April 2024
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:
-
I receive so many requests to review recordings it is impossible to include them all.
-
Unlike some publications/blogs, Sandy Brown Jazz is not a funded website and it is not possible to pay reviewers.
-
Reviews tend to be personal opinions, something a reviewer likes might not suit you, or vice versa.
-
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.
​
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 April 2024
UK
Trio HLK - Anthropometricks
(Ubuntu Music) - Released: 15th March 2024
​
Rich Harrold (piano, composer); Ant Law (guitar); Rich Kass (drums); Dame Evelyn Glennie (vibraphone, marimba, percussion); Natalie Clein (cello); Varijashree Venugopal (vocals)
'Anthropometricks' captures Trio HLK's evolution since its debut release, 'Standard Time', and subsequent extensive international touring. The compositions are grown from fragments of jazz standards. Each piece is new but shards of the original can be glimpsed within. The album presents a rich pallet of distinct sonic worlds and narrative journey. The album title and the first single refer to the re-composition of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie's Anthropology - using rhythmci trcicks and musical illusions .... (album notes)
Paul Higgs and Pavane - Summer Lullaby
(self-produced) - Released: 29th February 2024
​
Paul Higgs (trumpet); Natalie Rozario (cello); Chris Ingham (piano); George Double (drums); Andy Watson (guitar); Jerome Davies (double bass)
'Summer Lullaby is Paul Higgs’ second album with Pavane – a band of virtuoso musicians. With sultry, jazz-infused rhythms beckoning you to dance, and classical grandeur that evokes timeless elegance, the album has summer's tranquillity at its heart. The music on the album is unashamedly melodic and reflective, and each piece explores and builds on that mood. Paul (Angel Award Winner and Ivor Novello Nominee) is renowned as one of the UK’s leading trumpet players and composers, especially known for his versatility as is fully displayed on the new album, which features all original compositions along with This Guy's In Love With You, a Bacharach/David classic ....... The combination of theatre work, backing big-name acts on-stage, working actively on recording sessions, and contributing to film and television music has tested Higgs’ musical abilities time and again. He has developed a stellar reputation for being able to handle virtually any type of project with sensitivity and understanding, and to each challenge he brings his energy, enthusiasm and encyclopaedic knowledge of different genres and periods of music.' (album notes)
Matt Anderson Quartet - Live At The Leeds Jazz Festival
(Hidden Threads Records) - Released: 1st March 2024
​
Matt Anderson (tenor and soprano sax); Alberto Palau (piano); Will Harris (double bass); Jay Davis (drums)
'This live recording of the Matt Anderson Quartet from the middle of their May 2023 U.K. tour is a snapshot of the band at their best: stretching out on a set of original tunes with a characteristically open, interactive and risk-taking approach. The band’s strengths as an ensemble are particularly apparent in a live setting, having been refined through eight years of gigging, touring and recording together, a longevity rare in today’s constantly-changing jazz scene. The Leeds audience excitement is also palpable as the band return to a venue they have played at many times over the years, HEART in Headingley, as part of the city’s second annual jazz festival.' (album notes)
Trish Clowes and Ross Stanley - Journey To Where
(Stoney Lane Records) - Released: 8th March 2024
​
Trish Clowes (tenor saxophone); Ross Stanley (piano)
'Acclaimed saxophonist Trish Clowes joins long-term collaborator pianist/composer Ross Stanley for their captivating new duo album Journey to Where, recorded at Wigmore Hall, London, featuring the duo’s inventive originals alongside personal favourites from Wayne Shorter to Marcel Dupré. Releasing March 2024 on Stoney Lane Records, on International Women's Day. Performing and collaborating together for a number of years, the duo’s debut has been a long time in the making, and features four originals by Clowes and Stanley, alongside intriguing arrangements of music dedicated to their respective heroes, Wayne Shorter and John Taylor. “This is the first time Ross has released his own music on a recording, and I think it’s the first time I’ve recorded standards for one of my own albums too,” Clowes explains. “We decided to start developing music that was distinct from other playing contexts, so we could record an album that had a mixture of our own tunes, amongst some important music for both of us.” .........' (album notes)
Joe Webb - collblanc
(Edition Records) - Released: 26th January 2024
​
Joe Webb (piano); Will Sach (bass); Sam Jesson (drums)
