Kenny Mathieson

John Scofield & Vince Mendoza - 54

19 May 2010

(EmArcy Records) American guitarist John Scofield was a recent guest of the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra in a scintillating programme of arrangements of music from both Miles Davis’ electric phase and Scofield’s own jazz-fusion tunes. This album…

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…

Steve Kuhn Trio with Joe Lovano - Mostly Coltrane

3 Sep 2009

American pianist Steve Kuhn’s established trio with bassist David Finck and drummer Joey Baron is expanded to a quartet with the addition of saxophonist Joe Lovano for this excellent project. Kuhn was briefly part of John Coltrane’s quartet in 1961, but…

SNJO with John Scofield dates for Edinburgh, Glasgow and Stirling

23 Feb 2010

Conventional wisdom insists that the jazz big band had its heyday in the Swing Era before the advent of bebop, but it has remained popular with both jazz fans and musicians. Two home-based projects this month also demonstrate that the big band has been…

Moving Hearts - Live in Dublin

28 Feb 2008

FOLK (RubyWorks) Reunions can often be disappointing affairs, but the occasional return to action of this mighty Irish band have been notable exceptions. This album was recorded on home ground last year, and if their pioneering fusion of folk with…

Jason Moran - album review

Jason Moran

2 Oct 2006

JAZZ Pianist Jason Moran has rarely settled for the obvious, but his seventh disc for Blue Note pushes into even more eclectic and unconventional territory than usual. The music on the record draws on segments from three separate commissions, two of…

Fly - Sky & Country

25 Jun 2009

(ECM Records) Fly are three very well known contemporary jazz musicians, saxophonist Mark Turner, bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jeff Ballard. That pedigree suggests something special and they pretty much serve up just that - an intelligent…

Paul Clarvis & Liam Noble - Starry Starry Night

2 Apr 2009

JAZZ A delightful duet release from percussionist Paul Clarvis and pianist Liam Noble. The premise is simple – take a set of songs, ranging from established jazz standards to contemporary material like Don MacLean’s ‘Vincent’ (the Van Gogh link is…

Bobo Stenson Trio - Cantando

30 Oct 2008

Swedish pianist Bobo Stenson leads this superb trio with bassist Anders Jormin and drummer Jon Fält in a concert in Edinburgh this month, and their new disc suggests that it will be a must-see occasion. This is the first time that the pianist has…

Sinatra-Basie Sessions Revisited

7 Aug 2008

Singer (and now concert promoter) Todd Gordon is no stranger to the music of Frank Sinatra, and has often turned to themed shows built around songs and arrangements associated with the great man. For this outing with the Marcus Pope Big Band (first…

Ron Blake - Shayari

13 Mar 2008

JAZZ (Mack Avenue Records) American saxophonist Ron Blake is most likely to be familiar to UK-based listeners through his work with trumpeter Roy Hargrove and bassist Christian McBride. His third album as a leader finds him in generally pensive mood…

Records - Alison Burns

Alison Burns

27 Mar 2007

JAZZ Scottish singer Alison Burns concentrates on a programme of familiar standards for her debut album, including pleasing versions of ‘You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To’, ‘But Not For Me’, ‘Shadow of Your Smile’ and ‘The Way You Look Tonight’, as…

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…

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…

Rudder - Matorning

Dense jazz-rock experiments from New York-based quartet

11 Feb 2011

Rudder is a New York-based quartet featuring saxophonist Chris Cheek, keyboard player Henry Hey, bassist Tim Lefebvre and the powerhouse drumming of Keith Carlock. Together they brew up a serious maelstrom of groove-based music, cooking up a potent…

Leah Gough-Cooper's Human Equivalent - Future Pop

29 Mar 2010

(Own Label) Dumfries-born, Boston-based saxophonist Leah Gough-Cooper’s debut album shares three musicians with drummer Patrick Kunka’s album (reviewed a couple of issues back), and merits equally high praise. While certainly accessible…

Brassjaw - Deal With It!

17 Feb 2010

(Keywork Records) Although the Glasgow-based quartet launched this album with a gig in Glasgow back in November, it has only recently been officially released on saxophonist Paul Towndrow’s label. The group began life as a conventional saxophone…

Brass Jaw

13 Nov 2009

The saxophone quartet is not exactly a common beast in jazz circles, but it is a well-enough established combination to be recognised as a regular format in the music. Brass Jaw began life in that guise, with Martin Kershaw alongside Paul Towndrow…

Huw Warren - Hermeto +

13 Nov 2009

(Basho Records) Welsh pianist Huw Warren is one of the most consistently intriguing and persistently undervalued musicians on the UK scene. Whether leading his own imaginative projects, co-founding Perfect Houseplants or working with musicians from…

Branford Marsalis Quartet - Metamorphosen

30 Apr 2009

JAZZ While brother Wynton has garnered greater attention over the years with a string of ambitious large scale projects, the saxophonist has arguably produced the more consistently satisfying body of work on record. This quartet with pianist Joey…

Tom Harrell - Prana Dance

16 Apr 2009

(High Note Records) There is no shortage of high quality, progressive post-bop around, but Tom Harrell’s new disc stands out as a particularly noteworthy outing in that style. The trumpeter is a well-established name in contemporary jazz, and has…

Lauren MacColl - Strewn With Ribbons

16 Apr 2009

(Make Believe Records) Fiddler ’s well-received debut album from 2007, When Leaves Fall, was one of the recordings chosen for Celtic Connections’ Classic Album series of concerts earlier this year. If that slightly premature accolade overstated its…

Joni Keen - Fragile

5 Feb 2009

JAZZ Like Lorna Reid’s album reviewed in these pages recently, this self-issued debut album by Glasgow-based singer Joni Keen is further evidence of the healthy state of jazz singing in Scotland these days. Fionna Duncan’s successful vocal workshops…

Conflict and Resolution

8 Jan 2009

CELTIC CONNECTIONS The life of Scottish architect and designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh will be celebrated in unusual fashion in this concert featuring a specially commissioned new work for musicians from Scotland and Catalonia, with the BBC…