Table of contents for March 2023 in Jazzwise

The full line-up has been announced for the 2023 Cheltenham Jazz Festival, which runs 26 April to 1 May at venues around the picturesque Cotswold spa town. The event once again features a crowd-pleasing mix of Big Top headliners, Jazz Arena rising stars, popular names at the Town Hall, and the Parabola’s compelling selection of cutting-edge avant garde jazz acts. The likes of Gregory Porter (also back as Artistic Curator), Van Morrison, Laura Mvula, Squeeze, Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Rufus Wainwright and the Ronnie Scott’s Big Band play the Big Top, while the Jazz Arena packs in a wide range of vocalists and instrumentalists. such as US singer Lizz Wright; guitar wizard Julian Lage; and a novel collaboration between Homeland/Wolf Hall actor Damian Lewis and the Kansas Smitty’s band on the…

The multi-Grammy Award winning singer and double Jazzwise Album of The Year Critics Poll winner, Cécile McLorin Salvant is set to follow the huge critical acclaim of 2022’s Ghost Song with her new album, Mélusine, which will be released on 24 March via Nonesuch. The new record features a mix of originals and interpretations, some dating as far back as the 12th century, mostly sung in French along with the southern French dialect Occitan, English, and Haitian Kreyol. Early word on the album’s concept hints at Salvant’s increasing explorations away from the traditional jazz canon; according to the press release: "The songs tell the story of the European folkloric legend of Mélusine, a woman who turns into a half-snake each Saturday as a result of a childhood curse by her…

Rising Leeds-based saxophonist Jasmine Myra sets out on an 11-date tour to support herwidely-praised debut on Gondwana Records, Horizons, which features her blend of compelling, melodic originals and meditative spiritual jazz. She plays the following UK and European dates: Peggy’s Skylight, Nottingham (22 Mar); Pocklington Arts Centre, Pocklington (23 Mar); The Blues Kitchen, Manchester (28 Mar); Brudenell Social Club, Leeds (29 Mar), Cobalt Studios, Newcastle (30 Mar); Club Gretchen, Berlin (6 Apr); Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg (8 Apr); Brick Lane Jazz Festival, London (14 Apr); Newhampton Arts Centre, Wolverhampton (20 Apr); Ribble Valley Jazz, Clitheroe (28 Apr) and Wakefield Jazz, Wakefield (5 May). For more info visit www.gondwanarecords.com/artists/jasmine-myra…

A new collaborative set from lauded US singer Gretchen Parlato and Benin-born guitar guru Lionel Loueke, Lean In, is among a busy spring schedule on the Edition Records imprint. Released on 19 May, Lean In features simpatico performances from longterm musical soulmates Parlato and Loueke, with the recording focussing on friendship and familywith additional contributions from Gretchen’s husband and drum star Mark Guiliana, their son Marley, the voice of the guitarist’s daughter Lisa Loueke, and longtime collaborator/bassist Burniss Travis. Ahead of this are releases from Norwegian pianist-composer Eyolf Dale with The Wayfarers (reviewed this issue); top US saxophonist Chris Potter is back with a fulsome live set, Got the Keys to the Kingdom: Live at the Village Vanguard (also reviewed this issue) with Craig Taborn, Scott Colley and Marcus…

For jazz lovers, one of the highlights of this year’s Record Store Day has to be the news that acclaimed reissue specialist Elemental Music is to release (on 22 April) a trio of new sets by three of jazz’s most revered figures: Bill Evans, Chet Baker and Sonny Stitt Treasures: Solo, Trio & Orchestra Recordings from Denmark (1965-1969) is a Bill Evans estate-endorsed triple LP/2-CD live album culled from the private collection of Norwegian jazz musician Ole Matthiessen. Highlights include trio performances from 1965 featuring Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen; the only solo piano version of 'My Funny Valentine' by Evans known to exist; a 1966 orchestral suite performed with the Evans trio accompanied by the Danish Radio Big Band conducted by trumpeter/arranger Palle Mikkelborg; and much more. The release includes previously…

