Although Young was also born and educated in Norway, his father was American and his musical influences are as much from America, particularly from New York where he lived and studied for several years, as from Europe.

Fellow guitarists John Abercrombie and Jim Hall have been major influences on Young’s playing and composing. He is, however, a distinctive and confident player in his own right and this is apparent on Eventually where he revels in the freedom that a trio allows.

As with his previous ECM albums, all nine tunes are Young’s. His music is sometimes oblique and angular, occasionally groove-based, but most often quiet and lyrical. The opening title track is true to its name, introducing itself quite gradually and remaining relatively soft and tentative throughout.

The album generally is distinguished by strong melodies and a delicate interplay between the three musicians. ‘One For Louis’ pays tribute to Louis Armstrong, if with only the most subtle echoes of the great trumpeter, and titles such as ‘The Dog Ate My Homework’ illustrate Young’s sense of humour.

While quite different in instrumentation from its predecessor, Forever Young, where Young was joined by Norwegian saxophonist Trygve Seim and the Marcin Wasilewski Trio, Eventually continues that album’s mood of gentle lyricism and is a fine showcase for the guitarist’s musicianship.

The post Jacob Young Trio – ‘Eventually’ first appeared on UK Jazz News.

Duni has become increasingly confident as a composer as well as a performer, particularly as one half of a song-writing duo with Luft. They have written five of the 12 songs on the album together, with lyrics in both French and English, including the title track “A Time to Remember”. All their songs invoke an ambience of nostalgia and times past, most obviously in the title track but also notably on “Whispers Of Water” and “Dawn”. The most outstanding of their songs may well be the beautifully melancholic “Sunderland”, the lyrics for which evoke a seaside place some listeners might recognise.

The album also includes Albanian and Kosovan repertoire, with pieces such as “Mora Testinë” showcasing how accomplished Duni is as a folk singer (while Michel’s flugelhorn provides a jaunty refrain to the lyrics of this haunting love song). “Mallengjimi”, by Albanian songwriter Rashid Krasniqi, translates as “Nostalgia”, fitting nicely with the album’s overall themes; the tune’s sensitive lyrics may well reflect Duni’s personal feelings towards her home country. As with those tracks in English and French, Duni’s vocal delivery evokes meaning such that the listener need not understand the words to understand the song.

“First Song” is written by Charlie Haden and was one of his personal favourites, but it is in Abbey Lincoln’s lyrics that Duni invests a wistful passion echoed by the ascending notes on Luft’s guitar. A surprising inclusion may well be Sondheim’s “Send In The Clowns”, a tune whose bittersweet sorrow is all-too-often drowned out by power-ballad arrangements, but not here. The nostalgic theme is maintained in the final song, the Broadway tune “I’ll Be Seeing You”, which has been covered by everyone from Billie Holiday to Bing Crosby, but whose lyrics are given fresh poignancy in this stripped-down version of just vocals and guitar.

A musically successful album is not only one where the musicians perform well and the songs are well-chosen, but where there is a consistent overall feel without being one-dimensional. It isn’t surprising to learn that the concept for A Time To Remember came from a visit that Duni and Luft made to the Sinai Desert whose stark emptiness inspired nostalgic introspection. The album was recorded at La Buissonne Studios in Southern France to which much of its beautiful sound and mixing can be credited.

The quartet are mostly touring the album through Switzerland this autumn, but there will be an opportunity to catch them performing at the Stapleford Granary Arts Centre in Cambridge in December.

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The opening track, “O. Winston”, immediately proclaims that the album means business, with Glasgow’s bass suggesting a hint of menace that could belong on the soundtrack of a noir thriller.

Thereafter the music maintains a commanding, infectious jazz rhythm informed by rock and pop influences, which Preston has used to escape “the homogenously angular sound of much contemporary jazz.”

This, consequently, is unpretentious, lyrical music that should appeal beyond the jazz audience.

