Last night at Cielo was a total blast, to say the least. The mood was right, running into familiar faces was the standard, and seeing some new gorgeous ones didn’t seem to be a challenge either. Gilles Peterson ripped his set with a tasty melange of world tunes, mixes, chops, and mash-up’s that kept the crowd both dancing and in awe all night.

One Giant Step staffer may have shed a tear when he played Alka Yagnik and Ila Arun’s “Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai,” a classic Bollywood hit, which you may enjoy below. Afterwards, he let us know he was ‘taking us Brazil’ like it was nothing. It probably really wasn’t.

Yes, you probably should kick yourself if you missed last night.

Photo Credit: Erik Schneider

For those who had the privilege of attending last week’s Giant Step Thursdays event at YOTEL New York, you know what an amazing time it was. Beautiful people, dancing, and music from not one, but four incredible talents. Dego and Rich Medina kept the crowd live all night with their selections, while Maya Azucena and Sophia Urista tore the house down with their killer performances.

It was a special night. Sophia’s Betty Davis swagger knocked more than a few off their feet, and Maya captivated the crowd with new tunes from her recent album, Cry Love, which is currently available on iTunes.

Save the date for our upcoming installment next Thursday, August 11th. See you at YOTEL New York!

Photoset (c) Phillip Angert begins with Fonce Mizell and King Britt at Giant Step’s “Dinner With Mizell’s” in 2007.

“We were all very sad to learn about the passing of the legendary Fonce Mizell of Mizell Brothers fame and Sky High Productions. It seems fitting to dig into our archives and have another look at one of my favorite Giant Step events, ‘Dinner With Mizell’s,’ an intimate sit down in Miami back in March 2007 during WMC, with Fonce and Larry plus a who’s who of DJs to raise a glass in their honor. To see grown men (including myself) act like giddy school boys in their presence is a true testament to their legacy and music” – Maurice Bernstein, CEO & President at Giant Step.

Only some in attendance were: Jazzy Jeff (BBE), Tracey Thorn, Jason Bentley (KCRW), Tom Silverman (Tommy Boy), Ben Watt (Buzzin’ Fly), Benji B (BBC 1xtra), Madlib (Stones Throw), Danny Krivit (Body & Soul), Gilles Peterson (BBC Radio 1), Peter Kruder (G-Stone), Richard Dorfmeister (G-Stone), and Kenny Dope (MAW).

A full list of attendees from “Dinner With Mizell’s” can be found on the feature page.

More after the jump

There were trees, there was sun, there was music and gosh darn it was fun! Our annual party in the park is an NYC tradition that we all really look forward to and we want to thank all of you who came out this year to get down with us. Enjoy some photos from the Saturday, June 25th show, courtesy of Seher Sikandar, as we start plotting next year’s installment.

Please enjoy these photos from this past Tuesday’s launch party for Hammock House: Africa Caribe featuring Joaquin “Joe” Claussell and Rich Medina. The party, the people, the venue, the vibe and the music set a high standard for what’s sure to be one amazing summer here in New York City. If you didn’t pick up a copy of the stunning two-disc album at the party, be sure you grab it this coming Tuesday, May 17th.

Thanks to all those who joined us in Austin last week. Our SXSW day party for the upcoming second season premier of HBO’s Treme was a smashing success and we couldn’t have done it without all of you. Make sure you tune in to HBO on April 24th for the new season of Treme.

The Guardian made a short film of the Second Line which lead into our HBO / Treme event yesterday with Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Dancingman504, Henry Butler and lots more New Orleans, Louisiana (NOLA) partying, with catering provided by Evangeline Cafe. Check out some great photos from Stephen Abbott and Dwayne Hills.

“By the time Dirty Dozen took the stage around 4 p.m., the crowd at the Ghost Room had devolved into a cauldron of beer-drinking, hoo-rawing, handkerchief-waving, dirty-bop belly-rubbing, hoarse, sweaty humanity…” – Statesman

Blaqstarr is gearing up for his Divine EP to drop on January 25th, and we trust our friends at Spin, who say this about the record: “imagine Prince remaking Sign O’ The Times as a banging, Baltimore club record.” That’s all we need to hear. Sold. Blaqstarr is part of N.E.E.T. Recordings, M.I.A.’s label, along with a favorite young firecracker Rye Rye. In 2007 their song “Shake It To the Ground” grew from an underground Baltimore club thing to a widespread dance hit. Now Blaqstarr’s doing his solo thing on the Divine EP, showcasing his fearless and relentlessly experimental brand of electronic hip-hop.

He’s coming to New York City next week with performances at Santos Party House & Good Units. Music, event info, and photos from our  SVEDKA event with Blaqstarr after the jump.

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We had some unforgettable events this year, thanks to some incredible artists. Here’s a few of our favorites from the year with video and photo recaps. What was your favorite show this year? (Much more after the jump…)

+ Gilles Peterson and Questlove double bill 10 hour DJ set at The Florida Room during WMC

+ Janelle Monáe’s The ArchAndroid album release show at Highline Ballroom

+ Raphael Saadiq at Central Park Summerstage

+ Robyn’s performance at Skybar at Mondrian in Los Angeles

+ Aloe Blacc at Art Basel

Read more »

The Beast & Nnenna Freelon released their jazz-hip-hop hybrid, Freedom Suite, for free download on Okayplayer’s new jazz-inspired channel, The Revivalist, in October. Since then, extra goodies have been released to supplement the Freedom Suite album: the “Freedom Pt 2″ music video, a Phonte freestyle and the non-album track, “Black Fantastic.”

This song “Come Up, Come Down” is more complete than a freestyle, but not quite polished enough to be a final studio track. Not included anywhere on the album, this song showcases the unique composition of The Beast. This full album is available for free on Bandcamp.

The Beast – “Come Up, Come Down” [MP3]