Armenian sacred music from the fifth to nineteenth centuries — chants, hymns and sharakans — in settings for choir and piano.
‘Extraordinarily beautiful… Hamasyan uses the characteristic, Eastern-hued Armenian modes to summon up an ancient world. It’s very different to Jan Garbarek and the Hilliard Ensemble’s million-selling Officium, but if you like that, you’ll love this’ (The Independent).
Duets by trumpet, or French horn, and guitar.
Solo, playing classical and 12 string guitars as if he were eight-handed — with a version of Goodbye, Pork Pie Hat and a Scott LaFaro in amongst the originals.
‘The ghosts of Armstrong and Handy smile down as Trovesi’s octet roars through a programme that cross-references the spirit of New Orleans with Italian popular song and European classical music.’
A village banda take on tunes from Italian opera — knees-up, sublime, lovely.
Top-notch quartet-jazz, feeling and brainy. MT evokes Trane — though no chordal instrument here — and Shorter (to Avishai Cohen’s Miles). There are tributes to Stevie — ‘master of the blues’ — and Ursula Le Guin. ‘It needs to be personal, meaningful, otherwise the blues can be banal. I believe it to be sacred, like a spiritual discipline.’
Based on recordings by John Abercrombie, Miroslav Vitous, Louis Sclavis, Bennie Maupin, Paul Motian, Arvo Part and co.
A companion volume to Résumé, from 2011, retrieving EW’s bass solos with the Jan Garbarek Group, 1990-2007, and reworking them with the addition of his own keyboard parts and contributions from veteran Dutch flugelhorn player Ack van Rooyen (who played on The Colours of Chloë, more than forty years ago). New Music with old things, EW calls it.
Customised five-string electric double bass, mostly in his own keyboard settings and treatments, but also with the saxophones and overtone flute of Jan Garbarek, and the percussion of Michael DiPasqua.
With Lee Konitz, Bill Frisell, and Dave Holland.
A ‘Luminessence’ audiophile pressing, handsomely sleeved.
The last recording by the late Canadian trumpeter — such a mainstay of contemporary UK jazz — stamped with his trademark melancholy… lyrical, sly, sinuous. ‘As a graceful coda to a wonderful career, not to be missed by anyone who ever fell under Kenny’s spell, however belatedly’ (Richard Williams).
With John Abercrombie, John Taylor, Dave Holland, Pete Erskine.
The Nordan Project, combining Swedish folk and jazz improvisation. With Palle Danielsson on bass, from various Charles Lloyd, Keth Jarrett and Jan Garbarek lineups.