August 2025
Some Recent Releases
Recent Releases
A few words about recent releases / reviews:
Apart from where they are included in articles on this website, I don't have a 'Reviews' section for a number of reasons:
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I receive so many requests to review recordings it is impossible to include them all.
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Unlike some publications/blogs, Sandy Brown Jazz is not a funded website and it is not possible to pay reviewers.
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Reviews tend to be personal opinions, something a reviewer likes might not suit you, or vice versa.
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It is difficult to capture music in words, so much better to be able to listen and see whether the music interests you.
For these reasons in particular I just include a selection of recent recordings below where I share the notes issued by the musician(s) as an introduction and links to samples so you can 'taste' the music for yourselves. For those who like to read reviews, these, of course, can be checked out on other sites.
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Some albums are priced in dollars or other currencies. These are marked ^. There are currency options if you proceed to order. Recordings are now regularly available on different formats (CD, mp3 downloads, vinyl) or platforms e.g iTunes, Spotify, etc. I am unable to list them all so it is worth checking if you have a favourite platform).
Featured In August 2025
UK
Jim Watson - Calling You Home
(self-release) - Released: 11th July 2025
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Jim Watson (piano)
'Jim Watson is the first-call pianist for a range of internationally renowned artists from across the pop spectrum - including Van Morrison and Incognito - while maintaining a busy schedule of touring and teaching at the heart of the UK's jazz scene. 'Calling You Home' finds him right back where it all began - seated by himself at the piano, with no-one else in the room, just playing the music that feels closest to him. "It's how I began playing as a child - how we all start. I just wanted to go in and do something that felt easy and natural". The solo piano record is a format that's at once intimate and revealing - there's nowhere to hide, but at the same time there's the freedom to explore the music that's closest to the performer. Looking in the musical mirror, Jim was inspired to create a set of original compositions that incorporate some of his most personal inspirations and set them alongside an eclectic selection of some of his favourite pop tunes from across the ages. "I locked myself in the studio and wrote six tunes in six days!" The title track and centrepiece of the record is 'Calling You Home' - a gospel-inflected song written by Jim and named by his wife, evoking a powerful sense of belonging, and of being at peace within oneself. "Calling You Home" is at once introspective and generous in the way it reaches out to the listener - the sound of a player who's at home both figuratively and literally, reaching inside to find his favourite musical resonances and reaching out to share them with the listener. "It felt really natural - a return back to where it all started, the place I feel most happy." (album notes)
Tom Barford - Live At The Parakeet
(self release - Released: 15th September 2025
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Tom Barford (saxophone); James Copus (trumpet); Ivo Neame (piano); Oli Hayhurst (bass); Tim Giles (drums)
'....... I'm really excited about this release because it's my first ever live album. It also features some of my absolute favourite musicians. We had such a fun night recording this back in November 2024. The audience were lovely and spirits were high. I'm really glad we caught as many amazing moments as we did (James' solo on Whatever You Say Will Be and Ivo's solo piano intro on Library of Babel are particular highlights of mine).......... I decided against making CD's this time around so if you do fancy supporting the music I've put the price as a cheaper £7. I hope you enjoy listening and please share it around if you do! Thanks again, Tom ' (album notes)
Hannah Brine - Blue Sky Now
(self release) - Released: 27th June 2025
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Hannah Brine (vocals); Jamie McCredie (guitar); Hamish Balfour, Jamie Safir (piano); Ian King (bass); Chris Draper (drums); Freddie Gavita (trumpet), with a string section of Debs White, Dave Larkin (violin), Reiad Chibah (viola); Julia Graham (cello).
