August release for Tony Coe-John Horler album Dancing in the Dark: 'Piece for Poppy' streams

Dancing in the Dark by a giant of jazz clarinet Tony Coe in duo with pianist John Horler on a live recording dating back to a church location in the Cumbrian town of Appleby in 2007 is to be released this summer.

The Andy Cleyndert-produced album includes a treatment of Bill Evans' 'Re:Person I Knew'. Coe recorded the piece on his classic late-1980s album Canterbury Song with pianist Horace Parlan, bassist Jimmy Woode and drummer Idris Muhammed. Cole Porter's 'Night and Day', Horler's 'Piece for Poppy', which is streaming ahead of the Gearbox album's 13 August release, and Coe's 'Autumn Leaves' contrafact (a new melody composed to the standard's chords) called 'Some Other Autumn' are among the tracks.

The title track is the Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz classic 1930s song 'Dancing in the Dark' first recorded by Jacques Renard and his Orchestra and covered by many down the years including famously Frank Sinatra on Come Dance With Me (1959). Horler has released a version of 'Piece for Poppy' with guitarist Phil Lee on the Hi-Hat Records album Unity. Coe and Horler have worked together extensively over the years and the version of 'Piece for Poppy' introducing the album is, let's be explicit, simply exquisite.

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Playing a first gig for a year alto saxophonist Camilla George was introducing new material from her next album Ibio Ibio.

George, even before her 2017 debut album Isang when she was playing with Jazz Jamaica and follow-up The People Could Fly, distinguished herself in a specific space, a little Tia Fuller-like with her distinctive timbral dexterity but more to the point feeding her own Nigerian Eket heritage into the mix. And this manifested itself on the new material played last night. There was quite a gathering of excellent players on stage. Renato Paris on Nord keys and a fine singer (vocalising like he's a horn player) into the bargain was later joined by Sarah Tandy on another Nord, Tandy taking a piano solo later and doing a featured duo ballad with George as one high point.

Winston Clifford was on stage the most senior player of all and gave a certain gravitas to the groove. Clifford you'll know from his work with Orphy Robinson on the vibes great's Blue Note 1990s album The Vibes Describes for instance and on the Birmingham jazz icon saxist Andy Hamilton's Jamaica By Night to name but a few.

Ibio-Ibio is about Camilla's tribe from south-eastern coastal Nigeria, a certain walking with the spirits, with one piece themed around a shrine and musically steering a path that cut interestingly across bebop, sheer groove and Afrobeat stylings. On bass guitar Daniel Casimir was one of the stand-out players, even Bernard Edwards-like in one passage (no mean feat). George's band featured a guest kora player Kadialy Kouyate who came on with the horn players trombonist Nathaniel Cross and Sheila Maurice-Grey on trumpet from Kokoroko who was superb breaking free. Bookended with 'Intro' and 'Outro' the band sound was flavoured by the Grant Green-influenced nattily behatted Artie Zaitz known for his work with Moses Boyd's band Exodus. As usual he was a sizzling presence in the rhythm section.

Camilla mentioned in a brief chat to marlbank before the gig that Jazz Jamaica will be back on the road in July with dates doing Trojan material including at the Royal Festival Hall. So put 18 July in your diary for now. Watch out too for the build-up when it begins in due course to Ibio Ibio because the scintillating sounds heard here (especially the 'God of Heaven' and 'God of Earth' pieces) augur well. SG

August release for Tony Coe-John Horler album Dancing in the Dark: 'Piece for Poppy' streams

Camilla George, Jazz Cafe, London