Mael Bailly's music undoubtedly bears the imprint, rather than the weight, of his composer mentor Gerard Pesson, for the elder Bailly is gifted with a wellknown benevolence and generosity. A respectful distance from a heritage that has been accepted and fulfilled, and a singular and facetious imagination, encourage emancipation. Mael Bailly's musical style is already clear. Numerous works are emerging, with instrumentations and styles as eclectic as they are surprising. Mael Bailly is resolutely of his time. He is one of those who develop a form of living discourse that offers at every moment many possible paths towards his own future. (Brian Ferneyhough) The musical flow is leaping, bouncing, stomping, boiling. The sound textures whirl around in a wide spectrum of fumaroles of colours, both finely chiselled and sometimes melting like magma. In this game of hands or sonic hopscotch, as Mael Bailly himself calls it, the sounds develop, continue and imitate each other in a rhythmic whirlwind that is at times relentlessly robotic and at other times endowed with a suspenseful elasticity that gives the discourse a new dimension. At other times, they are endowed with a suspenseful elasticity that gives the discourse the singular impression of hesitating, especially when it evolves in an open form. The improvising spirit is often lurking in the shadows.
If someone told you there was music that could lull pillowy-winged moths into a fluttery state of happiness, that the Aurora Borealis can sing even better than you and I, or that the roots of the American elm trees in Central Park are a bustling ensemble waiting for their cue, would you believe them? Matthew Burtner would, and he'd have no trouble proving it on PROFILED FROM ATMOSPHERES, the veteran ecoacoustic composer's sixth release with Ravello Records. Burtner lifts the veil between humanity and it's planet, translating it's messages into an intimate medium invariably understood amongst it's inhabitants. These messages make an urgent case in the titular work Profiled From Atmospheres, a collaborative work between atmospheric sound profiles derived from humanity's top three greenhouse gas emissions and saxophone/percussion duo Michael Weiss and Elizabeth Soflin. The result is an eerie, haunting sonification that serves as a poignant reminder; if we want to continue hearing the songs of the atmosphere and the planet it blankets, it's our responsibility to preserve it.
Eric Richards: The Consent of Sound & Meaning / Ekmeles, Loadbang
New Focus Recordings
CD
$10.49$20.99Save 50%Jan 20, 2023
Composer Eric Richards approached listening as an embodied activity, an amalgamation of the auditory, psychological, and emotional experience we have hearing artistic sound. This album, produced by Andy Kozar and Jeffrey Gavett, features several of Richards's entrancing chamber works performed by Ekmeles, loadbang, Gavett, and Kozar as well as a host of New York based freelancers, and shines a light on a composer whose poetic approach to compositional, observation, and technology has been widely overlooked previously.
Burtner, Chafe, Goncalves, Luna-Mega & Stine: Soundscapes of Restoration
Ravello Records
CD
$16.99May 12, 2023
On the coasts of the Atlantic, sparrows whistle atop the trees, Eastern winds whisper through spartina grasses, and fiddler crabs skitter within their sandy burrows — a great symphony of shorelines soon to be left incomplete. As rising sea levels continue to threaten coastal reefs, shores, and the hundreds of lifeforms inhabiting them, the Coastal Conservatory urges us to consider our efforts of restoration and offers us an avenue for restoring coastal futures, a meditation on the music of the most integral barriers to the ever-pressing Atlantic. SOUNDSCAPES OF RESTORATION is both an exploration and a reflection, a listening experience that leaves one changed with the desire to make change further. It is a journey that cannot, and should not, be forgotten.
Mulgrew Miller, one of the most important pianists of jazz’ modern era, proudly delivers his brand-new album Solo in Barcelona via Storyville Records. The occasion of a present-day release of a solo recording by this remarkable musician is a very rare and extraordinary occasion. This album, which was recorded on February 2, 2004 in Barcelona, is truly a rare gem for the admirers of a man and piano player, who was loved by so many fans and the entire jazz global community. With his unique take on arrangements from Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Cole Porter, Miles Davis and Duke Ellington, MM shows us why he is considered a modern legend.
On this solo album, MM's piano embarks on an extraordinary musical journey. With each note, he effortlessly paints a vivid tapestry of emotions, traversing a rich musical landscape that spans genres and styles characterized by versatility, proficient soloing and tasteful restraint. He plays like a modern-day exponent of Art Tatum with the deepest musical roots, but with the freshest, most forward-thinking, profoundly original voice that’s uniquely his own. Live in Barcelona shows how he is able to tell us a story and swing like very few others. A real master on the piano. The highlight is perhaps his ‘Excursions in Blue’, playing the blues like it should be done - in the moment! Solo in Barcelona is a beautiful documentation of Mulgrew Miller playing solo material that has not been recorded before.