'Singer-songwriter Hannah Brine is proud to present her new album Blue Sky Now, independently released in June 2025. While rooted in modern jazz sensibilities, Blue Sky Now is also influenced by iconic singer-songwriters spanning several decades, such as Carole King, Norah Jones, Cleo Sol and Rumer, who Hannah is supporting on tour later this year......‘One Precious Life’, is a poignant reflection on losing a friend and an upbeat reminder to make the most of life. From there the album explores a range of relatable themes, enhanced by the accomplished lyricist and songwriter Michael Garvin. ‘Goodbye London’ is a bittersweet ode to the capital, ‘Little Bird’ captures the difficult subject of a fertility journey and the reality that being a mother might have flown away, while second single ‘Cobwebs And Lace’, touches on hoarding and the realisation that memories mean more than things. The depth of each track and the subjects therein are subtly yet powerfully emphasised by Hannah Brine’s velvet vocals, resulting in an emotionally stirring set of unique songs.' (album notes)
America
Ches Smith - Clone Roaw
(Otherly Love Records) - Released: 6th June 2025
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Mary Halvorson (guitar); Liberty Ellman (guitar); Nick Dunston (bass, electronics); Ches Smith (drums, electronics, vibes)
'....... In Ches Smith’s record Clone Row, each piece is built around a different concept for guitar interaction. The delightful and gifted weirdness of Mary Halvorson’s playing is counterpointed, contrasted, unisoned with, played off, juxtaposed (that is to say, enters every relationship possible) with Liberty Ellman’s equally amazing sound palette, chops, and imagination. This definitely ain’t your father’s guitar band. The overall vibe of the record - despite Halvorson’s occasional noise outbursts or Ellman’s distorted guitar lines (see Mixed Fridge) is neither punk/funk, nor Zorn-ish metal - and certainly not the looser parameters of Ornette’s improvised harmolodics. Smith’s vibraphone playing, Halvorson’s guitar tone (whammy pedal squiggles aside), the brilliant electronics, and (most of all) the compositions themselves are somehow strangely West Coast cool. It’s as if I’m hearing a Jim Hall concert in which one of us did a lot of mushrooms, or (dare I write this?) some post-punk post-Dave Brubeck post-trip-hop experiment with classical form ......' (album notes)
Saul Dautch - Music For The People
(Doubleton Records) - Released: 30th May 2025
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Saul Dautch (baritone saxophone); Noah Halpern (trumpet); Miki Yamanaka (piano); Louie Leager (bass); Hank Allen-Barfield (drums)
' ...... Although the baritone sax is a demanding instrument, Dautch’s prowess has led to gigs with many world-class big bands, including the Glenn Miller Orchestra, the Robert Edwards Big Band, John Yao and his 17-Piece Instrument, the Orlando Jazz Orchestra, Bill O’Connell’s Afro Caribbean Ensemble, and many more. He has also been a featured soloist on several albums by the Flying Horse Big Band at the University of Central Florida, where he earned his Bachelor of Music degree. He then went on to earn a Master of Music in Jazz Studies at Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts in New Jersey. After completing his degree, Dauch decamped to Brooklyn where he works as a freelance musician, educator, composer/arranger and soloist ..... (album notes)
Sarah Wilson - Incandescence
(Brass Tonic Records) - Released: 18th July 2025
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​Sarah Wilson (trumpet); Kasey Knudsen (alto sax); Mara Fox (trombone); John Schott (guitar); Lisa Mezzacappa (bass); Jon Arkin (drums on tracks 6, 7, 8, 9 & 11); Tim Bulkley (drums on tracks 1-5 & 10)
'Composer, trumpeter and singer Sarah Wilson's music is deeply shaped by jazz yet uniquely draws inspiration from avant pop, Afro-Latin grooves and indie rock as much as the post-bop continuum. This music reflects the experience of art lifting you into a joyful place where time appears to stand still. Wilson seeks to capture the exuberant experience and timeless spirit of music.' (album notes)
Alchemy Sound Project - Under The Surface
(Artists Recording Collective) - Released: 27th June 2025
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Sumi Tonooka (piano); Gregg August (bass); Johnathan Blake (drums); Erica Lindsay (tenor saxophone); Salim Washington ( tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, flute); Samantha Boshnack (trumpet); Michael Ventoso (trombone).
'Under the Surface is a suite of seven pieces, inspired by the roots of trees and how they work together as underground systems to support the survival of all trees, even outside of their own species. This complex system is called the "wood wide web,” or the "mycorrhizal network." I think of this as a metaphor from nature about community - turning the notion of survival of the fittest on its head - to mean that the strong reach out to help the weak and the damaged, fostering a collective cooperation that supports the whole. In other words, humans need each other and must work together to survive and thrive, just like trees. Under the Surface has been made possible with support from Chamber Music America’s New Jazz Works program funded through the generosity of the Doris Duke Foundation.' (album notes)
Europe and Elsewhere
Tobias Wiklund - Inner Flight Music
(Stunt Records) - Released: 6th June 2025
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Tobias Wiklund (cornet); Hanna Paulsberg (tenor saxophone); Nils Berg (bass clarinet); Jon Falt (drums); Kansan Zetterberg (bass); Johan Graden (piano); Jonas Lindeborg (cornet), plus The Swedish Wind Orchestra.
