Welcome to more new jazz with a vibes special – four contemporary vibraphone artists and their new(ish) releases – and we’ve got time to include another ‘doing it different’ (one tune; two ways). Check out music from Sacha Berliner, Patricia Brennan, Jackie McLean, Charles Tolliver and more.
- Amanda Whiting – Mary Over There from Can You See Me Now? (Deluxe Edition)
Welsh harpist Amanda Whiting is making waves on the UK jazz scene and this special edition of her 2025 EP includes her previous record The Liminality of Her. Production is by Adam Scrimshire (see our previous show) and there are guest appearances from vocalist Alice Russell, Chip Wickham and others. Whiting’s style is laidback, thematically inquisitive and – like the great Alice Coltrane – definitely on the spiritual side. It’s something that the contemporary use of the harp in jazz seems to inspire – think of current players like Brandee Younger from the US, Alina Bzhezinska from the UK and Edmar Castañeda from Colombia. For more check out this special feature on Bandcamp Daily – lots of new jazz harp for you to investigate
2. Sacha Berliner – Jade from Onyx
This is a terrific record from San Francisco-born Sacha Berliner and her stellar group featuring Marcus Gilmore on drums, Burniss Travis II on upright and electric bass and James Francies on piano and Fender Rhodes. Special guests include Jaleel Shaw on alto saxophone, Julius Rodriguez on analog synths and vocalist Thana Alexa. Onyx is only Berliner’s second album and this 2022 issue captures her fiery, dense sound beautifully with production from analogue specialist Steven Mandel and engineering from GRAMMY® winning Ben Kane. Very highly recommended.
3. Patricia Brennan – Antlia from Of the Near and Far
Another acclaimed vibraphonist, Brennan describes the inspiration for this late 2025 release: I’ve always been captivated by the night sky, endlessly wondering about what lies beyond. Amidst the vast expanse of stars, there is a sense of balance and symmetry that fascinates me—an order within the chaos. The innate patterns of the constellations sparked my curiosity, prompting me to explore how these celestial forms might be translated musically. In the summer of 2024, I developed a process that allowed me to collect pitch and numerical data from constellations. I overlaid the shapes of constellations onto a circle of fifths, intrigued by whether the symmetry of the constellations could translate into musical symmetry—whether harmonic or melodic. The circle of fifths is already a highly symmetrical structure that organizes pitches in a sequence. By mapping the constellations’ shapes onto this circle, I discovered new relationships between pitches, chords, and even key signatures. These relationships emerged purely from the constellations’ symmetry, not from traditional music theory. Err – wow! The instrumentation for this record is a traditional jazz quintet – piano, bass, drums, guitar, and mallet percussion – along with a standard string quartet and additional electronics. Another highly recommended album and available in all three formats from your local specialist record store or Bandcamp right here.
4. Lewis Wright – Mettle from The Color of Intention
Neil saw young vibes player Lewis Wright many years ago at a local pub jazz gig in Suffolk. Since then, he released a first album in 2018 before going on to perform internationally with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and working with Hugh Masekela, Tony Allen and Melody Gardot. The Color of Intention features drummer Marcus Gilmore along with bass player Matt Brewer and was originally released in 2019 but is now available on vinyl – again, check it out here on Bandcamp.
5. Ben Wendel – Clouds from BaRcoDe
Saxophonist and composer Ben Wendel releases his new album BaRcoDe next month on Edition Records. It’s a daring new electroacoustic album for saxophone and mallets (vibraphone and percussion). The project features four leading vibists and percussionists – Joel Ross, Simon Moullier, Patricia Brennan, and Juan Diego Villalobos – and was recorded at The Bunker Studio in Brooklyn. There’s a blurring of the line between chamber music, modern jazz, and electronic experimentation and this takes Wendel’s creative language into new territory. The question, of course, is – Does it work? And the answer is resolutely, Yes. There’s something of Steve Reich’s minimalist music here – and you can certainly hear it in the album’s opening track Clouds. Not surprisingly, this is another highly recommended release – and it looks and sounds spectacular in the rosewood coloured vinyl version.
6. Jackie McLean – On the Nile from Jacknife
Up next on the show is another of our ‘doing it different’ features – one tune in two different versions. This time it’s something of a modern standard – On the Nile. This is a Charles Tolliver composition but it first appeared on McLean’s 1965 classic Jacknife, just reissued by Blue Note in the Tone Poet series. Jacknife captures the saxophonist in a post-bop mode with trumpeters Lee Morgan and Charles Tolliver, pianist Larry Willis, bassist Larry Ridley, and drummer Jack DeJohnette. There’s modal explorations, churning rhythms, and good old hard bop grooves – and, of course, this Tone Poet vinyl edition is produced by Joe Harley from the original analog master tapes and sounds amazing. If you’ve not experienced these pristine vinyl reissues yet then treat yourself to this one.
