A weekly roundup of what’s hot in contemporary Classical and Modern Jazz
Vels Trio – Beside April
Brighton (UK) based experimental group Vels Trio (keys player Jack Stephenson Oliver, bassist Cameron Dawson and drummer Dougal Taylor) met in 2014. Joined by a mutual love of prog, electronic, funk and hip-hop, they channel their influences via a contemporary jazz sound which has earned them a global reputation as one of the hottest young outfits on the scene today. Here, they are performing a reinterpretation of a recent track by fellow jazz aficionado’s BADBADNOTGOOD from the album Talk Memory.
Solem Quartet play Ades
On this new album by The Solem Quartet, The Four Quarters, the group explore the work of Thomas Adès, whose four movements are inspired by parts of a 24-hour day. The four movements are separated and interspersed with a great variety of other works from Purcell to Schumann and Bartók, to Florence Beatrice Price and, singer Kate Bush, likewise on the daypart theme. An enchanting release.
Levitation Orchestra – Life Is Suffering / Send And Receive Love Only
With an evolving lineup and a lineage to the spirituality of Alice Coltrane and Ornette Coleman, communal as well as uniquely individual, the UK jazz collective Levitation Orchestra present a progressive jazz sound fused with ambient and electronica. Freewheeling harps and flutes meld with supernatural, cosmic atmospheres and themes of perception and social issues.
Koi Kingdom – Summer Sandwich
Koi Kingdom, Marcos Villalta (guitar) Cheryl Durongpisitkul (sax) and Stephen Hornby (bass), is a place where all three members can freely express themselves, composing music for each other and working together to make highly personal, collective music. Koi Kingdom’s distinctive sound is characterised by detailed composition, instrumental virtuosity and fearless exploration. The Melbourne trio have 2 albums available – Pink Milk and Menagerie.