Randolph Matthews: Untamed

Randolph Matthews

The rich, enveloping musical world of Randolph Matthews draws from a fascinating array of source material – from beatboxing to...

Reviewed by Peter Quinn in issue: March/2018

Snowpoet: Thought You Knew

Nick Costley-White | Dave Hamblett | Josh Arcoleo | Francesca Ter-Berg | Lauren Kinsella | Chris Hyson | Alice Zawadzki | Matthew Robinson | Lloyd Haines

It’s hard to neatly describe Snowpoet’s sound. The London-based group, led by vocalist Lauren Kinsella and multi-instrumentalist producer Chris Hyson,...

Reviewed by Thomas Rees in issue: March/2018

Richard Lloyd Giddens Jr: Mimosas

Adam Benjamin | Tomas Fujiwara | Richard Lloyd Giddens Jr | Matt Otto | Storm Nilson

Richard Lloyd Giddens Jr knows how to orientate himself around his instrument and to create a cohesive group sound, but...

Reviewed by Philip Clark in issue: March/2018

David Murray feat. Saul Williams: Blues For Memo

Aytaç Doğan | Nasheet Waits | Orrin Evans | Jason Moran | Jaribu Shahid | Pervis Ervans | David Murray | Craig Harris | Mingus Murray | Saul Williams

Tenorman David Murray has a rich history of collaborating with African American poets, including recordings with Amiri Baraka and Ishmael...

Reviewed by Daniel Spicer in issue: March/2018

Album Interview: Kit Downes: Obsidian

Tom Challenger | Kit Downes

Having previously played piano on Thomas Strønen’s ECM album Time Is A Blind Guide (2015), Downes improvises on Suffolk and...

Reviewed by Nick Hasted in issue: February/2018

Various Artists: Live At The Spotted Dog

Jonathan Silk's | Ben Lee | Sean Gibb's | Stan Sulzmann

“In a sense, variety itself is the key characteristic of the Birmingham scene,” says leading Birmingham jazz impresario Tony Dudley-Evans...

Reviewed by Selwyn Harris in issue: February/2018

Large Unit: Fluku

Mats Äleklint | Paal Nilssen-Love | Klaus Ellerhusen Holm | Andreas Wildhagen | Julie Kjær | Christian Meaas Svendsen | Ketil Gutvik | Kristoffer Berre Alberts | Jon Rune Strøm | Thomas Johansson

It says something about the grand ambitions of Norwegian drummer Paal Nilssen-Love’s Large Unit that, by releasing an hour of...

Reviewed by Daniel Spicer in issue: February/2018

Wes Montgomery: The Complete Montgomery Brothers Quartet Studio Sessions

Billy Hart | Lawrence Merable | Bobby Thomas | Wes Montgomery | Jack Bradley | Paul Parker | Monk Montgomery | Buddy Montgomery | Paul Humphrey | Louis Hayes

Without the presence of Wes, The Montgomery Brothers could have been seen as a crossbreed that included basic elements of...

Reviewed by Roy Carr in issue: February/2018

Mark Murphy: Midnight Mood

Jimmy Woode | Mark Murphy | Jimmy Deuchar | Kenny Clarke | Derek Humble | Francy Boland | Åke Persson | Sahib Shihab | Ronnie Scott

In the company of eight musicians from the fabled Kenny Clarke/ Francy Boland Big Band, who recorded a number of...

Reviewed by Peter Quinn in issue: February/2018

Benny Goodman: Like a Bolt from the Blue

A cautious three-star rating for this collection of 1934 sides by Goodman before he found fame, and his band was...

Reviewed by Alyn Shipton in issue: February/2018