The award-winning Dutch composer and bass clarinet player Joris Roelofs is also currently working on a PhD dissertation on Friedrich Nietzsche, improvisation and the notion of freedom. On the album Rope Dance he is able to combine all of this, in a suite of twelve pieces inspired by Nietzsche – ‘by far the most musical of philosophers’ according to Roelofs. It is especially the parable of the tightrope walker in the opening section of ‘Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None’ that has provided him with inspiration for his own ‘Light-Footed Music for All and None’. It is not surprising that Nietzsche’s thoughts about free spirits, liberated from conventional constraints and belief systems, resonate particularly well with musicians working with improvisation and across genres. Roelofs has therefore been able to gather a group of highly versatile colleagues from the Benelux jazz scene to perform his music: pianist Bram de Looze, bass player Clemens van der Feen and Martijn Vink on drums. The album also confirms the multi-faceted talents of bassoonist Bram van Sambeek, following previous recordings on BIS of classical, pre-Romantic and contemporary concertos, as well as hard rock covers with the group ORBI (the Oscillating Revenge of the Background Instruments).

‘Lyla’ is Avishai Cohen’s first release with Razdaz Recordz. Piano legend Chick Corea appears as a special guest performing a duet with the leader. Avishai Cohen is an Israeli jazz double bassist, composer, singer, and arranger. He began playing the piano at 9 years old but changed to the bass guitar at the age of 14, inspired by bassist Jaco Pastorius. In 2002, Cohen founded his record label, Razdaz Recordz. "I've always been interested in several genres of music, including jazz, rock, pop, Latin and funk," says Cohen. "I'm always packed with ideas. I decided to start my own label because I'm involved in so many different projects." Cohen's signature sound is a blend of Middle Eastern, eastern European, and African-American musical idioms.

After their first successful duo album Crescent where pianist Atzko Kohashi and bassist Tony Overwater celebrated the John Coltrane album Crescent, they now recorded a new album in celebration of drummers. They selected 8 compositions by drummers and added three songs dedicated to drummers.

Because Avishai Cohen’s previous outing—a 2017 album titled 1970 (Sony)—was his most commercially successful release thus far, one wouldn’t blame him for revisiting a similar artistic wellspring. Instead, for his 17th leader date, the bassist went in another direction, recruiting an entirely different set of musicians for the deeply personal, nostalgia-fueled Arvoles. Half the program here consists of trio recordings with pianist Elchin Shirinov and drummer Noam David, and on the other half, the band expands to a quintet with trombonist Björn Samuelsson and flutist Anders Hagberg. - DownBeat Magazine Editors' Pick

Click here to read the full review at DownBeat Magazine

Award-winning Vibraphonist Lewis Wright returns to Signum following the success of his recording 'Duets' in 2018, with a selection of new compositions this time performed with Matt Brewer (Double-Bass) and Marcus Gilmore (Drums). "The Colour of Intention refers to the creative process itself: that in order to express yourself honestly in music, you have to generate clear intentions developed from thoughts and emotions which then color the work rather than explaining every aspect of it. In the moment of performance, the goal then becomes to put all these previous investigations out of mind and exist in the present. The color of intention is describing everything except performance; the slower processes of development, reflection and refinement and how they'll seep, often unpredictably, into everything that ends up being realized. Working with Matt (Brewer) and Marcus (Gilmore) adds the last and most engaging dimension. How they interpret the music, interact and bring their own highly developed languages to bare, creates something that's both a reflection of my intentions and also infinitely more sophisticated than it's possible for me to conceive of. I think in this sense, human connection is the greatest element of what it is we do as musicians." (Lewis Wright)

Coming under the form of a beautiful antique pink and dark green 3-shutters digipack and two-LPs Gatefold, 'Two Roses' is by Avishai's words "a once in a lifetime project". Associating his core trio (Mark Guiliana, Elchin Shirinov) with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Avishai Cohen offers a very cinematic project between Jazz, Mediterranean Folklore and Classical music, reexploring a part of his musical journey. Not only proposing new orchestrations of his most successful works, 'Two Roses' is also strongly supported by 'When I'm Falling', an original composition showing how far the sound of Avishai Cohen has developed. The vinyl edition features 2 exclusive tracks in addition to the 12 songs already recorded; including a Symphonic version of Seven Seas which is one of Avishai's most beloved compositions.

Olivier Le Goas: Recording a new album for piano–bass–drums trio felt like an important step in my career, since it is at the piano that I compose most of my music. Kristjan Randalu's rhythmic precision, the depth of his sound and the sensitivity of his touch confirmed without a doubt that he was the pianist who wasperfectly suited to my music.

IN CONVERSATION: ENRICO PIERANUNZI ON VOYAGE IN TIME

Voyage in time (a suite in nine movements) is conceived in the likeness of the suites of dances typical of the Baroque era. Some titles (Minuet, Courante, Pavane) may surprise the listener who associates our names with Jazz music. It is certainly true that our three previous albums were all Jazz albums. However, this fourth encounter - our second album for Challenge Records, after Common View (2020) - is a completely different recording, both in terms of line-up and material. The movements, composed by Jasper and arranged together during our recording session, reflect our shared love of classical music and combine classical forms with a very open improvisational approach. The result is a sort of journey back and forth between the musical languages of our time and of times past. A very special Voyage In Time, in fact, in which you are all invited to take part.

REVIEW:

Somsen has written a nine-part suite in which the two bring their musical storytelling to sparkle along the formal lines of baroque dances... Everything else is illustrious art of playing, is a fine feeling for the breath of the counterpart.

-- Jazzthing