The Listening Guide
🎶 The listening guide: five albums, released during the past twelve months, chosen around a weekly theme 🎶
This week, we look once more to the live performances we’re so dearly missing here in Manchester. Five fantastic live records by a wide range of artists: from the soulful bebop of Idit Shner and her quartet, to Dayna Stephens’ smoking set at the Village Vanguard, a beautiful and career-spanning collection of songs from Beverly Glenn-Copeland live at 'Le Guess Who?’ In the Netherlands, and a free jazz duo set from Signe Emmeluth and Kresten Osgood.
Olga Amelchenko Quartet ‎– Live At Loft
Idit Shner – Live At The Jazz Station
Album of the Week
Our NQ Jazz album of the week is Bring Backs, the new album from keys player, rapper, bandleader and producer Alfa Mist. Described as ‘the most detailed exploration of his upbringing in musical form’, the record is the London-based artist’s first for Anti-, and features contributions from Jamie Leeming (guitar), Kaya Thomas-Dyke (bass/vocals), and Johnny Woodham (trumpet). Support the project on Bandcamp!
Classic Album
Our classic album this week is Emily Remler’s East to Wes. Her final album for Concord and only album with the combination of Hank Jones (piano), Buster Williams (bass) and Marvin "Smitty" Smith (drums), it was conceived as a tribute to one of Remler’s guitar heroes, Wes Montgomery. Her rendition of Tad Dameron’s Hot House is beautiful and intricate, while Ballad From A Music Box represents some of her most sensitive playing, and the bossa nova-infused title track showcases her tremendous tone, picking, and improvisation. Check out the record on streaming services.