Poetic ballads for piano, cello, saxophone and accordion, taking inspiration from the Russian film-maker (and nodding to Bach, Pergolesi and Shostakovich).

Piano duets with David Rothenberg, playing clarinet and bass clarinet.

Farsi love songs, including a tribute to Norma Winstone, from the German-Iranian singer Cymin Samawatie.

Cymin Samawatie and her trio, joined by violist Martin Stegner as a kind of second singer, deepening the sense of East/West dialogue in the music. Settings of the Iranian poet Forough Farrokhzaad — to whom the album is dedicated — besides Cymin’s own lyrics, classic Sufi poetry by Hafiz, and the verse of Nima Yushij.

The great drummer with Wadada Leo Smith (who chips in a seventeen-minute tribute to Alice Coltrane) and Bill Frisell.

With Bill Frisell and Ben Street carrying on from the Declaration Of Musical Independence line-up, plus pianist David Virelles.

Xavier Charles (clarinet, harmonica), Ivar Grydeland (electric guitar, banjo, sruti), Christian Wallumrod (prepared piano, harmonium), Ingar Zach (gran cassa, percussion).

With Henry Threadgill and Roscoe Mitchell, no less — the drummer’s friends from school in the early 1960s — and Muhal Richard Abrams, whose band they all joined as leavers, plus bassist Larry Gray. Issued as the AACM begins its 50th anniversary year, there is nothing complacent about this hard-nosed, exhilarating music. Terrific.

Luminessence Series.

After recent recordings with Mark Turner and Billy Hart, the pianist leads his own quartet through a programme of standards and blues, live at the Village Vanguard.
‘Its prime melodic voice is the veteran trumpeter Tom Harrell. Iverson extols the poetic vulnerability in his playing, particularly in such ballads as The Man I Love and Polka Dots and Moonbeam. The album’s effervescent swing is thanks to the top-flight rhythm team of bassist Ben Street and drummer Eric McPherson, whose subtle invention helps drive Denzil Best’s bebop groover Wee and two irresistibly bluesy Iverson originals.’

‘Following his ECM debut of duos with Markus Stockhausen, the pianist leads a strong cast through a programme of his compositions and sketches. Whether paying tribute to his mentor Lee Konitz on Honestlee, impressionistically conveying the glittering Melody Of A Waterfall, or generating impactful drama out of fragments of sound on Butterfly Effect, Weber continually draws fresh responses from his players.
‘The strong, grounded bass of Linda May Han Oh contrasts strikingly with Nasheet Waits’s fleet, fluid drumming, setting up new contexts for Ralph Alessi’s elegantly inventive trumpet and the leader’s highly creative piano playing.’