This week’s release round-up includes new jazz reflections from harpist Charles Overton, a more groove-based sound from saxophonist Olga Amelchenko for Edition Records, James Brandon Lewis’s third outing with the Red Lily Quintet, as well as Portuguese folk-jazz from João Barradas and Carlos Bica. We also have the latest instalment of Martin Freeman and Eddie Pillar’s collaboration on Acid Jazz in On the Corner. We also have a deluxe edition of dodie’s sophomore album Not For Lack of Trying that features unheard material and re-issues from Coleman Hawkins and Miles Davis’s Kind of Blue sextet.
Reflections
Charles Overton
Reflections sees Boston-Based harpist as a front-man for the first time on an EP that’s an exploration of sound on his instrument. Overton takes great inspiration from gospel music and content on this album embodies the soul of with a feeling of connection and transcendence. The tracks are recorded alongside drummer Hiromu Seifert, and the pair create a sound that is exceedingly accessible and encourages the listener to engage with it and reflect on what lies beneath the surface of the music.
Available format: Download & Streaming (up to 44.1 kHz, 16 bit)
Touching the Invisible
Olga Amelchenko
Paris-based saxophonist Olga Amelchenko and her quartet have returned and Touching the Invisible sees her taking a more groove-based approach to her music. With content written largely during pregnancy Amelchenko has produced a work with a renewed sense of optimism for the future. Using a mixture of keys and piano, the album has a variety of sounds, and the band bring an energy to match the quality of writing on show.
Available formats: CD, Download & Streaming (up to 96 kHz, 24 bit)
Calling Antonin
James Brandon Lewis
Calling Antonin is James Brandon Lewis’s third outing with the Red Lily Quintet in a series of recordings which act as celebrations of historical figures that have inspired Lewis throughout his life, and in this case, Antonin Dvorak. Lewis has recently been named Tenor Saxophonist of the Year by the DownBeat Critics Poll and this recording features inspired performances of his own compositions that prove him worthy of this title, two years in a row.
Available format: CD
The Great Silence
João Barradas, Carlos Bica
The Great Silence sees two great proponents of Portuguese jazz João Barradas (accordion) and Carlos Bica (double bass) team up to release an album of improvisations that produces one surprise after the next. An unlikely pairing of instruments that manage to create an extreme variety of sounds from avante-garde impressions to soul full ballads. A fusion of European folk and jazz, with added chamber elements, this album is a fulfilling and engaging listen.
Available format: Download & Streaming (up to 88.2 kHz, 24 bit)
After a five-year hiatus, actor Martin Freeman joins Acid Jazz founder Eddie Piller once again to release a compilation of music that speaks to the pair. Having previously released albums that collect works of both jazz and soul, this double album takes a more abstract approach, free from genre, and just presents a well curated selection of tunes. With styles that range from neo-soul to Indo-funk, and even the theme to cult UK film The Long Good Friday, this album has something to please fathers and sons alike.
Available format: 2 Vinyl Records
Not For Lack of Trying (Deluxe) sees British bedroom-pop singer-songwriter dodie re-release her 2025 album on CD and special edition vinyl. The original release was written between London and LA and showcases the vocalist at her most vulnerable. This deluxe version features two new tracks as well as the first physical release of the song ‘Maybe, Finally’. This version also sees a re-imagine of four fan favourite tracks that complete the album.
Available format: CD
Wrapped Tight
Coleman Hawkins
Wrapped Tight was Coleman Hawkins’s final release in his lifetime as a bandleader and shows that Hawkins was just as capable a player in 1965 as he was at any other point in his career. Showcasing his ability to improvise effectively on a variety of material, this album is definitely a late surge in the jazz great’s career. Verve Acoustic Sounds Series titles are mastered from the original analogue tapes, pressed on 180-gram vinyl, and packaged in high-quality tip-on gatefold jackets.
Available format: Vinyl Record
At Newport 1958
Miles Davis
The concert at Newport Jazz Festival in 1958 that made up the recording of this album was the first live outing for the Miles Davis sextet that would go on to release jazz music’s most important album, Kind of Blue. The music here is charged in a way as if the group know what is to come, with powerful, fiery improvisations throughout and a sense of cohesion surprising for a band in its infancy.
Available format: Vinyl Record
