The Karl-Martin Almqvist Ababhemu Quartet premiered at the Ystad International Jazz Festival in August 2022. The days after the concert, the quartet recorded their debut album "The Travelers". This quartet puts forward the message of brotherhood across colored lines, and across geography. Featuring pianist Nduduzo Makhathini, drummer Ayanda Sikade and bassist Magne Thormods�ter.

Renegade independent label turned collaborative artist community Ropeadope announces the return of their acclaimed Experiment series, beginning with a 2022 release of The Chicago Experiment. The Experiment series began in June 2001 with The Philadelphia Experiment - featuring ?uestlove, Christian McBride, and Uri Caine with special guest Pat Martino. Widely known as a hallmark in progressive Jazz, The Philadelphia Experiment set a standard for artist-controlled improvisation in the studio. The Detroit Experiment, produced by Aaron Luis Levinson and Carl Craig, followed soon after with a stellar cast including Amp Fiddler, Geri Allen, Karriem Riggins and many more. 2007 saw the release of The Harlem Experiment, once again produced by Levinson, which dug into a crossover blend of Latin Jazz and Funk with a diverse cast including Steven Bernstein, Carlos Alomar, Don Byron, Taj Mahal, Olu Dara, Queen Esther, and Steve Berrios.� At a time when communities are physically disconnected, and even history is being disrupted by a global pandemic and restricted travel, Ropeadope returns to the series to highlight the musical legacy of cities around the globe. The Chicago Experiment was born of collaborations organized by Greg Spero (Spirit Fingers) and his hometown friends Makaya McCraven, Marquis Hill, Joel Ross, Irvin Pierce, Jeff Parker, and Darryl Jones.

Vinyl LP pressing of this 2020 release.

Jacques Schwarz-Bart has been at the center of several musical revolutions: Neo Soul next to D'angelo and Erika Badu, New Jazz as a founding member of Roy Hargrove's RH Factor, and he is a leading pioneer in the creation of two surging new styles: Gwoka Jazz, and Voodoo jazz, reuniting jazz music with it's Afro-Caribbean and spiritual origins. Jacques' impressionistic writing, powerful tone, and wide-ranging language - both lyrical and angular - have fueled a growing presence on the world stage.

Cyro Baptista is a Brazilian born percussionist and composer whose vast talent and penchant for innovation brought him to be praised as one of the most respected musicians in the world. His talent and versatility have led to associations with a wide range of leading artists. From Paul Simon to Yo-Yo-Ma, Herbie Hancock to Trey Anastasio, Wynton Marsalis to Laurie Anderson, Caetano Veloso to Sting - they all wanted Cyro's magic touch on their recordings or live performances.

Continuing the legacy of The Experiment Series, Ropeadope teams up with longtime collaborator and head of Ropeadope SUR Todd Clouser to document the vibrant music scene in Mexico City. With a great number of world class musicians from Mexico and beyond living in the city, Clouser chose a close group of adventurous spirits to join him on the project. The Mexico City Experiment features German Bringas, Jeronimo Gonzalez, Orestes Gomez, Erik Deutsch, Todd Clouser, and Guadalupe Galvan.

11 years after their last release, The Headhunters release a new full length album featuring Summers, Clark, NEA Jazz master Donald Harrison, Stephen Gordon, bassist Reggie Washington, and organist Jerry Z. The album also features Scott Roberts and Fode Sissoko on kora. The Headhunters spirit is alive and well on the album, which fuses the band's African and New Orleans influences with their ever-present technical jazz-funk, rooted in music history and growing in the present moment.

South African based saxophonist and flute player Mthunzi Mvubu started his music career at the age of 14 at the Music Academy of Gauteng under the mentorship of the late Dr. Johnny Mekoa. His intent and approach are evident in the title of his debut album, as is his deep respect for the art form. Comfortable in any Jazz club or stage, the music speaks to a deep spiritual connection between player and listener at the heart of improvisational Jazz.

