The Freedom Principle

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The Freedom Principle

Canada's longest running syndicated radio show (40+ years) featuring new releases of the African diaspora.

Featuring music of the African Diaspora, this program sees acoustic ensemble music as a developing world jazz incorporating styles and rhythms which draw from indigenous sources. On the air since June 1986, The Freedom Principle features new releases from the disparate genres of the African Diaspora with occasional forays into specialized thematic programs. Past programs include Manding Swing, Con

golese Rumba, Zimbabwean Liberation, South African Jazz, Mississippi Delta Slide & Moan, African Impressionism in American Jazz, etc.

01/12/2026

Amaika Rude - (2025) The Ska and the Abstract Truth - BRIXTON RECORDS
With The Ska and the Abstract Truth, Amaika Rude offer a playful yet respectful reworking of Oliver Nelson’s jazz landmark, translating its melodic and harmonic framework into the language of Jamaican popular music. Ska upbeats, rocksteady sway, and relaxed reggae pulses replace hard-bop drive, but the underlying compositions remain clearly intact. Tunes like “Stolen Moments” and “Yearnin’” retain their recognizable contours, now carried by skanking guitars, buoyant basslines, and a rhythmic feel that favors groove and space over tension.
Recorded and mixed at A-Lone Ark Muzik under Roberto Sánchez, the album avoids novelty by committing fully to its hybrid logic. Rather than forcing jazz complexity onto Caribbean forms—or vice versa—Amaika Rude let the two traditions meet naturally, emphasizing melody, warmth, and flow. The result is an easygoing but thoughtful reinterpretation that reframes a canonical jazz album as communal, dance-ready music without stripping it of its compositional depth.

Provided to YouTube by The Orchard EnterprisesStolen Moments · Amaika Rude · Oliver NelsonThe Ska and the Abstract Truth℗ 2025 Brixton RecordsReleased on: 20...

01/12/2026

Bana Haampongo - (2025) Muzembo (Zambia) - Nabuzoka Music
Muzembo is a focused and culturally grounded release from Bana Haampongo, one of the key custodians of traditional Tonga music in Zambia’s Southern Province. Built around interlocking rhythms, call-and-response vocals, and narrative song forms, the album places communal expression and cultural continuity at its center. The performances feel purposeful rather than ornamental, drawing strength from repetition and collective momentum rather than individual display.
Issued by Nabuzoka Music, whose mission centers on documenting and sustaining Tonga musical traditions, Muzembo functions as both a musical statement and a cultural record. It reflects the everyday ceremonial and social contexts in which this music lives—weddings, gatherings, and community events—offering listeners an unembellished but confident expression of Tonga identity and heritage.

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01/12/2026

Docteur Nico & African Fiesta Sukisa - (2025) Docteur Nico Presents African Fiesta Sukisa 1966-1974 - Planet Ilunga
Few musicians have shaped the sound of the African continent as decisively as Docteur Nico. His guitar language—lyrical, precise, and emotionally direct—set the standard for Congolese rumba and rippled outward across Central and East Africa, influencing generations of bandleaders and soloists. Nico’s approach elevated the guitar from rhythmic support to a lead voice capable of nuance and poetry, helping define what modern African popular music could sound like in the post-independence era.
This anthology focuses on African Fiesta Sukisa, the ensemble through which Nico refined that vision between 1966 and 1974. The recordings capture his playing at its most distilled: lines that sing without excess, rhythmic placement that breathes, and arrangements that privilege clarity over display. Alongside celebrated Sukisa sides, lesser-heard tracks broaden the picture of an artist constantly shaping tone and texture—drawing subtly on piano comping, likembé patterns, and balafon phrasing. Carefully assembled with Nico’s family, the collection stands as both a musical document and a reaffirmation of his enduring continental legacy.

Promotional video about the upcoming 3LP compilation on Planet Ilunga about Docteur Nico, le dieu de la guitare. This release is the fruit of many years of p...