'Fuelled by deep love of 90's guitar bands and an unwavering passion for football (with a slight obsession for Lionel Messi), Joe Webb emerges with a new EP ‘Collblanc’ as an extraordinary talent, skilfully blending traditional piano mastery with a captivating rock star persona. "Collblanc" is not merely a new digital EP, but a significant mark of Joe Webb’s renewed sonic adventure, flanked by the formidable Will Sach on bass and Sam Jesson on drums. With an anticipating sequence of EPs and a climactic album to drop in 2024, "Collblanc" stands as a watershed moment — the juncture where Joe records for the first time with his new trio and interlaces his recent infatuation for stride piano in his own unique way ........' (album notes)
The Jazz Defenders - Memory In Motion
(Haggis Records) - Released: 19th April 2024
​
George Cooper (piano, wurlitzer, organ, vibraphone, percussion); Ian Matthews (drums); Will Harris (double & electric bass);
Nick Malcolm (trumpet); Jake McMurchie (saxophone)
'UK jazz ensemble The Jazz Defenders release their third album "Memory In Motion" in April on Haggis Records (home of The Haggis Horns and Malcolm Strachan). The Bristol jazz boppers deliver another quality release of original material that takes in their usual diverse mix of influences and genres, from timeless acoustic jazz referencing the classic sounds of Blue Note Records, to a more contemporary fusion where jazz meets soul, funk and hip-hop. Although they love to mix things up, their roots are in the classic acoustic jazz quintet sound of the late 1950s/early 1960s, back when hard bop and modal jazz ruled. They have already explored this musical path well on their previous albums but they still deliver a couple of classic inspired jazz cuts here. "Chasing Fantasies" and "Fuffle Kerfuffle" both give the band some space to cut loose on solos over swing jazz beats that will keep their original jazz audience happy. The latter bubbles away with a jazz shuffle beat that would make drum legend Art Blakey smile ......' (album notes)
America
Acceleration Due To Gravity - Jonesville
(Hot Cup Records) - Released: 16th February 2024
​
Stacy Dillard (tenor saxophone); Matt Nelson (alto saxophone); Kyle Saulnier (baritone saxophone); Bobby Spellman: (trumpet); Dave Taylo: (trombone); Ava Mendoza (guitar); George Burton (piano); Moppa Elliot (bass); Mike Pride (drums).
' ..... During the Covid-19 pandemic, (Moppa) Elliott created blindfold tests for a small circle of musicians and friends which led to completing his collection of all the recordings made by Sam Jones during his illustrious and long career. For the entirety of 2024, Elliott will host a weekly radio broadcast on WAYO in Rochester, NY where he will play music from each of Sam Jones’ recordings in roughly chronological order, interspersed with commentary and context. Elliott’s original compositions, as performed by ADTG, are based loops that undergo transformation during each repetition and are staggered against each other. Each tune is made up of a handful of musical phrases (which in other circumstances could be samples) that loop and repeat, but never in the same way due to both written variations and the spontaneous improvisations of the band members. This allows each piece to retain both a unique sound world and forward momentum, constantly surprising the listener, and often, the band. Elliott takes as a model the music of The Wu-Tang Clan, The Roots, Run the Jewels, DJ Premiere and other hip-hop artists who create song forms that are vehicles for multiple soloists and do not emphasize a central “hook” or refrain. Each of Elliott’s tunes has three solo sections built into it, and no recurring melodic chorus in order to more clearly emphasize the central role of the improvised solo.' (album notes)
Frank Carlberg Large Ensemble - Elegy For Thelonious
(Sunnyside Records) - Released: 8th March 2024
​
Frank Carlberg (conductor, composer); Sam Hoyt, John Carlson, David Adewumi, Kirk Knuffke (trumpet); Brian Drye, Chris Washburne, Tyler Bonilla, Max Seigel (trombone); Nathan Reising, Jeremy Udden, Adam Tolker, Hery Paz, Andrew Hadro (woodwinds); Leo Genovese (piano, keyboards); Kim Cass (bass); Michael Sarin (drums); Christine Correa, Priya Carlberg (voice)
'Frank Carlberg has explored the music of Thelonious Sphere Monk in many contexts: as a seasoned and highly acclaimed pianist, noted for his work in duo, trio and other small groups, but also as leader and orchestrator of an adventurous large ensemble. His 2017 release Monk Dreams, Hallucinations and Nightmares was big-band Monk in all its glory, rated five stars in DownBeat and hailed as “stunning and original” by The Buffalo News. Carlberg played piano on the earlier date, which had J.C. Sanford conducting. But on the new Elegy for Thelonious, Carlberg takes up the baton and does not play, leaving that to the brilliant Leo Genovese (of Esperanza Spalding renown, effortlessly at home in mainstream and avant-garde jazz settings). With a rich blend of winds and brass, and a solid, inventive rhythm section with bassist Kim Cass and drummer Michael Sarin, Carlberg approaches the Monk canon from his own compositional standpoint, borrowing or transforming what he calls melodic “cells and splinters,” re-composing or even merging different songs into new entities, with formal, improvisational and sonic results that are immediately gripping .....' (album notes).
