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Liverpool-based vocalist Ni Maxine and her quintet performed to a capacity crowd on 21 April at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall’s Music Room. The programme – entitled Ode To Billie Holiday – included no fewer than ten songs associated with Lady [...]
Swedish flautist/saxophonist/clarinettist Magnus Lindgren not only performed but also arranged for full orchestra on the last two ACT albums I reviewed (Jazz at Berlin Philharmonic XII – Sketches of Miles (2022) and Jazz at Berlin Philharmonic XIII: Celebrating Mingus 100 [...]
Room for Dancing is the somewhat ambiguous title of pianist and composer John Crawford’s latest album. What does it mean? Was it recorded in a room usually reserved for dancing? Does the music leave room for dancing? It’s a puzzle, [...]
The vinyl revival is helping to unearth some real treasures. I was previously unaware of the existence of this album first released in 2009, recorded in New York with a rhythm section of George Colligan, Steve LaSpina and Billy Drummond, [...]
The UK CLUBNIGHT! at JazzAhead was a highlight of the returned UK presence at JazzAhead this year (*). Having not had a stand or a showcase in recent years, it was such a delight to see artists from the vibrant [...]
As you would probably expect, pianist Fred Hersch’s first solo album for ECM, recorded in May last year, is a quiet triumph. Following his recent duo recording for the label with trumpeter Enrico Rava, ‘The Song is You’, and using [...]
What a great little club: fabulous sound and a wonderfully attentive listening audience. Zig Zag is in Friedenau, a residential area about 5km south-west of Berlin’s other top club, the A-Trane which is just by the Ku-Damm and much more [...]
Sometimes, album and song titles make it pretty obvious what sort of sounds are going to be heard. Sometimes, things are less obvious. That’s the case with Lucien Johnson’s latest. Neither the album title, Ancient Relics, or track titles such [...]
Bursting with energy, catchy arrangements, fine soloing and superb horn section work, this latest collection from The Jazz Defenders has a great deal to enjoy. The Defenders announce that they are ‘defending’ the spirit of hard bop jazz along the [...]
Who dares say yes to playing in Gareth Lockrane’s band? Just to be asked is probably one of the biggest compliments that a musician can receive in British jazz. Only our very best can physically reproduce Lockrane’s monstrous repertoire live, [...]
