Recent Releases

July 2026
Some 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 July 2026

UK

Deirdre Cartwright - ORGANIK
(Blow The Fuse Records) - Released: 10th July 2026

Deirdre Cartwright (guitar); Pete Whittaker (Hammond organ); Gary Hammond (percussion)

'ORGANIK is the first album for 15 years from multi-award-winning leading UK jazz guitarist Deirdre Cartwright. The album honours the great jazz guitarists who inspired Deirdre on her own artistic journey and includes three original compositions. With Pete Whittaker on Hammond organ and reuniting with percussionist Gary Hammond, emphasising uplifting melody and playful musical interactions.' (album notes)

Details and Samples : Listen to One For Polly : Tea Break with Deirdre Cartwright article :

Fergus McCreadie - The Shieling : Companion Pieces
(Edition Records) - Released: 17th July 2026

Fergus McCreadie (piano); David Bowden (double bass); Stephen Henderson (drums)

Fergus McCreadie The Shieling Companion Pieces.jpg

'The Shieling – Companion Pieces is the new EP from acclaimed Scottish pianist and composer Fergus McCreadie, accompanying his 2025 album The Shieling. Recorded on North Uist in a remote cottage in the Outer Hebrides, with the trio gathered in one room around an upright piano, these pieces extend the atmosphere and shared concentration of that defining session. As the title suggests, the tracks serve as intimate counterparts to The Shieling, revealing the trio’s emotional depth and instinctive interplay. The music continues in an open, flowing direction - folk-inflected melody meeting lyrical improvisation, shaped with clarity, space and quiet intensity......' (album notes)

Details and Sample : Listen to The Pass :

Trish Clowes - Try Me
(Stoney Lane Records) - Released: 5th June 2026

Trish Clowes' My Iris: Trish Clowes (tenor and soprano saxophones); Chris Montague (guitar); Ross Stanley (Hammond organ, piano); Joel Barford (drums)

'The new album from acclaimed saxophonist Trish Clowes - 'Try Me' (June 2026) - with her band My Iris is inspired by a collection of field recordings from a walk along London’s Thames pathway from Rotherhithe to Blackfriars Bridge, the music - all originals from Clowes - takes ideas from footsteps, bird calls, the distant sounds of buskers, cathedral bells, and the visceral moods of the water’s edge, culminating in the final track which depicts St Saviour’s Dock.' (album notes)

Details and Samples : Listen to Quiet Time : Listen to Try Me :

Empirical - Like Lambs To The Slaughter
(Whirlwind Recordings) - Released: 26th June 2026

Nathaniel Facey (alto saxophone); Tom Farmer (double bass); Shaney Forbes (drums); Ivo Neame (piano); David Preston (guitar)

Empirical Like Lambs To The Slaughter.jpg

'Empirical return with their second release on Whirlwind Recordings with a warning for our troubled times: their forebodingly titled eighth album, Like Lambs: To The Slaughter. Following vibraphonist and long-standing member Lewis Wright’s move to the USA, the award-winning UK jazz ensemble, featuring Nathaniel Facey on alto saxophone, Tom Farmer on double bass and Shaney Forbes on drums, have embraced a more flexible lineup. The trio enlist high-caliber guest artists to expand their sound, with long-time collaborators Ivo Neame on piano and David Preston on guitar lending their distinctive musical voices to the album. A radical reworking of drummer Shaney Forbes’ unconventional long-form suite, first issued as a self-released EP, the album unfolds as an uninterrupted 51-minute musical story. It draws the listener into an irresistible maelstrom of changing emotional states, reaching its unsettling fever-pitch peak in the title segment of the suite. With this album Empirical have created an astounding and formally cohesive new articulation of their unique sonic world, made possible by their exceptional virtuosity and musical empathy and their daring emotional expressiveness. A standout release even by Empirical’s high standards. ......." (album notes)

Details and Samples : Listen to The Garden Of Beginnings - Innocence and Bliss : Listen to Giants :

America

Helen Sung Big Band - Oracles

(Sunnyside Records) - Released: 12th June 2026

Tatum Greenblatt (lead trumpet, flugelhorn); Mike Rodriguez, Alex Norris, Nathaniel Williford, Alex Norris (trumpet, flugelhorn); James Burton III (lead trombone); Sara Jacovino, Willie Applewhite (trombone); Gina Benalcázar López (bass trombone); Dave Pietro(first alto sax, doubles); Alejandro Aviles (second alto sax, doubles); John Ellis (first tenor sax, doubles); Nicole Glover (second tenor sax, doubles); Andrew Gutauskas (baritone sax, bass clarinet); Helen Sung (piano); Vicente Archer (bass); Adam Cruz (drums); Samuel Torres (percussion); Alan Ferber (conductor)

