Byron The Aquarius
Ambrosia

Vega Trails is a new unit from double-bassist Milo Fitzpatrick, (Portico Quartet), and features saxophonist Jordan Smart (Mammal Hands) in a richly powerful duet. The project which takes its name from Carl Sagan's science fiction novel 'Contact' (a book about signals of new life detected from the Vega system) and was born out of a desire to bring the elements of bass and melody to the foreground in their most stripped-back and rawest form. Influences from Swedish fiddle to Indian Classical are woven into a minimized tapestry of ambient instrumental sounds. Verbed-out folk jazz with an existential tip. Another sublime release from the always reliable Gondwana Records.

Balearic lords Claremont 56 give us an early Christmas present with these two cuts from Detroit DJ and producer Blair French.On the A, 'Sandbar Caviar' wafts and sways with island waves as gentle arpeggios ebb and flow, creating harmonies and cosmic textures. On the flip, 'Inland Island' adjusts our seats to a horizontal position with its snaking bassline and spacious percussion gradually opening into a heavenly vocal and guitar lead that's tantamount to transcendental. Strictly 300, no sleepy!

Gorgeous remix EP of Marseille (France) based singer/songwriter David Walters' hit record 'Nocturne'. Full of sweeping strings, acoustic rhythms, joyful Afro-centric horns and all number of other live instrumentation, this little package has a flavour for any occasion from the EU and Caribbean-based DJs. A fun DJ tool for the tropical spinners!

Jazz Room Records big boss Paul Murphy reissues another obscure, hard-to-find and sought-after Latin jazz album of the highest order! This time, a glorious New York fusion of salsa, Latin jazz, boogaloo and funk most famous for the two-part 'Suite Gauracho' - a piano-popping, flute-laden affair that has become a favourite of both Balearic and nu-jazz DJs. Big chunes for the Jazz dancers!