We start this show with more tributes. First up, a special tune from Roy Haynes to add to the last show, then one from the late alto sax player Lou Donaldson, before we get to new jazz releases – and deep, intense and serious stuff it is too!

1. Roy Haynes – Dorian from Cracklin’ and v/a Sunday Afternoon at Dingwalls and v/a A Sense of Direction

The last show included some excellent selections that featured the late drummer Roy Haynes. Derek, however, felt we had to play Dorian – a hauntingly beautiful tune we have featured before on Cosmic Jazz. It’s one of those numbers which when Derek plays it he has to repeat immediately. Luckily, he has all three options where the tune can be found (see above) to make the search easier. Originally, it appeared on the 1963 New Jazz Records LP Cracklin with Booker Ervin in tenor saxophone, pianist and composer Ronnie Matthews and Larry Ridley on bass. The recording was by Rudy Van Gelder. The sleeve notes, written  by Ira Gitler,  sum the tune up well: Dorian is a modal piece that revolves in a loping gait. It has both charm and pathos. In addition to Ervin and Matthews, there is a sensitive solo by Ridley, and highly complementary backing by Haynes. It is, just one of those numbers you have to hear.

2. Lou Donaldson – Gravy Train (alt. take) from Gravy Train

Alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson died on 9 November 2024 (born 1 November 1926). Among the musicians he played with in the 1950s and 1960s were Jackie McLean, Thelonious Monk, Max Roach,  Milt Jackson, Kenny Clarke, Art Blakey and Horace Silver. In 1952 he signed to Blue Note Records and Gravy Train is a 1961 release with production by Alfred Lion and Rudy Van Gelder (again) as recording engineer. Donaldson was one of the classic Blue Note hard bop players and the title track has a soulful feel that swings along – enough to make you want to move and groove. Herman Foster wheels away on piano and gets a solo, Alec Dorsey on conga brings a rhythmic emphasis to the music and Ben Tucker is on bass with Dave Bailey on drums. Gravy Train is not the most innovative or groundbreaking of records – but it is solid Blue Note with much to be enjoyed. Donaldson is actually the most sampled Blue Note artist with over 200 samples appearing on numerous hip hop recordings – including this take on Ode to Billie Joe from 1967’s Mr Shing-a-ling which was used by both A Tribe Called Quest and Kanye West.

3. Xhosa Cole – Trinkle-Tinkle feat. Liberty Styles from On a Modern Genius Vol. 1

UK tenor saxophonist Xhosa Cole was the winner of the BBC Young Jazz Musician 2018 – and the youngest winner ever. Since then he’s gone from strength to strength. He won the 2021 UK Parliamentary Jazz Award for Best Newcomer, has headlined at Ronnie Scott’s, has performed multiple times at the BBC Proms, and has collaborated with Shabaka Hutchins, Soweto Kinch and Jay Phelps. Listen to him here at the Swindon Jazz and Soul Festival from 2023 – he comes across as a mix of Sonny Rollins and Hank Mobley but with his own voice too. His upcoming album On A Modern Genius Vol. 1 is a live tribute to the music of Thelonious Monk and will be released in January 2025 via Stoney Lane Records – but you get a chance to hear his take on Monk’s Trinkle-Tinkle right here. The upcoming album reflects Xhosa’s deep-rooted connection to tradition along with his ability to push boundaries – here enlisting the percussive tap dancing of Liberty Styles. Cole notes that This album is a celebration of friendship, joy and improvisation – it’s a snapshot into the love that you can only find on the road with friends and you can hear Coles on his new 38-date UK tour which runs through to the end of February.

4. Nubya Garcia – Odyssey from Odyssey

The London-based saxophonist Nubya Garcia has consistently raised her profile in recent years – and we’ve been championing her music and distinctive tone since her appearance on the Nubya’s 5ive EP in 2017. Her first full-length record was 2020’s Source – with its strong melodic lines and powerful soloing reflecting much of the UK jazz scene’s influences at the time. It was even treated to a remix version the following year.  Neil has seen her live in both Singapore and the UK and she’s a powerful stage presence indeed, with an easily identifiable sound on tenor that has the muscularity of Joe Henderson or Dexter Gordon. Her new album, released a couple of months ago, is ambitious in its scope and diverse in its content. The guests include esperanza spalding, Georgia Anne Muldrow and the Chineke! Orchestra and the resulting music foregrounds Garcia’s compositional and arranging skills. There’s a link to new UK jazz albums like Cassie Kinoshi’s seed.’s recent orchestral outing gratitude (and, yes, the lower case trend is spreading here too). Odyssey includes one track – Water’s Path – that’s just strings and a solo cello and Triumphance has Garcia speaking over a dub vibe. We’re not sure it all works (it will take more listens) but there’s no doubting the level of ambition here.

