Содержание выпуска: November 2024 — Jazzwise

It only seems like yesterday that last year’s EFG London Jazz Festival dazzled with an all-star bill, and yet here it is again, with another stunning programme of 350-plus gigs across a galaxy of jazz styles. It’s a week when the concert halls demonstrate that jazz can take on epic proportions – the opening night’s Jazz Voice gala, or the massed orchestras that will accompany the likes of Billy Cobham, Cassie Kinoshi, Nikki Iles, Belle Chen and more – are all evidence of that. By contrast several artists are opting for the intensity and intimacy of the solo concert, from this month’s cover star Pat Metheny, to the prodigious rising six-stringer Julian Lage, or Armenian piano powerhouse Tigran – all are sure to leave a strong impression. But as is…

LIAM SHORTALL – A.K.A. CORTO.ALTO 1. Straight Ahead by Count Basie (1968) “This was probably the first jazz album I actually listened to in its entirety. When I was 13 I joined the Tommy Smith Youth Jazz Orchestra in Scotland, and ‘Hay Burner’ from this album was a staple in the band’s repertoire. I loved how joyful and easy the whole album feels, the arrangements are amazing and it just brings back amazing memories from when I first started playing trombone. I still listen to it to this day, and have never got sick of it.” 2. The Low End Theory by A Tribe Called Quest (1991) “This album really blew my mind the first time I heard it – I think I was around 14 years old. It was…

On 29 November as part of the global Record Store Day Black Friday celebrations, Resonance Records will release a trio of albums containing unreleased music by three jazz legnds. The highlight of the trio is undoubtedly Emily Remler’s Cookin’ at the Queens – the first release of new music by the legendary late guitarist in 33 years. It is a previously unreleased collection of the complete performances, originally broadcast on KNPR Las Vegas as part ofAlan Grant’s 4 Queens Jazz Night from Las Vegas weekly radio programme in 1984 and 1988. The limited-edition 3-LP/2 CD set is mastered from the original tape reels in the UNLV archives by Matthew Lutthans at the Mastering Lab, and features quartet performances with pianist Cocho Arbe, bassist Carson Smith and drummer Tom Montgomery, and…

Celebrating its 32nd edition with 350 gigs over 10 days across the length and breadth of London, from tiny clubs to cavernous concert halls, when the EFG London Jazz Festival comes to town it seems the entire city takes notice. “Each year, we have a huge list of music to showcase and so many varied themes to highlight,” Director of Programming Pelin Opcin says. “From jazz legends to rising stars, musicians from around the world and local talent, there’s so much we care about and it always produces 10 days of gigs that are entirely new.” Amid the overwhelming range of programming, spanning free family-friendly shows to 50-piece concert orchestras, Opcin spotlights several strands featured throughout the festival that exemplify its honouring of jazz’s diversity. One particularly exciting focus is…

Samara Joy Portrait Verve 6801316 (CD, LP, DL) EDITOR’S CHOICE Samara Joy (v), Jason Charos (t, flhn), Donavan Austin (tb), David Mason (as, fl), Kendric McCallister (ts), Conor Rohrer (p), Felix Moseholm (b) and Evan Sherman (d). Rec. February 2024 Recorded at the legendaryVan Gelder Studio, this follow-up to Samara Joy’s Grammy-winning 2022 album Linger Awhile sees the vocalist, songwriter, arranger and bandleader reach ever greater heights of artistic expression, accompanied by her road-tested band. With one of the most daring harmonic journeys in the Great American Songbook, Joy weaves through the shifting tonalities of the restless ‘You Stepped Out Of A Dream’ with complete command of the melodic line. The Mingus tribute to Charlie Parker, ‘Reincarnation Of A Lovebird’, is an absolute tour de force – featuring Joy’s own…

Bleed Northern Spy NS168 (CD, LP, DL) EDITOR’S CHOICE Chris Abrams (ky), Lloyd Swanton (b) and Tony Buck (d, perc). Rec. date not stated What can I say? What is there to say? It’s The Necks. You’ll either get it – and like it – or you won’t. If you do get The Necks, you’ll love this album (comprising just one track, a 42-minute improvisation), which is somehow both exactly the same as every other Necks album, and what you'd expect from this singular Australian trio; but at the same time it’s also completely different from everything else they've ever done. And that’s the appeal of The Necks, right there; as the late John Peel used to say of his favourite band, The Fall: "They are always different, they are…

