Night Dreamer Direct-To-Disc Sessions

The third release from Night Dreamer's essential "Direct-to-Disc" sessions sees an incredible

meeting between legendary US saxophonist Gary Bartz and leading UK spiritual jazz ensemble,

Maisha, featuring two Bartz classics and three brand new joint songs written by both Bartz &

Maisha in close collaboration.

Having cut his teeth playing with the likes of Charles Mingus, Max Roach, Art Blakey and finally in

1970, Miles Davis at the peak of his electric period, Gary Bartz became a leading figure of the

early-to-mid 70s spiritual jazz movement, releasing a string of ground-breaking albums on

legendary NYC jazz label Prestige Records with his NTU Troop, featuring classics such as

"Celestial Blues", "Uhuru Dance" and "I've Known Rivers", before collaborating on Blue Note

Records with the Mizell Brothers on the anthemic jazz funk of "Music Is My Sanctuary". An oeuvre

much loved by soul jazzers and hip hop fans alike.

Led by drummer Jake Long, Maisha have been central to the UK's jazz explosion, and have fast

become the UK's most exciting and in-demand young spiritual jazz ensemble, from steller shows

at Jazz re:freshed, Total Refreshment Centre & Church of Sound and supporting the Sun Ra

Arkestra, to releasing their critically acclaimed debut LP, "There Is A Place" on Gilles Peterson's

Brownswood Recordings in 2018. Theirs is an organic & explosive sound that blends influences

from afrobeat and broken beat to Persian music, with a deep love and understanding of jazz,

particularly the heritage of spiritual jazz led by titans such as Pharoah Sanders, Alice Coltrane and

of course, Gary Bartz.

Which makes this collaboration even more special. Bartz was first invited to share a stage with

Maisha by Gilles Peterson to headline the inaugural We Out Here festival. Their chemistry was rich

and instantaneous, certainly a two-way street, with the young musicians reinvigorating the

legend's performance and wowing the intergenerational festival audience. A European tour

followed, including a London Jazz Festival highlight at the Royal Festival Hall, celebrating the 50th

anniversary of his album "Another Earth", originally featuring fellow legends, Pharoah Sanders,

Charles Tolliver, Stanley Cowell, and John Coltrane's own bassist, Reggie Workman.

Now the relationship has evolved into a special straight-to-disc recording for Night Dreamer

Records, that captures the vitality of their collaboration. Whilst Bartz and Maisha reinvent classic

Bartz compositions "Uhuru Sasa" and "Dr Follows Dance", extending the pieces into long piece

improvised grooves, their recording session gave birth to three brand new joint compositions,

written the very same day. These include the propulsive "Leta's Dance" that magically combines

the Bartz' soulful musical lyricism with Maisha's African-jazz influences, and the organic jazz funk

of "Harlem to Haarlem", featuring a hot solo from guest trumpeter Axel Kaner-Lidstrom of Cykada

& Levitation Orchestra fame.

Like previous Night Dreamer efforts from afrobeat star Seun Kuti & Egypt 80, and the beautiful

collaboration between Brazilian stars Seu Jorge & Rogê, the album was recorded in Haarlem's

Artone Studio, a stones throw from Amsterdam, in just one-take, straight-to-disc, avoiding postproduction

embellishments and retaining the purity of the performance lost in modern recording

techniques.

This record really is an event, in and of itself, a meeting of talents, minds, generations and

zeitgeist moments, captured in a unique and pure manner. The music does not disappoint, as

Maisha have been inspired to reach new heights whilst we find Bartz truly reinvigorated, and both

artists in tune to the spirit of the other.