Any album featuring Rochford and Downes together is automatically worth listening to and the pair are perfect for Preston’s compositions. Both have dabbled in sounds well outside mainstream jazz and enjoy exploring the more interesting aspects of electric jazz.

The initial sessions were so productive that enough material was recorded for two albums. All the pieces are Preston’s and are often propelled by his favourite power chords, although there are also reflective moods and spare, minimalistic atmospheres.

Purple / Black itself is rather sombre, with a sense of space that evokes wide cinemascope landscapes, and “Cassino Dream” has terrific interplay between piano, guitar and drums.

The quartet has been touring the UK during April and May and we can only hope there will be a further opportunity to see them later this year. Purple/Black Vol. One is a thoroughly enjoyable album and I look forward to listening to Volume Two.

The post David Preston – ‘Purple / Black Vol. One’ first appeared on UK Jazz News.

As with Trio Tapestry’s previous two albums, Our Daily Bread is a collection of spacious and lyrical tunes that Lovano has composed specifically for these same three musicians. Lovano’s short liner notes are assembled from the titles of the eight tunes in an attempt to describe the album’s music which he says is inspired by ‘the spirituality in improvisation’ and the ‘Rhythm Spirit of expression’. In general, although the tunes have plenty of melody and harmony, they reward deep rather than casual listening. For instance, the opening track “All Twelve”, as the title suggests, is based on the 12-tone compositional method, which although not at all swinging has a delightful yearning quality. And music that encompasses classical as well as jazz traditions sits well with the musical sensibilities of both Crispell and Castaldi.

This yearning feel is also conveyed in “Grace Notes” and the title track “Our Daily Bread” which both have a quality evocative of John Coltrane’s style of spiritual jazz. The tune “One For Charlie” is a heartfelt tenor saxophone solo where Lovano pays tribute to the late Charlie Haden with whom he performed on innumerable occasions. “The Power Of Three” is a gently exploratory celebration of the three musicians somehow working together but hardly at all in harmony. On “Rhythm Spirit” there is rather more spirituality than rhythm and “Crystal Ball” is a soothing closer to the album that never actually arrives at an obvious conclusion and perhaps promises that this isn’t Trio Tapestry’s last word.

Sadly the band has no plans to tour outside of the United States, but those who have been lucky enough to see Lovano perform know that he is a genial and avuncular figure on stage, happy to incline to almost all styles of jazz. Our Daily Bread, however, expresses a somewhat introspective ambience, even more so than on Trio Tapestry’s previous two albums. Although this is an album where Lovano is performing as an equal part of a trio, it is best listened to as a personal musical statement that demonstrates how much spirituality and depth of feeling there is within his commanding frame.

The post Joe Lovano Trio Tapestry – ‘Our Daily Bread’ first appeared on UK Jazz News.

The previous year, American publisher and executive producer Bruce Lampcoy had noticed that Electric Brixton was attracting capacity, mostly young audiences, to watch relatively youthful London jazz musicians. He couldn’t help seeing echoes of the popular reception to Davis’s rock-influenced jazz in the 1970s and decided to mark the anniversary by putting together an ensemble to perform music inspired by Bitches Brew for the 2020 London Jazz Festival.

Of course, COVID meant that the festival couldn’t go ahead and London Brew seemed doomed until UK producer and guitarist Martin Terefe stepped in and ensured that there was studio space for rehearsals and recording for the twelve musicians, including himself, who make up the London Brew ensemble.

Further inspiration for the music came from the individual responses of these musicians – including saxophonists Nubya Garcia and Shabaka Hutchings, guitarist Dave Okumu, violinist Raven Bush, tuba player Theon Cross, bassist Tom Herbert, drummer Tom Skinner, and BBC Radio DJ Benji B – who had experienced nearly a year of not having played in ensembles during the pandemic.

The recording process of London Brew more or less parallels that of Davis’s original album. The nine tracks are directly inspired by loops and samples chosen by DJ Benji B from “Bitches Brew”. Some of these can still be heard on the album and are properly credited to the Miles Davis Estate.

