New Music
Shack Records
Joyous jump-blues transports you back to the 50s
We’ve long been fans of Chris Corcoran’s evocative and edgy jumpblues playing and his latest doesn’t disappoint. Clearly a man with a great record collection, Corcoran’s influences range from Rick Holmstrom to Jimmy Reed, yet he’s developed a swinging, stinging playing style of his own that carries you back to the era of 1950s juke-joints and scruffy valve amps played to bursting point. Corcoran covers some great material on this deftly arranged album, which balances plush horns with a nimble rhythm section – and there’s so much taste and elegant playing to relish from Chris himself on tracks such as Jimmy Smith’s Back At The Chicken Shack
and The Dave Bailey Quintet’s jiving jazz number Comin’ Home Baby. It’s joyous stuff – get it, you won’t regret it. [JD]
Standout track: Comin’ Home Baby
For fans of: Kenny Burrell, Whit Smith, Wes Montgomery
DADGAD maestro’s latest six-string studio adventure
It’s impossible to mistake Pierre Bensusan’s guitar style for that of any other contemporary player. With his Lowden signature acoustic tuned permanently to DADGAD, he’s forged a unique style since his debut album, Près De Paris, won him the Grand Prix du Disque for Folk Music at the Montreux Festival in 1976 at the tender age of 17. Azwan (pronounced “as one”) celebrates unity and the connection of every living thing on our planet: “The concept of Azwan came from observing flocks of birds flying and dancing together as one,” he tells us. “It has been an inspiring symbolic representation of the continuum of music.” And he paints vivid pictures with intriguing compositions and impeccable performances throughout. [DM]
Standout track: Portnoo
For fans of: Thomas Leeb, Clive Carroll