Last month, a fascinating new album, Ocean Bridges, was released on independent label, Redefinition Records.  The album features Raw Poetic (Jason Moore) and his uncle, avant-garde jazz legend Archie Shepp, stitched together by DJ/multi-instrumentalist and Redefinition Records co-founder, Damu the Fudgemunk (Earl Davis).  Thanks for being on the lookout, Helga!

Damu has been incorporating jazz and soul samples into his hip hop recordings for many years, but adding Archie Shepp creates something the likes of which I’ve never heard.   So, check out “Tulip” with open mind and ears.

Shepp, now in his 80’s, played with John Coltrane in the early 1960’s, assembled a catalog of politically focused solo work, performed in sessions with Sun Ra and Fela Kuti, and was a professor of music at U. Mass Amherst for 30 years.   Much of his work is pretty “out there”, but here is one of his more accessible tracks, “You Don’t Know What Love Is”.

Poetic and Damu have collaborated before.  Philadelphia native Poetic, has spent a lot of time in Damu’s hometown of Washington D.C.   Here is “Hole Up” from 2012.

Damu mines his classic hip hop vein with many other collaborators.  Here is “Rather Unique” from 2017’s Ears Hear Spears featuring fellow traditionalist, Insight The Truncator.

NOW GO TO REDEFINITION RECORDS AND BUY SOME OF THAT VINYL!!