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When I last heard Sweet Honey in the Rock weaving their vocal magic their guiding light Bernice Johnson Reagon was still a powerful force on stage. Reagon’s death in July this year has added a sober note to the group’s [...]
The avant-garde has won the battle for jazz history, the critic Phil Freeman observed recently. The 1960s, it’s agreed, saw the loud stirrings of a new approach to jazz. Though disturbing to some at the time, its proponents, such as [...]
This second recording from violinist Arun Ramamurthy’s trio sees him stretching himself compositionally, the set centring on a four-part suite which explores the Brooklyn-born player’s Indian roots. Although raised in the US (New Jersey), Ramamurthy is steeped in the Carnatic [...]
Three recordings in 20 years for Inner Space, one of the two principal groups led by London-based trumpeter Loz Speyer, indicates a patient cultivation of their art. And the way that the group sound remains identifiable even though Speyer is [...]
Sometimes two kindred spirits can follow long playing trajectories and reach similar points in jazz’s vast musical landscape. So it is with saxophonist Jon Lloyd and pianist John Law, who first worked together nearly 35 years ago. Their current quartet [...]
The US alto player, cultural omnivore and all-round creative force John Zorn may have been a circus ringmaster in his other life. Invited to showcase multiple projects at Jazzaldia this year, the prolific composer mustered six different combinations from eight [...]
After six decades, the annual festival in the breathtaking Basque seaside town San Sebastián (Donostia) has a tried and tested mix in its schedule. Overseas visitors take in a well-judged selection from the US artists on Summer visits to Europe. [...]
South Africa has become a reliable source of emergent jazz talent in the last few years. Blue Note records’ fabled roster now includes artists such as saxophonist Linda Sikhakhane and pianist Nduduzo Makhathini. UK-based players like Shabaka Hutchings have sought [...]
The late and much lamented pianist Keith Tippett was a formidable improviser but, as his inclusion in Duncan Heining’s recent book indicates, he was also a significant British jazz composer. It is this side of his art that furnishes inspiration [...]
Brad Mehldau (*)’s reconnection with Jorge Rossy, the drummer in his piano trio for a decade until the early noughties, goes along with a reconsideration of some of his older writing – looking back at it, perhaps, and finding it [...]
