Mulo Francel and Paulo Morello are no strangers to me. I reviewed Mulo’s album ‘Crossing Life Lines’ in September 2020 and Paulo was the teacher at a guitar workshop in Italy which I attended last fall. So it’s a pleasure for me to present their collaboration on this new album called ‘Living Is Easy, Mostly’. Mulo and Paulo together with Sven Faller on double bass recorded 14 original compositions especially written for this album. The album was produced during the lockdown in 2021 and the trio took their time to write and arrange the songs. The music covers diff ..read more

  A fantastic new album called ‘Major Influence’ has been released by Graham Dechter in September.  The guitarist wrote and arranged all but one of the tunes. “After completing seven originals and co-arranging the classic ‘Pure Imagination’ with Mr. Hamilton, I came to the realization that every song on this recording, whether consciously or subconsciously, was dedicated to and/or directly influenced by one or more of my musical heroes.” He reunites with the dream team rhythm section of his first two albums: Tamir Hendelman on piano, John Clayton on bass and Jeff Hamilton on drums ..read more

It’s time to provide another list of interesting albums that have been released in the last few months. Emma Johnson’s Gravy Boat – Worry Not https://www.johnsonmusic.co.uk/ UK saxophonist Emma Johnson has released her debut album ‘Worry Not’. The original compositions are inspired by cinematic scores and a wide range of jazz music. She has formed a great band and produced a fantastic album. The music is complex, full of different elements in each song but the songs are played with effortlessness and great technical brilliance. Dave Mullen – Solace http://www.davemullen.com/ Another saxophone ..read more

Drummer, percussionist and composer Michael Waldrop has released a fantastic album featuring the marimba called ‘Time Frames’. The 15 songs, most of them originals by Michael Waldrop, present a wide spectrum of styles and sounds, from the origin of the marimba as an African instrument to eclectic contemporary compositions. Waldrop surrounds himself on the album with other renowned and musically diverse percussionists like Gordon Stout, Brad Dutz, Jose Rossy and Marko Djordjevic. Here comes the full list of musicians and their instruments: Michael Waldrop – marimba, vibraphone, drum set and k ..read more

UK guitarist Tom Ollendorff has released a fantastic debut album on the Spanish jazz label ‘Fresh Sound New Talent’. Tom is accompanied by Conor Chaplin on bass and Marc Michel on drums. The trio has been playing together for several years and as Tom points out: “The trio developed it’s own sound and character”.   A significant part of this individual character comes from Toms guitar playing style, a combination of plectrum and picking which creates a full and dense sound. The album starts with the title song ‘A Song For You’, an original from Tom with a beautiful melody ..read more

  Saxophonist and composer Daniel Bennett tried to find his own way after the disruption of the New York City nightlife through the Covid-19 pandemic and his answer is summarized in this new album called ‘New York Nerve’. During lockdown Daniel started to play on the rooftop of his apartment building and when restaurants and jazz-clubs opened again he performed with his band under “snow-covered heat lamps”. His idea was always to bring the music to the people and he found some comrades that shared his idea and followed him in the last 15 months. When studios re-opened in 2020 h ..read more

  From Zurich, Switzerland comes a new album of saxophonist and composer Nicole Johänntgen. ‘Henry III’ is (obviously) the third album with her acoustic funk band from New Orleans featuring Nicole Johänntgen – saxophone Jon Ramm  – trombone Steven Glenn – sousaphone Paul Thibodeaux – drums The album was recorded live at the Domicile Jazzclub in Pforzheim, Germany, on October 22, 2018. An old-fashioned analogue two-track recording machine was used for this production and Nicole made sure that the album is also available on vinyl. Overall, an interesting setup for this record and ..read more

  Drummer and composer Claudio Scolari and his experimental jazz project have released a new album called ‘Cosmology’. It is the second album that has been recorded live and it features his long-time partner Daniele Cavalca on synthesizers and piano, his son Simone Scolari on trumpet and Michele Cavalca on bass. The 13 tracks on the album circle around an imaginary journey into time and space.  The compositions are all originals by Claudio Scolari & Daniele Cavalca (except ‘Collision’ which is by Simone Scolari & Daniele Cavalca). The album start with ‘Dark Ma ..read more

  Swiss guitarist Samuel Leipold has released an interesting and ambitious album on November 20. ‘Viscosity’ features Samuel as soloist. The inspiration for the songs came from studies on contemporary music and includes Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu, overtone compositions by French composer Gerard Grisey or minimalistic work by US composer Morton Feldman. Samuel developed and composed the material on the album over a period of two years where he made little notes of sounds and intervals during practicing. His journey on sounds and how the fit together were the buil ..read more

Many albums have been released in the last few months so I thought it might be time to present again a list of my favorites. Dave Stryker - Baker’s Circle http://www.davestryker.com/ Dave Stryker did it again. He released a great album with his favorite musicians Jared Gold on organ and McClenty Hunter on drums plus Walter Smith III on sax and Mayra Casales on percussion. Perfectly played organ trio+, Dave Stryker never disappoints.   Stewy von Wattenwyl – In the Giants Garden https://www.stewyvonwattenwyl.ch/ From Bern, Switzerland (and currently my professor for ear training and j ..read more