For the album Nick assembled a stellar line-up of British musicians: Julian Siegel on saxophone, Conor Chaplin on double bass and James Maddren on drums. Described by Nick as “without doubt my dream team of instrumentalists to record with”, they each bring bags of personality and flair to the record – from Julian’s distinct tone and ability to choose “the most melodic and creative path through an improvisation” to Conor’s “remarkable and virtuosic playing”.

Costley-White established himself with his debut album Detour Ahead! And his follow-up trio record Nice work, touring both extensively throughout the UK. With Poncha he builds on his foundation of jazz tradition and virtuosic technique established on his previous albums by exploring what he describes as a “broad set of musical and personal influences” across a set of tracks that have been gestating and developing over many years.

Known for his melodic and characterful style, Costley-White brings together multiple ideas in a way that flows, creating compositions that are wide-ranging, ambitious and offer challenge to the listener while being pleasing and accessible.

His work is rooted in North American jazz styles but delicately and sympathetically fuses this with the influence of other traditions, such as those of Cuba and Brazil. While he didn’t want to make a “Latin themed album”, territory that can slip into pastiche, he has woven the influence of these traditions into his work in a way that is authentic and utterly true to himself.

Having worked with Ivo Neame, Jason Rebello, Stan Sulzmann and many other celebrated artists as well as forging his own distinctive approach as a band leader and composer – it’s no surprise that Costley White’s stock has grown, and he’s played legendary spaces from Ronnie Scott’s to the multiple Blue Note venues.

For the launch of Poncha, he’s chosen the intimate and atmospheric surroundings of World Heart Beat in Nine Elms. The venue is part of a not-for-profit centre with a recording studio and music academy acting as a hub for fostering creativity and musical exploration – a truly perfect setting for this album launch.

For jazz fans familiar with Costley-White’s work or those new to him as a player, this one-off gig marking the launch of his new album is a not to be missed event. Showcasing four of the very best jazz players from the contemporary UK scene – it will be a chance to witness the band improvising and exploring these new compositions that Costley-White has been developing for so long.

Late February can be a dark, damp and often bleak time at the tail-end of winter. Bring a little bit of joy and sunshine into your week with what will undoubtedly be a masterclass in melody, jazz composition, ensemble playing and improvisation.

Launch: 22 February, World Heart Beat, 3 Ponton Rd, Nine Elms, London SW11 7BD

The post Nick Costley-White first appeared on UK Jazz News.

‘Part two’ sees the wandering trumpet work of Tamura take over from the staccato guitar stabs and yelped vocals of Haino, before screamed vocals consume the track. It’s an audacious take on free-improvisational sound.

On ‘part three’, strange abstract noises, presumably extracted from one of Tamura’s toys, cut through the sporadic guitar sounds and vocalisations, before the return of Tamura’s trumpet provides a welcome tonal shift part way through this section of the piece. Further abstract sounds, this time apparently the squeaker from a child’s cuddly toy, intersect with some of the more melodic guitar passages on the set.

The final leg of the piece sees Haino’s guitar morph into shuddering walls of sound before breaking away to leave feedback and percussion. The piece ends with Tamura once more picking up the trumpet and demonstrating the quality of his playing with some of his most affecting work across the entire set.

Experienced live in a small Tokyo venue, this meeting of avant-garde masters would have been a brain-melting and all-encompassing experience. The next best thing is hearing it on record. This sort of wild avant-garde experimentalism will never be for everybody. It’s difficult, knotty and eschews traditional musical structure. That said, for anyone wanting to hear two underground sonic adventurers bouncing off each other across the course of an improvised full-length piece – this is not to be missed!

The post Keiji Haino and Natsuki Tamura – ‘What Happened There’ first appeared on UK Jazz News.

Nordsnø Ensemble are an intriguing proposition. An award-winning Octet based in Germany – they fuse contemporary jazz with the influence of Scandinavian folkloric tradition. On this, their third full-length album, they team up with British pianist and organist Kit Downes, who plays a church organ throughout the set.