'These are challenging times: today’s world is roiling with strife and pain as aggressive factions seek to conquer and control, the rest of the planet be damned. Jazz has always preached a message diametrically opposed to such things – this music of freedom and joy insists that there is room enough for all, inviting everyone to bring their unique piece to the banquet table. This is the world from which Helen Sung’s debut big band project Oracles springs. A tour de force of musical portraits showcasing her exceptional subjects, Oracles is her heartfelt thank you to jazz legends Clark Terry, Ron Carter, Jimmy Heath, Wayne Shorter, Barry Harris, Kenny Barron, Herbie Hancock and Sir Roland Hanna, all of whom mentored her in the inaugural class of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance (now the Herbie Hancock Institute)........' (album notes)

Details and Samples : Listen to Convergence : Listen to Mr Virtuoso :

Simon Moullier - Ceiba
(self-release) - Released: 24th April 2026

Simon Moullier (vibraphone); Lex Korten (piano); Rick Rosato (bass); Jongkuk Kim (drums); Keita Ogawa (percussion on Fuji and Baião)

'Ceiba is vibraphonist and composer Simon Moullier’s sixth album as a leader and the third release with his quartet featuring Lex Korten on piano, Rick Rosato on bass, and Jongkuk Kim on drums. The album also includes guest percussionist Keita Ogawa on two tracks. Comprised entirely of original compositions, Ceiba reflects a continued deepening of the quartet’s collective language—shaped by trust and a shared sense of direction. Developed through live performances and refined over time, the music reflects Moullier’s desire for the album to feel “grounded and honest, shaped by playing it live together.” Compositions draw inspiration from nature, place, and lineage, unfolding across a sequence of moods that move from spacious, reflective textures to rhythmically grounded pieces. Throughout the record, clarity and balance remain central, allowing the vibraphone’s resonance to interact organically with the quartet’s cohesive, song-centered approach.' (album notes)

Details and Samples : Listen to Ceiba : Listen to Fuji :

Gretchen Parlato - The Wise Ones
(Edition Records) - Released: 11th September 2026

Gretchen Parlato (voice); and the following musicians feature on various tracks: Alan Hampton (voice,guitar, piano, bass); Robert Glasper (piano, Rhodes); Gerald Clayton (piano, Wurlitzer, celeste, pump organ); Mark Guiliana (drums, percussion); Meshell Ndegeocello (voice, bass); Amber Navran (voice, woodwinds, synthesizers); Becca Stevens (voice, kora); Jacob Mann (synthesizers); Josh Mease (guitar); Max Bryck (synthesizers); Marley Guiliana (voice); Lauren Desberg (handclaps)

'The Wise Ones is the new album from Gretchen Parlato, one of the defining vocalists of her generation, whose phrasing, tone and rhythmic instinct have reshaped the language of modern jazz singing. Fifteen years after In a Dream helped redefine the role of the voice in contemporary jazz, Parlato returns to the sound that set that shift in motion. Reuniting with Robert Glasper, Gerald Clayton, Mark Guiliana and long-time collaborator Alan Hampton, The Wise Ones brings together songs written across two decades - new reflections alongside earlier compositions, shaped into one cohesive narrative. At 50, Parlato writes from a place of balance, gratitude and presence, holding a clear perspective between youth and elderhood. .... The Wise Ones asks a quiet but resonant question: how do we honour who we were while embracing who we are becoming? The answer unfolds through space, groove, restraint and emotional clarity, marking a defining statement from one of the most influential voices of her era.' (album notes)

Details and Sample : Listen to Capricorn :

Duchess - A Marvelous Party
(Anzic Records) - Released: 12th June 2026

Amy Cervini, Hilary Gardner, Melissa Stylianou (vocals) with Michael Cabe (piano); Jesse Lewis (guitar); Matt Aronoff (bass); Jared Schonig (drums); Erica von Kleist (alto & soprano saxophone); Jason Rigby (tenor saxophone); Owen Broder (baritone saxophone); Summer Camargo (trumpet); Nick Finzer (trombone)

'Duchess’s new album chooses joy without pretending the world is any less complicated or any less in turmoil. Across a program arranged by producer Oded Lev-Ari for swinging rhythm and horn sections, Amy Cervini, Hilary Gardner, and Melissa Stylianou treat pleasure not as escapism but as a way of staying human -meeting dark times with wit, swing, hijinks, and close harmony. This album carries a deep awareness of passing time: time that alters lives, songs that have endured across generations, and alchemy that only live performance, night after night, can create. What remains constant is the reason for making music in the first place -being together, singing together, and finding shared delight. The album unfolds as a series of vignettes from a party, each song catching a different color or mood: wild, bittersweet, glamorous, unruly, wistful, tender. Nearly twelve years after the group first found its sound around a piano in a tiny storefront, Duchess stays true to their credo: The party is still here, and no one is taking the good times for granted.' (album notes)

