Vocals: Stina Agustsdottir Guitar: Mikael Mani asmundsson Keys & Synths: Magnus Johann Ragnarsson Bass: Henrik Linder Drums: Magnus Trygvason Eliassen

Pianist Anton Dromberg (Bear Garden, Erik Palmberg Quartet) and vocalist Anna Berglund (Anna Arco, Berglund Band) are no novices on the Swedish jazz scene. In 2021, they celebrated their tenth anniversary as a duo and released the debut EP Dream Maker, which was appointed "Vocal and Piano Album of the Year" by Lira Music Magazine. The duo's songs have aired on Swedish national radio, P2, and found their way onto several major Spotify- playlists such as "Svensk Jazz". The music has been described as heartfelt, melodic and with exceptional interplay whether it is original material or a new version of a Burt Bacharach ballad

Vocals: Stina Agustsdottir Guitar: Mikael Mani asmundsson Keys & Synths: Magnus Johann Ragnarsson Bass: Henrik Linder Drums: Magnus Trygvason Eliassen

Niemandsland is Matthias Meyer's first own album. The international quintet (Larsen is Danish and Braylovskiy Russian) is his first own group. This seems amazing given the maturity of the compositions and arrangements, the density of the interplay as well as the collective spirit and individual class. One reason is certainly the freshly won, purposefully implemented artistic self-image of the bandleader. The close connection between the band members is just as important.

Steve Swallow who is one of the pioneers of electric double bass in jazz noted that Millhouse “is using it to help define and refine what the electric bass can do to refresh jazz music.” Eminent practitioner of this unique six-string instrument Millhouse as bassist and guitarist in one creates again on this second album with the saxophone trio format refreshing and formidable jazz. “With the rich saxophone and drum sounds the 6 strings incorporates chord playing techniques and moves around freely showing the way electric bass should be in modern jazz.'' (K. Harada- Bass Magazine on SCCD 31942 Unwinding)

Yes, Brouqui is French and a phenomenal guitarist/composer and this is his SteepleChase debut album. But no, this is not of French Gypsy tradition. He is out of pure American modern jazz vein with a touch of French elegance. He commutes between Paris and NYC performing and recording. “A warm jazz full of swing. His inspired and fast guitar interprets with assurance and sensitivity. We will savour the creative breath of his improvisations…. highly recommended.” (Claude Olberg - Jazz Magazine)

It's a chance encounter between three personalities and their distinct universes that sparked the origin of this magical music. A meeting between jazz, world music and fusion. The prospect of the perfect world where listening and mutual respect lie at it's heart. Like an insidious and enchanting philter, Macondo's music tends to make you lose all sense of time and space.

Hammond B-3 organ has a rich host of illustrious players in the jazz history including Jimmy Smith, Jack McDuff, Joey DeFrancesco to mention a few, but Brian Charette is the first (and so far the only) jazz artist who recorded solo organ albums. The first release was highly acclaimed SCCD 31756 Borderline of 2013. Here on his third solo endeavour Charette delights us premiering as vocalist on 2 tracks. “Charette is a burning soloist who understands the tradition of the Hammond B-3 as well its future—just as certainly as he understands his place in that lineage.” (Ken Micallef – Downbeat)

In 1974 SteepleChase released Perceptions SCCD 31022 by pianist Connie Crothers (1941- 2016) who was one of the prominent students of legendary Lennie Tristano. Now, 50 years later SteepleChase is proud to present Crothers’ mentees jazz pianist/free improviser/singer Caroll Leibowitz and alto saxophonist Nick Lyons in tandem inviting us to their unique soundscape that encompasses the past, present and future of jazz. “…. almost telepathic… hypnotically engaging…” (Roger Farbey - All About Jazz on Liebowitz-Lyons previous release)

Kristjan Randalu reimagines Schubert's Winterreise with a unique blend of classical and jazz influences. Collaborating with Estonian-American bassoonist Martin Kuuskmann, the duo creates a distinct sound through the combination of piano and bassoon, offering a completely new sonic landscape for Schubert's work. This innovative reinterpretation brings a dynamic and expressive twist to the original, blending emotion and spontaneity in a fascinating way.

