• Celestine Ukwu & His Philosophers National

    Okwukwe Na Nchekwube Celestine Ukwu & His Philosophers National

    Celestine Ukwu & His Philosophers National

    Celestine Ukwu (Celestine Obiakor) began his musical career during the 1960’s with Michael Ejeagha’s Paradise Rhythm Orchestra in Enugu, capital of the former Eastern Region of Nigeria. He left four years later to launch his own band, the Music Royals. Following a hiatus caused by the Biafran war of independence from 1967-70, the Music Royals were resurrected as the Philosophers National, who distinguished themselves with a series of sparkling, subtle highlife releases during the 1970s. Read more on Last.fm

    Artist image: Celestine Ukwu & His Philosophers National (Spotify)


  • Leyla McCalla

    As I Grew Older/Dreamer (feat. Yah Supreme) Leyla McCalla

    Leyla McCalla

    Leyla McCalla (born Leyla Sarah McCalla in New York City on 3 October 1985) is an Haitian-American classical and folk musician. She was a cellist with the Grammy-winning string band Carolina Chocolate Drops, leaving to focus on her solo career. McCalla sings in French, Haitian Creole and English, and plays cello, tenor banjo and guitar. Her music is influenced by traditional Creole, Cajun and Haitian music, as well as by American jazz and folk. Read more on Last.fm

    Artist image: Leyla McCalla (Spotify)


  • Agitation Free

    Sahara City Agitation Free

    Agitation Free

    Agitation Free was a German avant-garde rock band. The band formed in 1967 with Michael "Fame" Günther (bass), Lutz "Lüül" Ulbrich (guitar), Lutz "Ludwig" Kramer (guitar) and Christoph Franke (drums). They were initially called Agitation, a name they chose at random from a dictionary. Later, they added the word free to the name becoming Agitation Free to reflect their live performance style. After losing guitarist Axel Genrich to Guru Guru in 1970 and drummer Christopher Franke to Tangerine Dream in 1971 Read more on Last.fm

    Artist image: Agitation Free (Spotify)


  • Mary Halvorson

    Possibility Of Lightning Mary Halvorson

    Mary Halvorson

    The avant-jazz guitarist Mary Halvorson has been making a stir in downtown New Music circles for a while now. She is noted for her collaborations with the violist Jessica Pavone, among many others. Halvorson's strong 2008 debut, DRAGON'S HEAD features her new trio, comprised of the extraordinarily fluent bassist John Hebert and drummer Ches Smith (of indie-rockers Xiu-Xiu). Together, they make a far-ranging, expansive, and even accessible sound. Hebert's more-or-less continual dialogue with Halvorson's spidery Read more on Last.fm

    Artist image: Mary Halvorson (Spotify)


  • Hedvig Mollestad Trio

    Golden Griffin Hedvig Mollestad Trio

    Hedvig Mollestad Trio

    A trio led by guitarist Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen (El Doom & The Born Electric, Trondheim Jazz Orchestra). With one foot in heavy rock and one in jazz they combine the two, with a touch of blues. Fully instrumental apart from the distant shouting on a Melvins cover, their debut album Shoot! (2011) is more song structured than other, similar Norwegian guitar-led trios on Rune Grammofon, such as Bushman's Revenge and Scorch Trio. Their second album All Of Them Witches (2013) is a fully instrumental album built around Hedvig's guitar Read more on Last.fm

    Artist image: Hedvig Mollestad Trio (Spotify)


  • Mike Westbrook

    Cordoba Mike Westbrook

    Mike Westbrook

    Mike Westbrook (born Michael John David Westbrook 21 March 1936 in High Wycombe, England) is an English jazz pianist, composer, and writer of orchestrated jazz pieces. He became a key figure in the development of British Jazz in the late 1960s. Westbrook spent his childhood in Torquay and went to art school in Plymouth where he began his first bands with such musicians as John Surman, Lou Gare and Keith Rowe. After moving to London, he became a key figure in the development of British Jazz in the late 1960s Read more on Last.fm

    Artist image: Mike Westbrook (Spotify)