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Reviewed: Peter Evans’ Being & Becoming | Johnny Richards & Dave King | I Hold The Lion’s Paw

Peter Evans' Being & Becoming: Ars Ludicra (More Is More Records MIM252) The remarkable, enthralling Ars Ludicra – an unusual title – is the third studio album from trumpeter and composer Peter Evans' Being & Becoming. The group was founded in 2017, and features Evans on trumpets, piano and electronics, Joel Ross on vibraphone and synth, Nick Jozwiak on bass and synth, and Michael Shekwoaga Ode on drums. It's Evans' primary band and compositional outlet. (In 2025, composer and percussionist Tyshawn...

Reviewed: Joe Alterman & Mocean Worker | Sean Mason

Joe Alterman & Mocean Worker: Keep The Line Open (Mowo! Inc.) Atlanta-born jazz pianist Joe Alterman was in the middle of a soundcheck at New...

Artie Shaw: Icon Of Swing

Co-authors Barnett Singer (professor emeritus of history at Brock University, Ontario) and Jesse Read (professor emeritus and former director of the School of Music...

Mike Westbrook’s Band Of Bands in Torquay

I first heard a large proportion of my all-time favourite British/Britain-based jazz musicians, live or on record, when they were members of one Mike...

Reviewed: Shear Brass | Sol Sol

Shear Brass: Extraordinary Journey (Ireton records R01CD/LP) George Shearing (eventually Sir George) was one of the first British jazz musicians to make a significant mark...

New releases October-November 2025, T-Z

Records offered for review to Jazz Journal in September-October 2025, including Theorem of Joy, Aretha Tillotson, Toftemark/Benack III Quintet, Jordan Williams and Kai Winding // Editor's pick: Theorem of Joy

JJ 11/95: Mike Mainieri – An American Diary / White Elephant Vol 1 / Come Together: Guitar Trib­ute To The Beatles Vol 2

Thirty years ago, Mark Gilbert thought that among a trio of Mainieri issues, his skilful jazz adaptations of American classical music gave the best value

News in brief...

Whole lotta reshaping going on at London’s Southbank Centre 13-15 March 2026, when the Montreux Jazz Festival Residency returns, asking ‘What is Jazz Today?’, drawing  inspiration from Miles Davies [sic] and entailing performances from such as Theo Croker, Children of Zeus and corto.alto.

‘The creative chaos’ behind Kind Of Blue is the preoccupation of Miles, ‘a fusion of live jazz and theatre’ featuring Jay Phelps and Benjamin Akintuyos that transfers to Southwark Playhouse in London from 4 February – 7 March 2026 after a run at the 2025 Edinburgh Fringe.

ACE-supported Latin music festival La Linea returns to London 20 April – 6 May 2026, with a massive bias towards women performers. Among the 90% female lineup will be Eliane Correa presenting Las Salseras – A Tribute to Celia Cruz.

Need a score of your new song? The new AI-driven transcription tool Songscription says it will turn any audio recording into sheet music, piano rolls or guitar tabs to enable music sharing and learning.

JJ 11/95: Tim Garland – Tales From The Sun

Thirty years ago, Derek Ansell thought two Bill Evans-inspired pieces formed an oasis of wholesome jazz in the saxophonist's latest set

JJ 11/95: Django Bates – Winter Truce (And Homes Blaze)

Thirty years ago, Simon Adams heard some excellent playing in Winter Truce - when the clutter and chaos cleared for long enough

New releases October-November 2025, S

Records offered for review to Jazz Journal in September-October 2025, including Brandon Sanders, John Scofield, Mark Sherman and Martial Solal & Eric Le Lann // Editor's pick: Brandon Sanders

New releases October-November 2025, O-R

Records offered for review to Jazz Journal in September-October 2025, including Keith Oxman, Nigel Price, Doug Raney, Emma Rawicz and Redtenbacher's Funkestra // Editor's pick: Keith Oxman

Reviewed: Out Front | Smooth Elevator | Tumultr

Out Front: Buried Webs (Green Eyes Records) It’s difficult to review this album without explaining the influence (or rather, influences) behind it. The whole project...

JJ 11/85: Peter King – 90% Of One Per Cent

Forty years ago, Richard Palmer thought his American cousins ought to be feeling a bit nervous in the face of 'just about the best alto player in the world'

JJ 11/85: Keith Jarrett Standards, Vol 2

Forty years ago, Simon Adams thought that although Jarrett's return to standards might suggest a retreat there was no diminution in his pianistic powers

JJ 11/85: Fred Hersch Trio: Horizons

Forty years ago, John Postgate thought Horizons, plagued by 'self-indulgent maunderings', would have been quite a jazz record if it had been half the length

JJ 11/75: Warne Marsh – Jazz From The East Village

Fifty years ago, Mark Gardner thanked Peter Ind for capturing 'the astonishing, agile extemporisations' of Warne Marsh at a time when soul-jazz dominated

JJ 11/75: Alice Coltrane – Lord Of Lords

Fifty years ago, Barry McRae admired Coltrane's elegant writing but found no jazz in music with a dated style and fussy, romantic piano and harp work
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JJ 11/85: Keith Jarrett Standards, Vol 2

Forty years ago, Simon Adams thought that although Jarrett's return to standards might suggest a retreat there was no diminution in his pianistic powers
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JJ 11/65: Bill Le Sage & The Directions In Jazz Unit – The Road To Ellingtonia

Sixty years ago, Mark Gardner thought Bill Le Sage's Directions In Jazz would come to be seen as 'the most invigorating and successful mating of a string section with jazz soloists'

JJ 11/75: Warne Marsh – Jazz From The East Village

Fifty years ago, Mark Gardner thanked Peter Ind for capturing 'the astonishing, agile extemporisations' of Warne Marsh at a time when soul-jazz dominated

JJ 11/65: Roland Kirk – I Talk With The Spirits

Sixty years ago, Steve Voce, recovering from his Ayler baptism, enjoyed hearing Kirk playing, singing, laughing and shouting through some 'most acceptable modern jazz'

JJ 11/65: Aretha Franklin – Yeah!!!

