Ban Ban Ton Ton is looking back on the musical year. Since Japanese superstition holds 7 as her luckiest number, we’re gonna try to keep each selection tight to this total, in the hope that our conjuring of 7 X 7 X 7 X … will collectively manifest some magic for 2025. You may witness some attempts to creatively bend the rules, blur / invent genres and rinse formats, in order to squeeze in as many great releases as possible… 

I’ve explained elsewhere, that for several reasons, Cal Gibson currently kindly attends to most of Ban Ban Ton Ton’s jazz “coverage”, but below is a short personal selection – a lucky 7 – of swinging, syncopated releases from the last 12 months. 

Aura Safari & Jimi Tenor / Sensory Blending

This amazing album, is made even more amazing by the fact that it was laid down in a single day. Played and recorded, unrehearsed as the result of a chance meeting Perugia, by local band, Aura Safari and Finnish musical maestro Jimi Tenor. Released on “Balearic” label, Hell Yeah, the LP really deserved to cross over to the legit “jazz scene” (I don’t know if it did), and help gain the imprint a much wider audience than the narrow B-word niche. There were tons of tunes on here that were – if championed – potential future dancefloor classics. 

Harry Beckett / The Modern Sound Of

On-U Sound did the decent thing and finally pressed Harry Beckett’s The Modern Sound Of to vinyl. Recorded in 2008, two years before Beckett’s passing, it served as a righteous reminder of the Barbadian trumpet and flugelhorn virtuoso’s passion for musical experimentation and collaboration. Over his 5-decade-plus long career, Beckett racked up credits than ran from The Small Faces to Jah Wobble, and this Adrian Sherwood-produced set didn’t show any signs of him letting up. The album gets better the more you listen to it. I’d be hard pressed to pick a favourite. 

Alina Bzhezhinska & Tony Kofi / Altera Vita 

This was a standout for me on the spiritual side of things. A super chilled collaboration between UK jazz veteran saxophonist Tony Kofi and Ukrainian harpist Alina Bzhezhinska. The set conceived as a tribute to Pharoah Sanders.

Maarten Goetheer & Pong Nakornchai / Suite For Chick

This seemed to come out of nowhere. Released on another “Balearic” branded label, in this case NuNorthern Soul, this was a phenomenal foray into future fusion from Bali-based Maarten Goetheer and Pong Nakornchai. A collection of covers dedicated to their composer jazz giant Chick Corea, several of the tracks also seemed to tip their hat to classic Detroit techno. 

Pete Jolly / Seasons

An album that respected jazz pianist Pete Jolly recorded allegedly solely to get out of his A&M contract, Seasons, went onto be heavily sampled, sought after and highly priced. Inner Space Quartet’s Brother Lee Skelly, part of the Ban Ban Ton Ton extended family, tipped me off to Future Days’ lovely coloured vinyl reissue. You could chose between autumnal amber and spring green. 

On the library side of things I also splashed out on Gianfranco Reverberi’s Rivelazioni Di Uno Psichiatra Sul Mondo Perverso Del Sesso soundtrack. Once thought lost, the funky sleaze of the main theme sounded, to me, like the sort of thing J. Saul Kane would have spun / sampled. 

Terumasa Hino Quintet / Hakucho No Shugeki 白昼の襲撃 (Broad Daylight Attack)

Paul Murphy’s Jazz Room put out this double A-sided 45 of Japanese dancefloor jazz. The Terumasa Hino Quintet’s Hakucho No Shugeki (translates as Broad Daylight Attack) is the theme to a 70s gangster movie. As far as I know this is the only time it’s appeared on vinyl. Bold B-line, dynamite drums and cool keys cook up a very Blue Note, very “mod” groove. Topped off by terrific trumpet solos from the man behind the original “acid jazz” classic, Merry-Go-Round, and the frugging finally fading into a hail of gunshots. On the flip you’ll find the Norio Maeda Trio’s Alpha Ray, the title track from their 1969 debut album. A slice of swinging Latin, that stops, starts and leaps, it’s packed with percussion, the drummer getting a lengthy break. The contrabass keeps things grounded, as the piano pirouettes, races, jumps in and out. If this does it for you, then you should also take a listen to Paul’s retrospective collection focused on the music of Tokyo crew, Copa Salvo. To be honest, anything and everything curated by Murphy is worth getting your hands on.  

Andrew Wasylyk & Tommy Perman / Ash Grey And The Gull Glides On

This Fluxus inspired album, might not be intended as such, but based in improvisation, its jive can’t help but be a little jazz. While Perman’s electronics incorporate techno and house, Wasylyk’s playing, in places, recalls Soft Machine. The LP’s contrabass grooves have clearly been listening to Sun Ra.