Finnish drummer/Producer Teppo "Teddy Rok" Mäkynen returns with his alias The Stance Brothers with "Sao Paolo / Timmy", a new 7"/digital single release on July 12th on We Jazz Records. Lauded by the likes of DJ Koco aka Shimokita, Kenny Dope and Gilles Peterson, Mäkynen's studio creation released the new album Duktus in November 2023, the project's first full length in more than 10 years. Back a new version of album cut "Sao Paolo" plus an unreleased new track, "Timmy", the project a treasure-trove for everyone into crunchy jazz funk à la Bob James & CTI, but this is no retro exercise. Teddy Rok moves forward in all directions, constantly bringing new elements into his sound, which is more layered and deep than ever before. At the same time, the crunch & the breaks are there when you need them. The B-side "Timmy", appearing here for the first time, has a "Kosmische" feel to it, driven by the motorik drum beat and a floating vibraphone.

The Stance 7" sides are often dominated by crunchy drums and crystal clear vibraphone melodies, and that's the overall vibe here, too. That being said, Mäkynen keeps things moving forward at all times, achieving moments of pure bliss with tracks that sound compact but expand far and wide both emotionally and musically.

The Stance Brothers are active live as a four-piece band, appearing live over the summer in Finland at Odysseus Festival and Flow Festival in Helsinki, plus G Livelab Tampere.

RIYL: Roy Ayers, Mizell Brothers, Bobby Hutcherson, Cesar Mariano, Patrice Rushen, George Duke, Madlib's Mind Fusion Mixtapes

Composed, performed, produced and recorded by Teddy Rok
Mastering J. Vanhanen / Tape Over
Lettering by Teddy Rok
Design by Matti Nives
Another Rok Solid Production

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Magazine 128 pages, 170 x 240 mm in size and printed on 140g Edixion paper with laminated 300g Invercote covers

The tenth issue of We Jazz Magazine, "Dominoes" for Donald Byrd. 128 pages, 170 x 240 mm in size and printed on 140g Edixion paper with laminated 300g Invercote covers. All articles presented IN ENGLISH. Donald Byrd by Andy Beta, Lonnie Liston Smith by Anton Spice, Charles Gayle by Seymour Wright, Anoushka Shankar & Arooj Aftab in conversation by Debra Richards, Billy Harper by Bret Sjerven, Anni Kiviniemi by Wif Stenger, Kenneth Jimenez by Andrey Henkin, Sun Ra by Francis Gooding, Muffins by Marc Medwin, Discaholic column by Mats Gustafsson, Vogel Records by Lander Lenaerts + reviews & more


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A radiant manifesto of artistic freedom, fLuXkit Vancouver (its suite but sacred) brings together a composition in four movements written and performed by Jones on alto saxophone, long-time collaborator Gerald Cleaver on drums, and four Vancouver-based string musicians: violinists Jesse Zubot and Josh Zubot, cellist Peggy Lee and bassist James Meger; with original artwork by Stan Douglas and liner notes by poet Harmony Holiday.

Tracklist
A1. Fluxus V5T 1S1
A2. Zubot
B1. Rainbow
B2. Damon and Pythias

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(1LP spatter vinyl with tip-on sleeve & OB)
A radiant manifesto of artistic freedom, fLuXkit Vancouver (its suite but sacred) brings together a composition in four movements written and performed by Jones on alto saxophone, long-time collaborator Gerald Cleaver on drums, and four Vancouver-based string musicians: violinists Jesse Zubot and Josh Zubot, cellist Peggy Lee and bassist James Meger; with original artwork by Stan Douglas and liner notes by poet Harmony Holiday.

Tracklist
A1. Fluxus V5T 1S1
A2. Zubot
B1. Rainbow
B2. Damon and Pythias

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A radiant manifesto of artistic freedom, fLuXkit Vancouver (its suite but sacred) brings together a composition in four movements written and performed by Jones on alto saxophone, long-time collaborator Gerald Cleaver on drums, and four Vancouver-based string musicians: violinists Jesse Zubot and Josh Zubot, cellist Peggy Lee and bassist James Meger; with original artwork by Stan Douglas and liner notes by poet Harmony Holiday.

