Album review: Carlos Henriquez - Monk Con Clave (self)

Carlos Henriquez (bass, leader); Jesus Ricardo, Michael Rodriguez, Kali Rodriguez, Nathaniel Williford (trumpets); Marshall Gilkes, Elliot Mason, Dion Tucker (trombones); Sherman Irby, Ted Nash (alto sax); Chris Lewis, Abdias Armentero (tenor sax); Paul Nedzela (baritone sax); Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Osmany Paredes, Robert Rodriguez (piano*); Obed Calvaire (drums); Bobby Allende (bongoes) + Jeremy Bosch (vocals, flute tks 3,4,10); Anthony Almonte (vocals tks 4,10); Pedrito Martinez (congas, vocals tks 4,6,7,10)

*Pianists: Rubalco (tks 1,3,6); Paredes (tks 2,4,9); Rodriguez (tk 7).

Another 're-imaging' album! This time it's Monk's music that's being laid siege to. Richard Baratta's Charlie Parker inspired Another Kind of Bird was, despite my initial misgivings, an unmitigated success that hit just the right balance between the old and the new.

Cheltenham Jazz Festival: Makaya McCraven @ DEYA Arena, Cheltenham - May 3

Makaya McCraven (drums, electronics); Junius Paul (bass, electronics); Marquis Hill (trumpet, electronics)

Opener, Away, begins with jingling bells, trap cymbals and bubbling effects. Ghosts of cymbals, ghosts of drums slowly coalesce before the bass leads us out and a haunting trumpet line is wavered by the electronics. Busy hustling, restless drums support a trumpet that issues notes that are slingshots into a void. The bass erupts and the drums follow into a freer world. They go straight into a drum led hopping funk piece with a rock solid bass and rich round trumpet notes, more Nils Petter Molvær than Miles, bass and drums as subtle as a speeding truck, albeit one it’s a joy to be stood in front of. Longer trumpet notes, hypnotic bass and majestic drums support before the trumpet heats into a boiling fury before McCraven explodes on the drums to close.

Jo Harrop and Jamie McCredie – Weathering the Storm Duo @ Basement Bar, Green Note, Camden – May 1

Jo Harrop (vocals); Jamie McCredie (guitar)

There are jazz clubs, and then there are rooms like Green Note — spaces where the distance between performer and audience all but disappears. Tucked into Camden’s side streets, just a couple of doors up from the legendary The Dublin Castle, there is something wonderfully authentic about Green Note. No glossy VIP experience. No digital ticket wallets flashing at the door. Just your name on a list, artist posters blu-tacked to the window with dates handwritten along the bottom, and the feeling that you have stumbled into something quietly special. In an age where digital content often seems to matter more than the moments themselves, Green Note feels rooted in another time entirely. Even the name carries a kind of romance to it.

Press release: A final reminder that public nominations for the 2026 Parliamentary Jazz Awards close at midnight tonight (May 15)

The Parliamentary Awards celebrate and recognise the vibrancy, diversity, talent and breadth of the jazz scene throughout the United Kingdom.

"These awards are a great opportunity to celebrate the talents and energies of the great musicians, educators, promoters, record labels, jazz organisations, blogs, jazz magazines and journalists who keep jazz flourishing, in spite of the challenges they faced in the last couple of years”. Lord Mann and Dame Chi Onwurah MP, Co-chairs of APPJG and Jo White MP.

The Awards will take place at World Heart Beat on Tuesday 13 October 2026 at 7pm

To nominate please go to: Nominations Parliamentary Jazz Awards
Here is another link for the avoidance of doubt:
Parliamentary Jazz Awards 2026

Voting closes on Friday 15th May 2026 at Midnight

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Please note the criteria for the different categories:
Jazz Album of the Year (released in 2025 by a UK band or musicians).
Services to Jazz Award (to a living person for their outstanding contribution to jazz in the UK). 
Jazz Newcomer of the Year (UK-based artist, musician or group with a debut album released in 2025).
Jazz Education Award (to an educator or project for raising the standard of jazz education in the UK).
Jazz Media Award (including broadcasters, journalists, magazines, blogs, listings, photographers and books).
Jazz Venue of the Year (including jazz clubs, venues, festivals and promoters).
Jazz Ensemble of the Year (UK-based group who impressed in 2025).
Jazz Instrumentalist of the Year (UK-based musician who impressed in 2025).
Jazz Vocalist of the Year (UK-based vocalist who impressed in 2025).

