Music and Jazz

Crate Digging: Rebecca Vasmant

The young Glaswegian DJ is set to play Ministry of Sound & Mixmag's Warehouse Party

22 May 2012

I love jazz music, and as much as I love house music too, I don’t think it has the same timelessness. My first choice is one I got about a year ago, it’s PE Hewitt Winter Winds (Now-Again), a three-LP box set of material self-recorded by a 16-year-old…

Neneh Cherry & The Thing - Cherry Thing

Inventive and charismatic return from Cherry in this free jazz/post-punk collaboration

22 May 2012

Neneh Cherry’s first album in 16 years is perhaps closer in spirit to the jazzoid post-punk of Rip Rig & Panic than the glorious hip-pop of Raw Like Sushi, but hot damn, it’s good. The Thing are renowned for their wild takes on cult rock and free-jazz…

Steve Kuhn Trio - Wisteria

Accomplished, crisp and cool recordings by Kuhn, Steve Swallow and Joey Baron

22 May 2012

Pianist Steve Kuhn has worked with both bassist Steve Swallow and drummer Joey Baron in many contexts over several decades, but they had never played together in a trio setting prior to recording this last year. You would never guess that, though – they…

Oriole - Every New Day

Distinctly Latin-influenced sounds from the F-IRE collective

22 May 2012

The latest offering from the ranks of the London-based F-IRE collective features music written by Oriole’s founder, guitarist Johnny Phillips, during a six-year stay in Cadiz. The distinctly Spanish/Latin melodic and rhythmic feel has an appealing…

Martin Speake & Colin Oxley - Two Not One

An album of light, buoyant jazz ballads, ideal in small servings

23 Apr 2012

(Pumpkin Records) The airy combination of alto saxophone and guitar and a leaning toward ballad tempos gives the music on this duo outing a light, buoyant feel which does pale a little over the whole album, but works beautifully on any individual…

Kuljit Bhamra, Jacqueline Shave, John Parricelli - Postcards From Home

Cross-cultural fusion partly inspired by the Hebrides

18 Apr 2012

(Keda Records) A fresh and deftly executed cross-cultural fusion featuring a tabla player with strong jazz connections, a classical violinist and a jazz guitarist, playing music inspired in part by the Hebrides. Violinist Jacqueline Shave’s ‘Machair to…

Quantic & Alice Russell with Combo Barbado - Look around the Corner

Latin-infused soul-jazz collaboration

11 Apr 2012

(Tru Thoughts) They've collaborated in the past, and belong to the same soul-jazzy label (Brighton's Tru Thoughts), so it wasn't such a giant leap of imagination for a full-length Latin/blues/folk collaboration between soul songstress Alice Russell…

Gary Husband - Dirty & Beautiful, Volume 2

Features collaborations with range of the jazz-rock luminaries

26 Mar 2012

(Abstract Logix) Jazz-rock isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, and tends to be sniffed at in critical circles, but when it’s done well, it remains an exciting facet of the contemporary jazz spectrum. Like its predecessor, this album features keyboard player…

Kenny Garrett - Seeds From The Underground

Alto saxophonist gives vibrant treatment to new compositions

23 Mar 2012

(Mack Avenue Records) Here we find Kenny Garrett – a Detroit-born alto saxophonist who began his career performing with the Duke Ellington Orchestra before pursuing a solo career — in his most melodic vein, accompanied by a fine pianist, Benito…

Tommy Smith Youth Jazz Orchestra - Emergence

Ensemble playing and the soloing achieves a very high standard

28 Feb 2012

(Spartacus Records) Tommy Smith set up (and funded) this orchestra to encourage the cream of Scotland’s emerging jazz talent to flourish, and it is clearly working. There are only occasional passages on this fine recording where you might guess that you…

Andy Sheppard, Michel Benita, Sebastian Rochford - Trio Libero

Highly compatible trio make album of lyrical material

22 Feb 2012

(ECM Records) Saxophonist Andy Sheppard seemed a good match-up with ECM long before he actually made his debut with the label a couple of years ago. He now follows that release with this excellent trio project featuring Algerian bassist Michel Benita…

Paul McCartney - Kisses on the Bottom

Macca covers 1920s and 1930s standards, with vanilla results

3 Feb 2012

Paul McCartney has the weirdest back catalogue of any Beatle. This is an album of the 20s and 30s standards his dad used to play and it's less weird than perplexing, thanks to the unfortunate choice of Tommy 'Mainstream' LiPuma as producer. After his…

