MALIJA: L-R (Li)am Noble, (Ma)rk Lockheart,(Ja)sper Høiby

There have been quite a few announcements and press releases in recent days from Edition Records. We wanted to aggregate them and give the full picture. So label boss Dave Stapleton talked Sebastian through what is currrently happening, notably the label’s release schedule for the next few months, and also what have been the successes from the first half-year of 2015.

BRITISH ARTISTS IN MID-CAREER

The complete chronological list of new releases from the Newbury-based label is below, but one important common strand in quite a few of the albums emerges, which is to bring a focus onto the continuing stories of five top UK jazz musicians in mid-career. Or as Dave Stapleton describes this trend: “ I want to go deeper into the story of the musicians and their collaborations. We’ve got amazing artists with stories to tell.” Releases are in the pipeline from:

– Tim Garland. An album from Tim’s “Electric Lighthouse” quartet (with Jason Rebello, Ant Law and Asaf Sirkis) will be issued in April 2016

– Gerard Presencer. ‘Groove Travels’ is a significant new project from trumpeter/composer Gerard Presencer, of his arrangements and compositions with the DR Big Band from Copenhagen where he is trumpet soloist. It will be released in early Spring 2016.

– Mark Lockheart and Liam Noble are in a drumless trio with Jasper Høiby called after their christian names abridged and conflated: Malija. It is a collaborative project to which all three are bringing compositions and this is their debut album.

– Jason Rebello will release a first album of solo piano music in early 2016. “I’ve never had an opportunity to immerse myself fully in the piano. I’ve reached a point now where I feel there is something to say with just a piano and I’m relishing this opportunity to consolidate all my musical experiences on this record.”


DRIFTER

Another release with an interesting story behind it is the album from Drifter with the title Flow. The background here is that Finnish pianist Alexi Tuomarila formed a quartet when he was studying at the Brussels Conservatoire. The band were faced with a tricky choice where to place their first album – the options open to them were either Blue Note or Warner. The album 02 was released – and was very successful – on Warner, in 2005, but then Warner shut down its jazz and classical department, bookings tailed off, and the band drifted apart. Tuomarila worked extensively with Tomasz Stanko, for example. Edition recorded and released Tuomarila’s 2013 album Seven Hills and were approached as a result of that by Belgian saxophonist Nicolas Kummert, who had been a part of the original quartet. Dave Stapleton suggested the original group might re-form, and they did. Three of the players in Drifter are the same as in the original Tuomarila quartet, but there again they have all progressed significantly, since this is ten years on….

UPDATE ON RECENT RELEASES

Dave Stapleton also talked about the albums from the first half of the year. He singled out first the Verneri Pohjola album (REVIEWED HERE) which has sold well both in Scandinavia and Germany.

Also the Daniel Herskedal release Slow Eastbound Train started slowly but sales have picked up momentum as the album’s subtle charms have become better understood (REVIEW)

EDITION CLASSICS

Dave Stapleton also talked about the classical label Edition Classics. The plan here is to be very selective, maybe two albums a year. One which has been particularly well received recently is the recording which Thomas Gould made of the Beethoven Violin Concerto in Riga.

Chronological list of forthcoming Edition Records releases

17th July – Drifter ‘Flow’

18th Sept – Girls In Airports ‘Fables’ – touring early May next year (this is the group’s fourth album, and their first on Edition)

16th Oct (Europe)/ 28th August UK  – Misha Mullov-Abbado ‘New Ansonia’.The 2014 Kenny Wheeler prize-winner’s album includes the elegy written in response to the death of his father, “Heal Me on this Cloudy Day” The launch will be on 12th September as part of the Kings Place Festival – (LIVE REVIEW)

27th Nov – MALIJA, debut  Mark Lockheart, pianist Liam Noble and bassist Jasper Høiby

Early spring 2016  Gerard Presencer / Danish Radio Big Band   ‘Groove Travels’ featuring his compositions and arrangements.

Early spring 2016 – Jason Rebello solo piano

April 2016 – Tim Garland Electric Lighthouse – with Ant Law and Asaf  Sirkis

Plans beyond that have not yet been released but Autumn 2016 will see the release of the Ralph Wyld debut album (Kenny Wheeler prizewinner 2015) and a new album from Slowly Rolling Camera.