Carlos Bica 11:11 Clean Feed/Trem Azul Bassist Bica leads José Soares (sax), Eduardo Cardhino (vibes) and the impressive Gonçalo Neto (guitar) on a dozen mid-paced instrumentals, ranging from the assertively spacey to the outright dreamy. (KW) Pete Brown The Shadow Club Flatiron Recordings Finished just before he died in 2023, this finds the renowned jazz/beat poet, band leader and lyricist for Cream and Jack Bruce collaborating with keyboardist John Donaldson for a beguiling, jazz-infused latelife reflection on what was and what could have been, with fine contributions from Eric Clapton, Alan Barnes, Graeme Flowers, Joe Bonamassa, Clem Clempson and Richard Bailey. (JN) Espial The Act of Noticing Discus Music Josephine Davis (saxes), Martin Pyne (vibes, percussion, balafon) and David Beebee (electric piano) team up for an entirely improvised album. I…

Abbey Lincoln: Abbey Is Blue (Riverside 1959) Abbey Lincoln’s monumental Abbey Is Blue is on this list, not just because it’s well-recorded (although some might argue it’s not an obvious sonic stunner in the way that, say Kind of Blue – see below – is. But I include it because of the way it sounds, rather than how well it’s recorded. Nothing else in vocal jazz (or indeed jazz more generally) sounds quite like it. Engineer Jack Higgins and producers Orrin Keepnews and Bill Grauer swathed Lincoln’s voice in hard, cold echo, and recessed the all-star backing musicians (Wynton Kelly, Kenny Dorham, Philly Joe Jones, Cedar Walton and Max Roach among them) in the sound picture, with an emphasis on her vocals and the lyrics. The result is a steeliness…

A tribute to Michael Eagleton, Marlow’s ‘Mr Jazz’ I have some sad news to share with your readers: Michael Eagleton, who ran Marlow Jazz Club, died on Monday 9 September 2024 after a short illness. An unassuming and quietly determined man with a huge passion for jazz music, he brought the highest quality jazz to Marlow for 47 years, an extraordinary achievement. This tribute comes from [renowned guitarist] Nigel Price, who played at the Club in June this year: “Michael Eagleton told me he was ill last time I saw him. I didn’t realise how ill. We have lost one of the best people. He really loved the music, loved the people and did an incredible amount of work for the jazz community out in Marlow. he was just the…

BASSIST YOLANDA CHARLES JOINS JAZZ CENTRE UK BOARD Top UK jazz/session bassist and songwriter Yolanda Charles MBE is joining the board of The Jazz Centre UK (TJCUK) in a move that’s aimed at widening the centre’s cultural footprint and enhancing its creative opportunities for preserving, celebrating and promoting jazz. The Southend City-based Jazz Centre was founded by jazz trumpeter Digby Fairweather in 2016 and this latest board appointment follows the Jazz Centre’s new 15-year lease on its home in Southendon-Sea’s Beecroft Art Gallery. Yolanda Charles will bring her wealth of music industry experience to advise and shape the Jazz Centre’s future activities. For more info visit www.thejazzcentreuk.co.uk BILLY CHILDS AND BILL LAURANCE LINE UP FOR GUILDHALL AUTUMN JAZZ SEASON London’s Guildhall School of Music & Drama has some high-calibre…

“We are very pleased with the refurbishment and hope our musicians and guests are too! What’s new and what is the same? Well, the answer to both questions is everything. Everything has been replaced or upgraded, from the sound booth to the walls, floors, and furniture but at the same time we didn’t want to change the look and feel of the club. It’s a much-loved and treasured space; we didn’t want to mess with that. "We really didn’t want to affect the sound in the room…. Ronnie’s has always had a great sound, so if anything, we were approaching the project by trying to preserve the status quo. Changing things like ceiling heights can drastically alter the acoustics of a room, something we were keen to avoid. However, we…

