Jazz

Magnus Öström & Dan Berglund
E.S.T. 30
Act Music Act 9987-2; Lp: Act 9987-1

Since the passing of pianist Esbjörn Svensson in 2008, drummer Magnus Öström and bassist Dan Berglund have of course undertaken many new projects, notably as Rymden with Bugge Wesseltoft, but they've never forgotten e.s.t.'s music. In Oct '23, they put on two concerts to mark the original trio's 30th anniversary, the one captured here, in Cologne. With a sextet including Swedish saxophonist Magnus Lindgren, pianist Joel Lyssarides and guitarist Ulf Wakenius plus Finnish trumpeter Verneri Pohjola, they open majestically with 'From Gagarin's Point Of View' and build to a monumental 'Tuesday Wonderland'. Celebratory yet reflective, it's a truly heartfelt tribute to Svensson and his music. SH

Sound Quality: 90%

Tim Garland
Moment Of Departure
Ubuntu Music Ubu0155 (Two Discs); Lp: Ubu0155Lp (Two Discs)

Composer and saxophonist Tim Garland enlisted the Britten Sinfonia for this ambitious and enthralling project. CD2 contains his five-movement work 'The Forever Seed', played by the Sinfonia strings and violinist Thomas Gould. But on CD1, inspired by the paintings of Turkish artist Esra Kizir Gokcen, the compositions leave space for adventurous improvisation by Garland and pianist Gwilym Simcock, impelled by the Turkish rhythms provided by drummer Asaf Sirkis. The culmination comes with the whirling title track and as Garland says, 'That Moment Of Departure, from the notated, towards something new, is a shout of fearless freedom'. SH

Sound Quality: 80%

Christian Mcbride & Edgar Meyer
But Who'S Gonna Play The Melody?
Mack Avenue Mac1155; Lp: Mac1155Lp (Rsd Exclusive)

Christian McBride is the Colossus of the acoustic jazz bass - his duo partner here is a bass phenomenon of equal stature from a different background. Meyer, a renowned classical performer and composer, is also a bluegrass superstar. Together, they exultantly explore material from many corners of their various musical worlds. Kicking off with a grungy 'Green Slime', they turn to 'Barnyard Disturbance', known from Meyer's collaboration with bluegrass banjo virtuoso Béla Fleck, then move on to McBride's 'Bebop, Of Course'. Later, each switches to piano to accompany the other in ballad mode and finally, they trade arco solos on 'Tennessee Blues'. Amazing. SH

Sound Quality: 85%

Ian Shaw and Tony Kofi
An Adventurous Dream: The Music Of Billy Strayhorn And Duke Ellington
Px Records Pxrcd1010; Lp: Pxrlp1010 (Two Discs)

Singer and pianist Ian Shaw will be known to many for his long and happy duo partnership with singer Claire Martin; they even played at the Hi-Fi News show many years ago. But here, live at PizzaExpress, he delegates the piano duties to Barry Green in a programme with saxophonist Tony Kofi echoing Johnny Hodges, and Dave Green supporting on bass. Kofi is outstanding, especially on the instrumental tracks 'Isfahan' and 'Blood Count', while Shaw's vocals take us from the 1920s and 'Mood Indigo' through to a swinging, scatting 'Raincheck'. The show closes emotively with Strayhorn's 'Lush Life'. SH

Sound Quality: 80%