Reviews of the week

An early UK reaction to the freshly released album Off Stillness by Thomas Strønen’s Group Time Is A Blind Guide

There’s always been something quietly magical about Thomas Strønen’s Time Is A Blind Guide, a group that seems to breathe as a single organism, exhaling chamber-jazz atmospheres with rare patience and poise. ‘Off Stillness’, the ensemble’s third ECM outing, feels like the most assured statement yet – an album that builds on ‘Lucus’ and the band’s self-titled debut, in a naturally evolving way, refining their acoustic alchemy to an even subtler grain. The personnel shift – Leo Svensson Sander stepping in for Lucy Railton on cello – proves inspired. His tone folds seamlessly into TIABG’s translucent textures, adding a faint folk inflection that deepens the ensemble’s emotional palette. […] ECM’s sonic signature, sharpened by Rainbow Studio’s immaculate acoustics and Manfred Eicher’s intuitive production choices, captures every nuance: the soft rasp of bow hair, the air behind a single piano note. By the time ‘In awe of stillness’ concludes, half textural meditation, half turbulence, the ensemble’s evolution feels complete. ‘Off Stillness’ is another triumph: searching, delicately sculpted, and quietly radical. A standout in Strønen’s already distinguished ECM catalogue.

Mike Gates, UK Vibe

The freshly released album Pur Ti Miro by Wu Wei, Martin Stegner and Janne Saksala is reviewed in an Italian magazine

Questo disco farà inorridire i musicologi storicamente informati più irriducibili e chiunque insegua la rigorosa precisione filologia piuttosto che le infinite possibili e non sempre ortodosse vie della bellezza, ma farà la gioia di chi dalla musica si attende ancora nuove prospettive, luminose rivelazioni, piccolo miracoli. (…) Il caleidoscopio impasto sonoro creato dai tre strumenti sortisce un effetto straniante: si esprime in un linguaggio ancestrale che fa parte del nostro DNA, che ci sembra di riconoscere, ma che il realtà pronuncia parola mai sentite. E bastano pochi altri dettagli a trasformare il patrimonio lasciatoci in dote dai Maestri in una diversa forma di sublime: una scelta di tempo, un indugio, una digressione, un affondo, un lasciar andare sbalorditivo e indubbiamente rilevante.

Alessandro Hellman, Rockerilla

The new duo recording Memories of Home by John Scofield and Dave Holland thrills US, German and Italian reviewers

‘Memories of Home’ blossomed from a handful post-COVID duo gigs. Its chemistry is compelling, and its oomph is obvious. […] In this stripped-down setting (spendidly recorded to reveal the music’s granular beauty) it’s a tad easier to hear Holland’s touch and intonation blend to boost his thrust. No one’s missing a drummer on this date.

Jim Macnie, Downbeat

‘Memories of Home’ is an intriguing listen, and it’s a joy hearing these two musicians playing with and off each other. Every nuance is captured, making you appreciate all the subtlety and dynamics that went into this recording.

Eric Porter, Sea of Tranquility

Both John Scofield and Dave Holland are still playing as well as they ever have, if not better. We are still lucky to have them as part of the musical conversation. Among the things that make ‘Memories of Home’ extraordinary is its openness and transparency. You hear not just every note, but every shading of tone, every tremor that makes Holland’s bass playing so human, every bent note that makes Scofield’s guitar style so nuanced. It is a testament to how our best jazz musicians — whether they play with power and flash or with intimacy — are artists with the intense craft, intention, and storytelling power. Dave Holland and John Scofield are among our best living jazz musicians.

Will Layman, Pop Matters

Die beiden Altmeister, die zu unterschiedlichen Zeiten in der Band von Miles Davis spielten, haben einander viel zu erzählen. Keiner von ihnen muss mehr etwas beweisen, sie können die Sache ganz gelassen angehen, denn selbst wenn sie einfach nur auf ihren Instrumenten plaudern, passiert das immer noch auf allerhöchstem Niveau. […] die Stimmung des Albums ist ausgesprochen heiter, der subtile Humor der beiden Könner wird zwar sehr ernsthaft rübergebracht, aber zum Schmunzeln gibt es jede Menge Anlass. ‘Memories of Home’ ist ein aufregend unaufgeregter Austausch, dem zuzuören nicht nur ein Vergnügen ist, sondern ein Privileg.

Wolf Kampmann, Eclipsed

Was ‘Memories Of Home’ so besonders macht, ist nicht nur die musikalische Brillanz, sondern auch die reflektierte Einfachheit: Scofield und Holland verzichten auf bombastische Effekte, auf üppiges Vibrato oder übertriebene Dramaturgie, und konzentrieren sich stattdessen auf klare Intonation und dicht verwobene melodische Linien. Dieses minimalistische Konzept erlaubt es, jede Nuance ihres Dialogs zu hören, ihre gemeinsamen Erinnerungen, aber auch ihre unmittelbare Gegenwart. Das Ergebnis ist ein ungemein warmes Album. ‘Memories Of Home’ ganz am Ende ist ein fast meditativer Beitrag, der tief unter die Haut geht (spätestens bei Hollands Passage) – ein Werk zweier Großmeister, deren musikalische Freundschaft in jedem Ton spürbar ist.

