Abdullah Ibrahim, Solotude, Gearbox *****

The antithesis of bustle, the definition instead of serenity. Serious music that is not overly-portentous containing that ''spiritual'' sense you only get when an artist of Ibrahim's magnitude performs. Stocked full of familiar pieces including …

Published: 26 Nov 2021. Updated: 2 years.

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The antithesis of bustle, the definition instead of serenity. Serious music that is not overly-portentous containing that ''spiritual'' sense you only get when an artist of Ibrahim's magnitude performs. Stocked full of familiar pieces including 'The Wedding', 'Blues for a Hip King' and 'Blue Bolero' no one does stateliness better than the South African jazz icon, now 87. ''My journey, my vision'' it says below the title on the cover. Recorded last year at the Hirzinger Hall in the small Bavarian town of Riedering Solotude is a hymn of concentration and a communing with an ancient sense that is quite touching on many occasions – gentle exclamations, moans and spontaneous rumbles, from Ibrahim sometimes the only companion to the sound of piano.

No jazz musician alive is as Ellingtonian as Ibrahim. It's the sheer touch and the quality of the compositions often notable for their simplicity for instance ‘Blue Bolero' in addition to that weight and mastery of timing he shares with Duke, that works like the most benign of charms. There is so much grace throughout it's part of the spell. A late-period masterwork that speaks to the listener on a personal, human, level.Out today

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Inspired by the Hudson and his heroes Dave Douglas releases his first solo (as in performed alone) trumpet album

Solo trumpet is a great curiosity. While we are getting used to lots of solo recordings, there have been so many on whatever instrument you choose to think of given the strictures of making music in isolation during the Pandemic, solo trumpet is …

Published: 25 Nov 2021. Updated: 2 years.

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Solo trumpet is a great curiosity. While we are getting used to lots of solo recordings, there have been so many on whatever instrument you choose to think of given the strictures of making music in isolation during the Pandemic, solo trumpet is rarer. While not everyone's cup of tea you certainly focus in as a listener far harder than you do if the music is complex and busy in the mix. Dave Douglas, above, photo Greenleaf, one of the jazz world's greatest technicians, says: ''One thing I have never done is a solo trumpet project. Trumpet alone… It's daunting on the trumpet because of the physical challenges of the instrument.''

Inspired by the Hudson River which he visited regularly during what he calls the ''shutdown'' some of the Hudson Solo pieces he says ''are tied directly to thoughts about the river. Some are in appreciation of my heroes.'' And these include Wadada Leo Smith, Baikida Carroll and Kenny Wheeler. 'Mute Court' is streaming via Douglas' own Greenleaf label. It's at once avant-garde and yet highly accessible, with a lot of call and response across different voicings whether achieved open horn or muted. There is no little humour in the rendering – you'd swear duck quacks manage to make an appearance, even – and highly recommendable.