7. Charles Tolliver – On the Nile from Music Inc.
Tolliver waited until 1969 to record On the Nile for his first album with the Music Inc. quartet, formed with pianist Stanley Cowell. The recording first came out on Freedom Records but then appeared on Arista Records. But this shorter and more powerful version of On the Nile comes from a slightly later release – Tolliver’s first on the label he created with Cowell, Strata-East. This 1971 version compares well with McLean’s take but there’s the additional power of a huge horn section augmented by Bobby Brown, Wilbur Brown, Jimmy Heath, Clifford Jordan, Howard Johnson, Garnett Brown, Curtis Fuller and more. By the end of its life, the label had released 58 albums of near-uniform artistic excellence – a remarkable achievement for an independent company run on a shoestring by two musicians with no previous business experience. We’ve featured the Strata East/Mack Avenue collaboration on previous shows and these Kevin Gray produced reissues are really worth looking out for. Neil already has some of them and they sound excellent – up there with the best of the Tone Poets. We can’t wait to hear more of these as they emerge.
8. Horace Parlan – Up and Down from Up and Down
Pittsburgh-born pianist Horace Parlan recorded seven records for Blue Note, of which Up and Down is probably the best. The quintet is top drawer – Booker Ervin on tenor, Grant Green on guitar, George Tucker on bass and Al Harewood on drums. The sound is more soul-jazz than hard bop and all six tunes give space for the soloists to shine. Better still, this was one of Neil’s favourite Blue Note Tone Poets from 2025: all have great depth and spaciousness, but this is one of the best. We’ve chosen the title track Up and Down – a Horace Parlan original – but the whole album is hard to beat.
9. Gerald Clayton – For Peace from Ones and Twos
Alluding to the DJ reference in the title of his latest album, Gerald Clayton explains that it’s a record where the A side can be played simultaneously with the B side… you hear two separate pieces at the same time. Each side of the twelve-track album is meant to be heard separately and simultaneously. The music in the latter experience is obviously twice as dense as on the detached tracks. Neil’s not tried this yet but the tracks certainly work individually – and that’s probably down to the calibre of the musicians involved – Marquis Hill, Elena Pinderhughes, Joel Ross, Kendrick Scott and drummer of the moment, Kassa Overall. Spotify (which Cosmic Jazz will never normally endorse because of the long-standing criticism of their scandalous royalty payment structure) does have an Expanded Edition of Ones and Twos featuring a second ‘disc’ with two tracks played simultaneously. This still doesn’t appear to be available in other formats – but watch this space.
More from Cosmic Jazz soon – and an extra right now. As we went to press, we received the news of the death of salsa and Fania Records legend, Willie Colon. We’ll play more of his music in upcoming shows but here’s a starter – and one of Neil’s favourites – the 12in Latin Jazzbo Version of Set Fire to Me. Enjoy!
Neil is listening to:
- Pharoah Sanders – Love is Here – Part 2 (Live in Paris 1975)
- Miles Davis – If I Were A Bell (Live at the Plugged Nickel, Chicago 1965)
- Ahmad Jamal – Poinciana (Live at The Olympia, 2012)
- Sonny Rollins – To a Wild Rose (Live at Ronnie Scotts, 1974)
- Charles Lloyd – C L Blues (Live at the Padova Festival, 2021)
DeJohnette was born in Chicago where Ahmad Jamal’s drummer Vernel Fournier was an early inspiration. But as well as learning the standard drum kit, DeJohnette was also a talented pianist and bass player – with this breadth perhaps contributing to that uniquely diverse sound. As he said, I see myself as a colorist, not as a drummer, per se... We’re going to begin with his two year association with Charles Lloyd and his 1960s quartet with a live take from a 1967 classic – it’s the best selling album Forest Flower and bassist Cecil McBee’s tender Naima-like composition Song of Her. DeJohnette’s shimmering cymbal work is perfectly judged here and an indication of the sensitivity he would later go on to show in the Keith Jarrett Standards Trio.
Next up we celebrate his tenure with Miles Davis and what is sometimes called the lost quintet. Before he was deployed as the principal drummer on the epic Bitches Brew album (1970), DeJohnette appeared in live sets with Davis on trumpet, Wayne Shorter on soprano and tenor saxophones, Chick Corea on Fender Rhodes, Dave Holland on bass and DeJohnette on drums. In July 1969 the band appeared at Festival Mondial du Jazz d’Antibes and these two dates comprise CD1 and CD2 of the Live in Europe 1969 set, issued by Columbia Records in 2013. They are a revelation. Just listen to DeJohnette’s drumming (and everything else that’s going) on right from the beginning of the band introductions and a version of Directions.
