Europe Jazz Media Chart - December 2018

Astonishing solo-album of Melbourne musician Aviva Endean for clarinet, bass clarinet, contrabass clarinet, whistle, timpani, voice and effects. Operating on the edge of instrumental sound and breathing, Endean’s rich and mesmerizing music is a transcending affair all through of beautiful musical engravings morphing into and in open space. The music has a rare quality of concrete abstractness full of shimmering, dazzling tonalities, sub-melodic traces and vocal qualities. Endean’s music provides unusual as natural sounds. It speaks directly to listeners’ imagination and feelings, can even evoke trance effects.

A collection of jazzed-up Christmas songs from the top Polish jazz singer Aga Zaryan, who is joined on three of the eleven pieces by the husky voice of special guest Freddy Cole. Tasteful arrangements by pianist Michał Tokaj for Aga’s European Jazz Sextet and the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra (except Bob Dorough’s “Blue Xmas (To Whom It May Concern” arranged by Gil Evans).

Never too late to start one's career as a leader, even if you are 42, an esteemed soloist in Oleg Lundstrem Orchestra (arguably the Earth oldest existing big band,) and an in-demand instrumentalist on alto and soprano saxes, clarinet, bass clarinet, and flute. It turns out Oleg Grymov is all that, plus has at least one album's worth of delightful, tricky, and adventurous originals, brilliantly performed by his Moscow-based quintet.