Surprise Chef
Education & Recreation

At the turn of the 90s, Philippe Cohen Solal, then musical director for Virgin, becomes one of the first music supervisor in France and works on film scores by Arnaud Desplechin, Nikita Mikhalkov, Lars von Trier, Bertrand Tavernier or Kieslowski, then later composes for Tonie Marshall, Christian Vincent and Didier Le Pêcheur. He meets the very young composer and arranger Christophe Chassol with whom he will sign early 2000 soundtracks, during these sessions they create together the soundtrack of an imaginary film where music would be our spiritual food.The majority of themes are composed by Philippe with his musical partner at the time Christoph H. Mueller before they formed the Gotan Project. Unveiled here for the first time, this album pays tribute to the art of soundtracks, inspired by the world of sophisticated arrangements by Michel Legrand, Henry Mancini, Lalo Schifrin and so many others. Add a touch of folk jazz with the singers Nivo and Gabriela Arnon and the voice of the brilliant Welshman, leader of Scritti Politti, Green Gartside.

A superb Jazz Flavoured Latin Funk Soul album recorded in 1977 by Grammy Award Winning Carlos Franzetti when he was a struggling musician trying to get his first breaks in a tough New York Jazz scene. With a Top Notch grouping including Percussionist Ray Mantilla, Victor Venegas on Bass and Dick Meza from the Tito Puente Orchestra Carlos played all the Keyboards, wrote the numbers and was also responsible for all the arrangements.Released by Guiness Records (No relation to the Drink) and swiftly forgotten Stateside it was picked up by the DJ's in London's early Jazz Dance scene where "Cocoa Funk" became a must have cut, eventually appearing on Soul Jazz Records seminal re-issue series "London Jazz Classics". It also became a hit in Germany after being re-issued on a double vinyl by leading label Sonorama Records.Now available again in its original single album format and sounding as fresh as if recorded yesterday from the opening bars of the jazz inflected cut "Beatriz" via the Worldwide sounds of "Sweet And Low" to the Funky Latin Jazz of the title track "Graffiti".Still changing hands for eye watering sums on collectors sites and now available again for a reasonable sum courtesy of Jazz Room Records.

Freestyle Records are proud to reissue Ambiance II Fusion's mid-80s fusion rarity "Come Touch Tomorrow" - originally recorded in Hollywood CA October/November 1984 and released in 1985.Following a yearly run of 4 albums self-released between 1979 and 1982, Nigerian-born saxophonist, flutist, and clarinettist Daoud Abubakar Balewa then took a few years off before returning with 1985's "Come Touch Tomorrow", the first of two albums issued under the updated name of Ambiance II Fusion. Combining the afro-spiritual jazz & be-bop inflected fusion of his earlier work as Ambiance, this record took the project into more modern & distinctly cosmic planes with the introduction of spacey pads and drum machines working alongside somewhat tighter arrangements and solid rhythm sectons. Of particular note here is the B1 track "Boy What a Joy" on which a sublimely funky synth & drum machine throwdown is presented in prophetically lo-fi fashion - recalling recent stylistic approaches from the likes of Dâm-Funk among others.