Brussels Jazz Orchestra

This first album revisits compositions from jazz legends of different eras such as Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, Dizzy Gillespie and Joe Henderson as well as two classics from the Skatalites repertoire (Ska La Parisienne and King Solomon)…

Camille Saint-Saëns and the Prix de Rome… surely a strange bringing together of ideas, given that the composer never gained that coveted award and consequently never took up residence in the famous Villa Medici? All the same, Saint-Saëns entered the competition on two separate occasions and, peculiarly in the history of the competition, twelve years apart: firstly in 1852 and then in 1864. On the first occasion he was still an adolescent, devoted to worshipping the memory of the great Mendelssohn; behind him, by the time of the second occasion, were already a number of his masterpieces later to be confirmed by posterity – and he had become acquainted with Verdi and had also discovered Wagner.

When Jimi Tenor and UMO collaborate, usually something epic happens. Terra Exotica is a completely new work composed by Jimi Tenor, inspired by nearby forests and the seashore, Japanese film-era film music, and bands like Sun Ran and Salah Ragab. Terra Exotica is quite an exotic entity, which I have composed specifically for UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra. In addition to the influences brought by Sun Ran and Salah Ragab, the pieces also have a touch of blues and even swing. Our album comes out in the end of the year 2021, Jimi Tenor promises.

Saxophonist and composer Julian Siegel is back for his fourth release on Whirlwind. Tales from the Jacquard is his most ambitious musical feat to date, assembling the stellar forces of the Julian Siegel Jazz Orchestra. Following the acclaimed Julian Siegel Quartet release Vista and the influential co-led Partisans album Nit de Nit, Siegel solidifies his reputation as one of Europe's most celebrated artists working across jazz and improvised musics.

This CD reissues one of Joe Williams' finest recordings. Accompanied by the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, the singer is heard at the peak of his powers. The big band primarily functions as an ensemble (Snooky Young gets off some good blasts on "Nobody Knows the Way I Feel This Morning"), but the inventive Thad Jones arrangements ensure that his illustrious sidemen have plenty to play. Many of the selections (half of which have been in the singer's repertoire ever since) are given definitive treatment on this set (particularly a humorous "Evil Man Blues," "Gee Baby, Ain't I Good to You," and "Smack Dab in the Middle"), and Williams scats at his best on "It Don't Mean a Thing."

2006 seems to be a significant year for jazz's elder states persons. Pianist Andrew Hill has seen a year full of recordings: new music, reissues and previously unreleased material, as well as an outstanding tribute by guitarist Nels Cline. Chick Corea, who's a few years younger than Hill, has released a new record and toured with trios focusing on his back catalog. Super Trio (Stretch, 2006) documented a tour where the pianist was clearly in control of the arrangements; however, Live in Molde is an entirely different affair.

While bandleader and pianist Arturo O'Farrill has always sought to preserve the legacy of Latin jazz, he's never been one to do so it for its own sake, but always for evolutionary purposes. The Offense of the Drum features his 18-piece Afro-Latin Jazz band – a whopping 28 percussion instruments from all over the globe – and a notable host of collaborators including Donald Harrison and Vijay Iyer…