When Music Calls

Anton Schwartz (tenor sax) Peter Bernstein (guitar) Taylor Eigsti (piano) John Shifflett (acoustic bass) Tim Bulkley (drums) Produced by Bud Spangler and Anton Schwartz. Recording and Mixing Engineer: Dan Feiszli. Mastering engineer: Paul Stubblebine. 'Radiant Blue' had a long run on the US jazz radio charts, peaking at number four and earning a JazzWeek cover story. 'Much like Chris Potter, Anton Schwartz is a nice and unassuming guy to talk to, yet both turn into modern day tenor titans as soon as they put the mouthpiece between their lips... There's a lot to like here with sharp arrangements and crisp straight ahead playing that seems to hit all the right notes.' - Tad Hendrickson, JazzWeek Magazine '... this is a first-class audiophile product.' - John Henry, Audiophile Audition 'Anton Schwartz and his sidemen are deadly serious about their fun... they are all adept at staying in the pocket while stretching it. As for Schwartz, he has a classic clear-throated tenor sound and kicks like a mule. His zeal to communicate is fervent yet sophisticated... Radiant Blue could make an excellent introduction to jazz for someone on the outside looking for a way in.' - Thomas Conrad, Jazz Times Magazine 'This is grade 'A' 'all-killer-no-filler'... The five musicians are virtuosos, endowed with temperance, eschewing gratuity for the greater good of the music... Schwartz' compositions are engaging and sophisticated... these are truly unique musicians of the highest order.' - Jan-Mikael Erakare, Abstract Logix 'Schwartz blows with a warm, fluid tone, and great economy... his decisions all sound right... This ensemble shines.... The music bins are full of bluesy jazz albums; this one brims with optimism and intelligence.' - Ed Kopp, JAZZIZ Magazine The liner notes from the CD: THE BLUES IS A FEELING THE BLUES IS A FORM The blues is a feeling. The blues is a form. Two statements about music. You've likely heard the first one at some point, but perhaps not the second. So I'd like to explain a bit. Music is nothing without feeling, and nowhere is this more true than in blues music. Blues greats such as Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters and B.B. King have been masters at conveying emotion, and they passed down as their legacy an emotional vocabulary of musical riffs, stylings, phrases and techniques that form the vernacular of blues music. But no less a part of their legacy is a contribution of a different nature: the blues *form*. In poetry, a sonnet is distinguished by it's form - a particular fourteen-line structure. So, too, much of blues music conforms to a particular structure - a distinct sequence of chords twelve measures in length. That structure has come to permeate popular music far beyond the genre of blues. 'Rock Around the Clock' is, structurally, a perfect blues. So is the theme from *Batman*. And Charlie Parker's 'Now's The Time.' But none of these would be called blues music. So when jazz musicians say, 'let's play a blues,' what they are proposing is not a song with a certain feeling, but a song with a certain structure. Radiant Blue is a collection of ten blueses - which is to say, ten songs based on the blues form. To be sure, there are stylistic elements of the blues in many of the songs (check out 'Sneaking Suspicion' and 'Blues for Now'). But most of the music is not particularly bluesy. The grooves run a wide gamut, from fast straight ahead jazz to New Orleans to Afro-Samba to feel-good South African to angular funk. _Radiant Blue_ is a CD of blueses, but it is not a blues CD any more than The Who's rock opera, *Tommy*, is an opera CD. If you're familiar with music theory, you'll know that I've taken many liberties with the blues form throughout the CD. But my hope is that, regardless of your musical knowledge, with a few listenings of the CD you will be able to 'squint your ears' and make out the shape of a blues, in the same way you might recognize an old friend at a distance by just their silhouette and their walk. For jazz musicians, the blues form is such a friend. - Anton Schwartz, June, 2006, Oakland.

