Jeff Williams’ trio Bloom featuring pianist Carmen Staaf and bassist Michael Formanek has eight UK tour dates and a workshop in May. In this feature he explains how this trio was formed. […]
Jeff Williams’ Bloom Trio (Tour Dates 12-20 May)
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Dee Byrne (MoonMot “Going Down the Well” album release & launch 18 Feb)
MoonMot is made up of six musicians from the UK and Switzerland who all thrive on the energy of free improvisation and melodic deconstruction. Their music has been described by singer Elina […]
Morley Jazz Series (starts Friday 28 February 2020)
After a highly successful inaugural series of jazz concerts in 2019, Morley College has announced a new programme of five concerts to take place at the end of each month from 28 […]
Bex Burch of Vula Viel (new album 7 Feb and touring from 12 Mar)
Her band’s sound has African roots, jazz links and is contantly shape-shifting. Bex Burch tells John Fordham about the past, present and future of Vula Viel’s ‘messy minimalism’: For those convinced that […]
Marc Copland (trio album ‘And I Love Her’; Pizza Express Jazz Club 12 Feb)
Following the release late last year of their debut album And I Love Her, pianist Marc Copland, bassist Drew Gress and drummer Joey Baron embark on a European trio tour next month. […]
Nat Steele – ‘Sonny Rollins and the MJQ’ (UK tour, 4-18 Feb)
Following on from vibraphonist Nat Steele’s celebratory album Portrait Of The Modern Jazz Quartet and the rapport he found playing with Canadian tenor man Grant Stewart, what was the natural next step? […]
Vijay Iyer’s Ritual Ensemble & In Conversation (Wigmore Hall, 10/11 Jan)
Pianist Vijay Iyer brings his Ritual Ensemble to the Wigmore Hall on Friday 10 January as part of his role as the venue’s Composer in Residence for 2019/20. The concert, which will be […]
Guitarist Mikael Máni (new album, Bobby, out now)
Mikael Máni’s interest in the guitar was sparked by a Jimmy Page solo, and his interest in Bobby Fisher stemmed from his fascination with all-consuming passion. The Mikael Máni Trio’s album Bobby […]
The New York All-Stars (new album Live Encounter on Ubuntu Music)
A band of top line players and a set of tunes that let them loose to express themselves, all with the raw energy of live performance. That’s what you get with the […]
Dot Time Records’ Legends series new release – Louis Armstrong: Live In Europe
Launched in 2015, the Dot Time Records Legends series has so far given the world a whole range of incredible, unreleased music from greats such as Ella Fitzgerald, Ben Webster and Wolfgang […]
Boulevard Theatre Jazz (Soho Sounds, Wednesdays late)
Soho has always had a close connection with jazz – a century ago, Sidney Bechet used to wander round the London district browsing in music shops – and it is fitting that […]
Swingin’ with Strings – Jazz Repertory Company (Cadogan Hall, 24 Nov)
The Jazz Repertory Company’s latest project in recreating memorable moments from jazz history has strings attached. Peter Vacher explains: Richard Pite’s Jazz Repertory Company has long since made London’s Cadogan Hall its […]
Sam Jesson (Magpie Trio’s 15 Nov EFG LJF gig at Con Cellar and touring)
For drummer Sam Jesson the road to becoming a bandleader was a slow and arduous one complicated by a debilitating condition needing a series of not always successful medical operations. But he’s […]
Joy Ellis (new album Dwell released 29 Nov and touring)
Pianist, singer and composer Joy Ellis isn’t wasting any time. Just two years after the release of her debut album, her second one Dwell is coming out. Leah Williams spoke to her about […]
Calum Gourlay (Quartet album New Ears and tour dates 22 Oct – 16 Nov)
Bassist Calum Gourlay was born in Glasgow, and grew up in Fife, playing in his father’s jazz workshops and Scottish big bands, including Tommy Smith’s Youth Jazz Orchestra. He’s now based in London. His […]
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