It seems to be a generational thing. Every nine or ten years, the media suddenly re-discovers jazz. It has been going on since the 1980s, when the likes of saxophonists Courtney Pine, Steve Williamson, The Jazz Warriors plus Django Bates and Loose Tubes were featured in the arts pages of broadsheets, style magazines and even making it on to television. Currently, we are (still) in the midst of what the Observer newspaper in 2018 called ‘The British Jazz Explosion’ – yes, another one – generating much excitement at home and attracting international attention. And while the musicians featured in the Observer’s piece thoroughly deserved their recognition, only two of those mentioned were from outside London, a quirk of a London-centric media that often overlooks events beyond the M25 corridor. “It…

Your Mother Should Know: Brad Mehldau Plays The Beatles Nonesuch (CD, LP, DL) EDITOR’S CHOICE Brad Mehldau (p). Rec. September 2020 Twenty-first century jazz piano icon Brad Mehldau has been investigating the best ways to interpret his own selection of cults and classics from the rock music canon ever since he started hanging on the LA singer-songwriter scene in the mid-to-late 1990s. In solo piano he found the perfect format for the job, and on the outstanding 10 Years Solo Live 4-CD/8 LP set issued in 2015, his unique renditions of rock singer-songwriter material rivalled any of those from the Great American Songbook. Mehldau has been inspiring new generations with his mesmerising takes on songs by British artists in particular: Radiohead, Nick Drake and indeed The Beatles, to whom he…

Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers In Concert ‘62 SteepleChase SCCD 36504 (CD) Art Blakey (d), Freddie Hubbard (t), Curtis Fuller (tb), Wayne Shorter (ts), Cedar Walton (p) and Jymie Merritt (b). Rec. 15 Feb 1962 Booklet writer Neil Tesser argues that this was the Jazz Messengers’ strongest line-up ever, and with such stellar players, who can argue? Putting that potential debate aside, and having heard them at the time, this live recording, taken from a Copenhagen concert, certainly suggests that Tesser is on the right track. He calls it “a glittering array of brass and polish” and given Hubbard’s quick-silver solo on the opening ‘Moon River’ and Fuller’s chuckling run, these after Shorter’s more sober entry, he’s right. Walton was the new man on piano and again, he’s on…

Warm Up: The Complete Live At The Highwayman 1965 Jazz In Britain JIB-44-M-CD9 (2 CD, DL) RECOMMENDED Don Rendell (ts, ss, f), Ian Carr (t, flhn), Michael Garrick (p), Dave Green (b) and Trevor Tomkins (d). Rec. November 1965 A smiling Don Rendell gazes approvingly at a bearded Ian Carr, assiduously pressing the valve keys on his glistening flugelhorn during a heated solo at a packed pub gig. It’s a moment captured in time at a jazz venue typical of an era when British modern jazz was thriving even while battling the onslaught of Beatles-driven rock. The aforementioned photo of Don and Ian graces the sleeve of Warm Up, a superb double CD of live performances by their quintet recorded during a night at The Highwayman, in Camberley, Surrey. It…

Aidan Levy Hachette/Da Capo HB £30 Here is a remarkable work, not only because of the significance of its subject, but also the diligence of its author. Previously associated with writing about Lou Reed and Patti Smith, Levy has produced one of the longest biographies of any jazz musician published so far, clocking in at 715 pages. With no music notation and some rather average B&W photos, the only possible comparison for its combination of mammoth research and maximum readability would be Robin Kelley’s book on Monk. Having first spoken to Rollins in 2012, Levy not only did several more interviews with him, but also with everyone from the man’s family and acquaintances to his business associates and sidepeople (Patrice Rushen, Tony Oxley, you name them). Additionally, he seems to…

Top US guitarist Julian Lage has announced a three-date tour of the UK this April with shows in London, Manchester and at Cheltenham Jazz Festival, and follows the release on 17 March of The Layers, a six-track companion EP to his critically lauded View With A Room. The latter album features his trio of bassist Jorge Roeder, (Bad Plus) drummer Dave King and guitar legend Bill Frisell, and came in at No.13 in the Jazzwise 2022 Albums of the Year Critics Poll. Lage’s profile has been steadily rising since he first burst on to the scene as a guitar prodigy mentored by vibes virtuoso Gary Burton, with further collaborations with composer/saxophonist John Zorn, Nels Cline, Chris Eldridge and Fred Hersch among others. Recent high-profile gigs have included Charles Lloyd’s Kindred…