The followup to Schwartz's acclaimed debut album, 'When Music Calls'. 'The Slow Lane' is 70 minutes of dynamic, acoustic jazz! 'Schwartz savors the implications of each note, allowing the listener to delight in the endless melodies created by his stirri.Independient.2005.

In a time when musical genres are constantly in dialogue with one another, Standard - No Standard proves that the jazz tradition is not only alive but also constantly evolving. This album, the result of a powerful collaboration between guitarist Joost Zoeteman, bassist Bart Tarenskeen, and drummer Wim de Vries, showcases how three musicians masterfully strike a balance between reverence for jazz history and a fresh, contemporary approach.

Emmalisa Hallander, vocals Filip Ekestubbe, piano Niklas Fernqvist, bass Henrik Jaderberg, drums Daniel Migdal, violin 1 Jonna Simonsson, violin 2 Riikka Repo, viola Amalie Stalheim, cello Special guests Peter Asplund, trumpet & Per Texas Johansson, saxophone

After two years of solo touring, Yaron Herman presents his new album Radio Paradise. He returns with an exceptional ensemble, joining forces with two of the finest saxophonists in the world: Maria Grand, a rising international star, and Alexandra Grimal, a major figure in improvised music. This album takes us on a quest for lyricism, depth and sincerity, with elegant melodies and powerful rhythms, in a project that is both spiritual and deeply moving. "When I started working on this album, the first thing that came to my mind was melody. I have been writing a lot over the last few years, mostly in my notebooks, for myself. On the road or at home, anything from long lines to short fragments. With time, (and hard work) these "motifs" started to take shape and turn into "songs". While playing them, exploring what they could become, I realized I was looking for a sound that wasn't "just� the piano. These melodies required another voice. Saxophonists Maria Grand and Alexandra Grimal have different approaches, yet both have a mysterious, powerful and lyrical quality that I was looking for. Those qualities, combined with Haggai Cohen Milo's beautiful tone and rhythmic versatility and the playing and precious ideas throughout the Process of my longtime musical brother, Ziv Ravitz, made these songs truly come to life. In the studio we were fortunate to have the experience and perspective of producer Daniel Yvinec who encouraged us to push the music further, taking risks. I imagined each composition as a different scenario, a landscape offering a fertile ground from which improvisation could grow. Improvisation: a quest for the sweet spot between freedom and constraint. The playfulness of it all. Providing the tools but not the final edifice, providing the canvas but not dictating what to paint on it. That's how Radio Paradise happened. We stumbled upon the title in the studio, while discussing how opposites complete each other, and how our role as artists is to try and reconcile that which seems in opposition. To find the space where music flows effortlessly, and from the heart." YARON HERMAN

Vincent Segal and Stephane Kerecki, key figures on the Paris music scene for two decades, now present Ponticello, a project born of their impromptu meeting in the summer of 2022 and their desire to combine their instruments. Their duo, which they formed on the spur of the moment, quickly grew into an ambitious venture designed for the stage. Here the two musicians share their passion for the great classics (Bach, Messiaen, Faure), jazz standards (Hampton Hawes, Scott LaFaro) and their own compositions, blending classical, jazz, South American and American folk influences. The potential of this intimate but powerful group became clear from their very first sessions, with a richness of sound worthy of an orchestra. Since they regularly collaborate with Airelle Besson they invited her to enhance their duo. Her magnificent sound fits in perfectly and adds a new depth to the ensemble.

After the 45-year world jungle expedition, guitarist/composer/chieftain Pierre Dørge takes his tribe to its home turf Copenhagen’s fabled Jazzhus Montmartre to record live their latest album filled with all but one new vibrant compositions by Dørge. Donald Elfman of AAJ once remarked, “Pierre Dørge has what seems like a magical ability - he can re-imagine and re-think the way that music is voiced thus creating entire new worlds out of worlds we think we know.”

