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249 articles

Matthew Wright

Matthew worked at Chris Wellard’s Jazz & Blues in New Cross, Collets Jazz & Folk Shop and for John Jack’s Cadillac Music. He helped Ray Smith set up Ray’s Jazz Shop in Shaftesbury Avenue and was its first manager. In the early 1980s he ran the Seven Dials Jazz Club, Covent Garden. He left London to work as a teacher in schools and at Warwickshire College in Leamington Spa. He has written for various magazines including Collusion, Jazzwise and Jazz Journal and was part of Leamington-based Jazz & Blues promoters, In the Moment. His book Jazz & Cricket - An Unlikely Combination was published in 2021

Chet Baker Quartet: In Paris

The trumpeter's 1955 sessions in France, notably with the progressive pianist Dick Twardzik, are reissued on 180g vinyl in a gatefold sleeve

Amsterdam Klezmer Band: Bomba Pop

Klezmer fusion set reminding of Ibiza and Eurovision is occasionally redeemed by richly toned trombone and accordion passages

Alina Bzhezhinska & Tony Kofi: Altera Vita

Harpist and saxophonist pay tribute to Pharoah Sanders, apparently inspired by his later, gentler, more mesmeric style

John Gamba: Mr. Counterpoint / Claude Williamson: The Fabulous Claude Williamson Trio

Seventy-minute CD collecting two LPs offers insights into two perfectly competent but little remarked pianists from the early 1960s
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Christoph Gallio, Dominic Lash & Mark Sanders: Live At Café Oto London

Improvising sax, bass and percussion trio reminds of both Ayler and Webster as it drives, disintegrates and reassembles

Diane McLoughlin / The Casimir Connection: Reflection

Saxophone, piano, violin, viola and bass play sombre, contemplative chamber music with passages of sometimes free jazz improvisation

Clark Tracey Quintet: Introducing Emily Masser

Singer Emily Masser is foregrounded in a modern mainstream set that also features the newly feted saxophonist Alex Clarke

Susanne Alt: Royalty For Real

New J.B.'s saxophonist focuses on cool funk sounds in this Roy Hargrove tribute, but also showcases her considerable bebop chops
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Marion Brown: Gesprächsfetzen & In Sommerhausen

Alto saxophonist who strove for a vocal quality is heard in late 60s free-jazz performances with Steve McCall, Gunter Hampel and others

Jerry Bergonzi: Lineage

Hard-bop tenor titan Bergonzi played with Mulgrew Miller, Dave Santoro and Adam Nussbaum in Boston in 1989

Lonnie Johnson: Blues & Ballads

The string-bending and vibrato of guitarist Johnson, heard here mostly in the early 60s, was a significant influence on modern guitar style

The Philly Joe Jones Quintet: Philly Joe’s Beat

Reissue of the drum master's 1960 album, paired with five tracks from Birdland in 1961, reminds of the talent of unsung cornetist Mike Downs
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