Table of contents for July 2023 in Jazzwise

The 10th anniversary edition of the Love Supreme Jazz Festival is set to run from Friday 30 June to Sunday 2 July, with one of its strongest line-ups to date. While the headliners include the likes of Courtney Pine, Marcus Miller, Yussef Dayes, Tigran Hamasyan and Immanuel Wilkins on the jazz side; and Grace Jones, Thundercat, Incognito and Tower of Power on the crossover soul and funk front, the festival’s role in nurturing the next generation of talent packs in newcomers and emerging names on the New Generation Jazz (formerly Bandstand) and late-night Jazz In The Round stages. The festival now kicks off with a full Friday evening programme which includes the New Generation Jazz (NGJ) stage that’s topped by the groove-heavyTanhai Collective, with further opening night performances by Beyond…

Following the huge success of 2018’s Both Directions At Once – which on release debuted in the main UK Album Chart at No.15 – John Coltrane fans are in for another slice of previously ‘lost’ musical magic, as a rare live recording featuring both Trane and iconic altoist Eric Dolphy is set to be released on 14 July on Impulse! Records. Titled, Evenings At The Village Gate: John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy, the album was recorded during Coltrane’s month-long summer 1961 Village Gate residency and consists of 80 minutes of never-before-heard music with the two saxophonists backed by pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Elvin Jones. Dolphy died just three years later, and this recording is the only known live document of their Village Gate performances. In addition…

Since Jazz On The Lawn’s inception in 2008, the grounds of Fulham Palace in London have played host to some the UK’s leading jazz and soul musicians at this regular summer event presented by Chelsea’s 606 Club. Returning this year on 14 and 15 July, performances include The Wonder of Stevie, led by vocalist Noel McCalla and saxophonist Derek Nash on Friday 14 July, as they celebrate the music of one of the greatest singer/songwriters of all time, Stevie Wonder. This is followed by multi-award-winning alto saxophonist Tony Kofi (left) who leads his band with guest vocals from Vimala Rowe (below) on Saturday 15 July. Known for his acclaimed takes on the music of Ellington, Adderley and Monk, Kofi lines up here with the sophisticated and soulful vocalist Rowe, who’s…

1 Black Hope by Kenny Garrett (1992) “Kenny Garrett was the first concert I went to at Ronnie Scott’s when I was 17, it blew my mind and I’ve been hooked on Garrett ever since. This album has such a huge energy about it, almost like a live album. It’s amazing to hear him trading with Joe Henderson and the hook-up he has with Brian Blade always leads to some pretty special moments.” 2 Shift by Logan Richardson (2016) “This is my favourite of his albums so far. He has such an original sound on the saxophone, and I love the writing on this album. Super-dense, complex compositions grounded in really strong melodies. Also, Pat Metheny in a sideman role is great to hear on this, the only recording he’s made as…

The first extensive anthology drawn from the jazz catalogue of legendary drummer, Charlie Watts, will be released by BMG on 30 June. Available in 2-LP and double CD editions, the new Anthology compilation aims to chronicle "the other musical side of the giant who underpinned the Rolling Stones for more than 55 years". It draws on a 20-year catalogue of jazz recordings in various configurations, including quartet, quintet, tentet and orchestra. Collaborators include such greats as Watts' lifelong friend, double bass stalwart Dave Green, saxophonists Peter King, Evan Parker and Courtney Pine, drummer Jim Keltner and vocalist and Stones live band member Bernard Fowler. The album begins in 1986, with cuts from the Live At Fulham Town Hall album. It then features selections from the Charlie Watts Quintet’s From One…

● DUDLEY MOORE FUNDRAISER FOR NATIONAL JAZZ ARCHIVE The work of the National Jazz Archive gets a boost via a fundraising concert held on 15 July at Loughton Methodist Church, High Road, Loughton, with the E17 Jazz Trio celebrating the music of comedy icon and jazz pianist, Dudley Moore. The latter, while renowned for his role as Arthur in the eponymous Hollywood movies, and his outrageous comedy partnership with Peter Cook, was also a classically-trained, virtuoso jazz pianist who also wrote music for TV, radio and recorded with some incredible musicians and stars of stage and screen. For this concert Dudley’s story will be told and musically illustrated by pianist/keyboardist Nick Tomalin, bassist Dave Manington and drummer Marek Dorcik. For full details and tickets visit www.nationaljazzarchive.org.uk/posts/events/2023/05/the-dudley-moore-story ● SAM NEWBOULD QUINTET…