Ibrahím Maalouf - Diagnostic

A groundbreaking album of brooding French-Arabic tones from trumpeter

1 Feb 2012

(Harmonia Mundi) The brooding French-Arabic quarter tones of Ibrahím Maalouf’s trumpet first seduced as guest on the late Lhasa de Sela’s desert island disc The Living Road. Bewitching then, Maalouf’s own debut with a brace of tremendous musicians…

Weather Report - Live In Cologne 1983

Decent but inessential instalment of the legendary jazz troupe's back catalogue

5 Jan 2012

(Art of Groove / Birdjam) This is the third in a previously unreleased sequence of very well recorded concerts featuring the band in Germany, and arguably the least essential, if only because the later phase of the band’s history was generally less…

Enrico Rava - Tribe

Great collaboration between Italians Rava, Gianluca Petrella, Giovanni Guidi and Giacomo Ancillotto

5 Jan 2012

(ECM) The great Italian trumpet master and trombonist Gianluca Petrella are a well-proven combination, and are joined here by a new rhythm section for Rava’s regular group, led by the excellent Giovanni Guidi on piano, and augmented on three tunes by…

Bill Wells' National Jazz Trio of Scotland to appear at Tracer Trails' Christmas Party

Another engagement for the ubiquitous collaborator and jazzman

9 Dec 2011

The National Jazz Trio of Scotland has never really been a trio. Nor has Bill Wells’ cheekily-monickered combo ever played jazz in the conventional sense. With a first album of original material – the waggishly christened Standards Volume Two…

Time Zone - Crossing The Line

London-based sextet bring together contemporary jazz with music of Cuba

7 Dec 2011

(Spherical Records) This London-based sextet led by trumpeter Loz Speyer are on a mission to bring together restless contemporary jazz and the music of Cuba, with a touch of Eastern European rhythm thrown in. This latest outing, featuring seven of…

Bill Wells - Lemondale

One of Wells’ most ambitious and enchanting records to date

15 Nov 2011

(Double Six) You wonder if Bill Wells ever sleeps. The Glasgow indie / avant-jazz catalyst has already made one of the albums of this year in Everything’s Getting Older, his exquisite union with Aidan Moffat – not to mention his forthcoming National…

Empirical - Elements of Truth

Most diffuse and wide-ranging release to date

10 Nov 2011

(Naim Label) Empirical’s drift away from their early bop-oriented leanings continues on their most diffuse and wide-ranging release to date. There is a deliberately spacey, dream-like feel to much of the music, referencing Messiaen and Björk…

Breach - On The Walk

Edinburgh-based trio's reflective, atmospheric textures and energised workouts

10 Nov 2011

(Breach) This Edinburgh-based trio features three of the leading musicians on the current Scottish jazz scene, guitarist Graeme Stephen, pianist Paul Harrison focusing on organ and electronics in this setting – and drummer Chris Wallace. Each…

McCormack & Yarde Duo - Places and Other Spaces

Saxophone and piano duets display impressive empathy and mutual understanding

28 Oct 2011

(Edition Records) Saxophone and piano duets are clearly all the rage this month. Pianist Andrew McCormack and saxophonist Jason Yarde approach the format with impressive empathy and mutual understanding on a set of original material by one or other…

Celtic Connections 2012 line-up announced

Glasgow traditional music festival features 2100 artists and 300 events over 18 days in 20 venues

26 Oct 2011

This year's festival will include 2100 artists, 300 events, 20 venues all over 18 days. Being that winter is in the offing, you now wake up in the morning for work and its dark, you then head home from work and its dark. One thing that will surely…

Rob Hall & Chick Lyall - Blithe Spirit

Melodic compositions combine jazz, classical and folk

20 Oct 2011

(FMR Records) Hall and Lyall are familiar figures on the Scottish jazz scene, and their third duo recording reveals an even greater refinement in their thoughtful, inventive music. Their melodic compositions combine jazz, classical music and a touch…

Alex Garnett - Serpent

Agile, fresh-sounding contemporary bop from English saxophonist

14 Sep 2011

(Whirlwind Recordings) At just over 40, English saxophonist Alex Garnett has taken his time in making his recording debut as a leader, but in the interim has built a considerable track record in a wide variety of settings. That depth of experience is…

Linley Hamilton - Taylor Made

Belfast trumpeter's bop-inspired work

24 Aug 2011

(Lyte Records) There is some good jazz coming out of Ulster these days, and trumpeter Linley Hamilton is one of the people making it. His CV includes work with Van Morrison and Paul Brady as well as more mainstream jazz connections, and the choice…

