The tenth album from this Toronto based groove duo, Four80East. With an eclectic mix of neo-jazz, Gonna Be Alright serves up a infectious mix of soul, funk and jazz groovers to follow-up their 2022 release Straight Round. Four80East is a Toronto-based electro-jazz duo that’s all about the groove. Drawing from their diverse musical influences, Rob DeBoer and Tony Grace have created a signature sound that combines electronic production with live instrumentation. Four80East has been a mainstay on the contemporary jazz scene for over 20 years.

Two of the most memorable albums from the trip-hop and acid jazz era are by cornettist Graham Haynes (Transition) and trumpeter Ben Neill (Goldbug). Dressing for Pleasure preceeded them both. Usually, an adjective like "suave" doesn't sit easily on an ethnomusicologist whose knack for directness is grounded by his sense of beauty; neither does a label like "acid jazz." But this is Hassell's only album to fit its musical moment, following his appearance on the soundtrack of the crime film Trespass. The feel of a fully committed band is especially amazing – Hassell and drummer Brain work with an army of bassists (six, including Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers) and enough programmers (three) to field a dot com startup on a coffee break. Hassell's horn flits through a sexy blend of trip-hop's hard drum programs topped with soft, impassive electronic textures like a bird circling over a crowded intersection. Woodwind player Kenny Garrett and guitarist Gregg Arreguin provide thematic voices, too, but melody is rarely enough in this genre.

The Café del Mar is perhaps most known around the world for its chill-out music compilations. The songs are described as balearic ambient, easy listening music. The collections of the music played at the café were first sold on cassette at the end of the 1980s. In 1994, the first official “Café del Mar” CD was released, which included works by world-renowned artists. Following the great success of the first release, a total of 18 volumes of the main compilation series have been published.

A collection including nine of the ten tracks from the Brand New Heavies' self-titled debut album, plus three tracks recorded live in Tokyo, In Tha Beginning… is a fresh look at the acid jazz group's first recordings. Entrenched in England's rare-groove scene at the time, the Brand New Heavies were a tight unit that fused dexterous instrumental jazz-funk with just a touch of P-Funk bounce for club audiences. The results, on "Dream Come True," "People Get Ready," and the instrumental highlight "BNH," are great examples of acid jazz.

Universal TV UK's Connected: '90s 12" Mixes features 36 cuts over three discs culled from the clove-smoked DJ bins of the mainstream '90s. Using the instantly recognizable four-note jam from the Stereo MC's as its impetus and lead-off cut, Connected collects all of the extended versions that listeners were duped into buying during the age of the CD-single, like eight minutes of the Soup Dragons' "I'm Free," a remix of Deee-Lite's "Groove Is in the Heart," and the bass loop version of Stone Roses' "Fools Gold," resulting in an overly long trip (pub crawl) down memory lane that would have been fine had it been streamlined into a single disc. Sadly, no drugs or light sticks are included.

Dutch/Belgian group Gare du Nord was formed in 2001 by Ferdy Lancee and Barend Fransen. Signed to Play It Again Sam, the lounge-oriented style synthesists released several albums during their first few years, beginning with 2002's In Search of Excellolounge and concluding with Sex 'n' Jazz. They aligned with Blue Note, beginning with 2007's Jazz in the City, which was heavy on interpretations of the label's '60s and '70s output (from Duke Pearson's "The Phantom" to Ronnie Foster's "Mystic Brew"). The same year, Italian singer Dorona Alberti (KMFDM) was added to the lineup and featured prominently. In 2001, Gare du Nord established a performing version of the group, fronted by Alberti, while a studio-based entity remained driven by Lancee and Fransen. The Blue Note association resulted in additional releases such as 2011's Lilywhite Soul and 2012's live release Lifesexy.

Which brings us to Norwegian Grammy-winning pianist and composer Wesseltoft's latest for his own Jazzland label. Halfway between the lounge lizard irony of Dimitri from Paris and the lyrical quartet settings of Dave Brubeck or the acoustic Herbie Hancock, Sharing is one of those mould-breaking sets that tend to outlast the vagaries of musical fashion.

Right down to the hip, pleasant cover model, Buscemi's second album of groovy productions is a near-perfect match for his debut, 1998's Mocha Supremo. Producer Dirk Swartenbroekx flaunts his love of breezy, continental rhythms and late-night atmosphere. Though the scattered Latin-dance fusions bossa nova meets disco, salsa meets drum'n'bass, samba meets downtempo house aren't exactly pioneering ideas, Swartenbroekx is an able hand who knows when and how to freshen what could be a stale production.

Truffaz's quartet has been awhile, evolving considerably. It's morphed from an all-acoustic mainstream group in 1997 to a more aggressively rock-informed unit in recent years, influenced by but way less dense and angular than Miles's late-60'/early-70's electric works. These days Patrick Muller is often found feeding his Rhodes through a distortion box, with more powerful rhythms coming from bassist Marcello Giuliani and drummer Marc Erbetta. This early work keeps Erik Truffaz new approach into today's modern jazz.

Télépopmusik's sophomore effort is filled with beautiful backing tracks. Pillows of soft synth slowly emerge while pianos, harps, brass instruments, electronic ticks, and glitches stroll in and out of the picture as they please. This subdued electronica landscape is something to get lost in, and while it's nothing you haven't heard before, it's exactly what headphones crave on rainy days and almost enough to excuse the hackneyed lyrics and overindulgence.

The original Gabin a French actor known for his portrayals of jaded, faded anti-heroes in 1930s and '40s-era films might have chuckled ironically if he had been told that, a half-century after his heyday, two Italian musicians would name a fledgling lounge music project after him. But if he had listened to the music, he would have understood. It's full of languid grace and melancholy and is undeniably stylish exactly what you'd expect to hear in a Parisian café or supper club. Just to add to the effect, many of the song titles and lyrics are in French.

An odd reissue of sorts, Bending New Corners combines tracks off two of trumpeter Erik Truffaz's previous albums. It is unclear why Blue Note felt the need to repackage these tracks yet again; however, here they are and they are worth a listen. Containing tracks from the sessions that produced The Mask and its European version, The Dream, Bending New Corners is a groove-oriented work that draws heavily on late-'60s and early-'70s Miles Davis.