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Reviewed: Miguel Zenón Vanguardia Subterránea | Fabia Mantwill Orchestra | Daniel Garbin - Jazz Journal
Miguel Zenón Vanguardia Subterránea: Live At The Village Vanguard (Miel Music MZ11) A jazz album recorded at the Village Vanguard club in New York is proof of having passed through the portals of a hall of fame. In saxophonist Miguel Zenón’s case it is perhaps overdue. He has redefined the term “Latin jazz” by combining […]
Reviewed: Ron Blake | Mark Masters Ensemble | Louis Stewart - Jazz Journal
Ron Blake: Scratch Band (7tēn33 Productions LLC002) Saxophonist Blake has in the past worked with both Art Farmer and Roy Hargrove, facts which offer more than sufficient clues as to his modern bop credentials. In the former instance Farmer was enjoying something of a comeback playing the “flumpet”, a flugelhorn/trumpet hybrid of his own design, […]
Scarlett Stone Trio at Bluebird Café, Wedmore - Jazz Journal
It’s always nice to discover a new (to you) venue and band that you want to visit and hear again. To be honest, I didn’t discover vocalist Scarlett Stone and her trio or the Bluebird Café in Wedmore, Somerset – I was tipped off by a friend who had seen the gig advertised online. Neither […]
Reviewed: Danny Gatton And Funhouse: | The Haas Company | Laurence Juber - Jazz Journal
Danny Gatton And Funhouse: Live At The Holiday Inn 1987 (Gress Records) One of the most talented but paradoxically less famous guitarists, Danny Gatton was a true phenomenon. When other guitarists heard him, they described him as “The Humbler” – which was also the title of a posthumously released album, The Humbler with Robert Gordon […]
Reviewed: Fred Hersch | Noah Haidu | Carol Liebowitz & Nick Lyons - Jazz Journal
Fred Hersch: The Surrounding Green (ECM 2836) Three American pianists are presented here for your pleasure, with first up Fred Hersch on what is now his third ECM release. His initial album for the label in 2022, The Song Is You, interestingly set him alongside Enrico Rava on flugelhorn, while 2024’s Silent, Listening was a […]
Reviewed: Candido | John Lee Hooker | John Coltrane Quartet - Jazz Journal
Candido: Conga Soul (Descarga Records 637012) Candido de Guerra Camero (Candido), along with Chano Pozo, is one of the best-known conga players to have brought that instrument into the mainstream of the jazz idiom. Candido himself played with Stan Kenton, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie amongst many others. He was often a “first call” percussionist […]
Naissance De La Bossa Nova - Jazz Journal
The indefatigable Alain Gerber, now in his early 80s, has written (in the space of three months apparently) an exhaustive survey of bossa nova which roams far beyond the “birth” of his title. A hundred pages take us through the origins and “the founding fathers” (Vinicius De Moraes, Jobim and Gilberto) before another 30 introduce […]
Lee Berk: Leading The Berklee Way - Jazz Journal
A talented musician, Lawrence Berk (1908-1995), the son of Jewish Russian immigrants, played piano professionally with various dance bands, aged just 13. He later attended MIT, graduating with a degree in architectural engineering. In the early 1940s, he became an authorised teacher of the Schillinger System developed by Joseph Schillinger, a Russian émigré and musical […]
Reviewed: Bugge Wesseltoft | Fujii Satoko | Michael Arbenz & Andy Sheppard - Jazz Journal
Bugge Wesseltoft: Am Are (Jazzland Recordings 377 970 5) Three pianists – two European and one Japanese – feature in this review digest. The first of them is the Norwegian keyboard player Bugge Wesseltoft. His new album is in the main performed by a series of three piano- and often synth-led trios, with a sombre […]
Reviewed: Angelini, Abdou, Niescier | Pitch, Rhythm and Consciousness | Tony Tixier - Jazz Journal
