Jazz re:freshed are proud to present the third studio album by bassist and composer Daniel Casimir.'Balance'encapsulates 'Big Band Energy', with his signature combination of Classical, Jazz and cinematic sounds. The albumpays homage to the traditions of big band composition and historical significance whilst illustrating contemporary sensibilities.This ambitious project explores the balance between two large and full sounds of a big band and a string section and is inspired by icon Wayne Shorter's album'Emanon'which made a deep impression on Casimir during the process of creating the album. An organic development of Casimir's last critically acclaimed album'Boxed In'which featured a jazz quintet alongside a mini chamber Orchestra and was comprised of a woodwind, brass, with a string quartet,'Balance'is a self produced album that takes his musical vision to the next level in his most ambitious body of work to date, leading 26 musicians. Recorded in November 2022 at Livingston Studios, in a very conscientious recording process which saw piano, bass, and drums recorded together first, followed by trumpet, trombone, saxophone, and the string section and an all star band that consists of figures from the UK Jazz scene, Cassie Kinoshi, Binker, Nubya Garcia, Rosie Turton, Sheila Maurice-Grey and Jay Phelps to name a few alongside a stunning string section performed by the London Contemporary Orchestra. The final day of recording enlisted the powerful vocal prowess' of Zola Marcelle and Ria Moran to finesse the masterpiece. The track'Music Not Numbers'is an encouraging call to all musicians to not allow streaming culture to affect their creative process and to continue expanding the intrinsic nature of music. Whereas track,'Search for Goldilocks'explores the second meaning behind the album title 'Balance', which is to seek balance within and discover the qualities in life that are "just right". More

Since releasing her joint LP 'These Days' with long-time friend and collaborator Daniel Casimir on the jazz re:freshed imprint in 2019, Hirst has been working on her first solo album scheduled for release in early-2024. Funded by PRS Foundation's Women Make Music and the MOBO Help Musicians Fund, Hirst's new music is set to be a jazz re:freshed family affair. 'Magic' features Richard Spaven on drums, Sarah Tandy on piano and Tomorrow's Warriors StringTing. It is produced and arranged by Casimir who also plays electric, upright and synth bass on the recording. A celebration of inspiring stories of the women around her, 'Magic' pays homage to their robust capacity to rise to any challenge, including motherhood, a journey which Hirst embarked upon herself, making the track all the more poignant. As Hirst shares: "Since having my own child in between writing and releasing this record, I've realised motherhood itself isn't magic, rather there is magic in being a mother. Performing 'Magic' now brings a deeper level of understanding for me. When you give birth to a child you too are reborn." Hirst urges listeners to invoke their own sense of magic, underpinned by the notoriously underground UK musical heritage ofDrum'n'Bass, Spaven fully in his element, piercing through the pensive string melodies and euphoric harmonies overarching Hirst's ethereal tone. More

All Black Everything, the debut EP by UK-based, Parisian bassist, vocalist and composer Amy Gadiaga, is an expansive, boundary-pushing 5-track collection showcasing prodigious bass playing and a voice brimming with power and emotion. It's a profound exploration of self-acceptance that presents both a celebration and acknowledgement of Gadiaga's deep-seated darkness.

Inspired by the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement All Black Everything confronts racial identity complexities and the challenges of being a societal 'black sheep' and sees Gadiaga courageously transform her insecurities into a narrative of self-empowerment.

Born to parents of Senegalese, Gambian, and Malian descent, and hailing from the outskirts of Paris, the multitalented Gadiaga has been making waves in the UK music industry since she moved to London aged 18. With a fresh and unique style that bridges the old school jazz tradition of musicians such as Betty Carter and Wayne Shorter with the raw, rootsy modern sound of artists such as D'Angelo, Stevie Wonder and Twinkie Clark, Gadiaga's breadth of ambition and revitalising approach have brought early critical acclaim and ardent fans.

