jazz albums
Album review: Mind Maintenance – ‘Mind Maintenance’: Chicago rhythm masters produce a deeply contemplative, mantric set to guard against the world
TAKE one of the finest and most intuitive leftfield-into-indie jazz rhythm sections of past decades, Chicago drummer Chad Taylor and bassist Joshua Abrams, who between them amass waay over a couple hundred performance credits to their name on Discogs: for artists such as the Chicago Underground Trio and all its various spiralling iterations, Brokeback, Sam …
Album review: Final Step – ‘Disconnections’: passionate, rhythmic and unashamedly funky
I LOVE fusion bands. I really do. You never know what to expect, and that’s because they’re a fusion of flavours. Italian musicians in particular have always delivered when it comes to jazz music, a truly energetic burst of blues, funk and rock and roll. From the multi-lingual border region of Ticino, in Switzerland, guitarist …
Album review: Portico Quartet – ‘Terrain’: a truly reflective journey
PORTICO QUARTET have always been a vibe. Since their formation, in my opinion they’re one of the few instrumental jazz-psyechedelic-electronic bands to live up to that musical blend, and furthermore, they’ve always been able to tell a story. Their latest album, Terrain, actually exceeded all my expectations in that sense, delivering a much more emotionally …
Album review: Sven Wunder – ‘Natura Morta’: Swedish maestro jet sets for the retro Italian film score sound and delivers beautifully
THERE’S not actually a lot we can reveal about the wonder that is Sweden’s Sven Wunder, except to say: he’s got this. He understands this, the music; he knows it from the inside, moves beyond tribute and mimicry to the very heart of what makes records beloved by the real sonic addict, the compulsive crate-digger, …
Album review: Graham Costello/STRATA – ‘Second Lives’: energised modern jazz for the world today
SOMETIMES it pays to step back and remember that the kaleidoscope of UK jazz has many focal points beyond the frequently illuminated London scene. There’s the Worm Disc massive in Bristol, Ishmael Ensemble and all; the Gondwana northern powerhouse of Matthew Halsall; Brighton’s Sola Terra (home of Ebi Soda, etc.) and Mammal Hands lurking in …
Album Review: Serendip Quartet – Queen of Fire; a homage to the Women of Congo.
There is a need to begin this review with a direct quote from its band leader, saxophonist Arnaud Guichard : “This record is dedicated to all the victims of sexual violences in DRC and to Dr. Denis Mukwege and his team who work hard at restoring the pride and dignity of all the victims of …
Album Review: Malnoia – ‘Hello Future’: a jazz-classical ode to the dreamers
Jazz is remarkable because it allows a plethora of musical genres to fit wonderfully under an extremely large umbrella. You’re in a field, surrounded by a sense of space travel, yet you need to grab a few chamber musicians, a jazz pianist, and your copy of The HItchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Enter: Hello Future, …
ALBUM REVIEW: Snowpoet – Wait for Me; Chamber folk-jazz duo return with absorbing album
Third album for the London-based chamber-jazz pair
Album Review: Colin Cannon delivers a majestic tribute to daily life in ‘McGolrick’
If ever you wanted to impersonate your thoughts during lockdown, this is the album to listen to. Critically acclaimed jazz composer and guitarist Colin Cannon delivers an odyssey of collage sounds inspired by his daily lockdown life in the tiny neighborhood facing McGolrick Park. The sounds are the voices of his community, fused with the …
Album Review: Caravela deliver the sparkling fusion of ‘Orla’
Now here’s a new thing beaming out from the London jazz firmament. Caravela, a five-piece multinational band from everywhere (well Portugal, South America and Australia), now based in the capital and delivering their debut LP Orla via None More Records. The record is just a bit different from the burgeoning body of work regularly rolling …