Darren Arthurs
I've been reviewing various styles of music for years now, but I always gravitate towards jazz releases. I enjoy writing about the music and promoting those musicians that have something to add to the genre. I want to hear something new, something that excites me and makes me sit up and wonder how something was created. I organise a monthly jazz night in a small market town in Wiltshire, I've been running this for five years now and the bands get better and the audience gets larger each month which proves that jazz is still something that people want to listen to.
I also play double bass in a quintet where the music allows me to think on my feet and play whatever comes into my mind at the time. I'm yet to play the same solo twice!
Reviewed: Myra Brownbridge | Paul Carlon Quintet | Mark Cherrie Quartet
I always find this time of year to be about more than kids returning to school and the dreaded start of months ending in...
DigDogDo: Evolution
Swedish guitar, organ and drums plus guests play with strong technique and invention on melodic sequences over swing and funk rhythms
Mute: After You’ve Gone
NY band featuring traditional piano trio and suona mix post-bop with oriental reverie and an abstract reharmonisation of After You've Gone
Tijs Klaassen Quintet: Adhocism
Third recording from Dutch bassist plays at the crossroads of jazz, classical music, electronic music and free improvisation
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Avishai Darash: Between Hope And Despair
Pianist leads trumpet, bass and drums in set mixing odd-meter backbeats with the harmonic flavours of north Africa, Israeli folk and US funk
El Comite: Carrousel
Latin rhythm and instrumentation underpin tunes with modern-jazz structure and harmony played by Ibrahim Maalouf, Harold Lopez-Nussa et al
Steven Nichols: From Dust
Trumpeter Nichols leads tenor saxophone, piano, bass and drums in what often sounds like an update on early 60s Miles and Blue Note
The Beat Freaks and Ralph Alessi: Mechanics Of Nature
The American trumpeter meets a Polish quartet for a set of inchoate angularity that seems to revel in seeking its feet
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The Other Way: Learning To Be
Bristol-based trumpet, vocals, keyboard, bass and drums mix jazz, funk, folk and world in a way that ought to be captivating on stage
Seventh Sun: Seventh Sun
High-energy debut from US alto saxophonist improbably mentored by Wynton Marsalis updates bebop, Jaco Pastorius and Whitney Houston
Louise Van Den Heuvel: Sonic Hug
Dutch bassist and singer leads woodwinds, piano and drums in a melancholy set mixing modal improvisation and minimalist grooves
The Jazz Defenders: Memory In Motion
Energetic Bristol quintet updates the hard-bop tradition, smoothly blending soul and hip-hop with straightahead jazz
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