MM was one of the most influential jazz pianists of his generation. Renowned for his technical mastery, improvisational genius and deep musicality, Mulgrew Miller worked with Miles Davis, Betty Carter, Woody Shaw, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen and his own trio around the globe. Still missed by his big audience. Mulgrew Miller (1955-2013) was a world-renowned jazz pianist and composer. His illustrious career spanned over four decades, during which he performed with legendary jazz artists and received critical acclaim for his exceptional musicianship. His unique approach to the piano and his profound contributions to jazz have solidified his place as one of the greatest pianists in the history of the genre. With this exceptional solo album, MM invites listeners on a personal and intimate musical journey, as he displays his extraordinary command of the piano. His nuanced phrasing, exquisite dynamics and deep understanding of harmony create an enchanting and captivating listening experience.
With it's latest CD, the Trumpet Consort, under the direction of renowned trumpeter Matthias Hofs, takes you into a fascinating world of trumpet sounds that unites tradition and innovation in a unique way. With exceptional skill and impressive arrangements, the ensemble showcases the entire range of the trumpet family - from festive baroque works to modern compositions. Experience the masterful variety of sounds created by the special collaboration between experienced musicians and young talents.
Pieces of a Dream" by composer Christian Jost is a unique chamber music suite of symphonic proportions for flugelhorn/trumpet, vibraphone, and piano played by Simon Hofele, Frank Dupree, and Christoph Sietzen. This innovative composition transcends the boundaries of traditional music genres, inviting listeners to explore over 50 minutes of intricate melodies, harmonies, and rhythms across it's four captivating movements: "Is It Safe," "Come to Me," "Driven by a Strange Desire," and "In My Dream, It's All Alive." Is It Safe" opens the suite with an elegiac duo of flugelhorn and piano, setting the stage for a sonic exploration of deceptive beauty and emotional depth. The flugelhorn weaves a breath-like melody, creating a vivid and nuanced dreamscape. At the same time, the piano enriches this melody with complex emotional progressions. "Come to Me" introduces the vibraphone in a mysterious and melancholic mood, escalating into a scherzo-like movement filled with virtuosic passages and an ostinato rhythm that propels the music forward. The third movement, "Driven by a Strange Desire," marks the climax of the suite with it's fanfare-like vibraphone solo and a trumpet that soars over hammered piano rhythms and polyrhythmic structures. This extensive movement travels through varied sections, leading to a dramatic and fast-paced finale. "In My Dream, It's All Alive," the final movement, captures the essence of the suite with it's fragile mood and enchantingly tender melodies, wrapping up the musical journey in a transfigured serenity." Pieces of a Dream" stands at the crossroads of genres - not confined to jazz, yet it swings and grooves; nor is it experimental new music, as it embraces atmospheric drifting. This work represents a path untrodden, crafted by a new generation of musicians unbound by categorical constraints. Our heartfelt thanks to Simon, Frank, and Christoph for their commitment to bringing this visionary piece to life. Dive into "Pieces of a Dream" and let it's innovative compositions and emotional depth guide you through a musical journey unlike any other. Discover a world where chamber music meets symphonic scale and experience the beauty of music that defies categorization
In 2013 a group of Krakow-based instrumentalists shared the stage as part of the European Workshop for Contemporary Music, conducted by maestro Rudiger Bohn. Having then played together at Darmstadt's Internationale Ferienkurse fur Nee Musik, the musicians established an independent body. A couple of events held in a community center by one of the town's exit roads and in a then neglected theater marked the beginnings of Spoldzielnia Muzyczna contemporary ensemble, a group who specializes in performing new music. This is the ensemble's first entirely self-curated and self-produced album. It includes compositions which shaped the group's identity.
