Reviews of the week

The freshly released duo recording Memento by Marilyn Crispell and Anders Jormin is welcomed by reviewers in the UK and US

Even within the vast catalogue of ECM releases, there are some albums that declare themselves boldly, and others that unfold with quiet inevitability. ‘Memento’, the first duo recording by Marilyn Crispell and Anders Jormin, truly belongs to the latter category: a beautiful, pastoral and deeply attentive work shaped by space, restraint and trust. […] The hall’s luminous acoustics heighten every overtone and gives space to breath, allowing stillness to function as an equal partner in the music. The album opens with four freely improvised pieces that establishes the natural ambience of the recording. […] Throughout, the emphasis is not on virtuosity but on shared breath and careful listening. […] The album closes with ‘Dragonfly,’ Crispell’s warm tribute to the late Gary Peacock. Rural in tone and hymn-like in simplicity, it provides a gentle, affectionate farewell. ‘Memento’ doesn’t aim for grand statements. Its power lies in nuance, patience and finely judged detail. Elegant and humane, it is a testament to the art of listening – and to the expressive possibilities that emerge when two seasoned improvisers choose understatement over display. A lovely album to lose yourself in.

Mike Gates, UK Vibe

In this quiet soundscape, the duo have developed a common language. This allows their improvisational choices to create a natural spaciousness, permitting piano and bass to ebb and flow with unforced grace. Their subtle interplay carries emotional rather than sonic power. Often sparse and delicately balanced, this eloquent recording encourages the listener to slow down, reflect and reconnect with memory.

Neil Duggan, All About Jazz

A recording that favors introspection and serenity. The musicians’ distinctive language is present in both the improvised and written material, and the music unfolds naturally, organically, and with sensitivity. […] ‘Memento’ unfolds with yearning atmospheres where spontaneity and artistic sensitivity open the door to broader emotional landscapes. Its purely intuitive interplay may not be an everyday listen, yet it occupies a meaningful place within contemporary jazz.

Filipe Freitas, Jazz Trail

The new album Patternmaster by the Mark Turner Quartet garners acclaim from US and Swiss media

Long recognized as a brilliant saxophonist, Mark Turner continues to push artistic boundaries while remaining faithful to jazz fundamentals. His post-bop mastery is firmly displayed on Patternmaster, a sci-fi-inspired release featuring a quartet with trumpeter Jason Palmer, bassist Joe Martin, and drummer Jonathan Pinson. This is the same ensemble that recorded ‘Return from the Stars’ in 2022. Comprising six Turner originals, the album opens with the title track, a dexterous contrafact on Wayne Shorter’s ‘Pinocchio’. Martin and Pinson establish an infectious groove that both propels and anchors the music, supporting a creative theme delivered in unison by the frontline horns. Turner takes the first solo with a resolute attack and narrative clarity, riding a subtle bossa-inflected current shaped by the rhythm section, while Palmer matches the energy with assured phrasing. […] Pinson’s agile, jittery drumming stands out throughout, reinforcing intricate meters, vamp-based passages, and engrossing saxophone–trumpet conversation. This quartet injects the music with engaging rhythmic impulses and a palpable sense of unpredictability, executed with consummate skill. Turner, having cultivated a distinctive tone and language, affirms his compositional strengths through empathetic interplay and unmistakable individuality.

Filipe Freitas, Jazz Trail

Tenor saxophonist Mark Turner bravely leads his pianoless quartet into the future unknown with 2026’s ‘Patternmaster’. His third with the harmonically daring group, the album once again finds him drawing inspiration from the world of science fiction. […] Throughout, Turner and Palmer stick to their motivic ‘pattern’ approach, taking singable melodic lines and reworking them in ever evolving ways. Martin and Pinson react in kind, crafting kinetic grooves that serve as darker hued mirrors of the colorful horn melodies. This is true whether the quartet is trading spiraling lines over the roiling, minor-key ‘Lehman’s Lair’ or wrapping themselves in the warm, late afternoon glow of ‘The Happiest Man on Earth.’ Either way, there’s a purity of sound and harmonic conception running through all of Turner and his quartet’s playing on ‘Patternmaster’ that feels as deeply considered as the science fiction ideas that inspired it.

Matt Collar, All Music

‘Patternmaster’ (ECM, 2026) is tenor saxophonist Mark Turner’s follow-up to his highly acclaimed ‘Return from the Stars’ (ECM, 2022). It features the same well-honed chordless quartet as its predecessor, focusing on the interplay between Turner’s tenor and Jason Palmer’s trumpet to create a free-flowing sound that seems almost perfectly balanced between unison passages and solos from the two horns. […] By almost any barometer, this quartet is among the most technically proficient and sophisticated groups on the contemporary scene. They are not quite straight-ahead but more play more ‘in’ than ‘out.’ […] All six tracks on the ‘Patternmaster’ have a memorable melodic structure and feature a superb harmonic interplay between the two horns. Turner, known for a floating, lightness of tone and a cooler, mellower approach than most of his tenor peers, often stretches out beyond his usual comfort zone to more intense and fiery expressions, clearly pushed there by his bandmates.

