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19 articles

Darren Arthurs

I've been reviewing various styles of music for years now, but I always gravitate towards jazz releases. I enjoy writing about the music and promoting those musicians that have something to add to the genre. I want to hear something new, something that excites me and makes me sit up and wonder how something was created. I organise a monthly jazz night in a small market town in Wiltshire, I've been running this for five years now and the bands get better and the audience gets larger each month which proves that jazz is still something that people want to listen to. I also play double bass in a quintet where the music allows me to think on my feet and play whatever comes into my mind at the time. I'm yet to play the same solo twice!

El Comite: Carrousel

Latin rhythm and instrumentation underpin tunes with modern-jazz structure and harmony played by Ibrahim Maalouf, Harold Lopez-Nussa et al

Steven Nichols: From Dust

Trumpeter Nichols leads tenor saxophone, piano, bass and drums in what often sounds like an update on early 60s Miles and Blue Note

The Beat Freaks and Ralph Alessi: Mechanics Of Nature

The American trumpeter meets a Polish quartet for a set of inchoate angularity that seems to revel in seeking its feet

The Other Way: Learning To Be

Bristol-based trumpet, vocals, keyboard, bass and drums mix jazz, funk, folk and world in a way that ought to be captivating on stage
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Seventh Sun: Seventh Sun

High-energy debut from US alto saxophonist improbably mentored by Wynton Marsalis updates bebop, Jaco Pastorius and Whitney Houston

Louise Van Den Heuvel: Sonic Hug

Dutch bassist and singer leads woodwinds, piano and drums in a melancholy set mixing modal improvisation and minimalist grooves

The Jazz Defenders: Memory In Motion

Energetic Bristol quintet updates the hard-bop tradition, smoothly blending soul and hip-hop with straightahead jazz