Veronica Swift – This Bitter Earth (Mack Avenue MAC1177. CD Review by Leonard Weinreich) My first encounter with vocalist Veronica Swift was a YouTube clip shot in pianist Emmet Cohen’s apart… ...

Walter Smith III and Matthew Stevens – In Common 2 (Whirlwind WR4728. CD Review by John Bungey) First, if you’re a lover of the noble art of album cover design, a word of warning. For the sleeve image ...

These tributes and birthday wishes from friends, colleagues and fans for his eightieth birthday are now particularly poignant. Peter was informed about the greetings, and responded with typical ...

Shri – The Letter (Jazzland Recordings 3779254. CD review by Adrian Pallant) It’s not uncommon to be impressed by bass-player albums which aren’t dominated by the leader. But new release The Letter by ...

Jo Harrop in Gateshead (see below). Photo Ken Drew courtesy of Lance Liddle Wednesday 2 October – Pete Bernstein / Jim Mullen are at the 606 Wednesday 2 October – Alexander Hawkins / Marco Colonna are ...

Yuri Honing Acoustic Quartet – Bluebeard (Challenge Records CR73466. CD Review by Rob Adams) Dutch saxophonist Yuri Honing emerged in the mid-1990s with a trio that earned a following, in Scotland ...

Andrew Willox and Eileen Mann – I Think We Have a Find: A Biography of Roy Willox (Self-published, 2020. Review by Simon Spillett) Biographies of musicians – of any style – have a marked tendency to ...

The very great Scottish bassist Ron Mathewson passed away shortly before midnight yesterday 3 December 2020. He had been admitted to hospital with Covid in mid-November. Dave Holland writes:… ...

Jorge Roeder – El Suelo Mio (Self-released. CD Review by Sebastian Scotney) Surely those huge free-standing speakers need to go (I’m often told). They take up far too much room in your house, Seb. Why ...

Ronnie Scott’s 60th Anniversary Gala Concert (Royal Albert Hall. 30 October 2019. Review by AJ Dehany) On 30 October 1959, in that year of jazz masterpieces, British tenor saxophonist Ronnie Scott ...

Marcin Wasilewski Trio – Live(ECM 6738486. CD Review by Peter Jones)It starts with a distant rumble of beaters on tom-toms, then a few plinking, impressionist piano chords and then, after a minute … ...

Miles Davis – Kind of Blue (Deluxe) (Music On Vinyl MOVLP-019. LP review by Andrew Cartmel) Is there anything left to say on the most popular — and arguably greatest — jazz LP of all time? Quite a lot ...