Dave Douglas: Little Giant Still Life

Anwar Marshall | Andy Clausen | Dave Douglas | Zubin Hensler | Willem de Koch | Riley Mulherkar

Douglas’ musical curiosity knows no boundaries: here he is in essentially an all brass chamber context, with the fabulously talented...

Reviewed by Andy Robson in issue: February/2018

Jon Balke Siwan: Nahnou Houm

Jon Balke | Alison Luthmers | Derya Turkan | Johannes Lundberg | Øivind Nussle | Torbjørn Köhl | Judith-Maria Blomsterberg | Milos Valent | Pedram Khavar Zamini | Mime Brinkmann

Norwegian keyboardist and composer Jon Balke and his international collective Siwan won high acclaim for their genre-blurring ECM debut back...

Reviewed by Robert Shore in issue: February/2018

John Surman: Invisible Threads

Rob Waring | Nelson Ayres | John Surman

The great Devon-born saxophonist John Surman is someone who tends to favour the familiarity and intimacy of long-term collaborations. This...

Reviewed by Selwyn Harris in issue: February/2018

Stacey Kent: I Know I Dream

John Paricelli | Jim Tomlinson | Joshua Morrison | Graham Harvey | Stacey Kent | Jeremy Brown

Any doubts about the hushed intimacy and understatement of Stacey Kent’s voice not being suited to an orchestral setting are...

Reviewed by Peter Quinn in issue: February/2018

Hess is More: 80 Years

Probably one of the worst puns in band name history, the drummer/vocalist Mikkel Hess’ alt.pop-electronica ensemble’s seventh album doesn’t fare...

Reviewed by Selwyn Harris in issue: February/2018

Shorty Rogers and His Giants: A Rendezvous With…

For Rogers fans, a live session by the Giants at LA’s Rendezvous, with guests Chet Baker and Gerry Mulligan (two...

Reviewed by Alyn Shipton in issue: February/2018

Delfeayo Marsalis: Kalamazoo

Ellis Marsalis | Delfeayo Marsalis | Ralph Peterson | Reginald Veal

This is straightahead, swinging, unpretentious quartet jazz played by the trombone-wielding scion of the Marsalis clan with his father’s ever-thoughtful...

Reviewed by Alyn Shipton in issue: February/2018

Brian Charette: Backup

Henry Hey | Brian Charette | Jochen Rueckert

“Gone are the days when an artist says, ‘This is the only thing I do’. I believe you should do...

Reviewed by Robert Shore in issue: February/2018

Julian Siegel Quartet: Vista

Oli Hayhurst | Liam Noble | Gene Calderazzo | Julian Siegel

Vista is the much anticipated follow-up to 2011’s Urban Theme Park. It might be said that it is the culmination...

Reviewed by Stuart Nicholson in issue: February/2018

Tomas Fujiwara: Triple Double

Brandon Seabrook | Ralph Alessi | Mary Halvorson | Tomas Fujiwara | Gerald Cleaver | Taylor Ho Bynum

Leave the conceptual calculus of the album title behind, the triple-brace format doesn’t amount to much beyond the imaginative bustle...

Reviewed by Spencer Grady in issue: February/2018