Page 21 – Best of Jazz

Guido Spannocchi – Perihelion

Vienna-born London-based Jazz saxophonist Guido Spannocchi‘s new album – Perihelion – is out today (May 28, 2021). The album is self-released and was recorded on December 1st, 2019 (all on first takes), in London (Total Refreshment Centre Studios).

Best Jazz 2016 - Jonathan Greenstein - Vol. I

Jonathan Greenstein – Vol 1

Jonathan Greenstein’s Vol. 1 is an EP released on January 29, 2016, on Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit Records. The EP was recorded with only acoustic instruments in Brooklyn, NY (The Bunker Studio).

Jazz June 2021

What to expect in Jazz this month? This is our June 2021 Selection of albums already released or to be released this month (What to Wait For?). Albums – or EPs, or Singles – that got our full attention and should be worth your time.

A playlist with one track per selected album is available at the end of the post.

Ralph Peterson – Raise Up Off Me

Raise Up Off Me is the final recording from the late Ralph Peterson Jr., released by Onyx Productions. Raise Up Off Me was recorded on December 7, 8, and 9, 2020, at Peterson’s own Onyx Recording studio in North Dartmouth, Massachusetts.

Keith Brown Trio – African Ripples

Pianist, composer, and bandleader Keith Brown‘s new album, African Ripples, was released on May 20, 2021, via Space Time Records. It was recorded in November 2020 in Queens, NY (Samurai Hotel Studios) and follows the release of Sweet and Lovely (2011) and The Journey (2015).

The Best Jazz Fusion Albums

First, let’s clarify one thing: Jazz fusion and jazz-rock are the same (to start with at least). The confusion may come from the preferences on each side of the Atlantic. While Europeans will most probably say “jazz-rock”, Americans will prefer referring to it as “jazz fusion”.

FIRE! – defeat

The new FIRE! album, defeat, has been released February 19, 2021, on Rune Grammofon. It features the usual trio (Mats Gustafsson, Johan Berthling, and Andreas Werliin), plus Goran Kajfes and Mats Åleklint. It was recorded in October 2019 and February 2020 in Copenhagen (The Village Recording).

James Brandon Lewis, Red Lily Quintet – Jesup Wagon

Jesup Wagon is the new album by tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis, with the Red Lily Quintet (bassist William Parker, drummer Chad Taylor, cornetist Kirk Knuffke, and cellist Chris Hoffman), which was recorded, mixed, and mastered in late 2020 at Park West Studios, in Brooklyn, New York. Jesup Wagon was released on May 7, 2021, by TAO Forms.

Hitra – Transparence

The first album by Hitra – Transparence – was released last February on CD and last April on LP. It was recorded in 2017 in Oslo, Norway (Westerdals Oslo ACT) and mixed in 2020 in Italy. It sounds international and it is. Hitra is an Italian-Icelandic-Norwegian-Norwegian Quatuor, immersing us in their “imaginative music”.

Zane Carney Quartet – Alter Ego

If you are planning your next jazz trip after domestic and international travel becomes easier, then Los Angeles should be on your list. Zane Carney Quartet’s album, Alter Ego, released on April 30, 2021, on Orenda Records gives listeners a surprisingly captivating taste of L.A.’s nightlife, and it sounds great!