A prolific composer and bandleader, Erik's seven albums have received critical acclaim by RollingStone, Jazz Times, USA Today, and the Huffington Post, including Relix magazine naming Deutsch's 4th album Outlaw Jazz the #16 best album of 2015. He was recently voted the #5 Rising Star Organist in Downbeat Magazine's annual poll, where he has been recognized for consecutive years. Deutsch's most recent album, Live at Lunatico, was recorded in Bedstuy, Brooklyn and features his NYC sextet: Avi Bortnick, Mike McGinnis, Tony Mason, Brian Drye, and Fred Cash. � From 2016-19 Deutsch was a full-time member of the pioneering Colorado jamband Leftover Salmon, performing 100+ shows per year throughout the US. In 2020 Erik changed directions and joined forces with 12-time Grammy-winning band The Chicks (formerly Dixie Chicks). � The eclectic path of Erik's 25-year career has led him to performances in North and South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia; to Red Rocks, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Blue Note, and Madison Square Garden; to Late Night with David Letterman, the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Ellen and The View; and to appearances in the feature films "Begin Again" and "Trans." Erik has played on more than 150 records and has taught thousands of students-who knows what to expect in the next 25 years? You can plan on a wealth of music and creative spirit from this one-of-a-kind pianist.

It was a busy 2019 for Asian Dub Foundation with the long-awaited reissue of their Mercury Prize-nominated 1998 classic Rafi's Revenge. The reissue garnered ecstatic reviews, all of which agreed that the sound and the message that ADF threw down in 1998 is as relevant now as it was then-perhaps even more so. So it's timely that in 2020 the band are set to release their 9th album "Access Denied" which finds them as uncompromising as ever. The album showcases ADF in full spectrum mode from the tough Jungle Punk sound of "Stealing The Future" and "Mind-lock" through to the orchestral meditation of "Realignment" and the reggae lament of the title track. With guestspots from Greta Thunberg, incendiary Palestinian shamstep warriors 47 Soul, Chilean revolt's rap main figure Ana Tijoux and radical UK comedian Stewart Lee, Asian Dub Foundation continue their sonic opposition to the powers that be and "Access Denied" kicks harder and higher than ever. Asian Dub Foundation are a genre unto themselves. Their unique combination of tough jungle rhythms, dub bass lines and wild guitar overlaid by references to their South Asian roots and militant high-speed rap has established them as one of the best live bands in the world. During their long and productive career Asian Dub Foundation have shared the stage with the likes of Rage Against The Machine, the Beastie Boys and Primal Scream also collaborating on record with the likes of Radiohead, Sinead O' Connor, Iggy Pop and Chuck D. The story began in the early 90's when ADF formed from a music workshop in East London at the institution which is their spiritual home, Community Music. Their unique beginnings in a music workshop in east London marked out both their sound and their wider educational aspirations, as showed by their early involvements with Roma Youth in Budapest, hooking up with the leg-endary Afro Reggae in the favelas of Rio, and setting up their own education organisation ADF Education (ADFED), not to mention their campaigns on behalf of those suffering miscarriages of justice. Building a solid live reput

Brooklyn's Tenor Triage unites the saxophone camaraderie of Michael Eaton, James Brandon Lewis, and Sean Sonderegger into a freewheeling and outward bound spin�on a classic matchup.��The band's chemistry melds harmolodics and firey, hymnic free jazz to heavy hitting groove and gritty polyphony.��"Tenor Triage", outlines their vision through original music plus a deep cut composition by Dewey Redman, joined by bassist Brad Jones and drummer Calvin Weston (both alumni of Ornette Coleman's ensembles). The tenors dedicate "Tenor Triage" to their late bandmate, harmolodic guitar master Bern Nix.

David Sanchez triumphantly returns with a masterwork that not only emphasizes his deep roots and respect for Jazz with a capital J, but that continues the narrative from his album Melaza, digging further into the story of the African Diaspora as it is represented in the Caribbean, from Puerto Rico to Cuba to Haiti. His playing is at a peak, and the band flawlessly follows the story of his diverse study of Afro-Caribbean culture. - "The African diaspora throughout the Americas feels to me like a big river, flowing and changing it's formation across various lands, but remaining one immense watercourse. Carib is my continuation of that river, a personal and musical stream I began when I became bandleader for my first album, The Departure (1994) where you can clearly hear Puerto Rican rhythms running throughout. Another fork, my album Melaza (2000), has the most substantial connection with Carib because of it's flow and the strong influence of the bomba music tradition from Puerto Rico. I believe some of the greatest contributions to contemporary music and culture have come from the African diaspora throughout the Americas. Unfortunately, there seems to be too little awareness of their influence, especially the vital stories told by the music. So, I wanted to approach this album as a means to pay tribute to all Afro descendent communities who have helped define my music and the culture's broad ranging beauty and idiosyncrasies. Carib features traditional music from these two islands, because it still amazes me how similar their music flows. I focused on the Congo-Guinee in Haitian music because it is a musical tradition shared by many other Afro descendant cultures." - David Sanchez