Lavery are a painterly eight-piece from Dublin, freshly formed in 2023, with a single What I Want and the a three- track EP Jade Garden behind them. Their confident EFG London Jazz Festival debut at the Bull’s Head, Barnes, was [...]
‘I have a two-track mind: one is about feeling, and one is about technique. After 50 years of blowing the horn on stage, I’ll take the feeling over the technical part every time ….’ Saxophonist David Murray, with his unparalleled [...]
London-based saxophonist and composer Tom Ridout has been running jazz jam nights every Monday at sYp, a bar and live music venue in the heart of the capital’s financial district, for over a year. Sat in the shadow of the [...]
Tim Berne’s music always reminds me of two other famous composers: J.S Bach and Charlie Parker. There’s something utilitarian about it: like Bach’s music, it can be played on any combination of instruments (with a little bit of work). And [...]
It’s Postmodern Monk, but so is Monk. Xhosa Cole Quartet’s third album and tribute to legendary composer and pianist Thelonious Monk, FreeMonk, freely reworks the legendary composer and pianist with giddy virtuosity. Even so, the album feels comparatively restrained compared [...]
Pianist Thandi Ntuli opened this richly varied evening with a sung recitation over characteristically rolling South African piano,that brought a questioning note to this gala night for the end of the London Jazz Festival. It was a celebration of the [...]
Known as one of Europe’s finest jazz groups, the Marcin Wasilewski Trio certainly turned in a stellar performance at the Cadogan Hall on the penultimate day of the 2024 EFG London Jazz Festival. Alternating between meditative, slow-building, and fast-paced pieces [...]
In Polish, Za Górami is a way of saying ‘once upon a time’ (“za górami, za lasami”/“behind the mountains, behind the forests”). So says singer and violinist Alice Zawadzki of her latest album (released on ECM in September): a collection [...]
Camille Bertault at Ladbroke Hall: Ladbroke Hall wows upon entry with a level of sophistication that Camille Bertault – clothed in trilby and tails – matched, adding her playful verve. Unaffected by the hubbub of discreet service, Camille delivered original [...]
Tickets sold out rapidly for November’s Pete Roth Trio concert at Watermill Jazz. It was the band’s first appearance at the Dorking club and drummers were out in droves to see iconic musician Bill Bruford, whose long career playing drums [...]
