Table of contents for September 2025 in Jazzwise

For the latest breaking news visit www.jazzwise.com As John Coltrane’s centennial approaches in September 2026, Impulse! Records continues to celebrate the 60th anniversary of A Love Supreme with two major vinyl releases. First up is A Love Supreme: Mono Edition, out on 26 September, which presents Coltrane’s seminal album in its original mono mix for the first time in more than five decades. Mastered from the original analogue tapes by engineer Ryan K Smith, this edition is pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI and housed in a deluxe tipon gatefold sleeve, with the mono format adding a fresh intensity to this spiritual jazz touchstone. Featuring the 'Classic Quartet' – Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones – and recorded in a single evening session on 9 December 1964 at…

In a world where the computing power ofAI grows exponentially by the second, it’s worth taking a moment (ifyou dare) to remind oneself of the power of music. This of course takes many forms and this issue examines a few of them: take our cover stars Terri Lyne Carrington and Christie Dashiell who have reawakened trailblazing drummer Max Roach’s spirit of resistance from his 1960 album We Insist! – holding it up as a mirror back on our own equally divided times. The power of music can also be physical, none more so than in the hands of UK tuba starTheon Cross, whose brassy sub-bass soundsystem shook up the good folks at NewYork’s Blue Note Jazz Club with life affirming vibrations. Pianist Fred Hersch’s exquisitely delicate sound and deep approach…

The trees may not have turned to their autumnal shades just yet, but the season’s change is already in the air as a herd of notable new albums stampedes towards your awaiting ear drums… chief among this oncoming throng is Oh Snap, the new Cécile McLorin Salvant album due out on 19 September via Nonesuch. If her previous two long-players Ghost Song (2022) and Mélusine (2023) heralded a far more experimental approach to her earlier crowd-pleasing retro style, then Oh Snap goes further adding in electronic beats, samples, vocal effects and more – while still making room for longtime collaborators Sullivan Fortner, Yasushi Nakamura, and Kyle Poole, as well as cameos from singers June McDoom and Kate Davis… another multi-award winning female returning to the fray is trumpeter Laura Jurd,…

Although Cleo Laine was always first and foremost a jazz singer, she was the first woman in history to be nominated for Grammy awards in the classical, pop and jazz fields. Born Clementina Dinah Campbell, she adopted the name by which she was known professionallywhen she became the John Dankworth Seven’s vocalist in 1951. (Although when I was occasionally with former members of the band, including bassist Joe Muddell and trombonist Eddie Harvey, they always called her “Clemmie”.) She started singing as a young child, and, as an aspiring actress, appeared in her first movie when she was only 12 years old. But her breakthrough came from joining the Dankworth Seven. John told me the first time he and pianist Bill LeSage heard her sing, she was so good that…

Solace through sound. The idea has inspired many musicians over time, but the precise words chosen to express the way a note may provide medicine for the mind as well as ear, differs from one artist to the next. Saxophonist Ivo Perelman coined the eye-catching image of an ‘armageddon flower’ to describe his latest CD with pianist Matthew Shipp’s string trio – viola player Mat Maneri and double bassist William Parker – which is a powerful lament for a world burning in a fire of its own making. “I am particularly very bothered, like most of us, by wars that never end, climate change, self-destruction, social issues, you name it,” says Perelman in a weary voice. “I think we are approaching the Armageddon point of no return. And I knew…

4.24 Cyrille Aimee Music (DL) Cyrille Aimée (v), Wayne Tucker (t), Julian Lee (ts), Michael Valeanu (g), Mathis Picard (p), Tamir Schmerling (b, el b) and Pedro Segundo (d). Rec. April 2024 Recorded during a four-night run at Birdland Jazz Club in April 2024, this new album from the French singer-songwriter Cyrille Aimée perfectly captures the joyousness, intimacy and spontaneity of her live shows, with seven musicians seemingly breathing as one. Aimée first recorded the brilliant album opener ‘Mi Piel tu Piel’ as a featured guest on fellow singer-songwriter Marina Tuset’s Latin Grammy-winning 2023 album, Canto a la Imaginación. This live recording features a number of songs from Aimée’s most recent studio album, the wonderful À Fleur de Peau, which she referred to as her “real birth as a songwriter”.…

