Latest stories
-
Nishla Smith on 'Friends With Monsters'
13th Nov 2021
The Australian-born, Manchester-based vocalist and songwriter speaks to us about her personal new record Friends With Monsters, cross-media collaboration and her love of storytellers.
-
Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section
11th Oct 2021
Fighting against drug addiction and a battered saxophone, Art Pepper entered the studio in 1957 with Miles Davis's rhythm section and recorded one of the finest albums in his catalogue.
-
Another Side of John Coltrane
20th Aug 2021
A new compilation from Craft Recordings focuses on John Coltrane's work as a sideman, featuring the master saxophonist on recordings by Sonny Rollins, Miles Davis, and more.
-
Sonny Clark - Cool Struttin'
12th Jul 2021
One of the many products of an incredibly fruitful period for Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin' is one of the best works from the pianist whose life was sadly cut short.
-
Billie Holiday - Lady in Satin
10th Dec 2020
Billie Holiday was just a couple months away from her 43rd birthday when she entered Columbia Records’ 30th Street Studio on February 18, 1958 to record her troubled late masterpiece Lady in Satin, as heart-breaking today as it was then.
-
Charlie Parker at 100: Essential Recordings
29th Aug 2020
Celebrating the genius of Charlie Parker on his 100th birthday, we assess the man's essential recordings.
-
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Song Book
27th Jul 2020
Ella Fitzgerald’s take on classic Cole Porter tunes served not only as the beginning of the now-legendary Verve Records, but a springboard for the singer that reinvigorated her mid-career.
Featured product
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Song Book
Ella Fitzgerald
-
The Amazing Bud Powell Volumes 1 & 2
19th Jun 2020
Matt revisits timeless recordings from the genius who defined bebop piano, Bud Powell.
-
Jeff Goldblum - I Shouldn’t Be Telling You This
8th Nov 2019
Jeff Goldblum's second album is an enjoyable romp through the standards, with a little help from his star-studded friends.
-
Teddy Wilson
24th Oct 2019
Teddy Wilson was the definitive pianist of the swing era, an artist who appeared on many great recordings from the 1930s through to the 1970s. This week Matt focuses on Wilson's ebullient recordings made after the American recording ban was lifted in 1944.
-
Erroll Garner - Concert by the Sea
10th Sep 2019
Erroll Garner's Concert by the Sea is a hardy perennial that became one of the best selling jazz albums of all time. An expanded edition was issued in 2015, finally allowing us to savour in full that magical September evening in 1955 at the Sunset School, Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.
-
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.
-
Desmond & Mulligan - Two of a Mind
28th Mar 2019
Matt winds down to urbane warriors Paul Desmond and Gerry Mulligan's Two of a Mind.
