JEFF IS BACK!! And as ever, he's bringing even more friends along for the ride! Night Blooms follows the 2025 album, Still Blooming, and contains 6 new tracks with features from Charlie Puth, Melody Gardot, Cynthia Erivo and Dodie. The album also contains new 'Late Night Sessions' of tracks from Still Blooming alongside "Tattoo" and "Lover" previously released with Haley Reinhart.

12.4236

Saxophonist, clarinettist, composer and visual artist Marcel Barta entered the Czech jazz and improvisation scene while still a student and has since become one of it's core members. He is a founding member of the electro-jazz quintet MUFF, the cult jazz sextet Vertigo and the duo DoMa Ensemble. Besides collaborating with many foremost artists from different genres on the home and international scene, he has been dedicating himself to composition, writing scenic music for the theatre company Farma v jeskyni (Farm in the Cave), among otherprojects. He is the recipient of multiple Czech Music Academy Awards in the jazz category, having also been nominated for the same award on a number of occasions. While Episodes from the Spinning Ball is the first recording to feature Barta's work exclusively, the eponymous composition is his first piece for a large ensemble. As composer and arranger he has taken part in dozens of projects and recordings, many of which were released by the label Animal Music. The new album brings a recording of a concert performance featuring the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, which took place as part of the jazz-symphonic crossover series New Horizons in February 2025 in the DOX+Multifunction Hall in Prague. Composed on a commission from the orchestra, the work formally resembles a suite in three parts. It is performed, however, as a continuous flow of music. In the author's own words, the piece "is an attempt to evoke a story that reflects my own planetary experience. The rotating ball in the title is a geoid, the shape of our own planet." Combining composed music with improvisation, the piece bears traces of Barta's original style, known for example from his work for Vertigo or Muff. It is rooted in jazz and contemporary classical music and unfolds like an elaborate story in which densely composed soundscapes interweave with delicate melodies and fine-grained instrumentation and whereorder coexists with improvisation and melancholy passages alternate with psychedelia and humour. The jazz band in the recording features, alongside Marcel Barta himself, trombonist stepan Janousek, keyboardist and synth player Vojtech Prochazka, double bassist Milos Klapsteand drummer Jan Chalupa. The whole jazz-symphonic ensemble is conducted by Bastien Stil who has had ample experience leading crossover projects.

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.

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.

Almost two years after the group's first album, What The Moment Brings, the follow-up is here. A few minutes into the first song, it becomes obvious why I fell in love with this music in the first place: the beautiful compositions and this outstanding group of musicians. The two strong and lyrical leaders are complemented by the superb rhythm section of Niklas Fernqvist, with his elegant tone, and Paul Svanberg, with his undeniable swing.

Saxophonist, clarinettist, composer and visual artist Marcel Barta entered the Czech jazz and improvisation scene while still a student and has since become one of it's core members. He is a founding member of the electro-jazz quintet MUFF, the cult jazz sextet Vertigo and the duo DoMa Ensemble. Besides collaborating with many foremost artists from different genres on the home and international scene, he has been dedicating himself to composition, writing scenic music for the theatre company Farma v jeskyni (Farm in the Cave), among otherprojects. He is the recipient of multiple Czech Music Academy Awards in the jazz category, having also been nominated for the same award on a number of occasions. While Episodes from the Spinning Ball is the first recording to feature Barta's work exclusively, the eponymous composition is his first piece for a large ensemble. As composer and arranger he has taken part in dozens of projects and recordings, many of which were released by the label Animal Music. The new album brings a recording of a concert performance featuring the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, which took place as part of the jazz-symphonic crossover series New Horizons in February 2025 in the DOX+Multifunction Hall in Prague. Composed on a commission from the orchestra, the work formally resembles a suite in three parts. It is performed, however, as a continuous flow of music. In the author's own words, the piece "is an attempt to evoke a story that reflects my own planetary experience. The rotating ball in the title is a geoid, the shape of our own planet." Combining composed music with improvisation, the piece bears traces of Barta's original style, known for example from his work for Vertigo or Muff. It is rooted in jazz and contemporary classical music and unfolds like an elaborate story in which densely composed soundscapes interweave with delicate melodies and fine-grained instrumentation and whereorder coexists with improvisation and melancholy passages alternate with psychedelia and humour. The jazz band in the recording features, alongside Marcel Barta himself, trombonist stepan Janousek, keyboardist and synth player Vojtech Prochazka, double bassist Milos Klapsteand drummer Jan Chalupa. The whole jazz-symphonic ensemble is conducted by Bastien Stil who has had ample experience leading crossover projects.

Saxophonist Ruth Sabadino's new album celebrates life in all it's colors and nuances. Funky jazz with depth and drive - dynamic, energetic, sparkling with improvisation and an organic band sound. In catchy songs and a healthy dose of jazz, funk, and soul, she and her band tell stories of highs and lows, joie de vivre, and authentic moments. A sound that touches and moves with it's deep bass clarinet, crisp tenor sax, and fine vocals - full of warmth, depth, and drive. Close at her side is a top-class band: Werner Acker, Kurt Holzkamper, and Christoph Sabadino.

The creative willfulness is immediately apparent. Just like the playful spirit. A photograph of four athletes, visibly marked by a match, in trilogue with the group's name and the album title: Stefan Scholer Trio - "Psalm B". A strange, seemingly peculiar combination. Stefan Scholer is aware of this. He accepts the unpredictable nature of the effect. The photograph, taken in 1966 on the sidelines of a Gaelic football match in Dublin, Ireland, by the world-renowned photographer Evelyn Hofer, had a magnetic pull on him. He discovered it in a Hofer exhibition at the Museum Kurhaus in his hometown of Kleve in the far west of Germany. Subsequently, he did everything in his power to obtain permission to use it. The question of 'why?' dissolves satisfyingly in his keen explanation. The pianist and composer follows his intuition unconditionally while also closely reflecting on his decisions. In this case, he quickly arrives at a "profoundly human" element that speaks to him in the image. This, in turn, corresponds to Hofer's intention to capture naturalness. How does the album title fit that? Scholer doesn't construct any intellectual bridges. For him, the term 'psalm' has become a kind of key to a spiritual context in his work over the years, initially stemming from a specific religious connection. He opened this up a few years ago. Even in the expression of these athletes, he senses some of that. That's sufficient. And it might just ignite the curiosity and openness for the sonic content of this album, Scholer's fourth, in receptive listeners.� The introduction to the opening title track sets the tone. In Scholer's highly personal touch, one hears and feels precisely the human element that moves him. His playing is delicate yet possesses an effortless clarity. This almost songlike, narrative melodic expression recurs throughout the pieces, even in complexity. His close connection with bassist Lukas Keller and drummer Simon Braumer, both of whom also played on the previous album "Folklore," results in an unbroken flow. The pianist's leading voice is built on an open, flexible interplay - the leader is also an attentive team player. Motifs from�he world of sports are also hidden in the titles of some compositions: "Ronny & Francesko" (bobsledding) and "Bob Chigarillo" (bodybuilding), loosely based on real-life figures. Scholer draws inspiration from both, exploring themes of culture and world politics. A sense of self-will that nourishes imagination and philosophical reflection. A connection to nature, a sense of sublimity, a longing for peace (even if only in one's own neighborhood), the lingering effects of a past relationship - no matter how profound: Stefan Scholer is audibly searching for positivity, for hope. This is unmistakably present in this album like it is in the previous one. Many of us, he is convinced, have our own personal psalms. Just like the athletes on the cover. He follows his own