The awards are organised by the All Party Parliamentary Jazz Group (APPJG), co-chaired”. by Dame Chi Onwurah MP and Lord Mann.

 

Album review: Richard Baratta - Another Kind of Bird, Reimagining Charlie Parker (Savant Records)

Richard Baratta (drums, perc.); Vincent Herring (alto sax); Bill O'Connell (piano, elec. piano, arranger); Paul Bollenback (guitar); Michael Coetz (bass); Paul Russman (congas, perc.) +  Craig Handy (tenor sax tks 1, 2/flute tk 3/ sop sax tk 4); Abraham Burton (alto sax tks 1, 4); Eric Alexander (tenor sax tks 1, 4)

I groaned when I read the sub-title; Reimagining Charlie Parker. I didn't want to reimagine one of my heroes. I was quite content to worship the original without some Johnny-come-lately giving him a makeover.

Nevertheless, I prepared to give it a spin, my appropriately named Parker pen and a cartridge of vitriolic ink at the ready.

Needless to say my fears proved foundless. This album won't replace the originals but it will sit proudly alongside them happy in the knowledge that both have gained by comparision.

Cheltenham Jazz Festival: Bill Frisell & Eyvind Kang @ Cheltenham Town Hall - May 2

Bill Frisell (guitar); Eyvind Kang (viola)

A nearly empty stage with a guitar, recumbent on a stool and a small collection of fluffy toys next to a mic stand. This was not going to be the most extravagant show at the Festival. Frisell and Kang wander on stage, acknowledge the applause, sit down and begin. Frisell leads off strumming with increasing menace whilst Kang produces long drones on his instrument, the eventual pastoral excursions on the viola are picked up and developed by Frisell whose picking starts to approximate a melody line but he reverts to rising and falling chords following the viola and then a simple melody line of repeated motif is slightly embellished with a top string rhythm. It is intensely fragile music.

Cheltenham Jazz Festival: The Puppini Sisters @ Cheltenham Town Hall - May 2

Rosanna Schura, Marcella Puppini, Kate Mullins (vocals); Martin Gormley (guitar); Henrik Jensen (bass); Peter Ibbotson (drums)

Day 2 had started well with a great gig by Joshua Redman and we returned to the Town Hall soon after for the Puppini Sisters. Now Steve booked this one, and thought he was getting something sophisticated and jazzy. I had more than half an inkling it would be more comedy cabaret based solely on their contribution to Micky Bubble’s Christmas Album and that was what we got. It reminded me of Girls Talk, the group made up of Claire Martin, Barb Jungr and Mari Wilson who were around about twenty years ago, (no one who saw them could ever forget Jungr’s unladylike, bovine bellow of It should have been me).

Nick Mondello interviews Paul Mercer Ellington

Nick Mondello - "Our Man in New York" - interviews Paul Mercer Ellington.

Paul, grandson of Duke, currently leads the 2026 version of the Ellington band and offers fascinating information about both Duke and his (Paul's) father Mercer Ellington who played trumpet with Duke as well as leading his own band. Lance

LINK

Press Release: Ticket Offer Newcastle Jazz Festival - Friday 26th – Saturday 27th June 2026

Newcastle Jazz Festival returns for its eighth season with a carefully curated programme spanning two days across Live Theatre venues in Newcastle city centre.

TICKETS

The 2026 festival celebrates the breadth and depth of contemporary British jazz, featuring leading figures in the UK jazz scene alongside musicians from our beloved North East.

Headlining Saturday evening is Mercury Prize-nominated trumpeter Laura Jurd, presenting a special concert re-imagining the legacy of Miles Davis on the centenary of his birth. Jurd's distinctive approach to the trumpet is internationally recognised, and this one-off concert brings together leading musicians for what promises to be a significant evening of music. Her programme draws on Davis's catalogue across his career, translating his energy and innovation into contemporary idiom—rock-tinged, groove-based music that honours the spirit of Miles whilst forging new territory.

Stockport Jazz

This Sunday Stockport Jazz welcomes the Vince Dunn Quartet to the Moor Club. The band features Vince on drums, Michael Hughes on vibes, Richard Wetherall on piano and Dave Lynane on bass.

Vince Dunn has over 30 years of experience as a drummer and musician. He has performed throughout the world with a wide and eclectic mix of artists with his own Orchestra and on sessions. These include Courtney Pine, The Funk Masters, Cleo Laine, Osibisa (New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival), Derrick McKenzie, award winning Blues Harpist Errol Linton, and BBC Jazz Award Winner Liane Carroll, and more.