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Michel Benita: Looking At Sounds
by Friedrich Kunzmann
Michel Benita's leader-debut with his Ethics band for ECM, 2016's River Silver, came as a welcome addition to his oeuvre and the label's catalogue, following the French bassist's earlier characteristic contributions in saxophonist Andy Sheppard's Trio Libero on Trio Libero (ECM, 2012) and Surrounded By Sea (ECM, 2015). As on the first Ethics album, 2010's self-titled ...
Shawn Maxwell: Expectation & Experience
by Jack Bowers
On Expectation & Experience, his tenth recording as a leader, Chicago-based woodwind specialist Shawn Maxwell is accompanied by almost thirty musiciansbut never by more than three on any of its seventeen tracks. Maxwell says the compositions were written during the global Covid-19 pandemic, and the musicians were mustered singly, most in their own homes. While each ...
Graham Costello's Strata: Second Lives
by Gareth Thompson
A top German physiologist once compared the brain's nerve fibres to a piano's keys, on which our thoughts play or strike. Scottish drummer and composer Graham Costello might relate to this, given how well he writes for the piano, as he explores themes of mental challenges on this second album with his excellent band Strata.
Sha: Monbijou
by Mike Jacobs
Aside from an existing appreciation of the saxophonist's creativity, it would be a mistake to approach Sha's Monbijou with any preconceptions. While this is a notion that has applied to his main group, Nik Bärtsch's Ronin, the tack Sha takes on this album is well removed from even that. Considering the integrated groupthink which ...
Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra: Twisting Ways
by Jack Bowers
For the better part of its latest recording, Twisting Ways, Canada's Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra may as well scrub the word Jazz" from its name, as the music mostly bears scant resemblance to that time-honored genre. The overall mood may best be described as funereal, epitomizing themes of a mostly exploratory nature, interrupted all too seldom by ...
Sam Braysher Trio: Dance Little Lady, Dance Little Man
by Thomas Fletcher
It was back in 2017 when we were first introduced to Sam Braysher with his debut release Golden Earrings (Fresh Sound New Talent), performed alongside pianist, Michael Kanan and featuring a collection of reinterpreted songs from the Great American Songbook. Braysher is now following his own footsteps by releasing a trio album with a similar theme. ...
Ray Gallon: Make Your Move
by Pierre Giroux
Although pianist Ray Gallon has been part of the jazz scene for many years, both as a player (with Ron Carter, Art Farmer, Grady Tate) and educator (City College Of New York), Make Your Move is his first release as a leader. Supported by a rhythm section of bassist David Wong and the impeccable drummer Kenny ...
Felipe Salles: The New Immigrant Experience
by Angelo Leonardi
The New Immigrant Experience è un lavoro multimediale, che combina musica orchestrale e proiezioni video, ispirato all'esperienza dei Dreamers, persone protette dal programma Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Accanto al compact disc musicale il progetto include quindi un DVD (curato dalla regista Fernanda Faya) in cui Felipe Salles intervista giovani immigrati, raccogliendo storie di vita spesso ...
Ches Smith / We All Break: Path of Seven Colors
by Karl Ackermann
For some time, drummer/composer Ches Smith kept his interest in the Voudou music of Haiti at bay. Recognizing himself as an outsider in that world, he researched, listened, studied, and after years brought a project to fruition. Smith's group We All Break released their self-titled, self-produced debut in 2017 and received less attention than deserved. Now ...
Insub Meta Orchestra: Ten / Sync
by John Eyles
During the Covid-19 lockdown, the INSUB label managed to maintain a steady flow of excellent new releases, both digital and on CD. These tended to be by duos or trios, such as Ize (INSUB, 2020), by the trio of Carl Ludwig Hübsch, Pierre-Yves Martel & Philip Zoubek, or Paratopia (INSUB, 2021), by Jason Khan & Antoine ...

