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Awen Ensemble: Cadair Idris
by Chris May
Here in Britain, jazz and folk music intersections have a long history. Putting aside the US-centric fusions of the trad bands of the 1950s, as exemplified by the Chris Barber Band's blend of New Orleans jazz and Depression-era folksongs, the movement really kicked off in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Husband and wife team John ...
Cassie Kinoshi: Letting The Sunshine In
by Chris May
Cassie Kinoshi, the acclaimed British composer and alto saxophonist, made her name as a founder member of the Afrobeat-inspired band Kokoroko and with her own ten-piece Seed Ensemble. Her work pushes social change, interrogating inequality and injustice, mainly through instrumental music, occasionally with lyrics, and always with invention and singularity. Seed's sophomore album, gratitude (International Anthem, ...
Julieta Eugenio: Stay
by Dan McClenaghan
Argentina-born saxophonist Julieta Eugenio takes four breaths ("Breaths" I through IV), that she calls “short, intimate moments," in her ongoing endeavors in this (mostly) trio-format album. The saxophone, bass and drums setup is one of the most intimate. Think Sonny Rollins in Way Out West (Contemporary, 1957) and A Night At The Village Vanguard (Blue Note, ...
David Preston: Purple / Black Vol. One
by Neil Duggan
Guitarist David Preston, one third of Preston-Glasgow-Lowe, has previously released two recordings with that trio, exhibiting an intense fusion-based style. He is often found sharing on-stage credentials with musicians such as Emma Rawicz and Melody Gardot. For Purple / Black Vol. One, his debut recording as leader, he has opted for a simpler, more distinctive soundscape ...
Cassie Kinoshi: Gratitude
by Chris May
Although she emerged on the British jazz scene as part of the cohort of saxophonists associated with London's post-2015 underground scene--among them Nubya Garcia, Binker Golding, Camilla George and Shabaka Hutchings--alto saxophonist Cassie Kinoshi has always stood somewhat apart. Her membership of the Afrobeat-inspired band Kokoroko placed her firmly in that underground scene, but her embrace ...
Kahil El'Zabar's Ethnic Heritage Ensemble: Open Me: A Higher Consciousness of Sound and Spirit
by Chris May
The first few bars of Open Me: A Higher Consciousness Of Sound And Spirit promise the listener is in for a treat. Corey Wilkes' muted trumpet plays Miles Davis' “All Blues" counterpointed by Alex Harding's rugged baritone saxophone and Kahil El'Zabar's ankle bells and kalimba. Here is Ethnic Heritage Ensemble in all its enchanting bare-bones singularity, ...
James Brandon Lewis: For Mahalia With Love (Expanded Edition)
by Chris May
Not since Oded Tzur's Isabela (ECM, 2022) has a comparably exalted tenor saxophone-led album come along, not until For Mahalia, With Love. Vaultingly great jazz and deep solace for the soul, For Mahalia, With Love was released in late 2023. An annual cycle for albums of this quality is actually a sufficiency, for there is enough ...
Joel Ross: Nublues
by Chris May
Planning this, his fourth album as leader on Blue Note, Joel Ross set out to connect with a wider audience, to make things a little easier for listeners. The vibraphonist and composer says that, with hindsight, his previous work for the label has been too focused on the musicians in his band and rife with devices ...
Andrew Nixon, Ed Croft, Joe Goretti: Outside Agitators
by Chris May
In winter 2021, seemingly out of nowhere, pianist and composer Andrew Nixon brought a ray of sunlight to those fortunate enough to happen upon his debut album, the self-produced In Congruence. A review can be read here. A little research revealed that Nixon was a resident of Buffalo, NY, from whose university he had graduated with ...
Alex Hitchcock: Dream Band Live In London
by Chris May
Viewed in retrospect, the abiding memory of 2023 is that it produced too many jazz albums prioritizing technical facility over emotional engagement. In London, New York and elsewhere (but not, so it seemed, in Chicago), musicians appeared to focus on virtuosity rather than feeling. Dullsville. For the record, some of those albums that did put soul ...
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