Europe Jazz Media chart - January 2024

Even though it is not released under his own name, Hoshii is in fact Kuba Więcek’s fourth effort as a leader. The young Polish saxophonist, who had studied in Denmark and Holland, and took private lessons in New York, was selected by DownBeat among “25 Performers Who Could Shape Jazz for Decades”. In his pursuit of original form of expression, Więcek has been moving away from his mainstream roots towards an electronic and hip-hop sound using loops and synthesizers. His new quartet features some of the most talented faces on the Polish scene today: pianist and keyboardist Grzegorz Tarwid, electric bassist Max Mucha (a regular member of the Christian Scott band) and the youngest among the lot Miłosz Berdzik on drums. The music is loud, dense, full of fire, twists, humor and imagination. “Hoshii” is a Japanese word meaning “to want”. The title character is a fictitious newcomer from a far away planet who upon arriving on earth faces enmity, but in the course of time discovers a friendly feeling. The music and the story itself unfolds like a fairy tale. The album’s booklet is adorned with evocative paintings which during the group’s live performances serve as video animations, making the music even more special.

The John Pope Quintet is a band that would be perfect for the most clubs and festivals in Europe. Because here we find five exquisite collectivists (John Pope - bass, percussion, Jamie Stockbridge - alto saxophone, baritone saxophone, Faye MacCalman - tenor saxophone, clarinet, Graham Hardy - trumpet, flugelhorn, Johnny Hunter - drums, glockenspiel) , who are creative and highly skilled soloists. And with Pope's powerful bass sound and bluesy compositions, this would be the perfect combo at almost any club or festival. A fun and exciting band I'd happily travel a few miles to experience at a concert, because this is loose and delicious music that fascinates powerfully!

A distilled relaxation from the Highlands...

The music of this Australian album hovers between delicate manifestations of mundane song formats and spiritual spaciness of  eternal ghosts’ spheres. Together with New York guitarist Ben Monder and Los Angeles pianist Vardan Ovsepian, Melbourne vocalist Sunny Kim created the exceptional cosmic music of her album  <<Liminal Silence>> by means and around a voice that is challenging the air and thereby enters  i n t o  as well as emerging  f r o m  a deeper space on the vibrations of light and sound. It never gets lost in suggestively rustle and sough, it always reaches down to the very ground of the matter, to the essence with great intensity. Or, as Peter Knight, the former Artistic Director of the Australian Art Orchestra put it: it is ethereal and yet always utterly visceral.  Kim herself is a quite active member of AAO meanwhile. In almost an hour containing 10 pieces, the music draws listeners into liminal sound experiences from different angles, groundworks and breaths of life. For Sunny Kim silence is the origin of the living and houses the inner truth of ourselves. As a human being of sharp and clear mind in congruence with her body and soul she formulates and speaks out: “Liminal Silence is a communal meditation on the nature of silence, the cycles of birth and death, and our innermost aspiration for change within.” The album comprises a diversity of pieces from the blissful “Living Within the Ocean” to the transcendental “Liminal”,  the balladesque “Fall” or the dramatic “Poland, 1948”. None of the album's pieces resolves harmonically in conventional way. The pieces are kept open, are stretching, wandering/wondering with and along the underlying current of heartbeat, blood circulation, imagination and consciousness, sensing expansions, thresholds and the glow of light, concentrating on these and illuminating them through the shades and intensities of their connecting voices. They masterfully cover a range from deep dark to brilliantly bright with the manifold fractures and transitions of light and sonic color in between and have trance-inducing potential (but is no ambient/mood music). The triangle of Kim, Osvepian and Monder is a heavenly match. Armenia born Osvepian from Los Angeles might be less known in Europe. Being part of the Peter Erskine Trio and having recorded with Berlin violinist Biliana Voutchkova indicate his range, that’s worthwhile to explore.

Composer and trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire's Nonesuch Records debut album, Owl Song features a trioformation with guitarist Bill Frisell and drummer Herlin Riley. The album is the first of three records Akinmusire is planing to release on Nonesuch. Each  will spotlight a distinct element of his musical world and involve different instrumentation and production approaches.

Reality is Nuance' by Albert Vila with top musicians Doug Weiss and Rudy Royston is to frame, a guitar trio highlight, definitely not to be missed live! (Bernard Lefèvre)

Latvian saxophonist Toms Rudzinskis productively spent the time of the pandemic and devoted himself to new searches in the jazz field. Together with the Danish bassist Kenneth Dahl Knudsen, an innovative international big band music album Space Big Band was created, but Toms himself made a multi-layered spiritual jazz and a jazz fusion style album Abyss, dedicated to a creative and emotional fall into the abyss and a flight back up from that. The disc was recorded in Berlin with fellow musicians there – Ukrainian guitarist Igor Osypov, Swedish keyboardist Povel Widestrand, German bassist Tom Berkmann, German drummer Fabian Rösch, and Danish vocalist Mette Nadja Hansen. Vocals with lyrics are heard in one track only, but the voice is also used as another musical instrument. Abyss is a leisurely and monumental opus, which allows you to both dream and enjoy the power of a thick wall of sound at times.

Internal Anxiety marks the debut album of Ukrainian saxophonist Viktor Pavelko, disclosing his skills as a frontman. A luminary within the Ukrainian jazz arena, Viktor was a steady member of the imposing Deep Tone Project —a notable collective of the international league in Ukraine. Markedly, this album features Kostiantyn Ionenko, the double bassist from Deep Tone, alongside Oleksandr Malyshev on piano and Artur Frolov on drums. The meticulous and thoughtful arrangements are immediately captivating, as well as the unisons and counterpoints between piano and saxophone, as displayed in tracks like "Blues for Borys" and "Internal Anxiety”. The album also embraces lengthy modal chord progressions, that give ample space for improvisation in tracks such as "24th" and "The Dreamer from Hertza”. Each composition is an original creation, yet the music seamlessly embodies a distinctive style. Drawing inspiration from the New York jazz scene of the '90s and 2000s, the album skillfully weaves together bluesy resolutions reminiscent of bands of Branford Marsalis, while also embracing a contemplative and spacious approach akin to the work of Ben Wendel or Joshua Redman. Undoubtedly, Viktor Pavelko emerges as a truly exceptional leader, guiding each musician to showcase their unique mastery and sensitivity. The recording took place at the 32 Jazz Club in the heart of Kyiv.