While the saxophone tends to be the sound most closely associated with jazz, the piano is perhaps the more flexible and fluid instrument that binds so much of this music. Thus, a horn player’s choice of instrument is a physical extension of their sound, yet get half a dozen pianists to play the same grand piano and you can immediately hear the difference between them all, as their sound is defined by touch, rhythmic feel and note choice. This issue has a tenuous focus on three contemporary keyboard greats, with Brad Mehldau’s sublime exploration of The Beatles’ canon opening another chapter in his evergrowing solo piano songbook. Bristol-based Rebecca Nash shows how the piano can be the centre of a wider compositional vision wrapping its acoustic tones around horns, electric…

Rollin’ Records is a meeting place for music fans and those who enjoy the company of genial hosts Steve and Kim Willis, who provide banter as well as sound advice. If you need to know the quality and value of a rare album, then the couple who have run the store at 6 Station Road, West Wickham since March 2003 are happy to help. Their eye-catching shop is packed with LPs and decorated with historic record sleeves and memorabilia. Steve: “We opened in 2003 right at a time when records were dying out, so it was a bit of a silly thing to do. Kim runs the shop while I do the heavy lifting. A box of 100 LPs is NOT light! “We often put albums on tables, out front…

1 Spectrum by Billy Cobham (1973) “This is really the first album that made me think about drumming and playing in a virtuosic way, and I think it’s probably the same for a lot of drummers my age. It’s not all blistering chops either, there’s a sublime track with Ray Barretto on congas and Ron Carter on bass called ‘Le Lis’… a true classic album.” 2 Head Hunters by Herbie Hancock (1973) “Another genre-defining album, again a great record for rhythm section playing with Harvey Mason (drums), Paul Jackson (bass) and Bill Summers (percussion) laying down some heavy grooves, Herbie’s use of synths and Fender Rhodes adds an eclectic palette of tone and timbre, beautiful.” 3 Unity by Larry Young (1966) “Pure heavyweight Hammond Blue Note action, with a stellar line up……

Brubeck’s extraordinary career was slow to get widespread recognition, partly because after army service and classical studies he remained on the US West Coast which, at least until the early 1950s, was deemed a cultural backwater. It wasn’t until he launched his quartet with Paul Desmond in 1951 that he started to tour (and broadcast) from places like New York’s Birdland and Boston’s Storyville. But it was when he started doing concerts for college students, and releasing live recordings of the concerts, that he really gained some traction. The first issued recording, released on the fledging Fantasy label of which he was then coowner, was done on 2 March 1953 at Oberlin College, Ohio. Now called Oberlin Conservatory of Music, it has over subsequent years produced people like Rhiannon Giddens…

● SAXOPHONIST JOSEPHINE DAVIES TO LEAD THE ROYAL ACADEMY JAZZ ORCHESTRA Parliamentary Jazz Award-winning saxophonist Josephine Davies will join forces with the talented undergraduates of the Royal Academy of Music Jazz Orchestra for a special concert at the RAM’s Duke’s Hall on 10 March. Winner of the 2019 award for Instrumentalist of the Year, Davies has recorded three albums forWhirlwind Recordings with her trio, Satori. Known for her focussed sound and versatility, she’s increasingly writing for large scale ensembles and orchestras, blending classical, jazz and folk music, creating an intensely dynamic sound infused with the quality of her Shetland roots. For more info and tickets visit www.tickets.ram.ac.uk/sales/categories/jazz/academy-jazz-orchestra-josephi ● CANADIAN JAZZ COLLECTIVE RELEASE DEBUT ALBUM The Canadian Jazz Collective are set to release their debut album, Septology – The Black Forest…

Some big career moments come with a bang and all kinds of fireworks, others announce themselves more quietly, with just a discreet clearing of the throat. With her acclaimed second album leading to a gig at Ronnie Scott’s and a prestigious live set on Radio 3’s J to Z jazz showcase, it’s clear that 2023 is going to be a watershed year for pianist, composer and bandleader Rebecca Nash, but she’s staying fairly cool. “I think it feels good” she muses. “Maybe I’ve just got a bit more space, but everything feels quite good for me in my music. I do feel excited - but I’m trying to be chilled about it.” We meet in her Bristol flat; she returned last year to the city where she grew up after…