While Bitches Brew was widely recognised as one of the most innovative records in jazz, 1972’s On The Corner polarised opinion. Indeed, Davis biographer Paul Tingen stated that it became the most vilified and controversial album in the history of jazz. Only more recently has its worth been more accurately judged. Writing for The Vinyl Factory, Anton Spice described it as the great great grandfather of hip-hop, IDM, jungle, post-rock and other styles drawing meaning from repetition. DeJohnette was the key drummer on this unique record and he’s heard to maximum advantage with his pattering repeated drum pattern across pretty much the whole of the first side of this extraordinary record. And talking of vinyl, some versions of the record can sound rather muddy, so for a more detailed and balanced version it might be worth exploring the MoFi Original Master Recording – 
DeJohnette began recording for Manfred Eicher’s ECM label in 1974 with the Timeless trio featuring John Abercrombie and Jan Hammer and in the same year he appeared on Steve Kuhn’s superb Trance album. He went on to appear on more essential ECM recordings including Kenny Wheeler’s Gnu High (1975), Gary Peacock’s Tales of Another (1977) and George Adams’ Sound Suggestions (1979). But it was with the Pat Metheny album 80/81 that he joined the jazz superstar ranks with a 2LP live double set released in 1980 and featuring Metheny’s handpicked quartet with Michael Brecker or Dewey Redman on tenor saxes, Charlie Haden on bass and, of course, Metheny on guitars. We’ve chosen the lengthy Two Folk Songs (1st) which includes Metheny’s characteristic strumming, Brecker’s edgy and imaginative tenor solo and DeJohnette’s furious drumming.
DeJohnette established his Special Edition group in 1980 and this first incarnation is possibly the best. It features David Murray and Arthur Blythe on saxes and more and along with Slip Murray on bass and DeJohnette on drums, but also melodica and piano. There are two fantastic versions of Coltrane tunes – Central Park West and India – along with three compositions by DeJohnette. We’ve chosen Zoot Suite which has a great 4/4 bass groove with quirky accents and solos from Blythe on alto and Murray on tenor, along with DeJohnette on melodica. The tune ends with some characteristically powerful drumming from the leader. This is Neil’s favourite Special Edition record and it’s worth finding a copy on vinyl or CD if you don’t know it. It was reissued on CD via ECM’s Touchstones series in 2008 and Neil recently picked up a near mint vinyl copy in the excellent 
Of all DeJohnette’s collaborations with other musicians (and there are many) perhaps the most celebrated and enduring was that with the Keith Jarrett Standards Trio. The association began with the first Standards album in 1983 and continued the trio was disbanded in 2014. Along with bassist Gary Peacock, Jarrett on piano and DeJohnette on drums, the trio have released over 30 albums including some 20 live recordings. By 2000, the musical communication between these three performers had become nothing short of telepathic, and their group improvisations frequently take on a complexity that sounds almost composed. The Trio undertook frequent world tours of recital halls and was one of the few truly successful jazz groups to play both straight-ahead and freely improvised jazz. Derek has already featured one of our favourite tunes from this extended repertoire – the remarkable take on Autumn Leaves from the complete Live at the Blue Note box set (1995) – and we’ve chosen two very different tunes to end this DeJohnette tribute. First up is one of Neil’s favourites – an album he bought on vinyl on its release in 1983 – it’s the extended take on God Bless the Child from that very first Standards album. 
Now this one is very much not a standard. The Jarrett Trio occasionally strayed into free improvisation but only two albums focus on this approach – Changeless (1989) and Inside Out (2001). Both capture the trio departing from its regular format to improvise freely without the framework of the American popular songbook or bop standards – and the result on both albums is spell-binding. The authors of The Penguin Guide to Jazz wrote that Changeless contains original material which is deeply subversive (though also respectfully aware) of the whole tradition of jazz as a system of improvisation on ‘the changes’… On Changeless, there are no chord progressions at all; the trio improvises each section in a single key, somewhat in the manner of an Indian raga. The results are impressive and thought-provoking, like everything Jarrett has attempted.
We began with one of the architects of bebop, the jazz movement that first marked the start of modern jazz. Charlie Parker was the alto saxophonist who broke the mould and took jazz forward and out of the dominant swing era. ‘Bird,’ as he was known, was an intuitive player who who based his improvisations not on the melody but rather a tune’s key chords. An early reliance on heroin and alcohol resulted in a mental breakdown and six months of confinement at the Camarillo State Hospital. Released in January 1947, Parker soon headed back to New York and engaged in some of the most rewarding playing of his career leading a group which featured Miles Davis and Max Roach. Relaxin’ at Camarillo itself was recorded in February 1947 with Howard McGhee on trumpet, Dodo Marmaroso on piano, Wardell Gray on tenor sax, Barney Kessell on guitar, Red Callander on bass and Don Lamond on drums. Parker’s importance? Simply that if he’d not existed, jazz would be very different.
