What We’re Listening To: A Jazz Great, SZA & Other Artists You Need To Hear

Record reviewer Peter Baker brings you the releases you need to know about. This week, there’s a scorching album from the pioneers of desert blues, husky vocals float over instrumentation, and a retrospective for a Brazilian multi-instrumentalist.

Tinariwen — Amatssou

Dubbed the pioneers of desert blues, Tinariwen is a collective of Tuareg musicians who hail from the Sahara Desert region of northern Mali. A formidable musical collective combining elements of Tuareg, African and Western rock music, Tinariwen has released nine albums to date, and toured internationally, including WOMAD. In 2012, Tassili won the Grammy Award for Best World Music Album. Battling horrendous homeland circumstances, the band rarely perform or record in Mali, now living in temporary exile.

Primarily guitar-driven, these Tuareg musicians channel blues and rock, layering both genres with scorching rhythmic vocals, string orchestration and pulsating percussion, forming a distinctive whirlwind of psyche-rock blues. Amatssou captures this collective perfectly, highlighting their incredible musicianship and confirming their status as forerunners of desert blues.

Record label: Wedge

Release date: Out now

Listen to: Kek Alghalm

For fans of: Mdou Moctar, Imarhan and Bassekou Kouyate.

SZA — SOS

New Jersey-born SZA ushered in a new era of R ‘n’ B with her 2017 debut album Ctrl, a startling debut that amassed worldwide critical acclaim and commercial success.

It’s taken five long years for SZA to release her sophomore album SOS. Released in December 2022 across digital platforms, now SOS is finally available for purchase in-store on vinyl and CD.

Every bit worth the wait, SOS is an astonishing album, as SZA takes a deep dive into the pressures (external and internal) of overnight stardom, navigating relationships (old and new) and self-esteem (high and low). Both Ctrl and SOS are essential albums from a gifted lyricist who has established herself as one of R ‘n’ B’s greatest talents.

Record label: Sony, RCA

Release date: Out now

Listen to: Kill Bill

For fans of: Dojo Cat, Jorja Smith and Rihanna.

Detroit-born harpist and composer Dorothy Ashby faced numerous challenges as an African-American woman showcasing her talents on a non-traditional jazz instrument (the harp) in a predominately male-dominated genre. Through the 50s and 60s, she released 11 solo albums, established herself as a respected session musician, and has since been hailed as one of “the most unjustly under-loved jazz greats of the 1950s”.

This 1970s masterpiece enlists the help of producer, arranger and composer Richard Evans, plus a host of talented musicians: Stu Katz on vibes and kalimba, Cash McCall on guitar, Cliff Davis adds alto saxophone, and Lenny Druss plays flute, oboe, bass flute and piccolo. For her part, Ashby plays harp and Japanese koto, as well as adding vocals.

A deeply spiritual affair, The Rubaiyat of Dorothy Ashby is no ordinary jazz vocal outing. It’s overflowing with soul-jazz grooves, where Ashby’s husky vocals float perfectly above these enchanting instrumentations — a career highlight from this relatively unknown harpist and pioneer.

Record label: Cadet, Universal

Release date: Out now

Listen to: The Moving Finger

For fans of: Pharoah Sanders, Alice Coltrane and Yusef Lateef.

Dollar Bill Y’All: Spring Records and the First Decade of Hip Hop

Spring Records’ history is perhaps a tale of “what ifs?” at the cutting edge of the early days of hip-hop but never garnering the commercial success of their contemporaries (Sugar Hill Records and Tommy Boy). Responsible for releasing the first hip-hop-style rap record, King Tim III (Personality Jock) by The Fatback Band, which featured on the B side of their single You’re My Candy Sweet — no doubt a claim that continues to be debated online and in various Reddit forums.

Focusing on original and innovative hip-hop recordings and demonstrating street-wise MCs, early sampling techniques and influential live funk bands, Dollar Bill Y’All highlights a label that documented an incredibly important period in the development of this burgeoning genre. It showcases the talents and ground-breaking skills of Jimmy Spicer, DJ Hollywood, Ice T (as part of Afrika & The Zulu Kings), Fatback Band, Bally Boys, M.C. Flex & The FBI Crew, and Mr Magic, to name a few.

Record label: Ace Records

Release date: Out now

Listen to: King Tim III (Personality Jock)

For fans of: The Sugarhill Gang, Grandmaster Flash and The Beastie Boys.

Tom Ze — Brazil Classics 4: The Best of Tom Ze

Hailed as Brazil’s answer to Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart, Tom Ze is a true originator and is respected for his lasting influence on the Tropicalia scene of the 60s. Ze is an astounding multi-instrumentalist and visionary who sadly faded into obscurity after the peak of Tropicalia, only to be celebrated much later in life.

Talking Heads frontman and Luaka Bop founder David Byrne discovered Tom Ze in the 90s and Ze was soon the first artist signed to Luaka Bop. A new album was conceived and soon Ze was the subject of much fanfare and interest.

Byrne is a huge fan and curated this retrospective, Brazil Classics 4: The Best of Tom Ze, back in 1990. Included are many Ze classics — Toc, Ma, Cademar and O Riso e a Faca — all bursting with an offbeat eccentricity that is peculiar to Ze. Reissued on vinyl, this career-spanning collection is an excellent entry point to this eclectic musician and the genre he championed.

Record label: Luaka Bop

Release date: Out now

Listen to: Toc

For fans of: Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa and Jorge Ben Jor.

Peter Baker is a local industry stalwart with 30 years of experience and musical tastes from 80s electronic through to reggae, soul, jazz and country. If you’re lucky, you’ll find him in Tāmaki Makaurau behind the counter at Marbecks.co.nz, sharing his love of music. Read his album recommendations on Viva every Saturday.

Previously: Slick R ‘n’ B and other things you need to hear