Aquarium - Aquarium

16 Aug 2011

(Babel) A strong debut from pianist’s Sam Leak’s quartet, another genre-mixing contemporary outfit from the London jazz scene. His opening tune, ‘Strangers’, evokes both lyrical jazz and the rhythmic pulse of minimalism, ‘Grasshopper’ expands from…

Hidden Orchestra, Queen’s Hall, Wed 27 Jul 2011

Dubby, lush sounds from Edinburgh-based jazz orchestra

8 Aug 2011

The List was intrigued to see what Hidden Orchestra’s live show would look like. The band’s debut album – 2010’s Night Walks – was based on the careful building, sampling and layering of tracks in the studio; something damn difficult to create in a live…

Billy Jenkins - Jazz Gives Me The Blues

Virtuoso renditions of some of jazz and blues' finest

3 Aug 2011

(VOTP Records) I suspect you either get Billy Jenkins or you don’t, with no half measures. The guitarist’s latest assault on our preconceptions about jazz, blues, guitar playing and life in general will please those in the first category, but…

Leroy Jones Band - Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival

The trumpeter visits Edinburgh after appearances in TV drama Treme

21 Jul 2011

‘I was in an episode two weeks ago with my local quintet. I was performing one of my original compositions for about a minute and twenty seconds.’ Bandleader and trumpeter Leroy Jones is bubbling with pride over his recent appearance in an episode of…

Niki King & The Elements - It’s All Good

New York-based Scottish jazz vocalist with new band and soul-funk sound

13 Jul 2011

(Soul Route Records) When Edinburgh jazz vocalist Niki King relocated to New York at the end of last year, it was inevitable that the city would lend its magic to her creative impulses. So, with the backing of her new ten-piece New York band, The…

Pascal Schumacher Quartet - Bang My Can

Subtly structured contemporary European jazz from vibes player

13 Jul 2011

(Enja) The Luxembourg vibes player added Scottish saxophonist Konrad Wiszniewski to his quartet for some gigs late last year, and that extra bite that his horn brought to the music feels sadly missed now. That said, there is still plenty to enjoy in…

Lynne Arrialle - Convergence

American pianist's intriguing compositions and inventive pop reworkings

13 Jul 2011

(IN+OUT Records) American pianist Lynne Arriale has maintained a high-quality output since her emergence in the mid-90s, and this latest offering more than maintains that standard. Arriale’s trio with bassist Omer Avital and drummer Anthony Pinciotti…

Edinburgh International Jazz and Blues Festival 2011 - highlights

Tommy Smith, Courtney Pine, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble and more

8 Jul 2011

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble A high energy blend of New Orleans horns and live hip hop beats, this Chicago nine-piece return to raise the Spiegeltent from its moorings. Barack Obama, Jay-Z and David Byrne are among the fans of this exciting block party…

Trombone Shorty profile - Edinburgh Jazz Festival 2011

Youthful jazz pioneer and composer set for Edinburgh date

8 Jul 2011

'Oooooh! Trombone Shorty! My man!' This is how the 25-year-old jazz musician from New Orleans is greeted by fellow (and fictitious) horn player Antoine Batiste in David Simon's new HBO television show, Treme. Simon's follow-up to his hard-hitting cop…

Kitty Daisy & Lewis - Smoking in Heaven

Sibling trio release a ska and swing-flavoured second album

29 Jun 2011

(Sunday Best Recordings) In the wake of their eponymous debut album, Kitty, Daisy & Lewis have rightfully earned themselves a reputation for being a group of highly talented and original masters of transcendent rock 'n' roll. They return here with…

Mulatu Astatke set for Glasgow Jazz Festival

Ethio-jazz pioneer visits Scotland for the first time

21 Jun 2011

An alto saxophone line snakes slowly over shimmering vibraphone and sensuous Latin percussion. Horns create a dreamy, exotic mood as Ethiopian modes meet Western scales. A buzzing guitar or grooving organ might come in, bringing a touch of slow-burning…

Orchestre Poly-Rythmo - The 1st Album (1973)

Sensationally funky West African music from a 16–piece with brooding organ melodies

13 Jun 2011

(Analog Africa) In 1970s West Africa, various creative ensembles emerged in the former French trading post of Cotonou, Benin; notably the vibrant Orchestre Poly-Rythmo. Their distinctive earthy grooves mined a musical axis involving neighbouring…

Fire! With Jim O’Rourke - Unreleased?