Next up is one of the most popular pianists of the 1950-60s, Errol Garner, with a live take on Duke Ellington’s classic tune Caravan. This comes from a celebrated album with a celebrated cover – Concert By the Sea from 1955. Erroll Garner was another intuitive musician – unable to read music but a brilliant virtuoso with a unique sound. Like Oscar Peterson, he demonstrated that you can be both popular and sophisticated and it’s his free-form introductions, the stunning runs and – yes – his grunting while playing with a huge smile across his face that were all part of the Errol Garner magic. There’s a complete 
Yes – truly a genius of modern music, pianist Thelonious Monk once said that The piano ain’t got no wrong notes – and then set out to demonstrate that jazz truth. This early album (his first for Blue Note from 1951) is bursting with classic Monk tunes – Round About Midnight, Ruby My Dear, Epistrophy, Misterioso and Well You Needn’t. Of course, it’s an essential record for your collection – and you can get it in a great Blue Note Classics release from 2024. It demonstrates that – right from the off – Monk’s angular twists and turns on the keyboard along with unexpected changes of key and that percussive attack would shape all his future compositions. We’d recommend some of his Columbia collections from the 1960s too – like Solo Monk (1964), Straight, No Chaser (1965) and Underground (1968) – all three are great listening. And we haven’t yet said anything about Monk as a jazz fashion icon – just check out those suits, hats and sunglasses…
The title was long thought to be a reference to the Chicago Transit Authority, but composer Jimmy Heath is recorded as saying that it was simply the initials of a former girlfriend. Whatever, this tune has almost become a jazz standard with recordings by Miles Davis, Lee Morgan and Chick Corea – 
Tubby Hayes was the crown prince of British tenor sax players in the 1960s and remains a massively underrated jazz musician who was as good as any tenor player of the day. An early death at the age of 38 cut short his recording career but there’s still a good body of work to check out. Unusually, Neil recommends starting with the later albums and working backwards. If your budget can stretch to it, then an admittedly expensive starting point is the Complete Fontana Albums box set – eleven of ‘Tubbs’ best records including two of Neil’s favourites, Down in the Village and Mexican Green. The tune Down in the Village was later recorded in an excellent jazz dance version by Japanese favourites Quasimode – 
We’re back to 1957 for this unusual Miles Davis version of a Jackie McLean tune, which originally featured on McLean’s debut album from 1955. You can only find it on the 2CD Legacy version of this album – but it’s easy to track down an inexpensive copy 
Charles Lloyd was one of the most popular jazz musicians on the American west coast scene in the 1960s and this tune comes from his first album for Atlantic, recorded in 1966. It includes the ambitious reworking of Autumn Leaves into a sequence bookended by two Lloyd compositions, Autumn Prelude and Autumn Echo. Here Lloyd has a stellar band – Keith Jarrett on piano, Cecil McBee on bass and Jack DeJohnette on drums. Dream Weaver was followed in 1967 by Forest Flower: Live at Monterey, a wildly successful album that became one of the first million-sellers in jazz and catapulted Lloyd to international fame. Neil s a long-time Lloyd fan and has almost all of records on either vinyl or CD, including all those late iconic ECM releases. Now recording again with Blue Note, Lloyd is just released his latest album – Figure in Blue, a tribute to Duke Ellington. You can hear Defiant, Tender Warrior on the Blue Note website 
And now onto those promised remixes. Bird Up is a 2003 album of Parker remixes and – as is often the way with these things – something of a mixed bag. It’s unlikely to feature in any future Penguin Jazz Guide but this take on Relaxin’ at Camarillo is a great twist on the original – probably because it features the great M’Shell Ndegeocello on bass, along with programming by Chris Dave (sometime drummer for Robert Glasper) and Hammond B3 from Ray Angry (most recently on a great project called Plumb with David Murray). Relaxin’ (thinks Neil) is the standout tune on this Hal Winer project but elsewhere Hubert Laws, Ravi Coltrane and Dr. John are can be found contributing to these radical reinterpretations. Ndegeocello was born in West Berlin but raised in Washington DC and played in the city’s go-go bands in the late 1980s before diversifying into a wide range of different genres. Now on Blue Note, her last two albums (The Omnichord Real Book and No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin) are well worth exploring. Apparently, her surname means free like a bird in Swahili…
The Blue Note Revisited project from 2004 is a rather more successful take on the jazz remix album. It has a host of big names hard at work trying to update the jazz experience for Generation Y (and everyone else) – LA Funk Mob, Kenny Dope, DJ Spinna, Jazzanova and 4 Hero to name just a few of those involved. As a result, it works – with Japanese remix royalty Kyoto Jazz Massive’s treatment of Kudu being a notable success. Brothers Shuya and Yoshihiro Okino, both DJs and remixers in Kyoto, have a good track record in reworking this kind of material: their 2021 album Message From a New Dawn included the excellent 
We were saddened to hear of the death in August of Latin piano supremo Eddie Palmieri, a musician who exemplified a progressive approach to the Latin genre but whose exploration was always firmly rooted in its tradition. Massively influned by jazz, it was trombonist Barry Rogers who would introduce Palmieri to the work of the then Coltrane pianist McCoy Tyner whose use of block chords became a signature of Palmieri’s own sound. He experimented by employing a jazz aesthetic both in live performance and on his recordings, based on the Cuban descarga (or jam session) concept. Arrangements were opened up with band members as soloists and Palmieri began incorporating a newly developed post-Castro revolution Cuban rhythm known as mozambique. Palmieri went on to create two versions of his hugely influential band La Perfecta, recording the classic Vamonos Pa’l Monte in 1971 – one of Neil’s favourites. In 2005, Palmieri teamed up with longtime trumpeter and band member Brian Lynch to record Simpático. The album has an all star lineup including Phil Woods, Lila Downs, Donald Harrison, Conrad Herwig, Robby Ameen and more. In 2007 it won a Grammy as the best Latin Jazz recording.