Tracklist
A1. Fluxus V5T 1S1
A2. Zubot
B1. Rainbow
B2. Damon and Pythias

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ENEMY, the trio of drummer James Maddren, pianist Kit Downes and bassist Petter Eldh make their We Jazz Records debut with their third album The Betrayal, out 22 September 2023. After their self-titled debut (Edition, 2018) and the follow up (Vermillion, ECM 2022), the explosive yet lyrical trio is seeking new directions with the 12-track new record, arguably their strongest yet.
TRACKLIST
A1/1. Croydon Smash
A2/2. Hollywood Bypass
A3/3. Neglecting Number One
A4/4. Sun
A5/5. Morfar Sixten
A6/6. Fiend
B1/7. Close Up
B2/8. EB
B3/9. Manipulate
B4/10. Liability
B5/11. Croydon Shuffle
B6/12. Army of Three

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ENEMY, the trio of drummer James Maddren, pianist Kit Downes and bassist Petter Eldh make their We Jazz Records debut with their third album The Betrayal, out 22 September 2023. After their self-titled debut (Edition, 2018) and the follow up (Vermillion, ECM 2022), the explosive yet lyrical trio is seeking new directions with the 12-track new record, arguably their strongest yet.
TRACKLIST
A1/1. Croydon Smash
A2/2. Hollywood Bypass
A3/3. Neglecting Number One
A4/4. Sun
A5/5. Morfar Sixten
A6/6. Fiend
B1/7. Close Up
B2/8. EB
B3/9. Manipulate
B4/10. Liability
B5/11. Croydon Shuffle
B6/12. Army of Three

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ENEMY, the trio of drummer James Maddren, pianist Kit Downes and bassist Petter Eldh make their We Jazz Records debut with their third album The Betrayal, out 22 September 2023. After their self-titled debut (Edition, 2018) and the follow up (Vermillion, ECM 2022), the explosive yet lyrical trio is seeking new directions with the 12-track new record, arguably their strongest yet.
TRACKLIST
A1/1. Croydon Smash
A2/2. Hollywood Bypass
A3/3. Neglecting Number One
A4/4. Sun
A5/5. Morfar Sixten
A6/6. Fiend
B1/7. Close Up
B2/8. EB
B3/9. Manipulate
B4/10. Liability
B5/11. Croydon Shuffle
B6/12. Army of Three

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Norwegian drummer/composer Gard Nilssen debuts on We Jazz Records with his major new album “Family” with the 17-piece Supersonic Orchestra.

Tracklist
A:
1. The Space Dance Experiment
2. Spending Time With Ludde
B
3. Letter to Alfred
C
4. Boogie Stop Tøffel
5. The Healing Force Of the Trojan Horse
6. Supersonic
D
7. Dolphin Disco
8. SP68

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Norwegian drummer/composer Gard Nilssen debuts on We Jazz Records with his major new album “Family” with the 17-piece Supersonic Orchestra.

Tracklist
A:
1. The Space Dance Experiment
2. Spending Time With Ludde
B
3. Letter to Alfred
C
4. Boogie Stop Tøffel
5. The Healing Force Of the Trojan Horse
6. Supersonic
D
7. Dolphin Disco
8. SP68

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A lost MPB gem from rural Finland! We Jazz presents the first ever reissue of this rare 1990 local release by Brazilian duo Rosanna & Zelia. 7" EP with inside out 3mm spine sleeve. RIYL: Gilberto Gil, Joyce, Musica Popular Brasileira, bossa nova, bossa jazz

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Swiss artist Lukas Traxel releases his powerful debut album One-Eyed Daruma on We Jazz Records, March 10. The trio features Traxel on double bass, Otis Sandsjö on sax and Moritz Baumgärtner on drums. Compact, deep, and organic to the bone, Traxel & co's sound echoes the innovations of rhythmically driven avantgarde jazz while keeping things moving at all times. There's both drive and freedom to this sound. ONe-Eyed Daruma features eight new compositions by Traxel, who crafted the outline for the album while dealing with the loss of his father. The group came together after an open invitation from the Zurich jazz club Moods to present a new group. The trio of Traxel, Sandsjö and Baumgärtner creates a full, symphonic, and powerful body of sound despite the instrumentation without a harmony instrument. The trio functions as a collective where the boundaries between composition, melody, and accompaniment are in flux, while keeping the common goal of creating new music together in sight at all times. Traxel reports that after playing bass in various groups with guitar and/or piano, he wanted to create a counterpoint of sorts with his new group and specifically go about it with a more sparse setup. As One-Eyed Drama proves, the idea behind the trio dynamic is a strong one and the unit makes use of their extra space in creating evocative, moody, swinging creative jazz with a distinguishable fingerprint of its own.