01/12/2026

Duwayne Burnside - (2025) Red Rooster - Lucky 13 Records
Red Rooster is a long-gestating Hill Country blues record that finally lands with clarity and force. Recorded with producer Cody Dickinson and featuring Luther Dickinson, the album favors warmth, grit, and groove over polish—exactly the sound Burnside has been chasing since the late ’90s.
Built on repetition, deep pocket, and raw electricity, the record balances tradition with subtle expansion. Tracks like “Down and Out” lock into classic Hill Country propulsion, while “King” introduces a modern edge with a brief rap verse from Cody Burnside without breaking the album’s flow. Guitar work is central throughout—earthy, biting, and rhythm-first—serving the songs rather than showboating.
More than a comeback, Red Rooster feels like a statement of arrival: unhurried, confident, and grounded in lived experience. After years of stops and starts, Burnside delivers a record that sounds patient, hard-earned, and fully his own.

Provided to YouTube by The Orchard EnterprisesNightmare Blues · Duwayne Burnside · R. L. BurnsideRed Rooster℗ 2025 Lucky 13 RecordsReleased on: 2025-12-05Pro...

01/12/2026

Kasiva Mutua - (2025) Desturi - Delicious Tunes
Desturi marks a decisive expansion of Kasiva Mutua’s artistic voice. Known first as a formidable percussionist, she reframes rhythm as the album’s inner engine, translating years of polyrhythmic knowledge into finger-picked guitar patterns, handclaps, and layered grooves that feel instinctive rather than academic. The result is music that sounds simple on the surface but carries deep rhythmic intelligence beneath.
Drawing on East African call-and-response, pan-African 6/8 traditions, and modern production, Desturi balances heritage with self-determination. Songs like “Twende Mbele” channel collective resolve, while “Ndikweteela” folds Maloya, Chakacha, and Isukuti influences into a seamless whole. Lyrically, Mutua moves with quiet authority through themes of identity, spirituality, love, and women’s autonomy, grounding the personal within a wider cultural frame.

LYRICS Chorus Aih ayee Ndikweteela, aih ayee, pole sanaAih ayee, nye Ndikweteela, sababu maisha yangu yanipita babaAih ayee, Ndikweteela, aih ayee, pole sana...

01/12/2026

La Cucaracha Brass - (1968, 2025) La Cucaracha Brass - Mary Lou Records
La Cucaracha Brass captures a transitional moment in New York Latin music, just before salsa coalesced into a dominant, codified style. Drawn largely from sessions associated with Raphie Martínez and the National Combo, the record brings together late-1960s descargas, guaguancós, guarachas, and boogaloos—forms still grounded in Cuban dance traditions but already shaped by Nuyorican studio practice. Rhythm sections emphasize tight timbales-and-conga interplay, punchy bass figures, and compact horn voicings, reflecting an era when arrangements were streamlined for immediacy rather than extended orchestration.
Musically, the set is direct and functional: congas and timbales anchor tightly wound grooves, trumpets cut clean melodic lines, and boogaloo tracks such as “Latin Power” and “Takin’ Over” foreground the Afro-American backbeat that briefly bridged R&B and Latin dance floors. The compilation’s historical value lies less in individual virtuosity than in how clearly it maps a scene in motion—before salsa became codified, commercialized, and stylistically fixed. La Cucaracha Brass functions as a snapshot of New York Latin music in flux, documenting the rhythmic grammar that would soon dominate the decade to follow.

Provided to YouTube by The Orchard EnterprisesTakin' Over · Louie Ramirez · Bobby Marin · J. L. CruzLa Cucaracha Brass℗ 1969 Bobby MarinReleased on: 1969-03-...

