Trevor Watts String Ensemble: Cynosure

Colin McKenzie | Dave Cole | Liam Genockey | Lindsay Cooper | Sandy Spencer | Steve Donachie | Steve Hayton | Trevor Watts

If collective free improvisation summons images of furrowed brows and unsmiling aural assaults then stick this platter in your play...

Reviewed by Andy Robson in issue: April/2016

Walter Bishop Jr: Coral Keys

Alan Schwaetz Benger | Harold Vick | Idris Muhammad | Reggie Johnson | Walter Bishop Jr | Woody Shaw

Launched in 1971 – at a point when a number of prominent Black American jazz musicians were establishing their own...

Reviewed by Simon Spillett in issue: November/2020

Joe Alexander Quintet: Blue Jubilee

For those older readers who search the new releases section in vain for familiar names, here's one even you may...

Reviewed by Tony Hall in issue: March/2013

Will Calhoun: Life In This World

Alioune Wade | Brehima ‘Benego’ Diakite | Charnett Moffett | Cheick Tidiane Seck | Donald Harrison | Doug Wimbish | John Benitez | Marc Cary | Ron Carter | Wallace Roney

I don’t know about you, but if I meet a traveller who speaks fluently in many languages and shares his...

Reviewed by Andy Robson in issue: August/2013

Art ‘Turk’ Burton and Congo Square Spirits featuring Ari Brown: Then and Now

Over 30 years separates the two earthy, raw-edged sessions featured on this CD. They have in common conga-playing leader Art...

Reviewed by Mike Hobart in issue:

Josh Kyle/Sam Keevers: Songs Of Friends

Josh Kyle | Sam Keevers

This follow-up to his terrific 2011 debut, Possibilities, sees Australian vocalist Josh Kyle back on home soil following an extended...

Reviewed by Peter Quinn in issue: February/2015

Michael Dease: Decisions

Glenn Zaleski | Michael Dease | Rodney Whitaker | Tim Green | Ulysses Owens

This is arguably the best straightahead – but totally modern – CD of the year for this reviewer. Dease now...

Reviewed by Tony Hall in issue: November/2015

Tommy Flanagan: Four Classic Albums

Sadly underrated during his lifetime but not by musicians, Tommy Flanagan was a Detroit pianist who combined slick technique with...

Reviewed by Jack Massarik in issue: February/2020

Jo Harrop: The Heart Wants

Andy Davies | Christian McBride | Hannah Vasanth | Jason Rebello | Jo Harrop | Troy Miller

The album cover of The Heart Wants, which features vocalist and songwriter Jo Harrop musing over a lyric sheet, is...

Reviewed by Peter Quinn in issue: December/January/2021/2022

Ray Charles: Original Album Series

Bill Evans | Eddie Gomez | Elliott Zigmund | Joe LaBarbera | Larry Schneider | Marc Johnson | Toots Thielemans

He may well have started out as a Nat Cole-Charles Brown copyist, but once he found his own voice, Ray...

Reviewed by Roy Carr in issue: April/2016