Articles by Maurice Hogue
Marilyn Mazur, Angelika Niescier, Pat Thomas & Tomeka Reid
by Maurice Hogue
There's some great music coming in 2026, so I dropped in a preview tracks of upcoming albums by alto saxophonist Angelika Niescier collaborating with some of Chicago's finest, England's free jazz pianist Pat Thomas with XT (2.5 hours of screamin' free jazz on Strata Act (Joy Contemporary), Chicago's cellist supreme Tomeka Reid & quartet, Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers (on trumpet, too), and This Is Wuppertal! from the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra led by the excellent Norwegian bassist Ole ...
Continue ReadingThomas Strønen, Gard Nillsen, Things Of This Nature & Atlas Maior
by Maurice Hogue
Norway is a country that punches way above its weight when it comes to producing excellent jazz musicians, and two of the best drummers from that country have released excellent recordings of late: Thomas Strønen & Time Is A Blind Guide's Off Stillness and Gard Nilssen with an expanded Acoustic Unity, celebrating their tenth anniversary. The contrast between their approaches to drumming, composition and concepts is notable. Speaking of notable, the young quartet, Things Of This Nature, is making a ...
Continue ReadingJure Pukl, Remedy/Aki Takase, Evans/Pride & Charles Lloyd
by Maurice Hogue
More often than not, after putting one of these playlists together, I'm left feeling so very lucky and privileged to be able to share these artists and their music. This one in particular is filled with some great stuff. Go have a listen to it. Slovenian saxophonist Jure Pukl & quartet take on AI with their new Analog AI and demonstrate that when it comes to improvisation, AI is the melted ice cream dripping down the side of the cone. ...
Continue ReadingRahsaan Roland Kirk, Haeun Joo, Ishmael Ali & Satoko Fujii
by Maurice Hogue
Two never-heard-before releases present Rahsaan Roland Kirk holding forth at two 1960s gigs, recorded live at the Village Vanguard in New York and at The Penthouse in Seattle are the highlights in this episode of One Man's Jazz, along with a tasty piano trio recording by South Korean pianist Haeun Joo, Chicago cellist Ishmael Ali, a reunited Satoko Fujii Quartet and the innovative NL-Switch Orchestra from The Netherlands. Polish saxophonist Maciej Sikala and his trio make their first appearance on ...
Continue ReadingCamila Nebbia, Jacopo Fagioli, Lena Bloch & Erin Rogers/Kelsey Mines
by Maurice Hogue
The focus in this episode is on Argentine saxophonist Camila Nebbia who's quickly becoming a very important voice in the avant-garde/free jazz world. Other saxophonists heard on new releases are Lena Bloch, Erin Rogers (with bassist Kelsey Mines), and Rick Countryman from Manila. If you like trumpet players, track down Italy's Jacopo Fagioli. His new Dialogue is very good. Other new music from French guitarist David Chevallier, pianist Denman Maroney and the Polish trio Product May Contain. Playlist ...
Continue ReadingAmirtha Kidambi, L.A.S. Collective, Waldron/Rivers & Pat Thomas
by Maurice Hogue
I haven't done a three-hour show for a while, but with all the new stuff coming in, it was an easy task. Several live recordings highlight this one: vocalist and provocateuse Amirtha Kidambi & Elder Ones are live in Vilnius Lithuania; the Polish L.A.S. Collective featuring trumpeter Piotr Damasiewicz are live at Café Oto in London (plus a studio session from Berlin); a synthesis of multiple concerts by the German duo Training; two of the greats from Venice in 1984 ...
Continue ReadingJulius Gawlik, Conference Call & Camila Nebbia
by Maurice Hogue
German saxophonist Julius Gawlik has captured my attention whenever I've heard him play, particularly of late with Jim Black's The Schrimps. His brilliance has taken him to the NDR Big Band at only 23 years old, and now he's released a very fine debut It's All In Your Head. More saxophone of note comes from the latest release by Conference Call, that improvisatory powerhouse led by master reedist Gebhard Ullmann and from Argentinean saxophonist Camila Nebbia who has been taking ...
Continue ReadingJack DeJohnette August 9, 1942 - October 26, 2025
by Maurice Hogue
This show honours Jack DeJohnette, one of my all-time favourite musicians, and certainly my favourite drummer. His name is everywhere in my music collection and I am so thankful that I got to see him play live. Those performances were spectacular and so very memorable. In this show, you'll hear Jack featured in a number of different contexts. R.I.P. Jack. (There are are some other new albums in this show, from Kevin Sun, Anders Lonne Gronseth and Paul Williamson & ...
Continue ReadingPeter Evans, Shawn Lovato, Flyways & Mali Obonsawin
by Maurice Hogue
Peter Evans' new Ars Ludicra with his quartet Being & Becoming is a perfect example of how Evans has become one of the creative world's most captivating trumpeters. His music is filled with “unexpectations" and surprises. Don't pass up this recording. Preview tracks from upcoming albums should entice you too--bassist Shawn Lovato's Biotic & Flyways' Mutualism featuring pianist Mara Rosenbloom. Bassist/composer Mali Obomsawin presents a preview of her new band and next recording with a recent track recorded in performance, ...
Continue ReadingSam Gill, Federico Calcagno, Scofield/Holland & Perelman/Anderson
by Maurice Hogue
Sydney Australia saxophonist Sam Gill's new Sensemaker with his band Coursed Waters is one of the best things I've heard this year, and there are a hell of a lot of excellent recordings, so definitely colour me impressed. Sam's music sounds like it's coming out of the Berlin-New York free jazz axis. Right there also is a new album from Italian bass clarinetist Federico Calcagno & The Dolphians. Fresh on the heels of a nomination for a German Jazz Prize ...
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