Jazz Articles about James Opstad

About James Opstad

Multiple Reviews

One first-timer to Another Timbre, one second timer

by John Eyles
November 8, 2025

As the Another Timbre label approaches its two hundred and fiftieth release (it could be part of the label's next batch of five releases) it seems a fitting time to assess its place in history. As with most instantly recognisable labels--Blue Note in its heyday, ECM, HatHut...-an Another Timbre release is instantly recognisable from its white front cover surrounding a work of art. Nowadays, the music inside is likely to be as recognisably Another Timbre as its sleeve. Of course, ...

Album Review

Marco Baldini: Maniera

by John Eyles
April 29, 2024

When Marco Baldini's first ever album, Vesperi (reviewed here), was released by Another Timbre in 2023, its arrival was not exactly awaited with bated breath. Born in 1986, near Florence, Italy, Baldini had no degree in music or composition and had not studied with an established composer. He had attended university, where he studied Roman archaeology, specialising in the iconography of early Christian sarcophagi. He worked as a public librarian in a village in the hills surrounding Florence. His only ...

Album Review

Marco Baldini: Maniera

Read "Maniera" reviewed by Marat Ingeldeev

by Marat Ingeldeev
March 2, 2024

It was February 2023 when the world got to know the Florence-based composer Marco Baldini a little better, thanks to Another Timbre and their first feature of Baldini's music, an inaugural album, Vesperi. His second offering, Maniera, captivatingly performed by Apartment House, comprises a collection of seven pieces for various combinations of string instruments. Interestingly, the name alludes to both Italian Mannerism of the 16th century--one of Baldini's favourite styles in fine arts, critiqued for its perceived lack of originality--and ...