Classical Music

Dark, edgy and superb electric guitar work from Joe Morris in a trio with Stave Lantner on electric keyboard and Jerome Deupree on drums, the final part of what Morris calls "Big Loud Electric Guitar Trilogy" that started with "Sweatshop" and "Racket Club", following the Hendrix legacy.

Classical Music

Concerts with Maria Schneider are something special. They are stylistically not only out of the ordinary, they also manage to bring large orchestras to perform artistically at high voltage, with an energy and at a creative level which is otherwise known only in much smaller ensembles. It is not the music alone that drives the participants, but rather the serene seriousness of a band leader who demands a maximum of intensity from her compositions and passes this premise on to their interpretation. It is impossible to conceive of compositions for jazz orchestras more stringently. The instrumentalists know this too, and therefore feel called upon not only to reproduce the charts accurately but to work out all the contained hints, implications, and visions of sound down to the deepest levels. This original recording was made in May 2000 when Schneider appeared alongside the SWR Big Band. And for the SWR Big Band, those days in May 2000 are some of the highlights of their orchestral history.

Classical Music

The Eighties success story Guitarissimo - Peter Horton and Sigi Schwab - has upgraded itself to XL, unveiling two new jewels in the crown of sound that is Guitarissimo: Tommi Muller, bass and Andreas Keller, drums & percussion. Peter Horton and Sigi Schwab were associated for many years, and soon joined forces to create the Duo Guitarissimo. The two became musical legends and an inspiration worldwide to guitarists and lovers of the guitar.

Classical Music

On this new release, Swedish artist Meta Roos joins up with Trio X to present a varied program of folk and jazz tunes by various composers. Meta Roos was born and raised in Boda Kyrkby in but lives since 2002 in B�lsta in Uppsala county. She made her debut as a sixteen-year-old when she started singing with various dance bands in Dalarna; She achieved the greatest success with the Nippe Sylw�ns Band. Since 1984 she has been a full time artist. During the 1980s, she sang in the dance band Rose Band, which became popular throughout Europe. Roos played New Year's Rev in Borl�nge and came a few years later to Peter Flack in �rebro where she participated in four reviews.

Outi Tarkiainen writes of her new release with the Norrbotten Big Band: "During my year as composer in residence with the Norrbotten Big Band in 2017, I wrote eight compositions that strongly capture my voice as a composer while at the same time focusing from many angles - maybe some of them surprising - on this immensely adaptable jazz orchestra. I decided to call the set Unpainted Portraits, my aim being to paint musical portraits of people and prospects past, present and future. Literature, and especially poetry, has always been a source of inspiration for me in my work, and many of my new portraits are dedicated to writers I admire: the early 20th-century English modernist Virginia Woolf, the Finnish visionary playwright Minna Canth, and the contemporary S�mi poetess Rauni Magga Lukkari now living in Troms�, Norway. One of the pieces pays tribute and is dedicated to the Suffragettes campaigning for votes for women in early 20th-century England. Others make a respectful nod in the direction of the jazz tradition, and the listener may here detect echoes of some of my favorite jazz composers, such as Gil Evans, Charles Mingus and Maria Schneider."

Nikol Bóková is known as a classical pianist with a repertoire stretching from the Baroque period to contemporary music. Her first album of her own music inspired by jazz, classical music, minimalism and, in some respect, popular music, has been recorded in the traditional jazz-piano-trio line-up and the pianist's musical partners in this project have been talented exponents of the young jazz generation: Martin Kocián on the double bass and Michal Wierzgon on the drums. Nikol Bóková's compositions are perfectly polished miniatures, simple in form but echoing the harmonic and melodic complexity of classical piano literature. Indeed, Bóková's play, defined to a great extent by her experience with classical-music interpretation, her brilliant technique and dynamic keystroke, is unique in the world of the jazz piano. In her compositions, Nikol Bóková effortlessly travels between genres, clearly fascinated by the possibilities they have to offer.

Two years after the release of her latest album - the widely critically acclaimed Imprints - Karin Hammar now releases her new album Circles. Like last time, Hammar works with her group Karin Hammar Fab 4 to help her shape 8 new compositions and an interpretation of Nina Simone's "Four Women" into her own musical landscape. The new compositions draw inspiration from such diverse encounters and places: Brazil, Morrocco, her daughter Ella, fellow musician Hildegunn Öiseth, to name a few. The title track was written in a small compartment backstage at Malmö Arena in Sweden prior to a show with Swedish pop star Orup. The Karin Hammar Fab 4 line up includes some of Sweden's finest jazz players: Niklas Fernqvist on bass, Fredrik Rundqvist on drums and new member, guitarist, Andreas Hourdakis who brings a new form, shape, and level to the group's sound. Karin Hammar is widely seen as one of Sweden's foremost trombone players, with four studio albums as a solo artist and numerous collaborations under her belt since debuting in the nineties. She's been given numerous awards in Sweden, including a prize from the Alice Babs foundation.

