Sammy Davis Jr: Sings and Swings with the Marty Paich Dek-tette and Orchestra

Though Davis was never really a jazz singer, Paich's settings and bands are the business, so Bud Shank's alto entry...

Reviewed by Alyn Shipton in issue: July/2017

Marc Copland: Better By Far

Ralph Alessi | Joey Baron | Marc Copland | Drew Gress

Strange to recall that Copland made his professional debut as a saxophonist, but since concentrating on the piano since the...

Reviewed by Brian Priestley in issue: July/2017

Sean Jones: Live from Jazz at the Bistro

The suave, free bop-rooted trumpeter's 12-year-old band's (including the pianist Orrin Evans) first ‘live’ album, and his eighth for this...

Reviewed by Selwyn Harris in issue: July/2017

Rob Thomsett: Yaraandoo & Hara

Rod McDevitt | Rob Thomsett | Jenny Fielding | Mike Russell | Mitchell Burns | Jerry Machutta | Martin Fisher | John Gyffyn | Alan Hodgkinson | Marto ‘Pud Uncle’ Thomsett

Canberra in the mid-1970s was not exactly what you would call a hotbed of countercultural activity. Built to order as...

Reviewed by Daniel Spicer in issue: July/2017

Grateful Dead: Cornell 5/8/77

Bob Weir | Phil Lesh | Keith Godchaux | Jerry Garcia | Mickey Hart | Bill Kreutzmann | Donna Jean Godchaux

For tape collectors and completists, this here live extravaganza from Barton Hall, Cornell University in Ithica, NY has a hallowed...

Reviewed by Ken Hunt in issue: July/2017

Cecil Payne & Duke Jordan: Brooklyn Brothers

Cecil Payne | Sam Jones | Duke Jordan | Al Foster

Four master hard boppers who've all been there, done that and got their luggage filled with t-shirts! Of all the...

Reviewed by Roy Carr in issue: July/2017

Regina Carter: Ella: Accentuate The Positive

Carla Cook | Chris Lightcap | Miche Braden | Marvin Sewell | Xavier Davis | Alvester Garnett | Regina Carter

Featuring beautifully crafted arrangements of beguiling variety and sensuousness, in every lovingly caressed phrase of Ella: Accentuate The Positive, Regina...

Reviewed by Peter Quinn in issue: July/2017

Frank Wright: One For John

Frank Wright | Noah Howard | Muhammad Ali | Bobby Few

Some albums are so much of their time that they serve as historical documents just as much as musical recordings....

Reviewed by Daniel Spicer in issue: July/2017

Jason Miles: Kind of New 2: Blue Is Paris

Reggie Washington | Jeff Coffin | Theo Croker | Jason Miles | Jay Rodriguez | Ricardo Silveira | Russell Gunn | Adam Dorn | Patches Stewart | Vinnie Zummo

In December 2015, keyboardist/producer Jason Miles was in Paris promoting his album Kind of New. It was the aftermath of...

Reviewed by George Cole in issue: July/2017

Elliott Sharp/Mary Halvorson/Marc Ribot: Err Guitar

Mary Halvorson | Marc Ribot | Elliott Sharp

Best draw a veil over that album title and head straight for the music – which is tremendously enjoyable. Elliott...

Reviewed by Philip Clark in issue: July/2017