Ever since his headline slot at We Out Here Festival last summer, US sax great Gary Bartz had been enjoying some well-deserved attention [see feature on p36]. His band for that show was the London-based spiritual jazz group Maisha and this new release, recorded straight to vinyl for Night Dreamer Records (an innovative young label based in the Netherlands), documents their fruitful collaboration. It’s a mix of old and new, with two Bartz classics and three joint compositions on the tracklist, but they’re all exceptionally groovy and fun, lit by bright melodies and hummable riffs. ‘Harlem to Haarlem’ sets the tone, with a typically lyrical solo from Bartz and an edgier one from trumpeter Axel Kaner-Lidstrom. Guitarist Shirley Tetteh lets loose with some great blues licks on ‘The Stank’, a shuffle with an infectious snake-hipped melody. ‘Leta’s Dance’, the sweetest of tunes, takes things down a notch with an atmospheric opening before launching a dancing spiritual groove. And ‘Uhuru Sasa’ and ‘Dr Follows Dance’ (both from Bartz’ 1973 album I’ve Known Rivers And Other Bodies) round out the set with barrels of joyful funk. Music like this just makes you happy. It’s impossible not to smile.