Home » Search Center » Results: Chris May
Results for "Chris May"
Binker and Moses: Escape The Flames
by Chris May
The audio equivalent of a novel by Neil Gaiman, tenor saxophonist Binker Golding and drummer Moses Boyd's semi-free duo Binker and Moses is still, five years after its launch in 2015, the most fantastical sound to come out of London's alternative jazz scene. Packed with as many thrills and spills and steam-punk magick spells as, say, ...
Dave Brubeck Quartet: Time OutTakes
by Chris May
Few albums in jazz history are as giant as the Dave Brubeck Quartet's Time Out (Columbia, 1959). Deftly balancing experimentation with accessibility and containing amongst its many pleasures one of the most thrilling drum solos ever recorded, Time Out has become so familiar to us that the magnitude of its greatness has become near inaudible.
Oskar Schonning / The Calle Stenman Quintet: America, Oh America
by Chris May
America, Oh America is co-led by two of Sweden's most distinctive jazz musicians, trumpeter Calle Stenman and bassist Oskar Schönning. Schönning is the better known of the pair, having been recording since 2004. Stenman debuted in 2019 with the Calle Stenman Quintet's Mr Sands Is In The Dressing Room (AMP), an assured and swinging album which ...
Yusef Lateef: An Alternative Top Ten Albums Blowing Cultural Nationalism Out Of The Water
by Chris May
A pioneer of global and modal jazz, the multi-instrumentalist and composer Yusef Lateef is only beginning to have his importance in the history of the music properly acknowledged. After languishing off-catalogue for decades, much of his output is being made available once more. A treasure trove of great jazz is out there waiting to be rediscovered. ...
Chet Baker / Wolfgang Lackerschmid: Quintet Session
by Chris May
Quintet Session is the second of two albums the trumpeter Chet Baker recorded in Stuttgart, Germany with the vibraphonist Wolfgang Lackerschmid in 1979. It was originally released as Chet Baker / Wolfgang Lackerschmid (Sandra Music, 1980). The combination worked well on the first session, which produced the lovely Ballads For Two (Sandra Music, 1979), and almost ...
Angel Bat Dawid & Tha Brothahood: Live
by Chris May
When the Chicago-based clarinetist, vocalist, composer, poet and spiritual-jazz shaman Angel Bat Dawid performed with Tha Brothahood at the London Jazz Festival in November 2019, she was riding high on the critical acclaim surrounding her recently released debut album, The Oracle (International Anthem). A cosmic lightning bolt of free jazz, mutant funk, electronica and spoken word ...
Matthew Halsall: A New Dawn
by Chris May
After five years without the release of any newly recorded material, the British trumpeter and composer Matthew Halsall has returned in winter 2020 with a fresh new band and a sparkling new album, Salute To The Sun, on his Gondwana Records label. It is more than good to have him and his music back.
Dave Brubeck: Lullabies
by Chris May
Pianist and composer Dave Brubeck's centenary falls in December 2020 and two albums are being released to coincide. One is the outstanding Time OutTakes (Brubeck Editions), consisting of out-takes from the sessions which produced Time Out (Columbia, 1959). The album includes vibrant alternative readings of “Blue Rondo A La Turk," “Kathy's Waltz" and “Time Out" itself ...
Charles Mingus: @ Bremen 1964 & 1975
by Chris May
Four hours of previously unissued, premier-league music by Charles Mingus is something to shout about, and @ Bremen 1964 & 1975 is about as good as the bassist and composer's posthumously released live albums get. Four CDs chronicle two extended, intense performances recorded in Germany by Radio Bremen. Both gigs featured all-star bands and both are ...
Sarathy Korwar & Upaj Collective: Night Dreamer Direct-To-Disc Sessions
by Chris May
In her October 2020 interview with All About Jazz, baritone saxophonist, Collocutor bandleader, Afrobeat shaman and Upaj Collective founder member Tamar Osborn was asked to name six of her all-time favourite albums. One of them was Shakti's Natural Elements (Columbia, 1970), on which John McLaughlin plays a guitar customised to sound like a sitar. “To me, ...
