Results for "Hatfield and the North"

Hatfield and the North

Who Do You Think We Are?

by John Kelman
September 5, 2021

Trying to find a distinct definition of what has come to be known as “The Canterbury Sound" is as elusive as attempting to describe what, in the jazz world, has become an overused epithet for the German ECM Records label and “The ECM Sound." Attempts to do so usually fail short because, rather than being actual ...

Jakko M. Jakszyk: Secrets & Lies

by John Kelman
October 20, 2020

Life often unfolds in unexpected ways. For some, like Jakko M. Jakszyk, it has taken some truly surprising twists and turns. That the 62 year-old multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and songwriter has attained considerably greater visibility in the last ten years than in the previous 35 has, to say the least, righted a significant wrong. Which makes the ...

Bill Bruford's Earthworks: Earthworks Complete

by John Kelman
July 3, 2019

Since retiring as a professional musician in 2009, progressive/art rock turned jazz drummer Bill Bruford has successfully managed to maintained a place in the public eye. Beyond his engaging, informative and successful Bill Bruford: The Autobiography (Jawbone Press, 2009), the drummer/percussionist has more recently released a second, equally captivating book, Uncharted: Creativity and the Expert Drummer ...

Rafal Sarnecki: Climbing Trees

by Jerome Wilson
October 12, 2018

Guitarist Rafal Sarnecki has put together a CD with an interesting combination of influences here. His music mixes together elements of classical chamber music and progressive jazz-rock which is played by a group with a front line of guitar, tenor sax and voice. The presence of a high, wordless female voice sometimes gives this the feel ...

Chris Squire: Fish Out of Water (Deluxe Edition)

by John Kelman
June 15, 2018

If ever there were an album that deserved the deluxe treatment, it would be Fish Out of Water (Atlantic, 1975), which would turn out to be (more or less) the only solo album ever released by Yes co-founder and electric bass trailblazer Chris Squire. There was a special remastered edition released in 2007 by Castle Music, ...

John Kelman's Best Releases of 2017

by John Kelman
December 24, 2017

For those who may have noticed, there have been no best of lists coming from yours truly since 2014; sadly, the chronic health problem that has reduced my previous writing pace to a crawl continues without much respite. My best of the year lists have always been predicated upon having reviewed the releases chosen, and with ...

Bruford: Seems Like a Lifetime Ago 1977 - 1980

by John Kelman
November 5, 2017

With the plethora of box sets being issued these days with new masters and, perhaps even more importantly, new mixes of classic recordings, it was inevitable that the small but significant discography of drummer Bill Bruford's first steps into a solo career with his band Bruford should finally get the deluxe treatment. Seems Like a Lifetime ...

The Man Who Changed Guitar Forever!

by John Kelman
April 17, 2017

In a time when album sales are a challenge being mitigated, at least to some extent, by the release of deluxe editions and box sets, it's still more necessary than ever to grab potential listeners with imagery and words; the title of a box set can have, especially for those less than intimately familiar with the ...

Jeff Denson Quartet: Concentric Circles

by Jerome Wilson
July 30, 2016

The immediate standout feature of Jeff Denson's group is that he uses a bassoon as the reed instrument. That gives an interesting twist to the quartet's sound. Denson's compositions are a free-ranging mix of fast-paced progressive jazz and pretty ballads. The nimble, woody tone of Paul Hanson's bassoon gives an intellectual feel to the ...