What the hell Guildford Jazz Festival were thinking when they referred to themselves as 'The Glyndebourne of Jazz' back in July 1964, when this advert appeared in Melody Maker, is not initially obvious; especially bearing in mind it was held in the dreary, indoor confines of Guildford Civic Hall in Surrey rather than bucolic, Glyndebourne-like downland meadows. Perhaps the organisers were stretching poetic licence too far by alluding to the inclusion – alongside Tubby Hayes Big Band and Dick Morrisey Quartet – of the Guildford Philharmonic Orchestra playing, er, 'jazz works', including some Gershwin (the An American In Paris soundtrack), alongside their more usual classical fare. Just as well Love Supreme Jazz Festival came along in 2013 to do the job properly at the delightful Glynde Place in Sussex, right…

Eric Alexander Alto Saxophone with Strings High Note HCD 7342 (CD, DL) Eric Alexander (as), David Hazeltine (p), John Webber (b), Joe Farnsworth (d) and Bill Dobbins (string arr, cond). Rec. 28 August and 14 December 2021 Eric Alexander recorded his first ‘with strings’ album just over a decade ago, although it wasn’t finally released until the end of 2019. His second, recorded soon after lockdown, is similar in mood, but this time showcases Alexander on alto, not tenor, sax. The articulation and control remain intact, as does his well-versed grasp of songbook form. But, avoiding the alto’s highest range, his sound on the smaller horn is mellow and warm. Otherwise, there is a similar mix of out-of-the-way ballads and blues, the string arrangements stay sweet-toothed and his long-standing rhythm…

Exactly Right! Savant SCD 2206 (CD) EDITOR’S CHOICE Louis Hayes (d), Abraham Burton (ts), Steve Nelson (vib), David Hazeltine (p) and Dezron Douglas (b). Rec. 16-17 December 2022 Born in 1937 and still going strong, Hayes was named an NEA Jazz Master this year; this seen by some, including me, as a somewhat belated accolade, given his unswerving commitment to the hard bop style and his many career achievements. All that said, his continuing desire to play is once again evident in this spirited release, the usual hard bop template modified to place Nelson’s vibes front and centre, the voicing with Burton, a Hayes sideman since 1998, pleasingly effective. The title track by Hayes is a neat riff piece, the drummer puncturing the beat with cymbal splashes, prompting and guiding…

Nocturnes Stunt STUCD22112 (CD) EDITOR’S CHOICE Mikkel Ploug (g), Mark Turner (ts), Jeppe Skovbakke (b) and Sean Carpio (d). Rec. date not stated Ballad playing is an integral part of the jazz canon, and it is fascinating to see how many new avenues musicians have opened up in pursuit of the tender moment. Danish guitarist Mikkel Ploug’s group shows itself to be a model of sensitivity and subtext on this enjoyably wistful set that benefits substantially from the presence of contemporary saxophone colossus Mark Turner. In fact, the pall of mist floating over the dark outline of forestland on the exquisite monochrome sleeve is an entirely appropriate visual nod to the ensemble sound. There is indeed a hovering, ethereal character in the themes and wavering chords that drift sensually behind…

Intensive Care Cadillac SCG020 (CD, LP, DL) Billy Bang (vn), Frank Lowe (ts), Rafael Garrett (b) and Dennis Charles (d). Rec. 8, 15, 17 November 1983 and 23 October 1984 Joy Joy Cadillac SCG022 (CD, LP, DL) RECOMMENDED Jim Dvorak (t), Chris Francis (as), Frank Roberts (p), Ernest Mothle (b) and Keith Bailey (d). Rec. 22 March 1976 Two lost jazz treasures, resurrected courtesy of Mike Gavin’s Cadillac label (which incidentally celebrates its 50th anniversary this year). Led by the late great Billy Bang, the Jazz Doctors were grizzled veterans of the avant-garde with an admirably open attitude to accessibility. Intensive Care boasts a cover photo (taken in a pre-gentrified Hoxton) and sleeve notes by Jazzwise contributorVal Wilmer and features recordings made in London. The first six tracks are the…