Recorded over three days, the musicians jammed together in the same way as Davis’s original ensembles, having no idea of what might be included in the final cut. Although things were initially fraught, the ensemble became more assured on day two and the third day culminated in “a new confidence in experimentation and creative inspiration,” as Lampcoy’s liner notes reveal.

And then, as Davis’s producer, Teo Macero did with Bitches Brew, London Brew’s producers took the recordings, extracted the best passages and mixed it to produce the final results.

The album generally preserves the original sense of music on the edge of chaos, especially on the first disc where tracks such as ‘Miles Chases New Voodoo in the Church’ share the feel of Bitches Brew’s extended pieces. With nearly half of the ensemble credited as playing synthesisers, decks and electronics, there is extensive use of electronic sounds. This helps give the music a contemporary quality while also being in the spirit of Bitches Brew’s innovative use of electric instruments.

As with the original, the music ranges through a wide range of moods and tempi, sometimes being dense and propulsive, sometimes strangely sparse, and always sounds spontaneous.

The second disc has quite a different feel, signalled by the gentle blowing on reeds at the start of the wistfully melodic ‘Nu Sha Ni Sha Nu Oss Ra.’ There is a tension between Dave Okumu’s electric guitar and Nick Ramm’s piano on ‘Morning Prayers’ before it settles into a gently percussive rhythm.

In an album of outstanding moments, it is the final track, ‘Raven Flies Low,’ dominated by Raven Bush’s violin, that is the most exceptional. This is also the track where the ensemble works together most independently of Davis’s influence, and it ends the album on an oddly reflective note that echoes the album’s hesitantly reverential beginning.

Despite the reputation of Bitches Brew being dense and overwhelmingly rhythm-based, the artistry and musicality of the London Brew ensemble ensure that this is not just a tribute album but rather, as was intended, an expression of the musicians’ creativity inspired by Davis’s masterpiece.

It is an album that can be enjoyed to the full without having to cross-reference Bitches Brew, but like that album—with its line-up including Wayne Shorter, John McLaughlin, Dave Holland and Chick Corea—it is a showcase of what can happen when some of the greatest talents of a generation are gathered together in a suitably sympathetic setting.

Release date: 31 March 2023.

The post London Brew (Nubya Garcia, Shabaka Hutchings et al.) – ‘London Brew’ first appeared on UK Jazz News.

The first album featured an ensemble of up to 14 musicians and a saxophone-led trio but on Drifting she performs as a trio with herself on tenor saxophone, Judith Hamann on violoncello and on piano Johan Lindvall, who also appeared on the first album. In general, the more focused sound of a small ensemble better suits her generally sparse compositions with their overall sense of stillness and calm which seems somehow apt for a musician from Trondheim, so close to the Arctic Circle. It could be said that her sound resounds with the fluidity and poignancy of the vocals of Sami reindeer herders calling their animals.

Henriette’s compositional approach is that although the ideas behind the music may have matured over time, when each tune is performed it has a freshness that belongs to that moment in time. There is also a gratifying consistency in the album’s overall tone. Her compositional process is illustrated on the CD booklet by showing the very sparse notation for Čieđđa, fas: her response, performed at the Munch Museum in Oslo, to one of Edvard Munch’s unfinished texts.

There are so many beautiful melodies, memorable motifs and inspired musical inventions that it is often difficult to believe that so much of the music is improvised. This is especially true of the most exceptional tunes such as the title track, Drifting, and A Choo. Right from the opening track, The 7th, the album progresses at an unhurried pace that allows each tune to develop at a natural pace without outstaying its welcome – even if that happens to be only 42 seconds long.

All the tunes are written by Henriette with the exception of Rue du Renard, which was co-written by Lindvall and not surprisingly gives the piano an opportunity to shine. Some tunes are beautifully melodic such as Chassé; some are pure adventures in sound such as the note-free 0 °; and some are mysterious and slightly sinister such as Solsnu. There are passages in some tunes where the music develops so gradually that it resembles the leisurely pace of the music by British composer Laurence Crane. The longer compositions, such as Oversoar and Indrifting you, give more time and space for the themes and motifs of the music to expand, but remain carefully constrained.

