A round up of our latest album reviews from around the world of jazz.
In 1924 the famous bandleader Paul Whiteman commissioned George Gershwin to put together a piece for solo piano and jazz band. Gershwin almost didn’t do it because he didn’t think he was given enough time to write it. Luckily for us he did write it. Rhapsody in Blue is one of the most easily recognizable … Read more
Jamile is a Brazilian jazz singer based in New York, whose potential seems to be a time bomb, as her album “If You Could See Me Now” proves… The highlights of this album point towards a future jazz singing great. To begin with, If You Could See Me Now is cool because it includes jazz standards and … Read more
Thana Alexa takes us on a poetic journey through minimalism, soul, R&B, World Music, pop, progressive rock, and jazz. “ONA” means “she” in Croatian (actually, it also does in Czech, Japanese and possibly in other languages as well). This is a mirror of the Croatian-American origins of the composer and singer Thana Alexa, who co-produced … Read more
To begin with, I must say that I was very afraid to review an album that had the term “indie jazz” in its bio, since there is already a lot of confusion with the term ‘indie’ and it is very difficult to communicate what one could be referring to. Historically, the word indie means “independent” … Read more
Take your entrenched, long held understanding of big band music — give it a loving look — and then throw it out the window. Max Grynchuk Big Band’s ‘Plays Eraser Description Vol II’ is a forward thinking, future sounding take on brass and woodwinds over a rhythm section. Building on a legacy already well established … Read more
Connected by more than 10 years of musical history and companionship, renowned German pianist Christian Pabst and prolific Czech saxophonist Lubos Soukup finally realise their longstanding goal of exploring the intimate and challenging duo format with Levitas (Sept 2nd, Animal Music). Someone said the basic ingredients for a great jazz duo are little more than … Read more
Leading Danish bassist Richard Andersson leads an all-star trio through a selection of beautifully selected tunes, as Tim Larsen writes… With ‘Inviting’ you have three very talented musicians taking on the Great American Songbook. They wrote four of the selections themselves but, no matter, you could mistake those for a bit more modern version of … Read more
Jazz Disminuido is a recent album, led by the Mexican composer Jacobo Cerda in the company of his ensemble, Los Inoxidables, who –now in a trio format– came to stir our synapses with a bizarre picture of pure free improvisation. The fabric of this work ranges from a vast timbral transformation, achieved thanks to real-time … Read more
Dissonant, direct, disturbing, delightful when less indulgent in themes inspired seemingly from some Da Da-esque universe. My first exposure to this accomplished trio was via the release on Qobuz of “Where do adults come from?” I admit I did not enjoy the encounter. However Jazz is a multiverse to use that new meme and I … Read more
This is a joyful rendition of music to make your ears fall in love… We start with a playful interplay between a well crafted brush on snare, to a repost from a seemingly drunk bass, then in kicks the sax..seems tired matinee music, then think again, this is going to hook you. Andreas Fryland commands … Read more