As we launch headfirst into the summer, the editors at Jazzwise are bringing us the very best picks for the month of July. From Callum Au's richly cinematic Sing Seven Seas, the creative dialogue of Ambrose Akinmusire and Mary Halvorson on Slo-Mo Neon Luminate Hoverings, and Cécile McLorin Salvant’s first orchestral release, it makes for quite the compelling collection.
The archive and reissue spotlight revisits Miles Davis' atmospheric film-score masterpiece Ascenseur pour l'échafaud, alongside the long-hidden orchestral gem A Timeless Place from Norma Winstone and the exhilarating virtuosity of At Baker's Keyboard Lounge by the Oscar Peterson Trio.
New Releases
Sing Seven Seas
Callum Au
“Genres are crossed and re-crossed with defiant abandon, textures expand and contract from the intimate to the gargantuan, soloists reach ever greater heights of virtuosity, string sections swoop and swell, reed and brass sections articulate and breathe as one.”
Available formats: 2 CDs, Download & Streaming (up to 48 kHz, 24 bit)
Slo-Mo Neon Luminate Hoverings
Ambrose Akimusire & Mary Halvorson
“This session, which is beguiling and fascinating in equal measure, certainly reflects a lived-in artistic understanding and empathy, which is keenly felt in the advanced attention to detail shown in every piece, where ambience, floating sonic layers and ethereal loops are as important as a tender melody or fraught, assertive rhythmic line.”
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Slo-Mo Neon Luminate Hoverings
Ambrose Akimusire & Mary Halvorson
Available format: Vinyl Record
Try Me
Trish Clowes
"Clowes hangs this series of tunes, at once melodic yet always sinuously exploratory, around a walk she made from London town's Rotherhithe to Blackfriars Bridge…they've developed a sonic telepathy that makes them simply one of Europe's best bands. Don't believe us? Then try Try Me."
Available format: CD
Like Lambs: To The Slaughter
Emperical
“Emperical have developed an interesting, creatively stimulating language of their own that is both flexible and structured but hangs together organically. The overall extra-musical concept might be a tad on the ambitious side in this expanded form, but the music always feels relevant and intensely expressive.”
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
No Nation But Imagination
Alexander Hawkins
“Studio session and gig form a coherent whole or rather wholes as the set moves from tender introspection where the finesse of the strings, keys, drums and woodwind come into their own, to muscular rhythm-led pieces foregrounding the strangest of sounds.”
Available format: CD
With Every Breath I Take
Cécile McLorin Salvant, & The Metropole Orkest
“Cécile McLorin Salvant's first orchestral album immediately announces itself as a Desert Island Disc. With 10 songs reimagined in lush new arrangements by Darcy James Argue and brought to life by the Metropole Orkest under the baton of Jules Buckley, it's an album full of nuance and lyricism, and one of the most hauntingly beautiful things you'll hear this year.”
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
With Every Breath I Take
Cécile McLorin Salvant, & The Metropole Orkest
Available format: 2 Vinyl Records
Archive/Reissue
Ascenseur pour l'échafaud
Miles Davis
“What is notable on most pieces is the absence of specific themes that often occur in film soundtracks. A lot of the improvisations are based on two chords only, D minor and C7, four bars of each repeated for the length of the sequence.”
Available format: 2 CDs
A Timeless Place
Norma Winstone
“One of the most remarkable things about Norma Winstone's career is that she excels in virtually every level of musical company, from duos to as is the case here - a full symphony orchestra with jazz rhythm section. This session, hidden in the German radio archives for 36 years, is a welcome addition to her catalogue. Steve Gray's writing works well for these forces, yet the piano, bass and drums trio he leads also keeps a jazz feel going throughout, which aids Norma's impeccable timing.”
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 48 kHz, 24 bit)
At Baker's Keyboard Lounge
The Oscar Peterson Trio
“While some of the repertoire is arranged, some tunes are not, just a statement of the theme to bookend improvisations that relied on showcasing extreme virtuosity…at one level these recordings are entertaining; Peterson's virtuosity can only be admired here, as much as his compelling sense of swing.”
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 192 kHz, 24 bit)