Although there has been nearly eight years between her first album and Drifting, Mette Henriette has never ceased to be active. She has worked with performance artist Marina Abramović and electronic producer Nicholas Jaar. She has composed music on commission for orchestras, festivals and arts institutions throughout Europe. She has had artist residencies in various places including the Southbank Centre. She is a serious musician with a uniquely singular vision of how her music should sound. And although the rigour of her compositional approach might suggest otherwise, the music on this remarkable album is never less than accessible and enjoyable.

The post Mette Henriette – ‘Drifting’ first appeared on UK Jazz News.

One might have thought that with such a stellar line-up of sidemen there would have been no hesitation in releasing an album from these sessions, but at the time, against everyone else’s advice, Youssef decided not to do so because he believed that the album lacked ‘soul’. Exactly what was missing is difficult to understand given the huge wealth of musical talent, but in Youssef’s case it’s likely that ‘soul’ is meant in a spiritual sense. Although Youssef has dallied in a wide range of musical styles throughout his career, he has consistently conveyed a sense of spirituality in his music, most evidently through his extraordinary vocal style.

However, after a period of ill health during the pandemic lockdown, Youssef was inclined to revisit the tapes of these extraordinary studio recordings. On this occasion, to give the album the soul he felt it missed, he rewrote and rearranged the music with the help of Rakesh Chaurasia, Adriano Dos Santos Tenori,Nguyên Lê and producer Steve Argüelles.

There are twelve tracks on Streets of Minarets beginning with the title track where Youssef’s beguiling voice gradually builds up over a wash of electronica before his vocals weave in and out of the other instruments. It is the oud that dominates in the beautiful instrumental Bal d’âme, then followed by the two contrasting tracks of the SharQ Suite. Akinmusire’s trumpet dominates on the tranquil first part, SharQ Serenade,whereas the second, Funky SharQ, highlights the frenetic sound of a group ensemble.

There are three parts in the second suite, Omar Khayyam Suite: Flying Dervish, which comprise an evocative Intro that allows scope for Youssef’s extraordinary vocal range; a funky middle section built on the rhythm of an infectious acoustic bass; and a relatively sparse Outro where Youssef’s oud is once again predominant.

The remaining tracks pay tribute to the musicians in Youssef’s band. Sudra Funk is a song originally composed for Dave Holland many years earlier and since totally reimagined. Whirling in the Air is a duet of Youssef’s oud and Chaurasia’s flute that is clearly evocative of the Indian subcontinent. Spinning Hermit is perhaps allied to the flying dervishes of the Omar Khayyam Suite during which the pace of the oud, guitar and percussion change tempo over a soothing melody. Herbie’s Dance can only be a tribute to Herbie Hancock in the style of his Jazz Fusion period of the 1970s. The charming final track, Ondes of Chakras, is the single taken from the album where the interplay of oud and flute once again invokes the spirituality of Indian music, appropriate for a song whose title explicitly mentions the mystical energy points of the body.

There has been an uncharacteristically long gap between Sound of Mirrors in 2018 and Youssef’s latest album, and it is good to see that there has been no diminution in quality over that time. Those who witnessed his triumphant appearance at the recent EFG London Jazz Festival in November (LINK TO REVIEW BELOW) will enjoy hearing again the magnificence of his singing and the sophistication of his compositions. He is touring Europe over the next few months, but unfortunately there are no future dates as yet in London or the rest of the United Kingdom.

The post Dhafer Youssef – ‘Streets of Minarets’ first appeared on UK Jazz News.

But this is the first time he has released a record in his own name. Voices of Bishara is a relatively short album of just 31 minutes, but like Shabaka Hutchings’s similarly short African Culture earlier this year, it is perhaps only as long a record as it needs to be.