'After living in Denmark and collaborating with Danes for years, one could call Tobias Wiklund more than a little Danish. Still, he has always been a Swede, remaining true to his northern Scandinavian roots of nature and nurture and having recently returned to his homeland of Sweden. And while Wiklund is a celebrated trumpet player, he chooses to explore his original music on cornet. ......Tobias Wiklund (b.1986) has always stood out among his generation of brass players who gravitated towards the cornet over the trumpet when given the opportunity. The cornet has a softer and darker sound than its more blaring and tart cousin. Like others of his ilk, Wiklund enjoys revisiting the instrument's history - often rediscovering forgotten or overlooked examples of “good old jazz.” This unique approach allows him to contribute to contemporary creativity while exploring the genre’s roots and celebrating hidden facets. While many consider the history of jazz to be a series of rebellions against tradition, Wiklund proves that it doesn’t always have to be this way. ..... Inner Flight Music is an ambitious project consisting of ten original works ranging from intimate duos to collaborations with the prestigious Swedish wind orchestra Blåsarsymfonikerna, which has over 100 years of tradition in wind and percussion music. Wiklund has expanded his repertoire as a composer in the larger format' (album notes)
Wojtek Mazolewski Quintet - Live Spirit I
(No Paper Records) - Released: 25th July 2025
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Wojtec Mazolewski (bass); Paul Butscher (trumpet); Piotr Checki (saxophone); Marcel Balinski (piano); Tymek Papior (drums)
“Kalaczakra” marks the powerful return of Wojtek Mazolewski Quintet, one of Europe’s leading jazz ensembles. The new single offers the first glimpse of their upcoming album Live Spirit I. Built around a catchy horn motif, a distinctive bass line, and a free-flowing, pulsing drum rhythm, the track brilliantly blends Polish and spiritual jazz traditions with a raw, modern edge - bold, uplifting, and unmistakably fresh. The forthcoming album Live Spirit I, recorded live at Warsaw’s iconic Witold LutosÅ‚awski Concert Studio, captures WMQ at their most vital. The double LP - out in July -features four brand-new compositions and expansive reworks of fan favorites. Mazolewski’s music reveals a potent mix of vitality and groove - qualities that have kept jazz relevant across generations and continue to attract new audiences.' (album notes)
Naissam Jalal - Souffles
(Self Release) - Released: 30th May 2025
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Naïssam Jalal (flute, vocal); Archie Shepp (tenor sax, vocal); Emile Parisien, Irving Acao (soprano sax); Louis Sclavis (bass clarinet); Robinson Khoury (trombone); Sylvain Rifflet (tenor sax); Thomas de Pourquery (alto sax); Yom (clarinet)
'A vertiginous flutist and prolific composer, Naïssam Jalal comes from a fertile background in music fuelled by passion and curiosity. Born in a Parisian suburb of Syrian parents, her fine trajectory has been marked by a number of excellent CD releases and prestigious awards such as the Coup de cœur from the Académie Charles Cros (2017) and the Victoires du Jazz (2019).' (album notes)
Reissues
Gerry Mulligan / Thelonious Monk - Mulligan Meets Monk (Remastered)
(Craft Recordings) - Released: 2025
Gerry Mulligan (braitone sax); Thelonious Monk (piano); Wilbur Ware (bass); Shadow Wilson (drums)
'The pianist seldom shared the bill with other stars or accepted playing second fiddle to anyone. Two rare exceptions include his two 1950 sides backing singer Frankie Passions ("Especially to You" and "Nobody Knows"), and his 1950 studio session backing Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. But Monk is the leader on most of his recordings, and in a way, he was also the leading voice on this meeting with Gerry Mulligan. Most of the tunes played here are compositions by Monk, with the exception of the standard "Sweet and Lovely" – a favourite of Monk's, who recorded it dozens of times – and Charlie Shavers' "Undecided", which could well have been Gerry's only call for the evening. Although it remains clearly recognizable, the latter tune was slightly modified here, retitled "Decidedly" and attributed to Mulligan himself. No other recording of "Undecided" by Monk is known to exist. "'Round Midnight" was a Mulligan request for the session, as he wanted to record the song with its composer. It is clearly one of the best tracks of the whole album. However, the fact that no new compositions by Monk were recorded on this date seems to indicate that Monk always preferred to make his own albums and didn't dedicate too much time to such experiments as Mulligan Meets Monk, which he may have regarded as a "commercial" venture.' (original album notes)
Bobby Wellins / Kenny Wheeler Quintet - The Endangered Species
(Jazz In Britain Records) - Released: 16th April 2025
Bobby Wellins (tenor sax); Kenny Wheeler (trumpet, flugelhorn); Pete Jacobsen (piano, electric piano); Kenny Baldock (bass); Spike Wells (drums); Chris Karan (percussion)
'In 1980 Bobby Wellins was commissioned to write a suite of music, which he called ‘The Endangered Species’ because, in his words: “Some years ago there was an oil spillage which washed ashore in Bognar Regis where I live. The guillemots were being pulled out in a dreadful state. One reads about such things, but to see for oneself a bird's life being taken away from it is quite horrific. Their lives are short enough anyway. It brought home to me very directly the damage we are inflicting on ourselves and the creatures around us and I felt I needed to express how I felt by composing a jazz suite.” The suite was written for Bobby’s quartet and was premiered at the Folkestone Arts Centre in February 1981. That concert was recorded and Bobby played it to Bob Cornford whom he greatly admired. Bob wanted to be involved in the production for an album and Bobby was very keen for him to orchestrate the suite for a small chamber orchestra in addition to the quartet.