The concept of recording this CD was born during the uncertain times of the pandemic in 2020, when musicians were facing a great deal of instability and personal connections became restricted. As live music came to a halt in the UK and Europe, trumpeter Oscar Whight found himself taking on the role of Principal Trumpet in the Cairo Symphony Orchestra for a period of 10 months. This unexpected journey became the backdrop for the first piece commissioned for this recording, Winter Journeys by Martin Butler. On his return to the UK, Oscar collaborated with other renowned British composers and these exciting new works for trumpet and piano are now showcased in this album. This project provided a wonderful opportunity to bring together a diverse programme of fresh and exhilarating music which is uncompromising in it's ambition, yet can connect immediately with the listener. The programme encompasses a wide range of styles and techniques, showcasing the trumpet's versatility. From technically demanding passages that push the instrument to it's limits, to simple melodies that highlight it's inherent vocal qualities, each piece requires a unique approach. The title Nexus not only symbolises the desire to present music that connects, but is also representative of the various connections that brought this CD to fruition. Artistic working relationships create friendships and Oscar was fortunate to collaborate with the talented pianist Zeynep ozsuca for this recording, who also happens to be a neighbour. Two of the composers featured on this recording are contemporaries of Oscar's father Michael: Martin Butler was a member of the Hampshire County Youth Orchestra with him, and Mark Anthony Turnage studied at the Royal College of Music at the same time as Michael. The artwork for this disc, titled Pathways, was created by Stuart Hartley, a family friend whose work perfectly complements the theme of connections explored in this album.
Hakan Hardenberger and Roland Pontinen have enjoyed a fruitful artistic relationship for over forty years. They have played, toured and recorded together and have devoted much time and energy to repertoire ideas. 'For us to create a new programme is an exciting, stimulating and fun process', says Pontinen. 'A process that often mirrors our mutual interest in jazz, film and other art forms. The idea of juxtaposing works of contrasting characters, or composed centuries apart, can often shed new light on the music itself.' We are treated here to recently composed works, arrangements, favourites of both musicians and standards from the Great American Songbook. The centrepiece of the programme is Three Autumns by Staffan Storm, atmospherically connected to Anna Akhmatova's poetry, a reflection on elegiac autumn moods. Among contemporary composers, Mark-Anthony Turnage and HK Gruber, who have provided Hardenberger with more works than any other composers, are also represented. Roland Pontinen contributes two pieces, one of them a meditative work inspired by the simplicity and mood of Thomas Newman's masterful film scores. Legende by George Enescu reflects the impressionistic style of the composer's teachers. The recital is also interspersed with shorter pieces, arrangements and reinterpretations of classic American songs, and includes legendary jazzman Ornette Coleman's Chanting, a favourite encore in Hardenberger/Pontinen programmes - always improvised, every time different.
A leading drummer and producer, Nate Smith seamlessly blends jazz, funk, R&B, and hip-hop, driven by a groove that is both razor-sharp and deeply musical. LIVE-ACTION quickly made an impact, earning two GRAMMY® Award nominations in the categories of Best Alternative Jazz Album and Best Arrangement, Instruments & Vocals for the track featuring säje. With LIVE-ACTION Deluxe, Smith expands on the album's live energy, staying true to his organic, hands-on approach while once again collaborating with top voices in contemporary jazz, including Braxton Cook. Nate Smith envisioned LIVE-ACTION as a producer-driven project inspired by the legacy of Quincy Jones. "As a producer, I wanted to activate all the relationships I've built over the past five or six years, especially since the pandemic, many of them through social media," he explains. The album features an all-star cast of collaborators including Josh Johnson and Marquis Hill, rapper JSWISS, guitarists Charlie Hunter and Lionel Loueke, bassists Michael League, Ben Williams, and CARRTOONS, keyboardists DJ Harrison and Keifer, the vocal group säje, singer Jermaine Holmes, and Lalah Hathaway. Hathaway delivers a standout performance on a bold reimagining of the Pointer Sisters' 1984 classic Automatic, fully reharmonized and reworked alongside Smith. While LIVE-ACTION is highly collaborative, Smith maintains a strong sense of cohesion through intentional creative limitations. "I wanted the record to feel like it was recorded to tape in my bedroom. I limited myself on purpose, using analog gear and the same instruments throughout. I did just two or three takes per part, with no copy and paste or studio tricks. Everything you hear was played live. Nothing is programmed or sequenced." With the release of LIVE-ACTION Deluxe, Nate Smith builds on that momentum, introducing new collaborations and previously unreleased performances while celebrating the success of the original album, which earned two GRAMMY® Award nominations.
Experience Louis Armstrong at the height of his powers with this definitive 1959 Copenhagen concert, captured just months before his life changing heart attack. Drawn from newly restored Danish radio tapes, SCCD 36513 showcases Armstrong’s All Stars in explosive form—fiery “Tiger Rag,” soulful “Basin Street Blues,” a powerful “Black and Blue/Do You Know What It Means” medley, and joyous favorites like “Mack the Knife” and “When the Saints Go Marching In.” Featuring Velma Middleton, Trummy Young, Peanuts Hucko, Billy Kyle, Mort Herbert, and Danny Barcelona, this release reveals Armstrong’s unmatched stamina and emotional depth. Liner notes are by Ricky Riccardi, the Grammy winning Director of Research Collections at the Louis Armstrong House Museum and one of the world’s leading Armstrong scholars. A major archival addition to the Armstrong discography, presented with SteepleChase’s renowned audio restoration.
