Jazz Articles about Mike Walker

About Mike Walker

Album Review

Jeremy Sassoon: Older And Wiser

Read "Older And Wiser" reviewed by Neil Duggan

by Neil Duggan
April 2, 2026

UK singer and pianist Jeremy Sassoon has followed a remarkably unusual path. After qualifying from Middlesex Hospital Medical School in London and completing postgraduate training as a hospital psychiatrist in Manchester, he made the bold decision in 1995 to leave medicine behind and pursue a full-time career in music. He first established himself as an accompanist, forming a close partnership with singer Paul Bentley, and following Bentley's retirement, he stepped forward as a performer in his own right. That journey ...

Album Review

Ross Lorraine: More From The Heart

Read "More From The Heart" reviewed by Neil Duggan

by Neil Duggan
July 30, 2024

A jazz pianist, arranger, theatre music composer and contributor to numerous other projects, Ross Lorraine now seems to have found his true calling as a songwriter. More From The Heart follows on from his songwriting debut on Heart of Mine (self produced, 2022) and follows a similar approach. After penning the lyrics and melody, Lorraine steps aside and a variety of top-class vocalists perform his compositions, together with a cracking band that elevates the songs and brings them to life. ...

Album Review

Ross Lorraine: Heart of Mine: songs of Ross Lorraine

Read "Heart of Mine: songs of Ross Lorraine" reviewed by Bruce Lindsay

by Bruce Lindsay
July 24, 2022

Heart of Mine is well named, as composer and keyboardist Ross Lorraine's compositions are at the heart of this album. But Lorraine takes something of a back seat when it comes to performing, leaving instrumental duties to some of the British jazz scene's leading players, and vocal duties to six of the scene's most talented singers; Claire Martin sings lead on three tracks, is part of the trio of backing vocalists, plays percussion and co-produced the album alongside Lorraine and ...

Album Review

Mike Walker: Ropes

by Duncan Heining
March 12, 2019

Ropes is Manchester-based guitarist Mike Walker's second album as a leader and it couldn't be much more different from his fusion-oriented debut Madhouse and the Whole Thing There (Hidden Idiom, 2008). This album is a jazz-with-strings affair and a fine one at that. The mood is mostly gentler, more reflective and more pastoral than on his debut. With Ropes, Walker has also significantly extended his compositional palette. Walker is an alumnus of the bands of George Russell, Mike ...

Album Review

Mike Walker: Madhouse and the Whole Thing There

Read "Madhouse and the Whole Thing There" reviewed by AAJ Italy Staff

by AAJ Italy Staff
November 3, 2008

Il chitarrista inglese Mike Walker è uno dei migliori esponenti della sua generazione e merita certamente di essere molto più conosciuto. Lo sanno bene i migliori arrangiatori e direttori d’orchestra come George Russell e Mike Gibbs che lo utilizzano ogni volta che ne capita l’occasione. Alla soglia dei quarant’anni Walker giunge finalmente a firmare come leader il suo primo album e tira subito fuori dal cappello un lavoro bellissimo che si proietta immediatamente nella top ten dei migliori dell’anno. La ...

583

Album Review

Mike Walker: Madhouse and the Whole Thing There

Read "Madhouse and the Whole Thing There" reviewed by Roger Farbey

by Roger Farbey
August 18, 2008

The debut album by British guitarist Mike Walker is surprisingly short, around forty five minutes, which is actually a good thing considering it seems an almost mandatory requirement nowadays to cram a full eighty minutes worth of sound into every CD, all of which is not necessarily worth hearing. Quality rather than quantity is the keyword here. This, however, is a well-considered six track sortie, with an unusual opener, The Latin-edged “A Real Embrace," evoking a very early Return to ...