Jonathan Silk Big Band with Percy Pursglove: Uncouth

Andy Bunting | Chris Maddock | Colin Mills | Joe Wright | John Fleming | Jonathan Silk | Kieran McLeod | Matt Gough | Mike Adlington | Mike Fletcher

Now there’s a perverse title if you like. The Jonathan Silk Big Band’s sound isn’t quite as smooth as its...

Reviewed by Robert Shore in issue: October/2013

UMO Jazz Orchestra with Michael Brecker: Live in Helsinki 1995

Michael Brecker

The UMO Jazz Orchestra in Helsinki is one of several leading big bands in Europe staffed by full time professionals....

Reviewed by Stuart Nicholson in issue: February/2016

Harmonie Ensemble/New York: The Nutcracker Suites

66-piece symphony orch | Art Baron | Bill Easley | Billy Strayhorn | Bob Millikan | Bobby Lavell | Curtis Fowlkes | Duke Ellington | George Cables | Hassan Shakur

‘The Nutcracker’ is far from my favourite Ellingtonia but, then, apparently the Tchaikovsky original wasn't his own favourite either. Perhaps...

Reviewed by Brian Priestley in issue: Dec/Jan/2013/2014

Gerd Dudek: Day and Night

Gene Calderazzo | Gerd Dudek | Hans Koller | Oli Hayhurst

Schwartz's studio in Ardingly, this is a fine opportunity to enjoy the often unjustly forgotten-about German saxophonist Dudek, now well...

Reviewed by Stephen Graham in issue: October/2012

Sarah Vaughan & Quincy Jones: Misty

Misty brings together two superb Vaughan albums. The first, Vaughan and Violins, was recorded in Paris in 1958 with an...

Reviewed by Peter Quinn in issue: June/2017

Freddie Hubbard: Four Classic Albums

For what originally started out as a small two-man operation, Blue Note discovered mainly relatively unknown talent and in many...

Reviewed by Roy Carr in issue: February/2020

Espoo Big Band: Espoo Suite

Marzi Nyman

In Finland, a country of five-and-a-half million people (comparable to the island of Ireland), Espoo is the second largest city...

Reviewed by Brian Priestley in issue: May/2019

Sax Appeal: Funkerdeen

Bob McKay | Brandon Allen | Derek Nash | Gary Plumley | Mike Bradley | Pete Adams | Phil Scragg | Scott Garland | Simon Allen

Derek Nash has fingers in many pies. The hardworking producer, composer/arranger and multi-reedman fronts various groups and works with others,...

Reviewed by Jack Massarik in issue: July/2014

Immanuel Wilkins: The 7th Hand

Adrian Somerville Jr. | Agyei Keita Edwards | Daryl Johns | Elena Pinderhughes | Immanuel Wilkins | Jamal Dickerson | Kweku Sumbry | Micah Thomas | Yao Akoto

Following the buzz around his debut Omega released in 2020 on Blue Note, the 24-year-old Philadelphia born-and-raised alto saxophonist-composer Immanuel...

Reviewed by Selwyn Harris in issue: February/2022

Chris Laurence: Ken Wheeler: Some Gnu Ones

Bill Hawkes | Chris Laurence | Frank Ricotti | Ian Burdge | Katie Wilkinson | Martin France | Nick Cooper | Rita Manning

And now for the good gnus! Here’s three songs specifically written for the deep toned double bass of Chris Laurence...

Reviewed by Andy Robson in issue: May/2022