Articles by David Bruggink

Album Review

Oded Tzur: In The Arms Of A True Believer

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by David Bruggink
October 30, 2026

Just months after Make A Sound (Sky River Music, 2026), the first full album on his new label, Sky River Music, saxophonist Oded Tzur returns with a confident, exhilarating set of compositions. In the Arms of a True Believer reunites him with past collaborators Petros Klampanis (bass), Nitai Hershkovits (piano), and Cyrano Almeida (drums), and adds two new voices: Anais Benoit on piccolo and Corentin Morvan on euphonium. The pair brings a sprightly, intricate melodicism to the music. Longtime followers will notice this evolution right ...

Album Review

Oded Tzur: Make A Sound

Read "Make A Sound" reviewed by David Bruggink

by David Bruggink
March 29, 2026

Make A Sound marks the first full release from saxophonist and composer Oded Tzúr's fledgling label, Sky River Music. After a pair of fiery albums for Enja Records and a string of esteemed releases on ECM Records, Tzúr sets out in a new direction with a set of tracks channeling deeply personal expression through his Indian-influenced jazz. He is accompanied on this journey by an experienced group of collaborators: Joe Martin (bass), Nasheet Waits (drums), Vanraj Shastri (sarangi), and Gilad Hekselman (guitar). Guitar and sarangi bring entirely ...

Album Review

Mammal Hands: Circadia

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by David Bruggink
March 7, 2026

On their sixth full-length release, Mammal Hands moves from Manchester's Gondwana Records to the German jazz powerhouse ACT. The former indie label proved an excellent fit for their contemplative piano-saxophone-drums format, which draws from jazz, modern classical, and post-rock in a manner both sensitive and cohesive. ACT's association with the Esbjörn Svensson Trio (e.s.t.) makes the partnership feel logical, given Mammal Hands' own boundary-blurring trajectory. Since forming in 2012, the Norwich-based trio has distinguished itself among artists translating ambient, ...

Year in Review

David Bruggink's Best Jazz Albums of 2025

by David Bruggink
January 10, 2026

In a tumultuous year, these albums provided a shelter in the storm, with no shortage of intriguing stylistic directions and cross-pollinations. New directions in post-minimalism mingled with reimaginings of folk songs; chamber music crossed paths with modern classical and cool jazz. Stories Of life Triosence Sony Music Ce Qui Tourne Dans L'Air Sébastien Sauvageau Ronin Rhythm Records

Album Review

Oded Tzur: Make A Sound

by David Bruggink
November 30, 2025

Storytelling has been part of Oded Tzur's modus operandi since his first album, his reed playing enfolding drama, tension, and narrative shifts like any spellbinding tale. In this 2025 single, the instinct comes into even sharper focus, as he accompanies a newly-assembled band with his words and voice for the first time on record. Tzur is no stranger to accolades, having won much acclaim for his instrumental releases (e.g., the superb My Prophet, ECM Records, 2024). Introducing vocals may ...

Album Review

l'Oumigmag: Ce Qui Tourne Dans L'Air

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by David Bruggink
August 2, 2025

"Oumigmag" means “muskox" in Inuktitut, one of the principal Inuit languages spoken in Canada's northeast and central northern provinces. Sébastien Sauvageau, a multi-instrumentalist and composer based in Québec, drew on his province's musical and Indigenous histories to create the jazz-folk project l'Oumigmag--an effort, he writes, to explore “how past elements (traditional music), present experiences, and future innovations coexist and influence one another." l'Oumigmag debuted as a quartet on Territoires (The 270 Sessions, 2017), expanded to a sextet for ...

Album Review

Oavette: Oavette LP

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by David Bruggink
May 19, 2025

The fusion of acoustic instrumentation and electronic-influenced composition has a modest but persistent foothold in jazz. Listeners might reference examples like Vijay Iyer Trio's “Hood" from Break Stuff, Nik Bärtsch's Ronin, or perhaps most notably, Dysnomia by Dawn of Midi. Despite the emotional gulf between Dysnomia and, say, Keith Jarrett Trio's Standards in Norway, both albums share a traditional piano trio format and are likely categorized under jazz. Where Jarrett's work is expressive and melodic, Dawn of Midi constructed a ...

Album Review

KALI Trio: The Playful Abstract

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by David Bruggink
March 25, 2025

Nik Bärtsch's Ronin Rhythm Records has become a go-to label for hypnotic groove enthusiasts. Established in 2006, its artists share a focus on uncommon time signatures and post-minimalist composition but interpret them in strikingly different ways. For example, Blaer leans towards the more restrained, stately and steady, building to powerful catharsis, similar to the Colin Vallon Trio; HELY invites comparisons with artists on Gondwana Records that elegantly combine jazz instrumentation with indie rock structures. Enter KALI Trio, whose debut ...

Album Review

Sigurd Hole ensemble: Extinction Sounds

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by David Bruggink
January 27, 2025

Sigurd Hole has proven himself a composer to watch with a string of releases blurring the lines between chamber jazz, modern classical composition and experimentation, often feeling more like organic transmissions than conventional songs. His solo double album Lys / Mørke (Self Produced, 2020) was recorded on the isolated Norwegian island of Fleinvær, and brings the intonations of its birds and biting winds into conversation with the similarly textural manipulations of his bowed and plucked bass. On the striking ensemble recording Roraima ...

Catching Up With

Rhythms Meet Algorithms: Sparks Fly When Jazz Musician Oded Tzur Partners With Engineer Vansh Makh

by David Bruggink
June 6, 2023

Jazz and mobile apps may not be typically mentioned in the same breath, but saxophonist Oded Tzur, celebrated by All About Jazz for a string of albums merging jazz with Indian classical music, is changing that perception. Vansh Makh, a Bay area-based engineer, joined forces with Tzur to create Timeseer, described as “the first and only HiFi Indian classical music app." Timeseer offers a distinctly visual approach to rhythm, portraying complex musical patterns through accessible geometric designs. Devotees ...