Tuff Times Never Last Brownswood BWOOD408CD/LP (CD, LP, DL) Sheila Maurice-Grey (t, flhn, v), Onome Edgeworth (p), Anoushka Nanguy (tb, v), Tobi Adenaike (g, v), Yohan Kebede (ky, syn, v), Duane Atherley (b, v), Ayo Salawu (d, v), plus Chelsea Carmichael (f, ts) and additional guests. Rec. date not stated After more than a decade as a London band, Kokoroko have more than proved their artistic worth with their second album, Tuff Times Never Last. The septet’s initial breakthrough was in 2018 with their viral single ‘Abusey Junction’, which introduced listeners to their signature sound: warm and embracing, led by close horn harmonies and steady afrobeat rhythms. Following a recent two-year stretch of writing and studio experimentation however, their latest album takes this finely-honed 'mood' to a new place, with…

Bitter Orange LA Reserve Records (CD, LP, DL) EDITOR’S CHOICE Emma Smith (v), Jamie Safir (p), Conor Chaplin (b) and Luke Tomlinson (d). Rec. date not stated This latest album from award-winning jazz vocalist Emma Smith delivers risk-taking, humour, a deep pocket, unforgettable interpretations and, most important of all, a huge emotional payload. Following her exceptional 2022 release Meshuga Baby, which featured a captivating rendition of 'People' from Funny Girl, Smith returns to Broadway with an explosive take on 'I'm the Greatest Star' that ignites with incendiary power. In the company of her outstanding trio – pianist Jamie Safir, bassist Conor Chaplin and drummer Luke Tomlinson – Smith transforms 'Frim Fram Sauce' into a rhythmic joyride. Her interpretation of Cole Porter’s 'Make It Another Old Fashioned, Please' moves at a…

A Career Anthology 1923-31 Acrobat ACFCD 7520 (5 CD) King Oliver, Louis Armstrong, Tick Gray, George Mitchell (c), Bob Shoffner, Ed Anderson, Andy Anderson, Louis Metcalf, Dave Nelson, Henry ‘Red’ Allen, Bubber Miley, Ward Pinkett, Bill Dillard (t), Honore Dutrey, Eddie Atkins, Kid Ory, Jimmy Archey, J C Higginbotham, Ed Cuffee, Fred Robinson, Benny Morton (tb), Johnny Dodds, Jimmy Noone, Buster Bailey, Albert Nicholas, Billy Paige, Barney Bigard, Omer Simeon, Paul Barnes, Arville Harris, Ben Whitted, Hilton Jefferson, Bobby Holmes (cl), Stump Evans (c-mel, as), Darnell Howard, Ernest Elliot, Charlie Holmes, Glyn Paque, Fred Skerritt (as), Teddy Hill, Benny Waters, Charlie Frazier, Walter Wheeler, Bingie Madison (ts), Charlie Jackson (bsx), Lil Hardin, Clarence Williams, Jelly Roll Morton, Hersal Thomas, Luis Russell, Richard M. Jones, Leroy Tibbs, James P Johnson, Don…

Ray Brown: His Life and Music Jay Sweet Equinox HB £32.50 Though his physical stature didn’t match Ron Carter or Leroy Vinnegar’s, Brown was a giant of the double bass and, to this day, his playing is an ideal to aim for when playing straightahead jazz. An early fan of Jimmie Blanton and his successor Oscar Pettiford, Ray was sufficiently talented to be working with the Gillespie-Parker quintet in 1945 at the age of 19 and, after Gillespie’s big band, migrating to Ella Fitzgerald’s trio and Jazz At The Phil from 1947. From there on, his work can be divided into two periods, one with the Oscar Peterson trio and the JATP crew from 1950-65; followed by the busy existence of a versatile studio musician and occasionally bandleader, producer or…

MONDAY 1 Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Orchestra Ronnie Scott's, 47 Frith Street, London W1 1-2 John Etheridge and the Soft Machine PizzaExpress Jazz Club, 10 Dean Street, London W1  1 Harry Whitty’s Flaming Alligators 606 Club, 90 Lots Road, London SW10 TUESDAY 2 Custom House Big Band Ferryhill Masonic Hall, North Street, Ferryhill  2 Sophie Alloway 606 Club, 90 Lots Road, London SW10  2 Gillian Margot and Geoffrey Keezer Watermill Jazz, Betchworth Park Golf Club, Dorking 2 QCBA East Side Jazz Club, 2 Harvey Road, London E11 WEDNESDAY 3 Byron Wallen and The Craig Milverton Trio Jazz at Livermead Cliff Hotel, Seafront, Torbay Road, Torquay 3 Nils Kugelmann Trio (second house), Gillian Margot and Geoffrey Keezer (first house) Ronnie Scott's, 47 Frith Street, London W1 3 John Etheridge Zappatistas PizzaExpress Jazz…

