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Rio Kai
Cassie Kinoshi: Gratitude
by Chris May
Although she emerged on the British jazz scene as part of the cohort of saxophonists associated with London's post-2015 underground scene--among them Nubya Garcia, Binker Golding, Camilla George and Shabaka Hutchings--alto saxophonist Cassie Kinoshi has always stood somewhat apart. Her membership of the Afrobeat-inspired band Kokoroko placed her firmly in that underground scene, but her embrace of the Western classical tradition has given her aesthetic trajectory singularity. She has collaborated with London Sinfonietta, Philharmonia Orchestra and London Symphony Orchestra, and ...
read moreAlex Hitchcock: Dream Band: Live in London
by Glenn Astarita
This is a bold expedition into the heart of progressive jazz, rendered across a vast canvas of three enthralling nights at the Vortex Jazz Club in London. This three-CD collection is not just a mere album, but a grand, audacious gathering of talents which blurs the line between a larger ensemble setup and a more intimate, modern band experience. Hitchcock's nifty approach to ensemble creation is at the core of this live recording. Rather than sticking ...
read moreAlex Hitchcock: Dream Band Live In London
by Chris May
Viewed in retrospect, the abiding memory of 2023 is that it produced too many jazz albums prioritizing technical facility over emotional engagement. In London, New York and elsewhere (but not, so it seemed, in Chicago), musicians appeared to focus on virtuosity rather than feeling. Dullsville. For the record, some of those albums that did put soul on, at the least, an equal footing with cerebralism, are to be found in the Best Albums of 2023 round-up which can be read ...
read moreBenet McLean: Green Park
by Chris May
Best known as a pianist, with four critically acclaimed albums behind him, on Green Park Benet McLean returns to his first instrument, the violin. The press release says he began studying the instrument at the age of 3, and Wikipedia tells us he was at some stage mentored by classical maestro Yehudi Menuhin. It stacks up. McLean can play. Green Park is a blast. Along the way, as well as his own discs, McLean has, since the ...
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