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Etienne Charles: Creole Orchestra Featuring René Marie
by Chris May
Trinidad-born Etienne Charles has been fortunate in his associates during his development as a jazz musician. One of the first friends he made on arrival in the U.S.A. in the early 2000s to study at Florida State University was faculty member Marcus Roberts. Among much else, the pianist taught Charles the importance of keeping in touch ...
Zara McFarlane: Sweet Whispers: Celebrating Sarah Vaughan
by Chris May
Zara McFarlane's fifth album--a recording that actually fits the vogueish description “project"--represents a marked change of focus for the singer, from London to New York City and points west. Closely associated with London's radical underground jazz scene, McFarlane has previously peopled her touring and recording bands with fellow adventurers such Shabaka Hutchings, Shirley Tetteh, Idris Rahman, ...
Johanna Burnheart: Bär
by Chris May
German-born London-based violinist, singer and composer Johanna Burnheart made a big impact fast on the Britain's underground jazz scene. After graduating from Guildhall School of Music & Drama in 2018, and before the pandemic shut things down, she played on three significant albums: spiritual-jazz band Maisha's There Is A Place (Brownswood, 2018), trombonist Rosie Turton's 5ive ...
The Messthetics: The Messthetics And James Brandon Lewis
by Chris May
There are few examples of ranking jazz saxophonists collaborating with rock bands, and even fewer that are as successful as this one featuring tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis and the instrumental trio The Messthetics. One notable precedent is the partnership of Ethiopian tenor saxophonist Getatchew Mekurya with Dutch punk band The Ex, which exploded into life ...
Kenny Dorham: From 'Round Midnight At The Cafe Bohemia To Matador Revisited
by Chris May
In his mostly sane and admirable book Black Nationalism and the Revolution In Music (Pathfinder Press, 1970), Frank Kofsky describes Kenny Dorham as “house trained." The calculated insult attempts to conflate Dorham's respect for form and structure with an Uncle Tom outlook on the world. Some might say Dorham would have been justified in following (or, ...
Hill Collective: Tonal Prophecy
by Chris May
The eight-piece Hill Collective hails from deep space via Brighton, a town an hour's train ride from London on Britain's south coast. In the contradictory way of many so-called collectives, it appears to have a leader, the alto saxophonist and composer/arranger Pete Piskov. But Piskov is there to marshal the madness not to repress it.
Elton Dean: Elton Dean's Unlimited Saxophone Company
by Chris May
A vitally important platform for apartheid-era expatriate South African musicians, Ogun Records was founded in London in 1973 by the bassist Harry Miller, then in self-exile from South Africa, and his wife, Hazel Miller. Chris McGregor, Dudu Pukwana, Mongezi Feza, Johnny Dyani and Louis Moholo were among those recording with Ogun in the 1970s under their ...
Julius Rodriguez: Evergreen
by Chris May
There are two faces of Julius Rodriguez and they are opposing rather than complementary. One face is the pop-jazz one presented by multi-instumentalist Rodriquez on his own albums. The other is the adventurous, strikingly singular modern-jazz face presented by pianist Rodriguez on other people's albums. It is possible to be wildly enthusiastic about the jazz face ...
Oded Tzur: My Prophet
by Chris May
Much like listening to late period John Coltrane or modern-day Charles Lloyd, listening to Oded Tzur is akin to a spiritual experience. The tenor saxophonist's fifth album, My Prophet, is his most affecting yet. Simultaneously corporeal and metaphysical, soulful and cerebral. Inexplicably, despite having four breathtakingly singular and near-perfect albums out and about ...
Malcolm Jiyane Tree-O: True Story
by Chris May
One of the minor but intriguing mysteries of modern culture is why the trombone is commonplace in African American music yet only rarely heard in Africa itself. Since its earliest days, jazz in the US has featured the trombone, as did ska in Jamaica. In analog-age samba and bossa nova in Brazil, the instrument was practically ...
