Drazek Fuscaldo Featuring Hamid Drake / Tatsu Aoki / Thymme Jones and Joshua Abrams – “Blossoming” 
Some good news on the horizon for fans of meditative jazz and the Chicago improvisational scene, Drazek Fuscaldo, the duo formerly known as Mako Sica has a new album on the way for Feeding Tube / Astral Spirits. The duo’s been carving out a niche between cosmic jazz, psych, spiritual, folk, and avant garde for some time, but this may stand as one of their most potent records yet. The duo is joined by a pretty heavy roster on June 22, including Thymme Jones on keys and trumpet, percussionist Hamid Drake, bassist Tatsu Aoki (on shamisen) and bassist Joshua Abrams. The record shares quite a strong crossover with Abrams’ Natural Information Society, occupying spaces both beautifully serene and deeply rooted in an earthen groove. A first listen on “Blossoming” finds the band stretching out over 14+ minutes, Drake and the bassists locking the listener into a hypnotic headspace while Brent Fuscaldo’s vocals swim through the haze with a meditative glow. The cut builds to an ecstatic conclusion, sloughing off the earlier calm for a dance that’s somewhere between folklore and fusion. The new record is out November 17th from Feeding Tube/Astral Spirits.