Alati Ascending the Morning 33 Records/Singular Publishing 33Xtreme 022 (CD/book) Chris Dowding (t, flhn, v), Dave O’Brien (p, v), and Brigitte Beraha (v). Rec. 5 and 6 July 2021 A package which initially appears modest, yet is most generous in spirit. Dowding has previously set the poetry of Arthur Rimbaud to music, and now, in development with the charity Musical Keys, he’s turned to the work of Alice Oswald for his debut with Alati. The writing and arrangements are very much in service to the text. In that spirit, Dowding’s own horn playing is often restrained, his very breath as much part of the accompaniment as the notes he plays, so intimate is the recording. O’Brien’s piano is likewise melodic, focusing mainly on chordal support for the lyrics and Beraha’s…

Drifting ECM 484 1952 (CD, LP, DL)  EDITOR’S CHOICE Mette Henriette (ts), Johan Lindvall (p) and Judith Hamann (clo). Rec. 2020-2022 In an interview with writer and ECM chronicler Steve Lake, the young Norwegian saxophonist, composer and multi-media artist Mette Henriette Rølvåg – better known across various creative disciplines as just plain Mette Henriette – once offered a fascinating glimpse of the sources of her delicately impressionistic music. "I think about a lot of other things," she said. "I imagine scenes, or scents…it’s more interesting than the obvious things, like focusing on scales." Drifting represents that concentrated focus on the passing moment even more revealingly – and dynamically – than its ECM predecessor, her eponymous 2016 debut for the label. Mette is joined on this belated follow-up by long-time piano…

Sphere ECM 2775 (CD, DL) EDITOR’S CHOICE Bobo Stenson (p), Anders Jormin (b) and Jon Fält (d), Rec. April 2022 It seems impossible that it is 52 years since Underwear, Bobo Stenson’s debut album on ECM, appeared, marking the beginning of his collaboration with producer Manfred Eicher that continues to the present. The current trio, with Jormin and Fält, has been recording for the label since Cantando, in 2008. This session – made at Lugano’s Italian-Swiss radio studio – catches the immediacy of a group that approaches every session afresh, yet demonstrates years of shared understanding of one another’s playing. Eicher also continues to believe in the album as an overall form, building records with his artists that tell a story from track to track. This is a fine example,…

Debut in the Netherlands 1958 The Lost Recordings TLP 2204043 (CD, LP) RECOMMENDED Dave Brubeck (p), Paul Desmond (as), Gene Wright (b) and Joe Morello (d). Rec. 1958 The year 1958 was a big one for the Dave Brubeck Quartet. A tour of Europe was immediately followed by a US State Department tour through Poland, Turkey, Pakistan, India, Ceylon, Iran, and Iraq. The experience later inspired the album Jazz Impressions of Eurasia and the composition ‘Blue Rondo a la Turk’ from Time Out. For several decades the only documentation of this tour was Dave Brubeck Quartet In Europe from 5 March, 1958. Now, several recordings have come to the surface of this historic tour (they were the first jazz group to tour behind the Iron Curtain). The Debut in the…

Pieces Of A Man: 50th Anniversary Edition Flying Dutchman/BGP CDBGPM 274/HIQLP 007/XXQLP 094/BGPC 274 (CD, LP, 2 LP, cassette, DL) Gil Scott-Heron (v, p, el g, comp), Brian Jackson (p, el p, comp), Ron Carter (b, el b), Hubert Laws (f, sax), Bernard ‘Pretty’ Purdie (d), Burt Jones (el g) and Johnny Pate (cond) plus string section. Rec. 19 and 20 April 1971 A landmark in jazz and in 1970s American black music more generally, Pieces Of A Man represented a quantum leap from Gil’s acclaimed debut A New Black Poet - Small Talk at 125th and Lenox. Teaming up with pianist-composer Brian Jackson (who co-wrote all but four of the 11 tunes here), with this album Scott-Heron moved from being a powerful spoken-word artist to a figure ofvast musical and…