Ett Omaka Par, recorded across two days at Philippus and Rimbert Church in Hamburg during 2022 is a beguiling fusion of sounds. Otherworldly and atmospheric soundscapes merge with jazz fundamentals, the organ work of Downes and often mystical and entrancing vocals in Swedish from Anna Berglund. It’s an immersive record with the capacity to surprise and delight as compositions are often pushed to conclusions that can seem unexpected at their outset.

The album kicks off with Början, a deeply experimental track that starts with droning ambient atmospherics, before spoken word vocals from Berglund give the impression of a Nordic fable. The full ensemble joins the piece part way through to drive it to a heady conclusion.

Hopp is fuelled by a lilting melody and a folksy atmosphere, before Tvivel brings the role of Kit Downes to the fore. At other points on the album, his organ work augments the sounds laid down by the band – but here it takes the lead, blaring and shrieking out of the speakers. It’s a jarring sonic blast after the softer tones of Hopp, that demonstrates perfectly the versatility and creativity that’s created by these nine musicians. Once the band come in after the five-minute mark, the track morphs into a fusion of modern classical and jazz elements.

Following on from the churning experimentalism Tvivel, we’re given Tro, which is one of the most restrained and beautiful moments on the album, combining the lilting piano of Sandro Saez Eggers with Downes’ rich and emotive organ playing.

Elsewhere, Midnattssol provides one of album’s most direct compositions, bringing together cycling piano phrases, skittering drums and punchy guitar to great effect. While album closer Slutet features more spoken word vocals before the exploratory playing of Downes and comes in. An element of bossa nova then works its way into the mix, with some rousing brass work from brothers Vincent and Ken Dombrowski on saxophone and trombone respectively.

One of the triumphs of this record is its sequencing. On paper, the stylistic jumps, shifts of mood and combinations of influences could sound jarring – however the elements all come together to make the overall effect all the more intoxicating.

The compositions evoke everything from the ecclesiastical setting of the record’s birth, to shadowy corners of a Scandinavian forest. For a record that leans in so many directions and embraces so many influences, it is remarkably focused.

On Ett Omaka Par, Nordsnø Ensemble serve up an entrancing and deeply experimental collaboration with Kit Downes. By fusing such an unusual range of influences, they create something that has familiar touchpoints, while building a sonic world all its own. Highly recommended.

ARTISTS

Anna Berglund – vocal
Vincent Dombrowski – saxophone, flute, arrangements
Ken Dombrowski – trombone, bass trumpet
Lucy Liebe – guitar
Sandro Sáez Eggers – piani
Vincent Niessen – bass
Lukas Schwegmann – percussion
Johannes Metzger – drums

with Kit Downes on the 1995 Lobback organ of the Philippus and Rimbert Church, Hamburg-Horn

The post Nordsnø Ensemble feat. Kit Downes – ‘Ett Omaka Par’ first appeared on UK Jazz News.

On 18 January 2025, the band will bring a double celebration – of their album and four years as a trio – to Jazz Café POSK. To help mark the occasion, award winning trumpeter Henry Spencer will join the players for a few numbers. This is a not to be missed show for anyone who loves the piano trio format.

Bringing together Ilario Ferrari on piano and vocals, with Charlie Pyne on upright bass and vocals and drummer Katie Patterson – who adds further vocals – the band formed in 2020 at the height of lockdown. The three players found solace in their musical connection, which can only be seen as finding joy in a dark and challenging time.

Since the release of their 2021 debut Childhood Memories, the band has been fostering a sound all of their own. Blending a contemporary jazz aesthetic with everything from classical inflections and influences from Indian music to singer-songwriter elements and emotive and compelling vocal harmonies, they create a sound that is fluid and organic. While influences jump out at you, the outcome is much more than the sum of its parts – creating something distinctive and engaging.

Like so much in jazz, the piano trio format comes with the weight of expectation driven by past masters hanging over it. Ilario and the band dance gleefully over this, honouring the form but never doing anything but finding their own space.

