Jazz Recommends Jazz October 2022

Review: Hot on the heels of his debut EP on Mathew Hallsall's Gondwana Records, saxophonist and flautist Chip Wickham is back with a full length. He is a member of the first Godwana Orchestra and was on Halsall's debut long player Sending My Love, but now really steps out with a sound that is all his own on Cloud 10. It's lush and spiritual, with mellifluous keys draped over gentle drums and heart aching sax solos reaching truly emotional highs. Gorgeous, life-affirming stuff from this modern great.

Review: There are few jazz albums as universally adored and significant as Blue Train. That's no exaggerated remark - it's a record imprinted on 20th Century culture, albeit just one of Coltrane's many incredible works. As part of their continued Tone Poets series, Blue Note are revisiting this landmark and giving it a grand presentation under the banner of The Complete Masters. That means, as well as the official recordings that make up Blue Train, we're also treated to a second disc of additional takes which give you a whole new perspective on these eternal treasures, from a false start of 'Blue Train' to multiple takes on 'Moment's Notice' and 'Lazy Bird'.

Review: International Anthem has become one of the contemporary jazz scenes most crucial labels. It deals in the most cutting edge sounds in the genre as well as offering up fantastic fusions with sounds from the world's hip-hop, R&B and broken beat. Here they look to Charles Stepney for an album that he recorded back in the 1960s in his Chicago basement. He played all the instruments himself and across four sides of vinyl he serves up his so-called and signature "baroque soul" sound with widescreen arrangements, innocent melodies and curious rhythms.

Review: The Greg Foat Group has a lot of well-deserved fans at this point and this new album is going to do nothing to change that. Blue Lotus on Blue Crystal Records features Art Themen on Soprano saxophone as well as Morgan Simpson from Black Midi on drums. As well as the wispy and melancholic sax leads you would expect, plenty of shimmering drums and icy percussive sounds make each of these cuts darkly alluring and soulful, with heavy synth additions and masterfully percussive grooves transporting you into an alluring, soulful world of pensive spiritual jazz.

Review: Chip Wickham came up in the 00s laying down sax and flute for The Pharcyde, Saxophonist and flautist Chip Wickham has delivered some great albums over the last few years, with his most recent outing 2020's soul-jazz, jazz-funk, fusion and jazz-dance set Blue To Red being particularly potent. Cloud 10, his first outing on long-time friend Matthew Halsall's Gondwana Records, is arguably even better. Richly evocative and quietly soulful with roots in modal hard-bop and spiritual jazz, the album's eight tracks naturally showcase his expressive and impressive sax and flute playing, but also draw on Latin rhythms, vintage British jazz, and the kind of woozy, slow-motion soundscapes that sound so good on a hot summer's day. Impeccably performed and produced with no flab or filler, Cloud 10 could be the album that propels Wickham into the jazz stratosphere.

Review: International Anthem has become one of the contemporary jazz scenes most crucial labels. It deals in the most cutting edge sounds in the genre as well as offering up fantastic fusions with sounds from the world's hip-hop, R&B and broken beat. Here they look to Charles Stepney for an album that he recorded back in the 1960s in his Chicago basement. He played all the instruments himself and across four sides of vinyl he serves up his so-called and signature "baroque soul" sound with widescreen arrangements, innocent melodies and curious rhythms.

Review: Ian Carr and the Nucleus crew were real favourites of US hip hop master Madlib. He valued their dark, brooding, menacing beats and spooky soundtracks and this album is a perfect example of that adsorbing broodiness. It came on Vertigo in 1973 and was in part funded by the Arts Council of Great Britain. It started off life as a live show and then with an expanded cast become an album recording with help from vocalist Norma Winstone. Be With have remastered the whole record from original tapes and the sleeve has also been restored to its full original glory.