In many ways, the genesis of Voices of Bishara was determined more by chance than design. The original session was recorded at a regular event called ‘Played Twice’ at Dalston’s Brilliant Corners where a classic album is first played on high-quality audio, and then the musicians present their response. The album that Skinner chose to play on that date was Tony Williams’ classic 1964 album Life Time.

The ensemble he put together on that occasion could hardly be more elite. Along with Skinner himself, the truly exceptional ensemble consisted of Nubya Garcia on tenor saxophone and flute, Shabaka Hutchings on tenor saxophone and bass clarinet, Kareem Dayes on cello and Tom Herbert on acoustic bass. It must have been an especially memorable night.

Skinner obviously thought so, and chose to not just release a recording of the session, but to employ the editing skills and techniques of Makaya McCraven, who reassembled the improvised music in the studio to create new compositions. In this way, the completed tunes have both the fresh dynamic qualities of improvisation as well as a satisfying overall shape.

The title of the album and the opening track, Bishara, is an Arabic word meaning ‘good news’. It’s also the name of the record label on which the cellist Abdel Wadud released a solo album in 1978 that Skinner obsessively listened to during the pandemic. Unsurprisingly then, Dayes has a leading role on this tune, which invokes John Coltrane’s most passionate and free conceptions of what spiritual jazz could be.

The following track, Red 2, is the only one that makes an explicit reference to an original from Tony Williams’ Life Time album (Two Pieces of One: Red). It is a strangely sinister tune where Dayes’ cello and Garcia’s flute are played together to great effect.

The title of The Journey may have been inspired by the distinctly eastern timbre of Dayes’ cello over the hypnotic rhythm of Skinner’s drums. Herbert’s bass dominates on the slow-paced The Day After Tomorrow followed by the insistent rhythm of Voices (of the Past), where mesmeric dance patterns from loops and chopped-up beats might be a tribute to the production techniques of Detroit producer Theo Parrish. The final track Quiet as it’s Kept has two distinct parts: the first half sounds like an oddly subdued Sons of Kemet and the second half just fades away over a weirdly restrained rhythm section.

Skinner shares a vision with Makaya McCraven of how modern jazz can continue to thrive as the home of spontaneous creativity while the compositions still retain structure and coherence. This is a more jazz-orientated album than fans of The Smile might expect and much more satisfying to jazz enthusiasts as a result. If the sleeve notes hadn’t revealed otherwise, listeners might imagine that the process had been more orthodox, one of musicians improvising over the leader’s tunes. The fact that this was not the case somehow makes the final result that little bit more impressive.

The post Tom Skinner – ‘Voices of Bishara’ first appeared on UK Jazz News.

The band’s drummer is New York-born Gene Calderazzo, a figure perhaps most familiar on the British jazz scene for his work with Julian Siegel. On double bass is Italian Andrea Di Biase, who was in a trio from late 2010 with Kenny Wheeler and Liam Noble. However, it is the wordless vocals from London-based singer Heidi Vogel, most famous as lead singer with The Cinematic Orchestra, that makes The W especially remarkable. There is an unmistakable Latin American quality to her voice, often reminiscent of Tania Maria, which comes from her appreciation of Brazilian composers Antonio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes.

Heinen’s own musical influences are apparent from the first track, For JT, a tribute to his mentor John Taylor, whose delicate touch on the keyboards Heinen captures perfectly and whose intricately structured compositions the tune emulates. This is also the track where Vogel sounds most like Taylor’s musical partner, Norma Winstone. The title of the album and its second track, Portrait, might seem to be a tribute to one of Bill Evans’ most famous albums, but the tune is influenced more by Evans’ approach to improvisation than by any of his compositions.

All the album’s tracks are composed by Heinen with the exception of Horace Silver’s Que Pasa, a refreshing rendition of the gorgeous original from Song for my Father, in which Vogel’s vocals glide over Heinen’s piano like a horn instrument. Vogel continues in this style on G71, which was inspired by an occasion in room G71 at Trinity Laban Conservatoire, where Heinen teaches, when he heard the unintended clash of the sounds of a rock drummer and an opera singer from adjacent rooms. This mixture of soaring vocals and a steady rhythm section may well be the sound that most typifies the album.