Sixty years ago, Sinclair Traill acclaimed Franklin's big, strong, gospel-driven voice and sensed the advent of another major jazz singer

Reviewed: Peter Evans’ Being & Becoming | Johnny Richards & Dave King | I Hold The Lion’s Paw

Peter Evans' Being & Becoming: Ars Ludicra (More Is More Records MIM252) The remarkable, enthralling Ars Ludicra – an unusual title – is the third studio album from trumpeter and composer Peter Evans' Being & Becoming. The group was founded in 2017, and features Evans on trumpets, piano and electronics, Joel Ross on vibraphone and synth, Nick Jozwiak on bass and synth, and Michael Shekwoaga...

Reviewed: Joe Alterman & Mocean Worker | Sean Mason

Joe Alterman & Mocean Worker: Keep The Line Open (Mowo! Inc.) Atlanta-born jazz pianist Joe Alterman was in the middle of a soundcheck at New York’s Blue Note in 2012 when a wheelchair-bound Les McCann came up and asked him to “Play me some blues, boy.” An unlikely friendship developed and the pair, separated in age by more than 50 years, kept in touch until...
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New releases October-November 2025, T-Z

Records offered for review to Jazz Journal in September-October 2025, including Theorem of Joy, Aretha Tillotson, Toftemark/Benack III Quintet, Jordan Williams and Kai Winding // Editor's pick: Theorem of Joy

New releases October-November 2025, S

Records offered for review to Jazz Journal in September-October 2025, including Brandon Sanders, John Scofield, Mark Sherman and Martial Solal & Eric Le Lann // Editor's pick: Brandon Sanders

New releases October-November 2025, O-R

Records offered for review to Jazz Journal in September-October 2025, including Keith Oxman, Nigel Price, Doug Raney, Emma Rawicz and Redtenbacher's Funkestra // Editor's pick: Keith Oxman

Guy Barker swings the RAH

Trumpeter Guy Barker, well-known as in the vanguard of the first so-called British jazz revival of the 1980s, when he played bebop and cutting-edge jazz-funk with Chris Hunter and others, has for some years now embraced the mainstream of...

Pete Allen launches his new album at Pizza Express

The Pete Allen Jazz Band launch their new album with two gigs in November: the first is on Sunday 2nd November at The Bowlers Arms, (Presidents Suite), Falkland Cricket Club, Wash Common, Newbury, RG14 6TW, 2:30 to 5pm. Admission £20...
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Unapologetic Expression: The Inside Story Of The UK Jazz Explosion

For a geezer of my vintage the great and most fruitful UK jazz explosion occurred in the late 60s-early 70s, fuelled by South African expats and musicians from the West Country and then, somewhat in contrast, there was the...

German Jazz Prize performances reflect the fraught political scene

Musicians from across Germany and around the globe flocked to Cologne for the German Jazz Prize on 13 June - and that’s no surprise. All 76 nominees got €4,000, while winners in 22 categories departed E-Werk’s brick-and-steel interior with...

Gianluca Pellerito, drum wunderkind

I first encountered drummer Gianluca Pellerito through social media and quickly became one of his 330k followers on Instagram, but it was seeing this uniquely talented player up close,...

The dance is ended (but the memory lingers on)

Seeing the Count Basie Orchestra live was one of the great thrills early in my lifelong obsession with jazz. I did not realise it...

Tracking the mystery woman of jazz: Mama X Plus / 2

Above all else, music and musicians remained constant anchors throughout Gale Madden's life. She had no end to the stories of musicians with whom...

Jack DeJohnette and drumming: ‘That’s what I came here to do’

Jack DeJohnette was born in Chicago in 1942 and studied classical piano from the age of four. He took up drums in high school and thanks his uncle, the DJ Roy I. Wood Snr, for keeping him abreast of...

Count Me In… 10/25

Unlike rock and pop music - I think those two labels cover the gamut - jazz is not everywhere. It is so not-everywhere that you often have to seek it out or hope that, in a sense, it will...
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JJ 11/95: Mike Mainieri – An American Diary / White Elephant Vol 1 / Come Together: Guitar Trib­ute To The Beatles Vol 2

Thirty years ago, Mark Gilbert thought that among a trio of Mainieri issues, his skilful jazz adaptations of American classical music gave the best value

JJ 11/95: Tim Garland – Tales From The Sun

Thirty years ago, Derek Ansell thought two Bill Evans-inspired pieces formed an oasis of wholesome jazz in the saxophonist's latest set

JJ 11/95: Django Bates – Winter Truce (And Homes Blaze)

Thirty years ago, Simon Adams heard some excellent playing in Winter Truce - when the clutter and chaos cleared for long enough