https://i.imgur.com/FWJpsb5.jpg

Byard Lancaster: Soul Unity

When this album was originally released it was under the name Thunderbird Service
which was basically Lancaster and Khan Jamal, but now Kosmos Jazz out of Paris is
re-releasing this deep groove that features tunes such as Coltrane's Dahomey Dance
[from Olé Coltrane (1961)] and a 10 minute rendition of the Sanders/Thomas tune,
The Creator Has a Master Plan [from Karma (1969)]. "A devotional journey through
Great Black Music, from Africa to Coltrane, from Spirituals to Now, searching for the
Source behind the forms."

Beast Nest: Sicko

Oftentimes, backstories leading up to an album might seem
like a necessary thing (especially so if you are the creator),
but even tho these pieces are supposed to be some kind of
emotional release of stories concerning friends who died as
a result of the Ghost Ship fire a bit over 5 years ago mixed
with LGBTQ+ issues, I'm just not hearing those stories like
some reviewers are, BUT, for me, that's not where the
lovely atmosphere of bubbles, squeaks, padded pads and
enviro recordings lead me. They use synth ostinatos inside
wildly complex sound backdrops that make you feel like a
little bubble bouncing around inside a bottle of soy cola as
it shifts your occasionally quesy mental drift towards what
comes off as a six-part suite of percolating daydreams.
It's really a beautiful ride without the mighty hallucinogen.