Jaimeo Brown, XOYO

New York drummer Jaimeo Brown exploded to prominence this year with the release of Transcendence, his debut solo album, on the hipster’s favourite label, Brooklyn’s Motéma. Having established an enviable reputation as a sideman of rare polyrythmic skill, Brown’s first solo recording expanded his range to show off not just his technical mastery, but also his spiritual vision. Combining the sophistication and complexity of contemporary jazz with the raw emotional power of singing from the early black church, Jaimeo Brown has created one of the most original soundscapes of the year.  

Based on the drummer’s own academic study of how early African-American prayer-meetings influenced jazz, the music of Transcendence contains sampled spirituals by the Gee’s Bend Singers from Alabama, laid over J.D. Allen’s saxophone, Brown’s virtuosic drumming and the guitar of Grammy-winning producer Chris Sholar. The spirituals are often accompanied by flute and a range of traditional wind and string instruments, so that the final sound is a beguilingly multi-layered sound tapestry evoking the broadest emotional range, from the naked reverence of the spiritual to the dazzling riffs and rhythms of contemporary jazz.   

Brown is followed by Gogo Penguin, a Manchester-based piano trio who have also had a fast trip on the publicity elevator. Invoking Swedish jazz giants the Esbjorn Svensson Trio with their bold, melodic use of the piano, alongside dance hooks reminiscent of Massive Attack, Gogo Penguin has rapidly established a cult following on the Manchester club scene.