Chris Potter - Eagle's Point
(Edition Records) - Released: 8th March 2024
​
Chris Potter (tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, bass clarinet); Brad Mehldau (piano); John Patitucci (double bass); Brian Blade (drums)
'.....‘Eagle’s Point’ promises to be an electrifying testament to modern jazz, uniting four unparalleled luminaries within the genre, performing eight original compositions written by Chris especially for the recording session. The planets finally aligned; despite never having the time to perform together, this supergroup seized the opportunity in late 2022 and assembled to record this landmark album. Each musician, a dominant force in their own right, contributes to every track with humility and mutual respect. The musicianship is nothing short of exceptional, with everyone bringing something different to the table; Brad Mehldau’s virtuosic performances on the piano dance and have an unmatched eloquence, John Patitucci’s bass lines weave intricate tapestries, and Brian Blade’s percussive finesse lays the rhythmic foundation for this dream team. .....' (album notes)
Cyrille Aimee - à Fleur de Peau
(Whirlwind Recordings) - Released: 8th March 2024
​
Cyrille Aimee (vocals, acoustic guitar, baritone ukelele); Jake Sherman (various); Abe Rounds ( drums & percussion); Jorge Roeder (bass 2); Duncan Wickel (violin, cello 2, 6, 7); Naseem Alatrash (cello 2, 7); Jay Rattman (clarinet 2, 7); Wayne Tucker (trumpet 1, 3); Maria Cardona (vocals 5); Jamison Ross (drums 6); Chloe Rowlands (trumpet, flugelhorn 6, 8); Andy Clausen (trombone 6, 8); The Williamsburg School of Music Chorus (vocals 8); Armando Young (additional drum production)
"The album’s genesis originates far from New York or Cyrille’s adopted New Orleans home, deep within the forests of Costa Rica: an astonishing tale of a creative rebirth. “I’ve been writing forever, but this album is my real birth as a songwriter. Six years ago, I found out I was pregnant as I travelled to Costa Rica. I spent a week there, surrounded by the teeming life of the jungle, knowing I had to have an abortion when I returned home. I wrote the song ‘Inside and Out’ about this powerful, scary and difficult experience and recorded it with Jake back in New York, but I didn’t trust myself as a songwriter back then and so the song laid dormant for years" .... At the heart of each recording is a live performance by Cyrille, accompanying herself with voice and guitar or baritone ukulele: then together they would add layers of arrangement, using Cyrille’s trademark vocal improvisations to suggest horn lines, percussion parts and counter melodies which Sherman would re-create on his array of vintage instruments. The results are uniformly appealing in their direct honesty but diverse in their sound. ‘Again Again’ preserves the simplicity of Cyrille’s sad guitar ballad, with subtle production hinting at bigger things; ‘Beautiful Way’ presents a bilingual paean to New Orleans with creative percussions made by Cyrille biting down a cracker ......' (album notes)