The 100 Jazz Albums That Shook The World is an exclusive 100-page definitive guide to the most important and influential jazz albums that have gone on to change and shape the course of the music from the 1920s to the present day. ■ Print-only, premium quality, publication edited and conceived by Jazzwise’s editor-in-chief Jon Newey ■ The first time a fully annotated top 100 jazz album countdown from 100 to No.1 has been published in book form ■ Includes new in-depth editorial on each album from Jazzwise’s acclaimed team of writers, plus in-depth features on the making of the top three albums, a look at the albums that almost made the cut and a guide to buying the featured titles on LP and CD “This superbly written assemblage is an engrossing…

Teasing Reflections Let Me Out Records LMOCD004 (CD, DL) EDITOR’S CHOICE Brigitte Beraha (v), George Crowley (ts, bcl, elec), Alcyona Mick (p, syn) and Tim Giles (d, perc, elec). Rec. 3 December 2024 The three years since the last Lucid Dreamers release have been of infinite collaborative variety for Beraha. There’s the duo with Ant Law, the acapella group Facades, cheeky standards with Alan Barnes and Barry Green and there’s still time to vocalise with Dave Mannington’s Riff Raff. But it’s the shape shifting, deeply personal world of Lucid Dreamers that is closest to Beraha’s creative and darker heart. Teasing Reflections plunges playfully into a world of conundrum and mystery: the opening ‘Words’ starts with collaged words, sliced and looped. Like Hamlet’s ‘Words, words, words’, they seem to say something,…

Tritone Dimple Discs DEEDEE 049 (CD, LP, DL) Terry Edwards (t, saxes, f), Mark Bedford (el b), Simon Charterton (d) plus special guests Mike Garson and Matt Johnson (ky). Rec. date not stated This splendidly-named trio are a group with breeding: Mark Bedford is bassist with Madness and has played with the likes of Robert Wyatt; saxman for hire Terry Edwards was a founder of cult punk-funkers The Higsons and has blown his horn with everyone from Nick Cave to David Gray; his former Higsons buddy, Simon Charterton (drums) hangs around with Anthony ‘Slapp Happy’ Moore; guest keys man Mike Garson was a crucial member of David Bowie’s band for five decades; and Matt Johnson tinkled the ivories for Jamiroquai. But these CVs don’t prepare you for Tritone, because it…

Betty Accorsi Quartet Nature Prints Self-release Italian saxophonist and composer Betty Accorsi returns here with her third album, Nature Prints, which takes inspiration from the Queen of the Lewis chess set’s titular monarch, famed for her bored expression, which the saxophonist here tries to “entertain” with this set of nine spirited originals. With pianist Dan Hewson shining throughout, either setting the scene with moody chords, or soloing with punchy ideas, Accorsi cuts through with her knotty soprano sax lines and strong melodic playing, although her clunky spoken word and vocal passages may be a deal breaker for some listeners. (MF) Irene Amata Sembianze Prodastar / InOuïe distribution Best known for her work in the Brazilian duo Sambuca, vocalist Irene Amata steps out solo with Sembianze, her rhapsodic debut as jazz…

In Session – Oscar’s Arrangements Jasmine JASMCD2852 (CD) Oscar Peterson (p) with Charlie Parker (as) and the Joe Lippman Orchestra; Bille Holiday & Her Orchestra; Nick Esposito Sextet; Benny Carter & Strings with the Oscar Peterson Quartet; Fred Astaire; Ella Fitzgerald; The Roy Eldridge Quintet; Gene Krupa Trio; The Dizzy Gillespie-Stan Getz Sextet; The Flip Phillips Quintet; The Lionel Hampton Quintet; Buddy DeFranco & Oscar Peterson with Russell Garcia and his Orchestra; Buddy Rich with Howard Gibeling’s Orchestra; Toni Harper; Herb Ellis Septet; Anita O’Day and Her Rhythm Section; Stuff Smith Quintet; Louis Armstrong with Oscar Peterson; Coleman Hawkins Quintet; Roy Eldridge & Stan Getz; Sonny Stitt with The Oscar Peterson Trio; The Oscar Peterson Trio with Ernie Wilkins Big Band. Rec. 25 March 1952–3 January 1956 My five-star rating…