It’s not surprising that following their debut, the Ilario Ferrari Trio attracted prestigious bookings internationally. They’ve delighted audiences everywhere from the London Jazz Festival to Germany’s Jazzahead and the Ecosuoni Festival in Italy.

Since the inception of the band, they have been about experimentation and the collective exploration of the varied influences the three musicians bring to the table. With Above The Clouds, they have deepened this approach, creating a set that splits between vocally driven cuts and instrumentals, that is as accessible as it is adventurous.

Above the Clouds is very much a trio record, showcasing both the instrumental skill and vocal ability of each member, but at the heart of it of course sits the piano playing of Ilario himself. From his dextrous and bright runs that are all over the Latin-inflected Morning Samba, to the gently lilting melody of Beyond the Horizon he demonstrates versatility and an ability to deliver genuine emotional impact through his playing. For sheer punch and virtuosity, the track Chai or Coffee has to be the album’s high point.

Drawing hope, connection and joy from a time of great challenge is something that many managed to do in the unprecedented time of the global lockdown. A challenging time for all, but with a particular complexion for performing artists who saw their work drying up. The formation of Ferrari’s Trio in this period is a testament to their spirit, and the defiant joy they achieved through playing together shines through their music.

This is live jazz, rooted in tradition but challenging preconceptions of what a piano trio can be. In the depths of winter, their warm and enchanting sound will be sure to lift spirits as part of this double celebration of their fourth anniversary and their triumphant album.

The Ilario Ferrari Trio plays Jazz Café POSK, 238-246 King Street London W6 0RF on 18 January 2025.

The post Ilario Ferrari Trio first appeared on UK Jazz News.

On the self-released Nest, his sixth full-length recording, Jaunais has assembled a cast of fellow Latvian musicians to enrich and develop his compositions, including cellist Erna Daugaviete, drummer Andris Buiķis, upright bass player Jānis Rubiks, trumpet player Harijs Ločmelis andelectronic music producer EIII. Jaunais himself plays modular synthesisers, the melodic tongue drum and a Latvian folk instrument called a kokle – a form of box zither. But the star of the show is of course his guitar playing.

Over the years Jaunais has honed a diverse and modern approach to the acoustic guitar – from his use of fluid tapping producing legato notes, to detailed finger picking and using the body of his instrument percussively. All this he layers up with the aid of his trusty loop pedals. On this record, he combines these varied techniques with a well-considered range of instrumentation to dazzling effect.

Nest is a highly organic album, filled with detailed instrumentally driven pieces that are rich with implication and highly impressionistic in their approach. Many of the track titles are given in both Latvian and English and relate to weather or the natural world.

With Mountain Peaks, Jaunais and his band deliver a layered track with complex shuffling rhythms, rich melody and a conclusion that brings an aspect of contemporary jazz with the warm trumpet playing of Ločmelis.

Elsewhere the sonic implications of the pieces marry closely with their names. Title track Nest is a calming and soothing composition that marries lilting guitar work with the cello of Erna Daugaviete before the subtle and resonant sound of the tongue drum is brought in at the end of the piece.

The tracks Breeze and Rain bring further impressionistic playing, exploring the range and depth of his musicianship to great effect, while closer Sun is an optimistic and bright sounding track worthy of its name, that rounds out the set brilliantly.

Jaunais’ sound has roots in Balkan folk, but he marries this with such a range of elements that draw on everything from western folk traditions and classical music to jazz and beyond – that it can at points feel familiar, while also very much occupying its own space.

Nest is both a soothing sonic balm of an album and a rich set of compositions that explore a range of emotions and draw inspiration from the natural world. The fusion of sounds, styles, techniques and traditions that Jaunais brings together always come off as natural and never forced. This record further develops the playing and composition of the man known for being one of Latvia’s hardest touring musicians. It will be interesting to see where his travels and compositional experiments take him next.

The post Reinis Jaunais – ‘Nest’ first appeared on UK Jazz News.

