of 2014 came to be on this Sunday's show.
Not listened yet? Then do so.
Also includes Audiobooms of each artist's first appearance on Blam Jam!
Click on the headers to hear them!
Best New Act: Tristan
A debut album full of instant winners, and these don't come often.
This Dutch outfit arrived in the Spring of '14 gaining fans
outside their homeland with their blend of amazing beats
and melodic brilliance with a nod to 90s jazzy sounding soul,
imagine Incognito forming a supergroup with Raw Stylus
and Corduroy.
Accompanying the top notch players is lead vocalist Evelyn Kallansee
who lends her voice to upbeat gems such as "Moon Tune" and "Full Power"
as well as the more mellow offerings such as the amazing "New Beginning".
With a follow-up album already in the making, let's hope this lot choose to board a train across the channel and maybe perform a few live shows
on British shores.
Go on, pretty please?
Best Jazz Album: Melanie De Biasio - "No Deal"
Jazz is a misunderstood, but ever evolving style of music
and this Belgian performer continues the evolution with her
debut album first brought to my attention at the tail end
of 2013.
I love the dark feel that flows throughout the record itself,
and the poetic words from De Biasio that helps to ensure a
nice flow.
It's also one worth recommending to those who have never previously
got into jazz, especially as it has a length of just 35 minutes.
Enough to have to you wanting more.
Best Duo: Soulperfreesia
A fantastic collaboration between producer Soulpersona
and singer Princess Freesia who in the Spring of '14 released
a debut album full of winners.
Standouts include "Keep It Working" based on a sample of
one of my favourite Brenda Russell songs "Hello People",
and "Underwater Love" which became a radio favourite on
the many online soul stations throughout the summer.
The album's just been released physically with a remix from
to producer and "quality controller" Joey Negro, with new
material set to emerge in '15.
Best Male Solo: Jarrod Lawson
Really, there was no contest this year.
It's the quiet ones you've gotta look out for and this fella
from Oregon, suddenly emerged with a debut solo album
filled with nods to classic 70s soul performers, refined for
the present day, leading to sell-out performances in
the UK.
There's so many different styles covered from the Latin
inspired "Sleepwalkers", to the Donald Fagen-esque
"Together We'll Stand", and if you get the chance to see
him live, the melodic quality from the LP is ever-present,
which is something that can rarely be said for many performers.
In short, just go and see him when he's next on our shores.
Best Female Solo: Fatima
Like Jarrod Lawson, a talent that's been a long time coming.
Fresh from Stockholm the debut is an eclectic but exciting
set of future beats overseen by producers such as
Floating Points, Shafiq Husayn and Oh No, and full on arrangements.
My only bugbear with the album itself is that the opening track
"Do Better" isn't representative of the broken beats making up
the rest of the album, as it's such a great opener.
Maybe it should have been pushed later on in the LP,
but that's not to say the album itself is sub-standard.
Again like the Melanie Di Biasio album, give this one a listen
if you don't think you're a jazz fan.
Album Of The Year: Sonzeira - "Brazil Bam Bam Bam"
Brazil and Gilles Peterson.
A combination that even before listening to the album,
I knew it would create something amazing.
And it turned out to surpass intitial expectations, as this
album released in time for the 2014 World Cup explored
the rich musical heritage of Rio and the surrounding areas
whilst sounding fresh and forward looking.
Along with top Brazilian musicians such as Seu Jorge,
Elza Soarez and Marcos Valle to name just a few, "Brasil Bam Bam"
is filled with experimental arrangements of not just Brazilian
tunes but one or two homegrown tunes, namely an amazing
re-arrangement of Brit-funk favourite "Southern Freeez".
But it's not just the album itself that earns it's place as Blam Jam's
favourite of '14 as accompanying it was a superb feature-length
documentary showing the making of the album, and Gilles'
witty and informative insight into Brazil, with a help from
a few friends such as Brazilian music aficianado Ed Motta.
One of very few people who owns the album that inspired this,
the elusive "Tam Tam Tam" by Jose Prates, containing
the tune that inspired the samba standard, "Mas Que Nada".
Best Song: Incognito - "Stop Running Away"
On hearing snippets from Bluey and co's latest album
"Amplified Soul" I'll admit I was non-plussed as most of the
tracks were mid to down-tempo, and I much prefer the upbeat
Cog sound.
But as a crazed fan of the Cog I bought it anyway and as I
was going through a rather rough time at that point, it really helped
with the album closer sung by Bluey himself in falsetto being
the most meaningful.
In the audio below Bluey himself tells the story behind the song...
Biggest Belter Of 2014: Afro Elements - "Lift Your Life" (Both versions!)
After what I personally thought was a rather mediocre couple of
months for jazzy soul tunes at the beginning of the year, UK/Taiwanese funkers the Afro Elements emerged all of a sudden with an album filled with
the essence of what Blam Jam is about, titled "Out Of The Centre".
Funky grooves with amazing jazzy melodic harmony.
The standout track was the "original version" of the tune
"Lift Your Life" that had previously been released as a more
upbeat jazzy house version on their 2007 LP "It Remains To Be Seen"
re-released again in 2014, which I loved even more so both versions
earn the title of Blam Jam's Biggest Belter!
More please soon guys!
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