Nesrine – Nesrine (ACT 9919-2. CD review by Alison Bentley) Singer/composer/cellist Nesrine sings in French, Arabic and English and her songs are full of African-based grooves and engaging harmonies. The first thing […]
Nesrine – ‘Nesrine’
Patrick Cornelius’ Acadia – ‘Way of the Cairns’
Patrick Cornelius’ Acadia – Way of the Cairns (Whirlwind Recordings WR4766. CD review by Alison Bentley) Stone cairns mark where you’ve been on the trail, and remind you of where others have […]
New Switzerland: Julie Campiche + Ikarus + Trio Heinz Herbert (2020 EFG LJF)
New Switzerland: Julie Campiche + Ikarus + Trio Heinz Herbert (EFG London Jazz Festival. 14 November 2020. Review by Alison Bentley) Jazz musicians are always adaptable – we may not have been […]
Artemis – “Artemis”
Artemis – Artemis (Blue Note 00602508937385. CD review by Alison Bentley) Seven award-winning bandleaders, who also compose/arrange, make up Artemis – and they all just happen to be women. They were brought […]
Jonny Liebeck (new release “Mellow Mind”)
“Harmony was the main interest that sent me down the jazz route – harmony resonated with me,” says pianist Jonny Liebeck . A graduate of both the Royal Academy of Music and […]
Brigitte Beraha – “Lucid Dreamers”
Brigitte Beraha – Lucid Dreamers (Let Me Out Records, LMD CD001. CD review by Alison Bentley) London-based singer and composer Brigitte Beraha’s new album is the first under her own name since […]
Samuel Blaser & Marc Ducret – “Audio Rebel”
Samuel Blaser & Marc Ducret – Audio Rebel (Blaser Music. Download Review by Alison Bentley) Some music is made to be firmly in the foreground. This highly original album by Swiss trombonist Samuel […]
Esperanza Spalding, Fred Hersch – “Live at The Village Vanguard” (Rough Mix EP/ Benefit Recording for the Jazz Foundation of America)
Esperanza Spalding, Fred Hersch – Live at The Village Vanguard (Rough Mix EP/ Benefit Recording for the Jazz Foundation of America. Review by Alison Bentley) A fleeting chance to share an intimate […]
“The Windrush Suite” by Renell Shaw
The Windrush Suite by Renell Shaw (Streamed by the Vortex Jazz Club. 22 June 2020. Review by Alison Bentley) The Windrush Suite was streamed to mark the second National Windrush Day, remembering […]
Jazz at Berlin Philharmonic X – “East – West”
Jazz at Berlin Philharmonic X – East-West (ACT 9913-2. CD review by Alison Bentley) The bands on this live recording from the Kammermusiksaal of the Berlin Philharmonie in November 2019 seem to […]
John Scofield, Steve Swallow, Bill Stewart – “Swallow Tales”
John Scofield, Steve Swallow, Bill Stewart – Swallow Tales(ECM 0836036. CD review by Alison Bentley) Going back to go forwards: US guitarist John Scofield’s new project returns to the Steve Swallow compositions that inspired his younger self […]
Matthieu Saglio – “El camino de los vientos”
Matthieu Saglio – El camino de los vientos (ACT 9912-2. CD review by Alison Bentley) Music brings back memories of places, and sometimes creates new ones too. Cellist Matthieu Saglio lives in […]
Martin Speake International Quartet (tour dates 13 – 29 Feb 2020)
The distinctive tone of UK saxophonist Martin Speake has been well-known since his work with Itchy Fingers in the 1980s. Since then, he’s recorded 23 albums, including one for ECM with Paul […]
Issie Barratt’s Interchange – “Donna’s Secret”
Issie Barratt’s Interchange – Donna’s Secret (Fuzzy Moon Records FUZ015. CD Review by Alison Bentley) Sixteen musicians and eight composers, who just happen to be women, on an album of highly accomplished […]
ISQ – “Requiem for the Faithful”
ISQ – Requiem for the Faithful (CPR CD 03. CD review by Alison Bentley) ISQ are the London-based Irene Serra Quartet, and this is their third highly original CD. The distinctive vocal-led mix […]