We’re starting off with Charles Lloyd and 
Up next is a new album from Edition Records – one of many from this UK label that we featured over the year. Finnish pianist Alex Tuomarila released the ambitious Departing the Wasteland from which we chose 
Brazilian guitarist Fabiano do Nascimento and L.A. soprano saxophonist Sam Gendel collaborated on a genuinely charming duo album just called The Room, where they seem to just coil themselves around seeming to just coil themselves beautiful melodies. There’s no effects, no percussion and no grandstanding – just two musicians weaving magic in a way that recalls the work of Brazilian guitarist Baden Powell and – to a lesser extent – the deftness of Stan Getz. Gendel is on the soprano horn throughout and so the music has a lightness of touch that perfectly complements Nascimento’s seven string guitar. Try 
Cloudward is the latest release from from guitarist Mary Halvorson and her Amaryllis Sextet. Derek saw the group live in Amsterdam where they performed music from this great new record. On the tune 
We loved Still Blunted, the new album from Hungary’s Jazzbois – just check out 
Their last album Where I’m Meant To Be really delivered – and then Ezra Collective went on to be the first (and perhaps only) jazz act to win the 2023 Mercury Music Prize. Right from the beginning, we’ve promoted them as fine examples of the new wave of British jazz, with its all-inclusive approach to influences from hip hop, drum and bass, broken beat, afrobeat and grime and the resulting album was by far the best thing they’d done – until now. In addition to Yazmin Lacey, the new LP titled Dance, No One is Watching also features collaborations with Olivia Dean, M.anifest, and Moonchild Sanelly. 
Laíz is a new star in the making. Born in the 
Yellowtail feat. Mark Murphy and Seasons In My Mind (Emanative rework feat. Jessica Lauren) is from the EP Seasons in My Mind (Remixes) comes from Milan’s Right Tempo label and is a delight from start to finish. A version of this tune first appeared on the label’s compilation album The Congregation – Jazz Alliance International with Mark Murphy on vocals in an ‘unreleased’ Patchworks remix. Thankfully this version of the tune is also included along with six others in a limited edition 12in EP that emerged a few months ago. It’s on Bandcamp 
Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace was the 2024 release from Shabaka (now first name only). Shabaka Hutching has been associated with the tenor saxophone since his earliest days in jazz but a surprise announcement in 2023 revealed that he would be taking an indefinite hiatus from the tenor and focus on a range of different flutes. The reason for this volte face was explored in an excellent 
We’ve always loved Vijay Iyer‘s trio records. whether on the ACT or ECM labels – and his 2024 album Compassion didn’t disappoint. He’s often chosen to tackle tunes from outside the jazz genre and this time he has a go at Stevie Wonder’s 
There’s always been great jazz music from Japan and you can find some of the best of this on the excellent J Jazz anthologies from BBE Records, which we’ve consistently promoted since the arrival of Volume 1 in 2018. These compilations are all due to the crate digging of Tony Higgins along with his vinyl companion Mike Peden. We’re now on J Jazz Volume 4, but this Aki Takase tune featured on the previous collection. This year it was time for a re-release of the complete1981 Song for Hope album from pianist Aki Takase – and we chose the superb title tune 
French guitarist Franck Balloffet and Southern California-bred keyboardist-percussionist Phil Bunch are the fusion duo Tea. Their third release Grand Cru from 2018 had several influences including jazz and soul and featured ‘the godfather of Acid Jazz’ Brian Auger on Hammond B3. After producing Auger’s solo album Language of the Heart, Tea continued the collaboration with Grand Cru but really nothing there comes close to 
We stay in the realms of the becalmed and the beautiful with alto and soprano saxophonist Frank Morgan. The tune Lullaby is warm and tender and brings a fitting closure to the album A Lovesome Thing. The tune was written by and features pianist George Cables, a name always worth looking out for and the album – released in 1991 – included guest appearances from Roy Hargrove and Abbey Lincoln (although not on this track). Frank Morgan was born in Minneapolis in 1933 and was inspired by hearing and meeting Charlie Parker. He spent from 1947-1955 in Los Angeles, but from 1955-1985 was in and out of prison, returning to performing and recording in 1985 until his death in 2007. In September 1986 he played at the Monterey Jazz Festival and in December of that year made his first New York appearance at the Village Vanguard. After his death, the author Michael Connelly produced a film Sound of Redemption: The Frank Morgan Story, see 
In the last programme Neil played a new recording of the tune The Mystery of Man by Zara McFarlane. In this show we go back to the original recording by Sarah Vaughan. Quite an orchestral and religious sounding piece it is too, but mixed with a touch of Hollywood and with a dramatic ending – but don’t let this put you off! The religious element is no surprise as it comes from an album where Gene Lees, a Canadian music critic, biographer, lyricist and journalist was commissioned to translate the philosophical poems of Pope John II and set them to music. Sarah Vaughan sang with the backing of a large orchestra and chorus conducted by the great Lalo Schifrin. The reviews of the record were not altogether positive but this tune is a standout.