Signalling the arrival of a significant new voice on the London music scene, All Black Everything communicates the liberating essence of embracing individuality and presents a journey through Gadiaga's personal struggles, standing as a testament to art's transformative power and encouraging listeners to find strength in their uniqueness. "All Black Everything is very much an exploration and embracing of one of my archetypes in life which is the black bird/black sheep" she explains. "That feeling of not thinking you belong anywhere, of being misunderstood and really tending to your own. No helping hand. But it's ok sometimes because you also feel like nobody can compete with you, you're one of a kind."

“Amy Gadiaga is the epitome of everything new and fresh in today's jazz scene”
Isabel Marquez — Women In Jazz Magazine

“A lively and engaging debut full of promise ****”
— Record Collector

“You're going to like this one...a profound exploration of self-acceptance that presents both a celebration and acknowledgement of Gadiaga's deep-seated darkness”
— The Voice More

London-based composer/bassist, Daniel Casimir returns with his solo debut album Boxed In, a dynamic collision of pulsing modern jazz and orchestral instrumentation. Featuring Casimir's quintet of fellow British jazz luminaries, including Nubya Garcia, Moses Boyd, Al MacSween and James Copus, the album astutely bridges traditional and contemporary jazz forms enveloping strings, woodwind & brass arrangements. Boxed In represents Casimir's debut set of compositions written for orchestra. Despite his interest in writing for orchestra while studying jazz and classical music, attending conservatoires and completing a masters degree at Trinity Laban, he was never given the opportunity or choice to fulfil his aspiration. Casimir notes that as only one of two black musicians in his study cohort the normalisation of the situation made it almost easy to miss its inherent injustice. Coming up through the essential development foundation Tomorrow's Warriors, Casimir has gone on to feature on all of Nubya Garcia's recorded output to date as well as projects by Makaya McCraven and Ashley Henry and has performed with Lonnie Liston Smith and Jason Rebello amongst others. This album reflects the experiences of navigating prescribed labels traditionally placed on black musicians. As well as being inspired by Wayne Shorter's hybrid orchestral jazz projects, Boxed In was also influenced by a conversation Casimir had in 2018 with legendary composer and producer Quincy Jones who talked a lot about classical music orchestration. More

If there is one artist that has truly become synonymous with Jazz re:freshed over the years, it is the energy, the skill, the showmanship, the innovation, the genius that is Kaidi Tatham. The vibe behind the west London/broken beats/nu-jazz scene as a core member of Bugz In The Attic, Kaidi's 5ive continues the lineage of jazz, fusing it with his own twisted funk, boogie and eletronica. The 10 year anniversary of its first release sees Kaidi's 5ive presented for the first time ever on vinyl. More

Led by composer/arranger and leading UK-based Djembe player, Yahael Camara Onono and featuring members of bands including Kokoroko and SEED Ensemble, Balimaya Project intently synthesise and bridge London's bustling jazz circuit with traditional repertoire and folklore of the Mandé peoples of West Africa, and in turn connect the music's contemporary and ancestral forebears. Their album Wolo So arrives after five years in the making, yet its roots chart a young percussionist forging a deeper musical identity from even further back. Meaning 'the essence of kinship' in Mandé's Maninka language, the word Balimaya articulates a family model not limited to blood relations but of a shared history and experience, of friendship and community, a concept at the heart of Camara Onono's vision for the 16-piece group, declaring that "it's become a brotherhood."
Like Fela's Egypt 80 or Sun Ra's Arkestra before them, Balimaya Project are a big band unlike any other. Made up of members from across the UK's landscape of Afrobeats and jazz to UK Rap, the idea was to create a fuller sound with many instruments that are used for traditional music.
Camara Onono's vision on this project has been to bring together and make emotionally available to each other, young black men in the diaspora and celebrate them in a way that doesn't happen enough. He has brought together people who understand the music of black Britain and of the African continent. Having performed himself with Family Atlantica and Maisha, Camara Onono has recruited musicians including Godwin Sonzé (Young T & Bugsey, Juls and Wande Coal) and Moses Olukayode (who performed at Burna Boy's Grammy Awards performance 2021). More