Angelini, Abdou, Niescier: Lotus Flowers (Abalone Productions AB035) Pianist and composer Bruno Angelini is but one of the three names new to me on this release. His leadership of the date is nominal in the musical sense as this is a slightly unusual trio consisting of himself, Sakina Abdou on tenor sax and Angelika Niescier […]
New releases June-July 2025, U-Z - Jazz Journal
Unity Quartet: Samba Of Sorts They say : The infectious spirit of Brazilian music in all its incredible forms is impossible to deny. Musicians from around the world succumb to the elements of samba, forro and bossa nova. (Sunnyside Records SSC1755) Urheim, Stein & Træen, Jørgen: Galant Galakse They say : Producer/composer Jørgen Træen and guitarist/composer Stein Urheim won […]
Reviewed: Chris Cheek | EH3 | Bennie Maupin | Andrew Moreno - Jazz Journal
Chris Cheek: Keepers Of The Eastern Door (Analog Tone Factory) The inspiration for the title of saxophonist Chris Cheek’s latest album was the name the Mohawk tribe were afforded as the last bastions against the progressing incursions from America’s European settlers. As Cheek states in his sleeve notes, “I started thinking about Keepers Of The […]
Ruta Di at the Croydon Clocktower - Jazz Journal
Today we welcomed Ruta Di for her debut performance at Jazz at the Croydon Clocktower Café and were treated to nearly two hours of fresh and original music. Ruta’s eclectic musical tastes range from Lithuanian folk to Wes Montgomery to via Philip Glass, and her set here – consisting of songs reflecting soul, jazz, rock […]
Reviewed: Rodney Jordan | Reggie Watkins | NADT Orchestra - Jazz Journal
Rodney Jordan: Memphis Blue (Baxter Music BME1004CD) Now a resident of Florida, bass player Rodney Jordan was born and brought up in Memphis, hence Memphis Blue is a salute to his home city and a celebration of its soubriquet “Home Of The Blues”. Unsurprisingly, all eight tracks have a bluesy tinge about them, with the […]
Enter Enea Festival 2025, Poland - Jazz Journal
Strzeszynek in Poland – with its lake shore, pine forests and summer tranquility – proved to be the perfect backdrop for the 15th edition of the Enter Enea Festival. Under the direction of Leszek Możdżer, jazz intertwined with classical, electronic and world music, creating a colourful yet natural soundscape. 15 June – images, sound, space The evening […]
Siena Jazz International Academy opens admissions for 2025-2026 - Jazz Journal
The Siena Jazz International Academy has announced the opening of admissions for its First and Second Level Academic Diploma courses for the academic year 2025-2026. The academy says it welcomes new talents and is delighted to support them on their musical journey, providing a stimulating environment rich with artistic opportunities within a vibrant musical community. […]
Reviewed: Joe Marcinek Band | Jason Miles | Nadav Schneerson - Jazz Journal
Joe Marcinek Band: The Groove Session (Vintage League Music) It is difficult to convey in words the sheer energy and exuberance the Joe Marcinek Band brings to this recording, a studio project based on the energy of a live concert. Marcinek seems to thrive on the immediacy of performing live, and very often that sense […]
Reviewed: Judy Whitmore | Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers | Kenny Dorham - Jazz Journal
Judy Whitmore: Let’s Fall In Love (Arden House Music JBW202501) As she has demonstrated on her recent CDs – Isn’t It Romantic and Come Fly With Me – Judy Whitmore is a passionate devotee of the songbook repertoire. Tenor man Mark Crooks once put it really well when he told me, “There’s a hundred lifetimes […]
Jazz à Vienne 2025 - Jazz Journal
Vienne, Théâtre Antique, circa 70 AD. Set against the steep slopes of Pipet Hill, there would have been a full house that evening with about 13,000 spectators applauding a Plautus comedy. Close to 2,000 years later, here we are celebrating in the same place the 44th edition of Jazz à Vienne. Sitting on a hot […]
iG4 featuring Claire Martin, Nikki Iles, Karen Sharp and Ewan Hastie - Jazz Journal
