"But his powerful big band's 2025 release, A Year in the Life, unveiled how exultantly Smith's writing mingles orchestral influences from Maria Schneider and Carla Bley with slamming groovers from the big-band swing era, and a deep grasp of bebop chordal acrobatics, with raw and metallic guitar interventions thrown in."
"Arboresque is the Artemis collective's third and best release for the Blue Note label, evolved from an ensemble formed for International Women's Day in 2016 by the acclaimed Canadian pianist and composer Renee Rosnes. All five members compose; standouts include saxist Nicole Glover's ethereal Petrichor for its theme and her tenor improv, and trumpeter Ingrid Jensen's snappy Sights Unseen with its vivacious post-bop dialogue with Rosnes."
"Danish guitarist Jakob Bro is an undisguised admirer of Bill Frisell, but also of the unique melodic imagination of legendary Birth of the Cool alto saxophonist Lee Konitz. In 2014, ECM recorded this mini-masterpiece with Bro, an 86-year-old Konitz, and an avant-jazz supergroup of Frisell, pianist Jason Moran, bassist Thomas Morgan and former Cecil Taylor drummer Andrew Cyrille and then unaccountably sat on it. This belated release reveals softly chiming harmonies and songlike waltzes for the inimitable Konitz to gleam and breathe through, alongside Cyril"
Tom Smith progressed from BBC Young Jazz Musician of the Year finalist in 2014 and 2016 to leading groups such as the sax trio Gecko and the LGBTQI+ ensemble Queertet. His 2025 big-band album A Year in the Life mixes orchestral influences from Maria Schneider and Carla Bley with big-band swing groovers, bebop harmonic complexity, and raw metallic guitar textures. Arboresque, by Renee Rosnes's Artemis collective, is the group's third Blue Note release; all five members contribute compositions, with highlights from Nicole Glover and Ingrid Jensen and evocative Rosnes arrangements. Jakob Bro's Taking Turns features Lee Konitz and softly chiming harmonies with an avant-jazz lineup.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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