VA - Midnight Radio Noir Jazz Vol. 1+2 [2016-2019] (2 x CDs)

NOIR JAZZ

VA - Midnight Radio Noir Jazz Vol. 1+2 [2016-2019] (2 x CDs)

Midnight Radio Noir Jazz Volumes 1 and 2 work best when heard together, not as sequels but as adjacent rooms in the same late-night space. Taken as a whole, the series feels less like a compilation project and more like a sustained mood, one shaped by restraint, shadow, and a shared understanding of how jazz can function when atmosphere leads and virtuosity steps back.

Across both volumes, sequencing is the quiet anchor. Tracks are arranged to move with a deliberate, unhurried pace, favoring continuity over contrast. Sparse piano figures, muted horns, brushed drums, and low-glow electronics recur throughout, creating a sense of cohesion even as artists and recording contexts change. Nothing announces itself loudly. Instead, pieces drift in, settle, and fade, allowing the listener to stay inside the sound rather than be pulled forward by narrative or climax.

Volume 1 establishes the framework, introducing the noir sensibility through smoky ballads, understated grooves, and jazz-adjacent textures that hint at cinematic spaces without leaning on pastiche. Volume 2 deepens that approach, leaning further into isolation and texture, with more emphasis on space, subtle electronics, and patience. Together, they form a long, uninterrupted listening experience where shifts are felt rather than signposted.

Production quality varies across both sets, moving between lo-fi intimacy and polished studio recordings. Rather than disrupting the flow, these differences add grain and depth, reinforcing the idea of a late-night broadcast assembled from many sources and places. The variability feels intentional, or at least sympathetic to the concept.

As a combined statement, Midnight Radio Noir Jazz avoids defining jazz by era, technique, or pedigree. Instead, it treats jazz as a language capable of whispering, hovering, and lingering in half-light. Heard front to back, Volumes 1 and 2 offer a sustained environment rather than a collection, one that rewards quiet attention and repeated return, revealing its coherence through duration rather than declaration. (B)

==========================================================

ALL 

OR

ALL 

OR

ALL 

===========================================================

Track lists

Vol. 1

01 Orchestra Of Mirrored Reflections - ...This Too Shall Pass (Live) 3:00

02 Trigg & Gusset - Cardium 6:19

03 Joel Fausto & Illusion Orchestra - Cheap Trance Romance 6:31

04 Macelleria Mobile di Mezzanotte - Love Affair 5:36

05 Nyctophiliac - Midnight Radio 3:20

06 Detour Doom Project - Nightfall (first version) 4:50

07 Manet - Vallée Noir 5:36

08 Orchestra of Mirrored Reflections - Midnight Park (live) 8:34

09 Sarto Klyn V - The Way Of Way Above 6:42

10 Miles Devils Quartet - Norma's Coffee 3:30

11 Vainoras And The Altar Of The Drill - Trephination 6:18

12 No Fair Lady - Midnight Melancholy 3:56

13 Olw Rave - Wellness At One Eyed Jacks 6:51

14 Tellef Øgrim & Anders Berg - Kölen 6:27

Vol. 2

01 Senketsu No Night Club - Sokubaku to Kiritsu 5:00

02 Lowering - I Love you so much 3:48

03 Midnight Esemble - Blood in Moonlight 5:45

04 Sarto Klyn V - Dream No More 8:21

05 Orchestra Of Mirrored Reflections - Narrow Escape 8:13

06 E.E. Engström & The Twin Street Tree Trunk Love Ensemble - Hungover Eulogy in the Backseat 4:57

07 Vainoras and the altar of the drill - When that crushing weight of fear doubles down 2:59

08 Jazz of Doom - Bruxelles la nuit 8:11

09 Valavond Ensemble - Had Slept, And Seen No Sorrow 8:33

10 Manet - Delirious and Devoured 5:24

11 Macelleria Mobile di Mezzanotte - Az Vozdam 5:18

12 Owl Rave - Jacobys Golden Way 8:00

13 Bebopovsky And The Orkestry Podyezdov - Angels With Dirty Faces 4:37

14 Neon Dread - Charcoal Vulture Heart 4:26

15 Last call at Nightowls - Cold in my Veins (November) 7:50

=============================================================

=============================================================