Jazz Articles
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Ubunye: Tell Me The Truth Or Don't Tell Me Anything
by Andy Crowther
Ubunye's sophomore album on 33 Jazz Records is the provocatively titled “Tell Me The Truth Or Don't Tell Me Anything". In the words of band leader Dave Evans keyboards, “Our second album explores connection, to ourselves and to others, of going beyond the ego." It is an evolution of their refreshing and uplifting fusion of soul, jazz, and dance with the voice and rhythms of South Africa. Evans is joined once again by singers Xolani Mbatha and Nokuthula ...
Continue ReadingGermana Stella La Sorsa and Tom Ollendorff: After Hours
by Troy Dostert
For an EP that clocks in at a mere 25 or so minutes, there is a lot to enjoy on After Hours, vocalist Germana Stella La Sorsa's duo album with guitarist Tom Ollendorff. La Sorsa has been making a name for herself since her earliest days as a singer in Italy, while her visibility in the London jazz scene has been rising since her previous two releases, Vapour (33 Jazz, 2021) and Primary Colours (33 Jazz, 2024). The intimate setting ...
Continue ReadingRachael Calladine: The Game
by Neil Duggan
Now firmly settled back in the UK after a decade in the Middle East, Rachael Calladine is eager to reclaim her place among the leading voices in the UK jazz scene. With a strong work ethic driving her efforts, she has become a familiar name in jazz listings once again and has formed a quartet of top notch musicians, all with a string of well-known collaborations behind them, to support her. Prior to her successful stint abroad, Calladine ...
Continue ReadingJon Lloyd / John Law: Naissance
by Mike Jurkovic
It hardly matters whether or not Naissance goes down in musical history as one of the greatest or best-of piano/saxophone duet recordings. Comfortingly ethereal and most assured of itself, Naissance is a beautiful recording with a serenity and sense of open accomplishment all its own. British pianist/composer John Law and tenor/alto saxophonist Jon Lloyd embrace these ten thoughtful Zen moments as the seasoned creators they are. Law is a prize-winning classical prodigy who has sat atop the European ...
Continue ReadingALATI: Ascending The Morning
by John Sharpe
Although combining poetry and jazz can sometimes be as thankless as mixing oil and water, ALATI has come up with a near perfect formulation. On Ascending The Morning, the three piece band, led by Norwich-based trumpeter Chris Dowding and completed by vocalist Brigitte Beraha and pianist Dave O'Brien, sets to music eight nature-inspired poems by Oxford Professor of Poetry Alice Oswald. Dowding brings a lyrical sensibility to all his projects, such as the free improvising brass trio Hard Edges and ...
Continue ReadingTaeko Kunishima: Dictionary Land
by Karl Ackermann
Known for her lyrical piano style, Japanese musician and composer Taeko Kunishima has her roots in classical music. While studying at university, she heard Miles Davis on the radio and the impact was life-altering. Kunishima was not content with simply adapting to Western jazz; her interests are far broader and have led her to Dictionary Land. The album is the culmination of influences which range from jazz to her native folklore, and Arabic music. Dictionary Land is Kunishima's ...
Continue ReadingMeg Morley Trio: Journey Through Home
by Bruce Lindsay
Meg Morley self-released her debut EP, Through the Hours, in 2017 and followed it up a few months later that year with her trio's first album, the self-published Can't Get Started. Five years later, the same trio--Morley on piano, Richard Sadler on bass and Emiliano Caroselli on drums-- has returned, with Journey Through Home. It is a very welcome return, a record that retains the verve and quality of the previous album while expanding the range of Morley's compositions and ...
Continue ReadingBeverley Beirne: Dream Dancer
by Richard J Salvucci
Beverley Beirne may not be a familiar name to many American readers. Maybe she should be. While some jazz writers have labelled her a “rising star," the Yorkshire, UK, singer has been around for a decade. Her first recording was entitled, promisingly enough, Jazz Just Wants to Have Fun (Self Produced, 2018). Sometimes reading reviews of singers can put you in mind of studying observations from an oenophile journal: “She has notes of Ella embedded in a ...
Continue ReadingSarah Moule: Stormy Emotions
by John Eyles
Stormy Emotions is the fifth release from Sarah Moule to feature songs by the late, great lyricist & poet Fran Landesman (1927-2011), dating back to It's a Nice Thought (Linn, 2002). In total those five albums contain over fifty songs with lyrics by Landesman, many of which were first recorded by Moule. If that seems an unusually high proportion of songs by one lyricist, the explanation is straightforward: from 1993 until 2011, Landesman wrote over 300 songs with renowned pianist, ...
Continue ReadingJulian Costello Quartet: Connections: without borders
by Bruce Lindsay
Three years after its debut release, Transitions (33 Jazz), the Julian Costello Quartet returns with Connections: without borders. The debut was recorded in Italy, but for the follow-up the London-based band decamped to Norway, to record nine of leader and saxophonist Costello's compositions at Blueberry Fields studios in Heggedal. The tunes are indeed connected, reflecting how people are connected to places through music and how music transcends borders, as Costello notes on the album sleeve. There's one change ...
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