Archie Shepp Yasmina, A Black Woman BYG/Actuel 529.304 (CD, LP, DL) Archie Shepp (ts, v), Lester Bowie (t), Clifford Thornton (ct), Arthur Jones (as), Dave Burrell (p), Hank Mobley (ts), Roscoe Mitchell (bass s), Laurence Deveraux (balafon), Malachi Favors (b), Sunny Murray, Philly Joe Jones (d) and Art Taylor (rhythm logs). Rec. 12 August 1969 Archie Shepp Blasé BYG/Actuel 529.318 (CD, LP, DL) Archie Shepp (ts), Lester Bowie (t, flhn), Jeanne Lee (v), Chicago Beau, Julio Finn (hca), Dave Burrell (p), Malachi Favors, Earl Freeman (b) and Philly Joe Jones (d). Rec. 16 August 1969 A pair of excellent new reissues of two key works (from a very productive period in the saxophonist’s career) in the Shepp canon, recorded within days of each other in the summer of 1969 for…

Flagey, Brussels, Belgium The Brussels Jazz Festival suffered more severely than most events during the various lockdown periods. Its winter placement led to the complete cancellation of the 2021 and 22 editions, so this weekender was the first BJF since January 2020. Following a wildly diverse three days, the closing Sunday was devoted to a mini-fest of ECM artists, celebrating the releases of their various records. The Julia Hülsmann Quartet were technically together, but there were few instances of creative excursions being made by this German crew, away from a fairly lacklustre mainline jazz. For our full departure, we needed the Norwegian tenor saxophonist Mette Henriette, whose new Drifting album’s compositions strip their makings down to near silence, which was probably a struggle for many in the surprisingly well-filled main…

BBC RADIO 2 88-91 FM and DAB Big Band Special (Mon, 11pm), Jamie Cullum show (Tues, 9pm) BBC RADIO 3 90-93 FM and DAB J to Z (Sat 5pm) International Women’s Day Special (4 March) Dezron Douglas' inspirations, plus concert highlights from Terri Lyne Carrington live at SFJazz showcasing tracks from her New Standards LP composed by women (11 March) The best in jazz - past, present and future (18 March) Swinging into Spring (25 March) Jazz Record Requests (Sun, 4pm) Freeness with Corey Mwamba (Sat, Midnight) BBC RADIO 6 MUSIC DAB Gilles Peterson, Sat 3pm JAZZ FM DAB, Sky, Alexa, smartphone, tablet and online at jazzfm.com (Mon – Fri) 6am-6.30am Business Breakfast, 6.30am-10am Jazz FM Breakfast with Nigel Williams, 10am-2pm Midmornings with Deb Grant, 2pm-6pm Afternoons with Jamie Crick,…

The April issue of Jazzwise – which is on-sale from 16 March – will feature an exclusive covermounted compilation album, Now Playing Scottish Jazz, featuring some of the key artists who make up the country’s vibrant and varied jazz scene. These include pianist Fergus McCreadie and vocalist Geogia Cécile, plus exciting names such as saxophonists Matt Carmichael and Norman Willmore, violinist Seonaid Aitken, horn-led band Mama Terra and internationally acclaimed saxophonist and SNJO director Tommy Smith. See this month’s feature on page 22 for more. The April issue will also feature the 2023 Mega Euro Jazz Fest Guide and all the usual exclusive features and reviews. Reserve your copy at www.jazzwise.com/subscribe…

A new album inspired by Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew, and performed by a collective of UK jazz players under the name London Brew, will be released on 31 March. The album, also called London Brew, features contributions from Theon Cross, Nubya Garcia, Shabaka Hutchings, Dave Okumu, Tom Skinner and many others, all brought together by producer and guitarist Martin Terefe and executive producer Bruce Lampcov. The record reflects a journey through the period in which it was conceived, having been recorded during the pandemic and after many months of isolation and the inability to collaborate in person. It was finally committed to tape in December 2020 at Paul Epworth’s Church Studios in London, and Terefe described the resulting music as “sometimes uncomfortable, other times it’s familiar and joyous and other…