Jim Hynes, Post Genre

Turner ist einer der einflussreichsten Komponisten und Improvisatoren seiner Generation, und zwar beides in gleichem Mass. Wie sein letztes Album ‘Return From The Stars’ (2022), ist sein jüngstes, ‘Patternmaster’ (2026), ein Meisterwerk in der Balance zwischen auskomponierten Teilen und weiten improvisatorischen Freiräumen, in denen sich wieder das vertraute hochintegrierte Quartett sowohl solistisch wie im Verband realisiert – in spannungsgeladenen kühnen Passagen, in überraschend einfühlbaren, von Tenor und Trompete parallelgeführten sangbaren Tutti und eben in vital ausbrechenden brillanten solistischen Entfesselungen. Die Band, die durch den Verzicht auf ein Harmonieinstrument (Piano, Gitarre etc.) an Transparenz gewinnt, ist vom ersten Stück, dem Sci-Fi-extraterrestrisch-inspirierten Titelstück is zum finalen ‘Supersister’ ein kristallines Vergnügen. Trompeter Jason Palmer ist Turners ideales Alter Ego, der junge Drummer Jonathan Pinson zugleich ein druckvoller Swinger und ein sensibler Finessenakrobat – und Bassist Joe Martin der solide Tiefenbaumeister: ein harmonischer Fels und ein spannend behänder Solist dazu.

Peter Rüedi, Weltwoche

The album Dream Archives by Craig Taborn, Tomeka Reid and Ches Smith is acclaimed in Belgium and Switzerland

Celui-ci est l’aboutissement d’une collaboration initiée il y a plusieurs années. Le batteur/percussionniste Ches Smith, également vibraphoniste, est issu d’une génération plus jeune et, outre le jazz, gravite autour de la musique électronique. Tomeka Reid, violoncelliste et compositrice, s’est fait connaître en rejoignant le Art Ensemble of Chicago, une ville où elle a habité et enseigné. Elle a par ailleurs collaboré avec des légendes telles Anthony Braxton et Roscoe Mitchell, mais aussi avec des musiciens aventureux tels Mike Reed et Nicole Mitchell. ‘Dream Archives’ comporte six compositions, toutes écrites par Taborn, à l’exception du très entraînant ‘When Kabuya Dances’ que l’on doit à la pianiste Geri Allen (que Taborn cite volontiers comme influence) et ‘Mumbo Jumbo’ signée par Paul Motian. C’est probablement sur la plage éponyme que le jeu se fait le plus ouvert, accueillant toutes les diversités de tons et de timbres. Sur la pièce finale qui lui succède, ‘Enchant’, le trio atteint un paroxysme dans la recherche de nuances subtiles. Le vibraphone de Smith, discret, et les cordes doucement arquées de Reid magnifient un jeu très épars mais convaincant de Taborn. Des archives de rêve, for sure, mais vivantes et pas prêtes d’être empoussiérées de sitôt.

Eric Therer, Jazz Mania

Die Aufhebung der Stilschubladen funktioniert am besten, wenn sich Musiker unvoreingenommen ans Werk machen. Craig Taborn ist so ein neugieriger Musikant, der sich seit 30 Jahren zwischen Avantgarde-Jazz und Minimal-Elektronik bewegt. Im spannenden Dazwischen öffnet der Detroiter Pianist nun sein ‘Dream Archive’ und präsentiert sechs Preziosen. Cellistin Tomeka Reid und Drummer, Vibraphonist und Sampler Ches Smith sind mehr als Assistenten.

Frank von Niederhäusern, Kulturtipp Zürich

The album Sun Triptych with works by Dobrinka Tabakova is recommended in a German music magazine

Intensive Naturbeobachtungen und deren Transfigurationen in musikalische Rhetorik sind für die britische Komponistin bulgarischer Herkunft Dobrinka Tabakova zugleich Inspiration und Trost. So sind die zirkadianen Sonnenlichtphasen das Sujet des Sun Triptych für Violine, Cello und Streichorchester: Aufsteigende Linien der Soloinstrumente in heiteren Ensemble-Timbres symbolisieren den Aurora-Gang während der Morgendämmerung, wobei sich die Klang-Photonen zum Zenit hin verdichten. Dann breiten sich am hellen Tag emsige Bienen, flatternde Vögel und grünende Wiesen (so der Untertitel) in Tremoli und schwebenden Rhythmen aus. Bewegungen, die sich zum Abend hin sanft an unbestimmtem Horizont quasi nebulös verflüchtigen und auch sinnlich einleuchtend dargestellt werden. […] Gerahmt sind diese orchestralen Tableaux von poetischen Werken für Kammerbesetzung. Das Whispered Lullaby verbindet flüsternden Viola-Cantus mit sich steigernder Intensität und relativ rudimentären Arpeggio-Begleitungen am Klavier. Dessen Rolle ist bei der Suite in Jazz Style allerdings fordernder, wenn Dasol Kim im ‚Talk‘ den Walking-Modus zum kratzigen Viola-Part von Maxim Rysanov ins kapriziöse Intermezzo führt und da zu neoklassischem Stil abschweift. […] Fazit: Die Attraktivität der Musik von Dobrinka Tabakova manifestiert sich in Dichotomien oder Gabelungen eigentlich komplexer Motive.

Hans-Dieter Grünefeld, Das Orchester