Saxophonist Andy Sheppard has been a constant presence on the British, and international, jazz circuit since he emerged as part of the late 1980s young UK jazz scene, yet for all his widespread popularity he’s remained hungry for exploring sonic pastures new.
In a world obsessed with looking back instead of forward extraordinary jazz singer Cécile McLorin Salvant is something of a paradox: a deeply soulful virtuoso capable of taking 100 year old songs and making them sparkle anew.
A multi-Grammy Award winner, Maria Schneider is rightly regarded as one of the preeminent figures in contemporary jazz with a 23-year recording career that’s seen her work with both Gil Evans and Bob Brookmeyer.
In the last 20 years Brad Mehldau has steadily re-shaped the piano’s modus operandi in jazz by absorbing folk, pop, alt-rock and electronic music, and melding improvisation into classical forms.
The members of Let Spin may well connect four cutting edge ensembles – in the form of Melt Yourself Down, Moss Project, Led Bib and Beats & Pieces – and yet they are fast forming their own cohesive identity.
With his awe-inspiring technique and omniverous musical tastes, it should be no surprise that bassist supreme Christian McBride tackles symphonies as easily as he does funk, fusion and swing.
For all of the welcoming warmth of her instantly recognisable voice, Cassandra Wilson has never taken the safe option in a career that now spans almost three decades.
Branford Marsalis has always tackled every musical challenge head on – be it playing arenas with Sting, freewheeling improvised rock with the Grateful Dead, primetime US television shows or leading one of the hottest quartets in contemporary jazz.
Right from her student days at Boston’s Berklee College of Music, when she also recorded her debut album Brain, Hiromi Uehara always stood out from the crowd with her molten mix of classical technique, compositional daring and rock-edged-fusion, all delivered with sky-high energy levels.
Beginning in an unlikely way in New York in the year World War II broke out with a boogie-woogie record, by the 1960s Blue Note had created an identifiable sound which has to this day continuing relevance in a world where most music is forgotten about just weeks after release.
