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The last of this year’s four serenade concerts was a departure into new territory . “We wanted to bring in a different sonic palette,” explained Andreas Meixner, who alongside Professor Stefan Baier is artistic director of the concert series at [...]
Cécile McLorin Savant, Dan Tepfer, Thomas Enhco and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra Three time Grammy winner, Cécile McLorin Salvant is an unlikely diva, in her billowy harlequin smock of fuschia, turquoise and lime and her retro spectacles; yet she instantly [...]
‘Japanic’ is such a clever name for pianist Aki Takase’s latest group incarnation. A plausible synonym for ‘Japanese’ (Takase being Japanese by birth but domiciled in Berlin since 1988), it’s also a portmanteau that includes ‘panic’ – an apt word [...]
Guildhall Jazz Orchestra, Guildhall Jazz Singers, directed by Scott StromanGuildhall Jazz Percussion Ensemble, directed by Adriano Adewale & Ines LoubetSilk Street Concert Hall. 28 June 2024 “To celebrate four decades of jazz at Guildhall is to celebrate Scott Stroman”, said [...]
This pairing of New York’s finest baritone saxophone exponents brings a feast of swinging, straight-ahead and joyful jazz in the hard bop tradition. Gary Smulyan has been in the business for over 40 years and has held the baritone sax [...]
“How did these people get so good?” This was the question Adrian Chiles asked in a Guardian piece yesterday (*), with the title “I may not understand jazz – but I know enough to know it’s wonderful”. I wasn’t expecting [...]
The band Söndörgő is often described as a World Music band, and indeed has won numerous awards under that category. For me its firmly in the tradition of modern European jazz. It combines deep ethnic Balkan roots with exciting improvisation. [...]
I’m Not Telling You Anything is the second album by Glasshopper, a trio consisting of Jonathan Chung on tenor saxophone, James Kitchman on electric guitar and Corrie Dick on drums; Chung and Dick are originally from Scotland and Kitchman from Northumbria. It is an impressive album, full of variety, [...]
The music of Finnish pianist Iiro Rantala can sometimes be difficult to place within the canon. Equally at home tearing it up in a small intimate jazz club as performing with an orchestra in a prestigious concert hall, he will [...]
In my notes for this review, one word stood out: scintillating. In Chelsea, the Summer Solstice was hot and languid, well matched by the Mediterranean delights of the Jazzato Band. I have heard Hetty Loxston sing in different venues and [...]
