Jazz Recommends Jazz May 2020

Review: For the latest volume in their essential Spiritual Jazz compilation series - the eleventh overall - Jazzman has decided to take a trawl through the archives of Danish imprint SteepleChase, focusing specifically on "esoteric modal" and "progressive jazz" originally released between 1974 and '84. It's an impressively bright, breezy and crystal-clear affair - you can hear every cymbal hit, saxophone solo, piano note, snare and rim-shot in glorious clarity - with highlights appearing thick and fast throughout. Our current favourites include the haunting flutes, glistening guitar solos and skipping grooves of Rene McLean's "Aida", the hard-to-pigeonhole inventiveness and cross-cultural fusion of Jim McNeely's "Tipe Tizwe" and the vibraphone-laden up-tempo hustle of Khan Jamal's "Dark Warrior". That said, every track is superb, making this a must-have for spiritual jazz enthusiasts everywhere.

Review: Johnny Trunk has devoted a lot of time to digging through the seemingly endless tape archives of eccentric British experimentalist Basil Kirchin, a jazz-trained composer who dabbled with early electronic music, imaginary film soundtracks and Music Concrete style tape manipulation. "Everyday Madness", the artist's latest posthumous release, brings together three unreleased pieces discovered on different reels of forgotten studio tapes. "Pat's Pigs" is creepy and undeniably dystopian, with breathy woodwind notes, hissing cymbals and discordant guitar motifs echoing from some distant recording studio. "Electronic" is deliciously odd, with reversed Indian-sounding vocals rising above electronic tones and pitched-down orchestral pulses. The real standout though is epic flipside "The Suspended Fourth", a fine piece of spiritual jazz/soundtrack fusion that you'll want to listen to again and again.

Review: For the latest volume in their essential Spiritual Jazz compilation series - the eleventh overall - Jazzman has decided to take a trawl through the archives of Danish imprint SteepleChase, focusing specifically on "esoteric modal" and "progressive jazz" originally released between 1974 and '84. It's an impressively bright, breezy and crystal-clear affair - you can hear every cymbal hit, saxophone solo, piano note, snare and rim-shot in glorious clarity - with highlights appearing thick and fast throughout. Our current favourites include the haunting flutes, glistening guitar solos and skipping grooves of Rene McLean's "Aida", the hard-to-pigeonhole inventiveness and cross-cultural fusion of Jim McNeely's "Tipe Tizwe" and the vibraphone-laden up-tempo hustle of Khan Jamal's "Dark Warrior". That said, every track is superb, making this a must-have for spiritual jazz enthusiasts everywhere.

Review: My Only Desire's latest release is something rather special indeed: the never-before-released-in-full recording of the first, now mythical performance of his cult 1970s jazz masterpiece Citadel/Room 315'. The album was originally commissioned by, and for, a Swedish radio station, with the composer and pianist travelling to Scandinavia in order to record it with a 16-piece big band that included many of Sweden's greatest jazz players. It's that recording that is featured here for the first time (the finished album was reworked, overdubbed and polished up) and it's little less than remarkable - an inspiring ensemble suite that touches on various jazz styles and includes a wealth of fine, loose-limbed solos that never made the original album release. If you love jazz, you need this in your life.

Review: DJ Amir has long been a fan of "The Jupiter Effect", the sole album by multi-instrumentalist Larry Rose and his backing band of Dutch and American session musicians, and it was on his suggestion that BBE put together this fully re-mastered reissue. The album was first released in 1978 - the year it was recorded in an Amsterdam studio - and offers a unique take on jazz-fusion that variously doffs a cap to smooth grooves, jazz-funk, Steely Dan, blues, Latin and Cajun rhythms and the hard-to-pigeonhole soul sound of Rotary Connection. It's a warm, attractive and hugely enjoyable collection of songs that have aged remarkably well, making this edition one of the reissues of the year so far.

Review: Two days after he laid down his most celebrated album, "Go!", saxophonist Dexter Gordon gathered together the same line-up of musicians - Sonny Clark on piano, Butch Warren on bass and Billy Higgins on drums - and recorded a follow-up. Initially released in 1962, "A Swingin' Affair" has long been considered a hard-bop classic - hence this fresh reissue from Blue Note. It certainly contains some of Gordon's best work, not least the sparkling opener "Soy Califa", the languid and smoky niceness of "You Stepped Out Of A Dream" and the bluesy, bittersweet brilliance of slow-motion classic "Until The Real Thing Comes Along".

Review: Back in 2017, Munich-based quartet Web Web delivered "Oracle", the first ever live-jazz album on Compost Records, a label long associated with nu-jazz and what they call 'future jazz'. Three years on, the four-piece is now an established part of the label's roster and here serves up their third album. Rooted in spiritual jazz and Afro-jazz, it's a breezy and ear-catching affair that combines good grooves with effervescent solos, lilting strings and occasional improvised, freestyle vocals from guest singer Joy Denalene. The results are hugely enjoyable and entertaining of course, but also brilliantly performed and produced. Do yourself a favour and give it a spin.

Review: My Only Desire's latest release is something rather special indeed: the never-before-released-in-full recording of the first, now mythical performance of his cult 1970s jazz masterpiece Citadel/Room 315'. The album was originally commissioned by, and for, a Swedish radio station, with the composer and pianist travelling to Scandinavia in order to record it with a 16-piece big band that included many of Sweden's greatest jazz players. It's that recording that is featured here for the first time (the finished album was reworked, overdubbed and polished up) and it's little less than remarkable - an inspiring ensemble suite that touches on various jazz styles and includes a wealth of fine, loose-limbed solos that never made the original album release. If you love jazz, you need this in your life.

Review: Like many jazz performers, Japanese pianist Masahiko Sato has accumulated a vast discography over the years. At the last count he'd released well over 80 albums, though few are quite as magical (or rare, for that matter) as his 1970 set "Kayobi No Onna". The music was initially composed as part of the soundtrack to a Japanese TV "suspense drama", before being collected together on an album that touches on traditional jazz, soul-jazz, modern classical, jazz-folk and jazz-rock. It's an impressively diverse set that sees Sato utilize all manner of intriguing instruments to create atmospheric, melodic moments that still sparkle all these years on.

Review: On this must-check set, Bassist Wojtek Mazolewski and his quintet pay tribute to one of the titans of Polish jazz, the late, great composer Krzysztof Komeda. The pianist passed away in 1969, leaving behind a string of highly influential albums - his work in part persuaded Americans to take European jazz seriously - and a string of inspired soundtrack scores. On "When Angels Fall", Mazolewski and his musical collaborators take us on a whirlwind tour through Komeda's catalogue of compositions, offering up brilliantly performed and produced covers that brilliantly showcase the depth and variety of the great man's work.

Review: DJ Amir has long been a fan of "The Jupiter Effect", the sole album by multi-instrumentalist Larry Rose and his backing band of Dutch and American session musicians, and it was on his suggestion that BBE put together this fully re-mastered reissue. The album was first released in 1978 - the year it was recorded in an Amsterdam studio - and offers a unique take on jazz-fusion that variously doffs a cap to smooth grooves, jazz-funk, Steely Dan, blues, Latin and Cajun rhythms and the hard-to-pigeonhole soul sound of Rotary Connection. It's a warm, attractive and hugely enjoyable collection of songs that have aged remarkably well, making this edition one of the reissues of the year so far.