Acid Jazz legend Chris Bangs returns with a brand new album for 2024, following his early-2023 release ‘Firebird’, and 2022’s collaboration with Mick Talbot, ‘Sumthin’ Else’. His latest long player, ‘Dream World’, is a characteristic font of Latin jazz from the maestro producer. Bangs is known for originally coining the term ‘acid jazz’ – a movement which subsequently morphed into the label – as he and likeminded DJs (including Gilles Peterson and Eddie Piller) began to combine jazz, soul and rock-fusion with the prominent sounds of acid house in the late 1980s. Having worked extensively as a producer and DJ – including credits with his own The Quiet Boys, Paul Weller, Galliano and, of course, most recently, Mick Talbot – ‘Dream World’ follows a string of solo releases. The album draws influence from the Mizell Brothers, Wayne Henderson and George Duke – the latter providing direct inspiration, with a cover of ‘My Soul’ opening the record and serving as the first single. The tracks see some new collaborators in the Bangs ranks, including Argentine keyboardist Luciano De La Rosa, Italian Massimo Morganti on trombone, Chile’s Juan Pi Salvo on trumpet and Fabio Tiralongo on sax, making it a truly global production. Self-described as ‘pure labour of love’ by Bangs himself, the album is a further expansion of his remarkable sound and vision, and his own everexpanding dream world of (acid) jazz that moves far beyond genre-casting.