01/12/2026

Msafiri Zawose - (2025) Dawale Chouya (Tanzania) – SR
Dawale Chouya documents a formative moment in the life of Msafiri Zawose, composed in 2004 in the immediate aftermath of his father’s death. Built almost entirely from traditional Gogo materials—cyclical vocal phrasing, steady hand percussion, and droning string textures—the album adheres closely to inherited form. Melodic motion is narrow and repetitive, with long phrases unfolding over fixed rhythmic patterns, emphasizing continuity rather than development. The performances are sparse and direct, captured largely in single takes, allowing breath, timing, and vocal grain to remain central.
Musically, Dawale Chouya avoids arrangement complexity in favor of presence and function. The influence of Dr. Hukwe Ubi Zawose is structural rather than imitative: the music prioritizes lineage, restraint, and communal memory over virtuosity or production finish.

Official music video for Pepeta by Msafiri Zawose, son of Tanzanian legend Dr. Hukwe Zawose. A powerful Afro-fusion anthem rooted in traditional Gogo rhythms...

01/12/2026

Muluqèn Mèllèssè - (2025) Ethiopiques 31 - Buda Musique
Ethiopiques 31 documents the brief but extraordinary recorded legacy of Muluqèn Mèllèssè, one of the most striking voices of Ethiopia’s early-1970s popular music. Recorded when Mèllèssè was still a teenager, these sides capture a singer of remarkable poise and control, whose light, almost androgynous timbre often led listeners to mistake him for a female vocalist. The selections span singles and album tracks released between 1972 and 1976, a period when Addis Ababa’s orchestras had refined a sophisticated blend of Ethiopian modal systems, jazz harmony, and tightly arranged band formats.
More than a portrait of a young singer, Ethiopiques 31 stands as a marker of a historical endpoint. Mèllèssè’s final recordings coincide with the collapse of Ethiopia’s vinyl industry and the cultural rupture brought on by the Derg regime. Tracks such as “Tezeta,” “Hédètch Alu,” and “Djemeregn” reveal a mature musical language—lyrical, rhythmically supple, and emotionally restrained—at the height of its development, just before it was abruptly silenced. As such, the album functions not only as an essential chapter in the Ethiopiques series, but as a clear document of what modern Ethiopian popular music had achieved on the eve of its suppression.

Provided to YouTube by Buda musiqueYEMENDJAR SHEGGA · Muluken MelesseEthiopiques 31℗ Ali TangoReleased on: 2025-12-05Orchestra: Dahlak BandVocalist: Muluken ...

01/12/2026

Oscar Peterson - (2025) Around The World - Mack Avenue Records
Around the World gathers previously unreleased live performances by Oscar Peterson, issued as part of his centennial celebrations. Drawn from concerts recorded between 1969 and 1981 in Detroit, Basel, Auckland, and Toronto, the album documents Peterson in solo, duo, and trio settings, offering a compact but wide-ranging portrait of his mature live artistry. The repertoire moves fluidly between standards and originals, including “The Lamp Is Low,” “Stella by Starlight,” and Peterson’s own “Place St. Henri,” with performances marked by clarity of form, rhythmic authority, and an unforced sense of swing.
The set highlights Peterson’s adaptability across formats: intimate solo readings such as the medley “A Child Is Born / Here’s That Rainy Day,” a conversational duo with Joe Pass on “Stella by Starlight,” and hard-driving trio work on “L’Impossible” with Sam Jones and Bobby Durham. A standout alternate trio on “Cute,” featuring Michel Donato and Louis Hayes, underscores the breadth of collaborators represented. Rather than functioning as a retrospective overview, Around the World captures Peterson in motion—confident, expansive, and deeply connected to the live moment—affirming why his approach to technique, blues feeling, and ensemble interaction continues to define the modern jazz piano tradition.

Provided to YouTube by Redeye WorldwideL'Impossible (Live) · Oscar PetersonAround The World℗ 2025 Two Lions Records under exclusive worldwide license to Mack...

