Bridging the Gap August 27, 2025

*Vito Lalinga: "Bossa Breeze" (Precious 2025) Italian DJ & prod. Vito Lalinga began as a DJ in the 80s & began producing in the 2000s. His signature sound is jazz/funk & afro. He is also known under the moniker Vi Mode Inc. Project.

*Dr. Rubberfunk: "Bombay Bossa" (Northern Comfort 2010) Brit. multi-inst. prod. & DJ Simon Ward is Dr. Rubberfunk known for southern funk, psych., cool jazz & sultry grooves.

*Bei Bei & Shawn Lee: "Bei's Bossa" (Into The Wind 2010) Bei Bei is a Chinese ghuzeng player who crosses trad. Chinese folk music with jazz & soul. Shawn Lee is an Amer. multi-inst. prod. comp. living in the UK.

*Lanu & Meg Washington: "Fall" (Her 12 Faces 2011) Lance Ferguson is a New Zealand born prod. comp. guit. & DJ living in Australia. He fronts The Bamboos & several other groups as well as Lanu. M Washington is an Australian sing/songwr. & pianist.

*Kylie Auldist: "No Use" (Just Say 2008) Kylie Auldist is a Samoan-Australian soul & funk singer. She sings lead for The Bamboos & has released 4 solo albums.

*Whirimako Black: "Turangawaewae" (Houhou Te Rongo 2002) W Black is a NZ Maori singer, comp. & actress. She sings mostly in Maori & uses traditional taongo puoro instruments.

*Lack Of Afro: "All Night feat. Jack Tyson Charles" (Square One 2023) Lack Of Afro is Brit. multi-inst. prod. & DJ Adam Gibbons. Gibbons started piano lessons at 7 & began playing alto sax at 17. He began professionally with Freestyle Records in 2006. JT Charles is a dynamic soul singer from the UK.

*Monophonics: "Sound Of Sinning" (Soul Of Sinning 2015) Monophonics are a SF Bay Area soul band who were called "On of the best soul bands I have ever seen!" by Al Bell co-owner of legendary Stax Records.

*Crowd Company: "Get Used To It" (Lowdown 2020) Crowd Company provide a modern take on vintage funk & soul. They feature a retro Hammond organ sound, a virtuoso horn section & soulful lead & harmony vocals.

*Clutchy Hopkins & Shawn Lee: "70 Mph Isn't Fast Enough To Get Out Of Nebraska" (Fascinating Fingers 2009) C Hopkins is the mysterious musician that presumably no one knows the identity of, yet he has multiple collaborations with people like prod. comp. multi-inst. Shawn Lee. Keep it up!

*The Herbaliser: "Over & Over (Inst.)" (Bring Out The Sound 2018) English jazzy hip hop group formed by Jake Wherry & Ollie Trattles that called it quits in 2020.

*Jah Wobble & Invaders Of The Heart: "Everything Is No Thing" (Everything Is No Thing 2016) English bass guit. John Joseph Wardle is Jah Wobble who was exploring world before it became popular.

*Inf: "Collage (Inst.)" (Segmenten Inst.-EP 2015) Dutch prod & rapper Bas Te Braak is Inf. Early in his career he was compelled to create his own beats to go with his rhymes.

HOUR 2

*The Jazz Defenders: "Net Zero" (Memory In Motion 2024) One of UK's most exciting & distinctive jazz groups led byone of the UK's premier pianist composers, George Cooper. They blend soul jazz with hip hop, funk & cinematic influences

*The Filthy Six: "Watch What You're Doin' To Me" (More Filth 2016) The Filthy Six are a Brit. jazz group playing funk, acid jazz & soul jazz with a Hammond organ sound. They are led by trumpeter Nick Etwell.

*Kerbside Collection: "Cairo Green" (Round The Corner 2022) Kerbside Collection are an all inst. jazz, funk & rare groove ensemble from Brisbane Australia feat. early 60s & 70s West Coast sounds & Hammond organ grooves.

*Kojato: "Like A Gypsy" (All About Jazz 2011) Feat. Monrovian sing/songwr. Kojo Ebenezer Samuels, prod. comp. Oliver Belz (Bahama Soul Club) & Keyboardist prod. comp. Andre Neundorf (The EEs) Kojato is a modern Afto-Jazz project.

*The Lafayette Afro Rock Band: "Racubah" (Darkest Light: Best Of... 1999) LARB first formed in Long Island in 1971 as Bobby Boyd Congress, moved to France & later became known as LARB before disbanding after returning to the US.

*Sun Atlas: "Message From The Snakes" (Return To The Spirit 2024) LA based psychedelic funk ensemble. They are not identifying themselves except through the music, which seems quite enough in my book.

*Los Fabulosos Cadillacs: "La Luz Del Ritmo" (La Luz Del Ritmo 2008) LFC are an Argentinian rock group who introduced 2 tone ska to Argentina then developed Latin rock fusion. Founded in Buenos Aires by Gabriel Fernandez (Vicentico ) on vox, Mario Siperman (Spiker) keys, Anibal Rigozzi guit. Flavio Cianciarulo bass, vox & Fernando Riccardi drums.

*Money Chicha: "Ojos Azules" (Chicha Summit 2021) Austin TX chicha band inspired by the 60s & 70s sounds of Peru & Colombia feat. members of Brownout & Grupo Fantasma.

*Flowering Inferno: "Echate Pa'lla" (Dog With A Rope 2010) Tropical Reggae & dub project from Brit. multi-inst. prod. comp. Will Holland aka Quantic from his time living & recording in Colombia.

*Rickie Lee Jones" (Chuck E.'s In Love" (Rickie Lee Jones 1979) Amer. jazz & pop sing/songwr. from Chicago Ill. Jones won the 1980 Best New Artist Grammy for this self titled album.

*Lowell George: "Easy Money" (Thanks I'll Eat It Here 1979) Lowell George was an Amer. guit. sing/ songwr. known as the founder of Little Feat. He played with the early MOI.

*Harry Hosono & The World Shyness: "Morgan Boogie" (Flying Saucer 1947 2007) Prod. comp. musician Harry Hosono (Haruomi) is known as one of the most influential figures in modern Jap. music,

*Shigeru Suzuki: "Coral Reef" (Pacific 1978) Jap. guit. songwr. Shigeru Suzuki played in the influential rock band Happy End with  Harry Hosono.