Features

Herbie Hancock - Hopes and Dreams

This month Herbie Hancock makes his presence felt in the UK by playing five eagerly anticipated live shows, including two concerts at the London Jazz Festival that coincide with the release of Then and Now: The Definitive Herbie Hancock, a 12-track career retrospective covering his work for the Blue Note, Warner, Columbia and Verve record labels. In this exclusive interview with Stuart Nicholson, Hancock talks about his new band, his time with Miles Davis and his support for Barack Obama in the...

Dave Holland - Bass instinct

Arguably the most high profile jazz bassist on the planet and one of the most famous English jazz exports, Dave Holland returns this month with a new album which builds on his substantial career as a leader. Duncan Heining catches up with him on tour with Herbie Hancock and discovers the path Dave has taken in jazz since those early days back in England playing traditional jazz and carving his own career on a very different jazz scene in London.

Julian Siegel - New York State of Mind

Julian Siegel teams up with top American musicians Joey Baron and Greg Cohen for a new CD release following successful tours together and ahead of their latest live dates. One of the busiest saxophonists around, Siegel talks to Andy Robson about the genesis of the group, the different approach of the Americans and his own new perceptions.

Kenny Garrett - Spontaneous Reaction

Kenny Garrett releases the first live album of his career this month, a quite remarkable addition to his discography stretching back to the 1980s. With free jazz legend Pharoah Sanders joining him, Garrett makes an intriguing sidestep with this project away from his recent Far Eastern and Coltrane preoccupations. Interview: Kevin Le Gendre

Vijay Iyer - Post-modern Meltdown

Pianist Vijay Iyer cuts a singular presence on the American jazz scene. With a cerebral, but accessible post-modern style, he has made his presence felt with a run of albums featuring his own cast of collaborators. Best known for his work with altoist Rudresh Mahanthappa and Mike Ladd he won Jazzwise album of the year in 2004 with In What Language? and since then has continued to craft a singular style that makes him stand out on the sometimes hidebound American scene. Kevin Le Gendre talks to...

Bobo Stenson - Inner Vision

Bobo Stenson is one of the most revered European pianists with a track record that includes key recordings with Jan Garbarek, Charles Lloyd and Tomasz Stanko. As his latest solo disc Cantando is released he talks to Stuart Nicholson about his early days in Sweden, the distinctly European nature of his approach to jazz and the way the music has developed over the course of his career.

Ingrid Laubrock - Stolen Moments

Saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock has within a short period of time become part of the progressive adventurous stream of jazz coming out of the London scene centred around the F-IRE Collective. With her new group she this month debuts new album Sleepthief in the company of forward-thinking American drummer Tom Rainey and pianist Liam Noble. Duncan Heining talks to Ingrid about her fast-developing career and how she sees the direction of her music in a rapidly changing musical landscape.

Esbjörn Svensson - Reminiscence of a soul

The tragic death of Esbjörn Svensson, at the age of just 44, in June robbed jazz of one of its most progressive and influential musicians. In just over a decade with EST he changed the face of the piano trio stretching and challenging the format and in turn directly influencing a whole new generation of jazz musicians. At the same time he introduced both a postmodern European sensibility to the band and the innovations and new sounds of rock and electronica channelled through the unique prism of...

Return To Forever - Blast from the past

A historic reunion this year has seen the coming together once again of one of the most seminal and influential jazz-rock bands of the 1970s, Return To Forever. Bringing the line-up of Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, Al Di Meola and Lenny White together to tour has been a long time in the planning with the tour also coinciding with an anthology that cherry picks the best tracks from the line-up’s heyday in the 70s. Andy Robson hears from Chick Corea and Stanley Clarke about the band’s day in the...

Jef Neve - Soul power

Tipped as one of the new rising stars on the European jazz circuit Belgian pianist Jef Neve returns this month with a follow-up to his critically acclaimed trio outing from last year. On the new record, Soul in a Picture, he manages to mould jazz, rock and classical influences into a flexible improvising vehicle along with drummer Teun Verbruggen and bassist Piet Verbist. Stuart Nicholson talks to Neve about his inspirations, his classical and jazz influences, and how he manages to develop his...

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