Sebastian Meißner, Sounds and Books

L’eleganza sinuosa, felpata, attenta è il tratto che unisce i due musicisti. In questa occasione attingono a piene mani da due scrigni ricchissimi del jazz contemporaneo e ne traggono perle di saggezza musicale, costruttiva, emotiva. Schiettamente ancorati al proprio stile originale, che li rende riconoscibili e maestri, eppure sempre pronti alla sfida, al dialogo profondo. Con attenzione reciproca e persistente impronta personale, i due musicisti influenzano costantemente le proprie direzioni, si modellano in una simbiosi creativa. L’atmosfera è di calda, calma intimità.

Giuseppe Segala, All About Jazz Italy

An Italian reaction to the album Topos by Sokratis Sinopoulos and Yann Keerim

Registrate ad Atene nel febbraio 2024, queste dieci tracce sono state prodotte da Manfred Eicher e documentano l’intesa telepatica e di lunga data della lira di Sokratis Sinopoulos con il piano acustico di Yann Keerim dando vita ad una serie di dialoghi che intrecciano tradizioni folk europee e mediterranee, composizioni di Bèla Bartók e jazz cameristico. Ad aprire l’album sono ‘Vlachia’, composizione di Sokratis Sinopoulos, e ‘Valley’, scritta a quattro mani con Yann Keerim, in cui risaltano le molteplici sfumature e dinamiche di cui è capace la lira, mentre il piano si muove da un ruolo di accompagnamento votato all’essenzialità a voce guida capace di guidare l’orecchio nella scoperta dei differenti andamenti di un territorio acustico coerente e, allo stesso tempo, soggetto a continue variazioni. Cinque delle sei riletture delle “Danze popolari rumene” di Bartók compaiono una dopo l’altra come corpo centrale dell’album, lasciando a quello che in origine era il primo movimento, ‘Bot tánc / Jocul cu bâtă (Danza con il bastone)’, il compito di chiuderlo alternando in minore i modi dorico e eolico. È un bel punto di arrivo, legato al villaggio Mezőszabad (oggi Voiniceni), in Transilvania, dove il compositore ascoltò per la prima volta questa melodia suonata da due violinisti rom. Un notevole tragitto, a partire dal Mediterraneo greco.

Alessio Surian, Blogfoolk

The album Tramonto by the John Taylor Trio is reviewed in an Italian daily paper

Caratteri che emergono anche in questo disco, nel quale la ricca e sofisticata sensibilità ritmica e armonica del musicista affiora in maniera decisamente coinvolgente, vestendo di un pianismo al tempo stesso raffinato e brillante alcune sue significative composizioni quali ‘Pure and Simple’ e ‘Between Moons’, che aprono l’album, o ancora ‘Ambleside’, composizione che chiude questo lavoro con più di quindici minuti di dialoghi variegati, ora attraversati da passaggi più riflessivi ora animati da scarti più vivaci e trascinanti, intessuti dal piano di Taylor con il contrabbasso di Marc Johnson e la batteria di Joey Baron con grande affinità e naturalezza.

Alessandro Rigolli, La Gazzetta di Parma

The new recording Cellular Songs by Meredith Monk is recommended on a US-based, international website

The human body is the true protagonist here. Nearly every sound emerges from it: breath, resonance, friction, clicks, body percussion and fine microtonal lines. Piano and vibraphone appear in only a handful of tracks, functioning less as accompaniment than as gentle illumination of the larger vocal architecture. Monk’s long-standing interest in the relationship between sound and movement is palpable; even in audio form, one senses bodies organising themselves, like cells arranging into form. Although the underlying construction is intricate — subtle harmonic shifts, three-dimensional forms, interlocking rhythmic cells — the listening experience is surprisingly accessible and transparent. Many pieces unfold with the clarity of simple melodies or repeated gestures. Some even echo traditional song forms, which Monk then expands through extended vocal techniques, microtonal inflections and physical sound. It is a music that can feel ancient, contemporary and quietly radical all at once. Text is almost entirely absent. Monk chooses to communicate through sound rather than language, creating a kind of pre-verbal musical space. The only exception is ‘Happy Woman’, where she introduces a brief spoken monologue delivered with theatrical clarity. The sudden arrival of words — after nearly an hour of pure vocal sound — has a striking, almost unsettling effect, as if the music momentarily shifts into another dimension. Monk has always existed between categories: contemporary classical, minimalism, experimental music, vocal art, performance. But her influence on the broader landscape of new music is undeniable, and her work forms part of the lineage that shapes today’s understanding of contemporary classical music in its broadest sense. [….] ‘Cellular Songs’ is a luminous, finely crafted album by an artist who continues to reveal new layers of her language. At 83, Monk still surprises — not by changing direction, but by distilling her universe with extraordinary precision. This is music that invites close listening, offering both simplicity on the surface and intricate life beneath it, like a cell seen under magnification.

Damiàn Autorino, Moto Perpetuo

The vinyl-reissue of Jan Garbarek and Anouar Brahem’s Madar within the Luminessence series is recommended in a German hi-fi magazine 

Ein Norweger, ein Tunesier und ein Pakistani gehen ins Studio und sehen, was passiert. Kein Witz, sondern der Hintergrund des Treffens von Saxofonist Jan Garbarek mit Oud-Virtuose Anouar Brahem und Tabla-Großmeister Usted Shaukat Hussain(Kahn) im August 1922 im Rainbow Studio zu Oslo. In herrlich gelöster Atmosphäre verbinden sich die weit entfernten Kulturen zu wunderbarer, zeitloser Musik.

Lothar Brandt, Audio-Stereoplay