Music and Kenny Mathieson

Various Artists - Cumbia Cumbia 1 & 2

Two-album reissue of classic compilations from 1989 and 1993

18 Apr 2012

(World Circuit) The sinuous dance rhythms of the Colombian music known as Cumbia are captured in this nicely packaged and documented two-album reissue of two compilations regarded as the classics of the genre, which first brought Cumbia to wider…

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…

Gwilym Simcock - Perception

4 Jan 2008

JAZZ Perception (Basho Records) Simcock’s flowing pianism and fertile musical imagination are constantly to the fore in a selection of his own impressive compositions on this much-anticipated and highly accomplished debut album, rounded out by…

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…

Tomasz Stanko Quintet - Dark Eyes

13 Nov 2009

(ECM Records) Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stanko has been one of the mainstays of the ECM catalogue, and this latest release features the debut of another new line-up, with two musicians from Finland, pianist Alexi Tuomarila and drummer Olavi Louhivuori…

Andersen, Smith, Vinaccia

27 Nov 2008

JAZZ Norwegian bass maestro Arild Andersen teams up with our own Tommy Smith and Italian drummer Paulo Vinaccia in a superbly creative trio that has its immediate origins in the rather unlikely location of Islay. Andersen was invited to write some…

Five reasons to go and see: Tam White & The Dexters

21 Aug 2008

They’re an Edinburgh Institution - the mere mention of the name brings a warm glow to the hearts of Edinburgh music fans of a certain vintage. The band’s legendary residencies at the Preservation Hall and Platform 1 (both now gone as music venues) back…

Nikki King & Marcus Ford

9 Aug 2007

Singer Niki King has covered a lot of ground in stylistic terms, but her work with guitarist Marcus Ford has been the strand most deeply rooted in a mainstream jazz approach. This gig is part of their current promotion of a new duo album bearing the…

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…

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…

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…

NeWt play Led Zeppelin at the Jazz Bar

Hyper-imaginative and unconvential jazz trio

30 Jul 2010

What Is It? A hyper-imaginative and unconventional jazz trio formed by Australian trombonist Chris Greive, Aberdonian guitarist Graeme Stephens and American drummer Chris Wallace, all Edinburgh residents. Who are these guys? Three of the best…

Newt - NeWt 2 feat. Silke Eberhard

2 Jul 2010

(F-IRE Presents) The unconventional Edinburgh-based trio of trombonist Chris Greive, guitarist Graeme Stephen and drummer Chris Wallace already embraces three nationalities (Australia, Scotland and America respectively), and are augmented here by…

Stan Tracey

1 Jun 2010

Back in 1997, the Glasgow Jazz Festival staged a special concert celebrating Stan Tracey’s 70th birthday. We wondered then how much longer the pianist would continue to perform. The answer is that he is beginning to look indestructible. Regularly…

James Morton's Porkchop - Don’t You Worry ‘Bout That

1 Jun 2010

(Fresh Ground Records) Bristol alto saxophonist James Morton has worked regularly with Pee Wee Ellis (of James Brown fame), and clearly soaked up the American saxophonist’s soul-jazz-funk ethos. The dance-floor friendly grooves and soulful licks draw…

Paul Motian - Lost In A Dream

14 Apr 2010

(ECM Records) Drummer Paul Motian has had a long and productive association with ECM that goes back almost to the inception of the label in the early 70s, and although the near-octogenarian no longer tours, he still performs in New York, where this…

Mhairi Hall Trio - Cairngorm

2 Oct 2009

Aviemore-born pianist Mhairi Hall dragged a piano to the top of Cairngorm (well, with a bit of help) to launch this album, an appropriate enough gesture for a record very much steeped in the landscape and ethos of her native Strathspey. Not…

National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Scotland

9 Jul 2009

Guitarist Mike Walker will join the National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Scotland on this three-date tour, which will feature a full performance of his long-awaited debut album, Madhouse & The Whole Thing Here, released earlier this year. It will be a…

Colin Steele - Miles Davis: Kind of Blue

19 Feb 2009

It was one of the most historic recording sessions in jazz. On 2 March 1959, Miles Davis took a group of musicians that included John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, both Bill Evans and Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers and Jimmy Cobb into Columbia’s 30th…

Johnny Griffin - Live at Ronnie Scott’s

8 Jan 2009

JAZZ This live recording from the Soho club last May proved to be the swansong for the hard-hitting American tenor man, and if the octogenarian was no longer at his peak, he more than holds his own in some very fast company, including American…

The Shee - A Different Season

8 Jan 2009

FOLK The Shee have been attracting favourable comment for a while on the live circuit now, and this impressive debut album bears out the growing reputation the six-piece all-women band have accrued. Harpist Rachel Newton, fiddler Olivia Ross and…

Aidan O'Rourke - An Tobar

11 Dec 2008

FOLK The music on this excellent disc was commissioned and first performed by An Tobar Arts Centre on Mull, and is characteristic of the fiddler’s lyrical synthesis of traditional folk roots with a much more contemporary and exploratory musical…

Ryan Quigley - Laphroaig-ian Slip

21 Aug 2008

Ryan Quigley is a familiar figure on the Scottish jazz scene, not least through his long tenure in the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra. The trumpeter’s love of the classic hard bop and post-bop styles of the 50s and 60s is always apparent in this…

Bugge Wesseltoft - IM

28 Feb 2008

JAZZ (Jazzland) The slow, minimal single notes shrouded in a delicate shimmering echo on ‘deIMAGER’ is an extreme example, but the general mood of the music on the Norwegian pianist’s latest outing is notably understated and reflective, with the…

Catriona McKay - Starfish

4 Jan 2008

FOLK (Glimster Records) Fresh from her triumph in winning the Instrumentalist of the Year award at the Scots Trad Music Awards in early December, harpist Catriona McKay’s debut solo album confirms her high standing among those in the harp world know.