This week's jazz highlights bring together a vast range of new releases: Tom Challenger and Evan Parker's experimental May Spring Last a Lifetime and Mulo Francel and Tim Collins' How Did We Get Here? showcase the expressive possibilities of duo performance, while Ben Crosland's North York Skies celebrates the landscapes and stories of the North York Moors. Elsewhere, Chad Lefkowitz-Brown brings his personal creative voice to Present Moments, PUBLIQuartet explore cultural memory and identity on Rhythm Nation, and Sood and Morrison's Donn/Dubh (Black/Brown) reimagines Hebridean traditions through a striking fusion of folk, electronics and contemporary sound.
How Did We Get Here?
Mulo Francel & Tim Collins
In How Did We Get Here? award-winning musicians Mulo Francel and Tim Collins come together in an intimate duo that encompasses a rich palette of reed instruments, vibraphone, and marimba. Undertaken with a natural, unprocessed studio approach, the album captures the warmth and remarkable chemistry of two expressive artists.
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 44.1 kHz, 16 bit)
May Spring Last A Lifetime
Tom Challenger and Evan Parker
May Spring Last a Lifetime brings together improvising tenor saxophonists Tom Challenger and Evan Parker in their first duo release, a recording where two experimental and exploratory voices constantly blur and transform. Capturing the intensity of a freeing musical conversation with nowhere to hide, the album is accompanied by a 20-page booklet featuring an in-depth dialogue between the two artists.
Available format: CD
North York Skies
Ben Crosland
The new album from bassist Ben Crosland is his heartfelt musical tribute to the North York Moors, where twelve original compositions transform the region's landscapes, legends and history into richly melodic, contemporary jazz. Performed by a longstanding quintet whose deep musical rapport shines throughout, North York Skies is both a journey and a love letter to one of Britain's most inspiring landscapes.
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 44.1 kHz, 16 bit)
Present Moments
Chad Lefkowitz-Brown
Present Moments showcases acclaimed saxophonist Chad Lefkowitz-Brown at his most expressive and technically assured, fully embracing the sound of soul jazz. Following an international career on stage with major artists (the likes of Taylor Swift and Chris Botti) and a global impact as an educator, this album brings his distinctive sound and creative vision into the spotlight.
Available format: Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Rhythm Nation
Publiquartet
Rhythm Nation sees PUBLIQuartet celebrate the richness and diversity of American rhythmic traditions through a collection of newly commissioned works by the likes of Jlin, Jeff Scott, and Eddie Venegas. Featured alongside electronic interludes, the album explores rhythm as a powerful expression of memory, free will, and identity.
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Donn/Dubh
Arun Sood, Angeline Morrison
Donn/Dubh, meaning (Black/Brown), is a striking collaboration between Arun Sood and Angeline Morrison that reimagines Hebridean folk traditions through a contemporary lens, transforming Gaelic melodies into immersive soundworlds shaped by electronics, drones, ambient textures, and vocals. Inspired by ancient Celtic ideas linking wind and colour, the album explores heritage and belonging, bringing historical voices into the here and now through Morrison's distinctive mythopoeic singing.
Available format: Download & Streaming (up to 44.1 kHz, 24 bit)
