Drawing on the spiritual, ecstatic and eastern-influenced jazz of Alice Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders and Yusef Lateef, the music of Miles Davis of course, the Nu Jazz and electronica of The Cinematic Orchestra and a broad musical culture garnered as a regular DJ, Manchester-based trumpet player Matthew Halsall has been crafting an ... [Continue Reading]
Jazz
Saffronkeira with Paolo Fresu: In Origine: The Field of Repentance
Eugenio Caria is an Italian electronic musician and producer based in Sardinia. Since launching his Saffronkeira project in 2008, he has released six LPs with German label Denovali Records. Blending IDM with ambient minimalism and experimental electronics, Saffronkeira’s music is often underpinned by a strong narrative and an ... [Continue Reading]
Paolo Fresu & Daniele Di Bonaventura: Altissima Luce
The Laudario di Cortona is a mediaeval codex written sometime between 1250 and 1290 and still preserved to this day in the town of Cortona in southern Tuscany. The original manuscript is comprised of a collection of 47 “laude” or sacred songs in vernacular Italian. Initiated in 2016 to celebrate the rich cultural heritage of ... [Continue Reading]
Dezron Douglas & Brandee Younger: Force Majeure
As soon as New York City entered a first lockdown in March 2020, double bass player Dezron Douglas and jazz harpist Brandee Younger launched a series of live streams on Facebook and Instagram Live from their East Harlem flat. Dubbed “Force Majeure: Brunch in the crib with Brandee & Dezron”, the Friday morning concerts ... [Continue Reading]
Yumi Ito: Stardust Crystals
Born to a Japanese father and a Polish mother, Yumi Ito is a young jazz vocalist, songwriter and composer based in Basel, Switzerland. As a classically trained pianist, the singer is also an accomplished bandleader who has already performed extensively on the European jazz circuit. Featuring eight new songs composed over a ... [Continue Reading]
Stéphane Tsapis: Le Piano Oriental
A visual marvel, Le Piano Oriental is a graphic novel originally published in 2015. Written by Franco-Lebanese author Zeina Abirached, the story delightfully weaves together the parallel lives of Abdallah Kamanja, an office clerk and piano tuner in 1960s Beirut with modern day Zeina growing up between Beirut and Paris. The ... [Continue Reading]
Billy Prim: Thalassa
Born in Larissa, Greece, Βασίλειος Πριμηκύρης aka Billy Prim is a young jazz drummer who also studied classical piano. Now based in Budapest, the musician can be heard performing and collaborating on the Hungarian and international jazz scene. For many perceptive musicians, the sea (“Thalassa” in Greek) is an endless source of ... [Continue Reading]