We move into the avant-garde phase of the show. There is also a link to the previous Cosmic Jazz show because this recording is on Blue Note Records and was considered for inclusion for out previous label special. The Blue Note albums of Ambrose Akinmusire probably qualified among the longest of album and track titles as exemplified by this tune and the 2020 album it comes from. Perhaps this reflects the complexity of the music. It is certainly, deep, intense and at times heavy music. Akinmusire’s trumpet dominates throughout with a clarion clarity that arrests you into a motionless, contemplative sense of peace and calm and something beautiful. Yet somehow, this is combined with a sense of something powerful and even challenging. The whole record evokes these emotions, a recording of beauty a recording of the deepest intelligence.
We enter the next phase of the programme which takes us across some musical boundaries but with jazz musicians and a jazz sensibility at the heart of things. Derek has only recently found this tune Space Odyssey by The Detroit Experiment and heard it first played as a wedding ceremony was due to begin; it was a good choice for such an occasion. The Detroit Experiment, not surprisingly, featured artists from that city, artists with a range of musical experiences but all had underlying feel for and love of jazz; some were jazz musicians. The original release date was 2003 and this is a version of the 1974 tune Space Odyssey by trumpeter Marcus Belgrave, who plays on and is featured in this version. The record was put together by record producer and DJ Carl Craig, and among the artists who made an appearance on the Detroit Experiment album were Regina Carter, Bennie Maupin, Francisco Mora Catlett, Geri Allen and Amp Fiddler.
Derek is sure he is not alone in having the experience where you hear a tune, you recognise it, like it and even hum along but do not know what it is or where it comes from. This was his experience recently when delving through his shelves and playing One Day from British band Two Banks of Four. The music is very much in the realms of early 21st Century UK urban, jazzy, electronic club culture. Two Banks of Four, taking its name from a football team formation of the time, came from two producers Robert Gallagher a.k.a. Earl Zinger and Dilip Harris a.k.a. Demus and they drew upon a fluid group of musicians, ranging on the album Three Street Worlds from which this track is taken from solo bass on one track to one with a total of nine musicians. One Day features seven with the bass of Andy Hamill featuring prominently, a lead from sax player Chris Bowden towards the end and vocals from Valerie Etienne.
The final section of the show gets decidedly funkier and more up-tempo. The Brecker Brothers were the late Michael Brecker on saxophone and trumpet player Randy Brecker. They were born in Philadelphia but moved to New York where they became distinguished jazz musicians, with Michael seen as an important figure in developing the legacy of John Coltrane, Randy became part of the Horace Silver Quartet and both joined up with Billy Cobham and did session work. Each has made important contributions to jazz but from 1974 to 1982 they ran the Brecker Brothers band – a mix of jazz and sophisticated funk. Sneaking Up Behind You, the first single release from the band, was a dancefloor favourite and even a top 40 hit in the UK. It is brass heavy, not only from the Breckers, but also with the inclusion of the late sax player David Sanborn who is co-credited as one of the composers of the tune. He died on 12 May, 2014.
The programme ends with a bang – well a tune called Bang Bang – to add to our celebration of the work from alto saxophonist David Sanborn. This is the 1992 Mardi Gras Dance 12” mix produced by bass player Marcus Miller, with whom David Sanborn worked extensively. Sanborn included the tune on his 1992 album Upfront but the number was written by Latin artists Jaime Sabater and Joe Cuba and released by the Joe Cuba Sextet in 1966. This illustrates how David Sanborn worked across musical boundaries and this included 1960s/70s rhythm and blues and sessions for, and touring with, pop artists. Sanborn was one of the more commercially successful jazz artists but was (wrongly) accused of promoting dull, unchallenging smooth jazz. In fact, Sanborn was one of the most distinctive alto sax players of the last fifty years and was equally at home in free jazz settings as the more commercial end of the jazz spectrum. Indeed, he studied free jazz in his youth with Julian Hemphill and Roscoe Mitchell and collaborated, with among others, Bobby Hutcherson, Charlie Haden and Jack DeJohnette. This is a joyful way to end the show and to remember this great alto saxophonist.
