Simon Adams, Author at Jazz Journal

Reviewed: Sam Coombes | Anouar Brahem | Mark Turner | AuB | Butcher Brown

Simon Adams — Sun, 06 Apr 2025 11:37:49 +0000

Sam Coombes: Time Of Life (33Jazz Records) Saxophonist Sam Coombes returns with his fifth album, a quartet set recorded in Paris in July 2024. It marks his return to tenor and soprano saxes after two albums focusing almost entirely on the alto sax; all the tunes are his bar one standard. As before, Time Of […]

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Reviewed: Joe Fonda Quartet | Don Cherry & Okay Temiz | Andrew Hill Sextet Plus 10 | Roy Ayers | Dan Blacksberg | Dave Manington’s Riff Raff

Simon Adams — Sun, 23 Mar 2025 09:47:24 +0000

Joe Fonda Quartet: Eyes On The Horizon (Long Song Records LSRCD163/2024) Bassist Joe Fonda might lead this set and wrote its seven pieces, but all ears will be directed toward his featured guest, trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith. For this recording is dedicated by Fonda to Smith as a gift from a former student to his […]

Reviewed: McCoy Tyner & Joe Henderson | Annette Peacock | François Couturier, Dominic Pifarély | Duduka Da Fonseca Trio | David Ferris Septet | Phil Bancroft’s Beautiful Storm

Simon Adams — Fri, 07 Feb 2025 11:59:34 +0000

McCoy Tyner & Joe Henderson: Forces Of Nature – Live At Slugs (Blue Note) On tour after his departure from John Coltrane’s classic quartet at the end of 1965, McCoy Tyner played a set at Slugs’ Saloon in New York City in April 1966 alongside tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, bassist Henry Grimes and drummer Jack […]

Reviewed: Sun Ra | Cecilie Grundt | Nordsnø Ensemble featuring Kit Downes | Brandon Sanders | Chris Greene

Simon Adams — Sat, 11 Jan 2025 11:32:35 +0000

Sun Ra: Berkeley Lecture, 1971 (Corbett vs. Dempsey CvsDCD113) In 1971 Sun Ra was appointed lecturer in the newly created Department of Afro-American Studies at the University of California in Berkeley. His course was entitled The Black Man In The Cosmos, its syllabus including The Egyptian Book Of The Dead, Ben-Jochannan’s Black Man Of The […]

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Reviewed: Paul Dunmall | Xhosa Cole | Mark Kavuma & The Banger Factory | Playtime | Martin Küchen & Mathias Landæus | Lina Nyberg

Simon Adams — Tue, 10 Dec 2024 14:39:15 +0000

Paul Dunmall: Red Hot Ice (Discus 186CD) The Dunmall renaissance continues with this fine nine-strong romp, recently recorded in Birmingham. Dunmall leads, of course, on tenor and soprano saxes, supported by, in particular, Percy Pursglove on trumpet, Andrew Woodhead on organ and synths, and an ever fluid James Owston on bass, but space is left […]

Reviewed: Alan Barnes, David Newton | Christian Sands | Tigran Hamasyan | Ivo Neame | Yonathan Avishai | Christine Xu

Simon Adams — Sat, 30 Nov 2024 18:23:59 +0000

Alan Barnes, David Newton: ’Tis Autumn (Woodville Records WVCD154) When I was a young jazz snob living and listening in London, I went to all the best clubs, encountered the most demanding of the avant-garde, heard all the visiting Americans, and thoroughly enjoyed Bracknell and other festivals. Home-grown jazz passed me by, unless it was […]

Reviewed: Laura Jurd & Paul Dunmall | Loz Speyer’s Inner Space | Lucian Ban & Mat Maneri | Trygve Seim & Frode Haltli | Joachim Cooder

Simon Adams — Thu, 03 Oct 2024 10:56:26 +0000

Laura Jurd & Paul Dunmall: Fanfares & Freedoms (Discus 181CD) Paul Dunmall is enjoying something of a renaissance at the moment, this adventurous live set coming close on the heels of the wondrous 2023 album Bright Light A Joyous Celebration (Discus 162CD), reviewed by me in JJ. The hook-up with Martin Archer and Discus Records […]

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Meshell Ndegeocello: No More Water – The Gospel of James Baldwin

Simon Adams — Wed, 25 Sep 2024 09:00:00 +0000

The American bassist and singer sets the work of writer and activist James Baldwin as spoken word, song and church service

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Nicole Mitchell & Ballaké Sissoko: Bamako*Chicago Sound System

Simon Adams — Tue, 24 Sep 2024 09:00:00 +0000

US flautist and Malian kora player find and extend the common ground between West African and North American vernacular music

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Trondheim Jazz Orchestra & Espen Berg: Maetrix: A Work For Eternity

Simon Adams — Thu, 19 Sep 2024 08:35:01 +0000

Norwegian big band plays original charts mixing pop, jazz, funk and orchestral flavours, sometimes reminding of Weather Report

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