By John Stevenson Creole Soul, trumpeter Etienne Charles’s fourth CD, is a music rendevous. This captivating recording features an array of familiar rhythms: rocksteady; reggae; belair, Kongo; rock and of course calypso, which rests at the root of Etienne’s artistic development. Over the course of his distinguished career as a working …
By John Stevenson With his fourth recording, All Seasons, pianist and keyboardist Emmanuel Waldron further cements his presence on the UK music scene, planting an unmistakable jazz flag in the soil. Emmanuel has worked over the years with artists as diverse as Ronan Keating, Ola Onabule, Ruby Turner, George Duke and Kamelia …
By John Stevenson Over the last couple of months, I’ve had a renewed appreciation for the monumental early work of the Modern Jazz Quartet and the last recordings of The Black Magus, Miles Davis. The MJQ compilation – five CDs packaged in environmentally sensible cardboard sleeves – includes seminal platters …
By John Stevenson Freddie Hubbard (1938 – 2008) was arguably one of the greatest jazz trumpeters and flugelhorn players in the history of jazz. His unmistakable tone and technique shone brightly on not only his own recordings but also in the bands of countless artists such as Sonny Rollins, Eric …
Most of us have come to know Frank Harrison as the pianist in Israeli saxophonist Gilad Atzmon’s Orient House Ensemble. Frank’s sensitive accompaniment stands out: he traces the rhythmic arc of Gilad’s middle-eastern and north African compositions with poise and elegance. As is the case with some of the best …
By John Stevenson Like a Brazilian soccer superstar, UK hip-hop sensation, Nate, goes by just a single moniker. His music and urgent poetic flow sweeps up a whole host of influences in the rhythmic undertow. Jazz, reggae, rock, South African music, and drum’n’bass, are among the myriad genres showcased in …
By John Stevenson In a year of countless remarkable recordings, Radio Jumbo will be remembered as one of 2011’s most distinctive jazz recordings. London is known for its staggering array of cultures and genres of music. However, accomplished London-based, Dominican-born guitarist, Cameron Pierre, has certainly helped to place the French …
By John Stevenson Terri Lyne Carrington’s life is characterised by a wealth of textures. She’s led a glittering career as a drummer of choice, operating in top-drawer jazz circles from her early teens. Alongside this, she’s been a notable composer, and artistic director of the Beantown Jazz festival and the …
By John Stevenson African music is flourishing in the most unlikely places. And if cutting-edge, US-based African music big-band, Chopteeth, has anything to do with it, the myriad fusions of Congolese Soukous, Ghanaian Highlife and Nigerian Afrobeat will waft even further across America. Chopteeth (taken from the title of a …
By John Stevenson It was the era of national reconstruction (after a particularly bitter civil war), Udoji awards, military coups, OPEC-fuelled prosperity, FESTAC, and a naira that reigned supreme. Indeed, the decade of the 1970s represents not only a period when oil money flowed as liberally as palm wine and …