Review: It was when Makaya McCraven linked up with International Anthem around 2015 he became an artist transcending the jazz scene's tangle of singers and players. Since then he's evolved his craft from album to album, project to project, reaching this undeniable achievement of a record that places him at the forefront of modern jazz. Nearly seven years in the making, In These Times is the product of McCraven's striving to create a personal stamp, leaning in on his own rhythmic language of time-signature trickery and unusual arrangements, steering large-scale orchestral ensembles and elevating his craft in every way he can. For all the considered science behind the sound, it lands as an incredible natural experience full of cascading drums, ascendant flutes, lilting strings and a whole cornucopia of talented musicians playing to a striking creative vision.

Review: Accomplished American jazz pianist Horace Tapscott recorded a seminal album with his quintet in 1969 The Giant Is Awakened. A follow-up album was recorded but never released, locked away in the Flying Dutchman archives until today. This three-track avant-garde session features the same players from The Giant Is Awakened - Arthur Blythe on alto sax, Everett Brown Jr on drums and David Bryant and Walter Savage Jr on bass. It wasn't long after this Tapscott retreated from the mainstream music industry to record in a low key fashion and eventually establish the Pan-Afrikan People's Arkestra, but The Quintet captures a special moment in time never heard before a dream come true for Tapscott fans and jazz lovers of all stripes.

Review: The Nucleus crew laid down a superb body of work throughout the seventies. The one and only Madlib often pillages it for samples as a big fan of the group's dark and broody sound. A number of their best records are in the process of being reissued now and Under The Sun is the latest. It is packed with expressive sax sounds, dense drums and whirring synths that still sound way ahead of their time. The whole thing has been lovingly re-mastered from the original analogue tapes too, for extra audio enjoyment.

Review: They say you can find any information you want on the internet these days, but we can't see anything about the band Colorado. Thankfully, the label reissuing this self-titled single managed to get in touch with an original member who explained that the band is three brothers from Mexico City. They made funky jazz fusion sounds as evidenced here. Hypnotic fender Rhodes defines the open with horns guitars, synths and bass bringing subtle rock elements to the fabulous groove. Flip it over for 'Para Ti' which is playful and experimental with all three musicians really doing a fine job of serving up great and varied interplay.

Review: Once again, when it comes to rare groove covers, Japan does it best. NAUTILUS is a new generation rare groove band led by drummer Toshiyuki Sasaki; their latest release combines a gorgeous, rollicking cover of The Rolling Stones' 'Paint It Black', alongside the original instrumental 'Looking Back'.

Review: It was when Makaya McCraven linked up with International Anthem around 2015 he became an artist transcending the jazz scene's tangle of singers and players. Since then he's evolved his craft from album to album, project to project, reaching this undeniable achievement of a record that places him at the forefront of modern jazz. Nearly seven years in the making, In These Times is the product of McCraven's striving to create a personal stamp, leaning in on his own rhythmic language of time-signature trickery and unusual arrangements, steering large-scale orchestral ensembles and elevating his craft in every way he can. For all the considered science behind the sound, it lands as an incredible natural experience full of cascading drums, ascendant flutes, lilting strings and a whole cornucopia of talented musicians playing to a striking creative vision. This limited edition of the album comes pressed on white vinyl to compliment the stark design of the sleeve - one for the collectors.

Review: In the 60s and 70s Arthur Verocai arranged for the likes of Jorge Ben, Gal Costa, Marcos Valle and other such legends of Brazilian pop music. However, it was his self-titled debut album in 1972 which now largely defines Vaerocai's reputation, although it was a resounding failure in Brazil upon its release. His sound looked to US jazz, pop and soul as much as bossa nova, and it was only in the 2000s that it started to be picked up on in the US and elsewhere. The passage of time helps place certain records, and that's especially true of this incredible curio from a bygone era, which strikes a mysterious out-of-time-and-place quality as Rodriguez's classic Cold Fact. Here's to the overlooked greats - may they all find their moment in the sun eventually.

Review: Good luck finding an original copy of Furusawa Ryojiro's Racco. Originally released in 1977, this rare treat of mellow gold is a highly sought after gem in the second hand jazz market. All you need do is hear the sprightly Rhodes gliding over lightly brushed cymbals and meandering basslines on 'Cum-Cum' to realise the hype is more than justified. This is an album of soft, inviting tones to quite simply melt into, featuring Hideaki Mochizuki on bass, Toshiyoki Daitoku on keys and Tomoki Takahashi on tenor sax, while Ryojiro holds it down on drums. If you're serious about the more tender end of jazz, you won't want to miss this while it's around.

