Jazz Articles about George Crowley

About George Crowley

Album Review

Fini Bearman: Last Night of the World

Read "Last Night of the World" reviewed by Neil Duggan

by Neil Duggan
May 4, 2025

As professor of Jazz Voice and Songwriting at London's Guildhall School, Fini Bearman naturally incorporates songwriting exercises into her teaching. Over time, some of the songs born from these sessions evolved into fully realised pieces, several of which now appear on her fifth album, Last Night of The World. Bearman brings an impressive jazz pedigree to the project. A celebrated singer, composer, and instrumentalist, she has earned nominations for London Jazz Singer of the Year from the Global ...

Album Review

Moss Freed / Union Division: Micromotives

Read "Micromotives" reviewed by John Sharpe

by John Sharpe
August 11, 2023

A question any composer for improvisers must face is whether they can create something more worthwhile than what they might come up with if left to themselves. It can be a tough call. For some, such as Alexander von Schlippenbach's Globe Unity Orchestra or Peter Brötzmann's Chicago Tentet, the ultimate conclusion was no, while for others such as Anthony Braxton and Barry Guy the answer has been far less clear cut. British guitarist Moss Freed falls somewhere between the two ...

Album Review

Ivo Neame: Glimpses of Truth

Read "Glimpses of Truth" reviewed by Chris May

by Chris May
November 26, 2021

"The Rise of The Lizard People," the title of the scene-setting opening track on Ivo Neame's Glimpses Of Truth, was prompted by an article Neame read which claimed that 12 million Americans believe that interstellar lizards run the United States. Only 12 million? In a country with a population approaching 332 million, around half of whose voters are idiots and conspiracy theorists, one might imagine that a far greater number would be feeling threatened by shape-shifting reptiles. To be fair, ...

Album Review

Agile Experiments: Alive In The Empire

Read "Alive In The Empire" reviewed by Ian Patterson

by Ian Patterson
May 16, 2020

The clue is the name. Take a handful of musicians, place them in front of an audience and say “ready, steady go." Since starting Agile Experiments in 2015, multi-instrumentalist Dave De Rose has marshaled dozens of musicians for his sonic experiments, whereby small combos play entirely improvised one-hour gigs. Alive in the Empire, the fifth release in this vinyl/digital-only series, captures four of contemporary music's most progressive figures in a concert at the Empire Bar, Hackney, during the 2019 London ...

Album Review

George Crowley: Can Of Worms

Read "Can Of Worms" reviewed by Bruce Lindsay

by Bruce Lindsay
June 8, 2015

A tin full of slimy, wriggly, things bursts open, scaring the oddly mismatched young couple. It's not your usual jazz album cover art, but it suits the title of the second album from young UK saxophonist George Crowley--Can Of Worms--and Crowley carries on the motif with further creepy-crawlies on the inside of the sleeve. Not that such visuals give too much away about the music--Crowley keeps that as a (pleasant) surprise. Crowley's band (which also seems to be ...

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Album Review

George Crowley Quartet: Paper Universe

Read "Paper Universe" reviewed by Bruce Lindsay

by Bruce Lindsay
April 20, 2012

There are times on Paper Universe, George Crowley's debut album, when the young saxophonist and composer sounds like he's been sitting by the side of Coleman Hawkins or Lester Young. There are times when he flies out of the speakers like he invented hard bop. Then a few minutes later he's creating long, flowing melodic lines with a more contemporary edge. It's impressive stuff from an imaginative young talent.Crowley's band mates lend him exemplary support. Pianist Kit Downes ...