My co-presenter Neil was not in the studio this week but he did send an excellent selection of new and re-released music from 2016 that he has enjoyed.

What a powerful way it  was to start the show. Jack deJohnette, Ravi Coltrane and Matthew Garrison with the haunting, disturbing and highly evocative tune Alabama, particularly poignant with Ravi Coltrane involved in playing a version of what was possibly his father’s most political song. The show featured two tunes from this trio’s album album In Movement.

Sarathy Korwar is someone new to me. He has been the beneficiary of support from the Steve Reid Foundation set up in honour of the late drummer to support young musicians. Sarathy is himself a percussionist/drummer. The music is distinctive and innovative combining traditional music from the Sidi community of India with electronics and jazz.

The music of EST seemed to merge perfectly with the sounds of the Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, the Miles Davis tune was from a bootleg series but was perfect in audio quality and playing and the Arthur Blythe tune was another unpredictable but exciting example of his work.

Not so the Robert Glasper featuring Erykah Badu, to me the one disappointment from the selection. I may not be alone here, I love his playing with other bands e.g. Otis Brown III, but sometimes with his own band I am not so sure. On the occasion I saw him live the event started very late and the constant use of the vocoder did little to inspire.

The saxophonist Donny McCaslin, however, leads a tough, left-field New York band with bassist Tim Lefebvre, drummer Mark Guilliana and keyboardist Jason Lindner.

1. Jack deJohnette, Ravi Coltrane, Matthew Garrison – Alabama from In Movement
2. Sarathy Korwar – Bhajan from Day By Day
3. Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra + EST – From Gagarin’s Point Of View from EST Symphony
4. Miles Davis – Footprints (Master Take) from The Bootleg Series Vol 5
5. Arthur Blythe – Contemplation from Blythe Spirit
6. Robert Glasper feat. Erykah Badu – Mayisha (So Long) – from Everything’s Beautiful
7. Donny McCaslin – Warszawa from Beyond Now
8. Jack deJohnette, Ravi Coltrane, Matthew Garrison – Serpentine Fire from In Movement