For those that missed our recent mixtape from Jazz Meet resident Rob Coley, here’s a timely reminder of a new electronic jazz project from the Here and Now Recordings stable. Run by label boss John Cunningham (a man who knows a thing or two about quality jazz), it’s the imprint’s first foray into contemporary jazz territory and so far the signs are more than a little encouraging. Written, produced and recorded by established TV and film composer Colin Baldry, the Ambient Jazz Ensemble is a new venture that pairs classical jazz with modern-day electronics and features the joint talents of two of the UK’s leading jazz musicians Neil Cowley (piano) and Finn Peters (saxophone).
A first taster from the project is now available via Juno Download in the form of a four-track EP and serves as a precursor to an album tentatively titled ‘Suite Shop‘ that’s scheduled for release later this year. For the EP, the album track ‘Jazz Face’ is given fresh interpretations from (we presume) Baldry as well as pioneering producer Kirk Degiorgio and French multi-instrumentalist, DJ and producer Simbad. Each producer takes the original music in their own inimitable direction, with three of the four remixes firmly entrenched within the house and techno genre, so as such it’s the Ambient Jazz Ensemble rework which will most likely appeal to jazz fans, with Baldry adding a few further electronic flourishes to the bottom end and upping the atmospherics to create a beautifully cinematic track than more than rivals the original. The Degiorgio remix also doesn’t tinker too much with the formula, pairing the live instrumentation with a pulsating mid-tempo bass line that’s very reminiscent of some of his more softer As One material, while Simbad rounds the package off with two far more energetic house excursions which should work on more discerning dancefloors.
You can check samples out for all four tracks below courtesy of Juno Download and for a little further tip on what to expect from the full length, we’ve also included a link to a clip from another track off the album, ‘Eyes Wide Open’. Let us know what you think.