Jazz in the western world is all thanks to Lieutenant James Reese Europe (also known as Jim Europe). Jim Europe and his band were the leading pioneers for the growth of African-American-created jazz throughout the post-war period. Their brand of proto-Jazz music, written exclusively by black composers, kick-started a movement that would see jazz music eventually hit the mainstream.
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The March 2023 selection will start as a list, without review.
Yes, it’s a bit raw. But this month looks so good, there’s no point in waiting at the risk of missing the releases of the following albums; our inputs or reviews will come later.
So, what should you expect from jazz this month? Welcome to our March 2023 selection of albums that have already been released or will soon be released this month (“What to Wait For”). These albums got our full attention and are worth your time. They are listed in order of release date.
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Sometimes the most extraordinary things occur in the most ordinary of places. If you should drive past an unassuming health centre on a quiet residential street in New Jersey – or 25 Prospect Avenue, Hackensack, to be more exact – you would be forgiven for disbelieving the site’s place in jazz music legend.
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It is one of the most iconic openings in musical history. Those first few seconds of A Love Supreme are infinitely recognisable to jazz music aficionados and instantly alluring to those hearing it for the first time.
From the first few seconds of the record, Coltrane hints at something magic. With the opening Asian gong and cymbal washes, the listener is plunged straight into a curious album with many musical meanderings, missing meanings and the feel of a smoky late-night underground jazz club.
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Zurich Concert is a solo recording by bassist Joëlle Léandre. Zurich Concert was recorded live on March 17, 2022, at Taktlos-Festival at Kunstraum Walcheturm, in Zürich, Switzerland, by Willy Strehler, and it will be released on February 20, 2023, by Intakt Records.
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What should you expect from jazz this month? Welcome to our February 2023 selection of albums that have already been released or will soon be released this month (“What to Wait For”). These albums got our full attention and are worth your time. They are listed in order of release date.
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Eye of I is an album by tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis, with Chris Hoffman on cello and pedals, and Max Jaffe on drums and sensory percussion. Eye of I was released on February 3, 2023, by Anti- Records.
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Scenery Somewhere is an album by saxophonist Julia Strzalek and drummer Cornelia Nilsson, playing for the first time together. Scenery Somewhere was recorded live at Kapellet, Stockholm, Sweden, on September 3, 2021, by Johan E. Andersson, and it will be released on February 24, 2023, by Frim Records.
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Jazz was first recorded in Copenhagen just under one hundred years ago. Whilst it took the 50s and 60s for Denmark to assert itself as a key jazz capital of the world, it was that key moment in the 1920s that initiated early Danish interest in the genre.
Danish musician Valdemar Eiberg formed the first Danish jazz band and released the track “I’ve Got a Cross-Eyed Papa” with musicians Otto Lington and Kai Ewan, under the name Valdemar Eiberg Og Hans Jazz Orkester. However, even though notable American musicians had started to flock to the city’s live music bars, jazz music was still a long way yet from having its moment in the limelight.
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Traction is an album in two parts by improviser, vocal artist, and experimental composer Casey Moir, with Elisabeth Coudoux on cello, Marcus Wärnheim on alto saxophone, and Jérome Fouquet on trumpet. Traction was recorded at SHARE Festival, on July 17th, 2021, in Denmark, and it was released on January 31, 2023, on HearHere Records.
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