Latest stories
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The Atomic Mr. Basie
27th Jun 2019
Matt explores the origins behind the Count Basie Band's 1957 comeback album The Atomic Mr. Basie, a big band tour de force with state of the art compositions by Neal Hefti... the man who would go on to write the Batman theme!
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Ruud Breuls & Simon Rigter Quintet
24th Jun 2019
A solid hard bop release from the Ruud Breuls & Simon Rigter Quintet, featuring the cream of the crop of Dutch jazzmen playing original material composed by the group.
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Rise and Shine
Ruud Breuls & Simon Rigter Quintet
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Jazz New Release Round-Up - 21st June 2019
21st Jun 2019
Matt vents spleen over boring cover artwork, and also finds time to check out the latest releases, and a diverse bunch they are too.
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Jimmy Smith
20th Jun 2019
Another week, another new article heading, this one incorporating Classic album of the Week (it's their fault for showing me how to add categories). Jimmy Smith transformed the Hammond organ into a pukka jazz beast, so let's go Back to the Chicken Shack with Jimmy and also indulge in a brief(ish) history of the mighty B3, and its dark twin, the Leslie cabinet.
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Kayhan Kalhor
17th Jun 2019
Matt enjoys a collaboration between master kamancheh player Kayhan Kalhor and the dutch Rembrandt Frerichs Trio on their evocative new album.
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Jazz New Release Round-Up - 14th June 2019
14th Jun 2019
You never think it's going to happen to you, listening to British trad jazz comps and enjoying them.... find out more by joining Matt for a nice cup of tea at his weekly new-release drop-in centre.
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British Traditional Jazz - At A Tangent Vol. 9 - The Mainstream Bands
Fairweather-Brown All Stars, Sandy Brown's Jazz Band, Humphrey Lyttelton (trumpet), The Dill Jones Trio, Kenny Baker's Dozen, Kenny Baker's Ensemble, Kenny Baker's Half Dozen, Fat John's Band, The John Dankworth Seven, George Chisholm & His Jive Five
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Naked City
13th Jun 2019
The first in Matt's more self-indulgent, pretentiously titled Tangents series of articles. Join him back in 1989, for a sunday encounter with New York's finest improvisers at a rep theatre in the east midlands.
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Jimmy Giuffre 3 - Live in Graz, 1961
10th Jun 2019
A fascinating document of this groundbreaking trio live in Switzerland in 1961, this offers plenty of nourishment for those willing to enter an abstract musical world.
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Jazz New Release Round-Up - 7th June 2019
7th Jun 2019
Matt's usual pithy look at some of the latest releases, lacklustre attempts at humour, lots of vinyl and actually some pretty good releases.
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Charlie Parker - Early Recordings
7th Jun 2019
Charlie Parker's game changing sessions heralded the arrival of bebop and remained unsurpassed to this day... in Matt's opinion anyway. Read the full article to find out why.
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Mosambique - Big City Moves
3rd Jun 2019
This exciting young quintet from Norway release a memorable album of jazz fusion with tongue-firmly in cheek.
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Big City Moves
Mosambique
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Jazz New Release Round-Up - 31st May 2019
31st May 2019
Matt troughs through the week’s jazz new releases, listening to some so you don’t have to, but plenty so you hopefully do!
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Stan Getz - Focus
31st May 2019
Stan Getz's Focus gets a reappraisal, that rare thing, a jazz with strings album that challenges, thanks to Eddie Sauter's sophisticated arrangements.
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Jazz New Release Round-Up - 24th May 2019
24th May 2019
Matt bends an ear towards some of this week's jazz related releases, from the slowcore guitar of Chris Brokaw, through the upbeat soul jazz of Beatifik to Paolo Russo's Mediterranean musings.
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Alexi Tuomarila Trio - Sphere
24th May 2019
Alexi Tuomarila and his group prove there is plenty of scope of innovation in the jazz piano trio, forging their own unique sound on Sphere.
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Thelonious Monk Trio
23rd May 2019
Thelonious Monk roughed up some of his best known tunes on these exciting and spiky trio sessions, recorded during a troubled period in the pianists life, just before he would break through with some of his definitive albums.
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Jazz New Release Round-Up - 17th May 2019
20th May 2019
This week I have been enjoying Partisan's first ever live album, avant-garde music for French kids TV, Brad Mehldau's new album and also picked some suggestions from the second half of the ECM Touchstones series, celebrating 50 years of one of the most important Jazz labels.
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Pacifica from Australian quartet The Vampires
17th May 2019
Matt delights in the refreshingly breezy new album from The Vampires, an Australian collective blending jazz with exotica, dub and much more.
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Pacifica
The Vampires
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A fascinating Duke Ellington biography by Terry Teachout
15th May 2019
Matt explores Duke Ellington's life and music through Terry Teachout's biography, which paints a picture of both the musician and the world he was working in.
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Hilde Louise Asbjørnsen - Red Lips, Knuckles and Bones
10th May 2019
Hilde Louise Asbjørnsen delivers a moving album of her own material, genre hopping from jazz to americana with style and humour, despite personal losses that inspired many of the songs.
