malik alston: beyond jazz vol. 3
Francisco Espregueira
The multi-talented producer, vocalist, and DJ Malik Alston has a new gem out on Truth Manifest. He just dropped Beyond Jazz, Vol. 3. It is the third installment of a deeply rooted, four-part Detroit series. The music naturally grew out of his popular radio show of the exact same name on Motion.FM. Initially, that broadcast built a loyal following by dressing boom-bap drum programming in smooth jazz clothing. Now, this latest vinyl venture completely explodes that original format. It blossoms into a beautifully produced, all-genre extravaganza. You can feel a profound sense of love and musical discovery woven directly into the tracks.
Beyond Jazz, Vol. 3 effortlessly glides through warm soul jazz and deep house textures. Alston even folds in some fresh amapiano flavors for good measure. He confidently pushes classic hip-hop foundations straight into Afro-Cuban uptempo territory. The collaborative energy here is absolutely stellar, too. Guest vocalists like Jerald Daemyon and T Howard Wazeerud step up to the mic. They thread brilliant, evocative poetry directly through the bouncy rhythms. From start to finish, the entire record feels incredibly sophisticated. No serious jazz head is going to want to miss this one. Available on vinyl.