Travelogue

by Joni Mitchell

"Joni’s been a huge inspiration since I first heard her records growing up, becoming obsessed with her music as a teenager. It was so hard to pick a specific album, but it had to be Travelogue; the way Vince Mendoza utilises those beautiful Jaco Pastorius lines in the orchestration, capturing the great interplay between Joni and Jaco from the original recording is sublime."

Footprints Live

by Wayne Shorter

"I’ve always loved Wayne’s playing since hearing him on Joni and Weather Report albums as a youngster, then checking out his other work as a leader and sideman, but when I heard this band on their first UK tour I was on cloud nine. The way the four interact with the weaving of ideas and incredible interplay is what I most love about the art of improvisation. He’s such an inspiration to still be creating music like this and pushing the boundaries."

Phaedrus

by Julian Argüelles ​

"Julian’s still continually developing his craft and is such a world class musician. On Phaedrus he already has a unique and individual voice, as well as great command of the instrument. And at such a young age! It’s also some of my favourite playing by John Taylor. I love the way him and Julian interact."

Natureza Universal

by Hermeto Pascoal

Though incredibly complex there’s joy, beauty, emotion and a sense of roots and tradition in Hermeto’s composing and playing. A lot of my favourite music has grown out of his legacy such as that by Iain Ballamy, Django Bates and Loose Tubes. I love all his albums but the first Hermeto gig I saw was in my formative years in 1994 with a UK big band and it totally blew me away."

The State of the Tenor / Live at the Village Vanguard

by Joe Henderson

"I had to have a tenor trio album on here. I love the format. There are so many tenor trios that I dig. This particular album was one of the reasons I set up my own trio. The way they interact with such freedom is beautiful. I love Joe’s time feel. It’s like he’s floating across the time but it’s totally nailed and his language and vocabulary is so succinct, but never clichéd."

Tori Freestone Trio’s album El Mar de Nubes is out now on Whirlwind Recordings.

This article originally appeared in the July 2019 issue of Jazzwise. Explore our latest subscription offers