Nat Birchall
Songs Of The Ancestors - Afro Trane Chapter 2 -

The world of library music is still a domain to be explored. Like the muzak of decades ago, it is purely utilitarian and has only one function, to illustrate images. This musical genre, which for a long time remained confidential, has been enjoying renewed interest in recent years. For behind these LPs lie creative, often avant-garde composers who do not hesitate in mixing up their jazz influences with early electronic sounds and emerging genres such as psychedelic music.When Jungle Obsession was composed in 1971, Nino Nardini and Roger Roger had already known each other for a long time and together – or each on their own under aliases (George Teperino and Cecil Leuter) or their real surnames – had filled the radio and television programmes of the ORTF with their royalty-free compositions. Ever inseparable since they met in high school at the end of the twenties, the two musicians will cross the century and soak up like two sponges all the musical genres that have evolved over the decades: orchestral jazz, swing, Latin-American music, musique concrète, rock’n’roll, pop, psychedelia, but also French chanson, accompanying great stars such as Edith Piaf as conductors at Radio Luxembourg.Joined by a third equally inventive composer, Eddie Warner, the three of them created Ganaro Studios. Set up in the Chevreuse valley, their lair was to become a place for experimentation of all kinds and innovative sound discoveries that they were to distribute on specialized labels such as Eddie Warner’s: L’Illustration Musicale (IM), or Chappell Music, Crea Sound, Mondiophone, Musax, Hachette, etc.Jungle Obsession, published in 1971, was commissioned by the French label Neuilly and presents itself as their own musical vision of The Jungle Book.In the early seventies, exotica had long since gone out of fashion, but Nardini and Roger were to compose one of the masterpieces of the genre, offering exotic and refined pop that was conducive to the most overflowing imagination.Close to psychedelia on some tracks (Bali Girl and Mowgli), the two composers also use subterfuges of their predecessors from the fifties such as bird songs and jungle animal cries (Murmuring Leaves), tribal percussion (Jungle Obsession) and female choirs of sacred music (Jungle Spell) without forgetting the romantic melodies of Bagheera, the main title of this album.Two bonus tracks enrich this monumental and cult exotic work which takes us far away, to faraway places we wish we’d never leave: Safari Park and Tropical.Erwann Pacaud

180g vinyl, half speed mastered, heavy sleeve, obi, liner notes, sticker. We Release Jazz is very happy to announce the official reissue of Ryo Fukui’s only solo piano al-bum, recorded live, June 4-5, 1994 at The Lutheran Hall in Sapporo. Sourced from the original mas-ters, this intimate offering from the Japanese jazz legend is available on limited edition 180 gram vinyl mastered at half speed for full audiophile sound, as well as on digipack CD. Both formats come with liner notes by Yusuke Ogawa. Originally released on CD only by Sapporo Jazz Create in 1994, My Favorite Tune is a beautiful bop adventure which includes two superb compositions that Ryo Fukui wrote as an homage to his belo-ved Hokkaido region, the fan-favorite “Nord” and “Voyage", a tribute to his mentor Barry Harris ("No-body’s"), alternate versions of his mega classics “Scenery” and “Mellow Dream", and, last but not least, bewitching takes on timeless gems by Sonny Clark and Avery Parrish. My Favorite Tune plays like a cool summer night, full of contemplative notes and deep feelings, with Ryo Fukui baring his heart on the piano and displaying the soulful sophistication he is loved for. A true masterpiece completing his amazing discography. Points of interests - For fans of jazz, soul jazz, modal, hard bop, piano, Japanese jazz, Hokkaido, Scenery, cool sum-mer nights and intimate piano moments. - Official reissue of the only solo piano album by legendary Hokkaido pianist Ryo Fukui. - 11th release from We Release Jazz, notably following Hiroshi Suzuki’s Cat, Ryo Fukui’s Scenery and Mellow Dream, the soundtrack of Le Cercle Rouge by Eric Demarsan, and Marc Moulin’s Pla-cebo Live 1971. We Release Jazz is the sister-label of Geneva-based Wrwtfww Records.