Xhosa Cole – K(no)w Them, K(no)w Us

“Cole has selected some of the most adventurous and exciting players from his Birmingham hometown to present a compelling exploration of what jazz means to him...” Eddie Myer

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Anthony Braxton – Quartet (Standards) 2020 

“Braxton and his band, which could not be more different to the great 2003 quartet (with ace guitarist Kevin O'Neil), show the thread of expression binding the Simons and Monks of this world is an understanding of the triumphs and travails of the human condition, from sunlit hope to the somber despair...” Kevin Le Gendre

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Orrin Evans – The Magic of Now 

“This session, with sometime Robert Glasper bassist Vicente Archer, John Scofield drummer Bill Stewart, and the exquisitely lyrical and understated young saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins (a stunning protege of Ambrose Akinmusire and Jason Moran) is all the stronger for vaulting so subtly and economically beyond its deceptively familiar antecedents in the 1950s Cool School, and Monk/Cedar Walton/Tyner piano postbop...” John Fordham

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Kenny Garrett – Sounds from the Ancestors

“Although half a dozen vocalists are featured, they are invariably used to colour the music from within with sustained tones that add body and greater textural shape to the ensembles. Garret comes up with eight originals, each quite different and each with programmatic origins...” Stuart Nicholson

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Dave Liebman and Richie Beirach – Empathy

“Throughout, the duo show how they can take a kernel of a musical idea and develop and burnish it into a spontaneously conceived work that grows and evolves with organic logic...” Stuart Nicholson

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Adi Meyerson – I Want To Sing My Heart Out In Praise of Life 

“From the Sun Ra-evoking opener ‘Prelude’ onwards, there's an upbeat and affirmative tone to her music, both in style and content. Meyerson has chosen like-minded collaborators too, each showcased in turn across this six-part suite...” Tony Benjamin

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Gene Segal – Double Rainbow

“‘The Big Push’ by Shorter has a shuffle beat and exhibits fusion-ish touches while ‘Creole Love Call’ gets a rather startling, blues-groove reading. BB King would surely have approved...” Peter Vacher

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Susana Santos Silva & Torbjörn Zetterberg – Tomorrow 

“You could compare it to Albert Ayler's attempt to find pure humanity in untrammelled sound, an atavistic, abrasive avant-garde. Silva and Zetterberg too are digging beneath academic European jazz, improvising towards half-grasped meanings deep in the space, soil and soul...” Nick Hasted

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Julian Siegel Jazz Orchestra – Tales From The Jacquard 

“Tales From The Jacquard is a very powerful belated big-band debut for an artist who sounds in fine shape to make an enthralling habit of it...” John Fordham

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Alister Spence Trio with Ed Kuepper – Asteroid Ekosystem 

“The 15 improvisations here, spread across almost two hours, have a pleasingly cosmic quality to them, with Kuepper helping the trio create a kind of swirling celestial skronk...” Kevin Whitlock

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Read the full reviews of all of these albums and many more in the September 2021 issue of Jazzwise magazine – out now. Subscribe today