Cafe OTO, London Few saxophonists other than James Brandon Lewis could keep up with the blistering rhythm section of The Messthetics. Comprised of post-hardcore group Fuzagi’s bassist Joe Lally and drummer Brendan Canty, alongside guitarist Anthony Pirog, The Messthetics’ output since 2018’s self-titled debut album has been a barrage of angular, distorted riffs, thunderous grooves and colossal bass tones. For their most recent record, 2024’s The Messthetics with James Brandon Lewis, the group linked up with the NewYork-based tenor saxophonist and elevated their sound into a fiery blend of free jazz melody and cacophonous energy. Harnessing his hard-blowing tone, Lewis’ heavy phrasing proved to be a perfect match for the group’s bubbling aggression. It’s an all-encompassing sound that fills the low-ceiling space of east London’s Cafe OTO on the first…

Tomorrow’s Warriors will honour the centenary of the Harlem Renaissance with a special one day event under the banner A 100 Year Revolution, at London’s Southbank Centre on Saturday 13 September. The daylong programme will explore the lasting cultural legacy of the 1920s black artistic movement through music, dance, and discussion. The event begins at 2pm in the Purcell Room, with a panel discussion featuring celebrated author Bonnie Greer OBE; Ghanaian-born publisher Margaret Busby CBE; acclaimed alto saxophonist and broadcaster Soweto Kinch; and awardwinning writer (and Jazzwise scribe) Kevin Le Gendre. The conversation will examine the Harlem Renaissance’s global impact, including its influence on black British identity and the role of the arts in cultural solidarity. In the evening, the Queen Elizabeth Hall will host The Blackbird and The Duke,…

HIGHLIGHTING SERIOUS TALENT BUBBLING UNDER THE RADAR…. NAME: TOM POTTER INSTRUMENT: DRUMS EXPERIENCE AND INFLUENCES: Tom’s journey behind the drum kit began at the age of 11, after being inspired by a school friend’s performance. Since then he’s built a diverse, cross-genre career working with artists including Daniel Bedingfield, Wasia Project, Geejay, Matt Carmichael, Sam Greenfield, and Judi Jackson. Now, he’s hitting the road with American pop outfit Balu Brigada, performing at major European festivals, including a recent appearance at Lollapalooza Paris. THIS FUTURE MOVER SAYS: "When playing jazz, I’m drawn to the freedom and space it offers. It’s a chance to explore and take risks in ways that aren’t always possible in other styles of music. The variety of genres you can blend keeps things fresh, and I’m excited to…

The appearance of We Insist 2025! (see our cover story) has rightly drawn attention to its original inspiration, the album We Insist! Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite, recorded on 31 August and 6 September 1960. Not only was it election year in the US but a time of increased activity in the civil rights movement and, as noted by the track ‘Tears Of Johannesburg’, there were also racial flashpoints from South Africa to the Congo. Roach’s interest in these matters was hardly new, his first musical comment being his 1956 piece ‘Mr. X’, dedicated to Malcolm. But the catalyst for his 1960 project was the then Chicago-based writer-singer Oscar Brown Jr, who had already written words to Roach’s ‘Long As You’re Living’ for Abbey Lincoln’s monumental 1959 album Abbey Is…

The newly renamed Wolverhampton Arts Centre (formerly Newhampton Arts Centre) kicks off its dynamic autumn jazz season with an exciting mix of established names and rising stars. Opening the season in the venue’s marquee on Friday, 29 August is Xhosa Cole’s FreeMonk project – an inspired tribute to Thelonious Monk by the Birmingham-based saxophonist. The programme then moves into the theatre with bassist and composer Misha Mullov-Abbado and his sextet on 20 September, showcasing music from his acclaimed album, Effra. October brings the vibrant sounds of Ankora, a powerful all-female eight-piece ensemble nurtured by Tomorrow’s Warriors, performing on 16October. Thegroovecontinues on 27Novemberwithmultiinstrumentalist Orphy Robinson’s rarely-performed New Orleans and Caribbean-infused quartet set. Rounding off the season on Wednesday, 18 December are two former Loose Tubes legends in Mark Lockheart and John…

Rez Abbasi Acoustic Quintet Sound Remains Whirlwind WR4834 (CD, LP, DL) Rez Abbasi (g), Stephen Crump (b), Bill Ware (vib), Eric McPherson (d) and Hasan Bakr (perc). Rec. date not stated Abbasi returns to his most intimate, and some would say, most satisfying format with a third outing for his acoustic band following Natural Selection and Intents and Purposes. Old chums like Ware and Crump return but now the percussion skills of Hasan Bakr complement McPherson’s drums. Stylistically Abbasi doesn’t stray from the values that underwrite his more fusion directed recordings: compositions are tightly composed, often mathematically inclined with repeated, sometimes complex textures. And they are often written with great intent with nary a note wasted. So ‘Presence’ is a spiralling piece of rising figures, while ‘Spin Dream’ picks up…