Details and Samples : Listen to This Could Be The Start Of Something Big : Listen to Ain't That A Kick In The Head :

Europe and Elsewhere

Zoe Rahman - Hull Suite Live
(Manushi Records) - Released: 10th July 2026

Zoe Rahman (piano); Gene Calderazzo (drums); Alec Dankworth (double bass)

"Hull Suite Live" features Zoe’s world-class trio, with drummer Gene Calderazzo (Pharoah Sanders, Randy Brecker) and bassist Alec Dankworth (Abdullah Ibrahim, Dave Brubeck). These longstanding collaborators display an electrifying synergy with Zoe on piano. The music encompasses a wide pallet, with earthy blues influences, soulful melodies and cinematic musical textures, The album was recorded live at The Vortex Jazz Club in London, capturing the true essence of Zoe and her band’s live performance – a special moment forever encapsulated on this recording. Commissioned by Hull Jazz Festival for World Piano Day in 2024, "Hull Suite" is based on themes of voyage, migration and family, taking inspiration from two statues in Hull: One which commemorates the 2.2 million people who passed through Hull as a port city between 1836 and 1914, and the other which looks out across the Humber to the sea and has a twin sculpture looking back towards it from Iceland, commemorating fishermen, seafarers and trade shared between the two countries...... (album notes).

Details and Sample : Listen to Piano Story :

Charles Lloyd - Sangam And Friends

(Blue Note Records) - Released: 24th July 2026

Charles Lloyd (saxophone); Eric Harland (drums); Carnatic singer Vijay Prakash (Carnatic singer); Rakesh Chaurasia (bansuri), Sabir Khan (sarangi), Ranjit Barot (keyboard); Nadri Kumar (sitar)

'Charles Lloyd pays homage to his dear friend and longtime collaborator Zakir Hussain with the July 24 release of Sangam & Friends, an extraordinary document of the deep musical affinity between the legendary saxophonist/flutist and tabla master along with their Sangam trio mate drummer Eric Harland. The album is built around studio recordings made in Mumbai in 2009 for an album that was begun but never completed ..... In 2009, Zakir brought Charles to India to be part of his annual ‘Abbaji’ concert which honors his father, Alla Rakha,” writes producer Dorothy Darr in the album’s evocative liner notes. “Experiencing India for the first time was intense and magnificent—Mumbai is a mass of humanity, with multilayers of sound, resplendent colors, and exotic flavors. It resonated with us on every level.” “On the night of the ‘Abbaji’ concert,” Darr continues, “Sangam was joined on stage by a myriad of musicians and instruments - the haunting cry of the many stringed sarangi, sylvan and luminous melodies from the bansuri, the most classic of Indian sounds emanating from a sitar - and voice. In the days following the musical offering to Alla Rakha we went to Nirvana Studio to delve deeper into the waterfalls and eddies that had been stirred up.” ....... (album notes)

Details and listen to Jai Ganga : Purchase details on Amazon :

Lars Danielsson - Liberetto V: Echomyr
(ACT Records) - Released: 17th April 2026

Lars Danielsson (bass, electric guitar, piano, cello, gimbril); Gregory Privat (piano); John Parricalli (acoustic guitar); Magnus Ostrom (drums, percussion); Arve Henriksen (trumpet); Magnus Lindgren (flute, alto flute); Carolina Grinne (English horn)

'Renowned Swedish bassist and composer Lars Danielsson returns with the latest chapter in his celebrated Liberetto series, a project that began in 2012 and has captivated audiences with its blend of jazz, classical, and folk influences. Written with his longtime collaborators and their individual voices in mind, this album grows out of long-standing trust, friendship, and an ongoing musical conversation within Liberetto. From intimate solo moments to spontaneous first-take recordings and lyrical ensemble writing, the music moves between reflection, joy, spirituality, and quiet hope - deeply personal stories shaped into melody, groove, and shared presence.' (album notes)

Details and Samples : Listen to Sensitiva : Listen to Supreme

Zela Margossian Quintet - Remedy
(Ropeadope Records) - Released: 22nd May 2026

Zela Margossian (piano); Stuart Vandegraaff (alto saxophone); Adem Yilmaz (percussion); Jacques Emery (double bass); Alexander Inman-Hislop (drums)

