Reviews
Picking out a range of the essentials
Chucho Valdés, Uncut, InnerJazz/InnerCat *****
AfroCuban jazz piano doesn't get any better than this
Enzo Favata, Ritornare, ECM ***
Unhurried sounds that could almost have been specifically designed for laidback Sunday listening.
Branford Marsalis Quartet & Dianne Reeves, Dedicated To You, Blue Note Records *****
Knocks all the current tributes to Coltrane completely into a cocked hat
Lucian Ban and Elevation, Rush, Sunnyside ****
There's a certain humility in the serene grandeur that this group shapes
Lisa O’Neill makes her Fermanagh debut in Blake’s
The No Train to Cavan singer heads Erne side
Kevin Hays, Live at the Stone, AHT Records **** recommended
New in our running choice of top jazz albums of the year
Jalen Baker, RePaved, Cellar Music ****
A love letter to Houston - strong chamber jazz arrangements figure on an album that is full of character and warmth
Terje Gewelt, The Old Tree, Resonant Music **** recommended
A magisterial sweep to the Nordic poise and mood throughout is instantly convincing and rewarding
Mari Wilson, Girl About Town, Beehive ****
Ideal weekend 1980s throwback pop listening full of super, tuneful, songs
Jamie Safir, Momentism, Chill Tone **** recommended
Manchesterism is about hope. As too on another planet is Momentism. Exiled Manc pianist Jamie Safir doesn't defer from grasping its essence.
Mathias Heise and Pelle von Bülow, Repertoire, Storyville ***1/2
Touching with an innocent sorcery to its mood and melodicism
Adam Bałdych European Quartet, Endless, ACT ****
Not at all an elephant in the room, but does the unusually strung together Endless have enough jazz to it?
Gretchen Parlato, The Wise Ones, Edition Records *****
The Wise Ones doesn't disappoint in the slightest
Kurt Elling and Yellowjackets are in their element
Jazz meteorology that's an el niño of a ride. Another of the year's top live albums
Punkt. Vrt. Plastik, Kompress, Intakt ***1/2
The drought of quality avant piano trio albums is over. Drink the sweet rain
The sound of Tony Bennett and Bill Evans touched upon by Asleep at the Wheel’s Ray Benson and Marc Copland
An album that sounds more like a jazz album than a country one starts a weekend of new listening
Jim McNeely with the Frankfurt Radio Big Band, Expeditions, Sunnyside **** recommended
Luck out. Listen up. It's a trip
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