We like to acknowledge what is going on around us in relation to the jazz world and so it was to our sheer delight that BBC Radio 3’s five hour-long episodes of Composer of the Week – almost universally the reserve of classical composers – was devoted to the work of John and Alice Coltrane. Presented by Kate Molleson, a specialist in new classical music and with contributions from Kevin Le Gendre, the jazz broadcaster and writer, this is something to search for on BBC Sounds – 
So this one is a kind of backhand tribute to 
This new record came out just last week and in time to reflect Nikki Iles’ appearance at the last night of the London Jazz Festival with the celebrated NDR Bigband. Reviews of the show emphasise the sheer excitement of this concert – a testament to both the quality of Iles’ writing and the musicianship of the Bigband. Soloists included Percy Pursglove, Ingolf Burkhardt and Claus Stötter on trumpets and Fiete Felsch and Frank Dell on saxes, with dynamic, exuberant solos from guitarist Phil Robson added into the mix. The new album Face to Face is very much recommended here on CJ.
Neil can personally vouch for the validity of the rave reviews for McCraven’s appearance at the LJF – what a performance from the ‘beat scientist’ and his Chicago-based band! Along with the London Contemporary Orchestra conducted by Robert Ames, McCraven was joined on stage by his current core Chicago band – a quintet with Joel Ross on vibes, guitarist Matt Gold, electric bass player Julius Paul (wearing an on-stage outfit that made him look like a jazz version of Bootsy Collins!) and trumpeter Marquis Hill. As Chris May’s All About Jazz review noted, each was outstanding: Hill soulful and sonorous, Gold raw and off kilter, Ross mercurial and emphatic, like Cecil Taylor with sticks, McCraven colossal, a Buddy Rich for our age (in the best way). Each selection from the album was transformed into a charged up, intense performance that saw McCraven delivering some powerhouse drumming. Neither flute nor harp featured as on the record – instead the LCO string ensemble created a beautiful counterpoint to the quintet. When interviewed by All About Jazz, McCraven said This is a record of my compositions that feature odd time signatures and different types of rhythms. At the crux of my concept since I started writing and playing drums is that I like to play complex rhythms. In these times—it’s in the title. To hear more current McCraven and music from In These Times, check out 
Also at the LJF this year, saxophone master Charles Lloyd is one of CJ’s perennial favourites. His distinctive tone on tenor is what drives this reflective take on Julie Styne and Sammy Cahn’s enduring American standard. Many listeners will be familiar with some of the more famous takes – in both vocal and instrumental versions. How about those by 
Japanese born, now US resident Grammy-winning pianist and composer Hiromi has built up a substantial reputation both in Japan and internationally since her 2003 debut album Another Mind. Desert On the Moon comes that debut’s follow up and the energy, dexterity and fluidity of her playing is readily apparent on this beautiful and refreshing number. What the music illustrates – as indeed does all of her work – is a willingness to experiment and cross the boundaries from jazz to pop to classical. She is quoted as saying I don’t want to put a name on my music. Other people can put a name on what I do. It’s just the union of what I’ve been listening to and what I’ve been learning. There is a creative and not always predictable energy about her work which recently saw her perform at the London Jazz Festival with both a new piano quintet and her regular group Sonicwonder whose new album can be found 
It is not always possible in the time available, but we try to play more than one tune from a new album that we select. Radio selections often play a one-off choice, frequently of one of the outstanding tunes of an album. Many of us have been caught out through being induced to pay money for an album from the lure of a single audio-friendly track. This is one reason why pianist Harold Lopez-Nussa appears for a second time on the show – but, additionally, we simply love the music. Afro En Toulouse acknowledges that in the last year, along with his drummer brother Ruy, Lopez-Nussa moved from Cuba to Toulouse in South-West France. Prominent on this tune is Barbaro (Machito) Crespo on congas, bata and vocals, maintaining those sonic links with Cuba, but Lopez-Nussa notes that this new Blue Note album Timba a la Americana is very different to his previous records, admitting that for the first time I play electronic sounds without any shame. Of course, here at CJ, we fully acknowledge and celebrate the presence of electronics in jazz.
Exactly the same reasons as above apply to the selection of further tune from another Blue Note debutant, drummer Jonathan Blake. This time, our choice is the title track from his album Passage. It’s dedicated to the memory of his father, jazz violinist John Blake Jr. who was the composer of this title tune. Not surprisingly, the number is played with emotion, passion and great virtuosity by top-notch musicians. These include another outstanding Cuban pianist David Virelles, prominent in Passage from the opening bars, but much of the tone and feeling is set by the alto saxophone playing of Immanuel Wilkins, definitely one of the young jazz players of the moment. Other members of the quintet are the much-lauded vibraphonist Joel Ross (qv. Makaya McCraven above) and bass player and composer Dezron Douglas. This is definitely an album with a contemporary New York feeling and sound.
