‘The Magpie And The Squirrel’ is the most unusual tune title I’ve come across in a long time, but it’s the latest offering from UK Jazz / Latin composer/ artist Sam Q (Sam Qureshi).
Big Sam is a sax man by trade and fronts a collective called Nightpatrol (over the years, it’s featured over 100 players!). Born in Pakistan, he was raised in Birmingham but now prefers (wisely, I’d say) to work out of Manchester! He describes his music as a unique hybrid of Brazilian jazz forms of bossa nova and Latino stylings and that’s what he’s peddled over a long career that’s seen him release 8 albums and play live in plenty of prestigious venues.
Sam’s new ‘The Magpie And The Squirrel’ in its Doug Gomes mix is the big Samba school romp that you’d imagine from what we’ve just said. Featuring minimal but persuasive vocals from Swedish singer Maya, the tune mixes those samba beats with Sam’s sax and uplifting keys to fit out an irresistible kind of Nuyorican groove. The other mixes allow Sam to show off his jazz licks in crazy fashion.
‘The Magpie And The Squirrel’ in its various mixes is out now on Brazilian Grooveland Records.
