Latest News: Jazz
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New Release Round-up,
Jazz New Release Round-Up - 3rd April 2020 3rd April 2020A roundup of the best new releases, with some terrific new albums from female composers and performers.
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Obituary,
Ellis Marsalis Jr (1934-2020) 3rd April 2020Ellis Marsalis jr, pianist, educator and father of Wynton and Branford, has passed away from suspected COVID-19 infection.
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Classic Recordings,
John Coltrane - Giant Steps 27th March 2020This week Josh revisits John Coltrane's timeless mid-period masterpiece Giant Steps.
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New Release Round-up,
Jazz New Release Round-Up - 20th March 2020 20th March 2020The new releases keep on coming, no matter what! Matt offers his pick of the most interesting sounds out there, from Africa to South America, Poland to Scandinavia.
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Recording of the Week,
Shri - The Letter 13th March 2020Bass supremo Shri presents a selection of his vivid tone poems, recorded in a hut in the Norwegian mountains with Bugge Wesseltoft and guests.
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Classic Recordings,
McCoy Tyner - The Real McCoy 6th March 2020It was a sad coincidence to hear of McCoy Tyner's passing shortly after posting this Classic Album Review of The Real McCoy. Thankfully Tyner's wonderful 60-year contribution to music lives on.
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New Release Round-up,
Jazz New Release Round-Up - 28th February 2020 28th February 2020Anybody for some Georgian folk music crossed with microtonal jazz? What's that? I read your mind... then join us for the latest jazz new release round-up.
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Recording of the Week,
Ivo Neame & Jim Hart - Multiverse 21st February 2020Ivo Neame and Jim Hart set the controls for the heart of the sun on the terrific Multiverse project.
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Classic Recordings,
Herbie Hancock - Thrust 17th February 2020Herbie Hancock's Thrust is a jazz-funk tour de force that saw the keyboard whiz-kid experimenting with new gear and an exciting new drummer.
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New Release Round-up,
Jazz New Release Round-Up - 14th February 2020 14th February 2020New albums from pianist Aaron Diehl, drummer Trilok Gurtu, guitar legend Pat Metheny, fusion from Eric Vloeimans and a compilation of Maynard Ferguson live in the mid-seventies.
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Recording of the Week,
Majid Bekkas - Magic Spirit Quartet 7th February 2020Magic Spirit Quartet finds Majid Bekkas channelling the Gnawa music of his Moroccan homeland to create a powerful collision of world and jazz music.
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New Release Round-up,
Jazz New Release Round-Up - 31st January 2020 31st January 2020This week Matt enjoys two new recording from Losen Records, the debut album from a young German pianist who's clearly going to go places, a generous slice of aged trad-jazz, and a harp-bop rarity (no, that wasn't a typo).
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Classic Recordings,
The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra, Vols 1 & 2 31st January 2020Take a trip into the Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra, with this brand new issue of volumes 1 & 2 of these classic albums on one disc from the ezz-thetics label.
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Recording of the Week,
Peter Beets & the Henk Meutgeert New Jazz Orchestra 24th January 2020An impressive set from The Netherlands, with pianist Peter Beets and The Henk Meutgeert New Jazz Orchestra romping through dazzling arrangements of classical music and standards.
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New Release Round-up,
Jazz New Release Round-Up - 15th January 2020 15th January 2020With the post-Christmas lull clearing, Matt settles back and enjoys some of the jazz new releases, including a re-issue of a lesser-known Erroll Garner album.
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Recording of the Week,
Dave Brubeck Quartet at Oberlin & Wilshire-Ebell 13th January 2020Two classic Dave Brubeck Quartet concerts from 1953 find the pianist, with saxophonist Paul Desmond, forging the sound that would soon sell a million albums.
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Classic Recordings,
Edmond Hall 10th January 2020Clarinetist Edmond Hall is the focus of this week's Classic Album feature, a brilliant musician who managed to maintain a long and distinguished career through the changing stylistic tides of jazz.
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Awards,
Downbeat Readers Poll 2019 23rd December 2019The top 10 Albums of the Year as selected by Downbeat's readers.
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Classic Recordings,
Nina Simone in Concert 13th December 2019Nina Simone in Concert from 1964 stands as one of the most politically charged statements of the Civil Rights Movement, and a key album of Simone's career. From the perspective of late 2019 it stands as a timely warning of the dangers of complacency.
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Awards,
Presto Jazz Albums of the Year 2019 4th December 2019Matt has the enjoyable task of picking out his favourite jazz recordings of 2019, a year that saw the release of so many excellent releases. Feel free to get annoyed with his choices - that's the fun of lists after all!