Hammond guru Brian Auger is going through something of a renaissance at the moment. Two new box sets (both on vinyl and compact disc) have being going down a treat with listeners and probably the best of these Oblivion Express records is 1973 Closer To It! album. Happiness Is Just Around the Bend is Augur’s own composition and is a really strong vocal debut for Augur himself. The second side of this album features covers of jazz classic Compared to What and a surprisingly good take on Marvin Gaye’s Inner City Blues. The whole album is highly recommended – you’ll be able to track down a copy on 
Something of a crate digger’s favourite back in the day, an original copy of the Sabu Martinez album Afro Temple album used to change hands for up to $3000. Neil has had a reissue for decades but our choice is an edit from the New York DJ Danny Krivit – a DJ with a very interesting background. As he recounts in 
What are we doing playing this tune on Cosmic Jazz you may ask? There are several answers. It links with our previous show where we had Alphonse Mouzon playing drums for McCoy Tyner, no less. It also takes us back to a tradition on the show whereby we end the programme with a tune that stretches the musical boundaries. There is also the not so inconsequential issue of the personnel on the record: Herbie Hancock on piano and Michael Brecker on sax – and his little early sax break is worth more than a cursory listen. Mouzon played with several distinguished jazz artists, although he ventured into the pop and disco world. Certain sections of the jazz listening public, often comfortably off themselves, have been quick to criticise such moves by jazz artists yet they ignore the difficulties any musician has to earn a living – especially in this current era of paltry download revenues. Jazz artists have more difficulties than most and so we should respect their right to a living. Enjoy the record – we love it. More from Cosmic Jazz soon.
There’s a funky theme to my ten choices this time. We begin with neglected Blue Note trumpeter Eddie Gale on Black Rhythm Happening before searching out UK premier remixers Bugz in the Attic who give 4Hero’s Hold It Down more than a little re-rub. Next is that hypnotic bassline from Abe Laboriel on Herb Alpert’s second disco hit Rise followed by more Brian Auger and his Oblivion Express with another track from that great record Closer To It! That sly funk masterpiece Cucumber Slumber from Weather Report, featuring the great Alphonso Johnson on bass, comes next. Derek reminded me that Marvin Gaye’s classic Let’s Get It On celebrates a 50th anniversary this year as does the O Jay’s magnificent slavery-themed album Ship Ahoy which contains the oft-covered For The Love of Money. Next was Flora’s Song (piano by Chick Corea), one of the stand out tracks from Airto’s superb CTI album Free which seemed to complement the funky Ohlos Coloridos from Brazilian singer Sandra de Sá before ending with more bass from Bobby Hutcherson’s San Francisco album and the evocative Ummh. If the spirit moves ya…
The Grammy Award-winning big band of Maria Schneider has produced several superb records in recent years, all emerging exclusively on the ArtistShare label, and this year’s 2CD Data Lords is another master work. Schneider started out as an assistant to noted arranger Gil Evans – and it shows. Her music has a similar depth of arrangement and an intensity that is all her own. Her long-standing opposition to big data companies and digital streaming has been well documented in articles, interviews, and congressional testimony and, since 2003, she has relied on the original crowdfunding label ArtistShare to finance her 18-piece orchestra recordings. Data Lords is the fifth of these. The first record offers warnings of the power and influence of the digital world through track titles like Don’t Be Evil (a reference to Google’s original motto) while the second record is in sharp contrast and features more of the harmonic depth of previous Schneider releases. Sanzen is named after a Japanese Buddhist temple and Look Up includes the beautiful piano of the late Frank Kimbrough who died suddenly earlier this month. Check out this Jazziz magazine 
We like to think that female jazz musicians are an essential and integral part of the jazz scene, and tdraw attention to them is to highlight the exception that in sad reality it so often is. But for this Best of 2020 fix it is interesting to note that five of our ten are groups of/led by women. It’s a really encouraging trend and one we shall see more of in 2021. Second up on Derek’s turntable is a female-led quintet, again from that jazz powerhouse that is Poland. We have marvelled before at the amount of excellent new music that emerges from this east European country but it’s really a reflection of a long jazz tradition. The O.N.E. Quintet are a group of young musicians with a debut album called – unsurprisingly – One. There are seven tunes on this release: three by sax player Monica Muc, two by pianist Paulina Almanska, one traditional tune and one composition by Krzysztof Komeda – one of the founding fathers of jazz in Poland. The quintet includes violinist Dominika Rusinowski, who is prominent on the up-tempo number Drozina. So often, Polish jazz appears to attract a melancholy tag – in much the same way as music on the German label ECM. But this is very much not the case with O.N.E Quintet – the sounds are warm and embracing, but there is still the opportunity for soloists to take off. Checkout, for example, sax player Monica Muc here on 
