Articles

Alexander Hawkins, Michael Gregory Jackson & Cowboys & Frenchmen

by Maurice Hogue
March 10, 2021

New releases galore this edition to sift through and that's always enjoyable. Pianist Alexander Hawkins goes large ensemble on his new Togetherness Music and which is graced by the presence of the great Evan Parker; the Finnish duo of Timo Lassy and Teppo Makynen tear things down on the opening track; the trio of Brian Jones, Adam Hopkins and Trey Pollard chip in with a track from their Kaleidoscope Haze; there are two new bands from Italy; renowned saxophonist Lenny ...

Alexander Hawkins Feat. Evan Parker + Riot Ensemble: Togetherness Music (For Sixteen Musicians)

by Mark Corroto
February 15, 2021

It is obvious from the outset that this is a significant recording. Evan Parker launches into his trademark soprano saxophone circular breathing, setting the stage for things to come. An exemplar of all things free improvisation, his virtuosity never fails to amaze. Although Parker is the marquee soloist here, the composer and organizer of this session, Alexander Hawkins, created the six movements of this suite to pioneer an intersection between free improvisation and contemporary chamber music. Certainly not an easy ...

Ai Confini tra Sardegna e Jazz 2020

by Luciano Rossetti
September 21, 2020

Five Blokes at the Vortex

by Maurice Hogue
June 10, 2020

This episode of One Man's Jazz features an entire full set of music recorded in March at the Vortex Club in London. Originally the gig was set for Louis Moholo's Four Blokes , but when the veteran drummer fell ill at home in South Africa, the band asked the fine English drummer Mark Sanders to fill in. Thus Five Blokes was born. Pianist Alexander Hawkins kindly contributed some thoughts about that night. The subsequent recording is part of a series ...

Alexander Hawkins: Iron Into Wind

by John Sharpe
April 14, 2019

On his second solo album pianist Alexander Hawkins creates an adventurous and deeply personal synthesis which draws from both jazz and classical wellsprings. One of the foremost representatives of an exciting younger generation of British musicians, his talents are on display not only on his own projects, like Uproot (Intakt, 2018), but with growing circle of collaborators that reads like a who's who of contemporary jazz: Evan Parker, Taylor Ho Bynum, Harris Eisenstadt, Rob Mazurek, Joe McPhee, Wadada Leo Smith, ...

Ben Allison, Anais Drago, Reinier Baas and Other Great New Releases

by Ludovico Granvassu
November 20, 2018

The new albums bonanza goes on! And we happily oblige, revelling in some gorgeous new releases, some of which will definitely end up on the “Best of 2018" lists of many critics. Surprises, confirmations, re-releases, unexpected collaborations and much more make up this week's playlist full of aural pleasures... Happy listening! Playlist Ben Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash & Pyeng Threadgill)" 0:00 Phillip Johnston & The Coolerators “Frankly" from Diggin' Bones on (Asynchronus) ...

Alexander Hawkins/Elaine Mitchener Quartet at Sonorities Festival Belfast 2018

by Ian Patterson
May 5, 2018

Alexander Hawkins/Elaine Mitchener Quartet Sonic Lab Sonorities Festival Belfast jny:Belfast, N. Ireland April 21, 2018 Sonorities Festival Belfast is one of Ireland's longest-running contemporary music festivals. This year saw the biannual SFB hit the thirty-year mark and to celebrate the milestone festival directors Miguel Ortiz and Simon Waters assembled an eclectic programme of contemporary musicians, composers and sound artists that straddled the worlds of multi-media performance, classical, contemporary string and choral, electronica, audio-visual ...