Landmark Recording Excellent Good Average Disappointing Peter Bernstein Better Angels Smoke Session Records SSR2206CD/LP (CD, LP, DL) Peter Bernstein (g), Brad Mehldau (p), Vicente Archer (b), Al Foster (d). Rec. date not stated Now in his late fifties, the guitarist-composer Peter Bernstein has earned a first-class reputation as a top-drawer musician of a straight-ahead brand of NewYork jazz that will continue to thrive while musicians of his calibre are still around. The warm, serene, understatedly luminous tone of his guitar permeates his newest quartet recording, Better Angels. Since the 1990s he has worked with the now-retired giant Sonny Rollins and the late Bobby Hutcherson, as well as a peer group that includes one of the leading B-3 organ trios of Bill Stewart and Larry Goldings. He keeps illustrious company here…

Immanuel Wilkins Blues Blood Blue Note 6555204 (CD, 2 LP, DL) Immanuel Wilkins (as), Micah Thomas (p), Marvin Sewell (g), Rick Rosato (b), Kweku Sombry, Chris Dave (d), Ganavya, June McDoom, Yaw Agyeman and Cécile McLorin Salvant (v). Rec. date not stated If Miles Davis had been a generation older and still a talent-spotting genius, he would very likely have hired Immanuel Wilkins before the Pennsylvanian alto saxophonist had even recorded his acclaimed Blue Note debut, Omega, in 2020. Wilkins’ admiration for former Miles sax frontman Kenny Garrett has been plain from the start, but so have his own voicelike sonorities (perhaps echoing childhood community-church memories), and the vision to join avant-swing and modalism to thematic ideas rooted in past and present African-American experience. All those elements are central to…

Almost In Your Arms Stunt Records STUCD24062 (CD, LP, DL) EDITOR’S CHOICE Claire Martin (v), James McMillan (t, flhn, ky), Karl-Martin Almqvist (ts), Mark Jaimes (g), Martin Sjöstedt (p, ky), Niklas Fernqvist (b), Daniel Fredriksson (d, perc), Nikki Iles (acc), Joe Locke (vb) and Charlie Wood (v). Rec. January-February 2024 Almost In Your Arms sees Martin reuniting with the all-Swedish trio featured on her superb 2019 album, Believin’ It, augmented here by a number of exceptional guests. Written by the trio of Dorothy Fields, George Oppenheimer and Jimmy McHugh for the 1935 film Every Night At Eight, the album gets off to an explosive start with the energising blast of ‘I Feel A Song Coming On’, which sees Locke peeling off a dazzling solo. Charlie Wood joins Martin for a…

Three Of Us Are From Houston And Reuben Is Not Blue Note 652509 (CD, LP, DL) Walter Smith III (ts), Jason Moran (p, frhn), Reuben Rogers (b) and Eric Harland (d). Rec. date not stated Walter Smith III’s second Blue Note release celebrates the saxophonist’s hometown and cultural hub Houston Texas with a clutch of originals and an all-star rhythm section. The composition ‘Cézanne’ flags up a Houston jazz club noted for its listening audience – it was ‘Houston’s Village Vanguard’, according to Smith. And pianist Jason Moran and drummer Eric Harland, like Smith, attended the Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, whose many protégées include Robert Glasper and Beyoncé; bassist Reuben Rogers is from The Virgin Isles. Smith’s lyrical melodies, emotionally rich structures and harmonic sophistication…

Landmark Recording Excellent Good Average Disappointing Phil Bancroft Trio Swings and Roundabouts Myriad Streams Myriad 004 (CD, DL) Phil Bancroft (s), Steve Watts (b) and Marcello Pellitterri (d). Rec. 10-11 August 1996 A privilege of streaming your own material is the control it offers to re-visit releases that a label may delete. With Swings and Roundabouts, Bancroft time travels back 28 years to his recording debut as leader. And it also marks the then launch of Caber Records, twin brother Tom Bancroft’s label which was so instrumental in announcing a rich stream of musicians such as Brian Kellock and Colin Steele – who in turn created such fertile ground for the likes of pianist Fergus McCreadie to flourish in. Swings and Roundabouts is as fresh as it originally sounded, with…

Steven A Cerra Independently published PB £21.22 Anyone with an interest in Gerry Mulligan’s music will probably have read some of the contents of this sizeable anthology, because Steven Cerra, blogger and author, has drawn together an anthology of writings on all stages of the baritone saxophonist and arranger’s career. There are familiar names among the authors whose work is included, with British authors such as Peter Clayton, Richard Cook, Gordon Jack and Alun Morgan alongside American commentators such as Ira Gitler, Jerome Klinkowitz, Gene Lees and George T. Simon. Cerra’s intention, feeling that Mulligan’s long career and diverse musical interests were more than a single author could comfortably cover, was to “supplant one point of view with a collection of perspectives on the important developments in the musical career…

