Acknowledged as a once-in-a-generation talent, powerhouse soul-jazz singer Gregory Porter’s recent success has been a long time coming, and yet his artistic maturity has helped him produce three superlative albums in as many years.
This month, 43 years ago on the morning of 18 September, Jimi Hendrix was found dead at The Hotel Samarkand in London’s Notting Hill.
Internationally acclaimed live performances, topping critic’s polls and winning armfuls of awards have all helped EMPIRICAL become one of the most feted British jazz bands of recent years.
He may have been one of the greatest trumpeters in jazz, but DONALD BYRD was so much more besides.
When John McLaughlin formed THE MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA, his twin-necked Gibson guitar served as nothing short of a lightning rod, sending a shockwave of sonic energy into uncharted territory between jazz and rock.
Blazing his own uncompromising trail through his decades-long work with the World Saxophone Quartet and numerous collaborations, DAVID MURRAY’s considerable sax firepower remains a conduit between Coltrane, the Grateful Dead and hip hop band The Roots.
As one of the most prolifically creative and technically gifted players to emerge in recent years, ALEXANDER HAWKINS has already worked with US improv heavyweights Joe McPhee and Marshall Allen, great South African drummer Louis Moholo Moholo and British luminary Evan Parker among many others.
Pianist and singer ELIANE ELIAS always brings a rarified blend of sensuality and intelligence to everything she plays – be it her recent Brazilian treatment of classics by The Doors and Dave Brubeck, her outstanding instrumental work as a solo artist, or her collaborations with Herbie Hancock and as an early member of Steps Ahead.
Adam Waldmann has emerged in the last four years as one of the most distinctive musicians of his generation, capable of mainlining a special kind of pastoral melancholy and biting rhythmic ingenuity in both his sax playing and with his MOBO Award winning band, Kairos 4tet.
Moving from Young Lion to elder, wiser jazz statesman, Joshua Redman has put a lot of miles on the clock in his 20-year career.
