Following the critical acclaim of The Talisman (SCCD 31955), alto saxophonist Dave Pietro returns with The Butterfly Effect, his second release on SteepleChase—a label that has become a vital platform for his richly inventive voice. A veteran of ensembles led by Maria Schneider, Toshiko Akiyoshi, and Gil Evans, Pietro continues to command attention as a composer and bandleader whose work is both intellectually rigorous and emotionally resonant.
Returning collaborators include pianist Gary Versace, whose kaleidoscopic soloing adds depth and color, and bassist Jay Anderson, whose expressive lines anchor the group with elegance. Trumpeter Scott Wendholt and drummer Adam Cruz round out the lineup, each contributing dynamic performances that elevate Pietro’s compositions. His writing is marked by intricate counterpoint, unexpected harmonic shifts, and a deep sensitivity to ensemble interplay. Pietro’s music balances complexity with clarity. The Butterfly Effect is more than a follow-up—it’s a statement of artistic evolution. Where The Talisman introduced Pietro’s voice to a broader audience, this new release deepens the narrative, offering a compelling blend of lyrical beauty, structural sophistication, and improvisational fire.
“Pietro has great chops and a profound imagination, and possesses a warm, accessible, lyrical sound...” ( Lee Lowenfish - New York Jazz Newsletter)
Yuko Mabuchi Trio thrills audiences with every concert. Her January performance opening for Branford Marsalis in the 1,800 seat Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall whet international jazz appetites. She next headlined the Arlington Jazz Festival in Texas, and Yuko Mabuchi Trio performed in Blues Alley in April as part of the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington D. C. European and Asian stages beckon. Yuko s debut recording on Yarlung, "Yuko Mabuchi Trio," was a top seller in the Yarlung catalog last year, in all formats. Yuko deserves this success. "The Absolute Sound" published a rave review of her Segerstrom concert. Elaborating further, Rick Brown writes in Yarlung News Yuko Mabuchi combines sexy athleticism at the piano with serious musical poetry. The young fans in the house responded to both with great enthusiasm. So did audience members in their 70s and 80s. This was a fast up tempo set resulting in thunderous applause with audience members yelling and stamping their feet for the standing ovation at the end.... I recognized some audience members who had driven from San Francisco or flown in from Hong Kong and different parts of the country for the event....
Award-winning trumpeter/composer/arranger Jason Palmer, a fixture of the Boston jazz scene and frequent SteepleChase recording artist, presents his boldest artistic statement to date with this intimate duo recording. Shorter Songs marks Palmer’s first commercially released duo album and pays homage to jazz legend Wayne Shorter through a series of original contrafacts based on Shorter’s compositions.
Joined by acclaimed pianist Kevin Harris—his longtime musical ally—Palmer explores the emotional and harmonic depth of Shorter’s writing while bringing his own contemporary sensibilities into play.
“Palmer has proven to be one of the most compelling artists of his generation.” (Ken Dryden – NYC Jazz Record)
A protege of legendary jazz master Dizzy Gillespie, Arturo Sandoval has been awarded 10 Grammy® Awards, and been nominated 19 times. He has also received 6 Billboard Awards as well as an Emmy Award for his composing of the entire underscore of the HBO movie based on his life, "For Love or Country", that starred Andy Garcia as Arturo. Considered one of the world's most acknowledged guardians of jazz trumpet and flugelhorn, he is also recognized worldwide as a renowned classical artist, pianist, and composer.
Viento Zonda is Eric Vloeimans' new adventure that exudes the warmth of the Argentine breeze along the Andes. The gentle, even tickling sensation surprises as Eric and his musical brother, the virtuoso pianist Juan Pablo Dobal take the listener to new aural delight. Eric Vloeimans has been active in a wide variety of ensembles all over the years. He has toured the US twice with his acoustic 'chamber/jazz' 'Fugimundi' trio, featuring the surprising Anton Goudsmit on guitar and rising star Harmen Fraanje on piano. Their broad repertoire ranges from contemporary jazz, hymns, world music to occasional standards, all of which is presented with warmth and wit. His other band is Eric Vloeimans' Gatecrash, which features soundscape master Jeroen van Vliet on Fender Rhodes and keyboards, the inventive Gulli Gudmundsson on bass, electric basses and effects, and the up and coming Jasper van Hulten on drums.