5.   Shuteen Erdenebaater Quartet –   An Answer from the Distant Hill from Rising Sun

Cosmic Jazz has not featured many artists originating from Mongolia – in fact, probably none. This show changes that. Pianist Shuteen Erdenebaater was born in the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar in 1998. She studied classical composition there before moving to Munich in 2018 where she is now based. She has won numerous awards in both Germany and Mongolia and in 2023 signed a three-album deal with the New York label Motéma. Rising Sun, released in 2023, is the first of these and features a quartet of young musicians – Anton Mangold on soprano/alto/flute (featured on flute in this tune); Nils Kudelmann on upright bass and Valentine Renner on bass. There are plenty of opportunities on the record to enjoy Shuteen on piano but the other members of the group are given lead exposure too. The music is exciting, contemporary and powerful. Already, the quartet are being taken notice of across the world with reviews including these from three sources: Passionate, tempestuous, adventurous and wise (Suddeutsche Zeitung Germany), Creating a stir in the European jazz scene. Worth discovering (Downbeat USA), Quite a revelation. Gentle and thoughtful, it’s all highly distinctive and speaks to the heart (Marlbank UK).

6. Alex Tuomarila – Towards Dark Light from Departing the Wasteland

Up next were two new albums from Edition Records – the first from Finnish pianist Tuomarila and his trio, the second a new live at the celebrated Village Vanguard record from saxophonist Ben Wendel. Let’s start with Alex Tuomarila – and we should say straight away that we really like this one. This time, Tuomarila’s trio is augmented by guitarist André Fernandes, trombonist Gil Silva, tenor player José Pedro Coelho and altoist/flautist João Guimarães with Tuomarila adding extra electronics. The album was recorded in Porto – a suggestion from guitarist Fernandes – but the music hasn’t lost its Finnish character: the washes of synth and post-production work make the whole feel more composed than the earlier piano trio records. Tuomarila has said that this album not only marks 20 years of playing together but a start to a new era of writing and creativity. I feel like I’m just getting started, somewhat reborn, and that excites me to explore new musical ideas and discover new ways to interpret my playing as well as how we play together as a trio. 

7. Ben Wendel – Scosh from Understory

We’ve played music from this album on an earlier show this summer, but we felt it was time to revisit this excellent live record from Canadian tenor saxophonist Ben Wendel. The album features a world-class rhythm section – Gerald Clayton on piano, Linda May Han Oh on bass and Obed Calvaire on drums. Wendel also features in a very different group – the acclaimed Kneebody with a very alternative eclectic style using jazz instrumentation to create music influenced by electro-pop, punk-rock and hip-hop. For a sample of their approach, have a listen to this live extract from a show at the Triple Door Club in downtown Seattle.

8. Caroline Davis – City Flora feat. Nicole Mitchell & Nappy Nina from Portals, Vol 2: Returning

We are well into our intense jazz section now ands next up was now was music from Caroline Davis, an alto saxophonist and composer based in New York. Her grandmother was the British poet Joan ‘Lady’ Aston-Weber (1927-2010) and she remains an inspiration to Davis who dedicates this album to her, with the spoken words coming from her poems. The earlier album Portals Vol. (2021) was a dedication to her late father. Davies has assembled a distinguished group of musicians: Marquis Hill on trumpet, Julian Shore on piano, Chris Tordini on acoustic bass and Allan Mednard on drums. On this tune we also have Nicole Mitchell on flute, whom Caroline Davis met in Chicago and then mentored, along with Nappy Nina on spoken word who was recommended to her by trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire. Another interesting guest on three of the tunes from the album is composer, multi-instrumentalist, dancer, vocalist Jen Shyu who has played with a number of innovative, contemporary jazz musicians. Caroline Davis also sings in her alternative R&B band My Tree – check out their Where The Grace Is album on Bandcamp.

9. Daniel Herskedal – Call for Winter II from Call for Winter II: Resonance

The show now winds down with more ethereal Scandi-jazz from Daniel Herskedal’s new album Call for Winter II: Resonance. Recorded in a cabin in the mountains near Røros in Norway during the depths of winter 2024, Herskedal is, as usual, on bass trumpeter and tuba but there’s lots of overdubbing and electronic beats on this, the title track. The music overall is dark and sombre but here lighter and more lyrical than one might expect from the recording location and instrumentation. The stark, breathtaking Norwegian landscape is always a key element in Herskedal’s work and – as with the first Call for Winter album – it’s very much present here. Worth investigating if you like John Surman’s excellent multitracked solo albums – for example, Private City and Road to St. Ives.

Derek is listening to…..

• Common feat. Black Thought, Sean Kuti – When We Move
• Hank Mobley –  No Room For Squares
• The Elder Statesman (feat Lord Echo) – Montreux Sunrise
• The Overnight Players – Malcolm X
• Two Man Sound – Two Man America

Neil is listening to…

• Ryan Keberle & Catharsis – Hammerspark
• Azymuth – Partido Alto
• Isao Suzuki Quartet + 2 – Orang Utan
• Teruo Nakamura Group – Unicorn Lady
• Jasmine Myra – Horizons