ProPik guitar thumb picks The history of the plectrum goes back to the earliest string instruments and is still a widely used accessory by many guitarists. Guitar picks, on the other hand, are a relatively modern invention and those that we see today were first introduced in the late 1920s for use with banjos, National steel guitars and Hawaiian guitars. Most guitarists will have used one at some point during their playing career, and as those guitarists will know, guitar picks come in many various shapes and sizes, both those attached to the thumb and those attached to the fingers. ProPik has been at the forefront of developing high quality picks for many years, and although recently taken over by the Deering Banjo company, the innovation and creation continues. We…

NAME: Allexa Nava INSTRUMENTS: Saxophone and flute EXPERIENCE AND INFLUENCES: “I was born in Peru and started playing when I was in High School. Shortly after I joined the National Conservatoire to study Classical saxophone. I started to learn jazz when I moved to London at 18, and became part of both Tomorrow’s Warriors and NYJO. Since then, I have had the opportunity to play with some amazing groups including Colectiva, Monsieur Periné, New Regency Orchestra and with artists Elli INgram, Fruko (from ‘Fruko y sus Tesos’) and more! I also have a project under my own name, playing my original music. The next show is at Hootananny in Brixton, London on 20 November, supporting Joshua Milo." THIS FUTURE MOVER SAYS: "What I love about jazz is the freedom that you…

One of the few musicians to spend time in both Basie’s and Ellington’s bands, Terry was nearly 39 before he left the latter to work with Quincy Jones’ ill-fated venture in Paris. He was soon rescued by a call from former colleague Doc Severinsen, who felt in 1960 it was time for Terry to become one of the few black trumpeters on the New York session scene. As well as the essentially anonymous work that entails, he contributed solos to albums by others and to the highly popular Tonight Show TV band (directed by Severinsen from 1962). That provided the first exposure of Terry’s blues-singer parody called ‘Mumbles’, which he subsequently recorded under Oscar Peterson’s name. But the semi-regular gig that provided relaxation after the studios was his work in…

It’s not often that a jazz instrumentalist is more celebrated for his compositions. But Benny Golson wrote ‘Whisper Not’ and ‘Blues March’ before turning 30, and earned unanimous praise for things like ‘Stablemates’ (recorded by Miles at the suggestion of Coltrane), ‘I Remember Clifford’, ‘Along Came Betty’ and ‘Killer Joe’ (all covered by Quincy Jones) and ‘Five Spot After Dark’. As well as highly memorable melodies, they have interesting harmonic twists that appealed to musicians and listeners alike. A product of the thriving Philadelphia scene, home to Coltrane, the Heath brothers and Lee Morgan, Golson paid his dues in both bebop and R&B with Bull Moose Jackson, Earl Bostic, Tadd Dameron, Johnny Hodges, Lionel Hampton, Dizzy Gillespie’s big-band and Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. Joining the latter in early 1958, he…

Jazz has always had its commentators and its promoters, in the widest sense, and one of the greatest was Dan Morgenstern. Probably best known to fans as the author of comprehensive notes to reissues, he was tireless in his pursuit and support of the music, especially as director of the Institute of Jazz Studies. Initially raised in Vienna, he was the son of Ukrainian-born writer Soma Morgenstern, whose anti-Nazi journalism in the 1930s led to speedy exile when Austria was annexed in early 1938. The eight-year-old Dan and his mother left separately, settling in Copenhagen where he was taken to see Fats Waller on the latter’s European tour, which made an indelible impression. He was 18 before he moved to New York, rapidly acquainting himself with the scene and particularlywith…

LesGo! Sam First Records (LP, DL) EDITOR’S CHOICE Devin Daniels (as), Julien Knowles (t), Chris Fishman (p), Jermaine Paul (b) and Benjamin Ring (d). Rec. 16-17 February 2024 Devin and his cohort met at UCLA’s Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz Performance, and Mr Hands himself has personally mentored the young alto prodigy and taken him on tour. The title track of this, his second album, shows us why: Daniels simply explodes out of the gate with a flurry of creative phrases before the theme, a sort of Ornette-ish gospel chant, kicks in – then he’s away, his poky, acidic tone burning over a tricky dotted rhythm bassline. In a similar vein to the Immanuel Wilkins quartet, Daniels and his band operate at the forefront of the US acoustic jazz tradition…

