Rules are there to be broken. Genres are there to be blurred. Perhaps you thought The Ragtime Rumours could never top the fearless alchemy of 2018’s debut Rag ’N Roll – a rebellious collision of vintage blues, offbeat rock ‘n’ roll, gypsy-jazz and quirky storytelling. But with this year’s Abandon Ship, you’ll be happily proved wrong.

Classically trained in contemporary percussion in her native Taiwan, Chien Chien Lu, the emergent vibraphonist best known, to date, for recording and touring with the Jeremy Pelt Quintet, is excited to release "The Path", her genre melding debut as a leader.

Tony Quarrington and Zoey Adams make up the prolific and eclectic musical duo, Q&A. He is an accomplished jazz guitarist, composer and songwriter, with hundreds of credits on recordings in all genres.

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Jersey Street’s heady combo of Deep House, Spiritual jazz, Latin rhythms and raw soul saw them receive some heavy props and kudos all around the world when they first appeared back in the day – with “Manchester’s best kept secret”, vocalist Dawn Zee, being compared to the likes of Erykah Badu, Jill Scott and Lauren Hill.

No American rock group ever started with as much daring or musical promise as Blood, Sweat & Tears, or realized their potential more fully – and then blew it all as quickly. From their origins as a jazz-rock experiment that wowed critics and listeners, they went on – in a somewhat more pop vein – to sell almost six million records in three years, but ended up being dropped by their record label four years after that. This Dutton Vocalion's reissue combines pair of the band's later albums - "Mirror Image" from 1974 and "New City" from 1975, remastered from the Original Master tapes by Michael J. Dutton.

Diana DeMuth debut's her new album Misadventure. Restless and ready to pave her own way, Diana DeMuth has burst onto the singer- songwriter scene with an arresting perspective about life, love and self-discovery

Earth, Wind & Fire hit their peak in 1975 with their multi-platinum album “That's the Way of the World”, excelling the band into absolute stardom with their hit title track and funky “Shining Star”. If you could have only one EWF release, this would be the best choice, and even better yet it has now been released on a quad hybrid SACD that also contains the follow-up 1976 album “Spirit”. Their powerful blend of funk and soul extends to the remainder of the album with no dull moments found within. “That's the Way of the World” can easily be considered one of the strongest albums of the '70s and has been impeccably remastered by Michael J. Dutton for the Dutton Vocallian reissue label.

The term Tumbuk in gamelan music refers to a common tone which occurs in two differently tuned gamelan scales. Figuratively speaking, it is a point at which different realities meet and mix, a musical linchpin.

Nina Simone was one of the most gifted vocalists of her generation, and also one of the most eclectic. Simone was a singer, pianist, and songwriter who bent genres to her will rather than allowing herself to be confined by their boundaries; her work swung back and forth between jazz, blues, soul, classical, R&B, pop, gospel, and world music, with passion, emotional honesty, and a strong grasp of technique as the constants of her musical career.

After the highly successful "Perfectly Unhappy" (2018) album with Andy Sheppard, the trio is back with a new album featuring seven brand new songs from the pianist. Captivating and lyrical, always melodic and often melancholic and uplifting at the same time, these are all real tunes. The music has a rich sense of melody coupled with a poignant lyricism that is infectious… the symbiosis between the saxophonist and the trio is truly remarkable. All About Jazz "End Of Summer" was recorded in Oslo in April during lockdown. After getting all their concerts cancelled because of the pandemic, Espen says it was very inspiring to still be able to meet in a recording studio to make new music and keep it all alive. This being their first recording in five years as a trio, Espen is also keen to stress that the collaboration with Andy was not a one-off and that the plan is to "continue working together for a very long time". Espen Eriksen Trio was formed in 2007 and released their debut album in 2010, "End Of Summer" being their fifth.

At the time of his death earlier this year, Phil May was hugely excited about the impending release of the first-ever, all-acoustic Pretty Things album, which had recently been completed.