Composer and guitarist Marcus Klossek, long recognized as a distinctive voice on the Fender Telecaster, presents Blink 7, the latest chapter in a band whose sound has evolved steadily from his long-running Electric Trio. Rooted in clarity, dynamic contrast, and a deep sense of interaction, the project reflects more than fifteen years of close musical collaboration. At the core of the ensemble are Carsten Hein on bass and Derek Scherzer on drums, longtime partners with whom Klossek has refined a highly responsive and nuanced group language. With Blink 6, this foundation expanded into a sextet, joined by three prominent figures from Berlin's jazz scene: Nikolaus Neuser, Ignaz Dinne (tenor saxophone), and Anke Lucks. The enlarged group quickly developed a strong collective identity, equally at ease with precise structure and open improvisation. Blink 7 continues this collaboration and introduces a new and distinctive voice: Korean vocalist Chamin. Appearing on three tracks-Go Not, Another One Beyond, and Unexpected Return-she sings and partially speaks Korean lyrics written by herself. Her voice adds a new layer of texture and expression, expanding the ensemble's tonal range and interacting organically with the instrumental voices rather than standing apart from them. In contrast to Blink 6, which was composed before the musicians were chosen, all eight compositions on Blink 7 were written specifically for this lineup. Klossek shaped each piece around the individual strengths and musical personalities of the players. "I knew what everyone could bring to the music," he explains. "That allowed me to write more precisely for the sound of the band." The result is music that unites clear compositional intent with the intuitive understanding that comes from long-standing collaboration. The album opens with Violet Shift, a rhythmically intricate piece built from interlocking patterns that suggest mechanical precision while maintaining an organic flow. Go Not begins with Chamin's whispered voice, creating an atmosphere of quiet tension and ambiguity. Ephyra (Third Dance) unfolds with a restrained, melancholic beauty, while Half Past Never features one of Klossek's most unrestrained guitar solos-raw, spontaneous, and unpredictable. On Another One Beyond, Chamin's voice further broadens the ensemble's harmonic space, while Begin Again, Swift highlights the band's agility, moving fluidly between tightly woven rhythms and open, airy phrasing. Glass Bridges introduces otherworldly sounds from Carsten Hein, blending acoustic bass with electronic elements. The closing track, Unexpected Return, brings the album to an energetic conclusion, driven by rhythmic momentum as Chamin's voice merges seamlessly with the horn section. Blink 7 captures a band at a mature and confident stage, balancing detailed composition with freedom and collective improvisation-music shaped as much by individual voices as by the shared identity they have built together.
Armenian piano virtuoso Tigran Hamasyan returns with Manifeste, out February 6, 2025-a powerful fusion of jazz, progressive rock, and Armenian folk. Recorded across five countries, the album blends rhythmic complexity, cinematic depth, and spiritual intensity, featuring longtime collaborators and the Yerevan State Chamber Choir. Manifeste is a bold declaration where the human, digital, and sacred unite in sound. Following The Bird of a Thousand Voices, Hamasyan continues his artistic exploration with Manifeste (2025)-a bold, multi-dimensional statement recorded between 2023 and 2025 across studios in Yerevan, Athens, Moscow, Los Angeles, and beyond. Entirely composed and produced by Hamasyan, Manifeste fuses his signature rhythmic complexity and spiritual depth with a more cinematic soundscape, where Armenian folk roots, progressive rock intensity, and choral mysticism intertwine. The album unfolds like a ritual sequence-from the meditative "Prelude for All Seekers" to the powerful "National Repentance Anthem. " Collaborators include longtime partners Marc Karapetian (bass) and drummers Arthur Hnatek, Arman Mnatsakanyan, Matt Garstka, and Nate Wood, alongside contributions from cellist Artyom Manukyan, trumpeter Daniel Melkonyan, guitarist Nick Llerandi, and the Yerevan State Chamber Choir conducted by Kristina Voskanyan. Each piece radiates Hamasyan's fascination with transcendence and transformation, whether through the fiery rhythmic drive of "Dardahan" and "Ultradance, " the haunting choral layers of "One Body, One Blood, " or the intimate dedications "Years Passing (For Akram)" and "A Window from One Heart to Another (For Rumi). " In Manifeste, Hamasyan brings together the human, digital, and sacred-a declaration of unity through sound, where modern technology meets ancient resonance. In addition to awards and critical acclaim, Hamasyan has built a dedicated following worldwide, as well as praise from Herbie Hancock, Brad Mehldau, and the late Chick Corea. "With startling combinations of jazz, minimalist, electronic, folk, and songwriterly elements. Hamasyan and his collaborators travel musical expanses marked with heavy grooves, ethereal voices, pristine piano playing and ancient melodies. You'll hear nothing else like this. " (NPR)
Live at Singer Concert Hall 1973 / Dizzy Gillespie
Fondamenta
CD
$19.99Sep 10, 2021
In view of the work of new musicians of the same period, such as Miles Davis, Frank Zappa and the Art Ensemble of Chicago (to name only three representatives of the exceptional creative effervescence of this enchanted fleeting period in musical history), at this specific moment in his career Dizzy Gillespie might conceivably have given his peers the impression that he was resting on his laurels. However, the passing of time and there discovery of unpublished recordings such as the one of this 1973 concert in Laren give a fresh, dispassionate perspective on the music that the artist was making then, and help put peremptory judgements into context. With hindsight, there appears to have been a schism within the Gillespie of the 1970s: he readily agreed to go on high-profile tours in line with legends of bebop (such as the Giants of Jazz in 1971) where, following tradition, he would give performances “of himself”, while he could call himself into question, return to the framework of his usual small bands that were familiar yet experimental, rediscovering there, as if by magic, his style – cutting-edge, inventive, virtuoso and exuberant – and his ever-intact joy in performing.