Brad Mehldau Ride into the Sun Nonesuch 75597896220 (CD, 2 LP, DL) EDITOR’S CHOICE Brad Mehldau (p), Daniel Rossen (g, v) Chris Thile (mand, v), Felix Moseholm (b), John Davis (b, el b), Matt Chamberlain (d, perc, v); plus Dan Coleman (orch. dir, cond), Alex Sopp, Jessica Han (f), Agnes Marchione (cl), Adrian Morejon (bsn), Eric Reed (frhn), Ellen Depasquale, Austin Wulliman, Christina Courtin, Laura Frautschi, Joanna Maurer, Derek Ratzenboeck (vn), Dov Scheindlin, Mario Goto, Nadia Sirota (vla), Sophie Shao, Michael Haas, Caitlin Sullivan (clo) and David Grossman (b). Rec. January 2025 One of the distinguishing features that marks out Brad Mehldau’s work is the exceptionally nuanced approach he brings to his interpretations of a personalised post-sixties rock-pop song canon. His takes on The Beatles - as in his recent…

Créole Renaissance Intakt CD441 (CD, DL) EDITOR’S CHOICE Aruán Ortiz (p). Rec. date not stated Despite the malign efforts of a hostile US state department and, some would say, its own government, the small nation of Cuba continues to produce a steady stream of world-class athletes, artists and musicians - outstanding pianists in particular. Aruán Ortiz is one such: native to Santiago De Cuba but now resident in Brooklyn, he’s established a formidable reputation as a performer and composer equally at home with the diverse traditions of jazz, Afro-Cuban music, and the European avant-garde. This, his second solo recording (released on 28 August), evokes the spirits of Schoenberg, Messiaen, and Ligeti as much as Bebo Valdés, Don Pullen, or Cecil Taylor. It’s a stimulating rather than an easy listen: eschewing…

John Coltrane & Ravi Shankar Jazz Raga: Spiritual Explorations of the Two Greatest Melodic Creators on the Planet él Records/Cherry Red ACME3CD379 (3 CD) John Coltrane (ts, ss) plus orchestra and quartet feat McCoy Tyner (p), Jimmy Garrison, Reggie Workman (b) Elvin Jones (d); Ravi Shankar (sitar) and various trios ft. Kanai Dutt, Chatur Lal (tabla) and NC Mullick (tamboura). Rec. 1956–1962 Along with Miles Davis and Jimi Hendrix, John Coltrane collaborating with Ravi Shankar ranks as one of the great ‘What if they had played together?’ moments in modern music. Chances are the meeting may have produced something memorable, and the impact Shankar had on Coltrane was significant, right down to the former naming his son Ravi by way of tribute. In any case, this 3-CD set is as…

Live in Foggia Ogun Recordings OGCD 051 (CD, DL) RECOMMENDED Larry Stabbins (ss, ts, f), Keith Tippett (p) and Louis Moholo-Moholo (d). Rec. 1985 Sometimes (often?) improvised jazz has a furrowed brow, on others – hoorah! – it has a broad beaming smile. Albeit that Larry Stabbins had a mouthful of tenor sax, this joyous celebration of music and musicianship must surely have been in the latter category. The concert immortalised here marked the beginning of a short Italian tour in 1985, the first time the trio of Stabbins, pianist Keith Tippett and drummer Louis Moholo-Moholo had reconvened in the three years since their well-received FMP live double album Tern. Their separate musical trajectories had been intertwined since Tippett and Moholo met in 1960s London and the young Stabbins became…

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‘Prissy’? No way! Trotting out clichés about English folk music being “too prissy” and Gaelic – whatever that means – “reeking of enforced jollity” speaks volumes about Kevin Whitlock’s prejudices [Pentangle box set review, Jazzwise 307]. But, hey, let’s park those beauties. However, I must disagree with his naming “Davy Graham, Bert Jansch and John Renbourn” as “the holy Trinity of influential 1960s guitarists”. Thankfully there was an editorial intervention adding Wizz Jones’ name. The four most influential acoustic guitarists in English folk music were, in order of birth, Wizz Jones, Davy Graham, Martin Carthy and Bert Jansch. There would have been no Renbourn without Davy Graham. I speak as a broadsheet obituarist for Graham, Jansch and Renbourn and their biographer in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography - and…