Fly Artistry Music ART7086CD/LP (CD, LP, DL) EDITOR’S CHOICE Michael Mayo (v, g, perc), Shai Maestro (p, ky), Scott Mayo (v, as, ss), Linda May Han Oh (b, el b), Nate Smith (d, perc), and Valerie Pinkston (v). Rec. January 2024 Mayo’s debut album, Bones, was a work of startling originality with a sound world which referenced everything from The Beach Boys to J Dilla. Recorded over two days at Bunker Studio in Brooklyn and backed by an incredible all-star band, this eagerly awaited follow-up presents another wildly enjoyable sonic ride. Mayo-penned originals including album opener ‘Bag of Bones’, the title track (which again features his parents on backing vocal duties), and ‘Frenzy’ highlight his amazing facility for delivering hooks which lodge immediately in your consciousness. There’s a delicious mid-tempo…

Ebo Taylor JID022 Jazz Is Dead JID022 (CD, LP, DL) Ebo Taylor (v), Adrian Younge (g, syn, clavinet), Ali Shaheed Muhammad (org), Henry Taylor (el p), Philip Andy Biney (d), Samson Olawe (cga), Emmanuel Ackone (el b), Jay Flat, Danny Janklow (bs), Scott Mayo (as), Katisse Buckingham (f), Erm Navarro (tb), Tatiana Tate (t), Henry Taylor, Philip Andy Biney, Yeko Ladzekpo-Cole, Beatrice Lawluvi, Mikaela Elson and Erinn Horton (bv). Rec. 2022 In a video on the Jazz Is Dead YouTube channel, one can find footage of Ghanaian high life pioneer Ebo Taylor’s first performance in the US. This isn’t archival film however – it’s actually from 2022, when the label flew the then 86-year-old Taylor and his band to perform a string of US dates. Sat on an armchair centre-stage,…

Classic Blue Note Sessions 1963-1970 Mosaic MD7-278 (7 CD) RECOMMENDED Bobby Hutcherson (vb, mar, d, bells) with (coll. pers.) Freddie Hubbard (t), James Spaulding (f, as), Joe Henderson (ts), Sam Rivers (f, ss, ts, bcl), Harold Land (f, ob, ts), Grant Green (g), Duke Pearson, Andrew Hill, Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner, Stanley Cowell, Chick Corea, Joe Sample (p), Bob Cranshaw, Richard Davis, Ron Carter, Herbie Lewis, Albert Stinson, Reggie Workman, Reggie Johnson, John Williams (b), Al Harewood, Joe Chambers, Billy Higgins and Mickey Roker (d). Rec. 29 December 1963–15 July 1970 As well as its absorbing musical details, we have here a fascinating insight into Blue Note’s reaction to the winds of change in the 1960s. Initially cautious about the free-jazz movement, they nevertheless signed Eric Dolphy (who made Out…

BBC RADIO 2 88-91 FM and DAB Jamie Cullum show (Tues, 9pm) BBC RADIO 3 90-93 FM and DAB 'Round Midnight (Mon-Fri 11.30pm) Jazz Record Requests (Sun, 4pm) BBC RADIO 6 MUSIC DAB Gilles Peterson, Sat 3pm JAZZ FM DAB, Sky, Alexa, smartphone, tablet and online at jazzfm.com (Mon – Fri) 6.30am-10am Jazz FM Breakfast with Nigel Williams, 10am-2pm Danielle Perry, 2pm-6pm Afternoon drive with Simon Philips, 6pm-7pm Jazz FM’s Greatest, 7pm-9pm Jazz FM’s Dinner Jazz with Mark Walker. (Mon) 9pm-10pm Future Jazz with Ruth Fisher; 10pm-midnight Late Nite with China Moses. (Tues) 9pm-10pm Jazz Travels with Rouhangeze Baichoo; 10pm-midnight Late Night with China Moses. (Wed) 9pm-10pm Jazztronic with Dom Servini; 10pm-midnight Late Night with China Moses. (Thur) 9pm-10pm The British Jazz Show with Helen Mayhew; 10pm-midnight Late Night with…