Jazz Articles about Martin Archer

About Martin Archer

Album Review

Helt finds Fjall refining its communal language into long-form sonic terrains shaped by timbre, patience and mutual purpose. The double album documents complete performances from December 2023 and April 2025, preserving the quartet unchanged from its debut, From the Rough Hill (Discus, 2023). Reed player and keyboardist Martin Archer joins percussionists Richard Jackson and Fran Comyn alongside harpist Jan Todd, whose contributions also encompass voice, electronics and samples. The breadth of instrumentation points to an unusually expansive vocabulary, in which ...

Album Review

Hi Res Heart: Move Fast And Mend Things

Read "Move Fast And Mend Things" reviewed by John Sharpe

by John Sharpe
May 11, 2026

On its second outing, British outfit Hi Res Heart trades the stitched-together aesthetic of its debut for the friction and immediacy of shared space, sharpening both its collective instinct and sonic identity. Where the earlier release documented remotely recorded parts later assembled in the studio, Move Fast And Mend Things convenes the ensemble in a single setting, heightening responsiveness and rapport. By supplementing the core trio—reedist Martin Archer, trumpeter Charlotte Keeffe and percussionist Martin Pyne—with violinist Graham Clark and bassist ...

Album Review

Orchestra Of The Upper Atmosphere: Theta Seven

Read "Theta Seven" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
February 9, 2026

Have you ever tuned into a television series only to discover, once you are fully engaged, that it is already deep into its seventh season? Rather than discouraging you, the experience is often invigorating: the narrative is compelling enough to pull you in immediately, while also tempting you to return to the beginning to understand how it all unfolded. A similar sensation accompanies Theta 7, the latest release by the Orchestra Of The Upper Atmosphere. According to liner ...

Album Review

Martin Archer & Walt Shaw: Biyartabiyu

Read "Biyartabiyu" reviewed by John Sharpe

by John Sharpe
January 30, 2025

Will the real Martin Archer stand up? The head honcho of the Sheffield-located Discus imprint appears in such a variety of guises that one never quite knows what to expect from his name on the sleeve. However, as the press materials make clear, this unadorned saxophone and drum duo finds Archer in his natural habitat, channeling influences derived from the early releases of Chicago's AACM in an equation he defines as blues + abstraction. That sums it up nicely, although ...

Album Review

Ron Caines / Martin Archer Axis: Practical Dreamers

Read "Practical Dreamers" reviewed by John Sharpe

by John Sharpe
October 11, 2024

Practical Dreamers is the fifth collaboration between Discus label boss multi-instrumentalist Martin Archer and veteran saxophonist Ron Caines, and like the others, situates the latter's largely introspective reeds within varied electro-acoustic soundscapes. Caines was a founding member of progressive British rock band East Of Eden back in 1967, but after leaving to pursue jazzier endeavors, he performed with the likes of Evan Parker, Steve Lacy and Keith Tippett. While the pair's previous release, the excellent Blutopia (Discus, ...

Album Review

Das Rad: Adios Al Futuro

Read "Adios Al Futuro" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
November 6, 2020

This UK-based band's follow-up to its self-titled 2019 release is a tad less experimental and more grounded in progressive rock and krautrock, aptly called out in the press release. It is an acoustic-electric offering often sweetened by Martin Archer's wistful sax lines, slightly tinged with studio echo to provide a little depth. Moreover, many of these works feature hummable melody lines and memorable hooks, although the trio does sprinkle ominous overtones amid Nick Robinson's stinging guitar chords and razor-like lead ...

Album Review

Das Rad: Das Rad

Read "Das Rad" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
July 9, 2019

More from the imaginary artistic world of multi-instrumentalist, multi-reedman, producer Martin Archer and associates is a welcome surprise. Then again, the artist's Discus label offers a huge discography devised on dissimilar, futuristic and unorthodox outcomes. Other than the one-off modern jazz outings, Archer is a crafty, forward-thinking musician, spanning numerous ensembles, large and small. Here, the trio seemingly abides by a compose as-you-go rite of passage that embeds experimental jazz fusion, psycho pop, classic progressive rock and a slew of ...