There was a full house for this concert by iG4, which, Claire Martin explained, stood for “Inter-Generational 4’” owing to the presence of the young Scottish bassist Ewan Hastie. The set list featured a mix of some familiar standards and some less well-known tunes, each one chosen by the individual members of the band. Among […]
Reviewed: Ryan Truesdell | Shinken Shobu - Jazz Journal
Ryan Truesdell: Shades Of Sound – Gil Evans Project Live At Jazz Standard Vol. 2 (Outside In Music OIM2515) This is a superb tribute to the work of jazz master Gil Evans. The wonderful textures that Evans exploited – especially using tuba and French horns, but also viola, woodwinds and brass – are heard to full advantage […]
Reviewed: Hakan Basar | Jordan VanHemert | Ari Joshua - Jazz Journal
Hakan Basar: Maiden Voyage (Red 180527) A swimmer that protects a piece of brittle porcelain from the waves. This is the way former prodigy Hakan Basar, now 21, tackles Maiden Voyage, skirting the coast of Herbie Hancock’s modal masterpiece with elegant movements through the surf. Why the porcelain is at sea in the first place […]
Edward Burra, leading painter and JJ enthusiast - Jazz Journal
The exhibition of the work of Edward Burra, one of Britain’s most distinctive 20th-century artists (Tate Britain, London, until 19 October) is well worth a visit, if only to enjoy the many paintings he produced of New York and Boston jazz life in the 1930s. When in New York, Burra appears to have spent most […]
New releases June-July 2025, A-B - Jazz Journal
12 O’Clock Club: Current State Unknown They say : This 4-track EP from 12 O’Clock Club’s composer Antonio Val blends nu jazz, cinematic textures, and improvisation into a cohesive, atmospheric sound. Rooted in jazz tradition but forward-leaning in tone and structure, Current State Unknown explores groove, space, and narrative. Ideal for listeners drawn to jazz that’s introspective […]
Reviewed: Ferdinando Romano | Carsten Dahl Ensemble | Peter Vuust Quartet - Jazz Journal
Ferdinando Romano: The Legends Of Otranto (GleAM Records AM7035) Romano is a fine Italian bass player, very much on the up in the current Italian and European jazz scene: his thematically telling pizzicato lines here are complemented by atmospheric arco work which embraces both the most potent and the most delicate of touches. He’s also […]
Reviewed: Beiggja | Jay Davis | Goran Kajfeš and Andreas Tilliander | Geir Sundstøl - Jazz Journal
Beiggja: Morning (Hubro CD2671) Although not it’s intended as a site-specific work, I can’t help thinking that the music on this debut album by Dutch-Norwegian quartet Beiggja has been profoundly inspired by its surroundings. Deep in the forest in the winter of 2024 at the snowy Lommedalen home of Per Oddvar Johansen, the drummer was […]
Reviewed: Victoria Kirilova | Landaeus Trio | Trygve Fiske Sextet - Jazz Journal
Victoria Kirilova: Roots & Skies (Da Vinci Jazz C00997) There is something old school about bassist Victoria Kirilova’s debut album. With no tricks or gimmicks, it just relies on the strength of the songs to hold the attention. At only seven tracks long the album feels criminally short, but as the old saying goes, good […]
Reviewed: Ewan Svensson Quartet | Cyrus Chestnut | Freddie Hubbard - Jazz Journal
Ewan Svensson Quartet: The Forks (ESMCD 2507) Swedish jazz guitarist Ewan Svensson will be 75 this summer. In the early days he played in rock, blues and dance bands before forming his first jazz trio 42 years ago. He’s played with all the top Swedish jazz musicians as well as the likes of Art Farmer, […]
Bangkok After Dark - Jazz Journal
Have you ever heard of Maurice Rocco? Probably not, and I certainly hadn’t before receiving this book for review. But, look him up in the jazz discographies and there he is, playing piano and singing in 1940 and recording with Cozy Cole in 1946. (He’s also mentioned as “an old friend” in the autobiography of […]