The quartet is accompanied on Gender Neutral and Rossi by the Waldstein String Quartet who are best known for performing Beethoven string quartets. Rossi is a tribute to Heinen’s grandfather who studied the music of Syrian Jews and wrote the spiritual composition on which the tune is based. There is something of the feel of Horace Silver on Nada Nuevo (‘Nothing New’), one of only three tunes on which Vogel doesn’t sing. The other two are Lee Valley, a delightful tune for a conventional piano trio that celebrates the East London park of the same name, and the final track The W, which is primarily led by Heinen on electric keyboard.

This album isn’t quite the first public appearance by The W. They appeared at Kings Place in March for International Women’s Day 2022 to perform Her Song. Although not included on the album, this song is a wonderful taste of their music (see video below). The band has a number of upcoming gigs across England and Wales over the next year. The official album launch will take place on 21 January 2023 at the 91 Living Room jazz club in Shoreditch.

The post The W (Bruno Heinen, Gene Calderazzo, Andrea Di Biase, Heidi Vogel) – ‘Portrait’ first appeared on UK Jazz News.

Whereas their first album was very much what its title described, all but two of thesongs on Pluto are originals by O’Higgins and Luft. The drummer on both albums is Rod Youngs whose long career has included working with Barb Jungr, the sadly missed Gil Scott Heron and various members of Tomorrow’s Warriors. The O’Higgins & Luft band is completed by Misha Mullov-Abbado on bass and Ross Stanley on piano: both much sought-after sidemen in the current London jazz scene.

It is immediately apparent that this was a recording date where the musicians were completely comfortable with one another. The album’s sleeve notes explain that the music was recorded in a single afternoon at Brixton’s JVC studios where most tunes were first takes with no overdubs. This must partly be because the material had been exhaustively rehearsed on the band’s 40-plus date tour in 2019, but there is no sense that the music’s freshness has suffered from the intervening pandemic.

The album opens with Pluto, which is one of five tunes composed by Dave O’Higgins, and most likely chosen as the title track more for its infectious swing than by any association with the mini-planet whose picture graces the album cover. The mood changes on South Wind, the first of Rob Luft’s two compositions: a relatively wistful tune that gives space for Luft’s expressive guitar. Luft’s other tune, Gayetski, is another lilting tune that betrays the guitarist’s bias towards sweet melodies and may also be a tribute to Stan Getz’s given name.

The titles of the O’Higgins compositions are perfect for tunes that evolved during a long tour. Everything’s Under Control is an accurate description of a band working together effortlessly with no apparent strain. Vague Recollection is one of those tunes that listeners might at first believe they’ve heard before. Ballad For Barry is evidence that Luft isn’t the only composer on the album with a feel for melody and restraint. The closing track, One For The Six, illustrates how much O’Higgins has learnt from Monk and is the tune that brings the album to a satisfying conclusion.

Continuing the theme of the last album, Pluto includes two tunes composed by Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane. The Coltrane track is Giant Steps GTI, a tune which despite its familiarity remains a challenge for any lead instrument but both O’Higgins and Luft make the tune their own and, as the slightly revised title suggests, have added extra velocity to an already pacey original. The Monk tune chosen is Four in One, a tune from Monk’s early years with Blue Note records and, unlike the Monk tunes played on the band’s first album, extensively features the piano as well as a glorious double bass solo from Mullov-Abbado.

There is no doubt that on this record the two leaders of the O’Higgins and Luft band are principally inspired by the great jazz of the classic Blue Note years. This is a splendid tribute to its vibrant energy and a delightful treat for listeners who believe this period of music is still worth celebrating despite the amazing music of the intervening decades.

The album was launched at the Pizza Express during the 2022 EFG London Jazz Festival, and the band has just played in Brighton. The music on Pluto would be best enjoyed live and tour dates will be listed HERE.

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