release date: 26.02.2021 via Rune Grammofon
Following two double live albums this finds the band in more reflective mood….
18
Feb
[ February the 26th, 2021 release via Rune Grammofon – FIRE! – Defeat ]
release date: 26.02.2021 via Rune Grammofon
Not the most optimistic title for pressing times, but the music sees Fire! tracking new paths and reaching new levels of excellence, still honoring their 12 year old vow of presenting a fresh approach to improvised music. On their 6th recording as a trio concept, The Fire! burns the scares in your ears and as always makes listening to it an unforgettable experience. On that occasion the groups striking power had been increased by two extra front men, so the Firepower of Mats Gustafsson‘s reeds had been straightened with extra horns with a trumpet, trombone and the sousaphone.
16
Feb
[ February the 26th, 2021 release via Outside in Music: Cowboys & Frenchmen – Our Highway ]
release date: 26.02.2021 via Outside In Music
” [Cowboys & Frenchmen] is smart, cohesive, and credible in a way like The Bad Plus or Mostly Other People Do The Killing, using virtuosic skills and rhythmic power to walk the line between irony and earnestness, with listenability as high a priority as group creativity.” – Howard Mandel, DownBeat
“The swirling layers this group is able to build upon is remarkable, and when one really listens deep into the music, the interaction is breathtaking.” – Geannine Reid, All About Jazz
On their forthcoming release, Our Highway the inventive quintet Cowboys & Frenchmen reflect on the nomadic life of touring musicians while widening their gazes to take in the landscapes and byways that connect America’s towns and cities.
08
Feb
[ February the 12th, 2021 release via Pyroclastic Records – Benoît Delbecq – The Weight of Light ]
release date: 12.02.2021 via Pyroclastic Records
“Benoît Delbecq is one of the few true improvising piano geniuses of our times. He has steadfastly created his own musical universe of sound, impeccable craft and beauty that is wondrous, resonant and free in the best sense of the word.” — Fred Hersch, pianist and composer
“[Music of] exotic and mysterious qualities” — Bill Shoemaker, JazzTimes
“Delbecq likes to go beyond normal technique. He puts things on and between the piano strings to make it a raw and sensitive percussion machine.”— Ben Ratliff, The New York Times
07
Feb
[ February the 12th, 2021 release via Ubuntu Music: Yoko Miwa Trio – Songs of Joy ]
release date: 12.02.2021 via Ubuntu Music
“Songs of Joy is an enthralling body of work that will become an important release for the year ahead.” – Andrew Read, Jazz in Europe
4-stars “Miwa approaches ‘Freedom’ with a McCoy Tyner-like muscularity, backed by the dense rhythmic back drop from bassist Will Slater and drummer Scott Goulding. It is a powerhouse, all-things-possible sound, spiritual and temporal at the same time.” Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
“This album is yet another triumph from one of America’s finest jazz pianists, composers, and bandleaders.” – Rick Anderson, CD Hotlist
“Yoko Miwa has been gifted with both extraordinary musical skills and the pure spirit that is necessary for great art. We love her musical gifts and her beautiful spirit as well.” – Ahmad Jamal
“The group dynamic bounces with joy… Oscar Peterson and Benny Green come to mind stylistically, with Miwa’s always engaging melodies dancing around propulsive rhythms.” – Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
“Miwa is a virtuoso pianist with dazzling technique always in the service of interaction and exchange of ideas.” – Donald Elfman, NYC Jazz Record
02
Feb
[ NCP: February 2021 UPDATE: Komen & Gaan (ICP066)]
(ICP 066) ICP Septet + Joris Roelofs + Terrie Ex & Gaan – Komen & Gaan is available on CD.
It would be hard to overestimate the importance of the ICP Orchestra to the development of European improvised music…t’s hard to overestimate how the orchestra symbolizes and represents modern Dutch music abroad—music that’s brainy, limber, well-executed, serio-comic, and maybe a wee bit theatrical (Kevin Whitehead, January 2020, Fresh Air, NPR).
10
Jan
[ January the 22nd, 2021 release via Libra Records: Satoko Fujji & Taiko Saito Futari – Beyond ]
release date: 22.01.2021 via Libra Records
“Persistent and inexhaustible imagination with emotion, power and everything else…[Fujii] does not leave a single second to be bored or indifferent.” – Phontas Troussas, Vinylmine
“Taiko not only displayed exceptional technique, but more importantly she projected her own voice on an instrument that dares one to uncover . . . even more impressive was her daring to dive in some uncharted waters which she glided through with ease.”—Mike Mainieri, vibraphonist
Beyond, the recorded debut of Futari, a duo of pianist-composer Satoko Fujii and vibraphonist Taiko Saito, features lyrical intensity from two fearless explorers of new sounds. The combination of piano and vibes is an uncommon one, but Fujii and Saito navigate the new terrain of their collaboration with imagination and a spirit of adventure.
07
Jan
[ January the 15th, 2021 release via Traumton – Mario Rom‘s INTERZONE – Eternal Fiction ]
release date: 15.01.2021 via Traumton
“Mario Rom plays solos that are unparalleled in Europe – calm, persistent, full of ideas, virtuoso ”- ZEIT
“Rome plays the trumpet as if its life depended on it. ” – Süddeutsche Zeitung
02
Jan
[ January the 8th, 2021 release via Miel Music: Miguel Zenón & Luis Perdomo – El Arte Del Bolero ]
release date: 08.01.2021 via Miel Music
On September 28, 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, alto saxophone icon Miguel Zenón and pianist Luis Perdomo recorded a concert at The Jazz Gallery in New York City which was livestreamed in November. When they listened to the recording of the concert, they knew it was something to share.
06
Nov
[ November the 6th,2020 release via Not Two Records: Satoko Fujii, Natsuki Tamura & Ramon Lopez – Mantle ]
release date: 6.11.2020 via NOT TWO records
“Over the decades, Japanese pianist Satoko Fujii has demonstrated uncanny power and musicality as a considerable force in the avant-garde end of the jazz spectrum.”— Josef Woodard, DownBeat
“Lopez does a fine job of fusing genres and styles while dispelling those old rumors that drums are not musical instruments.” — Glenn Astarita, All About Jazz
“…Tamura’s trumpet is lyrically beautiful and commanding.” ― Andy Hamilton, Wire
On their debut release, Mantle , pianist Satoko Fujii, trumpeter Natsuki Tamura, and drummer Ramon Lopez challenged themselves. Working together for the first time as a trio, they not only developed themselves into a working ensemble, but they wrote music that explored the potential of the group, each piece pushing and inspiring them in a different way. The result is an album of unfailing surprise and invention played by a group that listens closely and responds to one another on a deep intuitive level.