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307 articles

Michael Tucker

Michael Tucker (born 1948) began writing for Jazz Journal in 1977. He has always felt it an honour to be asked to contribute to an enterprise that, over the years, has helped open his ears to so much superb music. Until his retirement in 2012, he was Professor of Poetics at the University of Brighton, where he promoted jazz concerts and curated many exhibitions. These included the 1999 Selected Signs – a month-long celebration of the 30th anniversary of ECM, long his favourite label. He is particularly interested in the shamanic import of the arts, a theme explored in depth in his 1992 Dreaming with Open Eyes: The Shamanic Spirit in Twentieth-Century Art and Culture. He has given guest lectures at universities and arts institutions across Britain, Europe and Scandinavia and was also invited to teach periodically at the University of Sussex. In 1997 that institution awarded him the (examined) degree of Doctor of Letters, for “distinguished contributions to the advancement of learning”. A dabbler on guitar, piano and bone-flute and a keen amateur painter inspired by, a.o., Cézanne and Soulages, Davie and de Kooning, Munch and Miró, he is a specialist in Nordic culture. In 1999 his Jan Garbarek: Deep Song was rated “the bible of Garbarek studies” by Norway's NRK Music Magazine; it was also a BBC Critics Book of The Year Choice. In 2012 he was made a Knight: First Class of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit, in recognition of “outstanding service in the interest of Norway”.

Reviewed: Rainer Brüninghaus | Kjetil Mulelid Trio | Amir ElSaffar, Lorenzo Bianchi Hoesch

Rainer Brüninghaus: Freigeweht (ECM 589 2370) Reissued in ECM's audiophile Luminessence series of high-quality vinyl, this superbly recorded music from 1980, all from the German...

Robert Fowler Quartet at Chichester Jazz Club

Having wrapped up last year's programme with a thoroughly enjoyable evening of Christmas-flecked material, courtesy of the captivating Alan Barnes Octet, Chichester Jazz Club...

Reviewed: Bobby Wellins | Avishai Cohen | Colin Vallon | Carsten Dahl | Thomas Fonnesbæk | Lars Danielsson, Verneri Pohjola, John Parricelli | Chris...

Bobby Wellins Sextet: Homage To Caledonia – Live 1979 (Jazz In Britain JIB-67-5-CD This most welcome – and unmissable – single volume release from Jazz...

Reviewed: Unleashed Cooperation | Arild Andersen | Louis Sclavis, Benjamin Moussay | Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock, Paul Motian

Unleashed Cooperation: Trust (MultiKulti MPPA005) New to me, the superb Polish ensemble Unleashed Cooperation features Krzysztof Kusmierek (ts), Patryk Rynkiewicz (t), Patryk Matwiejczuk (p), Flavio...
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Music For Black Pigeons

The quartet gig which John Surman had at Ronnie Scott's this past June (reviewed 12/06) was memorable enough in itself. What made the evening...

Reviewed: John Beasley, Frankfurt Radio Big Band | Neff Irizarry | Alice Zawadzki, Fred Thomas, Misha Mullov-Abbado | Lina Nyberg | Runar Nørsett

John Beasley, Frankfurt Radio Big Band: Returning To Forever (Candid CAN 33352) Following my review last month of the Del Sasso Big Band's revisioning of...

Mátyás Gayer Trio at Chichester Jazz Club

Each time I drop into Chichester Jazz Club, I don't know what impresses me the most: the range and overall quality of the performing...

Reviewed: Wayne Shorter | Jan Lundgren & Yamandu Costa | Dal Sasso Big Band

Wayne Shorter: Celebration Volume 1 (Blue Note) Almost a quarter of a century ago – it seems like only yesterday – I enjoyed a conversation...
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Bobby Hutcherson: Classic Blue Note Sessions 1963-1970

Mosaic afford their usual rigorous and comprehensive treatment to the vibist's work, across seven CDs with extensive notes and photography

Tobias Hoffmann Jazz Orchestra: Innuendo

German reedman lays aside his saxophone to pursue big-band writing reflecting his fascination with through-composition

Norma Winstone, Kit Downes: Outpost Of Dreams

The British singer, well-known for her delicate wordless vocals, teams up with pianist Downes for a lyric-rich set of covers and originals

Giovanni Guidi: A New Day

The Italian pianist leads tenor, bass and drums in loosely framed music expressing tenderness, reverie and yearning
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