New Release Round-up,
Jazz New Release Round-Up - 1st July 2021
This week’s pick of new jazz releases includes soul-jazz from Matti Klein, new music from multi-instrumentalist Alex Ward, and historical live tapes from Etta James and Nina Simone.
Though Matti Klein’s Soul Trio made their studio debut in 2020, Soul Trio Live on Tape features some of the earliest recordings of the group, with these sessions recorded at Berlin’s Lovelite Studio. Featuring tracks originally composed for Klein’s other project ‘Mo’ Blow’, the band’s name is a dead giveaway for what style they play here - these original tunes enjoy some funky, fusion-inspired interpretations with a heart of soul.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC
Pianist Kevin Hayes, bassist Ben Street and drummer Billy Hart comprise three generations of jazz players (Hart even celebrated his 80th birthday during these sessions), with Hays at the helm presenting his re-interpretations of classic jazz standards with his own melodies. Recorded in the very same Smoke jazz club that all Smoke Sessions recordings are - albeit a crowdless concert hall to a livestreamed audience - All Things Are was the first time the trio played together, albeit under strange circumstances. All Things Are is available on CD from 2nd July.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Multi-instrumentalist Alex Ward conceived and recorded Gated over the course of 8 months - performing, recording and producing it entirely himself. Ward draws upon his history as an improviser, incorporating avant-garde jazz and angular heavy metal riffs into his compositions, performing woodwinds, guitars and keyboards as well as programming the software instruments heard.
Available Format: CD
This 10-CD set of music by the seminal jazz pianist Erroll Garner includes classic recordings like Concert By the Sea, as well as a good handful of recordings of his most popular tune ‘Misty’. One of the earliest jazz pianists to break into the mainstream, Garner was known for his virtuosity despite not being able to read a note of music; the man himself quoted as saying “you can’t hear me reading”.
Available Format: 10 CDs
Part of a new series by BMG and the Montreux Jazz Festival, The Montreux Years catalogues performances from the festival’s 55-year history. Nina Simone’s collection features recordings from the mid-70s all the way up to the early 90s, from all five of her performances at the festival. Included are the stirring ‘I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free’, and the solemn rendition of Jacques Brel’s ‘Ne me quitte pas’.
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC
Also part of the ‘Montreux Years’ collection is Etta James - also featuring a range of performances from the mid-70s to 1993.
Available Format: 2 CDs
On a Friday Evening comprises a recently unearthed live set by the Bill Evans Trio, featuring Eddie Gómez on bass and Eliot Zigmund on drums, originally aired on Canadian radio in 1975. Though the performance itself was recorded, it would lie forgotten for almost 50 years before the audio was restored - the audio quality here is surprisingly clear considering its circumstances. The gig itself was one of six during a stint at Oil Can Harry’s nightclub in Vancouver, and the trio sound as tidy as ever.
This recording is also the final disc of a much larger Bill Evans retrospective set, which is linked below.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
This quartercentury-spanning collection from Craft Recordings compiles a vast amount of excellent recordings from the famed pianist's career, with the bulk of his work across the Riverside and Fantasy family labels included as well as Verve and Blue Note, the only notable exception being his time on Columbia.
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC
Joshua Lee - Jazz Content
