Jazz Articles about Niklas Lukassen

About Niklas Lukassen

Album Review

Multi-instrumentalist Niklas Lukassen spins a pleasant mix of tunes on Still Waters. Joined by a stellar team, including saxophonist Ben van Gelder, pianist Kit Downes and drummer Francesco Ciniglio (as well as several others spotted throughout), the quartet moves with the ease of skilled swimmers through the music. An internationally influenced album, the music reflects his own life experiences of traveling through Europe as well as studying under bassist Ron Carter at the Manhattan School of Music. Now teaching in London, the musician still makes ...

Album Review

Alexandra Ivanova: Beauty In Chaos

Read "Beauty In Chaos" reviewed by Neil Duggan

by Neil Duggan
August 30, 2023

Classically trained pianist and composer Alexandra Ivanova discovered her passion for jazz in her teens, and was mentored by Lebanese-American jazz pianist, Tarek Yamani. Perhaps as a result of having lived on three continents and speaking six languages fluently, she has experienced a range of cultural influences, giving her an unorthodox approach to her compositions. Those influences often include melding Balkan time signatures, Afro-Cuban claves and Maqam scales. Beauty in Chaos is her debut album; she collaborates with bassist Niklas ...