Ellen Andersson Quartet’s debut album “I’ll Be Seeing You” is a disc that will not go anywhere unnoticed. The Quartet is a group of relatively common jazz composition: vocals, guitar, bass, and drums, and makes standard songs in their own arrangements. The song material the great story-rate and emotional range, where playfulness meets big seriousness makes this an album listeners will adore. Ellen Andersson Quartet aims to find a middle ground where tradition can face the present, but also wants to do this without losing their integrity and personality. The group also wants to challenge the way in which many jazz vocalists relate to and participate in the music. The ensemble attaches great importance to each of the four musicians being on equal terms.

 

"All hail Ellen Andersson, the best sort of blasphemous resurrection. The audacious Swedish jazz singer with the voice of tissue paper enrobing a jewel is probably the best representation of new jazz coming out of Europe and a more than fitting successor to Billie Holiday." - AXS

Classical Music

Spider's Egg is a sextet put together by Brasilian guitar player Pedro Martins specifically for the 50th edition of the SWR NewJazz Meeting. For five days the six young, internationally renowned musicians, who come from very different geographical places and stylistic directions, exchanged ideas. They experimented in the SWR studios and developed a concert program that they then presented in three concerts in Germany and recorded for the present release. Pedro Martins,​ Brazilian musical prodigy, and winner of The 2015 Montreux Guitar Competition is well known for his collaborations with Kurt Rosenwinkel, Yaron Herman, David Binney, Jacob Collier, and Genevieve Artadi (Knower), as well as Brazilian jazz greats ​Hamilton de Holanda, ​Gabriel Grossi, and Léo Gandelman.

Classical Music

Import Hybrid-SACD pressing.

This new b�records album sees the unclassifiable Jocelyn Mienniel (composer) and Fiona Monbet (musical director) collaborate on a resolutely hybrid reinterpretation of Gustav Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde, created during a residency at the Royaumont Foundation. Based on an original text by Olivier Cadiot, the creation combines a chamber orchestra, a jazz ensemble, traditional Chinese instruments, electronic music, a children's choir, and vocals, drawing on improvisation and literary cut-up techniques. This transfiguration reveals Das Lied von der Erde as a resolutely modern work, whose humanism unfolds with renewed intensity.

Peter Beets' latest recording announces itself with unbridled authority: a vivid, hard-swinging statement, powered by a first-rate horn section anchored by three standout American voices of the new jazz vanguard, and propelled by a rhythm section of luminaries including Reuben Rogers and Willie Jones III-artists whose resumes include collaborations with legends such as Herbie Hancock, Dianne Reeves, and Roy Hargrove. Under Beets' assured direction, his New York Sextet shapes each work with commanding finesse. In reimagining a canon of Spanish compositions, Beets refracts Spain's musical heritage through a fresh and strikingly modern jazz lens. The album surges with vitality, it's swing taut and irresistible. While echoes of the flamenco idiom surface throughout, they are situated within a broader, architecturally ambitious musical landscape built upon works by Spain's most esteemed composers-Albeniz, de Falla, and Granados. These enduring and powerfully expressive pieces hold their own beside the legacies of Chopin, Gershwin, Rachmaninoff, and Tchaikovsky-composers whose works Beets has similarly reimagined in his inimitable style-yet remain unmistakably and proudly Spanish. Beets and his ensemble weave these traditions into a seamless dialogue with uncompromising, straight-ahead jazz, executed at the highest artistic level. The result is a singular fusion of virtuosity, cultural depth, and ensemble brilliance.� Once again, pure Peter Beets.

Strangers is pianist Alexander Wienand's bold new statement - a celebration of curiosity, discovery, and the creative spark that emerges when artists step into the unknown together. The album's concept grew from a simple but powerful idea: that unfamiliarity can be one of the greatest sources of inspiration. Whether it's an untested rhythm, a new musical partner, or an idea outside of music entirely, these moments of uncertainty challenge musicians to respond - and it is within these reactions that true creativity is born. The title track Strangers embodies this philosophy. Two contrasting themes evolve through improvisation until they merge into a single, unified musical narrative - a metaphor for encounter, tension, and transformation.

First Flight marks the debut album of saxophonist and composer George Kontomichalis. Rooted in jazz traditions like post-bop, hard bop, and modal jazz, it blends classic influences with modern improvisation and introspection. The album reflects the collective creativity of the ensemble, highlighting interplay, rhythm, and spontaneous exploration. With six original compositions and one standard, the record serves as a personal journey and an invitation for listeners to experience both energy and reflection

When Josefine entered her second half-century in 2021 (sometimes it's permissible to mention the age of a lady...), Norrbotten Big Band decided to celebrate her achievements by commissioning six big band pieces from composers who, at different times and on different occasions, have been connected with Josefine. We are very happy with the result and confident that the sometimes challenging nature of the music will create a portrait of Josefine with all her magnificence on full display.