A Supreme Love Confront CORE 33 (6 CD, DL) Alan Skidmore (ts, ss, d, perc), Jimmy Skidmore, Paul Dunmall, Sonny Fortune, Ed Jones, Howard Cottle (ts), Wayne Shorter (ss), John Surman (bs, ss), Mike Osborne (as), Tony Coe, Ronnie Ross, Ray Warleigh, Nigel Hitchcock, Simon Allen, Phil Todd, Julian Argüelles (s), Humphrey Lyttleton, Greg Bowen, Ian Carr, Bert Courtney, Kenny Wheeler, Guy Barker, Henry Lowther, Martin Shaw, Graham Russell, Nathan Bray, Ingolf Burkhardt (t), Chris Pyne, Eddie Harvey, Mike Smith, Eje Thelin, Malcolm Griffiths, Barnaby Dickinson, Pat Hartley, Liam Kirkman, Roger Williams (tb), Colin Purbrook, Bob Cornford, John Taylor, Klaus Koenig, Steve Melling, David Hartley (p), Alan Haven (org), Josef Zawinul, Colin Towns (keys), Alexis Korner, John Parricelli (g), Georgie Fame (voc), Danny Thompson, Ron Mathewson, Dave Holland, Harry Miller,…

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) Gretchen Parlato’s inspirations and highlights from saxophonist Jasmine Myra live at last year’s EFG London Jazz Festival (24 Jun) The best in jazz – past present and future (1 July) The best in jazz – past present and future (8 July) Legendary jazz drummer Joe Chamber’s inspirations plus pianist Rebecca Nash’s band live in session (15 July) The best in jazz – past present and future (22 July) The best in jazz – past present and future (29 July) Jazz Record Requests (Sun, 4pm) Freeness with Corey Mwamba (Sat, Midnight) BBC RADIO 6 MUSIC DAB Gilles Peterson, Sat 3pm JAZZ FM…

Mr PC Records, a new label set up by renowned drummer Peter Cater and specialising in straight-ahead British jazz, will release its debut LP this summer with Dear Tubby H by the Simon Spillett Big Band. Recorded in early April 2023 this ‘A-team’ of UK players presents roughly an hour of powerful big band charts composed by or associated with Tubby Hayes. As tenorist Spillett explained in an interview in the June issue of Jazzwise, all of the charts were painstakingly re-edited by trombonist Mark Nightingale and none of them were ever recorded on any of Hayes’ commercially released albums. The band includes saxophonists Sammy Mayne, Pete Long, Alex Garnett, Simon Allen, Alan Barnes; trumpeters Nathan Bray, George Hogg, Freddie Gavita, Steve Fishwick; trombonists Jon Stokes, Mark Nightingale, Ian Bateman,…

The CD covermounted on April’s issue of Jazzwise – Now Playing Scottish Jazz – was curated and funded by Creative Scotland (CS); this in itself was indicative of a far more joined-up approach to culture north of the border. It’s that age-old idea of investing in a message that says, ‘we understand the broader value of culture and soft power’, and of course it’s an argument that’s been made countless times in recent years as Covid silenced venues and made us all contemplate the very real situation of life without live music – and, most painfully – saw musicians forced to stop playing and earning a living, and questioning their own viability as a work force. Well, we’re now in a post-pandemic age and while the musical landscape still bears…

Following the success of its first foray into jazz in 2022, The Grange Festival in Northington, Hampshire presents Ellington: From Stride to Strings for two nights celebrating the great composer and bandleader’s music on 30 June and 1 July. The evolution of Ellington’s music will be reimagined by a sextet led by renowned trumpeter Dominick Farinacci (above), on such classic Ducal repertoire as ‘It Don't Mean AThing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)’, and ‘Drop Me Off in Harlem’ while for ‘Come Sunday’ the group will be joined by British-Armenian vocalist Anush Hovhannisyan (above). The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra will then perform a set focusing on Ellington’s later work, opening with ‘New World A-Comin'’, which will feature virtuoso pianist Mathis Picard. The programme also includes two specially-commissioned works by former Bad…

Many fans of the great singer, composer and pianist Blossom Dearie see her time at the Fontana label in the late 1960s and early 1970s as a highlight of her career. Those fans will be delighted, then, by the news that Universal is to release a box set of those recordings, Discover Who I Am: The Fontana Years London 1966–70, on 30 June. This lavishly-packaged, 6-CD anthology features no fewer than 27 previously-unreleased tracks, as well as the classic albums Blossom Time At Ronnie Scott’s, Sweet Blossom Dearie, Soon It’s Gonna Rain and That’s Just The Way I Want To Be, and some non-album singles. The music has been mastered by Simon Gibson at Abbey Road, and the beautifully-designed hardback book (see above) features an extensive new biographical essay…

