CD Reviews

While this ten-piece ensemble draws initial inspiration from the renowned Australian band Ten Part Invention, Mosaic distinguishes itself by its adventurous approach to composition and arrangement.

Michael Tsalka, square piano Diana Weston, harpsichord Wirripang Media Wirr 132★★★ By Michael Morton-Evans  This is an interesting experiment which very nearly comes off. Wirripang invited four contemporary female...

If this album were a proposal, I’d be wed. It is a celebration of three songstresses and a delightful male voice, wrapped in a woven acoustic that is so very alluring. 

Johannes Brahms was particularly fond of the German clarinettist Richard Mühlfeld for whom the two sonatas that make up Opus 120 were written...

This is the ninth recording from Israeli-born mandolinist Avi Avital. While he often performs the works of baroque composers he has also delved into other areas.

Dutch trumpeter Vloeimans and German cellist Brinkmann are paired for the first time on this collection. The two, both classically trained, have had diverse performance and recording careers.

The 2023 album Les Égarés has brought together for the first time the two established duos of kora player Sissoko and cellist Segal with saxophonist Parisien and piano accordionist Peirani.

The freshness of this collaborative effort comes from its stellar lineup of young musicians. Trumpeter Lachlan McKenzie, along with tenor saxophonist Lachy Hamilton, double bassist Jacob Graham, drummer George Greenhill and pianist Wilbur Whitta deliver straight-ahead contemporary jazz with hard-bop edges.

Elena Kats Chernin’s third piano concerto is now out on CD and it’s a cracker. Like several other tracks on this disk, it’s a kind of tribute to one of Kats Chernin’s original inspirations, the little-known first wife of JS Bach, Maria Barbara, who died at the age of 36.

Charles Mingus believed that describing music solely as jazz was limiting, and that was probably a valid point of view. The music on this recording cannot be strictly categorised as jazz.