‘Epic’ is an over-used description and I’m embarrassed to employ it, yet no word is more appropriate to describe Mosaic’s latest limited-edition release. Because this venture is epic in historical context. Epic in scale. Epic in talent and execution. Epic [...]
Nordsnø Ensemble are an intriguing proposition. An award-winning Octet based in Germany – they fuse contemporary jazz with the influence of Scandinavian folkloric tradition. On this, their third full-length album, they team up with British pianist and organist Kit Downes, [...]
The Revisions series presented by the Anaklasis label presents music by outstanding composers, artists who emphasise experimentation, transgression, and subversion. The latest project, Laeta Mundus, is another intriguing meeting of artistic worlds, juxtaposing jazz, contemporary music and historical repertoire from [...]
This is a brief, highly subjective (and not always completely serious) set of personal impressions of a great festival which happens right at the beginning of the year (*) A is for audience. I can’t help wanting to start this [...]
Any programme curated by Nod Knowles will delight and surprise in equal measure, and the Bath Jazz Weekend’s 2025 edition was no exception. Performances that drew explicitly on folk traditions ran like a thick seam through the programme, intertwined with [...]
Trumpeter James Davison and Trombonist Callum Au teamed up to recreate the iconic quintet set up of Clark Terry and Bob Brookmeyer in their cleverly named band Quintet-à-Tête at the 606 Club on the first Saturday night of 2025. Clark [...]
The track “Meet Me on the Midway” from “Little Big Top” (Motéma) feels like such a good place to be starting the year. Accordionist/composer Guy Klucevsek describes the track as “A tribute to the Slovenian-American polka tradition I grew up [...]
Oliver Weindling reports from the Rencontres AJC, where a new cohort of Jazz Migration bands was showcased, and a cross-border initiative “Jazz With” was launched. The Annual Meeting in Paris of AJC (Association Jazz Croisé) includes two nights of performances. [...]
Oliver Weindling reports from having spent three evenings in succession at Porgy and Bess club in Vienna. He writes: An eclectic three days at Porgy and Bess in Vienna, proving how it’s a venue really at the peak of the [...]
Latvian guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Reinis Jaunais is a restless wanderer who has taken his dextrous acoustic guitar-playing all over Europe, across Asia and to Australia and beyond. He’s a musical magpie, who takes in a myriad of influences from his [...]
