Jazz

Pianist, composer, educator and social activist Danilo Pérez shows us how diverse musical influences can be fused in the most positive way. He is founder and artistic director of the Berklee School of Music's Global Jazz Institute, and The Global Messengers, all graduates of the programme, are percussionist Tareq Rantisi (Palestine), laouto player Vasilis Kostas (Greece), violinist and vocalist Layth Sidiq (Iraq, Jordan), cellist Naseem Alatrash (Palestine) and singer Farayi Malek (USA). The album contains the two suites 'La Muralla' and 'Fronteras' which were toured in 2019 and reached UK ears at the London Jazz Festival, but are heard here beautifully recorded at Berklee. SH

David Binney
A Glimpse Of The Eternal
Criss Cross Jazz 1408

American altoist David Binney recorded nine albums for the Dutch label before its founder Gerry Teekens passed away in 2019, so this tenth recording is his first under the aegis of Teekens' son Jerry. It was to have been a ballad album but ended up mixing originals with 'some obscure tunes that meant something to me'. 'Blue Sky' and 'Nightfall' reflect the early inspiration of Jan Garbarek and Ralph Towner, 'In A Way' is a gentle gem by pianist Michael Cain, and there are two tunes by Vince Mendoza, whose pianist son Luca plays in Binney's LA band. Here, though, the pianist is the brilliant Craig Taborn, making for relaxed yet stimulating music. SH

Mark Turner
Return From The Stars
ECM Records 3842871

As with 2014's Lathe Of Heaven, the saxophonist's last ECM album as leader, this takes its title from a sci-fi novel, and offers Turner's favoured piano-less lineup of two horns, bass and drums plenty of space for exploration. The trumpeter this time is Jason Palmer (a collaborator of some years now), creating endlessly intricate lines from the leader's themes. 'I write for the people playing', says Turner, and while there are written parts for the horns, bassist Joe Martin (who appeared on the 2014 album) and drummer Jonathan Pinson start with only minimal guidelines. A prolific recording artist as a sideman, Turner should be heard as a leader too. SH

McCoy Tyner/Freddie Hubbard Qt
Live At Fabrik Hamburg 1986
Jazzline Classics D77100 (2 discs); 3LPs: D78100

We've already seen a long series of CDs that relive the 1970s/early '80s heyday of Hamburg's Onkel Pö jazz club with recordings made there by Norddeutscher Rundfunk. Now from its archives comes this later concert from Hamburg, when Freddie Hubbard joined McCoy Tyner's trio there in 1986 and gave a truly blistering performance that runs for 110 minutes. But the sound of the amplification and of the venue, which was originally a timber factory, is industrial rather than inviting, and when the music gets loud, which is a lot of the time, the effect can be overwhelming. If unsure, sample the CDs before springing for the deluxe vinyl set. SH