Wayne Shorter, 1933-2023
We are deeply saddened by the recent passing of the great saxophonist, composer, and NEA Jazz Master Wayne Shorter, who died on Thursday, March 2nd in Los Angeles at the age of 89.
Tag: Jazz
We are deeply saddened by the recent passing of the great saxophonist, composer, and NEA Jazz Master Wayne Shorter, who died on Thursday, March 2nd in Los Angeles at the age of 89.
New York City-based tenor saxophonist and composer James Brandon Lewis, who’s been one jazz’s most forward-thinking and cutting-edge artists over the last decade, has returned with a superb new trio album on the Los Angeles label Anti- Records, titled Eye Of I.
London keyboardist and pianist Charlie Stacey has been making waves over the past few years, performing with Yussef Dayes and fellow Tomorrow Warriors alumni such as Moses Boyd and The Ezra Collective. He sets out on his own, releasing his highly-anticipated debut as a leader, titled The Light Beyond Time on UK’s Night Dreamer label.
For the latest release of the fantastic Jazz Is Dead series, Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad team up with two iconic legends in trombonist Phil Ranelin and Wendell Harrison, founders of the 70’s Detroit-based independent label and collective, Tribe Records.
Over the past 20 years, Nostalgia 77 has been the eclectic work of UK producer Ben Lamdin, exploring the forward-thinking sounds of jazz, soul, and electronic music. Lamdin reunites with longtime collaborator and arranger Riaan Vosloo to release arguably the project’s best album to date in The Loneliest Flower In The Village.
Right on the heals of Jazz Room Records’ most recent 7inch release, Japan’s leading jazz fusion/funk trio Nautilus has recently released a brilliant new full-length on the Urban Discos label, titled Revival.
In what can already be considered a front-runner for album of the year, UK-based drummer, producer and vocalist Andy Hay returns with a 2xLP spiritual jazz masterpiece, titled Children Of The Sun.
Scottish trumpeter Malcolm Strachan has been one of the most active UK musicians for over the past 20 years, recording and performing with Mark Ronson, Amy Winehouse, Corinne Bailey Rae, Jamiroquai, The New Master Sounds and many others, as well as leading the notable UK jazz-funk band The Haggis Horns. He steps out on his own again and follows up his critically acclaimed 2020 solo debut album About Time with a superb new full-length on Haggis Records, titled Point Of No Return.
In what certainly is one of the most anticipated albums of 2023, legendary UK producer, deejay, and acid jazz pioneer Chris Bangs is set to release his new full-length record Firebird this week on the iconic Acid Jazz Records.
The legendary London-based Decca Records continues their superb British Jazz Explosion Series, with two massive additions in trumpeter Harry Beckett‘s 1970 heavy-hitting classic Flare-Up and the groundbreaking large ensemble masterpiece Tales Of The Algonquin led by John Surman and John Warren.
Paul Murphy’s superb label, Jazz Room Records is back at it again, releasing a brilliant 7inch single featuring two excellent dancefloor primed covers by Tokyo’s remarkable jazz-funk trio Nautilus.
A record that seemed to receive a lot of worthy play across numerous notable online radio shows (Colin Curtis, Kev Beadle, and others) during the final two months of 2022, was 45trio’s brilliant instrumental of Weldon Irvine’s soulful 1976 classic ‘I Love You’. Led by pianist and producer SWING-O, the Tokyo-based group, which formed back in 2009, also features bassist Sunapanng and drummer Masahiko Kubo.
Happy New Year! Before we turn the page and look ahead to 2023, let’s spend one more moment in celebrating some of the best music from the past twelve months and dive into some of the best tracks of 2022.