Pete Brown: 25/12/1940 – 19/05/2023 “I come from a long line of worriers, not warriors” was a pet phrase of Pete Brown, the beat/jazz-poet, lyricist and band leader who died last month aged 82. Yet he was there in the advance guard of the 1960s counter-cultural warriors as the light began to penetrate the bleak, post-war gloom and the conformist barriers began to tumble. Influenced initially by Dylan Thomas, Brown’s interest in poetry was propelled by the American beat writers Jack Kerouac and Alan Ginsberg, as well as the sonic fireworks of big band jazz and bebop. He was published in New York’s Evergreen Review and met fellow poetry trailblazer Michael Horovitz at the 1960 Beaulieu Jazz Festival. A vision shared, they read together at the Edinburgh Fringe and Brown joined…

Tomorrow’s Warriors’ celebrated big band, the Jazz Jamaica All Stars, will lead the Windrush Day 75th anniversary celebrations on 22 June at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London with a jazz-reggae-infused tribute to Bob Marley & The Wailers. Following the effusive blend of ska classics and deft jazz arrangements which were a feature of their Trojan Records Story concert in July 2021, this concert will see the combined forces of renowned Aswad vocalist Brinsley Forde, the 35-piece Jazz Jamaica All Stars band, plus stunning backing vocals from Dem Three, aka singers Cherise Adams-Burnett, Cara Crosby-Irons and Kianja Harvey-Elliot. And taking advantage of the Royal Festival Hall’s expansive stage, the evening will see a 246-strong community choir, the Jazz Jamaica All Stars Choir (aka the Southbank Centre Voicelab Choir), led…

The art made under the strange weight of Covid, lockdowns, mass death, eerie quiet and an unguessable future is coming out now. Leeds saxophonist Jasmine Myra’s debut album on Matthew Halsall’s Gondwana Records, Horizons, dramatises her emotional journey through that time. “It feels so distant now,” she considers, “and it’s interesting looking back. My mental health and happiness was much worse than I realised at the time, and now I can see, ‘Oh, I really wasn’t okay.’” Myra was gigging and teaching full-time, and readying her album when the world stopped. “That period massively changed the album’s course. Because I was writing it and working out the sound I wanted as an artist. I was also unpacking loads of stress, and issues with my mental health and decline in happiness…

The Sun Don’t Lie (Dreyfus Jazz, 1993) Dedicated to Miles Davis, and Grammy nominated, with a rare appearance of Miles-Davis-as-sideman on ‘Rampage,’ Miller comes up with some deep, well thought out and executed compositions on what is an early recorded highlight under his own name. Renaissance (Dreyfus Jazz, 2012) If the album title was 'Renaissance Man', this, his ninth studio album, would capture the essence of the man descriptively and aurally. Miller’s command of slap bass drives the richly detailed horn-fuelled tracks, while Rubén Blades and Gretchen Parlato guest on the gorgeous Brazilian ballad 'Setembro'. Afrodeezia (Blue Note, 2015) Following his UNESCO Artist for Peace award, and Spokesperson for the Routes of Enslaved Peoples project, Miller put a lot of work and dedication into his Blue Note debut album, playing…

Iroko Naïve/Believe BLV8080 (CD, LP, DL) EDITOR’S CHOICE Avishai Cohen (b, v), Abraham Rodriguez Jr (cga, v) and Virginia Alves (v). Rec. January 2022 The influential acoustic bassist-composer Avishai Cohen has been on a Latin tip ever since cutting his teeth on the 1990’s NYC Smalls Jazz club scene. Stints with Danilo Perez’s Trio, Claudia Acuña and – especially – Chick Corea, as part of his excellent Origin band and trio, plus his exceptional initial releases as leader including those with his International Vamp Band through the late 1990s to early noughties, demonstrate the Latin influence at the heart of his playing. But it’s largely an element that’s been reinvented within a jazz context. The duo on Iroko with the conguero-vocalist Abraham Rodriguez Jr goes right back to the roots,…

