New Release Round-up,
Jazz New Release Round-Up - 1st March 2024
Attention leaplings! With all our bissextile complications out the way, we present some fine, fine new jazz releases for you this week, beginning with some hot blues from Akiko Tsuruga with her Steeplechase debut, Beyond Nostalgia. Next up, Anni Kiviniemi presents the intimate Eir from her own recently-assembled trio as well. Following this, Rob Cope buddies up with several great homegrown talents for his new Gemini outfit. In addition, Angelo Verploegen recounts A Handful of Stories from his fabled career, and Paul Taylor rounds off in a much different direction to the one we began in with his solo organ album Whirl And Magnet.
Kicking things off is a certified swinger from this soulful Japanese organist. Hailing from Osaka, Japan’s second city, this organist quickly rose through the ranks since the dawning of the new millennium to become one of her country’s most proficient cats on her instrument. On her label debut, Tsuruga’s playing is crisp; her attitude, cool and precise. With the help of an ultra responsive combo (featuring exuberant bandmate and partner Joe Magnarelli), this session makes for one we’d very much like to be sat down in front of… With her new album, we'll gladly settle for the next best thing!
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC
A mysterious set from the Finnish pianist – now based in the US – but with plenty of brooding energy to get us over the finish line. What this trio has to offer is an abundance of emotional space combined with soul-searching gravitas. A plaintive affair, the album explores the fringes of classical, European and African music with refreshing touches of the experimental woven around its edges. Unafraid to push things to the extreme, but also deliciously dark! It's through these cracks that the light gets in.
Available Format: Vinyl Record
It’s about time another British supergroup entered the ring to fight the good fight of contemporary jazz, and what better ensemble could one ask for than this? Bringing two pre-existing duos together the first time, Cope’s troupe of bosom pals revel in delight as they tackle the exhilarating demands of his devious but entertaining compositions. There is a gentle beauty to these slippery, minimalistic charts, which flow at times like undulating hillscapes. Free from the support of a traditional jazz lineup, it’s up to each of these leading players to form their own rhythmic sensibilities; something they consistently manage to uphold without ever sacrificing the sensitive melodiousness of their ever-ripe tones.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
As one of the leading Dutch trumpeters around these days, Verploegen is well within his rights to be focused on capturing that elusive live atmosphere and vibe. And, with this album of originals, he achieves his task. This previous collaborator with Metropole Orkest is in fine form as he adopts a quintet to celebrate his successful run on Just Listen Records – “Five is the number,” as he puts it. His bandmates are able to find common ground through their past experiences, whilst their leader offers them the freedom to move and a chance to express themselves through a cheery sense of shared musical feeling.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
The Newcastle-based keyboardist presents some occultish improvisatory takes with the help of a trusty Hammond C3 organ, located deep within the confines of the Glasshouse International Centre for Music (formerly Sage Gateshead). Prying itself open at first like a creaky coffin lid, this mystery box reveals much more than you might initially come to expect thanks to the daring steps taken by its solo performer – whose blistering recital is, quite frankly, breathtaking! How else might one pitch this progressive performance? We’ve got it: Hammer Horror meets Tangerine Dream.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Barney Whittaker
