Made To Break: Cherchez La Femme

Christof Kurzman | Tim Daisy | Devin Hoff | Ken Vandermark

Not for nothing is Ken Vandermark known as the hardest working man in avant-jazz. Each of these three lengthy compositions...

Reviewed by Daniel Spicer in issue: May/2014

Matt Slocum: Black Elk's Dream

Gerald Clayton | Massimo Biolcati | Walter Smith III | Dayna Stephens | Matt Slocum

American drummer/composer Matt Slocum has a light touch, a strong melodic pulse and is steadily rising up the New York...

Reviewed by Mike Hobart in issue: May/2014

Paul Bley: Play Blue-Live in Oslo

Paul Bley

Bley's gentle subversion of established jazz practice in the mid-1960s on albums such as Closer on the ESP label appeared...

Reviewed by Stuart Nicholson in issue: May/2014

Bernie Worrell: Elevation: The Upper Air-Solo Piano

Bernie Worrell

As all British schoolchildren, past and present, know, Dr Who regenerates every few years and steps out of his Tardis...

Reviewed by Robert Shore in issue: May/2014

Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Orchestra: Jazz Is Universal

One of the seminal albums by this fine orchestra makes a welcome reappearance on its original label, proving that what...

Reviewed by Alyn Shipton in issue: May/2014

Ben Webster: In Norway

A live session from Trondheim, for Webster completists, but not as good as the previous decade's Danish Steeplechase sessions, and...

Reviewed by Alyn Shipton in issue: May/2014

Keith Jarrett: Arbour Zena

Dennis Russell Davies | Keith Jarrett

These two albums are part of the first batch of ECM's The Story Of Our Listening compact disc reissue series...

Reviewed by Stuart Nicholson in issue: May/2014

Sławek Dudar Quartet: Inside City

This Polish, Wroclaw-based saxophonistcomposer's mostly folk-derived themes (including a sombre ballad paying tribute to Esbjörn Svensson) are driven by rock,...

Reviewed by Selwyn Harris in issue: May/2014

Dee Daniels: State of the Art

A latecomer to jazz vocals, this New York-based singer has something of her namesake Dee Dee Bridgewater about her interpretations...

Reviewed by Selwyn Harris in issue: May/2014

Ambrose Akinmusire: The Imagined Savior is Far Easier To Paint

OSSO String Quartet | Charles Altura | Cold Specks | Sam Harris | Harish Raghavan | Walter Smith III | Ambrose Akinmusire | Justin Brown | Becca Stevens | Theo Bleckmann

This is trumpeter Akinmusire's second album on the Blue Note label that follows the critically acclaimed When the Heart Emerges...

Reviewed by Stuart Nicholson in issue: May/2014