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Ant Law: Unified Theories
by Neil Duggan
Guitarist Ant Law exemplifies the modern jazz polymath. Beyond leading his own quintet, he maintains a musical partnership with British/Turkish vocalist Brigitte Beraha, sustains an ongoing collaboration with saxophonist Alex Hitchcock and co-leads the innovative Trio HLK. This venture sees him forming an entirely new ensemble for their debut release, Unified Theories, all while continuing collaborations with renowned artists including Linda May Han Oh, Tim Garland and Jeff Ballard. Law's background mirrors his musical versatility. Raised in Jeddah, ...
Continue ReadingClaire Cope: Every Journey
by Dan McClenaghan
Consider British pianist, composer/ bandleader Claire Cope. She debuted as a fully formed artist via her excellent septet set Small World (Self Produced, 2020), a deftly crafted classical/jazz hybrid. On her second recording, the album at hand, Every Journey, she employs an eleven-piece ensemble, building on the atmosphere of her debut, painting translucent layerings and weaving a loose net of textures into gorgeous, expansive soundscapes. With composer-bandleader Maria Schneider as a major touchstone, Cope creates luminous arrangements. She cites Schneider's ...
Continue ReadingFabienne Ambuehl: Thrive
by Neil Duggan
Swiss singer and pianist Fabienne Ambuehl emerged onto the jazz scene with her debut album Glitterwoods (Traumton) in 2015. She cultivated her musical skills at the Lucerne School of Music, also studying with Asaf Sirkis and Gwilym Simcock. Following a move to London, she releases her follow-up album Thrive. To help realise her evolving musical vision, she has assembled a creative core trio of bassist Matt Ridley (known from the Darius Brubeck Quartet) and drummer Jon Scott (GoGo ...
Continue ReadingTrio HLK: Anthropometricks
by Neil Duggan
Albums featuring standards are fairly common. Trio HLK start with this approach and then bend and invert it to create their own musical dialect. All seven compositions on Anthropometricks use sections of jazz standards as their base. The trio then put these ingredients through their version of a musical blender to create something unique. As pianist and composer Richard Harrold says “Each piece is new but shards of the original can be glimpsed within." He does mean shards; these are ...
Continue ReadingAlex 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 ...
Continue ReadingHenry Spencer: The Defector
by Neil Duggan
In 2011, trumpeter Henry Spencer won the Best Newcomer Award at the jazz festival in the Wiltshire town of Marlborough; he went on to win the Emerging Excellence Award from Help Musicians UK in 2014. Sometimes these awards add extra pressure or, as is the case here, propel the musician to new heights. He climbs very close to the summit here with The Defector. The nine compositions on the album were inspired by those who defect -soldiers, politicians or partners ...
Continue ReadingEmma Rawicz: Chroma
by Tom Spargo
There are only so many times that one can use phrases such as “emerging talent" or “upcoming star" before one must concede that the artist in question has in fact made it into the major league of jazz. With the August 2023 release of her second full-length album Chroma on the label ACT, this is precisely the point that tenor saxophonist Emma Rawicz has reached in her career. Building upon her successes from 2022, which involved featuring as a finalist ...
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