I can’t recall precisely when I first heard the music of the Tunisian oud maestro Anouar Brahem; it was probably when I bought Madar, an album of duets with Jan Garbarek, released in early 1994, which was some months before I saw Moufida Tlatli’s film The Silences of the Palace, for which he wrote and … Continue reading But Is It Jazz? Cool Music in a World on Fire…
As regular readers may be aware, I’ve been a great admirer of the composer, bandleader and pianist Mike Westbrook for many years. If memory serves, the first music I ever heard by him (thanks to John Peel, I suspect) was the 1972 jazz-rock album Solid Gold Cadillac; certainly the first time I saw Westbrook perform … Continue reading Piano Magic: Mike Westbrook’s Intimate Epic
A few weeks ago, enthused by the release of an impressive album of duets by Thomas Strønen, I followed my review with a list of some of my favourite duet CDs released by ECM over the years. Perhaps one of the least known of the albums I included was Poros, a 1998 release by the … Continue reading But Is It Jazz? Another Fine Album of Duets…
If by any chance you read my recent ‘best of 2024’ post, you may have noticed, among the new musical releases, the inclusion of an album entitled Relations, attributed to Thomas Strønen, Craig Taborn, Chris Potter, Sinikka Langeland and Jorge Rossy. That would be a rather eccentric line-up for a group – a Norwegian percussionist, … Continue reading It Takes Two to Tango… or the Magic of Musical Duets
I’ve been posting my ‘best of the year’ lists since I first started writing here in 2016, and on each occasion I felt a need to mention in passing the state of the UK and of the world. Well, we may have got rid of the wretched Tories, but what with Trump, Musk et al, … Continue reading My Best Movies, Music, Books, etc, in 2024
So it's December again. For quite a few years now I've posted recommendations for recent BluRay/DVD releases, CDs and books that might prove useful for anyone wondering what to buy as gifts for Christmas; they appear to have been popular, so here we go again. (I myself find choosing presents enormously difficult, so I’m always … Continue reading Movies, Music and Books for Christmas… and Beyond
What with Arve Henriksen and Harmen Fraanje soon to appear at the London Jazz Festival, I’ve been revisiting their album Touch of Time, together with a more recent release featuring the great Norwegian trumpeter performing alongside Danish drummer Daniel Sommer and Swedish bassist Johannes Lundberg. Sounds and Sequences is apparently the second album in a … Continue reading Back to ‘Jazz’? Back to Ornette!
It’s strange: the Norwegians Trygve Seim and Frode Haltli undoubtedly count among my favourite musicians, and both – the former a saxophonist, the latter an accordionist – have been mentioned fairly frequently on this website. (Indeed, Haltli featured in my very first blog.) Nonetheless, while preparing a few notes for the following piece about Our … Continue reading Their Time: Trygve Seim and Frode Haltli on Stunning Form
The last couple of months have seen ECM release four wonderful albums by some of my favourite jazz musicians. There was September Night with the late, great trumpeter Tomasz Stanko, his Polish quartet – its members later the Marcin Wasilewski Trio – recorded at their peak in a Munich concert in 2004. (I recall seeing … Continue reading A Musical Cornucopia: Five Great New Jazz Releases
A few days ago, I read a post by Richard Williams on his excellent blog, The Blue Moment; he was reviewing Orchestras, the new double album by renowned guitarist-composer Bill Frisell, which I’ve subsequently listened to and certainly agree is excellent. I’ve been happy to check out Frisell’s music ever since I first heard him … Continue reading Musical Goodies from Bill Frisell… and Michael (Mike?) Gibbs
notes and observations by Geoff Andrew 