Rekindling the familiarly flowing interplay with fellow travellers Thomas Morgan and João Lobo – the trio’s musical partnership goes back over a decade at this point –, on A New Day Italian pianist Giovanni Guidi moreover expands the group’s instrumental grasp with the introduction of American saxophonist James Brandon ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Contemporary Jazz
Outpost of Dreams introduces a new duo. Norma Winstone, as always quietly innovative as jazz singer and lyricist, brings her vocal subtlety and poetic sensibility to new pieces by Kit Downes, and to compositions by Carla Bley, Ralph Towner, and John Taylor. The programme is completed with fresh ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Vocal
This concert recording from Munich’s Schwere Reiter performance space features improvisation with an expanded palette of possibilities. “To work with these colours is a great challenge and joy!” says bassist Barry Guy of the glowing and ever-changing tints, timbres and tones radiating ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Contemporary Jazz
Recorded at Munich’s Muffathalle in September 2004, this previously-unreleased live album of the Tomasz Stanko Quartet is a fascinating document, capturing a developmental chapter in the group’s music: between the song forms of the Suspended Night repertoire and the improvised areas that the Polish players would explore on Lontano. The Munich show was a highlight in a ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Contemporary Jazz
Named after a lyric from the first piece in Schumann’s Frauenliebe und Leben song cycle, the Delian Quartett’s programme of Im wachen Traume combines said cycle – in a new arrangement for soprano and string quartet by the late Aribert Reimann – with music by Renaissance composer William Byrd and Baroque composer Henry Purcell. ...
Composer: William Byrd (1543–1623), Robert Schumann (1810-1856), Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Vocal
Paul Hindemith – Alfred Schnittke
In a programme that combines Alfred Schnittke’s Concert for piano and string orchestra with Paul Hindemith’s Symphony Mathis der Maler and the composer’s The Four Temperaments, pianist Anna Gourari together with the Lugano-based Orchestra della Svizzera italiana under Markus Poschner shines in powerful ...
Composer: Paul Hindemith (1895-1963), Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Concertos
There’s a cunning intensity that inhabits this freshly etched programme of five extensive pieces plus an introductory miniature, presenting saxophonist Oded Tzur in a light that balances the extremes: bright inflections of fiery refrains go hand in hand with long passages of ruminative and deeply felt interplay. In the process, the saxophonist exhibits some of ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Contemporary Jazz
Kaiju Project is a Japanese inspired jazz group formed by the half-Japanese pianist Aseo Friesacher. Their initial idea was to bring old folk songs into a new modern context, but in addition to their compositions, this group has found their very own musical direction: a perfect blend of traditional Japanese music and modern creative jazz. ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Crossover Jazz
"Two worlds become one: Classical and jazz blend with a beautiful blow." Magne Thormodsæter is an ECM-alumni, bassist, and in- demand session musician. On L’arte della persuasione, he fuses two worlds with the full force of a beautiful blow. A 35- minute story told in five acts, it pits a high-caliber classical ensemble against a jazz group. The result is captivatingly unclassifiable. ...
Composer: Magne Thormodsæter
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Crossover Jazz
Forget-Me-Not - eine Trio-Produktion der Pianistin und Komponistin Yelena Eckemoff mit Mats Eilertsen am Kontrabass und Marilyn Mazur am Schlagzeug - präsentiert eine noch einmalige und wirklich ausgereifte Kompositionsarbeit von Yelena Eckemoff, die ebenso ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Contemporary Jazz
A leading Norwegian bassist for over 30 years, ECM legend Arild Andersen forges promising relationships with two rising stars - Daniel Sommer (drums) and Rob Luft (guitar) in an expansive, playful exploration of song and collective improvisation. ‘As Time Passes’ is set to release on April 26th on April Records. ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Free Jazz
Silent, Listening is both a highly individual musical offering and an important contribution to ECM’s line of innovative solo piano recordings. It finds US pianist Fred Hersch, one of jazz’s most outstanding soloists, putting a poetic emphasis on alert, open improvisation while also embracing original compositions and a ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Contemporary Jazz
With three critically acclaimed albums under their belt, Swedish trombonist Karin Hammar’s Fab4 boasts international recognition from publications including Downbeat Magazine, over 50 thousand monthly listeners on Spotify and over 10 million streams to date. Their upcoming record ‘Opening’, featuring Rita Macotulli. ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Contemporary Jazz
Leading Danish trombonist Lis Wessberg is grounded by the concept that a strong melody, and a rich sound are the two most important elements in composition and performance. A continuation of the refined contemporary answer to the ‘Cool Jazz’ sound she’s been cultivating for the past 30 years, her sophomore album ‘Twain ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Contemporary Jazz
Nils Økland is interested in the journeys and dialogues of music across time and space, a music without national and traditional borders. At the same time, he is also very inspired by local music from many places and often prefers old fiddlers and singers who have a unique personal playing style. ....
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Contemporary Jazz
“It has always fascinated me hearing from people the many different images and messages that any one piece of music can conjure up in their imaginations,“ says the British reedman John Surman in the liner note for his new quartet album. “Quite often the impressions and stories can be widely varied, and yet somehow seem ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Contemporary Jazz
The combination of Espen Eriksen Trio and UK saxophone giant Andy Sheppard is truly a match made in jazz heaven, and in the words of Andy: “I knew from the first time I heard the trio play that I would fit right in. I loved the melodic sense and vibe and was thrilled when I was invited to guest with the trio in London in 2016”. ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Contemporary Jazz
Pianist-composer Vijay Iyer follows his acclaimed 2021 ECM disc Uneasy — the first to showcase his trio featuring bassist Linda May Han Oh and drummer Tyshawn Sorey — with Compassion, another creative leap in league with these two gifted partners. The New York Times captured the distinctive qualities of this group, pointing to the trio’s flair for playing “with a lithe range of motion and resplendent clarity…
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Contemporary Jazz
For the follow-up of his ECM-leader-debut La traversée, French saxophonist Matthieu Bordenave expands his trio of German pianist Florian Weber and French bassist Patrice Moret with the unique sensibilities of drummer James Maddren, whose unrelenting pulse adds deft counterpoint to the group’s already idiosyncratic sound. ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Contemporary Jazz
Mysterious tunes and soundscape: A striking musical rapport between Norwegian trumpeter Arve Henriksen and Dutch pianist Harmen Fraanje is palpable in the duo’s quietly lyrical investigations on Touch of Time. These are delicate melodies and textures, flowing between two musicians, who are deeply in tune with nuances of tone-shadings and the ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Contemporary Jazz