KALI Trio's new album, The Playful Abstract, could be a soundtrack to the air we breathe. Repeated listens to this tranquil, ever-shifting and sometimes transcendent record also invoke an association with the Japanese term, Ukiyo, meaning the "floating world".�Nowadays ukiyo is seen as a state of mind emphasising living in the moment, detached from the difficulties of life.

40 years ago Bill Evans and Jim Hall recorded two brilliant duo albums called “Intermodulations” and “Undercurrent”. Andy Laverne and John Abercrombie whose collaboration dates back to the late 1960s have been inspired by the Evans-Hall recordings and have been experimenting with the format. Andy LaVerne remarks, "Over the years we have collaborated as a duo many times in concerts, club dates, workshop sessions. I guess Bill and Jim set a wonderful example to us of what could be achieved by the piano/guitar instrumentation”. This LP, though it is neither re-creation nor copying of the original material, is an evolution of the predecessors. 180g Audiophile Vinyl

The songs we sing give words to personal experiences from our lives. Some have been part of our individual repertoires for years. Others we wrote together. But as applicable as they are to our own personal situations, they now feel more than anything like Goleine songs. When you make music together, share life experiences and beliefs, you get to know each other very well. It's beautiful how a song can transform through a new collaboration. It breathes differently, reinvents itself, and creates a sense of belonging. That's what we've found in each other-a musical family.

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."

Storyville Records is pleased to announce the release of In Rome, a new album by Danish bassist Thomas Fonnesbaek alongside esteemed jazz musicians, pianist Enrico Pieranunzi, saxophonist Rosario Giuliani, drummer Roberto Gatto and singer Valentina Ranalli. This recording consists of 11 original compositions, 9 by Pieranunzi, 1 by Fonnesbaek and 1 by Gatto. Thomas Fonnesbaek is considered one of the most important and distinctive bassists on the European jazz scene today. His virtuosic technique, "Nordic sound" and ability to craft cohesive solos place him in the lineage of Danish bassists like Niels-Henning �rsted Pedersen, Bo Stief and Jesper Lundgaard, while also showing kinship with greats like Dutch bassist Hein van de Geyn and prominent Swedish bass players. Nevertheless, Fonnesbaek's style is uniquely his own, honed through a self-taught journey that captivates audiences with a rare ability to evoke Duende - the inexplicable power of attraction that moves listeners emotionally, a concept coined by Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca. For those who have had the privilege of experiencing Fonnesbaek live, they will recognize this Duende in his playing. He often takes risks that challenge both his fellow musicians and audiences, creating moments of magic. In Rome captures these moments, highlighting Fonnesbaek's collaboration with some of Europe's finest musicians. At the core of the album is the partnership between Fonnesbaek and Enrico Pieranunzi, one of Europe's most revered pianists. Pieranunzi, known for his collaborations with the likes of Chet Baker, Marc Johnson, Paul Motian, and the legendary film composer Ennio Morricone, brings his extensive jazz and classical music background to this recording. Having recorded numerous albums together, Pieranunzi and Fonnesbaek share a musical chemistry that fuels this project. Joining the trio is Roberto Gatto, a drummer celebrated in European jazz circles. His elegant, sensitive approach enhances the group's interplay, while Rosario Giuliani on saxophone and Valentina Ranalli on vocals further elevate the music. In Rome is a testament to the creativity and mastery of European jazz. This album is jazz at it's finest!

Glacial Voyage is an evocative exploration of sound and memory, brought to life by the dynamic collaboration between guitarist Christy Doran and pianist Izumi Kimura.�The album paints vivid sonic landscapes, reminiscent of the rhythmic push and pull of waves upon a shore or the quiet contemplation of a starlit coastline.

With sounds that whistle deep blue and remind you of the blues - the origins of jazz? - in his new composition Robin Verheyen takes colors from Jean Fouquet's 'Madonna' and assigns them to his tenor and soprano, the three musicians of the Goeyvaerts String Trio and the 88 keys of Marc Copland's piano.