Ryo Fukui: Mellow Dream

A second album (from 1977) by the stellar Japanese pianist whose forte is again ballads, including a luscious ‘My Foolish...

Reviewed by Alyn Shipton in issue: September/2018

Nucleus & Ian Carr: Torrid Zone: The Vertigo Recordings 1970-1975

Allan Holdsworth | Aureo de Souza | Bob Bertles | Brian Smith | Bryan Spring | Chris Spedding | Clive Thacker | Dave MacRae | Geoff Castle | Gordon Beck

This is a mammoth effort, with all nine Nucleus albums from their Vertigo days squeezed onto a 6CD set, capturing...

Reviewed by Andy Robson in issue: June/2019

Luzia von Wyl Ensemble: Throwing Coins

This highly impressive young Swiss pianist-composer presents her chamber octet, with a colourful, soft-toned palette that's influenced by the French...

Reviewed by Selwyn Harris in issue: November/2018

David Amram: Classic American Film Scores 1956-2016

Adam Amram | Buster Bailey | David Amram | George Barrow | Harold Land | Jerry Dodgion | Laurindo Almeida | Pepper Adams | Sahib Shibab | Slide Hampton

This 5CD box packs in an enthrallingly diverse selection of musical polymath extraordinaire David Amram’s compositions and recordings, which tellingly...

Reviewed by Michael Horovitz in issue: March/2016

Theo Croker: BLK2Life: A Future Past

Anthony Ware | Ari Lennox | Charlotte Dos Santos | Ego Ella May | Eric Wheeler | Gary Bartz | Iman Omari | Jeff Parker | Kassa Overall | Malaya

Theo Croker’s last album Star Nation earned him a Grammy nomination, and the steep ascent of the Florida-born composer, producer...

Reviewed by Jane Cornwell in issue: April/2022

Bill Laurance Trio: Live At Ronnie Scott's

Bill Laurance | Jonathan Harvey | Marijus Aleksa

Generously, Snarky Puppy keyboardist Bill Laurance dedicates this beautifully-recorded (perhaps it’s a tad too pristine – a bit more of...

Reviewed by Kevin Whitlock in issue: April/2020

Trio DEF

Drawing inspiration from Terje Rypdal and David Torn, this Canadian-American all guitar trio adds a portion of Sco funk for...

Reviewed by Selwyn Harris in issue: November/2015

Mel Tormé: Sings Shubert Alley/Back In Town

Al Porcino | Art Pepper | Barney Kessel | Bill Hood | Bill Perkins | Bill Pittman | Bobby Gibbons | Frank Rosolino | Jack Sheldon | Joe Mondragon

Mel Tormé was good… damn good and he knew it… knew it to the point where, later in his career,...

Reviewed by Roy Carr in issue: August/2012

Booker Ervin & Horace Parlan: Complete 4tet/5tet/6tet Recordings

Al Harewood | Billy Higgins | Booker Ervin | Butch Warren | Dannie Richmond | Frank Strozier | George Tucker | Grant Green | Horace Parlan | Johnny Coles

Anyone familiar with Mingus Ah Um, Blues And Roots, Jazz Portraits/Alice In Wonderland and Oh Yeah! can't fail to have...

Reviewed by Brian Priestley in issue: September/2016

Charlotte Keefe: Right Here, Right Now, Solo Duo Quartet Large Ensemble

Caroline Kraabel | Charlotte Keefe | John Edwards | Maggie Nicols | Phil Minton | Steve Beresford

British trumpeter Charlotte Keefe expands her work in more ways than one. Moving from solo to duo to quartet to...

Reviewed by Kevin Le Gendre in issue: October/2021