01/12/2026

Out Of / Into - (2025) Motion II - Blue Note Records
Out Of / Into – Motion II continues the group’s exploration of contemporary jazz as a fluid, process-driven form. Building on the vocabulary established on their debut, the ensemble emphasizes collective motion over solo hierarchy, favoring interlocking rhythmic cells, elastic harmony, and gradual textural shifts. The writing resists clear head-solo-head structures, instead unfolding through repetition, subtle variation, and negotiated space between players.
Recorded with clarity and restraint, Motion II foregrounds ensemble balance and detail. The rhythm section drives the music with patience rather than force, allowing melodic fragments and harmonic colors to surface organically. There is a clear lineage to post-bop and modern jazz practice, but filtered through a contemporary sensibility that values flow, openness, and listening as core musical acts. Rather than announcing itself loudly, Motion II rewards sustained attention, positioning Out Of / Into as a group invested in continuity, refinement, and collective intent.

Provided to YouTube by Universal Music GroupBrothers In Arms · Out Of/Into · Gerald Clayton · Immanuel Wilkins · Joel Ross · Kendrick Scott · Matt BrewerBrot...

01/12/2026

Shay Hazan - (2025) When It Rains It Pours - Batov Records
When It Rains It Pours marks a clear shift in Hazan’s solo trajectory. Moving away from the guimbri-centered Gnawa framework of Wusul, this third album broadens his palette toward electric bass, guitar, synths, and studio layering. The record emerged during a period of physical limitation that temporarily sidelined Hazan from his primary instruments, redirecting his focus toward production, sampling, and texture. Across eleven tracks, the music balances spiritual jazz sensibility with Afrobeat, Middle Eastern inflections, and understated electronic processes, emphasizing groove construction and atmosphere over virtuoso display.
The album’s strength lies in its cohesion and restraint. Pieces like “Kolot,” built around Abate Berihun’s wordless vocal, foreground tone and presence, while “4-8” and “It Pours” explore rhythmic propulsion through hybrid acoustic–electronic methods. Collaborators such as Eyal Netzer, Roy Zuzovsky, and Shahar Haziza anchor the material in ensemble interaction, even as Hazan’s production steers the sound inward and reflective. Rather than a dramatic reinvention, When It Rains It Pours reads as a considered recalibration—an album shaped by limitation, curiosity, and a deepening commitment to groove as structure and meaning.

Bassist, composer and producer Shay Hazan returns with his third solo album, ‘When It Rains It Pours’, on Batov Records. Following the critical success of ‘R...

01/12/2026

Thad Jones, Frank Wess, Kenny Burrell & Mal Waldron - (1957) After Hours (Remastered 2025) – Prestige
After Hours captures a Prestige All Stars session shaped by the convergence of Detroit and New York City, two cities that decisively molded modern jazz in the 1950s. Trumpeter Thad Jones and guitarist Kenny Burrell, both forged in Detroit’s rigorous club-and-band culture, bring a blues-saturated clarity and disciplined swing associated with that city’s hard-earned professionalism. Detroit’s scene—church-rooted harmony, deep blues feeling, and high technical standards—fed directly into the language heard here, especially in the album’s relaxed tempos and melodic economy.
That Detroit grounding meets New York’s after-hours studio ethos through Mal Waldron, whose compositions and piano style helped define Prestige’s nocturnal sound, and Frank Wess, a bridge between NYC’s big-band legacy and modern small-group jazz. The rhythm section—Paul Chambers (another Detroit transplant central to NYC sessions) and Art Taylor—anchors the music in the city’s working-band pragmatism. The result is a quietly influential document of how Detroit’s blues-forward precision and New York’s flexible, late-night modernism fused into a durable hard-bop vocabulary.

Provided to YouTube by Universal Music GroupSteamin' (Remastered 2025) · Thad Jones · Frank Wess · Kenny Burrell · Mal WaldronAfter Hours℗ 2025 Craft Recordi...

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