Members of The Thing, Tape and Wildbirds & Peacedrum

13 Jun 2011

(Rune Grammofon) Saxophone behemoth Mats Gustafsson is best known for his work with baws-oot jazzers The Thing, but Fire! is a relatively controlled affair, more rock-oriented improv than free jazz. Gustafsson, bassist Johan Berthling (Tape) and…

Quentin Collins/Brandon Allen Quartet - What’s It Gonna Be

Breath of traditionalism amid experimentalism of London jazz scene

13 Jun 2011

(Sunlightsquare Records) A breath of traditionalism amid the experimental directions currently dominating the London jazz scene from trumpeter Quentin Collins and saxophonist Brandon Allen, with Ross Stanley on Hammond organ and Enzo Zirilli on…

Julian Lage Group - Gladwell

American guitarist's multiple genre style quietly captivating

13 Jun 2011

(Emarcy Records) American guitarist Julian Lage made a big impression as a teenager when he appeared with Gary Burton at the Glasgow Jazz Festival a few years back, and is now maturing into an idiosyncratic and fascinating artist. Like Bill…

Matthew Halsall - On The Go

Miles Davis-inspired jazz trumpeter delivers accomplished third album as band leader

27 May 2011

(Gondwana Records) I first heard this Manchester trumpeter through his impressive work on saxophonist Nat Birchall’s Guiding Spirit, and this album – actually his third as leader – lives up to expectation. Birchall returns the favour here, and the…

John Martin Quartet - Dawning

Engaging debut from the Wheeler and Ballamy-backed saxophonist

17 May 2011

(F-ire) Approving testimonials from the great Kenny Wheeler and Iain Ballamy immediately create certain expectations on the likely structures and soundscape to be found in saxophonist John Martin’s first album. The music is often understated, but…

Bill Wells and Aidan Moffat - Everything’s Getting Older

A great jazz, folk and spoken word collaboration

25 Apr 2011

(Chemikal Underground) Lovers of a collaboration both – Bill Wells with The Pastels and Isobel Campbell among others, Aidan Moffat with the likes of Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite and FOUND – it was really only a matter of time before this pair got it…

Trilok Gurtu with Simon Philips - 21 Spices

The percussionists join forces with 19 other musicians from the NDR Big Band

20 Apr 2011

(Birdjam) Scottish audiences have already had a taste of percussion master Trilok Gurtu’s large scale spectaculars at Perth Concert Hall and Celtic Connections, and this release captures another in that sequence, co-led by drummer Simon Phillips (of…

'Straw, Sticks and Bricks' by Outhouse displays jazz-edged boundary-crossing

Line-up for third album features Icelandic guitarist Hilmar Jensson

14 Apr 2011

(Babel) Outhouse belong in the same leftfield area of contemporary UK jazz as bands like Acoustic Ladyland, Polar Bear or Led Bib, but have their own distinctive slant on the jazz improvisation-meets-grungy rock-meets-noise aesthetic prevalent in…

Matana Roberts: Live in London

Saxophonist Roberts is joined by Robert Mitchell, Tom Mason and Chris Vatalaro for great live album

24 Mar 2011

(Central Control) American saxophonist Matana Roberts is something of a standard bearer for the 60s avant-garde (as befits someone introduced to the music of Albert Ayler as a five-year-old), but with a contemporary twist. This concert set from…

Twelves: The Adding Machine

Jazz musician Riaan Vosloo finds inspiration in some personnel adjustments

21 Mar 2011

(Babel) The expansion of bassist Riaan Vosloo’s band to a quartet from the earlier Twelves Trio, and their switch for this second album to Babel, a well-established significant outlet for experimental jazz in the UK, has allowed the group to expand…

Scottish National Jazz Orchestra with Kurt Elling

Legendary jazz vocalist gets backing of the country's biggest jazz band

4 Mar 2011

As mouthwatering prospects go, this meeting of arguably the world’s top jazz singer and arguably the UK’s finest jazz big band is as good as it gets. Elling has only performed once before in Scotland, also with a big band (from Norrbotten), and the…

Fringe Magnetic: Twistic

Jazz/classical hybrid from band leader Rory Simmons, featuring Jamie Cullum and Elisabeth Nygaard

3 Mar 2011

(Loop Records) Jamie Cullum makes a guest appearance here, but don’t be fooled into expecting anything else very Jamie-like (come to think of it, not even his own duet with Elisabeth Nygaard). Trumpeter Rory Simmons leads this eclectic band through a…

Food, with Eivind Aarset, to perform as part of Dialogues festival

The jazz-electronica duo team up with the Norwegian guitarist for an intimate gig at Voodoo Rooms

3 Mar 2011

Jazz experimentalists Food have carved a niche over the past few years in forging ahead with wide-ranging collaborations. The core duo of saxophonist Iain Bellamy and percussionist Thomas Strønen are great practitioners of improvisation, and bring…