In February 1982 the suite was played on a short tour of six concerts in Hertfordshire and East Anglia, with the addition of Kenny Wheeler and the tour was promoted as being by The ‘Bobby Wellins / Kenny Wheeler Quintet’........ (album notes)
Babs Gonzales - Bips And Bops
(Jasmine Records) - Released: 9th May 2025
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Babs Gonzales (vocals) with various musicians including Bennie Green, J J Johnson, Sonny Rollins, Buddy Tate,Ray Nance, Tadd Dameron and others
'The introduction of bebop to the musical melting pot that was the jazz scene of the 1940s brought about a revolution in the way that genre of music presented itself to the public. A new school of young musicians turned the traditional form of jazz on its head and brought about a new way of presenting songs without words that would itself evolve into the vocalese of the likes of Lambert, Hendricks and Ross, Eddie Heywood and King Pleasure. The pioneer of this style – on record, at least, was Babs Gonzales who, with a few like-minded souls, created a vocal bebop where wordless singing gave voice to the kind of sounds that Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker and others were creating instrumentally. On this new Jasmine collection, you can hear the evolution of this then-unique concept as it took place in the late 1940s and early 1950s, with Babs and his vocal cohorts supported instrumentally by some of the key musicians of the emerging bebop scene. The titles might not always make much sense – but the music does, and it’s easy to see why this new style gripped the imagination of a new generation of jazz fans in the same way that rock ‘n’ roll would capture the imagination of a 1950s young America who were bored with traditional pop music. Babs would eventually go on to pioneer his own style of ‘rapping’ that would be the start of the road to hip hop. That’s another saga for another CD – but here Jasmine brings you more than two dozen examples of the work of the man who made vocalese sound easy, in chronological order and in the best sound of any Gonzales anthology so far..' (album notes)
Details :
Sarah Vaughan - Classic Early Albums : 1955-59
(Acrobat Records) - Released: 2025 [4 CDs]
Sarah Vaughan (vocals); with various musicians including Clifford Brown, Snooky Young, Thad Jones, J.J. Johnson, Kai Winding, Cannonball Adderley; Herbie Mann and many others
'Sarah Vaughan was one of the peerless female sophisticated pop vocalists of the post-war decades who established herself as pianist and singer with the big bands of Earl Hines and Billy Eckstine before embarking on a solo career, having a string of hits for Musicraft, Columbia and Mercury through into the ‘50s. As the album era dawned, she was ideally placed to bring her talents as a masterly interpreter of the Great American Songbook to bear on a succession of albums on the Mercury and Emarcy labels. This 90-track 4-CD comprises the complete original content of seven of those albums from the later 1950s - “Sarah Vaughan”, “In The Land Of Hi-Fi”, “Sassy”, “Swingin’ Easy”, “In A Romantic Mood”, “No Count Sarah” and the double-LP “Sarah Vaughan Sings Broadway: Great Songs from Hit Shows”. It sees her working with a range of accompaniments, from her own jazz trio, and the great jazz octet of Clifford Brown, through the Count Basie Band (minus Count Basie), and the orchestras of Ernie Wilkins, featuring Cannonball Adderley, and Hal Mooney. It’s a marvellous showcase for her unique way with a song, and a substantial collection featuring one of the finest singers of the time performing some of the finest songs..' (album notes)