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Matt Groom
After spending much of the nineties producing music programmes for cable television, at the turn of the millennium Matt became a music publicist, before joining Presto to become Head of Jazz. He enjoys making electronic noises for his own amusement, and was once in an improv trio with real jazz musicians.
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Bobby Hutcherson - Dialogue
23rd Sep 2026
Bobby Hutcherson’s first released album as leader places the young vibraphonist alongside Freddie Hubbard, Sam Rivers, Andrew Hill, Richard Davis and Joe Chambers. Moving between hard bop and the avant-garde, Dialogue combines angular rhythms, shadowed blues and collective improvisation in a remarkably assured statement from Blue Note’s exploratory mid-1960s period.
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Branford Marsalis Quartet - Dedicated to You
18th Sep 2026
Branford Marsalis and Dianne Reeves revisit the standards from John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman without attempting to recreate it. Reeves brings rhythmic freedom and poise, while Marsalis’s quartet balances spacious vocal arrangements with tougher instrumental pieces. Polished but never merely reverential, Dedicated to You honours Coltrane by allowing his music to support a distinct new partnership.
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New Release Round-Up - 18th September 2026
18th Sep 2026
This week’s releases range from Eddie Parker and Rob Luft’s British jazz fusion to James Taylor’s keyboard grooves, Ida Sand’s soulful vocals and Rhiannon Giddens’ roots-informed songwriting. There is also new music from Nils Landgren, Peter Asplund and Enzo Favata, plus welcome reissues from Stanley Cowell, Eddie Gale and The Three Sounds.
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Lee Morgan
16th Sep 2026
Lee Morgan helped define hard bop with his brilliant technique, blues-rooted phrasing and unmistakable swagger. Exploring eight essential recordings, from the early sessions, through the soul-jazz breakthrough of The Sidewinder, to the adventurous Live at the Lighthouse, this guide traces his development into an increasingly ambitious composer, improviser and distinctive bandleader.
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Andy Sheppard - Salt Catchers
11th Sep 2026
Andy Sheppard joins pianist Rita Marcotulli and bassist Michel Benita for the spacious, drummerless Salt Catchers. Sheppard’s lyrical saxophone melodies unfold through chamber-like interplay with Marcotulli’s adventurous harmonies and Benita’s supple pulse, ensuring this reflective ECM recording gradually reveals fresh detail with each attentive hearing.
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New Release Round-Up - 11th September 2026
11th Sep 2026
This week’s releases move from Ezra Collective’s diasporic celebration Here Because of Hope to intimate guitar duets from Antonio Forcione and Cenk Erdogan. Gretchen Parlato, Nikolaus Gelpke, Giacomo Smith and Maja Jaku offer contrasting contemporary perspectives, while Verve Vault reissues revisit landmark recordings by Mel Tormé and Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
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Anita O'Day - Anita Sings the Most
10th Sep 2026
Anita O’Day’s 1957 meeting with Oscar Peterson produced one of her finest albums: a fast-moving set displaying her extraordinary rhythmic control, quicksilver phrasing and improvisational daring. We revisit this classic album, alongside her celebrated Newport appearance, which confirmed O’Day as one of jazz’s most distinctive singers.
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Stars Aligned - Frode Kjekstad Quartet
4th Sep 2026
Norwegian guitarist Frode Kjekstad reunites with tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander for a lively set rooted in blues, hard bop and the classic Hammond-organ tradition. With Roy Powell and Frederik Villmow completing the quartet, Stars Aligned combines muscular soloing, close interplay and an unpretentious approach with the pleasure of swinging hard.
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New Release Round-Up - 4th September 2026
4th Sep 2026
This week’s highlights range from Alex Hamburger and José Luiz Martins’ Brazilian-influenced duo to cinematic jazz-rock from Oan Kim & the Dirty Jazz, analogue grooves from Peter Gall, corto.alto’s genre-crossing energy, Mali Sheard's impressive debut album, and Emil de Waal’s Old News's renewal. Adventurous 1960s sessions by Juan Carlos Calderón and Sam Rivers also return on vinyl.
