April round-up

Young jazz players often struggle to impose an identity on their music. Not so Matt Carmichael, the 21 year-old Scots tenorist whose debut album Where Will

The River Flow immediately establishes him as an appealing and distinctive new voice in a crowded scene. The BBC Young

Jazz Musician finalist can write too: the nine tunes here have a strong Celtic connection as well as a Scandinavian feel in places that contribute to the quartet’s bracing sound. ‘Firth’ surges gloriously and romantically along on Fergus Mccreadie’s rippling piano riff, while there are enjoyably dangerous rapids for pianist and leader to navigate in ‘The Spey’, for example. Like Charles Lloyd and Abdullah Ibrahim, Carmichael’s got the gift of uplift in his music. (Porthole

Music PM 01) ★★★★★

For his 2018 nu-jazz album Collagically Speaking, US pianist Robert Glasper set out to dismantle the boundaries between jazz improv, funk, hip-hop and electronic music with a live studio jam. Dubbing the band R+R=NOW, he called in Christian Scott atunde Adjuah on trumpet, Derrick Hodge on bass, plus synth wizard and producer Taylor Mcferrin, among others: the spontaneous set was groundbreaking. But that wasn’t the end of it, because after the session the band took up residency in New York’s Blue Note Club and recorded the material for this new release R+R=NOW Live. It’s no re-run however, and the presence of an audience and maybe the club’s ghosts seems to have stimulated the musicians’ bebop instincts. I’m sure I heard Glasper channelling Bud Powell more than once. (Blue Note 3546164) ★★★★

Like R+R=NOW, the UK’S Solstice is a collective of leaders/composers that are established in their own right. But Food For Thought, the sextet’s second album, is an altogether more organic offering. Fronted by the swooping, dulcet vocals of Brigitte Beraha, the band’s busy contemporary jazz music is flavoured with prog rock, folk and world music. It’s never too filling however, thanks to the spacious arrangements made for the contrasting original tunes. Saxophonist Tori Freestone’s appetiser ‘Hermetica’ is a happy-golucky delight with Beraha sharing the top line with the composer’s flute. Bassist Dave Mannington’s ‘Quetzelcoatlus’ is a rocky, tricksy tune given wings by keys player John Turville, guitarist Jez Franks and drummer George Hart. (Ubuntu UBU0061) ★★★★

Pianist Yoko Miwa’s new album Songs of Joy does what it says on the cover. Five of Miwa’s snappy, original pieces were written during lockdown to engender positivity – and the rest of her programme fits with that mission statement. The result is 70 minutes worth of turbocharged tunesmithing from her trio that warms the jazz cockles. Miwa swings Duke Jordan’s ‘No Problem’ like crazy, while staying firmly on the rails. As a contrast, the wonky character of Monk’s ‘Inside A Dream’ is retained, but without losing the tinkly party atmosphere. Miwa’s cut-glass technique shines through on her own piece, ‘The Rainbirds’, and put me in mind of that other eternal optimist, Ahmad Jamal. (Ubuntu UBU0057) ★★★★

Last but not least, London-based drummer Marek is fanning the hard bop flame with his debut as leader/composer, About Time. The sinuous unison passages from tenorist George Crowley and trumpeter Miguel Gorodi on the title track and ‘Initial Suspension’ are glorious. (SF 01242531) ★★★★