The Guesthouse is about collaboration, inclusion, and the essence of welcoming which is the essence of an open door. It's my most ambitious project to date, sonically and compositionally. It involves so many incredibly talented people: some are in the front, playing music together with me, offering their insight, time, effort, and love, and some incredibly talented and hardworking people are behind the scenes, facilitating, allowing, and inspiring me to keep pushing forward. Musically speaking, the color palette on The Guesthouse is huge. It introduces many musical guests that I admire deeply: MARO, Immanuel Wilkins, Michael Mayo, and many more. It includes lyric writing for the first time, electronic instruments, guitars, trumpets, flutes, flamenco musicians, in-depth production work, my quartet, solo piano, odd meter explorations, improvisations, songs with no time, strings, two pianos conversing and more and more and more.. I dove as deep as I could into these deep waters. The result is my attempt to turn the creative chaos that lives in mind mind into one coherent artistic statement, always having a simple melody as a thread that tells the story of this collective. Shai Maestro Shai Maestro (b. 1987) is one of the most inventive and influential pianists of his generation. Since debuting with his own trio in 2011, he has developed a distinctive musical voice that is fluid, expressive, and profoundly lyrical. His artistry has made him a defining figure in contemporary jazz, merging improvisation, composition, and global influences into a sound that is both cinematic and deeply personal. Maestro began studying classical piano at the age of five and discovered jazz at eight through the recordings of Keith Jarrett and Oscar Peterson. At nineteen, he joined bassist Avishai Cohen's trio, co-writing the acclaimed Gently Disturbed and performing worldwide. In 2011, he formed his own trio, recording six albums that solidified his reputation as a singular voice in modern jazz. His years with ECM Records, under the guidance of Manfred Eicher, placed him among the lineage of pianists such as Keith Jarrett, Paul Bley, and Chick Corea. With drummer Ofri Nehemya and bassist Jorge Roeder, he recorded his first ECM album "The Dream Thief", later joined by trumpeter Philip Dizack for the second - "Human", both expanding the expressive language of the modern jazz quartet. Today, Maestro continues to evolve artistically with a new quartet featuring keyboardist Gadi Lehavi, drummer Ofri Nehemya, and bassist Jorge Roeder. Gadi, the new wild card in the group, brings a distinctive energy and vision; his presence as another pianist opens fresh possibilities for dialogue, texture, and experimentation between two keyboards. This lineup functions as a powerful, cohesive engine driving Maestro's musical exploration, blending jazz improvisation with modern production into a sound that is organic, cinematic, and forward-looking. In 2025, Maestro signed a long-term partnership with the Paris-based label naive records, a defining milestone that opened an expansive new chapter in his artistic life. The collaboration with naive marked a moment of renewal and bold creative ambition, setting the stage for a period of profound exploration. The first fruit of this partnership was his solo piano album, Solo: Miniatures & Tales. Introspective and deeply personal, it revealed the most intimate side of Maestro's artistry; a work of quiet reflection, nuance, and restraint. This album stands in deliberate contrast to the broader, outward-looking vision of his forthcoming project, The Guesthouse, highlighting the duality at the heart of Maestro's creative world: the tension between introspection and expansion. In March 2026, Maestro will release The Guesthouse, a record that features Portuguese singer MARO alongside Immanuel Wilkins, and Michael Mayo. The album represents a bold leap forward, combining the sensitivity of modern jazz with electronic sound design and the harmonic depth of classical music. The Guesthouse creates a lush, cinematic space where boundaries dissolve, embodying Maestro's exploration of openness and collaboration.
November 20, 1961 Dizzy Gillespie brought on stage of Falkoner Centret, Copenhagen the quintet version of “Gillespiana Suite”, composed originally for his 16-piece orchestra by young Argentine composer/pianist Lalo Schifrin.
The suite was recorded in the previous year to become a huge success.
This composition paved the way for Schifrin to become one of the most popular screen music composers. The program finishes with Gillespie’s own Kush which stayed in his repertoire for the next 15 years
As pianist, conductor and composer, Ole Schmidt was one of the great polymaths of the Nordic musical world. His music was influenced by Bartók, Stravinsky and the French school and is underpinned by a certain Nordic clarity. It combines rhythmic energy, high concentration, elemental expressivity and deadpan humor. Schmidt's experience on the podium gave him an inside track on the working of the orchestra, and his pragmatism and refinement are evident in his larger scores, including the three momentous concertos on this album. In his Pièce Concertante, Schmidt places a trumpet and a trombone in the foreground. The piece has a bustling concerto grosso atmosphere and a consistent good humor. The album also presents his Concerto for Tuba and Orchestra, which explore the full expressive capabilities of the tuba, and the Concerto for Horn and Chamber Orchestra consisting of two contrasting movements: the first serious and dreaming, the second fast and playfully light.
