Category: jazz


Live at Nelsonica & Clothworkers Hall – this is the first ever released recording of this unique trio comprising of: Bill Nelson (Be Bop Deluxe/Red Noise), Theo Travis (Soft Machine/Robert Fripp/Steven Wilson), Dave Sturt (Gong/Jade Warrior).
The trio performed various concerts between 2009 and 2019 often as part of Bill Nelson’s ‘Nelsonica’ conventions. Following years of planning and preparation, this album consists of live recordings made by the trio in 2011, 2012 and 2018 from 3 concerts in Leeds and York.
The music, a broad sound palette from ambient soundscapes, to rocky workouts and ethereal mood painting was improvised over loosely prepared structures. with occasional use of backing…

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Tenor saxophonist Melissa Aldana is from Santiago, Chile, where she grew up as the daughter of a professional saxophone player.
She started playing at age six, met the Panamanian jazz pianist Danilo Perez when she was 18, and later studied at Berklee College of Music. It almost seems like a jazz fairy tale: she was in New York City studying with the legendary George Coleman in 2009 and was the first woman to win the Thelonious Monk Jazz Competition for saxophone in 2013. She was 26.
The pressure on Aldana must have been serious, but her response has been to work hard, challenge herself by playing with superb musicians, and measure her own playing against the best: heroes such as Sonny Rollins and Wayne Shorter.

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Singer-songwriter, drummer and multi-instrumentalist Momoko Gill has long been a key background player in the community of jazz-adjacent artists who have coalesced around north London’s semi-legendary Total Refreshment Centre studio complex, live venue and social hub. After spending much of her childhood and teens in Japan and California, Gill was inspired to forge her musical career in multicultural London, initially through collaborations with more established left-field musicians including Matthew Herbert, Alabaster DePlume, Coby Sey and Tirzah. Many of these bigger names repay the favour with guest appearances on this impressively eclectic solo debut, which straddles the line between spiritual jazz, retro-inflected soul and…

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Do you need a sensitivity to divine forces to be drawn into Nilza Costa’s new album? Not necessarily. But it does require a willingness to listen to music that resists explanation. Nilza Costa is a Brazilian singer and songwriter from Salvador de Bahia, now based in Italy. Her new album revolves around cantigas – sacred songs from the African diaspora – sung in Yoruba, Kimbundu and Brazilian Portuguese. These songs function as direct invocations of the orishas: spiritual entities that, in traditions such as Candomblé and Santería, connect human life with nature, history, and the divine. Rather than presenting this tradition from the outside, the album positions itself within it, as a continuation in sound.
Costa’s voice anchors the album. It carries…

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If you knew beforehand that Nick Schofield’s primary instrument used to be the drums, you probably wouldn’t expect to hear the sounds that are coming your way from his latest album, Blue Hour. Yet, with inventive, inspired and well-versed artists, as Schofield presents himself here, you should expect the unexpected, particularly if it turns out that the sounds are something you want to hear. After all, the primary instrument shouldn’t mean much anyway. Take Barry Adamson as an example; he dabbles with drums on occasion.
But let’s stick with Schofield, who actually deals mostly with electronics these days, and his take on them is more leaning towards the jazzy side of ambient rather than what you would expect from ‘pure’ ambient or electro-pop these days.

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Nils Landgren marks his 70th birthday with Love of My Life — an album that reflects not only the scale of his achievement, but also the astonishingly wide range of roles his life in music has embraced. As one of the most successful European jazz musicians of the past few decades, Landgren has long been more than a trombonist or singer: he is a connector, a mentor, a bridge-builder. Recorded with close friends and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra under the opulent arrangements of Vince Mendoza, the album spans from Landgren’s own tender compositions to reimagined works by Cat Stevens, Leonard Bernstein, Herbie Hancock, and others — yet it remains unmistakably Landgren: open, warm, and full of humanity. “The most important thing in music for me is:…

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The Nordic landscape contains stillness as well as near-invisible movement. Danish composer Jesper Thorn brings this idea to his music on Stille. But don’t fret, the record isn’t some brumous and chilly soundscape. A generous warmth sweeps through the pieces. In collaboration with Marc Méan on piano, saxophonist Cecilie Strange, Maj Berit Guassora on trumpet and violinist Andreas Bernitt, the project holds many moments of intimate clarity and chilling beauty. The Danish bassist leads the group as more of a background player, while still retaining an undeniable presence and holding the reins with a generous hand.
“Run” covers a whole narrative in under six minutes. The piece is a look through a window; though what is seen may change from viewer…

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Billy Martin, the renowned groove master and founding drummer of Medeski Martin & Wood, has spent decades collaborating with boundary — pushing artists including John Lurie in the Lounge Lizards and John Zorn in his Cobra ensembles, all while exploring instrument design, filmmaking, and visual art. His 2026 project, State Fête, unites him with multi-instrumentalist Matt Glassmeyer and guitarist Jonathan Goldberger in a captivating exploration of live-composed soundscapes — think of it as a sonic state fair where the familiar becomes delightfully warped.
Glassmeyer, recognized for inventive work with Oliver Wood in the group Slow Accordion, the Brooklyn ensemble Hompulon, and a longstanding duo with Jano Rix of the Wood…

