeping with Bartz's well-known tendency to look forward, not backwards.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Spiritual Ideation
A2. Visions Of Love
A3. Black & Brown
A4. Blue Jungles
B1. Day By Day
B2. Distant Mode
B3. The Message
B4. Soulsea

The fourth release from Jazz Is Dead records features Azymuth, one of the bands in Brazilian history, redefining Popular Brazilian Music. Having released almost 20 albums in their career, Azymuth proves to be a consistent source for an innovative mix of jazz, pop, MPB, and electronic music. Composed and produced by Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad and recorded in the Linear Labs analog studio. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Ao Redor Do Samba
2. Sumaré
3. Cat Jump
4. Fall Afternoon
5. Friendship Samba
6. Apocalíptico Feat Azymuth
7. Pulando Corda
8. Queit Storm 

Music exists in movement and change, but before any part of it can be pinned down for analysis, it’s often moved and taken on a new face. The transformation is often driven by culture as forward-thinking people avoid the proverbial paths in search of revolution. Even though our pioneers prophesied that the revolution would not be televised, the message has permeated. It’s spreading like wildfire and leaders are defined by those that speak first: Jazz Is Dead. Music is the universal language and we are the interpreter of sound, a message that has been lost in transcription.

Under Jazz Is Dead, younger artists are elaborating upon conversations started decades ago; jazz icons are utilizing vintage equipment to create new masters with Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad; the same equipment that recorded their coveted catalogs. The vitality embedded in the new masters epitomizes our quest for new life in music: Jazz Is Dead. This compilation features legendary artists Roy Ayers, Gary Bartz, Marcos Valle, Azymuth, Doug Carn, Joao Donato, & Brian Jackson, who will each have their own individual release, working alongside Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Hey Lover Feat Roy Ayers
2. Distant Mode Feat Gary Bartz
3. Nancy Wilson Feat Brian Jackson
4. Conexão Feat João Donato
5. Down Deep Feat Doug Carn
6. Apocalíptico Feat Azymuth
7. Não Saia Da Praça Feat Marcos Valle
8. Jazz Is Dead Feat The Midnight Hour