Review: As the title suggests, this brand new compilation from the legendary jazz label Blue Note finds a wealth of the UK's most exciting new and young talents turn their hand at reimagining a selection of classic Blue Note tracks. The wonderful sax player Yazz Ahmed kicks off with her take on 'It' which his all alluring and deep, and across the other 15 cuts the likes of Brit Award-winning Jorja Smith appears with her own distinctive voice, the much hyped - and rightly so - Nubya Garcia also adds her own contribution and Aussie soul boy Jordan Rakei serves up some buttery sounds.

Review: Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong came together first of all for their 1956 album Ella and Louis. Just a year later, the enduring jazz icons hooked up once more on Verve Records for the simply titled Ella and Louis Again. It was recorded at Radio Recorders and Capitol Studios in Hollywood and where their first album was all duets, this one features seven solo vocal tracks by either Armstrong or Fitzgerald amongst its dozen duet tracks. Louis only played trumpet on six of these tunes but there was such a vibe between the two artists that it was never seen as an issue.

Review: Somewhere between Latin guitar and six-string melancholy lies the wistful works of Julian Lage, whose latest LP 'View With A Room' hits heavy with a reminiscent string of 10 pieces for solo guitar. Teaming up with bassist Jorge Roeder and drummer Dave King, Lage expands his horizons from the inward-focused 'Squint' to include new collaborations, including several cameo appearances from Bill Frisell on accompanying guitar and voice. Affecting and emotional; the perfect soundtrack to a Midwesternly desolate holiday or a mutual, not-too-bad breakup.

Review: It naturally took the remaining members of Azymuth a few years to come to terms with the passing of keyboard wizard and shining light Jose Roberto Bertrami. Fenix is their first album since his death in 2012, and sees original members Ivan Conti and Alex Malheiros being joined by guest keys-man Kiko Continentino. Happily, he's ever bit as capable on the electric piano as Bertrami, guaranteeing that Fenix sounds every bit as magical as the trio's original 1970s work. As usual, the music effortlessly blends jazz-funk, samba, disco, and synth-funk flavours, resulting in a sun-kissed set of tracks that sounds every bit as magical, summery and dance floor friendly as their greatest material. We'd say it was a return to form, but they've been consistently good for 40-odd years.

Review: Saxophonist Joe Lovano signed with Blue Note Records in 1990 and over the next 25 years became one of the most recorded artists in the label's history, building a formidable catalog that explored the full breadth of his artistry. This elegant and endlessly listenable set also introduced Lovano's marvelous Classic Quartet with the legendary pianist Hank Jones, bassist George Mraz, and drummer Paul Motian.

Review: The Bootleg series has been providing an unparalleled service to devotees of Miles Davis since it started up in 2011. Now onto its seventh volume, we're taken into a period of great transformation for the jazz icon as he responded to the seismic changes taking place in culture and technology as the 80s kicked in. Ahead of albums like Decoy and Tutu that came to be landmarks of jazz fusion, the unreleased sessions captured on this compilation are a window into the work of a ceaseless innovator going through some of the greatest changes of his creative career.

Review: This reissue brings this cult record to wax for the first time. It was Eric Dolphy's last studio album and one that is often held up as a perfect example of mid-60s post-bop. It was recorded in 1964 and just a month or so later the artist passed all too soon. All five compositions from the original quintet album are presented here in the same order as they were originally but with new artwork. The record has some big free jazz energy a la Peter Brotzmann Tentet and wild man Mats Gustafsson on baritone sax yacks that up.

Review: Yet more Italian soundtracks and music libraries are adoringly looked pined over. But this time - unlike the simple reissues that have come out so far this year - Frank Maston's Panorama LP seeks to emulate the era's best qualities with his own original music. Following on from similar endeavours such as 'Tulips' and its follow-up 'Darkland', Maston show off his to-a-T compositional chops, emulating only the best Italian session sounds via a commission from British library KPM.