His compositions are ambitious, idiosyncratic and imaginative. Nevertheless, the purely physical component of making music is an essential factor for Jonathan Salvi. "When I play the vibraphone, I dance!" This is also conveyed when you experience him live, as people tell him time and again. The impression of dancing is reinforced by the fact that the Swiss musician always plays with four mallets. His excellent technique goes hand in hand with improvisational brilliance
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.
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.
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.
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.
Ashley Henry presents it's second album "Who We Are", a London-born jazz journey that unites devotion, collective dreaming, and the fight for freedom. Featuring acclaimed artists like Judi Jackson and Aja Monet, this record is a powerful anthem for our times-echoing Nina Simone's legacy while finding inspiration in the pulse of the city and collective dreaming. Praised by global medias such as Wonderland, Notion and the BBC, Ashley Henry is set to become one of the most influential jazz acts in Europe with it's signature piano touch and soothing vocal tones.
Ashley Henry presents it's second album "Who We Are", a London-born jazz journey that unites devotion, collective dreaming, and the fight for freedom. Featuring acclaimed artists like Judi Jackson and Aja Monet, this record is a powerful anthem for our times-echoing Nina Simone's legacy while finding inspiration in the pulse of the city and collective dreaming. Praised by global medias such as Wonderland, Notion and the BBC, Ashley Henry is set to become one of the most influential jazz acts in Europe with it's signature piano touch and soothing vocal tones.
In his upcoming album, «Brightlight,» Cohen showcases his multifaceted talents alongside a stellar ensemble of musicians. Among these are some of the brightest young talents from the new jazz scene, including drummer Roni Kaspi, pianist Guy Moskovich, his working core trio as the centre on many of the titles and joined by saxophonist Yuval Drabkin and many others hand-picked talented artists. Roni Kaspi brings a youthful vigor to the album, infusing the music with a sense of spontaneity and drive. After more than 3 years of touring with Avishai Cohen, she's even got a dedicated title on this recording ("Roni's Swing"), wrote by Cohen as an homage to her dynamic and energetic drumming. Guy Moskovich, a pianist whose harmonic sensibilities and technical prowess have garnered him recognition as a rising star in jazz, provides the perfect complement to Cohen's bass lines. Yuval Drabkin, on saxophone, adds another layer of richness to the extensive ensemble. His emotive playing and nuanced interpretations bring a compelling voice to the project, enhancing the album's overall depth.
In his upcoming album, «Brightlight,» Cohen showcases his multifaceted talents alongside a stellar ensemble of musicians. Among these are some of the brightest young talents from the new jazz scene, including drummer Roni Kaspi, pianist Guy Moskovich, his working core trio as the centre on many of the titles and joined by saxophonist Yuval Drabkin and many others hand-picked talented artists. Roni Kaspi brings a youthful vigor to the album, infusing the music with a sense of spontaneity and drive. After more than 3 years of touring with Avishai Cohen, she's even got a dedicated title on this recording ("Roni's Swing"), wrote by Cohen as an homage to her dynamic and energetic drumming. Guy Moskovich, a pianist whose harmonic sensibilities and technical prowess have garnered him recognition as a rising star in jazz, provides the perfect complement to Cohen's bass lines. Yuval Drabkin, on saxophone, adds another layer of richness to the extensive ensemble. His emotive playing and nuanced interpretations bring a compelling voice to the project, enhancing the album's overall depth.
