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Extraordinary vocalist Jo Harrop launches the vinyl version of her fourth studio album, ‘The Path of a Tear’. To celebrate the release, Harrop brought her band to Pizza Express Jazz Club in Soho, introduced by JazzFM’s legendary presenter Nigel Williams. The sold-out gig was a pleasure for the audience, with Harrop’s brilliant combination of jazz and soul, with a band that is both uber-cool and super-funky. And this is a great band of UK jazz experts - Paul Edis (piano), Jihad darwish (bass), Darren Beckett (drums) and Harry Greene (guitar and sax). Each one made a significant contribution to the sound and worked together to make every song superb, particularly their collective improvised opening to Jo’s cover of Leonard Cohen’s Travelling Light. Famously recorded at The Village Studios in Los Angeles and produced by Larry Klein (yes, he who has worked with Joni Mitchell, Madeleine Peyroux and Herbie Hancock), The Path of a Tear was one of my favourite albums of 2024. The vinyl version adds a distinctive quality missing by clicking on downloads. Through the show, Harrop introduced the songs that have been brought to life on stage in recent months. She’s working on new music and there were hints of a new album which is set for release towards the end of the year. Harrop describes The Path of a Tear as the story of a journey through life’s ups and downs, with a versatility of dynamics and styles and perfect arrangements throughout the album and the live show. Harrop said: “Working with Larry Klein was a wonderful experience and it was great to record with those incredible musicians, and it’s been good to work on the songs even further with these UK musicians.” The gig ended with the utterly brilliant Whiskey or the Truth, co-written with Hannah V and an absolute belter of a tune. It’s hard to follow a song like that, but the encore of Goodbye was the perfect end to the show, as it is also the final track on The Path of a Tear.

There’s no easy way to describe the tracks on the latest album from Joshua Redman ‘where are we’ except as a collection of mash-ups. Redman takes songs about places that help form the geography of the United States and pairs them with well-known tunes, but this conceptual framework never stands in the way of great music. Redman’s first album on Blue Note Records is also his first with a vocalist. ‘where are we’ features Gabrielle Cavassa, with a highly collaborative band of Brian Blade (drums), Aaron Parks (piano) and Joe Sanders (bass) alongside guests Kurt Rosenwinkel and Peter Bernstein (guitars), Joel Ross (vibraphone), and Nicholas Payton (trumpet). Redman takes each song and rearranges it with hints of songs from folk and popular music to tour around the United States. The only song that moves away from that is the title track, which is something of an existential question that moves beyond the geographic. Where the music takes over and one can ignore the concept lies in tracks like the hypnotic By The Time I get To Phoenix. Explaining the idea of mixing different songs in his arrangements, Redman says: “The mashups were a secondary concept that first emerged while I was considering an arrangement of I Left My Heart in San Francisco, and then Monk’s San Francisco Holiday just sort of popped unannounced into my head.” In this first album as a Blue Note recording artist, the sax player explains why he chose to give the front of the stage to vocalist Gabrielle: “Doing a record with a vocalist was something I thought I’d probably get to eventually, but that ‘eventually’ was starting to sound like glorified procrastination or avoidance! Honestly, I think I was kind of torn. I’ve always had a sort of ‘rhythm section envy’ - wishing I could be more of an embedded participant in an underlying, supportive groove - but at the same time, I think in my primary role as a saxophonist in instrumental groups, I was used to being a lead voice, and I secretly didn’t want to relinquish all that melodic control! Maybe being locked down during the pandemic gave me time (too much time!) to think about all of this... I guess I decided I was ‘ready.’” You’ll be able to catch Redman and his band at the Barbican on 12 November as part of the London Jazz Festival. *** This review was originally posted on KindofJazz.com ***

The confident and polished Lizz Wright album ‘Shadow’ features collaborations in terms of the songwriting and performance, with guest appearances from Angelique Kidjo, Meshell Ndegeocello and Brandee Younger. If you’ve listened to this album once, please listen to it again - there’s so much depth to the compositions, to the performances and to the production. Opening track Sparrow features additional vocals from Angelique Kidjo before the second track - Your Love - bursts in with bass from Meshell Ndegeocello and Brandee Younger’s harp. This was the track that Wright rightly selected as the second single, following the October 2023 teaser Sweet Feeling. This album has a great selection of original tracks and covers, with a particularly beautiful rendition of the Cole Porter I Concentrate on You with a string quartet that combines perfectly with Wright’s vocals, electronic drums and acoustic guitar. There is a real class to Wright’s first album on her own label, Blues & Greens Records. She’s taking a step forward into the spotlight and taking control with each individual track on Shadow. Her label aims to position artists to build sustainable and wholesome careers, creating a healthy ecosystem for artists as it uplifts and places humanity at the heart of the music business. In the liner notes Wright explains why Shadow is dedicated to Mrs Martha Gray: “It finally came to be my turn to lose a defining love in my life, my grandmother Martha. Something about the way she loved me gave me the backbone to stand and sing in front of rooms of strangers all these years and never feel alone.” So, please do listen to Shadow again. You will thank me. *** This review was originally posted on KindofJazz.com ***