The Omnichord Real Book Blue Note Records 4896895 (CD, 2 LP, DL) EDITOR’S CHOICE Meshell Ndegeocello (v, eb, keys, prog), Josh Johnson (s), Jebin Bruni (keys), Chris Bruce (g), Jake Sherman (b), Joel Ross (v), Burniss Travis 11 (el b), Abe Rounds (d) and Thandiswa Mazwai (v). Rec. date not stated One of the key musical adventurer-eclectics of the last three decades, Meshell Ndegeocello remains pleasingly difficult to second guess. The explosive funk of her 1993 debut Plantation Lullabies may seem like a distant echo but it is now increasingly clear that it only represented one of many aspects of an artistic character that has not stopped growing amid distinct changes of context. What is perhaps as important as the eclecticism is the blending of production and performance. As this…

A Plane To Catch Moko Jumble April Records A Danish quintet fusing jazz, soul and Africana with a hint of rock, APTC’s debut doesn’t always manage to take off, but when it does get airborne, it soars. There’s enough good stuff here to warrant the third star for fans of the soulful side of jazz. Daniel Bingert Ariba Moserobie Music Swedish composer/arranger and Moogist Bingert (son of sax player Hector) leads a muscular but light-on-their-feet sextet on an upbeat album of 10 of his recent compositions, with Per ‘Texas’ Johansson’s tenor sax and bass clarinet are the outstanding feature. Yelena Eckemoff The Lonely Man & His Fish L&H Production Kirk Knuffke (cornet) and Eric Harland (drums) are among the guests on this epic set from keyboardist/composer Eckemoff. As ever with…

Malompo Jazz Strut STRUT314LP (LP) Malombo Jazz Makers Vol 2 Strut STRUT315LP (LP) Julian Bahula (d, malombo d) Abbey Cindi (f, v, hca), Lucas ‘Lucky’ Ranku (g) and Hilda Tloubatla (v). Rec. 1966 and 1967 respectively Sometimes, it doesn’t matter how good your music is, if luck goes against you, success may prove elusive. Such was the case with South African percussionist and anti-apartheid activist Julian Bahula and his band, the Malombo Jazz Makers. An influential and musically innovative collective active at the height of the anti-apartheid movement during the 1960s and 70s, they were formed in Mamelodi township near Pretoria, and first rose to fame in 1964 as Malombo Jazz Men after winning the prestigious Castle Lager Jazz Festival. Although successful at home, international success eluded them – despite…

Classical Elizabeth DeShong/Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Riccardo Muti Contemporary American Composers CSO Resound (CSOR9012301 • 66’) Riccardo Muti’s tenure with the CSO came to an end in June this yearwith three performances of Beethoven’s Missa solemnis, just shy of 50 years after the Italian first conducted the orchestra in July 1973. Philip Glass’ association with the orchestra extends even further. As a precocious 15-year-old he attended several CSO concerts during the early 1950s, hearing Bartók, Mahler and Bruckner. The influence of Bruckner is heard in the large-scale architectural sweep of Glass’ three-movement Symphony No 11 (2017). The first movement begins and ends with pulsing G minor chords in low brass and woodwinds heard against uncertain five-beat ostinato patterns in harp, piano and strings. A sense of suppressed energy is maintained throughout the…

Blue Lava Original Guitar This extraordinary-looking instrument comes with a one-piece carbon fibre injection-moulded body and a bolted on neck, secured with a sizeable thick plate below the front of the top table. There is a rudimentary narrow ‘X’ brace in what would seem to be natural timber running from the top of the guitar down to the bridge and the bottom of the body. This is coupled with angular parallel bracing that looks anything but normal, but is clearly there to enhance the instrument’s sonic fidelity. The elliptical sound hole over the top front bout not only allows the sound to be heard, but also allows access to the electronics with the controls set directly above on the guitar’s rim. Reverb, chorus and delay can all be dialled in to…

Black music as a form of subversion is very much alive tonight. An evening that starts solo and ends ensemble has a strong common thread. Sounds are pulled from both unconventional and conventional sources in left-field ways. In a quite dazzling first half, South African cellist Abel Selaocoe astounds the audience by creating his own orchestral universe from subterranean throat singing, sublime folk melodies, looped percussive clicks, dense chords and a finely wrought touch on the wood and strings of his instrument, which makes it hum like a pan pipe. It is not so much what he is playing as how he is doing what he was not taught to. In the second half an international avantgarde sextet led byAmerican spoken word artist Moor Mother also produces several moments of…