Emerging from the Strasbourg scene and the Omezis collective, which includes about twenty artists, musicians, DJs, and videographers, Emile Londonien soaks up the English jazz scene of the last fifteen years and offers up a personal version. Trained at the Strasbourg Conservatory, the three musicians met during thematic evenings organized by the Omezis collective, co-founded by drummer Matthieu Drago. A studio session paying tribute to the English scene followed in 2020. The moniker Emile Londonien, a double nod to their UK influences and to a famous French saxophonist, sprang up spontaneously. The Covid-19 pandemic put the project on hold until their recordings fell into the hands of Dope Tone, the historical Strasbourg broken beat label, and then things started to accelerate. Influential DJs like Lefto immediately shared the tracks from this first session. Thus, emblematic of a generation that grew up in club culture, the band was launched, blending that very culture with the jazz trio tradition. Regularly playlisted on the BBC, their first productions found an enthusiastic echo, and the praise poured in, starting with that of the influential DJ and producer Gilles Peterson himself, who sees them as heirs: "I saw these guys recently live. They are a sort of celebration of the last 10-15 years of the UK jazz scene... It's a crossroads place." Unknown until a few months prior, the band played Sète's Worldwide Festival, the Montreux Jazz Festival in the summer of 2021, and Nancy Jazz Pulsations, confirming on stage all the good that was already clear from listening to their recordings. Influenced by Yussef Kamaal, The Comet Is Coming, Atjazz, SunRa, and also Ornette Coleman or Thelonious Monk and by the Broken Beat, Jazz, House, and Hip Hop scenes, Emile Londonien perfectly incarnates this "next gen" French jazz alongside Léon Phal, whose sound is close to theirs. Beyond labels, they mix tradition and contemporary music with ease, as measured on the dancefloor.
Emerging from the Strasbourg scene and the Omezis collective, which includes about twenty artists, musicians, DJs, and videographers, Emile Londonien soaks up the English jazz scene of the last fifteen years and offers up a personal version. Trained at the Strasbourg Conservatory, the three musicians met during thematic evenings organized by the Omezis collective, co-founded by drummer Matthieu Drago. A studio session paying tribute to the English scene followed in 2020. The moniker Emile Londonien, a double nod to their UK influences and to a famous French saxophonist, sprang up spontaneously. The Covid-19 pandemic put the project on hold until their recordings fell into the hands of Dope Tone, the historical Strasbourg broken beat label, and then things started to accelerate. Influential DJs like Lefto immediately shared the tracks from this first session. Thus, emblematic of a generation that grew up in club culture, the band was launched, blending that very culture with the jazz trio tradition.
Regularly playlisted on the BBC, their first productions found an enthusiastic echo, and the praise poured in, starting with that of the influential DJ and producer Gilles Peterson himself, who sees them as heirs: “I saw these guys recently live. They are a sort of celebration of the last 10-15 years of the UK jazz scene … It’s a crossroads place.” Unknown until a few months prior, the band played Sète's Worldwide Festival, the Montreux Jazz Festival in the summer of 2021, and Nancy Jazz Pulsations, confirming on stage all the good that was already clear from listening to their recordings. Influenced by Yussef Kamaal, The Comet Is Coming, Atjazz, SunRa, and also Ornette Coleman or Thelonious Monk and by the Broken Beat, Jazz, House, and Hip Hop scenes, Emile Londonien perfectly incarnates this “next gen” French jazz alongside Léon Phal, whose sound is close to theirs. Beyond labels, they mix tradition and contemporary music with ease, as measured on the dancefloor.
Echoes showcases Lars Moller's masterful fusion of Scandinavian introspection, robust American jazz, and emotive Indian modalities. Joined by legendary trumpeter Palle Mikkelborg and the NDR Bigband, Moller crafts a sonic journey that reflects his artistic evolution and exploration of jazz and Indian music. Contrasting spacious, improvised passages with dense orchestrations, Echoes balances air and fire, creating a timeless soundscape that embraces both spiritual openness and rhythmic intensity.