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Kenny Reichert‘s a terrific guitarist, but the Chicagoan also has a knack for writing catchy tunes and insidious melodies. Look no further than this latest set’s opening number, “Poppy Seed,” whose slinky theme burrows quickly under the skin. On his first live album, recorded in October 2024 before a small but appreciative gathering at the city’s Pro Musica, the guitarist partners with alto saxophonist Lenard Simpson, upright bassist Ethan Philion, and drummer Devin Drobka, reputable players in their own right and much sought after when not leading their own projects. Each excels in a free milieu and helps midwife Reichert’s five originals into being, and a clear impression of group identity forms as the album plays.
Live in Chicago is looser and more open-ended…

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Joe Magnarelli‘s Decidedly So strongly reaffirms the enduring virtues of straight-ahead jazz, recorded at Rudy Van Gelder’s Studio in Englewood Cliffs, NJ, where these qualities have long been valued. Brought to life in March 2025 before a small but attentive audience, the session benefits from a rare blend of relaxed confidence and deliberate swing that can only come from musicians who know exactly who they are and what they cherish. Joined by trombonist Steve Davis and a top-tier rhythm section of pianist Jeremy Manasia, bassist Clovis Nicolas, and drummer Rodney Green, Magnarelli leads a programme that balances originals and standards with taste, authority, and an effortless sense of joy.
The opening track, Magnarelli’s “D.J.,” features…

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This exceptional homage to jazz pianist Bill Evans (1929-1980) honours him in so many ways it’s hard to know where to begin. Pianist Thomas Clausen, bassist Thomas Fonnesbæck, and drummer Karsten Bagge channel the spirit of Evans’ own great trios, from the classic, template-setting iteration with Scott LaFaro and Paul Motian to ones involving Marc Johnson and Joe LaBarbera, Chuck Israels and Larry Bunker, and Eddie Gómez and Marty Morell without imitating any one of them. Trumpeter Anders Malta also adds to the release and through his involvement recalls the landmark collaborations between Gil Evans and Miles Davis, and the versatile Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) and conductor Jean Thorel help distinguish the release by partnering…

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Blue Note Records and Motown Gospel have joined forces for an unprecedented hybrid album, Sweet, Sweet Spirit, featuring Ron Carter’s improvisational bass lines underpinning gospel great Ricky Dillard’s famed New G Chorale. Whether this new venture will encourage jazz listeners to listen to traditional gospel remains to be seen, though Carter’s name alone will draw many to this effort. Although Carter’s bass is prominent enough in the mix, the choir’s power is overwhelmingly potent on every track. Fortunately, there are different lead vocalists throughout to provide some differentiation. The choir is clearly ‘the’ instrument, while Carter’s bass work serves as a narrator. As mentioned previously on other projects, many of these elder NEA Jazz Masters like Carter, have long-held dream…

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Gaudi’s Jazz Gone Dub is an exercise in wedding modern jazz and dub reggae. Created and recorded over four years, it’s saturated in heavy dub rhythms, killer solos, glorious melodies and canny production. The illustrious lineup includes the late rhythm section of Sly & Robbie, guitarists Ernest Ranglin and David Hinds (Steel Pulse), and others including bassists Jah Wobble and Colin Edwin, saxophonist/flutist Gavin Tate-Lovery, trumpeter/trombonist Tim Hutton, and reggae drummer Horseman (Winston Williams), among them. Gaudi plays piano, Fender Rhodes, Hammond B-3, glockenspiel, santoor, and taishōgoto harp. The set was recorded in London and Sardinia by Papa Ntò. Sly & Robbie and Ranglin were recorded at Kingston’s legendary Tuff Gong.

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Deluxe Edition is an expanded digital release by Record Kicks that includes three brand-new bonus tracks.
Legendary Milanese combo Calibro 35 continue their journey into the world of cinematic jazz-funk with their new album Exploration.
Exploration marks their return to independent label Record Kicks after their last studio album “Nouvelle Aventures” released on Universal Music in 2023. The band picks up from their latest EP, “Jazzploitation,” released on Record Kicks last October.
“Exploration” is a deep dive into the universe of cinematic jazz-funk, showcasing both the band’s reinterpretations of timeless classics such as Roy Ayers’ “Coffy” or Bob James “Nautilus”…

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Written in the 1970s, Zorn’s earliest game pieces are legendary (often discussed and workshopped in secret but rarely performed in public) and Curling from 1978 is one of the most elusive and hermetic.
Focusing exclusively on long tones, it is quite unusual in Zorn’s canon-meditative, minimalist, and hypnotic.
Performing here are two ensembles from the Bay Area that have had close ties with Zorn for over forty years and are perfectly suited to execute this challenging and beautiful work.
This recording brings together two Bay Area ensembles with deep, decades-long ties to Zorn’s music: the Rova Saxophone Quartet and the William Winant Percussion Group.

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The Dahlak Band honed their sound as the resident musicians at the Ghion Hotel, a historic building in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa that was first constructed by long-time ruler Emperor Haile Selassie as an intended residence for his son. At the band’s red-hot core was Tilaye Gebre, a heavyweight of Ethio-jazz, whose story intersects with many of the close-knit scene’s key players. As press notes to this new reissue of Tilaye’s Saxophone with the Dahlak Band assert, “Chances are that if you pick up any gem recorded in Addis Ababa during those times, it features Tilaye on saxophone and his arrangements.”
The Selassie era was brought to an end by the Ethiopian Revolution of 1974 and the dawning of a new military regime that imposed…

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