DJ JazzKissa

26/12/2025

The first quarter of the first century of this millennium is soon over & done with. Before making a deep dive into top releases of the last 25 years, here’s a selection of this year’s best finds (this & the next post), best reissues & new albums (posts to follow - lots of of course).
1. In October, we lost the drummers’ drummer Jack DeJohnette. Compost is an oddity in his vast catalogue, an early jazz-rock group with a line-up of luminaires and DeJohnette more on clavinet than drums. Their albums are eclectic and uneven affairs, but contain killer tracks - on this release from 1973, the title track ’Life is Round’ with Jeanne Lee on vocals, and hippie lounge tune ’Moonsong’. Thanks !
2. Over 30+ years, several generations of top musicians (David Murray, Kamasi Washington…) found their voice in Horace Tapscott’s Afro-American jazz community called Pan-African People’s Arkestra. The Call is a snapshot of the group at the height of their powers, recorded in their home base, the United Church Of Christ in LA where they played every last Sunday of the month for several years.
3. I have loved Talk Talk’s Spirit of Eden since it was release in 1988, but my copy has been a battered reissue, and this record has so much space that a noisy copy is unlistenable. CD works of course, but I did not hesitate when I finally found a NM UK first press for a decent price in my old neighbourhood record shop, in Edinburgh.
4. In 2014, I had a year-long consultancy gig in Krakow. PolJazz releases were still pretty easily available and reasonably priced back then, and I got together a nice small collection of essentials (Komeda, Novi Singers, Stanko, Namyslovski, Seifert…). But I never found this Andrze Trzakowski’s Quintet’s masterpiece from 1965. Had I known how good it is, I would have hunted it down earlier. Thanks !
5. At his best, Hannibal is a match to Don Cherry. Angels of Atlanta, dedicated to 20 African-American school children murdered by a serial killer, is his tour de force. Passionate spiritual jazz with fiery solos, crowned by emotional vocals by the Harlem Boys’ Choir and Hannibal’s sister Pat Patterson.

14/12/2025

Gloomy Sunday? Fix it with Sauna & jazz - DJ JazzKissa with jazz singles tonight at Uusi Sauna from 5 pm onwards. Blues, bop, post bop & occasional oddities from the land of 45’s. Free entry, normal sauna fee for löyly.

11/12/2025

Singles night! Viikko sitten studiolle saapui yli 500 jazz-singleä 50-luvulta ja 60-luvun alusta - klassikkoja (Miles, Monk, Billie, Duke, Ella, Satchmo, Coltrane, Brubeck, MJQ…) ja tuntemattomampia suuruuksia (Max Brüel, Don Byas, John Graas, Billy Mitchell…). Saavu Uudelle Saunalle ensi sunnuntaina 14.12. klo 17 alkaen kuuntelemaan jazz-sinkkujen makoisaa soundia. Vapaa pääsy, saunaan normaali maksu.
Come hear the sweet sound of jazz 45’s! Known and less known jazz classics next Sunday Dec 14 from 5pm at Uusi Sauna. I might even play a couple of Sinatra’s Christmas tunes. Free entry, normal fee for the sauna.

11/12/2025

Singles night - come hear! A week ago over 500 jazz singles and EPs from the 50’s and early 60’s landed in my music room - a treasure trove of classics (Miles, Duke, Billie, Cannonball, Ella, Dizzy, Bird, Lester, Monk, Brubeck, MJQ…) and less familiar gems (Arne Domnerus, Max Brüel, Don Byas, Billy Mitchell..). Join me to enjoy the magic sound of jazz 45’s at Uusi Sauna next Sunday. Free entry to the bar w music, normal sauna fees.
Saavu Uuteen Saunaan ensi sunnuntaina nauttimaan jazz-sinkkujen magiasta. Tuttuja ja vähemmän tuttuja jazz-klassikkoja 50- ja 60-luvuilta, mausteena kotimaisia jazz-paloja sekä adventin iloksi muutama Sinatran joulusinkku. Vapaa pääsy, saunaan normaali saunamaksu.

09/12/2025

Now, this is what I’d call a proper ‘old school record shop backroom’.

07/12/2025

DJ at work - this time, pretty cool Beat-Bop store in Copenhagen. The jazz selection was random but I still picked up a NM copy (still in shrink) of Mingus’ Changes One for 100DKK, a very decent price indeed. Their domain of specialisation is metal, punk and psychedelic rock, the owner really knows his trade.

06/12/2025

Several boxes of these 7” beauties landed in my study last week, for checking. In Sweden, in 50’s and early 60’s US jazz albums were split into several EP’s which were more affordable for Swedish clientele. As such, they do not have much collector value, but they sure are cute. Can’t wait to spin them in DJ sets - after-work drinks, perhaps?

05/12/2025

Sure it is jazz. Radiohead has been with me through decades. I have seen them in 1995 (in the Helsinki Festival, as a promoter), 2016 (in Iceland, the Secret Solstice Festival) and yesterday in Copenhagen (plus Smile in Glasgow in 2024). Such different gigs, but the quality has always been there - one of the best live bands ever. We were nervous the gig would be cancelled like two shows earlier this week, but at 3 pm came the confirmation it goes ahead. The two-hour set covered their whole career, most songs taken from In Rainbows, OK Computer, Kid A and The Bends, spiced by deep cuts, like Bloom from The King of Limbs and Daydreaming from A Moon Shaped Pool. They keep playing in my head now. | |

01/12/2025

THANK YOU We Jazz for another splendid edition of the festival. What a fabulous place to spin vinyl. All tracks from my two sets are not available to stream, but many can be found on this playlist (in random order). Until next time.

Playlist - DJ JazzKissa WeJazz Festival 25 - 21 items