The 100 Jazz Albums That Shook The World is an exclusive 100-page definitive guide to the most important and influential jazz albums that have gone on to change and shape the course of the music from the 1920s to the present day. • Print-only, premium quality, publication edited and conceived by Jazzwise’s editor-in-chief Jon Newey• The first time a fully annotated top 100 jazz album countdown from 100 to No.1 has been published in book form• Includes new in-depth editorial on each album from Jazzwise’s acclaimed team of writers, plus in-depth features on the making of the top three albums, a look at the albums that almost made the cut and a guide to buying the featured titles on LP and CD “This superbly written assemblage is an engrossing read…..a valuable…

Thanks for the memories Thanks to Chris Welch for the evocative piece (Jazzwise 284) on the Bull’s Head in Barnes; in the care of Albert Tolley and Dan Fleming, it just buzzed with jazz in the 1960s and 70s. Dick [Morrissey] lived in Barnes for a while, and there is a black and white photo of him standing in the pub’s front portico as if he owned it. He loved to stay around after gigs to talk Guinness and pipers with Con, who ran the music room bar. We know that live music thrives on the relationship between the players and the audience, and the Bull’s Head was Dick’s home ground, and very lively at times. I once asked my brother the fatuous fan question of which gig, festival or…

Craig explains the origins of the store: “The shop opened in 2017. But Analogue October started as a digital Detox experiment a decade earlier, as I tried to shift away from streaming, iTunes, etc. and live a more analogue life. "I stock all sorts of jazz. All the majors, Blue Note, Verve, Impulse!, etc… Many customers are die hard audiophiles. Miles, Coltrane, ECM, Scandì Jazz, New Jazz. British Jazz are all popular. Customers are big fans of Gearbox, Newland and Wallen Binken releases! Why is jazz a core element of our stock? Well, I guess a shop always somehow reflects the owner’s own personal bias, and my shop is no exception to that rule. Obviously we cater for all tastes, but my bias towards jazz is evident the moment you…

NAME: Maddy Coombs INSTRUMENT: Tenor Saxophone EXPERIENCE AND INFLUENCES: “I started playing when I was around 13 or 14 and was fortunate to be involved with programmes like Junior Academy and Tomorrow’s Warriors where I learnt most of the things I know now. Since then, I've had the opportunities to play with people like Shabaka Hutchings, Judi Jackson, Olivia Dean and experiment with my own music, and just go out and play with generally wonderful people at jam sessions now that I live in London! Of things coming up currently, I'm looking forward to playing at Hi Tide Jazz Festival on the 30 July and Eastside Jazz Club on the 18 July with my band.” THIS FUTURE MOVER SAYS: “I feel like my goal when I play is to just be as…

As we noted in Jazzwise 280, the AFM union ensured that for most of 1948 its members were banned from recording. Although this second national stoppage was less universally observed than the 1942 one, there was little studio activity until the strike was resolved near the end of the year and, as our kind of music was less saleable than in the early 1940s, major labels seemed in no hurry to reconnect with their jazz artists. Happily, the smaller creative companies covering the 'new music' sometimes bent the rules. The Sensation label based in Detroit, as well as working with non-union bluesmen, recorded a session by Milt Jackson (with Dizzy Gillespie’s rhythm-section, including conguero Chano Pozo) and even had a jukebox hit with ‘Stardust’ played by one 'Lord Nelson', who…

Lullabies From An Unknown Time Losen Records LOS 267-2 (CD, DL) EDITOR’S CHOICE Lorenzo De Finti (p) and Fabrizio Bosso (t). Rec. date not stated For thousands of years across all cultures, lullabies have existed in one form or another as a way to soothe, cajole or even threaten a child to sleep. Jazz versions of lullabies are nothing new of course, but on this exquisite collection, Italian pianist Lorenzo De Finti (accompanied by longtime friend, trumpeter Fabrizio Bosso, on six of the nine tracks) creates something more original: no swinging ‘Mary Had A Little Lamb’s here – instead he mixes his own reflective compositions with a fragment of Stravinsky (‘Andante’ from Suite No.1 For Small Orchestra), a traditional Venezuelan folk song and a wonderful solo acoustic piano rendition of…

