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Akusmi: Fleeting Future
by Chris May
Anyone who enjoys the landmark albums that are Terry Riley's minimalist manifesto In C (Columbia, 1968) and Jon Hassell's fourth world masterpiece Dream Theory In Malaya (EG, 1981) is in for a big treat. Actually, a triple treat. French-born, London-based composer and producer Pascal Bideau's entrancing Fleeting Future is redolent of not one of those albums, ...
Mysteries Of The Revolution: Longing For The Dawn
by Chris May
London-based jazz-rock band Mysteries of the Revolution (MOTR) is the sonic equivalent of the James Webb Space Telescope. There might be only two core musicians--keyboardist / programmer Daniel Biro and drummer / flautist BB Davis—but the sound pictures they create are at times as epic as the Webb images of distant galaxies. MOTR debuted ...
Katalyst: Jazz Is Dead 13
by Chris May
Drab graphic design aside, the semiology of the Jazz Is Dead label promises good things. The name itself suggests music that is the opposite of dead--something vibrant, inventive, of its time--while the label's co-founders, producers Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Adrian Younge, are active in the struggle for universal social justice. On top of that, Muhammad was ...
Eyal Netzer & Oded Geizhals: Duo
by Chris May
If what looks like a chocolate cake on the sleeve suggests a birthday party or similarly exuberant affair, perhaps a house warming, think again. Duo is an altogether more intimate and introspective album. It was recorded by the Israeli tenor saxophonist Eyal Netzer and vibraphonist Oded Geizhals live in the studio and with, or so it ...
John Taylor Sextet: Fragment
by Chris May
The not-for-profit Jazz In Britain label is one of the unsung heroes of British jazz. And if it is being sung, apologies, it deserves to be sung louder. While it is fitting that the musicians who make up London's new alternative jazz scene receive a massive shout out, the players who came before them, who paved ...
Meeco: Keeping It Real
by Chris May
The Berlin-based producer and composer Meeco has a niche but devoted following, built up over a series of romantically inclined and elegant albums released between 2009 and 2014. The discs, which have pronounced Latin flavours, are Amargo Mel (Connector, 2009), Perfume E Caricias (Connector, 2010), Beauty Of The Night (Connector, 2012) and Souvenirs Of Love (Double ...
Jasmine Myra: Horizons
by Chris May
Unlike America, a country big enough to support multiple, more or less autonomous jazz scenes, England, like its European neighbours, is more suited to supporting a single centre. However, by a combination of talent and perseverance, a few artists have managed to create regional scenes which flourish independently of London. One such artist ...
Mark de Clive-Lowe & Friends: Freedom: Celebrating The Music Of Pharoah Sanders
by Chris May
Albums by artists who are best known for their work outside jazz are best approached with caution. Keyboard player Mark de Clive-Lowe's Freedom: Celebrating The Music Of Pharoah Sanders is one such. Before moving to Los Angeles, Clive-Lowe lived in London, where he was prominent in the late 1990s/early 2000s broken beat movement, which, without getting ...
Atlanticus: Blue Haven
by Chris May
Atlanticus is a hands-across-the-pond quartet led by Washington, DC-based tenor saxophonist Peter Fraize and Brighton, England-based organist Terry Seabrook. The lineup is completed by fellow Brightoners, trumpeter Jack Kendon and drummer Milo Fell. Each of the four musicians has two or more decades of experience behind them. Atlanticus first toured together in 2016 and ...
Gard Nilssen Acoustic Unity: Elastic Wave
by Chris May
The last time we heard from Norwegian drummer Gard Nilssen as a leader was with his Supersonic Orchestra—a three-drummer, three-bassist behemoth whose 2020 album, If You Listen Carefully The Music Is Yours (Odin), proved that, contrary to the precedent set by Stan Kenton, it is possible to assemble a big band packing Death Star-level ordnance which ...