Way back in 1994, the trio got together with Grenadier and Leon Parker, whom Bill Stewart takes over from on the drum stool this time around – for a series of storied sessions that would go on to become the album Consenting Adults. That album wouldn’t see the light of day until much later, and now, 24 years on, we have a fine second instalment from this stellar lineup in the form of Solid Jackson.

Amid the track-list a number of interpretations of familiar compositions stand out. Wayne Shorter’s “Angola” is given a fiery rendition as Turner’s expressive and impactful playing coming to the fore, with Mehldau comping along brilliantly before Bernstein puts in a beautifully fluid solo.

Hank Mobley’s “Soft Impression” gets a languid and emotive treatment, while Harold Land’s Ode to Angela closes out the album. On the latter cut, Mehldau’s beautiful playing seems to directly reference the vibraphone work of Bobby Hutcherson on the 1971 original.

Of the original compositions within this eight-track set, the opening title track hits particularly hard with its propulsive rhythm section and some of Mehaldau’s most captivating playing across the record. The Bernstein-penned track “Things Fall Away” brings his own delicate and highly emotive guitar picking to the fore on what is one of the album’s most tender moments.

It would be easy to put less focus on Grenadier and Stewart as they’re not part of the MTB name, but that would do a disservice to this extraordinary rhythm section, which swings the tracks provides the backbone to the compositions. Take the latter part of “Angola” for example, which sees a Mehldau solo fly along over a backing of Grenadier’s resonant bass work and Stewart’s crisp drum patterns. The latter puts in his own blistering solo just before the culmination of the track.

When such notable musicians of the New York scene join forces for a session, particularly after such a long period of time that has of course seen them all follow their own separate trajectories, the level of expectation will always be great. With Solid Jackson, MTB delivers a set that lives up to that expectation and is bound to be on regular rotation for a huge number of jazz fans for a time to come.

The post MTB – ‘Solid Jackson’ first appeared on UK Jazz News.

After successfully pivoting away from the saxophone and launching a new phase of his career with a bag of full of flutes and an exploratory and spiritual new sound, Shabaka is back with another albeit shorter helping of meditative tracks.

The Possession EP further develops Shabaka’s current musical trajectory while staying true to the blueprint he set out with his album Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace. The five cuts here all feature a guest artist, some returning after contributing to the last project.

To fans of that album, EP opener ‘Timepieces’ featuring rapper Billy Woods will feel familiar as it samples the track Age of Innocence. He had intended the album to have a beat driven section to compliment the percussion free compositions, using samples of the other cuts on the as the basis for these pieces. This track was part of that exploratory process.

Woods lays down flows over one of the most propulsive tracks to be released in this new phase of Shabaka’s career. It’s an abstract hip-hop inflected track that turns the source material on its head to create something new and highly engaging.

Regular collaborator of both Billy Woods and Shabaka, ELUCID lends spoken word vocals to I’ve been Listening, which returns to drum-less territory with gently plucked harp cascading over Shabaka’s flute and warm synth textures.

To The Moon is a pleasant but slightly forgettable near ambient cut featuring some-time rapper and fellow flautist André 3000 who notably moved to the instrument with his New Blue Sun project in 2023.

On Cycles of Growth, Shabaka creates a series of highly rhythmic and breathy flute phrases, which provide a perfect counterpoint to the vocals of guest singer Esperanza Spalding.

The peaceful and contemplative Reaching Back Towards Eternity sees the flute work weave in and out of delicately played piano phrases from former Shabaka And The Ancestors collaborator Nduduzo Makhathini. It’s a quiet but engaging end to a well-crafted EP.

With the compositions and guest features staying firmly in the same realm as Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace, this EP does feel a bit like an addendum to that record, but it would be deeply unfair to label it as leftovers as the quality of the work here shines through.

What the release of Possession does show us, is that Shabaka is likely to keep on in this particular sonic groove at least for a while. He is nothing if not a restless innovator, from his former bands to this current phase – so it will be interesting to see how the work of the more meditative and spiritual flute playing iteration of Shabaka develops with future releases.