A une epoque ou la plupart des saxophonistes se coulaient dans l'ombre de Charlie Parker, Lee Konitz, fort de ses convictions, a su se tenir a distance et, irresistiblement, ouvrir les portes d'un univers musical d'une grande modernite en imposant une sonorite lisse et une grande intelligence melodique. Jean-Paul RICARD At a time when most saxophone players were slipping into Charlie Parker's shadows, Lee Konitz - a man of conviction - kept his distance and slowly, irresistibly, opened up the doors to a new universe of music: it was grand and modern, and Konitz imposed upon it a sound that had smoothness and showed great intelligence in it's melody. Jean-Paul RICARD CD 1 (1947-1954) : CLAUDE THORNHILL & HIS ORCHESTRA (Columbia 1947) : YARDBIRD SUITE - LEE KONITZ with LENNIE TRISTANO (Prestige 1949) : SUBCONSCIOUS-LEE - LENNIE TRISTANO SEXTET (Capitol 1949) : WOW - MARIONETTE - DIGRESSION - INTUITION - LEE KONITZ with LENNIE TRISTANO (Prestige 1949) : MARSHMALLOW - SOUND-LEE - MILES DAVIS & HIS ORCHESTRA (Capitol 1950) : MOON DREAMS - LEE KONITZ GROUPS (Prestige 1950) : REBECCA - YOU GO TO MY HEAD - ICE CREAM KONITZ - PALO ALTO - LEE KONITZ SEXTET (Prestige 1951) : YESTERDAYS - HI BECK - LEE KONITZ/BILLY BAUER DUO (Prestige 1951) : DUET FOR SAXOPHONE AND GUITAR - LEE KONITZ with GERRY MULLIGAN (Pacific Jazz 1953) : LADY BE GOOD - LOVER MAN - LEE KONITZ (Vogue 1953) : I'LL REMEMBER APRIL - LEE KONITZ QUARTET (Storyville 1954) : ABLUTION. CD2 (1954-1961) : STAN KENTON & HIS ORCHESTRA (Capitol 1954) - IN A HIGHER VEIN - LEE KONITZ QUARTETS (Storyville 1954) - NURSERY RHYME - FOOLIN' MYSELF - LENNIE TRISTANO QUARTET (Atlantic 1955) : THESE FOOLISH THINGS - LEE KONITZ with WARNE MARSH (Atlantic 1955) : BACKGROUND MUSIC - LEE KONITZ (Atlantic 1956) : ALL OF ME - LEE KONITZ QUINTET (Atlantic 1957) : FOOLIN' MYSELF - LEE KONITZ QUINTET (Verve 1957) : BILLIE'S BOUNCE - LEE KONITZ QUARTET (Verve 1957) : THE NEARNESS OF YOU - GERRY MULLIGAN (Pacific Jazz 1957) : DISK JOCKEY JUMP - LEE KONITZ with STRINGS (Verve 1958) : WHAT'S NEW? - LEE KONITZ meets JIMMY GIUFFRE (Verve 1959) : CORK 'N' RIB - LEE KONITZ (Verve 1959) : YOU DON't KNOW WHAT LOVE IS - LEE KONITZ (Verve 1961) : I REMEMBER YOU. DIRECTION COLLECTION : ALAIN GERBER, TEXTE : JEAN-PAUL RICARD, PRODUCTION DeLeGUeE : JEAN BUZELIN

In Good Company marks the powerful debut of Argentine alto saxophonist Tomás Martínez on SteepleChase in June 2026. At just 26 Martínez brings a rich tone, agile bebop phrasing, and a deep command of jazz tradition. The album features two standout groups: a New York quartet with Michael Weiss, David Wong, and Kenny Washington, recorded at the legendary Van Gelder Studio, and a vibrant trio session from Buenos Aires with Paul Sikivie and Teo Pérez. Mixing classics, bebop lines and originals, Martínez honors mentors like Charlie Parker, Barry Harris, and Charles McPherson while asserting a voice entirely his own. A fresh, swinging new presence on the international jazz scene. Martínez has performed at major venues across Argentina and Europe, and was named a Distinguished Personality and Cultural Ambassador of his hometown. He is also an active educator, teaching jazz saxophone at the college level and leading workshops and masterclasses. Currently based between Buenos Aires and New York, he continues to perform, record, and teach.

Recorded, mixed and mastered by Gustav Davidsson at Studio Glasfageln Cover photos by Fabian Rosenberg

Two of the most distinctive voices in Dutch jazz join forces: harmonica virtuoso Hermine Deurloo and guitarist Anton Goudsmit. What begins as a playful exchange between lyricism and groove unfolds into a concert full of unexpected twists, inventive improvisations, and idiosyncratic compositions-plus recognizable covers. Rooted in Amsterdam's jazz scene, they combine melodic power with unpredictable energy. The warm, storytelling sound of Hermine's harmonica is the perfect counterpoint to Anton's unstoppable guitar playing: a creative whirlwind with irresistible groove, humor, and a unique musical signature. Together they take you on a ride filled with stories, rhythm, playfulness, and emotion-sometimes whisper-soft, then exuberant and explosive. Anton Goudsmit (guitar/compositions) enchants with inventiveness, infectious joy, and a groove that immediately draws the audience in. Hermine Deurloo is praised for her warm, lyrical tone and virtuosic, melodic storytelling style. She has performed with a wide range of artists-from Steve Gadd and Mike Bodde to the Metropole Orchestra-and refuses to be boxed into a single genre.