GRAMMY-nominated drummer Nate Smith, known for his deep groove and genre-blending style, has worked with legends like Pat Metheny and Jose James, and wowed millions with his viral drum videos. Following acclaimed projects like KINFOLK: Postcards from Everywhere and Pocket Change, Smith returns with a new album, out August 29, continuing his journey through jazz, R&B, and beyond. Some of the most renowned names in the jazz scene have joined him on the project, including Lalah Hathaway, Michael League, Lionel Loueke, and more.
Shostakovich: Jazz Suites; Ballet Suites; Concertos
Capriccio
CD
$33.99Jul 04, 2025
Dmitri Shostakovich is first and foremost known for his symphonies and string quartets - works that contain some humor, but even more darkness, brooding, and desolation. But there is the jaunty side of the great composer, too, and nowhere does it come to it's cheerful fore than in these works, the Jazz Suites, the Tahiti Trot, and his Ballet Suites. This set, accompanying Capriccio's boxes of Shostakovich's Symphonies, Film Music, Orchestral Songs, and Chamber Music, is rounded out with two concertos. In the playful Piano Concerto, that humorous side comes through in the many quotations of songs, own works, and Beethoven. Only the grim Violin Concerto, held back, like the 4th Symphony, for fear of retribution, offers no smile.
Bach: Brandenburg Concertos / Melichar, Berlin Philharmonic
Danacord
CD
$18.99May 03, 2024
The first ever attempt to present the Brandenburg Concertos in accordance with Baroque tradition. The pioneering early Berlin recordings conducted with élan and elegance by Alois Melichar, a now nearly forgotten Austrian master. The set includes bonus tracks of the Third Brandenburg Concerto conducted by three legendary masters: Eugene Goossens, Wilhelm Furtwängler, and the Dane Georg Høeberg. All recordings from the collection of Claus Byrith and transferred using the best possible digital technology.
Czech trumpeter Jiri Kotaca and Swedish pianist Alf Carlsson release a new album with their band, featuring nine of their own original compositions. Besides being firmly rooted in the tradition of modern jazz, the album, entitled Our Stories, draws on various other styles by which the individual players swear, including jazz rock, modern mainstream, pop, and Scandinavian lyricism. Alf Carlsson and Jiri Kotaca, both respected musical personalities, first met in Rotterdam and then during Alf's visit to the Czech Republic, which eventually turned into a short common tour and later into a proper band as the two leaders were joined by two of the most sought-after jazz Slovak musicians of the youngest generation - double bassist and bass guitarist Peter Korman and drummer Kristian Kuruc. The band has been performing in this line up ever since. The new album, which is published five years after their critically acclaimed debut Journeys, will be introduced on a tour including Czechia, Slovakia and other countries. Eager listeners can get a tasting of the album and listen in advance to Alf ´s piece Alf ´s Groove, which is now being released on all digital platforms, and to Relief by Jiri Kotaca, which will be available as of 10 May.
On her new album; trumpetist and composer Štepánka Balcarová; the recipient of the Andel Award for the best jazz album of 2022; delves deep into human emotions. She quotes her recent experience of becoming a mother as her main source of inspiration: “Certain emotions receive a totally new dimension with motherhood. I used to think I knew what it meant to be angry or indignant; for example; and was able to rationalize such emotions; draw relevant consequences and thus come to term with them. With children; however; one often finds oneself in situations that don’t allow for such distancing. This immediacy affects both negative and positive emotions. I’ve come to see them in an entirely new light.” In the eight compositions comprised in her new album; Štepánka represents eight basic human emotions; as they have been defined by American psychologist Robert Plutchik: joy; trust; fear; surprise; sadness; disgust; anger and anticipation. A concert programme based on the concept of Emotions was premiered in 2022. Štepánka Balcarová recorded the album with a Czech-Polish quartet featuring Nikola Kolodziejczyk (piano); Jaromír Honzák (double bass) and Grzegorz Maslowski (drums). The same line-up also collaborated with her on the album Life and Hapiness of Julian Tuwim (Animal Music 2017) and the live album Štestí (Happiness; Radioservis 2022) which includes orchestral versions of the repertoire for which Štepánka Balcarová received the Andel Award.