The Steinway 2-Piano Festival is back for another run of 10 performances of unique piano pairings from the US, UK and Europe – all gracing the intimate stage of Pizza Express Jazz Club, Dean Street, Soho from 18-23 March. Each meeting is a rare chance to hear the likes of European virtuosi Julia Hülsmann and Sunna Gunnlaugs (pictured) duet together, as they make their debut appearance at Dean Street. There’s also a stellar first-time meeting ofJulian Joseph and Gwilym Simcock; and a welcome return from festival favourites including Ian Shaw, Liane Carroll, Joe Stilgoe, Joe Webb, Brian Kellock, David Newton, Ivo Neame and Elchin Shirinov. Dates are: Ian Shaw & Liane Carroll (18 Mar); Elchin Shirinov & Ivo Neame (18 Mar); Julian Joseph & Gwilym Simcock (19 Mar); Brian Kellock…

Camden’s Jazz Café has a busy spring schedule of diverse bookings, spanning vocalists, electro-jazz and widely hailed instrumentalists. Highlights to look out for include last month’s Jazzwise cover star, US alto saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin (pictured), who plays her first UK show in support of her powerful new album, Phoenix; shows from rising jazz-soul vocalists Samara Joy and Mica Millar; flamboyant bass hero and singer Richard Bona; influential guitar master Kurt Rosenwinkel, two-handed tapping guitar innovator and pianist Stanley Jordan; YouTube star and bassist Adam Neeley’s jazztronica group Sungazer (presented by Jazz Café at Heaven, Villiers Street) and charismatic Cuban jazz pianist Alfredo Rodríguez. Dates are: Jazz Jamaica (4 Mar); Samara Joy (7 Mar); Richard Bona (14-15 Mar); Kurt Rosenwinkel (22 Mar); Sungazer @Heaven (24 Mar); Lakecia Benjamin (27 Mar); Billie…

Alan Bates 26/08/1925 – 30/01/2023 Derby-born Alan Bates was a jazz record producer with an international reputation. His first impact was on the UK scene, with the early 1960s co-founding of Interdisc, which provided the first organised imports of key labels such as Blue Note and Riverside, only previously available by expensive individual mail-order. He then collaborated with Atlantic to produce UK editions of jazz albums not previously released in Europe. While working for what became Polygram, he created two specialist series on Fontana, one consisting of new avant-garde-leaning sessions byAmerican musicians in Europe (including Abdullah Ibrahim), and one of reissues from defunct US labels, whose rights he’d acquired. These twin directions were pursued when he formed his Black Lion company in 1968, initially releasing on Polydor, then on its own…

Christmas came early for those fortunate enough to be at Brad Mehldau’s one-off solo piano recital in Munich on a wet, frosty night in early December. Within the magnificently ornate surroundings of Prinzregententheater, we watched him play seated behind a Steinway Grand in a trance-like poise, head occasionally bowed, his body writhing as if to a slow-motion dance beat. There were moments when he seemed to be summoning the spirits of fin-de-siècle German Romanticism captured for eternity within the venue’s walls. Yet about half the set was centred on the works of a rock band as peculiarly English as they come, albeit one that had also globally revolutionised the course of music history. Mehldau, probably the most influential jazz pianist so far this century, was previewing his outstanding new ‘live’…

The Sixth Decade: From Paris To Paris (Live At Sons D’Hiver) Rogueart ROG0123 (2 CD, DL) EDITOR’S CHOICE As the first European city to give them much-needed performance and recording opportunities in the late 1960s, Paris has a great significance in the history ofArt Ensemble Of Chicago. Indeed the albums they made for the BYG label have more than stood the test of time, so this lengthy live session, spread over two CDs, which took place at the renowned Sons D’Hiver festival in the city of light, stands as a celebration of that history. It also marked the band’s 50th anniversary tour. Scaled up to a 18-piece orchestra, AEC sounds as powerful, sonically, and as varied, stylistically, as at any point in those eventful decades as it presents material that…