'Born in Beirut, of Armenian heritage, Zela Margossian began studying piano at a very young age. Graduating from Hamazkaine’s Parsegh Ganatchian Musical College, she carries on her musical studies at the Lebanese Higher State Conservatory and at the same time, she continues her education in English literature at Haigazian University. Upon earning her B.A. degree in English literature, she leaves for Armenia to further her musical studies at the Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory in the class of the renowned pianist and professor Vili Sargsyan. In 2007, Zela earns her Master’s degree in Piano Performance from the Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory. During her years studying in Armenia, Zela develops a great passion towards Armenian ethno-jazz music that she experiences in local jazz venues. After moving to Sydney, she embarks on a new journey of nurturing this passion and has been making her mark here as a blossoming composer and artist....... (Biography - website)

Details and Samples : Listen to What If? : Listen to Free Kicks - For Ruben :

Reissues

John Wright Trio / Quartet - Four Classic Albums

(Avid Recordings) - Released: 2026

John Wright (piano); Eddy 'Cat Eye' Williams (tenor sax); Wendell Roberts, Wendell Marshall (bass); Walter McCants, JC Heard, Roy Brooks, Walter Perkins Jr (drums)

'AVID Jazz continues with its 'Classic Album' series with a re-mastered 2CD release from the John Wright Trio & Quartet, complete with original artwork, liner notes and personnel details. Albums include: 'South Side Soul', 'Nice 'N' Tasty', 'Makin' Out' and 'Mr. Soul'. (album notes)

Details (Amazon) :

Norma Winstone - A Timeless Place

(Enodoc Records) - Released: 26th June 2026

Norma Winstone (vocals) with Gunther Lenz (bass); Aage Tangaard (drums) and orchestra conducted by pianist Steve Gray

'In 1990 the internationally renowned NDR radio orchestra (now the NDR Radiophilharmonie) invited the peerless singer and lyricist Norma Winstone MBE to collaborate on a broadcast session. She immediately turned to pianist and arranger Steve Gray and working with the superb radio band they created together an unforgettable, beautiful suite of songs including classic repertoire and modern gems featuring Norma's own lyrics. Released for the very first time on limited edition vinyl, CD and digital this is a rare opportunity to hear one of our greatest jazz singers backed by a full orchestra.' ' (album notes)

Details and Samples :

Jack Teagarden, Charlie Teagarden, Frank Trumbauer : The Three T's - Live At The Hickory House 1936

(Upbeat Recordings) - Released: 15th May 2026

Charlie Teagarden (trumpet); Jack Teagarden (trombone); Frank Trumbauer (c-melody sax); Herman Crone (piano); Casper Reardon, Adele Girard (harp); Min Leibrook (bass); Stan King (drums)

The Three Ts Live At The Hickory House.jpg

'This band was the ultimate in swing in 1936. Essential for any lovers of Jack Teagarden. Extremely rare live broadcasts from 1936 of Jack Teagarden, Charlie Teagarden and Jack Trumbauer. For Teagarden fans the lack of good recordings with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra is frustrating, and this is why the Hickory House broadcasts are so important. The programmes represent very early live radio recordings and, considering the limitations of recording off the air in 1936, the sound from these discs is wonderful.' (album notes)

Details :

Gerry Mulligan Meets - Classic Collaborations : 1957-1959
(Acrobat Records) - Released: 2026

Gerry Mulligan (baritone, tenor sax) featuring albums with Stan Getz, Thelonious Monk, Paul Desmond, Ben Webster, Johnny Hodges

Gerry Mulligan Meets Classic Collaborations.jpg

'Jazz saxophonist, bandleader, composer and arranger Gerry Mulligan was perhaps the best-known and most celebrated exponent of the baritone sax in the history of genre. Although a native New Yorker, he became associated with the West Coast “cool school” of modern jazz in the 1950s and participated in numerous landmark recordings during his career. He became especially well-known for his collaborations during the early ‘50s with trumpeter Chet Baker (see “The Gerry Mulligan/Chet Baker Collection 1952-53” Acrobat ADDCD 3339), but later in the decade he also made albums with several other jazz luminaries of the era, and this collection comprises the complete contents of five of those. This 33-track 3-CD collections features the titles from from the Verve albums “Getz Meets Mulligan in Hi-Fi”, “Gerry Mulligan - Paul Desmond Quartet”, “Gerry Mulligan Meets Ben Webster”, “Gerry Mulligan Meets Johnny Hodges”, and the Riverside album “Mulligan Meets Monk”. Quite apart from the headline collaborators , it also includes performances by notable musicians of the day who were in the bands – Joe Benjamin, Lou Levy, Ray Brown, Jimmy Rowles, Mel Lewis, Claude Williamson, Buddy Clark and more. Capturing the great saxophonist creating albums with his illustrious peers, it naturally offers an enlightening and enjoyable showcase for his unique talents.' (album notes).