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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