New Release Round-up,
Jazz New Release Round-Up - 30th April 2020
Surveying the latest jazz new releases we find young Norwegian firebrands Master Oogway kicking up a stink, the ambient explorations of Chris Mapp’s stillefelt project, a Russian bassist who straddles jazz and classical music, a long-lost fusion project from seventies Amsterdam, some wise German pandas, and tributes to saxophonist Tubby Hayes and guitarist Volker Kriegel.
Master Oogway is a new name to me, a quartet fronted with sax and electric guitar from Norway, although Earth and Other Worlds is already their second album. The age range of the group is between 23 and 26 so they're chock full of bravado, but back it up with excellent technique. Sax player Lauritz Lyster Skeidsvoll rolls out some breathless lines, managing to keep the skronk factor high whilst maintaining a strong sense of the melodic material. Heavier tracks like Garmonbozia hark back to King Crimson’s early seventies prime, whilst the more reflective Other Worlds and Other Earths offer welcome momentary respite from the maelstrom. The album ends with the full-on assault of Er Vi Framme Snart? (which translates as ‘Are We Arriving Soon’), as enjoyable an assault on the ears as I’ve heard in a while.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Innovative bassist and electronic improviser Chris Mapp releases the debut recording from his new ambient trio stillefelt ('quiet field' in Norwegian). The project name hints at its inspiration, with undulating electronic soundscapes blurring the lines between each instrument's voice, but still with their acoustic qualities at its heart, uniting three of Birmingham's most distinct instrumentalists for the first time. Guitarist Thomas Seminar Ford and trumpeter Percy Pursglove join Mapp for a series of ambient electro-improv pieces that hang as if suspended in mid-air. With so many jazz players having ambient side-projects on the go there’s no shortage of this type of textural music out there, but the focus and commitment displayed on tracks like Towards a Rusty Future put stillefelt a few notches above.
Available Format: CD
Unearthed by renowned record collector and music historian DJ Amir this is the first-ever reissue of rare 1978 jazz-fusion album ‘The Jupiter Effect by The Larry Rose Band. Recorded in Amsterdam by a Dutch/American quintet of players, released on eclectic Dutch label Crossroad, ‘The Jupiter Effect’ was the sole offering from multi-instrumentalist Larry Rose and his band. And it holds up pretty well. I’ve been enjoying its easy-going vibe, a nice range of instrumental colours, including the accordion - not the first instrument that comes to mind for jazz fusion, but it fits like a glove.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC
Moscow born bassist Yuri Goloubev is that rarest of artist who has made the transition between being both an acclaimed classical and jazz musician. This double life is reflected on Two Chevrons Apart by his choice of material, which includes Beethoven and Schubert: Friends?, a jazz take on Beethoven’s Pathetique Sonata and Schubert's Arpeggione Sonata. The quartet features Tim Garland, John Turville and Asaf Sirkis and is Goloubev’s first release as leader for Basho Records.
Available Format: CD
Quirky folk-song influenced jazz from Germany, Der Weise Panda reminds me a little of bands like Iceland’s Múm or Sigur Ros. Led by singer and composer Maika Kuster, this is an attractive suite of orchestrated songs that keep transforming in delightful ways.
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC
The Piccolo - Tender Plays Tubby
Tenderlonious, Nick Walters, Tim Carnegie, Pete Martin, Hamish Balfour, Aiden Shepherd
22a founder, producer and multi-instrumentalist, Tenderlonious, heads up this release for Jazz Detective Records, paying homage to the British jazz legend Tubby Hayes. A chance sequence of events led to Tenderlonious getting his hands on Tubby Hayes' piccolo, resulting in this outstanding re-interpretation of four classic Tubby Hayes tracks. The album features some of London's finest jazz musicians and hopes to introduce a whole new generation of jazz fans to a true great of British jazz.
Available Format: CD
Volker Kriegel (1943 - 2003) was the leading German jazz fusion guitarist of the seventies and recorded a series of enjoyable and challenging albums like 1971’s Spectrum for the MPS label. Kriegel Today! features Kriegel’s compositions performed by the Frankfurt Radio Big Band on 22nd and 23rd November of 2018, with John Schröder (‘Schröder the Shredder’ as the compere says at one point) taking on the challenging guitar part. The arrangements by Jim McNeely are consistently impressive and challenging, often piling up the pressure with hyper-active horns and complex drums patterns, making the release all the more satisfying.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC
Matt Groom - Head of Jazz
