Simon Adams: ALL THAT JAZZ (Music Reviews)

PHAROAH SANDERS: Live In Fabrik, Hamburg 1980 (Jazzline Classics)

American saxophonist Pharoah Sanders was a veritable force of nature, a trailblazing, flame-throwing, free-form disciple of John Coltrane who then suprisingly begun to turn out dance-floor classics, most notably You Gotta Have Freedom and the wondrous, evocative The Creator Has A Master Plan, both of which are among the five tracks on this set. He sadly died last September aged 81, but this live performance from Germany, recorded in 1980, is a fine way to remember him at the height of his powers. With his then working band of pianist John Hicks, bassist Curtis Lundy and drummer Idris Muhammad, he powers through the set, his trademark squalling saxophone veering towards cacophony and chaos. Sanders was always an exciting player, his bands always thrilling. Catch him here at his very best.

RICHIE BEIRACH: Leaving (Jazzline)

American pianist Richie Beirach has been producing solo records for 45 years, so he knows what is doing. This time he is playing a set of gold-plated jazz standards to a small audience of 120 people in a chateau near Bordeaux in France, his trademark rigour and determination well to the fore as ever. His taste is varied, taking in Bill Evans’s Nardis, Miles Davis’s Solar, a predictable ‘Round Midnight, and a wonderful version of Wayne Shorter’s Footprints. Interestingly, he runs several different standards together in lengthy, complex medleys, linking Herbie Hancock’s Maiden Voyage to Monk’s Dream, for example, and dropping in numerous quotes from other well-known songs, to notably great effect on Leonard Bernstein’s Some Other Time. You don’t listen to Beirach for relaxation, as he can be a demanding performer, but the effort is always worthwhile.

STEPHAN MICUS: Thunder (ECM)

German musician Stephan Micus is best described as a world musician, utilising a wide range of local and ethnic wind, string and percussion instruments that he plays unaccompanied, layering their sounds into complex and often wonderful pieces. For his 25^th (!) solo album for ECM, he has produced a tribute and offering to nine thunder gods from round the world, those gods that disturb our lives and render us powerless in the face of their power. His original inspiration was not a god but the long Tibetan dung chen trumpet, usually heard playing the sustained drones note during Buddhist religious ceremonies. This trumpet is taught just to monks, making Micus probably the first non-Tibetan to learn and play this magnificent horn. What results is certainly atmospheric and most beautifully played, although some of us might shy away from the misconceived and dated ethnic misappropriation this project invokes.

KEITH & JULIE TIPPETT – Couple In Spirit: Sound On Stone (Discus)

Keith Tippett was a renowned improvising pianist, Julie Tippetts a wondrous singer best known for Ab Fab’s theme song This Wheel’s On Fire. A couple in spirit and marriage – despite the different spellings of their surname – they began to plan an album together in 2019, but then lockdown intervened and Keith died in 2020. Bravely, Julie decided to go ahead by herself, overdubbing her vocals on to some historic live recordings of Keith’s solo concerts. What results is a brave, raw, and beautiful concoction of improvised piano, vocals, zithers and percussion. Throughout, Keith’s piano is dynamic and sometimes theatrical, Julie’s voice as powerful and poised as ever. The wonder, of course, is that together they sound simultaneous, despite the fact that on some pieces, they were recorded more than 40 years apart. This is not an easy album to listen to, such is its power and emotion, but it is a beautiful work of re-creation, and love.

TRISTAN BANKS: View From Above (Ubuntu Music)

Drummer, percussionist, and composer Tristan Bankshas worked with many good musicians, notably Roy Ayers, Steve Winwood, Dave Gilmour, and Terry Callier, and is also a local lad, the manager of Brighton’s best jazz club, The Verdict, in Edward Street. For his debut album he has brought together a classy quartet. All the 10 pieces on the album are by the leader, and all impress for their difficult, off-beat time signatures, many Brazilian in style, and their strong melodies. Throughout, there is a maturity to this music, a compositional strength that gives it integrity and style. Saxophonist Paul Booth is on fine form throughout as is the ever-impressive John Crawford on piano, while probably the world’s tallest bass player Davide Mantovani is a consistently supportive presence. On the drum stool, Banks is initiator and inventor, steering each piece forward with great panache. If this was my debut album, I would be mighty proud.

WADADA LEO SMITH & ORANGE WAVE ELECTRIC: Fire Illuminations (Kabel Records, download only)

You might have thought that, after his frenetic celebrations for his 80^th birthday in 2022, trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith would have had a year off to relax and recharge. But no, for with 2023 barely a few months old, he continues in action with the Orange Wave Electric, his new electric ensemble. The five tracks on this debut set were assembled in a series of sessions and configurations, the final album the subject of much post-production work. Of course, Smith has form when it comes to electric instruments, his three hi-voltage collaborations with guitarist Henry Kaiser on the Yo Miles! project lighting up the skies some years back. So here he is in his element, his long, piercing horn lines echoing out over the electric maelstrom beneath him. Echoes of Miles Davis in his prime flood back here, inevitably, but Smith’s beautiful, strong trumpet carries all before it. It is sometimes hard to pin Smith down, as he is so varied and versatile. But he does sound right at home here, still finding great inspiration in the music of half a century ago.