Joel Lyssarides
It is highly (exceedingly) likely that an album review involving a piano and a bouzouki has never been featured in any high end audio journal. Most will have never heard of this instrument and will utter “It’s all Greek to me”, and they will of course be correct. Arcs & Rivers is just such an […]
Pinhas and Sons
What Will Become of Us defies musical classification and in many respects is more of an opera in eight, instead of three acts. It merges musical themes of many kinds and styles it pays homage to (take a very deep long breath) four languages and is performed by 40 (yes 40) musicians. Enough people to […]
Bill Charlap Trio
Pianist Bill Charlap has been playing his brand of elegant standard jazz for over three decades. One could say he has been around. Whether with his on trio featuring bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington, or as part of various bands headed by others. He has contributed and left his witty, sophisticated and elegant […]
Nils Landgren Funk Unit
Nils Landgren Funk Unit – Raw It is slick, it is funky, it is intoxicatingly grand, it is the Nils Landgren Funk Unit 30th anniversary celebration. They are so hot that they redefine cool and are sensational to boot. The Funk crew creates sound that is moored in the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s, they trombone […]
Joe Webb
According to his bio, Joe Webb is “fuelled by deep love of 90s guitar bands and an unwavering passion for football”. Don’t let that sweet talk and fool you for a nano second though, even though he is looking as if he is still enjoying his 20s, Webb has jazz and not blood flowing in […]
Meg Okura and Kevin Hays
The blurb that accompanied this release does not mention the essence of this album, it should say: ‘achingly beautiful’. Two protagonists are involved, Tokyo-native violinist Meg Okura and American jazz pianist Kevin Hays.Hearing the first notes you might assume that they are celebrating modern classical music, but you’d be very, very wrong.. Lingering contains nods to Aaron Copland and Franz […]
Lizz Wright
Lizz Wright is considered a soul singer but that’s not what you get on the remarkable Shadow. Instead we have a superb voice and some top notch backing that fall into many styles including blues and folk but mainly heartfelt. Shadow is a diverse collection of songs that includes Gillian Welch’s ‘I Made a Lover’s […]
Raffi Garabedian
The Crazy Dog is a strange title of a very unusual album. It is an attempt by tenor saxophonist Raffi Garabedian to create a musical vehicle for exploring his family’s past. A short album with a series of jazz compositions drawing inspiration from letters written by his paternal grandparents, who fled Armenia during the first world […]
Adam Bałdych & Leszek Możdżer
The music on Passacaglia features only three instruments, with Adam Bałdych playing violin as well as a renaissance violin, while Leszek Możdżer tinkles the ivories of a grand piano. The sound (aided by what must be some oversampling) is panoramic and both wide and deep, it’s as if you have been invited to a performance […]
EYOT
2024 has not started well but this album is one of the best antidotes one can employ to escape the news, rain and wind. Quindecinnial (an event that occurs once every 15 years) is a long and joyous affair, it offers musical joy for the better part of two hours played by a very talented […]
Gili Lopes
There is something intoxicating about Algures, it has a gentle lilt that places it among albums that can be described as exploding with talent but are nevertheless charming. Algures is the creation of Brazilian-born composer, bassist, and bandleader Gili Lopes who says that the album is a sonic portrait of his travels around the world and […]
John Scofield
John Scofield looms large in the nation of jazzland, he is a legend who has become a sort of an institution. He has one of the most distinct sound signatures, much like Wes Montgomery and George Benson, you need only a moment or two of his playing to identify him. The number of the albums […]
Youn Sun Nah
Elles is Korean born French based singer Youn Sun Nah’s 12th album. It contains a string of unique, sensual and very intimate interpretations of iconic songs. Jon Cowherd brilliantly complements Nah’s expressive vocals on piano and various electronic keyboards. With the exception of two tracks, Elles is consists of renditions of an interesting collection of songs […]
2023 saw an great deal of amazing new musical recorded and released. The tracks listed below are not part of a ‘beauty pageant’ or a best of. It is rather a list of tracks which have impressed and continue to impress and have added joy to this enthusiast’s life many months after they were first […]
Yuhan Su
They say: On Liberated Gesture vibraphonist and composer Yuhan Su is joined by Dan Weiss on drums, Caroline Davis on alto sax and some recited poetry, Matt Mitchell on piano and Marty Kenney on bass. Yuhan is a former classical percussionist from Taiwan who came to jazz later on, but she has been living in […]
Hiromi Sonicwonder
Hiromi Uehara, is mostly known by her first name, she is the happy child that toys endlessly with styles and fuses JS Bach with funk, jazz and pop rhythms to popular effect. The Japanese pianist’s sound signature is evident in both her concerts and albums. This album may surprise some, this is more of a […]