Producers Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad (of A Tribe Called Quest) have released some excellent albums in the past year on their new label Jazz Is Dead. For each release they team up with one of their jazz heroes (Roy Ayers, Marcus Valle, Azymuth) to create brand new music. This fifth instalment is a collaboration with keyboardist, organist and 1970s fusion innovator Doug Carn, the force behind Infant Eyes and Adam's Apple. The new jams range from visceral to mellow, some with free touches and a couple with refreshingly acerbic melodies for the two horns, built around looping scales. Carn plays brilliantly, adding soothing Hammond organ flourishes and scrabbling lines. There are some amazing grooves, including the racing ‘Lion’s Walk' and an off-kilter Brazilian joint called ‘Nunca Um Malandro’ featuring Gary Bartz on alto. The production is outstanding. The duo call their approach “jazz-hip hop-funk-noir” and use vintage recording equipment to evoke the sound of their guest's earlier releases. I love all the rough edges: the mewling organ, the echoey, raw drums. Listen to this and you'll want to go digging in Carn's back-catalogue and to keep an eye out for everything Jazz Is Dead release.