Nicole Mitchell & Ballaké Sissoko : Bamako Chicago Sound System

Ballaké Sissoko | Fassery Diabaté | Fatim Kouyate | Jeff Parker | Joshua Abrams | Jovia Armstrong | JoVia Armstrong | Mankwe Ndosi | Nicole Mitchell

In 2017, American flautist Nicole Mitchell and Malian kora player Ballaké Sissoko assembled a cast of top musicians to record...

Reviewed by Gail Tasker in issue: October/2024

Boreal Sun: Dawn

Billy Adamson | Christopher Hargreaves | Emma Rawicz | Gareth Lockrane | Jon Shenoy | Joshua Blackmore | Lewis Moody | Liselotte Östblom | Matt Roberts | Pedro Segundo

This project is the work of two high-flying educators and practitioners of modern music: pianist Roberts and singer Östblom, who...

Reviewed by Peter Jones in issue: July/2024

Stefon Harris + Blackout: Sonic Creed

Corey Benjamin | Daniel Frankhuizen | Elena Pinderhughes | Felix Peikli | James Francies | Jean Baylor | Joseph Doubleday | Joshua Crumbly | Mike Moreno | Pedro Martinez

Vibraphonist Harris, a musician whose discography includes impressive albums for Blue Note, above all 2003's ambitious The Grand Unification Theory,...

Reviewed by Kevin Le Gendre in issue: October/2018

Collective X: Love & Protest

Alya Al-Sultani | Clemens Christian Potzssch | Cleveland Watkiss | Dave Ital | Joshua Idehen | Mark Sanders | Neil Charles | Orphy Robinson | Pat Thomas | Robert Menzel

Vocalist Alya Al-Sultani may currently have a relatively low profile on the UK jazz scene, but this new project Collective...

Reviewed by Kevin Le Gendre in issue: March/2018

Henry Kaiser/Ray Russell: The Celestial Squid

Aram Shelton | Damon Smith | Henry Kaiser | Joshua Allen | Michael Manring | Phillip Greenlief | Ray Russell | Steve Adams | Weasel Walter | William Winant

Californian guitarist Henry Kaiser's previous collaborators include such legends of rock and free jazz as Fred Frith, Richard Thompson, John...

Reviewed by Edwin Pouncey in issue: October/2015

Dave Douglas: DD 50 Special Edition 50th Birthday Recordings

Aoife O'Donovan | Clarence Penn | Dave Douglas | Greg Tardy | Jon Irabagon | Joshua Roseman | Linda Oh | Matt Mitchell | Rudy Royston | Uri Caine

Here's an invite to a fab party. To celebrate 50 years on the planet, Douglas has handsomely boxed three recent...

Reviewed by Andy Robson in issue: February/2014

Louis Armstrong: The OKeh Columbia & RCA Victor Recordings 1925-33

Baby Dodds | Budd Johnson | Chick Webb | Don Redman | Earl Hines | Johnny Dodds | Keg Johnson | Kid Ory | Lawrence Brown | Lil Armstrong

The box title should be sufficient recommendation to anyone who doesn't possess this music already. This was the period when...

Reviewed by Brian Priestley in issue: June/2013

Bessie Smith: 1925-1926 The Early Electric Recordings

Bessie Smith | Bob Escudero | Bob Fuller | Buster Bailey | Charlie Dixon | Charlie Green | Clarence Williams | Coleman Hawkins | Don Redman | Elmer Snowden

Forever known as the ‘The Empress of the Blues’, and titled ‘the greatest blues singer in the world’ by singer...

Reviewed by Peter Vacher in issue: March/2025

Aquarium: Places

Edward Perez | Godwin Louis | Jason Palmer | Kendrick Scott | Mark Turner | Mike Moreno

The 26-year-old pianist-composer Sam Leak is the man behind Aquarium, a quartet that a lot of critics picked up on...

Reviewed by Selwyn Harris in issue: September/2014

Noah Preminger/Broken Shadows/Gregory Tardy/Bill Frisell/Billy Lester/Kenny Werner/Hank Roberts: Newvelle Records: Seaso

Adopting a unique marketing strategy, first put into effect in 2015, Newvelle Records, co-founded by Elan Mehler and Jean-Christophe Morisseau,...

Reviewed by Stuart Nicholson in issue: September/2019