Whereas Possession probably won’t be the record to convert many new fans, it will at least keep those who have already stepped out with him on this part of the journey happy…until the next instalment.

Possession is released today 6 December 2024

The post Shabaka – ‘Possession’ first appeared on UK Jazz News.

Producer and one-half of the duo NK-OK tells the crowd “there are one thousand of you here! Our last headline show was at Ninety One Living Room, which is like 250 people”. Warmth, joy and a sense of celebration permeate the whole night, including the sets of the two fine support acts.

Proceedings were ably kicked off by fellow Londoner DoomCannon. The keyboardist and producer’s soulful yet funky set gets things off to a flying start. His band features Kaidi Akinnibi, who later returns to the stage as part pf the Blue Lab Beats’ live band.

Second up are the genre-busting party machine that is TC & The Groove Family, performing here as a nine-piece without their regular turntablist Nik-Nak. Their sound is big, bold and can’t help but get the crowd moving. Afrobeat and Latin influences collide with contemporary jazz and hip-hop. MC Franz Von has a commanding stage presenceand delivers his smooth buthard-hitting flows over the top of a maelstrom of instrumentation. Two guitarists, a three-piece brass section a bassist and two drummers, give the collective a hefty and versatile sound.

Amid a lively and energetic set form TC & The GF, the tracks Stand Strong and Blessed from their recent We Have Each Other EP hit particularly hard. Following their set, the audience is primed and ready for the main event.

Silhouetted against a wall of light, NK-OK and multi-instrumentalist Mr. DM take to the stage. They’re joined for the set by a well-oiled machine of band featuring Kaidi Akinnibi on saxophone, Grifton Forbes-Amos on trumpet, Isobella Burnham on bass, vocalist Orla Rae and drummer LOX.

The band powers through tracks from recent album Blue Eclipse and its predecessor Motherland Journey, the Fela Kuti sampling title track of the latter record provides one of the evening’s many highlights. The multi-skilled Mr-DM ably shifts between keyboard and guitar throughout the set. NK-OK leads interaction with the crowd while he taps out electronic beats on his drum machines, complimenting the work of excellent sticks-man LOX.

Kaidi and Grifton both lay down memorable solos, while bassist Isobella puts in an energetic and highly engaging turn. The band’s set demonstrates exactly why Blue Lab Beats has become such a force to be reckoned with. Fusing engaging jazz grooves, with hip-hop, electronica, soul and West African Influences, it’s a dynamic and thoroughly contemporary sound with the ability to appeal to a broad audience.

The full-band format adds extra heft to the sound of Blue Lab Beats. From early in the set, the audience is eating out the palm of their hands. All three bands had real depth to the sound, within the fine acoustics of Hackney church. The only minor quibble would be that the vocals were sometimes lost throughout the night, from those of Franz Von, with TC and the Groove Family to Orla Rae with the headliners. Overall however, this was a pretty minor issue.

The Blue Lab Beats set had a triumphant homecoming feel. The night felt even more special with the addition of the fine support. It was a night that demonstrated the diversity and strength of the contemporary British jazz scene.

The post Blue Lab Beats first appeared on UK Jazz News.

Many of the tracks feature notable collaborators. On intro track A Love Chant, the listener gets forty seconds of Ganavya and Esperanza Spalding intoning the word “a love supreme”, the key mantra of John Coltrane’s storied spiritual jazz classic of the same name.

Om Supreme sees Vijay Iyer provide an engaging piano accompaniment for the fluid sax improvisations of Immanuel Wilkins to weave around before Ganavya’s delicate but powerful, almost trance-like vocals come into the mix. At over ten minutes, it’s the album’s lengthiest cut and also its most exploratory.

One of the most delicate and beautiful combinations of instrumentation comes on Prema Muditha, which combines delicate acoustic guitar with sitar, electronic touches and clarinet courtesy of Shabaka Hutchings, while Ganavya delivers her characteristic raga inflected vocals.

