A melody you never heard before takes you back to a place where you have never been. Immediately, from the first notes of Traveller’s Ways, you as the listener feel that wondrous combination of familiarity and astonishment. On this magnificent album, Somsen, Pieranunzi and Mirabassi create music that feels like coming home and at the same time leads to numerous unknown destinations you have never visited before.

El Trio is a dream threesome of some of my favorite musicians, all whom have been in my various bands: Horacio ‘El Negro’ Hernández, one of the most versatile and in-demand drummers in the history of Cuban music and jazz; José Armando Gola, a great double bass player, composer, and an expert in every sense of the word who can adapt to any style; and John Beasley, a genius pianist, keyboardist, orchestrator, innovator, whose imagination takes me to another galaxy. El Trio’s sound is organic, contemporary, and supernova.- Chucho Valdés

Whoever has listened to the music on this CD understands its title:"Drop me off" - getting dropped off, yes, but only at Reinhardt Winkler’s . The passionate drummer and heartful man has gathered his musical companions for an intense musical exchange and weaves their subtile contributions with perfect rhythmic work into a sound experience that you wouldn’t want to miss.

Henrique’s arrangements for these songs are ingenious, refined and full of life, without artificially forcing any unnecessary originality. In addition to these fundamental pieces, there are also the ‘miniaturas’, which bring Henrique’s signature to the album as a composer. The ‘miniaturas’ of Portais are creative eruptions derived from the study of great Brazilian composers. They are like transpirations of this process of metabolising the masters.

The concept of “Jasper Somsen Invites ...” is typical in the world of Jazz music. I just called some of my colleagues and asked if they would like to perform with me in a duo, trio or quartet. Being my guests of honour, I’d let my invitees decide our repertoire. On 30 March 2023, I invited the Metropole Orchestra’s alto saxophone player Paul van der Feen and master pianist Bert van den Brink. We had so much fun during the sound-check that we decided to record the concert. The recordings turned out to be a lucky shot in the dark. Paul, Bert and I instantly agreed and selected the best tracks for an album. The music on this album perfectly reflects the same spontaneity as many other concerts of that series: live music, up-close and personal, for a wonderful audience.

In 2019, my wife Anne Metje and I spent an extended period in Cambridge (MA, USA). The music on this record reflects what we’ve experienced there. That ranges from a bike ride on a sunny day in Cambridge, the beautiful view over Boston while walking across the Longfellow Bridge on a lush summer evening, many loud and bumpy rides on the Red Line to Boston, to hearing heartbreaking news from Dayton, Ohio.

Music soothes, and with that deep conviction I wrote the music for this album. I went looking for sounds, chords, whispers and everything that goes with this message.

‘Heaven on my mind’ is the fifth album by the Yuri Honing Acoustic Quartet. An album on which the quartet's now decade-long existence undoubtedly pays off. Not only is the almost telepathic way the band members communicate with each other an important feature; this fifth quartet album also clearly shows Honing's love for Charles Lloyd, Pharoah Sanders and the freer acoustic jazz that emerged along with the 1960s hippie movement.

In 2019, the Artistic Director of the Residentie Orkest The Hague, Sven Arne Tepl, invited me to appear as guest soloist. This musical journey proved to be a unique experience. In part, it was due to the special instrumentation and the crossover with Classical music. Alongside some beautiful songs by Ennio Morricone, Paul Simon, Burt Bacharach and The Beatles, I was also able to get some of our own music arranged by some of the finest arrangers.

Magia is a successful fusion, never cold (with a seasoned but subtle West-Coast finesse of arrangement), which communicates a quiet but adventurous joie de vivre. With the European cultural tradition, which we find here in the rounded elegance of the string quartet, the rhythmic propulsion of the Caribbean-African-Latin “tresillo”, the melodic sweetness of Italian opera, the free play on syncopated rhythmic scenarios: all this can be found in Magia.

Pieranunzi writes: "This CD has a very special meaning for me. Remembering Chet takes me back to 1979 when I first met him. That meeting would soon prove to be a turning point in my musical life. Playing together, sharing concerts or recording sessions with him allowed me to be in close contact with an artist of rare Jazz experience who caused an enormous change in my playing. Many of the tunes on this CD come from those important years of collaboration."

The Dam Jawn is a band consisting of five young musicians from the Amsterdam Jazz scene who found together through a shared experience in Philadelphia, United States. Their debut album features legendary alto saxophonist Dick Oatts, who also mentored them through the process of writing and arranging and their music. The Dam Jawn have shaped their own sound, inspired by the energy and feeling of the current Philadelphia Jazz scene, as well as its rich musical past.

‘Careless Territories’ is the honest desire to expose a somehow multifaceted personal musical landscape; probably the result of a couple of years as an arranger for big bands. Variety is a source of vitality which I find nurturing. From swinging affairs and songwriting to more extended through-composed pieces, this album was nevertheless only made possible thanks to the strong musical appetite and curiosity of an exciting multi-generational band.

The second Maik Krahl Quartet album on Challenge Records. Joined on a few tracks by the visionary guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel. 180 grams audiophile vinyl.

A brand new recording by Supertramp saxophonist John Hellweill: Our selection of tunes is based on strong melodies from the fields of folk, jazz, rock, pop, and originals by Jasper and me. I suggested that we play three Supertramp tunes, as a lengthy part of my musical life has been centred around the music of Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson. I first heard Don’t Ever Leave Me played by Keith Jarrett. It’s such a beautiful, short and poignant melody that we decided to play four versions and have them act as “bookends” for our music. If you enjoy listening to this music half as much as we enjoyed playing it, our labours of love have succeeded!