There’s depth and texture to the combination of genres on ‘Deep Space Adventure’, the latest album from guitarist and composer Veda Bartringer . Starting with the very brief Lift Off , the whole album refuses to sit in any genre box, but instead takes the listener through contemporary classical music, jazz and funk on this collection of tunes. The opening guitar of Search for Light  sets a mellow tone as the other musicians pick up the themes and groove. Joining Veda Bartringer (guitar) are Julien Cuvelier (sax), Boris Schmidt (bass) and Maxime Magotteaux (drums), all of them among Luxembourg’s finest and award-winning young musicians. The ensemble textures are fine at the start of No Edge in the Sky , the first track here to feature a solo from Bartringer herself. Up next is the more esoteric and expansive Avoid the Asteroid , with its rhythmic tricks and flowing melodic lines shared by sax and guitar. Deep Space Adventure  is a fascinating album, with tracks like IO’s Volcan  allowing Bartringer to show her excellence both as a guitarist and as a composer. By the time we come back Down to Earth , we are ending our journey through this album in another brief track that brings the musical cycle to a conclusion that is perhaps only leading us back to the start. A truly ambitious and effective collection of tracks that refuse to sit in any genre but allow our imaginations to take us wherever that inspiration leads us. Veda Bartringer presents ‘ Deep Space Adventure ’ on 19 April 2026

The second album from Camilla George allows the acclaimed British sax player to reflect social, political and cultural values within eight beautiful tunes. ‘The People Could Fly’ is based on a book of African stories created out of the sorrow of slavery. George says: “I see these stories as a celebration of the human spirit” and this is a fine collection, concluding with an arrangment of Curtis Mayfield’s Here But I’m Gone. She collaborates with a range of the coolest musicians Britain has to offer today – guitarist Shirley Tetteh, pianist Sarah Tandy, bassist Daniel Casimir and Winston Clifford and Femi Koleoso on drums. Vocals come from Cherise Adams-Burnett and Omar Lye-Fook and there’s a cameo performance from trumpeter Quentin Collins. The album begins with Adams-Burnett’s vocals on Tappin the Land Turtle and it merges beautifully into the simple yet rhythmically complex He Lion, Bruh Bear, Bruh Rabbit. Across all the tunes and particularly the title track, George’s sax melds with the rhythm section and especially Tetteh’s intricate guitar lines and Tandy’s exquisite piano. The choice of cover version to conclude the album – Here But I’m Gone by Curtis Mayfield – shows George’s ability to interpret the work of others and use her undoubted talent to add a different perspective. She’s quoted as saying: “I see this track as a commentary on the black social condition in America and, with recent political events, I think it is even more poignant.” George’s first album – Isang – was a promising debut album and The People Could Fly shows a developing talent. Each tune blends jazz and hip hop with African rhythms and lyrics. This is an album which both absorbs and reflects musical and political themes that are both current and timeless. *** This review was originally posted on KindofJazz.com ***

Lily Dior's launch of new album 'Let's Talk About It' gave her the chance to play with a full horn section and she clearly loved it. This was a strong rhythm section who clearly knew Dior's songs and her style. The horn section was new to her, but they clearly knew their stuff. If it took the first set for them to properly bed in, that paid off with a storming second set. The highlight of the first set was Dior's rendition of Who Needs You , a beautiful tune. Another outstanding track followed, with Who Needs You (Baby)?   “I found the song on Aretha , recorded by Aretha Franklin in 1961,” said Dior. “It’s one of seven songs Billie Holiday co-wrote with guitarist Jeanne Burns, but she never recorded. I’d love to get all of them recorded in time – that’s a project I’d really like to do.” Live, it was a was an outstanding vehicle for Dior's voice: jazz with a touch of soul. Finishing the first set, which was largely album tracks, with Lady Day and John Coltran e by Gil Scott-Heron. Clearly this was no problem for any of the band - especially Scott-Heron's erstwhile drummer Rod Youngs - and this set the tone for the second set. The second set really took the action up a notch.  Let’s Talk About It  was recorded in Sydney back in 2012 but still sounds fresh in 2016. It’s available on iTunes and on lilydior.com and is well worth a listen, with a nod in the direction of some great soul and jazz singers that have clearly influenced Dior. There are some beautiful songs and the talented Dior obviously believes in collaboration, with a number of different co-writers and arrangers. This was a class band: Neil Angilley (keyboards), Al Cherry (guitar), Geoff Gascoyne (bass) and Rod Youngs (drums). But what Dior obviously loved was the opportunity to play the album and the few, choice covers with a full horn section - Paul Booth (sax), James Copus (trumpet) and Barnaby Dickinson (trombone). This delightful gig finished with the album's title track and an appreciative audience demanded an encore. They were treated to the Ann Peebles classic I Can’t Stand the Rain . *** This review was originally posted on KindofJazz.com  ***