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In 2022, Mexican American saxophonist Diego Rivera was commissioned by Chamber Music America to compose a jazz suite. He drew inspiration from la ofrenda (‘the offering’), namely an altar in a Mexican family’s home to remember loved ones on Las [...]
Kalpadruma (which means ‘tree of life’ in Indian-origin religions) is an ensemble led by saxophonist/composer Asha Parkinson, a rising star who reached the semi-finals in the BBC Young Jazz Musician of the Year in 2016, 2018 and 2020, and who [...]
Since 2023, Livia Records have meticulously restored and re-released three Louis Stewart albums: Some Other Blues, Out On His Own and Louis the First. Now they’ve released a rarity that will surely have jazz-guitar fans salivating: a cleaned-up and previously [...]
‘So nice to see a busy room,’ said pianist and composer Claire Cope after her eleven-piece ensemble had played their first piece, the eponymous ‘Every Journey (Has a New Beginning)’ from her second album Every Journey, due for release in [...]
MoonDial is the third solo album Pat Metheny has recorded on baritone guitar, of which he’s had three built for him by the renowned Canadian luthier Linda Manzer. (She also built many of his other instruments, including his famous three-necked, [...]
‘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 [...]
Entitling your debut album as leader Louis the First could smack of hubris, given the kingly suggestion of a regnal name and number. But by 1975, when this recently dusted-down album was originally recorded, the Irish guitarist Louis Stewart already [...]
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 [...]
The artistic director for the Bergamo Jazz Festival 2024 was Joe Lovano, the tenor-saxophone titan whose recordings, awards, and posts on the faculties of the world’s most prestigious music schools are almost too long to list. He talks here about [...]
REVIEWS OF: Bergamo, located some 40 km (25 mi) northeast of Milan, is a beautiful city for a jazz festival. Or rather cities plural, as the medieval and fortified Città Alta (‘upper city’) located on a hill is very different [...]
