Masabumi Kikuchi (1939- 2015), also known as ‘Poo’ (from his Japanese name Poo Sun), was widely regarded as a master pianist and improviser with an illustrious career that included periods of working with jazz greats Sonny Rollins, Miles Davis, Mccoy [...]
Live and kicking: led by bassist Petter Eldh, this album has a raw energy that captures Koma Saxo’s gigs well, with their mix of jazz, hip hop and free improv. Born in Sweden, Eldh is perhaps best known in the [...]
Saxophonist Sam Braysher has been quietly but determinedly carving out his own space in London’s jazz scene since graduating from Guildhall in 2011. While his freelance portfolio involves larger ensembles (including John Warren’s nonet and the London City Big Band), [...]
Listeners to BBC Radio 4 may have heard Simon McBurney reading extracts from this book over recent days: it was chosen as the station’s Book of the Week. The Musical Human is a wildly ambitious attempt to cover the entire [...]
This brace of recent releases from two different bands were recorded 13 years apart, Reimagining the Beatles just before the time of COVID and Live in Rome in 2006. The connecting thread is London-based pianist Jonathan Gee who occupies the [...]
So, deluxe editions … an energetic attempt to extract cash from super-fans or a valuable new perspective on an admired body of work? The answer is probably both, though in these tough old times you can’t begrudge any artist a [...]
This is a timely and thoroughly justified re-release of an album that originally came out in 1997 under the title “The Way Home”. The music in question is spirited, uplifting and dance-inflected and will surely have broad appeal, within and [...]
American double bassist and vocalist Kristin Korb was primarily based in LA until moving to Denmark about 10 years ago, where she continues to impress audiences with her nonchalant, no-nonsense look at jazz. Her laid-back personality resonates through her music [...]
One of the few good things to come out of the global pandemic has been the accessibility of live streams. Whilst it might not be up there with revolutionary vaccine technology, the ability to see musicians play in New York [...]
