Christian Scott: Breaking Boundaries, Crossing Lines
ALL ABOUT JAZZ: The prodigious trumpeter pulls no punches in a vicious critique of the jazz establishment.
Manuel Mengis – Dulcet Crush
HatHut Records / Hatology 684 Release: October/November 2009 Manuel Mengis – trumpet Reto Suhner – alto saxophone, alto clarinet Roland von Flue – tenor saxophone, bass clarinet Flo Stoffner – electric guitar Marcel Stalder – electric bass Lionel Friedli – drums 1. Plant Life 2. End Of A Record Breaker 3. Bling Bling Cowboy 4....
Hot New Jazz CDs from the UK
Led Bib – Sensible Shoes If London’s “maverick avant-jazz skronkers” Led Bib were a politician, they’d put John McCain to shame. But it’s not just skronkadelic mania and wall-to-wall noise: this twin-sax-led quintet presents a thorough exercise in structured collective improvisation, which traverses mood and dynamic with a delicacy that belies the fierce, free energy...
Not-So-Modest Mussorgsky in Moscow
Jazz.com tries to cover the whole world of jazz, and not just the famous players at the name clubs. This is more than a quest for brotherhood and goodwill, but also driven by a realization that some of today’s most exciting developments are happening outside the US, especially when talented artists mix the jazz sensibility...
Tim Garland – Libra
The adventurous two-disc Libra features saxophonist Tim Garland heavily entrenched in trio territory. He is joined by rising star Gwilym Simcock on piano and versatile percussionist Asaf Sirkis, with guest appearances from zany guitarist Paul Bollenback and London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Expansive, well-structured pieces are the record’s mainstay, with a tasteful sprinkling of standards. Known...
Alex Wilson – Salsa Con Soul
On his sixth solo album, the award-winning Wilson looks more towards commercial influences than previous work. It would be easy for a man of Alex Wilson’s pianistic talent to cruise along comfortably, picking up sideman or session gigs here and there and continuing to operate in the time-honoured medium of standard small jazz groups. But...
Avishai Cohen – Gently Disturbed
With this release on his own Razdaz Recordz, Avishai Cohen firmly entrenches himself as a frontrunning innovator in the piano trio medium. The Israeli bassist is joined by Mark Guiliana on drums and countryman Shai Maestro on piano – the latter a change in personnel from Continuo (Razdaz, 2006) and Live At The Blue Note...
Blink – Blink
Blink: Blink LOOP Records The latest offering from London’s infamous LOOP Collective, this eponymous debut features an unconventional bass-less trio of pianist Alcyona Mick, Robin Fincker on tenor sax and clarinet and drummer Paul Clarvis. All demonstrate considerable capabilities in the field of loose, open jazz which is experimental yet accessible. Mick’s command of the...
Ponto de Equilíbrio – Abre a Janela
Formed in a Rio de Janeiro hippy refuge in 1999, Ponto de Equilíbrio blend traditional aspects of roots reggae with musical flavours from across Brazil into an utterly distinctive and highly refreshing individual sound. The group’s second album, Abre a Janela, conveys a similarly diverse selection of moods and emotions, from deep, mellow grooves such...
James Carter – Present Tense
James Carter may not yet be forty, but he possesses a degree of instrumental mastery which could easily be a lifetime’s work. At different stages of this record, the versatile multi-instrumentalist plays tenor, soprano and baritone saxophones as well as flute and bass clarinet, all with equal power and precision. This diverse approach to instrumental...
The Blessing – All Is Yes
One of the most sideways-thinking groups on the vibrant UK jazz scene, The Blessing are rapidly expanding outwards from their Bristol home. Signed on a three-album deal to Candid Records, the band has just completed a successful nationwide tour to promote the first in the series, All Is Yes. The title fits. It’s evident that...
