Some say Jon Hassell is the true inheritor of Miles Davis’ sonic explorer’s muse, and listening to his solo catalogue, it is hard to disagree. The octogenarian musician and composer, nominally a jazz trumpeter but so much more, has forged…
View More Jon Hassell – Listening To Pictures (Pentimento Volume 1)
The former Caravan keyboard tinkler is far from Canterbury these days – he lives in Japan – and pops out a solo album every four or five years. He was sacked from Caravan some time back over musical differences but,…
View More Dave Sinclair – Out Of Sinc
This for me is a very welcome release indeed as I am a big admirer of Jon Lord’s work. One of his songs was very helpful to me at the time of my father’s death, sadly I never got to…
View More Jon Lord – Windows [Remaster]
I first discovered Austin, Texas based Ume with the release of their 2011 Phantoms album and ever since I have admired the music of this three-piece, which the late Anthony Bourdain perfectly described as “A shitload of rawk in a tiny room”. They have…
View More Ume – Other Nature
When broken down to its core elements, this sophomore effort by North Carolina based Fifth Species offers it all – crooked time signatures, distorted clavichord stabs, jumpy bass lines accompanied by an enticing mix of male and female harmonies that…
View More Fifth Species – Life In The Punch Line
The coming together of baritone saxophone aces Kjetil Møster and Mats Gustafsson has created an astonishing collaboration. They have been joined by powerhouse drummer Greg Saunier (Deerhoof) and the amazing experimental singer Sofia Jernberg. To complete the line up Kjetil…
View More The End – Svårmod Och Vemod Är Värdesinnen
The discovery years for this reviewer were in the early ’70s, when I spent each and every Saturday morning leafing through endless album covers, with the eager anticipation of uncovering that week’s musical gem. A risky selection process at that…
View More Atomic Rooster – Sleeping For Years: The Studio Recordings 1970-1974
This is the latest album from Frankfurt-born composer and musician J. Peter Schwalm and the story behind it is a very personal one for Peter, one that involved a major health scare when he was diagnosed with a brain tumour.…
View More J. Peter Schwalm – How We Fall
This is the new album from German outfit Cyrcus Flyght and it’s a mixture of genres, Power Metal and Classic Rock with Progressive leanings. It actually comes over as a good listen with some memorable songs across its running time.…
View More Cyrcus Flyght – The Clueless Caravan
This 3CD and 1DVD boxed set consists of the recent Esoteric Recordings reissue of Barclay James Harvest’s self-titled debut album, originally released in 1970. Esoteric have a good relationship with the band, previously reissuing expanded versions of Octoberon, Live Tapes,…
View More Barclay James Harvest – Barclay James Harvest (Limited Edition Deluxe Box Set)