“I have the sun in my heart,” sings Ukrainian vocalist Viktoria Leléka, and you believe her. This album of mostly traditional Ukrainian songs played by her international jazz quartet Leléka (she named herself after her band, who met each other [...]
“If you’ve ever wondered what smiles sound like, this is it!” (Hot Press, Ireland). Brighton-based saxophonist/ multi-instrumentalist Charlotte Glasson brings her 6-piece band to Soho’s Pizza Express on Thursday 25 August to launch her new album Bonito. And the are [...]
NY pianist Myra Melford has been working with the UK’s Steve Buckley (alto sax) and Chris Batchelor (trumpet) since 1999, touring and later recording together in the award-winning Big Air. This gig added UK bassist John Edwards and drummer Mark [...]
On the hottest weekend of the year it felt right that the late Sun Ra, who took his name from the Egyptian god of the sun, should be living on in the character of his Arkestra. Loud spacey sounds and [...]
This festival excels in matching gigs with venues- it’s all part of the experience. In the open air amphitheatre at Bozen/Bolzano’s Parco Semirurali, it’s difficult to compete with the overwhelming mountain backdrop. In Honey Sparks in the Dark, (Jun 27) [...]
Women with altitude- among the mountains surrounding Bozen/Bolzano, women have leading jazz roles. The festival’s theme this year was “Europa”, the artwork showing a classical painting of the mythological figure playing electric guitar. With her elegant curls, Leipzig guitarist Steffi [...]
“It really is a true collaborative environment between jazz and classical music, and we need that,” said American pianist Marcus Roberts in the theatre at The Grange, a 17th century mansion near Winchester. Roberts’ trio plus trombonist/vocalist Wycliffe Gordon were [...]
Alison Bentley is looking forward to going back to Suedtirol/Alto Adige… “Jazz keeps the continent together,” says this year’s festival, with modern jazz and improvised music from all over Europe. In each of the last 10 festivals, a country or [...]
The Heat shimmers off this hypnotic album: it’s simultaneously exciting and soothing as three horns play over African rhythms, with two drummers and two bassists. It was difficult during various lockdowns to get these seven German and Austrian musicians together, [...]
Prepare to be dazzled by this extraordinary duo: Austrian pianist David Helbock and French singer Camille Bertault. Both are well known in their own right; they’ve been working together since 2019, and this is their first album together. Both love [...]