Song Dust is the first trio recording from trumpeter Karl Strømme. Having toured as a member of the European Union Jazz Youth Orchestra, and recorded several albums as a member of the experimental outfit Peloton, Strømme released Dynalyd, for quintet in 2019. For his NXN Recordings debut he teamed up with exciting young musicians Gard Kronborg on acoustic bass and Per-Arne Ferner on guitar. Listeners will enjoy both nods to the Westcoast jazz as well as the Nordic cool, especially through the expressive trumpet inspired by the Chet Baker trio recordings on Steeple Chase. The traditional jazz trio would often include a drummer, but you won’t miss one on Song Dust. Besides a joyful percussive part on track 5, VM all musicians are given plenty of space and time to make beautiful soundscapes and passages throughout the album.
REVIEW:
“Nods to West Coast jazz and Nordic cool” is an excellent description of Song Dust, Norwegian trumpeter Karl Strømme’s debut date for the Naxos label NXN Recordings. It’s also Strømme’s first trio recording, and features the somewhat unusual trio lineup of trumpet, acoustic bass guitar (Gard Kronborg) and guitar (Per-Arne Ferner).
Strømme, who teaches at the Norwegian Academy of Music, has an extensive performing and recording history that includes touring with the European Union Jazz Youth Orchestra and, most recently, his well received 2019 quintet recording Dynalyd.
An easy comparison to Strømme is Chet Baker, in both his often airy tonal quality and his phrasing and material. He emphasizes that here with the opening track, the standard “Nature Boy,” which he presents quite naturally and freely, with only minor embellishments from bass and guitar behind his trumpet lines. But elsewhere he follows his own path, particularly in his penchant for playing trumpet and synth lines simultaneously. The second track “Opal” finds him pursuing this subtly on a mostly traditional sounding post-bop piece of lovely melodic lines.
It’s almost cheating to call this a trio, and I say that with a smile, but the synthesizer is truly a fourth instrument here. The electronic keyboard-trumpet pairing is quite explicit on the brief, languid “Dance Of The Cohort,” with burbling synth sounds nearly alone in accompanying Strømme’s horn. A few songs later, the similarly brief “0502Y” presents a dreamlike soundscape that includes a Rhodes-like keyboard in addition to shimmering synth and faux glockenspiel. The only track with explicit percussion, “VM” adds handclaps and hand drums for a Latin vibe behind an engaging trumpet improvisation that to me recalls Kenny Wheeler. Lots of that “Nordic cool” vibe comes through on the mysterious “One Two Trees” with some nice atmospheric guitar from Ferner and Strømme accompanying his horn with a unison line on the synth – again, very subtly, no prog bombastics here.
Kronborg provides solid and inventive rhythm throughout, and really displays his chops on a lovely, melodic solo on the title track, which finishes the album. My favorite is the rhythmically complex “Bela Waltz,” which only truly runs on waltz time for brief melodic choruses. Ferner’s guitar moves seamlessly from rhythm to melody and back again more than once here.
Atmospheric but never background music, Song Dust is consistently engaging, upbeat, cool modern jazz.
Causes of Imagination - Jazz Thing Next Generation, Vol. 107
Double Moon Records
CD
$14.99May 30, 2025
From a formal point of view, this is a classical jazz quartet line-up, complemented by a string quartet. Shogo Seifert considers the group to be a unit of eight and has composed for them accordingly. A rather handcrafted, rationally "technical" approach is foreign to him. "I need an emotional connection to transfer energy into music."
Referring to a musical work of the century such as George Gershwin's popular opera "Porgy and Bess" entails enormous risks. This is especially the case when this popular work has spawned many ubiquitous song classics. Hans Ludemann also believes: "You have to have a good reason to tackle this" and, of course, a coherent concept for a new, own approach. This has succeeded brilliantly with "Porgy's Dream". The very personal homage of Ludemann and trumpeter Reiner Winterschladen is not content with competent interpretations in the usual jazz style. The duo is based on selected themes and unfolds an intense atmosphere in it's freely interpreted pieces, which thoroughly lives up to the original work.
'Don Cherry, more than any other artist in the jazz of his era, pioneered the music's internationalist nature that has now come to be commonly accepted as an integral part of it's character. The individuality of Cherry's contribution to the history of jazz has often been unfairly obscured by his admittedly important association with the music of Ornette Coleman. While the (pocket) trumpeter's position as Coleman's front line partner in the altoist's first revolutionary quartet was indeed a major one, Cherry's role as one of the founders of the genre that is known today as 'world music' is equally significant. - Russ Musto Featured Artists Don Cherry-trumpet Gato Barbieri-sax Karl Berger-vibes Aldo Romano-drums Bo Steif-bass.
