(ACT) Eight years after the scuba-diving accident that killed Swedish pianist Esbjörn Svensson and stopped Europe’s most successful jazz group in its tracks, this ambitious project, masterminded by arranger-conductor Hans Ek with the participation of E.S.T. bassist Dan Berglund and… Read More ›
(ACT) The German pianist has a penchant for duo line-ups that are close in instrumental type – I’m remembering his fruitful collaboration with harpsichordist Tamar Halperin. This time it’s the French accordionist with whom he has occasionally played since they… Read More ›
(ACT) We get a fair amount of blue yearning from jazz, occasionally a dollop of cynical humour, sometimes turbulent, protesting rage, often wrangling angst. Which means that unashamed cheerfulness and unapologetic prettiness can be a little disconcerting. Iiro Rantala, the Finnish pianist… Read More ›
Here are paragraphs about some of the music I was listening to these past two months which I couldn’t devote full reviews to: Stein Urheim – Strandebarm (Hubro): The third release on the excellent Norwegian label from the guitarist/multi-instrumentalist and largely… Read More ›
(ACT Records) The young Norwegian saxophonist was clearly a burning new star in the jazz firmament from the first time he was heard in Django Bates StoRMChaser band and on his first album back in 2008. That first release added… Read More ›
Here are paragraphs about some of the music I was listening to this month which I couldn’t devote full reviews to: Jane Ira Bloom – Early Americans (Outline): Bloom is that rare saxophonist – a soprano specialist. And one of… Read More ›
Here are paragraphs about some of the music I was listening to this month which I couldn’t devote full reviews to: Bill Evans – Some Other Time (Resonance Records): This previously unreleased double disc, subtitled The Lost Session From The Black… Read More ›
(ACT) When it comes to hosting great modern jazz piano trios, Laeiszhalle, the lovely concert hall in Hamburg, has what the police might call “previous”. This was where E.S.T. made their finest concert recording (possibly their finest ever recording) in November… Read More ›
(ACT) This is the fourth album from the band E.S.T. double bassist Dan Berglund formed following the death of Esbjörn Svensson. Again the band is a quartet with Martin Hederos on piano, synthesizers and violin, Johan Lindström on guitar, pedal… Read More ›
(ACT) Kalima has a penchant for the wild west – after all, he moved from Finland to Berlin. Here he has a trio with German drummer Max Andrzejewski and American double bassist Greg Cohen, and a book of tunes celebrating the… Read More ›
Here are some of the music I was listening to this month which I couldn’t devote full reviews to: Mo’ Blow – Live In Berlin (ACT): Among the funkiest of young German jazzers, this quartet had some special guests in… Read More ›
(ACT) The German pianist has been living in France for quite a while and has played in the bands of trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf and vocalist Youn Sun Nah. Both of them appear on selected tracks on this album along with… Read More ›
Walking round the collection of Siggi Loch’s photographs which are part of the Art In Music exhibition at the Weserburg gallery in Bremen is a bit like reliving one’s record collection, at least if one is in my and Siggi’s generation. His… Read More ›
The songs of Neil Young are not obvious material for a jazz singer to choose, and I guess it would have to be a Scandinavian singer (they seem to be less self-conscious in their rock music affections than their British… Read More ›
(ACT 9581-2) The shadow of Charlie Parker falls over every subsequent jazz alto saxophonist to a greater or lesser extent and there have been many reworkings of his bebop tunes. The Bird influences are beneath the surface here, each piece… Read More ›
(ACT 9584-2) Two accordion-led bands in a week! This is a French one and features a new Vincent Peirani band, with the leader and his regular collaborator Emile Parisien on saxophones joined by Tony Paeleman on Fender Rhodes, Julien Herné… Read More ›
(ACT 9582-2) Yep, all the pieces here are inspired by and quote from Beethoven, and nope, it’s not a grumpy German kind of swung classical thing such as the Jacques Loussier Trio did with J-Seb back in the 1960s. Set against some… Read More ›
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