These three albums reveal something of the variety of the current UK scene; Zaitz and Kavuma are part of the young scene, the new wave, and, as with many of the bands on that scene, lean towards the more mainstream [...]
In Common III is the third in a series of albums released on Whirlwind Recordings since October 2018 from quintets co-led by tenor saxophonist Walter Smith III and guitarist Matthew Stevens. Walter Smith III has played with much of the [...]
The much talked about US trumpeter Marquis Hill has an unusual offering for his first release on the UK’s Edition label, a live session that re-examines compositions from his debut recording a decade ago. The music comes from a date [...]
Petter Eldh must be one of the most versatile, and indeed most brilliant, musicians in Europe. He is Swedish, but studied in Denmark at the Rhythmic Music Conservatory where he joined Django Bates’ wonderfully esoteric StoRMChaser big band. He has continued his [...]
Tube’s is a new venue in Graz in the south-eastern corner of Austria. The capital of Steiermark is an important city for culture in general with an amazing Kunsthaus. It is also a lively centre for jazz, being home to [...]
At the tail-end of January, Idris Rahman and Liran Donin quietly released this record of their duet of reeds and acoustic bass respectively. Recorded over a few hours in a deserted (and subsequently demolished) church in East London, it is [...]
Well this is an extraordinary album, not extraordinarily good, not extraordinarily bad – just extraordinary. Being the manager of Brad Mehldau‘s record label must require an indulgent heart. While the pianist has recorded some of the best jazz trio albums [...]
This fascinating and beautifully-produced book addresses a neglected issue in jazz studies: the nature of the images which have plentifully illustrated writing on the medium. Alan John Ainsworth considers the work of American jazz photographers through the first sixty years [...]
Guitarist Andreas Varady, still just 26, is, through an exemplary technique and a focused attention to detail, carving out a career in the modern tradition with a bit of manouche thrown in. Of Hungarian Gypsy descent and raised in Slovakia, [...]
The story behind this clearly heartfelt tribute album is a fascinating one. Blue Road Records Band are the house band of the eponymous Miami studio, founded in 2019 by Miriam Stone, one of three guitarists in the six piece ensemble [...]
