New Life II

Jazzman Records deliver A New Life, Vol. II: Independent and Regional Jazz in Great Britain 1968-1988, continuing their series of under-heard jazz from the UK. It's been three years since Jazzman's A New Life (JMAN 075CD/LP, 2015) alerted jazz heads to the existence of an unknown world of British jazz private pressings and indie obscurities. Back for a second round, compilers Francis Gooding and Duncan Brooker have dug deep into the archives to assemble another ground-breaking collection of Brit jazz anomalies and outliers from the 1970s and 1980s. A New Life, Vol. II picks up the story where A New Life left off, searching out overlooked jazz gems from across the length and breadth of the British Isles. When the major labels and the record industry left jazz out in the cold, musicians and jazz enthusiasts took the initiative. Indie labels made space for established artists and experimental outsiders alike, while local groups and youth bands turned to private pressings to document their music and build their own scenes. From London blues renegade Billy Jenkins's spiritual tribute to Pharoah Sanders and the swinging vocal artistry of Belfast-born Gerry McClelland, to the thunderous big band sound of Leicester's Music Explosion and the modal drama of the Don Rendell Five, A New Life, Vol. II reveals another fascinating layer of forgotten Brit jazz history. Fully researched and presented with in depth liner notes, Jazzman Records again brings you the unheard, unorthodox and under-rated sound of the British jazz underground! Also features: Frank Evans, Hotpoints, Inner Ear, RedBrass, Big Sun, Midland Youth Jazz Orchestra, Robert Shaw & the Dick Hawdon Quintet, Big Baffle, and Pat Crumly Sextet. CD with liners and photos.