Prayer and meditative practice are a continual theme throughout the record. The track Elders Carolina and Wayne is a recording of a prayer that that Wayne and Carolina Shorter made at their home, seemingly with a few embellishments.

The spectre of Alice Coltrane looms large across the set, but most notably in the form of the track Journey In Satchidananda/Ghana Nila, which is an edited down version of a forty-five minute jam by over thirty musicians based around the bass-line from one of Coltrane’s most recognisable prayers.

The real epicentre of the record is the four-part A Love Supreme. Each part is dedicated to a different person. Part one is for Wadada Leo Smith, who recorded a memorable interpretation of part of John Coltrane’s seminal piece in the mid 90s featuring a kalimba. Here Ganavya echoes his work, tapping out the theme on the instrument herself.

The second part features a reading from the Buddhist text ‘The Vimalakirti Sutra’ by the theatre director Peter Sellars, which is a meditation on love. The third part, dedicated to Alice Coltrane herself returns to the original “a love supreme mantra” over a suitably textured and relaxed accompaniment before the final part, which is dedicated to IONE, who is the wife of American composer Pauline Oliveros. IONE delivers a poem that she composed for the piece.

The record features beautiful composition and delicate combinations of instrumentation throughout. It serves as a meditation on the musico-philosophies of Alice Coltrane while and acts as a tribute to the classics of spiritual jazz, while all the time being imbued with a keen spirituality and sense of the devotional.

For some, the use of mantras and the nature of the spiritual intention of the record might be a bit much. Some of the references and touch-stones within the piece seem a bit shoe-horned in. That being said, this is a thoroughly enjoyable record that pays homage to great records past, while offering up its own distinct combinations of style, instrumentation and aesthetics.

The post Ganavya – ‘Daughter of a Temple’ first appeared on UK Jazz News.

Coming hot on the heels, of Where You Wish You Were, their acclaimed 2023 record, the album explores the opposite end of the sonic spectrum to Snarky Puppy, the band which the two players are best known for being a part of.

Whereas Snarky is a nineteen-piece fusion machine dealing in groove and big arrangements, Laurance and League explore subtler sound worlds in their duo, a place where they can explore the possibilities opened up by the format, stripping things back to create new territory and space. Sometimes they lean into the classical territory that Laurance has explored on his own, as well as playing with a range of jazz influences and bringing in a cross-cultural element through the distinctive tonalities of the oud.

This Middle Eastern lute-like instrument provides a distinct colour and set of sonic implications on the tracks where League deploys it – notably the concise and beautiful opener Katerina, Clay, and their interpretation of the traditional piece Iki Keklic, Bir Kayada, which closes out the album, and is given an atmospheric lift by the inclusion of League’s hushed wordless vocals.

The choice of their instruments for the record also reflects desire to create intimate, evocative and highly organic pieces. Laurance here sticks with the piano, sometimes with light preparation of the strings as opposed to playing electric keyboards, which he often uses in other projects. League plays a fretless bass with great dexterity and at times lends a percussive element to proceedings on tracks such as Yours.

Escher sees Laurance’s playing sitting somewhere between jazz and classical forms as his melodies weave and shift while League’s bass is behind him adding additional depth to the sound.

The album feels like a conversation. Both players take the lead at different points before switching. It’s a true partnership clearly built on years of friendship and musical appreciation for each other, with a sense of spontaneity and genuine interplay at work throughout.

Although the record explores similar sonic territories to Where You Wish You Were, the duo clearly has a whole sack full of ideas and melodic forms that they can pull from it.

Laurance and League seem in their element in this format. The stripped back setting allows each instrumentalist to lead before falling back into a supporting role. This contemplative yet engaging set of duos cuts that cross the boundaries between jazz, classical music and Eastern forms. Highly recommended.

The post Bill Laurance and Michael League – ‘Keeping Company’ first appeared on UK Jazz News.