One of London’s busiest and most respected musicians, vibraphonist and drummer Jim Hart is playing an increasingly central role on several cutting edge jazz projects, but it’s his own recently formed Cloudmakers Trio that’s set to really put him on the map as a bandleader.
With a voice that’s as seductive as it is distinctive Cassandra Wilson has traversed an extraordinarily diverse stylistic path over the last 25 years, effortlessly gathering soulful jazz, avant funk and deep country sounds without pause for breath.
The fertile, sometimes fevered, imagination of Django Bates has always unearthed odd angles on the most hackneyed of material – Sinatra’s ‘My Way’ will never sound the same – but his lovingly crafted tribute to Charlie Parker took many listeners by surprise.
Imaginative saxophonist Trish Clowes emerged two years ago to great acclaim with her self-possessed debut Tangent, that captured her multi-layered, harmonically rich vision of jazz.
Branford Marsalis, whose eclectic career includes work with Miles, Sting, Art Blakey and Herbie Hancock, has always brought a fearsome intellect and razor sharp wit to the task of playing jazz in its hallowed, acoustic setting.
One of the most driven musicians working in jazz today guitarist Mike Stern has survived the highs and lows of a career that has seen him scale the peaks alongside Miles, Jaco and Joe Henderson, and the depths of the rehab clinic.
Two of the grand masters of contemporary British jazz, multi-award winning guitarist Martin Taylor and celebrated trumpeter/arranger/composer Guy Barker, unite this month for a spectacular orchestral jazz Prom that has been a lifetime in the making.
The award winning Irish singer Christine Tobin delivers this month what is already being touted as her finest work so far, Sailing To Byzantium, a jazz interpretation of the poetry of WB Yeats.
Troyka have something no other band around have: a certain sense of scale, a willingness to embrace that most maligned of genres – jazz-rock and prog – and, let’s face it, a rocket science improvisational ability into the bargain.