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Henry Threadgill
2nd Sep 2026
Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and multi-instrumentalist Henry Threadgill has created some of modern jazz’s most distinctive ensemble music. From the open interplay of Air to the twin guitars and tubas of Very Very Circus and Zooid’s intricate structures, this guide explores the changing sounds, unusual instrumentation and restless imagination of a remarkable musical career.
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Tuva Bergenheim - Skärgårdsjazz
28th Aug 2026
Swedish drummer and composer Tuva Bergenheim’s debut, Skärgårdsjazz, draws on summers spent in the Stockholm archipelago. Blending contemporary jazz with pop, visa and Nordic folk, its songs balance warmth with melancholy. Emmalisa Hallander’s vocals and Per ‘Texas’ Johansson’s reeds help shape an assured, concise album rooted in place and memory.
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New Release Round-Up - 28th August 2026
28th Aug 2026
This week brings intimate duo playing, contemplative vocals, and roots reggae, alongside Adam Bałdych’s chamber textures, Irène Schweizer’s solo brilliance and Oracle’s adventurous quartet interplay from across Europe.
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Lennie Tristano - Lennie Tristano & The New Tristano
26th Aug 2026
Lennie Tristano remains one of jazz’s most fascinating modernists. This Classic Recording feature pairs his two landmark Atlantic albums: the fiercely chromatic, technologically adventurous Lennie Tristano and the subtler solo-piano set The New Tristano. Together, they reveal an uncompromising improviser whose influence extends far beyond his relatively small recorded legacy.
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Sonny Rollins (1930-2026)
27th May 2026
Sonny Rollins, one of the defining tenor saxophonists of modern jazz, has died aged 95. Across seven decades, his powerful sound, melodic invention and restless self-questioning made him a central figure in bebop and beyond.
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William Basinski’s The Disintegration Loops
11th May 2026
Originally an archival project, The Disintegration Loops transforms the sound of old tapes decaying in real time into a moving meditation on loss, impermanence, and the aftermath of September 11.
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The Jazz Composer's Orchestra
23rd Dec 2024
A sprawling opus of sixties avant-garde jazz, The Jazz Composer's Orchestra is Michael Mantler’s bold vision of orchestral chaos and free improvisation. Featuring legends like Pharoah Sanders and Cecil Taylor, it’s a dark, brooding masterpiece that challenges conventions, rewarding those ready to embrace its dense, anarchic beauty.
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New Release Round-Up - 13th December 2024
13th Dec 2024
This week features Tommy Whittle and Alan Barnes on the vibrant Straight Eight, Emily Remler’s poignant Cookin' at the Queens, Erik Palmberg’s introspective Faces, Nik Bärtsch’s grooving Spin with indie touches, and John-Paul Muir’s thoughtful Home Now.
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New Release Round-Up - 6th December 2024
6th Dec 2024
Orchestre Incandescent blends jazz and Baroque, Rasmus Sørensen cements his voice in modern jazz, Freddie Roach’s Good Move gets a deluxe reissue, Bill Evans' 1970 Kongsberg concert surfaces, and Tony Williams' Emergency! returns to vinyl, retaining its explosive energy.
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Jazz Recordings of the Year - Winners 2024
5th Dec 2024
The results are in! We are thrilled to reveal the recipients of our hotly-anticipated Jazz Recordings of the Year in addition to Label of the Year, Best Archive/Reissue and Newcomer in Jazz.
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New Release Round-Up - 29th November 2024
29th Nov 2024
This week offers a diverse range of musical experiences, from experimental soundscapes to global fusions. Explore the acoustic side of Oz Noy, the minimalist trio of Danielsson, Parricelli and Pohjola, and the innovative compositions of Norman McLaren. Additionally, you can delve into the world of improvised music with Tippetts and Figes, and experience the energetic sounds of Or Bareket and Thomas Strønen.
