Steve Gregory: Frolic (JRL-SGS Records)
On his website, Los Angeles session musician Steve Gregory lists a huge number of projects he has been involved in over the years. These range from live performances with big name artists including Ray Charles and Leonard Cohen through to work on television shows, commercials and backing work on albums for numerous artists. This experience has all been distilled into Steve’s terrific debut album Frolic.
In an unshowy fashion, he demonstrates complete mastery of the guitar across 12 self-penned tracks. These range from laidback ballads to driving rock, interspersed with shades of country, blues and – in places – disco, soul and new age. Working with some first-rate colleagues, Gregory seems completely at home across these assorted styles, making the album an impressive testimony to his versality and virtuosity. Jeff Babko offers standout accompaniment on organ and synthesizer, and where guitar and keyboards meet, there is often a Dire Straits/Mark Knopfler vibe to the atmosphere and phrasing of the music.
Gregory’s work for television has clearly honed his skill at telling stories through sound, as several of the compositions would be right at home as film or TV incidental themes. Some albums have an instant connection and likeability about them, and Frolic is certainly one of those. One of the most enjoyable listens of 2025 so far, if there is one complaint it is that at 46 minutes it is too short. Let us hope Steve Gregory is planning more frolics in the not-too-distant future.
Joe Lovano: Homage (ECM 756 7799)
Joe Lovano has built up a close relationship with the Marcin Wasilewski trio over the years. Homage builds on that partnership, coming off the back of 12 sets that the musicians performed at the Village Vanguard, New York, close to the recording of this album.
The overall theme of the album is one of thanks – homage to the people that have inspired Lovano, Wasilewski, bassist Sławomir Kurkiewicz and drummer Michal Miskiewicz to be themselves over the years. That freedom to play and explore ideas as they wish comes over strongly in the six tracks performed on Homage. Five are Lovano compositions, and the opener, Love In The Garden, by Zbigniew Seifert, finds pianist Wasilewski in especially reflective mood, with some beautifully delicate, bluesy phrasing as he unpacks the song. In addition to playing tenor sax, Lovano also uses gongs and tarogato (a woodwind instrument usually associated with Hungarian folk music) to add interesting textures to the album. It is this experimental free form exploration of ideas that takes this album a step beyond the music Lovano performed with this trio on Arctic Riff for ECM in 2020.
Homage also seems an appropriate sentiment as the Marcin Wasilewski trio celebrated 30 years of performance in 2024. Over three decades, with and without guest artists, the trio has constantly pushed the trio format and continues to do so on this latest recording. Its use of space, delay and layering of sound continues to give its music a unique and compelling appeal.
Matteo Paggi: Giraffe (Jam/Unjam JUJ005CD)
Matteo Paggi’s Spotify profile describes him as a polyhedral artist and a versatile musician who is not defined by one specific genre. That seems an effective way to sum up the trombonist and composer and his approach to the music written and performed on Giraffe. The eight tracks fall into two distinct halves, with the first four being recorded in autumn 2024 and the remaining four tracks coming from a session performed in spring 2020 with different musicians.
The 2024 tracks offer a wonderful combination of styles, with the opening track Ham And Sun starting off as a gentle, deceptively simple melody on piano before building to something more dramatic and layered as Lorenzo Simoni on alto sax and Paggi himself on trombone join the song. Paggi has surrounded himself with some excellent musicians on the recording. Masako Sakai seems at home performing both jazz and classical style piano and Simoni on sax offers some sensational bebop alto solos that really do take the breath away.
On the 2020 session, Paggi is joined by Andrea Del Vescovo on trumpet, Yunah Han on piano and Misha Voeykov on electric bass. The different line up of instruments and performers adds a fresh dimension to this second set of compositions. Again, both the quality of the performances and the originality of the compositions make for an enjoyable listen. Well worth exploring.
Simon Paterson’s Electric Gumbo: It’s On! (Electric Gumbo FB001CD)
Once, the sound of Nottingham might have been characterised by the brass of colliery bands. Now, the sound of the East Midlands is represented by Electric Gumbo, a 17-piece ensemble that explores jazz, soul, funk and a whole lot more. Founder Simon Paterson has strong Nottingham roots and is associate professor of music at the city’s university.
With its combination of saxophones, trombones, electronic keyboards, bass and vocals, there is a world music as well as purely jazz feel to the tracks. Paterson wrote all nine tracks, which range from soulful ballads to more muscular, pulsing material that oozes a kind of cinematic funkiness. Downfall (Every Step) is a lovely ballad featuring vocals from Rachel Foster, and there are more vocals to enjoy in the album’s closer, Cloudfall, which sounds like a fitting way to bring all the different elements of the album to a great finish. With its sense of energy and variety, Electric Gumbo reminded me – especially on the funkier trombone-led tracks – of another personal favourite band of mine – Mo’ Blow.
