Alejandro Falcón Falcón In Blue Dot Time 1 May
This Cuban jazz pianist blends contemporary jazz with traditional Cuban and Latin American influences such as danzon and Afro-Cuban rhythms. He is scheduled to perform a special concert in Havana for International Jazz Day on 30 April which will honour the birth 150 years ago of Antonio Maria Romeu. This performance will feature the world premiere of his new composition ‘Romeu el Grande.’
Raffy Bushman New Life Bridge The Gap 6 May
Neo minimalist/nu jazz British pianist and composer Raffy Bushman’s New Life is an exploration of fatherhood. Known a bit for his work with the Unit 31 collective and commissions for the National Theatre, Bushman plays the top Dalston grassroots jazz spot the Vortex in June.
Matthew Stevens Matthew Stevens Candid 8 May
Something of a change of tack for the Grammy Award-winning guitarist and producer Matthew Stevens. He has moved to Boston and become a father in recent years. The album blends acoustic and electric sonics and factors in originals and covers. Collaborators include Terri Lyne Carrington, guitarist Jeff Parker of Tortoise renown, and vibist Joel Ross. Stevens co-produced the project alongside Josh Johnson and Eric Doob during a three-day recording session in North Hollywood. Early singles from the record include a take on Sonny Sharrock’s ‘Who Does She Hope To Be? and ‘Take Heart.’
Chris Potter Alive With Ghosts Today Edition 8 May
Pretty prolific both in terms of releasing records and touring a lot – for instance recently with The Bad Plus at the Barbican – this latest is historically themed from American saxophonist Chris Potter. It takes inspiration from an 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry led by the abolitionist John Brown. A chamber-like ensemble shape the tunes and Potter’s very un Pooter-ish collaborators include big jazz stars guitarist Bill Frisell and drummer Nate Smith who you may recall appeared so gnomically in the Oscar winning 2014 film, Birdman.
David Sánchez Tambó Ropeadope 15 May
Not as prominent a name internationally as he once was nevertheless a new album from Puerto Rico born David Sánchez is always an event for jazz fans with long memories. I was lucky to have found myself interviewing the saxist, now 57, when he first emerged. It was for an article run in a long since defunct magazine called Jazz on CD. What I can recall of the chat was his enthusiasm for Slide Hampton. Sánchez even recorded with Hampton and the JazzMasters on the 1993 album Dedicated to Diz, a Telarc release that honoured bebop pioneer Dizzy Gillespie and Sánchez toured with an alumni band. It was like the old jazz tradition of young lions being schooled on the bandstand – where it really counts – by their elders. At that stage Danilo Pérez, a much more exuberant character from Panama, had just emerged and there was a wave of interest in new latin-jazz. The music Sánchez – who has a scaldingly ferocious ability to cut loose and carve out formidably compelling routines and spirited rhythmic assaults on the listener’s consciousness – delves into, draws inspiration from the bomba traditions of Loíza in Puerto Rico and the drum heritage of San Basilio de Palenque in Colombia. But there is a tenderness too in his sound. Sánchez describes the record as a living Pan-African musical archive that examines themes of cultural resilience and ancestral memory. Listeners can currently stream the lead single ‘Un Belén Pa’ Eddie’ dedicated to Eddie Palmieri who died last August.
Alexander Hawkins No Nation But Imagination Intakt 22 May
Another agenda setting album coming up on the avant-garde side is No Nation But Imagination by the celebrated English free-jazz pianist and composer Alexander Hawkins. He is joined by Rhodri Davies on Harp, Hamid Drake is on drums, Nicole Mitchell on flute and Matthew Wright is on turntables and does live sampling. This was recorded in February last year at Fish Factory Studios, London and factors in extra live portions drawn from a contemporaneous gig at Dalston venue Café Oto.
Trish Clowes Try Me Stoney Lane 5 June
Standing out as one of the most inventive forces in contemporary English jazz Clowes, 41, who hails from Shrewsbury is a celebrated saxophonist and composer whose influence extends well beyond the bandstand. Try Me follows hard on the heels of Colour Fields.
Your Brother’s Keeper & Gary Bartz Where Rivers Meet Brownswood 19 June
A collaboration between American saxophonists Gary Bartz and a London ensemble led by Jake Long known for his work with Maisha.
The project serves as a link between the heritage of spiritual jazz and the current UK scene. Recording took place over two days at RAK Studios in London. Gary Bartz brought his veteran experience to the sessions at the age of 83. Long’s ensemble includes Al MacSween on keyboards. Twm Dylan plays double bass, Chelsea Carmichael is on tenor saxophone and Axel Kaner-Lidstrom is on trumpet.
Empirical Like Lambs: To the Slaughter Whirlwind 26 June
Change is in the air on this continuous 51-minute suite designed to be experienced in a single sitting. The core trio of alto saxophonist Nathaniel Facey, bassist Tom Farmer and drummer Shaney Forbes are joined by Phronesis legend pianist Ivo Neame and guitarist David Preston known for his work with Seb Rochford and Ian Shaw. According to the band, the record is an intentional challenge to the fractured attention spans of the digital age.
South African pianist and healer Nduduzo Makhathini on this new project returns for his third outing for Blue Note and further solidifies his role as a leading voice in contemporary spiritual jazz. He stands on the shoulders of giants like Abdullah Ibrahim, Bheki Mseleku and Moses Molelekwa.
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