Open House Fresh Sound New Talent FSNT656 (CD, LP, DL) EDITOR’S CHOICE Tom Ollendorf (g), Ben Wendel (ts), Conor Chaplin (b) and Marc Michel (d). Rec. date not stated Tom Ollendorf is making his quiet way towards ubiquity, all in the most charmingly well-manicured way imaginable. His appeal is not hard to understand: a combination of fearsome musical chops, ambitiously sophisticated compositional sensibility and an unashamedly tuneful upbeat musical personality is very hard to resist, as the many fans of Pat Metheny will testify. The comparison is inevitable, given Ollendorf’s proclivity for matching a clean tone and flawless articulation with a sunny, pastoral sense of melody that strays towards the folk-Americana (on ‘Three Bridges’) or the bossa-ish (on ‘Carnival’), but to make too much of such parallels would be unfairly…

Count Basie The Legendary New Testament Band 1952-55 Acrobat ACTRCD9131 (3CD) Count Basie (p, org) with big band and small groups incl. Joe Newman, Thad Jones (t), Henry Coker, Benny Powell (tb), Johnny Mandel (b-t, arr), Marshal Royal (as, cl), Ernie Wilkins (as, ts, arr), Paul Quinichette, Eddie Lockjaw Davis (ts), Frank Foster (ts, arr), Frank Wess (ts, f, arr), Charlie Fowlkes (bs), Oscar Peterson (p), Freddie Green (g), Jimmy Lewis, Ray Brown, Gene Ramey, Eddie Jones (b), Gus Johnson, Buddy Rich (d), Al Hibbler (v), Neal Hefti, Buck Clayton, Buster Harding, Don Redman, AK Salim, Sy Oliver and Manny Albam (arr). Rec. 19 January 1952-17 August 1954 The big band put together after Basie had spent more than a year leading an octet coalesced gradually, with Sonny Payne and…

The Long Lost Bird Afro-Cubop Recordings Rockbeat Records ROC 3460 (2 LP) RECOMMENDED Charlie Parker (as, ts), Dizzy Gillespie (t) with Machito and his Afro-Cuban Orchestra, Stan Kenton and his orchestra and Woody Herman and the Third Herd. Rec. 1947–54 The ‘Afro-Cubop’ moniker is derived from Norman Granz’s idea to feature Parker with Machito and his Afro-Cuban Orchestra on December 20, 1948. ‘Mango Mangue’ was released as a single, and, according to contemporaneous DJ Symphony Sid, “caused a sensation,” so the term ‘Afro-Cubop’ was a no-brainer. However, this collection is by no means devoted to Afro-Cubop jazz, (long lost or otherwise), but is nonetheless an important release – paradoxically more for the non-Afro-Cubop recordings it pulls together. Many of these tracks have surfaced here and there on bootlegs over the…

Ray Barretto Que Viva La Música! Craft Latino LP/DL Barretto’s landmark salsa album features such favourites as ‘Cocinando’, ‘La Pelota’, and the title track – all performed by Barretto’s legendary original band (including Adalberto Santiago and Orestes Vilato). This long-out-of-print album has been remastered from its original analogue tapes (AAA) by Kevin Gray, is pressed on nice ‘n’ quiet 180-gram vinyl at RTI and housed in a classic tip-on jacket, replicating Izzy Sanabria’s classic cover art. A ruby red vinyl LP is available exclusively at the Craft Recordings store. The album also makes its digital debut in hi-res (192kHz/24 bit). Donald Byrd Slow Drag Blue Note Tone Poet LP One of Byrd’s last Blue Note releases, this 1968 hard bop session features Cedar Walton on piano, Sonny Red on alto,…

Jazz Sous Les Pommiers (‘Jazz Under The Apple Trees’) takes over the small Normandy town of Coutances in a way that’s reminiscent of Brecon Jazz in its heyday. It’s both extended and expansive, a full eight days crammed with gigs in theatre, cinema, chapel, cathedral, spiegeltent and sports hall locations. There’s nary an apple tree in sight, said pommes appearing liberally in festival cidre guise, a brew specially bottled for the occasion. Pommiers is surprisingly crowded for this small town, and almost every gig seems to be sold out. This 42nd edition makes it yet another successfully veteran European festival. Kyle Eastwood provided one of the most spectacular shows, his regular Brit-quintet collaborating with L’Orchestre Régional de Normandie in the large Salle Marcel-Hélie. Eastwood Symphonic is a majestic programme of…