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Composer Valtteri Laurell Pöyhönen presents his Nonet formation on We Jazz Records. Their debut album Tigers Are Better Looking is released 3 Feb and the ensemble features internationally renowned Finnish clarinetist Antti Sarpila, plus a strong cast of Helsinki-based musicians from several of the top Finnish groups. Based on the writings of British-Caribbean author Jean Rhys (1890–1979), the 6-track album is a melancholy, intimate chamber jazz creation. Laurell's music swings, yet he doesn't stop there, but moves further to paint an original, richly-toned sonic image with the highly potent Nonet. Laurell states Gerry Mulligan, Miles Davis's "Water Babies" and Charles Mingus among the key musical influences of his compositions on this album. Through Rhys's text, Laurell finds a special sense of detachment and melancholy evident in his new material. Antti Sarpila's masterful clarinet provides the icing on the cake, floating high above the clouds of sound.

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Ilmiliekki Quartet and vocalist Emma Salokoski team up for a Christmas album We Jazz Records. Includes 10 stunning xmas vocal jazz gems sung in Finnish and Swedish, featuring three fantastic originals. Here's to better xmas listening.

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We Jazz Records kicks off their new series of archival 7" releases with Esa Pethman "In Belgium 1967" released 23 September 2022. The two-tracker is licensed from the Belgian VRT radio archives and both of the pieces are previously unreleased. Finnish jazz legend Pethman, heard here on alto flute and tenor sax, joins forces with European jazz greats such as Heinz Bigler, Uffe Karskov and Jean Fanis. This is a small but valuable piece of unheard European jazz history from the early heyday of modern jazz. The physical release is a quality "inside-out"-styled EP with 3mm spine and small center hole on the 45rpm vinyl. "Esa Pethman (b. 1938) was one of the key figures of modern Finnish jazz in the 1960s. His album The Modern Sound Of Finland was the first Finnish modern jazz album and his composition "The Flame" a true modern Fenno-jazz evergreen. In the mid 1960s, Finnish jazz was also taking its first international steps. Pethman's quintet took part in the first Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland in June 1967. At the Montreux jazz band competition, the quintet came in fourth of the twelve contestants. Despite not winning the competition, the band got an honourable mention, and Pethman was now recognized outside Finland. In December 1967 Pethman travelled to Brussels. His visit was organised by the national Finnish broadcasting company Yleisradio and their jazz program producer Matti Konttinen. Konttinen was supposed to go to Brussels with Pethman, but the musician ended up traveling alone. In the Decca recording studios Pethman played two songs. He recorded a version of his most famous composition "The Flame", where he played the alto flute and was accompanied by Belgian musicians. On Swiss saxophonist Heinz Bigler's composition "Like Steel", Pethman played the tenor saxophone. The band was now more international, consisting of Bigler, the Italian Francesco Santucci, the Dane Uffe Karskov, a Belgian rhythm section and Pethman. After 55 years, Pethman still remembers Bigler's remarkable skills as a saxophonist.


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Lampen is Kalle Kalima and Tatu Rönkkö. Kalle plays guitar, Tatu plays percussions and sampler. Together they're Lampen, a duo making highly addictive "post jazz" with a musical heart far beyond genre. Call it what you will, but the main point is listening, and there's a high season for that coming as Lampen is set to release their debut album on We Jazz Records on "Kintsugi Gold" vinyl and digitally. Previously a CD only release (Karkia Mistika Records, 2020), "Lampen" presents two artists who have a knack at making music which opens up with each listen, pulling you deeper and deeper. Meditative passages flow by slowly as in a peaceful river stream, erupting into full rapids of sound when the time is right. This is sonic rafting for the curious listener.

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Helsinki quartet OK:KO releases their third album "Liesu" with We Jazz Records on 15 April. The band, led by drummer/composer Okko Saastamoinen and including saxophonist Jarno Tikka, pianist Toomas Keski-Säntti and bassist Mikael Saastamoinen (of Superpostion & Linda Fredriksson "Juniper") is a scene favourite in Finland and has recently garnered some international attention with their melodic, dynamic and original approach. The OK:KO sound is adventurous yet accessible, and contemporary yet rooted in the lineage of acoustic small group jazz. When listening to OK:KO, you can feel that their influences also come from out of the musical realm. After all, isn't this just how it should be? Making music from your own life. Here, you can tell that the landscape of rural Finland, its poetic, at times even melancholy beauty, is ever present. It's folk song country. But don't be fooled, these guys form a real flesh and blood jazz band. That means that the music just starts when the first note hits, and onwards from there, we're in for a wild ride. Whether punchy like on "Anima", solemn like on "Arvo", or just trekking out there a skiing lane of their own like on "Vanhatie", what you'll get is pure OK:KO. Melodic, interactive, honest and forward-reaching contemporary jazz music. That is something we appreciate – a lot!

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