New Release Round-up,
Jazz New Release Round-Up - 17th May 2024
This week, Wadada Leo Smith & Amina Claudine Myers reveal something unknown in the already familiar with Central Park's Mosaic of Reservoir, Lake, Paths and Gardens. On Find Your Flame, Nubiyan Twist team up with legends of afrobeat, R&B and jazz to kick off the summer. We dig up some archival Shelly Manne material on Jazz From The Pacific Northwest and hear for the first time from Swedish Hamrå Orkester, who premiere with 32,8. Finally, Brad Mehldau presents two back-to-back recordings, offering his individual and sought-after takes on two great composers with After Bach II and Après Fauré.
A soul-cleansing collaboration fifty years in the making from these AACM-members – Smith, the undisputed king of avant-garde trumpet and Myers, a gospel-influenced keyboardist worthy of a similar spotlight to Nina Simone – who reunite here for the first time in their extensive careers. Inspired by the topography of the United States’ most visited urban destination, the pair embark on a psychogeographical tour of the city's famous landmark with a spiritual sense of elegance and grace. Long may their reign continue.
Available Format: CD
These festival and live circuit mainstays from Sheffield are back again with another refreshing jolt of energy in the form of their idiosyncratic disco-afrobeat-neosoul sound. With appearances this time from an exclusive cohort of special guests including Seun Kuti, Mamani Keita and ‘the Hitmaker’ himself, Nile Rodgers, this exhilarating dancefloor-ready LP also features an hearty breadth of homegrown UK talent.
Available Format: CD
This novel Gothenburg-based ensemble are stepping out for the first recording together. Headed by Fredrik Hamrå, a jazz drummer who enjoys fly fishing in his spare time, the ethereal nature of these arrangements burst right off the page. With its sophisticated blend of dark and cheery atmospheres that all come together to produce a consistent vibe, this delicious slice from the Prophone label proves the high calibre of Swedish jazz at the moment.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
A hotly anticipated release from this year’s fine batch of Record Store Day offerings, this recording highlights a handful of never-before heard performances from the West Coast rhythmist. Bookending 1958 and 1966, the first is taken from the inaugural Monterey Jazz Festival in an effortlessly cool example of the innovative swinging styles of the era. Next up, the drummer is joined by vocalist Ruth Price for a pair of gigs at The Penthouse, Seattle – no more than a year after Coltrane’s legendary performance at the same venue.
Available Formats: 2 Vinyl Records, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
It’s hardly a secret that jazzers have been known to throw their hats into the classical music ring. Brad Mehldau is no exception, as this follow-up album to 2017’s After Bach strongly attests. The Master of Fugue was, himself, an exceptional improviser - such were the demands of any composer worth their salt - and it seems only right that one of the world’s greatest pianists should incorporate his classical training into another sumptuous solo recording, featuring a dazzling array of Bachian interpretations and hommages. Also sharing a release date is Mehldau’s insightful tribute to Gabriel Fauré, further assimilating listeners into the pianist’s wide-ranging repertoire and expertise.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Barney Whittaker
