Re Imagined: Ego Ella May - Morning Side Of Love [Chico Hamilton]

South London vocalist Ego Ella May’s reimagined the song Morning Side Of Love from visionary drummer Chico Hamilton's 1975 Blue Note album Peregrinations. The song is the first single from the new compilation Blue Note Re:imagined, which will return in 2022.

Morning Side Of Love is mirroring the understated, laid-back groove of the original whilst showcasing Ella May’s arresting vocals. Her debut album Honey For Wounds beautifully blends jazz and neo-soul, for which she received nominations at Jazz FM Awards (Best Soul Act and Best Vocal Act) and the Urban Music Awards (Best Jazz Act), and finally the Best Jazz Act award at the 2020 MOBO Awards. Since then she has released two EPs Fieldnotes I and Fieldnotes II, as a part of the series of releases coming over the following months.

Blue Note Re:imagined II is a new 16-track compilation featuring fresh takes on music from the illustrious Blue Note vaults recorded by a heavyweight line-up of the UK jazz, soul and R&B scene’s most hotly-tipped rising stars. Arriving off the back of the widespread international success of the first volume, which topped jazz charts around the globe, Re:imagined II once again infuses the spirit of the new UK jazz generation into the legendary label’s iconic catalogue, balancing the genre’s tradition with its future and reflecting the melting pot of talent and diversity within the current scene.

Listen to Ego Ella May's new reimagined version of Chico Hamilton's song Morning Side Of Love, the first single from the new compilation Blue Note Reimagined II:

Blue Note President Don Was says: For more than eight decades the artists of Blue Note Records have continually pushed the envelope of contemporary music, and Blue Note Re:imagined II once again honors that legacy by letting the UK’s most creative young artists reinvent the treasures of the Blue Note catalog through their own lens.

Additional tracks on the album will include funk-pop duo Franc Moody’s version of Donald Byrd’s Cristo Redentor, fast-emerging vocalist Cherise’s take on Norah Jones Sunrise, Maya Delilah covering Neil Young’s Harvest Moon, which was recorded by Cassandra Wilson on her 1995 Blue Note album Blue Moon Daughter, Birmingham-born pianist Reuben James’ reimagining of Wayne Shorter’s ballad Infant Eyes, London tuba player and Sons of Kemet member Theon Cross with a version of the Thelonious Monk/Kenny Clarke composition Epistrophy, and 9-piece afro-jazz outfit Nubiyan Twist’s fresh spin on Donald Byrd’s Through The Noise (Chant 2).

Blue Note Re:imagined II - Tracklists:

Yazz Ahmed “It” – From Chick Corea The Complete “IS” Sessions (2002)
Conor Albert “You Make Me Feel So Good”- From Bobbi Humphrey Fancy Dancer (1975)
Parthenope “Don’t Know Why” - From Norah Jones Come Away With Me (2002)
Swindle “Miss Kane” – From Donald Byrd Street Lady (1973)
Nubiyan Twist “Through The Noise (Chant No.2)” – From Donald Byrd A New Perspective (1963)
Ego Ella May “The Morning Side Of Love” - From Chico Hamilton Pereginations (1975)
Oscar Jerome & Oscar #Worldpeace “(Why You So) Green With Envy” – From Grant Green Green Street (1961)
Daniel Casimir ft. Ria Moran “Lost” – From Wayne Shorter The Soothsayer (1979)
Theon Cross “Epistrophy” – From Thelonious Monk Genius Of Modern Music (1952)
Maya Delilah “Harvest Moon” – From Cassandra Wilson New Moon Daughter (1995)
Kay Young “Feel Like Making Love” - From Marlena Shaw Mama Got a Bag of Her Own (2006)
Venna & Marco Bernardis “Where Are We Going” – From Donald Byrd Blackbryd (1973)
Reuben James “Infant Eyes” - From Wayne Shorter Speak No Evil (1966)
Binker Golding “Fort Worth” - From Joe Lovano From The Soul (1992)
Cherise “Sunrise” - From Norah Jones Feels Like Home (2004)
Franc Moody “Cristo Redentor”– From Donald Byrd A New Perspective (1963).