Bill Laurance & Michael League Where You Wish You Were ACT Music ACT9961-T (CD, DL) Bill Laurance (p, v) and Michael League (oud, fretless bass, fretless baritone electric guitar, ngoni, v). Rec. 2020 Bill Laurance and Michael League are the most prominent members of Grammy winning supergroup Snarky Puppy, not the least because of their side careers. Laurance has won plaudits for his highly original, often cinematic solo piano material; while League’s similarly acclaimed projects include the globally-minded Bokanté, in which he wigs out on oud instead of electric bass. This pairing finds the friends expressing themselves in ways spacious, melodic and harmony driven on 11 original tracks, with Laurance eschewing digital effects for felt-dampened strings and League on oud, ngoni lute and custom-made fretless guitars. Very much their own…

The Attic Love Ghosts No Business Records This Lisbon-based sax-bass drums trio has Rodrigo Amado’s gutsily inquisitive tenor drawing fundamentally from Rollins and crossing into more abstract free jazz territory while the propulsive, bustling rhythm section adds some essential bite to the session. Bangkok Lingo Tomorrow’s Finally Here NXN Recordings A young Oslo band call on African, Latin, ambient rock and kitsch-y NY downtown derived grooves and a melodic brassy lyricism with more post-free jazz vocab evident in the solos; yet there seems to be a lack of collective dynamism in this session. William Cline-Bailey Euphoria Cline-Bailey Productions Cline-Bailey, a British drummer percussionist of Sierra Leonean extraction, heads a quintet with gospel, R&B smooth and African-pop leanings that’s easy on the ear yet no more challenging than that. Joe Bowden…

Joe Turner The Boss Of The Blues: Joe Turner Sings Kansas City Jazz Atlantic/Pure Pleasure PPAN SD1234 (LP) Joe Turner (v), Pete Johnson (p), Joe Newman, Jimmy Nottingham (t), Lawrence Brown (tb), Pete Brown (as), Frank Wess, Seldon Powell (ts), Freddie Green (g), Walter Page (b) and Cliff Leeman (d). Rec. 1956 Jimmy Giuffre Western Suite Atlantic/Pure Pleasure PPAN SD1330 (LP) Jimmy Giuffre (cl, ts, bs), Bob Brookmeyer (tb) and Jim Hall (g). Rec. 3 December 1958 South London’s Pure Pleasure label has, for years now, been doing jazz lovers a massive service with its (often) all-analogue vinyl reissues of the catalogues of labels such as Strata-East, Theresa and Nimbus West. The Pure Pleasure crew have also established a niche reissuing lesser-known gems from the Atlantic vaults – as is…

Donald Byrd At The Half Note Cafe Blue Note Tone Poet LP A live recording from November 1960, this is a soulful, swinging and enjoyable set of hard cop featuring Pepper Adams (baritone sax), Duke Pearson (piano), Laymon Jackson (bass) and Lex Humphries on drums. As always with Tone Poets, it has spectacular all-analogue sound. Eddie ‘Lockjaw’ Davies Cookin’ with Jaws and the Queen: The Legendary Prestige Cookbook Albums Craft Recordings/Prestige 4 LP This gorgeous set compiles four classic soul-jazz albums The Jaw made with organist Shirley Scott: Cookbook, Vol. 1; Cookbook, Vol. 2; Cookbook, Vol. 3, and Smokin’, all of which were recorded in stereo by Rudy Van Gelder. Here, they have been newly-remastered from the original analogue tapes by Bernie Grundman. The all-analogue 4-LP edition, limited to just…

Classical Les Siècles/Bru Zane François-Xavier Roth Les nuits de Paris Bru Zane BZ2005 Imagine uprooting the traditional New Year’s Day concert from Vienna’s Musikverein and transporting it to the Opéra-Comique in Paris. And why not? This disc would possibly be the result – a celebration of French dance music from revues at the Folies-Bergère to ballets at the Opéra.Whereas the Viennese have maintained their waltz tradition, France has rather neglected its dance music – I suspect only a few of the tracks here will be familiar. Who better to lead the musical excavations than the indefatigable Palazzetto Bru Zane, dedicated to the rediscovery of neglected French music of the 19th century, and François-Xavier Roth? With the ever-stylish Les Siècles, they have unearthed some real gems. The giddy waltz from Saint-Saëns’s…