Diego Pinera: Despertando

Based in Germany, this Uruguayan drummer-percussionist’s quintet offers a genuinely different latin-orientation based on his nativeland’s rhythms of Candombe, mionga...

Reviewed in issue March/2018

Mulo Francel: Mocca Swing

A 2CD set, one with the saxophonist-leader’s (a member of world music’s Quadro Nuevo) quartet and the other, a collaboration...

Reviewed in issue February/2018

Laila Biali

Larnell Lewis | Ben Witman | Mike ‘Maz’ Maher | Sam Yahel | Laila Biali | George Koller | Ambrose Akinmusire

The Vancouver-born vocalist, pianist and songwriter Laila Biali serves up an impressive ACT debut with a combination of mellifluous vocals,...

Reviewed in issue February/2018

Scott DuBois: Autumn Wind

The second in a season-themed series following the guitarist’s Winter Light is evocative tone poetry for strings and quartet that...

Reviewed in issue Dec/Jan/2017/2018

Bugge Wesseltoft: Everybody Loves Angels

Bugge Wesseltoft

The keyboardist Bugge Wesseltoft reactivated his game-changing jazztronica New Conception of Jazz for its 20th anniversary last year, in the...

Reviewed in issue November/2017

Marius Neset: Circle of Chimes

Ingrid Neset | Anton Eger | Andreas Brantelid | Marius Neset | Lionel Loueke | Jim Hart | Petter Eldh | Ivo Neame

Originally commissioned to bring in the New Year at the Kölner Philharmonie in Cologne in 2016, this is the Norwegian...

Reviewed in issue November/2017

Wolfgang Haffner: Kind of Spain

Wolfgang Haffner | Christopher Dell | Jan Lundgren | Lars Danielsson | Sebastian Studnitzky

On his 2008 debut on the Act label, Haffner created a minor classic of European jazz with Acoustic Shapes, which...

Reviewed in issue October/2017

Magnus Lindgren: Stockholm Underground

Eric Bibb | Lars DK Danielsson | Henrik Janson | Nils Landgren | Till Brönner | Magnus Lindgren | Per Lindvall | Ida Sand | Daniel Karlsson

This latest release from Swedish jazz flautist Magnus Lindgren is a homage to Herbie Mann, a giant of an earlier...

Reviewed in issue October/2017

Adam Bałdych & Helge Lien Trio with Tore Brunborg: Brothers

Frode Berg | Tore Brunborg | Per Oddvar Johansen | Helge Lien | Adam Bałdych

This is Adam Bałdych's second collaboration with the Helge Lien Trio following Bridges from 2015 that promised much. On it,...

Reviewed in issue October/2017

Nils Landgren Funk Unit with Ray Parker Jr: Unbreakable

Ray Parker Jr. | Petter Bergander | Tim Hagans | Nils Landgren | Randy Brecker | Magnum Coltrane Price | Andy Pfeiler | Jonas Wall | Robert Ikiz

If it ain't broke, don't fix it: Landgren's been mining the funk lode for, what, 25 years, so no surprise...

Reviewed in issue August/2017